For some, Memorial Day is the start of summer.  For many others, this is a national holiday to go shopping or rest or whatever.  For the nation, this a celebratory day established to honor those who gave their life to preserve freedom and liberty.   Call it a celebration of life.  This is also your special day for patriotism.   Specifically for me, observation began last night watching the  2025 National Memorial Day Concert  on the Mall, as I've been doing now for 36 years, except for 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic.  This show is also beamed to more than 175 countries and aboard more than 200 U.S. Navy ships at sea.  Up to half a million people watch in person. I especially revere this occasion because of another Mall event, A Capitol Fourth, the concert of the National Symphony Orchestra that began on July in 1979.  Went to the first one, and three more.  The 1980 concert was the first to be telecasted nationwide,...

 Day 28 found us in Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal. Photos from the pool deck. 441 Lunch of salad, soup and noodles, with a gin & tonic and beer. Went to the pool deck for a walk, and saw the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos. Dinner in the Garden Cafe buffet with glasses of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Karaoke in The Cavern Club. Midnight snack in the Atrium. Walked  a good 4410 steps today. Ponta Delgada, on the island of Sǎo Miguel Island, is the capital of Azores in Portugal. First populated in 1444. There are around 68,000 people now living on this island. Ponta Delgada became a city in 1546 after the 1522 earthquake, which devastated the island. The Cult of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles is the largest and oldest religious event in Portugal. The Azores is one of two autonomous regions of Portugal, along with Madeira. There are nine volcanic islands about 870 miles west of Lisbon. Possibly discovered in 1427 by Gonçalo Velho. In 1583, Philip II o...

 THIS WILL BE A BIG WEEK...for me, and maybe for the rest of humanity, too.  Why? To begin, the Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies for the baseball World Series Championship.  For them, this was redemption, for their  previous triumph in 2017 turned out to be scandalous .   Astros manager Dusty Baker woke up yesterday morning as the one who had coached the most games, never having won a world series.  He did it yesterday at the age of 73.   I also did well in fantasy baseball this year. The  New York Marathon  this morning was won by two Kenyans, Sharon Lokedi and Evans Chebet.   There were around 50,000 runners.   This was 28-year old Lokedi's first marathon in her life.   Chebet earlier this year won the Boston Marathon.  Kenyan men have won all six major city marathons this year:  also Eliud Kipchoge in Tokyo and Berlin, Amos Kipruto in London and Benson Kipruto in Chicago. Chebe...