Grace Notes
The Kansas Jayhawks sure made us proud as they put up a fight to the finish, bringing home the National Championship for the sixth time, second for Coach Bill Self. This was no “ordinary” ballgame. The Jayhawks began the game red hot, hitting four of their first six shots. But after taking an early lead, they made just five of their next 21 shots. After a miserable first half, they went into the locker room down It was at that time that I was seriously consider by 15. It was at that time that I was seriously considering going to bed. I was getting so upset with a game plan that wasn’t working and wasn’t changed or adjusted; and I can’t handle watching the Jayhawks have an “off” night and getting beat badly. But then I remembered another painful game from earlier this past season— on January 22, against in-state rival, K-State—when KU went into the locker room at halftime, down 16. In spite of K-State’s Nijel Pack having a career-high 35 points, the Jayhawks were persistent in their shots, and mostly in their rebounding in the second half, and won that game in the “Octagon of Doom” by three points. So now, here they were, in the National Championship game, and in much the same situation. And what happens? The ‘Hawks dominated offensively and defensively and pulled off the biggest second-half comeback in the NCAA title game’s history! Oh, yes, and winning by three points. Rock Chalk!
Are you noticing the “shrinkflation” going on in grocery stores everywhere? Packages contain less product, but generally cost more. Case in point: a lot of recipes that include bacon call for 16 oz., aka “a pound of bacon.” I don’t know when the industry changed because, I’ll admit, I just pick up a package of bacon and don’t look at the weight. After all, a package of bacon has always been a pound of bacon. But I just happened to notice it recently when I was opening a package of bacon. Check it out, and you’ll find that most bacon is now packaged as 12 ounces. Oh, and the price is more than what we’ve been paying for a pound. You’ll see it in other products, as well, such as chips, crackers, and cookies, etc.
The World Happiness Report is out, and Finland was voted the happiest country in the world. For the fifth straight year! I had no idea there was such a thing as a World Happiness Report, but now that I know, the first thing I wanted to find out was, “Where does the United States appear on that report?” Well, I’m sorry to say that the U.S. of A. didn’t make the top ten, but at least we’re not too far off, ranking 16th, just behind Canada and ahead of the United Kingdom. The data was collected well before Russia began its horrific invasion of Ukraine in February, but both of those countries were in the bottom half of the rankings: Russia ranked 80th and Ukraine 98th. The unhappiest country in the world was Afghanistan, which is not surprising given the Taliban’s takeover in August.
I’m going to implant another earworm in your brain today as I tell you my latest little memory jogger because I’m getting famous for leaving my stuff in all the wrong places; ie. getting down the road and realizing I don’t have my phone, or maybe don’t have my sunglasses. You remember that little exercise ditty we sang with our kids when they were young and we were, too; when we could actually bend and touch our toes? “Head and shoulders, knees and toes...”. If you’re as bedutzed as I have become, the song gets new words... “Wallet, glasses, keys and phone...”. Got that song going in your head now? You’re welcome!
Oh, and that word I just used: “bedutzed”... I have no idea how to spell it, but that’s another thing from my childhood, and it comes from my German background. It’s probably German slang, but in my circles it just means “confused,” or “goofy in the head,” or any number of other slang words to use instead of “idiot” or “dumb.” At this time in my life, I am frequently bedutzed.
