Today Is ...

from husband Bill, March 4, 2026, at home

National Sons Day 2025 is celebrated on March 4 and September 28. Certain countries prefer to celebrate the day in March, while others celebrate the day in September. This is an annual event held on the same day each year.

I do not have a son, but I have been one since February 26, 1961.

from husband Bill, March 4, 2026, at home

I am quite intimate with English grammar, and less so with French grammar and even less so with German grammar.

I was a reporter, writer, editor, proofreader, page designer, researcher, and photographer for print and online publications, and a wire service, from September 1982 to April 2017. I am currently writing an autobiographical novel, and I plan to self-published a book of my self-penned poetry.

from husband Bill, March 4, 2026, at home

I really don't like pound cake. In fact, Strawberry Shortcake is my least favorite dessert. I dislike yellow pound cake, strawberries, and whipped cream.

from husband Bill, March 4, 2026, at home

My father played saxophone in the University of Pennsylvania marching band in the 1950s. My wife played trombone in her high school marching band.

from husband Bill, March 4, 2026, at home

Me

The juxtaposition of these two YouTube videos struck me as quite funny.

March 3, 2026, at home

Birthday Piano Improv

March 3, 2026, at home

I created and uploaded onto my YouTube channel a video of myself improvising on my digital piano on my 65th birthday (February 26, 2026). (length: 4 minutes, 17 seconds) ... My piano is at my mom's home nearby.

I like to sit at my digital piano and just start playing whatever is in my head at that time. I make it up as I go along. This is my method with all of my piano improvisational videos.

Birthday Piano Improv (Feb. 26, 2026)

https://youtu.be/3CSjzAkCFTo?si=A9HmasCsuuit0Eeo

Today Is ...

from husband Bill, March 3, 2026, at home

Today is National Cold Cuts Day. My favorite cold cut is known by several names: hot (spicy) capicola; also, capocollo; coppa; gabagool. Here is an online photo of it.

from husband Bill, March 3, 2026, at home

I do like Glühwein.

Subscribe?

March 2, 2026, at home

Should I subscribe to my YouTube channel?

Pie & Stuff

from husband Bill, March 2, 2026, at home

I prefer it with a graham cracker crust, chocolate pudding, and no whipped cream ... with sliced bananas, of course.

from husband Bill, March 2, 2026, at home

I certainly have a lot of that.

from husband Bill, March 2, 2026, at home

Poetry

I created and uploaded onto my YouTube channel an unrehearsed video about my experiences as a poet. (length: 8 minutes, 10 seconds) 

Poetry (March 1, 2026) 

https://youtu.be/lWafWnIB_J8?si=ItZ63Mo4Jp4SdmQz

March 1, 2026, at home

Today Is ...

from husband Bill, March 1, 2026, at home

I like apple compote from the Julius Meinl gourmet store in Vienna, Austria. (While I have been to that store several times, I have ordered it online.)

from husband Bill, March 1, 2026, at home

I have a necktie with paintings of pigs on it.

The inner voice that encourages you to be lazy is called your "innerer schweinehund" in German, which literally means "inner pig-dog."

from husband Bill, March 1, 2026, at home

I prefer extra crunchy.

from husband Bill, March 1, 2026, at home

Marietta's Birthday

Today (February 28, 2026), we remember my great-aunt Marietta (R.I.P.; my maternal grandfather Giuseppe's sister) on her birthday. Here is a photo of her on her 100th birthday in 2023.

at home

R.I.P. John Wheeler

R.I.P. John Wheeler (June 20, 1930 – February 6, 2026)

February 28, 2026, at home

Skyward

Look at the sky this evening (February 28, 2026). Planets align.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1482938446508060/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

Today Is ...

from husband Bill, February 28, 2026, at home

Yes, I did have a rare, potentially fatal disease in May 1977, when I was 16 years old: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I most probably caught it in the backyard of my house in West Islip, Long Island, New York, from either a tick bite or ingesting the feces of an infected tick or even by rubbing my eyes or in my nose with my infected finger.

• 1977 Cases/Trends: While 1977 saw the highest recorded annual total of RMSF cases in the United States at that time (1,153 cases), Long Island specifically was experiencing a significant increase in cases during the mid-1970s (1971–1976 study period).
• 1977 Fatalities: In 1977, the national case-fatality rate for RMSF was 4.9% (42 deaths out of 856 reported cases, based on surveillance reports often finalized a year later).
• Long Island Context: Data from 1971–1976 showed 124 cases in a six-year period on Long Island, with 8 deaths (6.4% case-fatality rate). In March 1977, reports indicated the disease was spreading on Long Island, and fatalities were being reported in the NYC area. 

from husband Bill, February 28, 2026, at home

Not often, but I have enjoyed chocolate soufflé.

from husband Bill, February 28, 2026, at home

When I was a young kid, I would cash in with the "Tooth Fairy." I then started saving my teeth in a small plastic tooth (with cotton) that once contained chewing gum. It was my idea, but I just realized the possibility of my parents agreeing with me so that they could save a few quarters. 😁 I no longer have that plastic tooth, but if I did, I wonder if I could have coaxed my mom into switching my baby teeth for the comparable number of quarters ... or even adjust the amount due to inflation. Maybe the statute of limitations is long gone. ... and I can't really prove that my mom or my dad was actually the Tooth Fairy.

from husband Bill, February 28, 2026, at home

Fendrich Videos

Today is my favorite pop singer's 71st birthday. Here are several links to Rainhard Fendrich music videos. I have been a fan since 1983, when I was 22 years old. He released his first album in 1980, and he is still recording albums and touring.

"Der Himmel würfelt leider nicht"  (1991) ... This is my favorite Fendrich song.

https://youtu.be/qOjp8DglkUM?si=vdwpsKWOV_uoedhn

"Es Lebe der Sport" (1982) ... This is the first song by Fendrich that I heard (in 1983).

https://youtu.be/7mF-h-wvhQI?si=k9u83TL-pJus4AsK

"I Am From Austria" (1989) ... This is Austria's unofficial national album.

https://youtu.be/Xi_8DB7zsD4?si=uPH5GShw9ujDf7xE

"Soy Tu Vida (...weil ich dein Leben bin)" (2004) ... duet with Carmen Jaime

https://youtu.be/CFoL1IqUJ5U?si=aIarVgWyw_H5MZQ0

"Angelina" (1993)

https://youtu.be/mCTNhvrTIRg?si=2i3LaicEjwsCJlLE

"Der Mensch ist wie er ist" (2010)

https://youtu.be/4mHF_q0VohU?si=gOMAY2Lb1_8VeaCl

"Schwarzoderweiss" (2016)

https://youtu.be/zIXuVth76AA?si=OmCaTzyUbkruLkoD