The Greatest
Man seeking farrier
<Topics>Friendship, Time, Happiness
James Webb Telescope Update
Frequent readers know that I am inspired by space exploration as described in “JWST”. By the time you read this, the telescope has arrived at its destination and is orbiting L2 as designed. Soon the mirrors will be tuned to remarkable precision. Each of them was previously moved about 1/2” from parked positions. Over the next few months, the 18 mirrors will be adjusted in curvature and depth in nanometers at a time for that perfect picture. Each of the eighteen mirrors can be moved and flexed with individual controls.
The Inspiration
Today, my post is inspired by one of my cousins “P” and his brother “G”. When I was a young boy, their Dad (my uncle) was a colorful and engaging man and quite a storyteller. One of his favorite ‘trap questions’, always said within earshot of his siblings would be to give my brothers and me some small gift and then ask “Who’s your favorite Uncle?”. I think his approach worked every time.
The Setup
When my boys (three of them) were young, they might occasionally ask “Who is your favorite?”. My answer was always ‘The three of you are tied for first!’. In recent years, my cousin “P” has been a blast to get reconnected with. I would not say he is my favorite cousin, but I will go as far as saying he is tied for first. I wrote about visiting “P” and his wife back in September of 2021 in an early post titled “The Happiest Place on Earth”. “P” is retired and enjoys a steady diet of operating his hobby farm.
He manages an extensive garden with his wife “M” and tends toward the nurturing of the exotic including HUNDREDS of heads of garlic, wild horseradish, and even a recent experiment growing Cucuzza squash. I am afraid it is left to “M” to figure out how to utilize, distribute within the family, or barter with neighbors the excess crop. When I arrived for my visit, there was enough garlic hanging in the garage to fend off a legion of vampires. Ideas germinate into discussions (he claims the inspiration comes while mowing) and then tentative plans. Once a tentative plan emerges, I would imagine there is little sense trying to reason with “P” with such thoughts “Do you think we need to do that?”. It seems “P” loves to try new things and I am fortunate to be part of the banter of the developing plans.
During my stay, I got a tour of the property along with the detailed justification for every piece of equipment, why it is needed, how it gets used, and of course its maintenance schedule. “P” is a person who exudes excitement about many topics. While we differ in other ways, I think this is perhaps a trait I share with my cousin.
The Details
Finally, we are brought to the question and topic for the day. Open-ended opinion of sports is a fun way to engage a crowd. Who is the most dominant individual athlete in history? The range of answers amongst my readership might include (1) who cares, (2) that’s easy, it’s ‘insert favorite’, or (3) I wonder where Mark is going with this?
Mark thinks the answer is Alan Francis. How is this even peripherally connected to today’s post? One of my cousin “P”s myriad projects is a nicely tended horseshoe pit. It seems on a recent trip, his brother “G” emerged as the champion horseshoe player. I am unsure whether he has chosen to defend his title or merely retired undefeated. This morning on the treadmill I stumbled upon this podcast. I only recommend it for the earnest. All of that said, I believe that you will enjoy the podcast. We never know what will be interesting unless we give it a try. My cousin “P” grew a bumper crop of Cucuzza (a Sicilian squash) because of the willingness to scratch the itch.
Alan Francis, it turns out is dominant in horseshoes. What is dominant? Alan has been winning world championships since the age of 12. He won four junior world championships and since the age of 18 has won 25 world championships. For those of us who might only play horseshoes on the 4th of July or Memorial Day, Alan manages a ringer 7/8 times he throws a shoe. His ringer percentage far exceeds ANYONE else. When Alan loses a horseshoe tournament, it is a big upset. Since you can play horseshoes at a competitive level well into your 50s, it is likely he will win at least 30 world championships before he hangs up the shoes.
For those of you foaming at the mouth and screaming (in alphabetical order for the strongly opinionated) Simone Biles, Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps, Serena Williams, or Eldridge “Tiger” Woods please return to my actual QUESTION. We can all get tripped up because we fail to LISTEN.
So what is today’s post REALLY ABOUT? I think that being inquisitive and being open to learning new things is one of the most important things about being human. If that is something you agree with (or at least are willing to consider), I recommend that you gravitate to others who are like-minded. I love the expression ‘If you want to know what someone is like, pay attention to how they spend their time and with who’. For me, my cousin “P” is one of those people, and the world is a better place because I now choose to spend time with him, even if only over a wire. During my in-season Dolan Football Chats, his brother “G” joins in and they entertain as only brothers can do. I can only hope that he feels the same way about spending time with me.
For frequent readers, you may realize I love sneaking in fun words and puns as I can. A farrier is a person who tends to horses and the photo is a horseshoe crab. Here’s a song for tonight from one of the most talented and prolific songwriters I know. The album is considered one of the very best ever. Here is another song for luck (lucky horseshoe?).