Ehlana and Ethan:
Happy 13th Birthday, Zack!
Zack’s birthday is a top family story today, but for Ethan and me; the departures of our grandparents, Cassie, and Michael were a bigger impact – even though we weren’t up that early to see them off toward the airport – and their flight times were close enough that they left town within a half hour of each other; and they got to say a final goodbye once at the airport. Grandma and Grandpa had the much-shorter trip to Arizona, and Cassie and Michael won’t get to Libraville, Gabon until tomorrow, but they’ve fit in some bonus fun with a stop in Washington D.C. where they had a visit with Serena and Shayne before the overnight flight to Lome, Togo. They’ll have a hop-flight from there to Libraville; and then they’ll get started right away on their work. We’ll have more on Cassie and Michael’s adventures as they work their way across Africa and then back again through the central region, but before we move on; let’s add that Grandma and Grandpa have family and friends joining them in Arizona today or this week – including Grandpa Duncan and Grandma Mercy and Grandpa Richard and Grandma Carrie. They have more fun getting to enjoy the sunny south together; and we’ll be jealous once we get past these last hot days and head back into the ‘normal’ fall weather around here.
That wasn’t an issue today, since the high was in the nineties again; we had bonus outdoor time beyond our practices this afternoon and Tai Chi by the river this morning; and we loved getting to be outside when we know it really is going to feel very cold by the end of the week compared to the nineties; since we could be down to a high in the fifties by Friday if the forecast holds true. Ethan and I definitely had fun all day; we moved on to Zack’s birthday dinner after the practices; and he’d picked Pizzeria pizza and finger food sides for that meal. Naomi and Aiden were with us for that meal; we only helped with the clean-up; and then Ethan and I headed for the lab or archives because this will be the only day we’ll be able to work there for the rest of the week. We used time phasing to get more work done, but that’s helped to make this a very long day; and now we’re tired and ready to get some sleep soon. We came home at eleven o’clock; did a quick visit with Mom and Dad; and then it was Jacuzzi time for me while Ethan opted for a shower and he then took care of most of our computer checks and shared the info with me telepathically. Now we’re winding down fast; so let’s get to the world news of the day.
The Ukraine ‘energy ceasefire’ seems to be off before it started; so that war continues with no changes other than maybe even more intensification. In the Middle East, the biggest non-stories are happening behind the scenes as Israel continues their attacks in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, and Lebanon while the world is distracted by the fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. We still keep track, though, and know that they are doing evil as-bad or worse than anything else happening in the Middle East or Ukraine. Ansar Allah continues to attack Saudi infrastructure; and we’re all waiting to find out how much firepower will be brought against them if Saudi Arabia gets enough help to actually stop the attacks and advances being made in Yemen. Let’s not skip the problems with Iran; since they are still around and continuing to choose most of the ships that are or aren’t allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. They are certainly preparing for another escalation and return to the fighting and air attacks; and we really hope that doesn’t happen; since we already have enough trouble in the world without making everything worse.
As always, we could cover a lot of other stories, but for tonight; we’re going to point out that while there are so many terrible stories out there from the wars to the natural disasters and aftermaths of earthquakes, hurricanes, and more; we see more written about distraction stories that today ranged from raiding the home of a congresswoman to market fluctuations that are just the new-normal and meaningless for most people. We really wish that there could be nothing but happy world news stories, but ignoring the realities of the world is a recipe for disaster.
That is enough for this report, so we will stop there; call it a night; and go get some sleep while we can.
Until next time, live with love, fellow Magi of the Light!
