FAMILY HUMOR

 When I think about my sense of humor I think it must have come from my parents.

I can remember listening to radio programs such as "The Great Gildersleeve" with them, as well as "Amos and Andy" and "Jack Benny".

Dad did a wonderful rendition of Harold Peary's raucous, rolling  Gildersleeve laugh.

But way, way back . . before either my older brother or I had been born . . Mom and Dad obviously had fun during their courting days.

Anyone who says the early 20th Century was dominated by stern, serious men and women obviously never met my parents.

THE FRIDAY FUNNIES

 Oh, it's warming up.

Here it is 7:30 and already it's 19 degrees (F).

Well, yesterday it was 10!

And they say this is Arizona, where the birds fly backwards to keep the sun out of their eyes.

Well, you have to have a sense of humor, right?

Aha!

Well since it's Friday, let's see how many of y'all have a sense of humor/humour. 

Pick your favorite spelling.

Or is that favourite?

Yikes!

All right if your roaring, laughing, chuckling or even smiling . . you're okay.

You have a sense of humor.

Now let's really put ourselves out for the next couple of days to have a stupendous (or at least pleasant) weekend.

And always remember to keep laughing!

Here, kitty-kitty . .

(. . . oh, yes sir . . .)

GENEALOGY

 Out of the blue the other day, I was contacted on my blog by someone who said she thought she was related to me and left a phone number.

It was anonymous so I was suspicious. 

So I went to the internet and searched for that number to see if it maybe came up as a spam caller.

But it didn't.

Instead it gave the name of an attorney in Seattle, Washington and a street address.

After a lot of over-thinking this I dialed the number and a woman answered.

After some momentary confusion we each learned who we were and discovered that we were indeed related through our grandmothers, who were sisters.

She had found me when she was searching on the internet for the name of an ancestor and discovered the picture of my late uncle who shared that name.

That led to my going through a massive collection of family photographs and learning (or relearning) some of the history in my family.

One story that leaped out from a scrapbook of newspaper clippings my grandfather had kept was about yet another of the sisters.

She had been out walking on the outskirts of Northfield, Minnesota one day back in 1876 when she met a group of horsemen who pulled to one side and tipped their hats to her as they headed into town.

A few minutes later she heard gunfire as this was the James-Younger gang who robbed a bank and got into a shootout with towns-people.

I was telling Judy about this and she reminded me that her father's family from back in Virginia had been related to the James family.

So our family lines had crossed way back in those wild old days.

But getting back to reality, I just had to show you the photograph of my great-grandfather that I share with my new-found cousin in Washington state.

He was a well-off banker with the great name of Frank Augustus Berry.

This photo was taken on his 77th birthday and he may have been out of the banking business by that time but that steely-eyed glance seems to be saying "You want me to loan you money? And just what are you going to put up for collateral?"

Ah the past - what a trip.

BI

 This could also represent the views of many Central Arizonans.

THE DAY AFTER

 How was your Valentine's Day?

Swell, I hope.

We combined on our meal.

I made Cajun Spicy Shrimp and Fettucine Alfredo.

Judy made a delicious salad and Cinnamon Apple Tarts.

Then we watched some of "Cunk on Earth" on Netflix until the power went off for about 3 seconds and upset our internet connection.

So why, in Sunny Arizona, did the power go off, you ask?

Because, he responded, a quick winter snowstorm smashed through.

Actual Photograph of Arizona Winter Snowstorm in Progress

But coming in the evening, people were enjoying it - out walking through it, throwing snowballs, laughing, a neighbor's little dog yapping his head off as he raced back and forth.

But as you can see, the ground was quickly covered with an inch or two of the fluffy white blanket.

Actual Photograph of Snow covering Your Correspondent's Front Yard

So this morning, as the temperature (Fahrenheit) hovers in the high teens, the week goes on.

But there is good news this morning.

Behold!

But beware in your shopping.

As one spoilsport reported yesterday there's actually more plastic packaging than actual chocolate in those boxes.

A SUPER(IOR) DAY!

I know I'm old but still it may seem a bit strange for me to be expressing a wish for a happy 111th birthday, but that's what I'm doing today.

Arizona officially became the 48th member of the United States of America on this date in 1912 when President William Howard Taft signed the bill granting statehood.

It had been the U.S. Territory of Arizona for 49 years before that.

So, let's all say it again: Happy Birthday, Arizona!

Oh, and there's something else going on today.

Lessee, what was it?

Oh, yeah, Happy Valentine's Day!

Love you all!

ATTENTION SPAN

 Sheesh!

For football fans, yesterday's Super Bowl game was a great game, decided by a field goal kicked with 8 seconds left.

But most of the talk today is about someone who goes by only one name (as many pop idols do) and about her appearance during her halftime performance and whether or not she was pregnant.

Rihanna proudly displayed her "baby bump" and it was confirmed after the game that she was indeed pregnant with her second child with her partner who goes by the name (?) of A$AP Rocky.

But give the girl credit: with her smart business decisions and the apparent loyalty of her fans, she's become a billionaire.

As for me, who has let the current music scene evade him, I wouldn't have recognized Rihanna, pregnant or otherwise.

As for that other event, the football game, some Philadelphia Eagles fans and some pundits were growling about a penalty called in the waning moments of the game that gave the Kansas City Chiefs new momentum.

But even the Eagles player they called it on said after the game that it was indeed holding.

"I grabbed his jersey", he said, "but I was hoping they'd let it get by."

They didn't and the Chiefs went on to their second Super Bowl victory in four years.

So that's that and I promise I won't ever write another word about the Super Bowl.

At least until next year's game.