Saturday, August 29, 2026

Saturday, August 29, 2026

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2002. Mattie was four months old and though he looked like he was sitting in his stroller, he wasn't! Mattie was in his faithful car seat which I popped into the stroller. When I tell you we bought about three different strollers, I am not kidding! Regardless of the shape or type of stroller, Mattie hated all of them. But his car seat, he loved! I honestly do not know what I would have done without his car seat. Mattie ate in it and he even loved sleeping in it at night! 

Quote of the day: Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you haven’t really learned anything. ~ Muhammad Ali

This morning, I was sitting down at our breakfast table and I could hear someone was at my front door. It was my graduate school friend, Mary Ann. I have known Mary Ann for decades and we have been through many ups and downs with each other. Yet both of us are the kind of person who would never walk away from a friend. 

Mary Ann and I faithfully watch Lexington Scoop Co, which is a viral digital content channel that creates humorous, AI-generated mock interviews and satirical comedy series starring talking cats and dogs. Ironically I was introduced to this series by my friend in England. Yes it took someone across the pond to introduce something to me happening in the USA. I then introduced the series to Mary Ann. 

The cats in the series are true characters! Almost human like with bold personalities, clothing, clever names (such as Mittens Malone, Slick Sal, Bella Biscuit Bottom), and dialogue. In any case, whenever someone asks me who my favorite cat in the series is, my response is Ronnie. Ronnie is in essence a tough guy. He is a born leader, he's bold, and gets into trouble. But he always finds a way out! My friend in England is stunned that I relate to Ronnie, because Ronnie and I are like night and day. I follow the rules and the law.... unlike my pal Ronnie. Yet as I say all the time.... there is an inner Ronnie inside of me. 

Any case, today, Mary Ann surprised me with my own Ronnie (who is a "local problem" in his NYC alley) mug! I absolutely love it, because Mary Ann knows I could use a Ronnie in my life to manage several of my problems! 

We were having such a good time chatting, that we went out to lunch together today. Mary Ann was excellent stimulation for my parents, as there is so much I can do each and every day and now Mary Ann has experienced our Saturday hang out at the diner. 

Here is a video from LexingtonScoopCo. Within this video, you will see Ronnie and some of the cats. Just to put this into context, these cat supposedly live in a NYC alley. Leading up to the episode below, the cats found a placemat from a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in the NYC alley. However, the cats believe the placemat is a treasure map. They were determined to find the treasure from this map and therefore tracked down a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant and headed inside to find the actual treasure! It is a light hearted and fun series and given the nature of our world today, levity and fun are greatly needed!