Marc Allen Ripley

 November 2, 2025

Michael and I received the sad news today that his nephew Marc passed away on October 15th. We don't have a lot of information but not surprisingly, he overdosed. I met Marc in 1968, when I am guessing he was about ten. He was a clever kid - a  little Macgyver, as I recall. And he grew up to be a charismatic adult. He lived with Michael and me for about a year when he was in his teens and I always enjoyed my time with him. Over time, he became addicted to drugs and was never able to kick his addiction. I believe the last time I saw him was at a Christmas gathering in 2017. His mother, Joann, had recently returned to Honolulu, after living several years in Florida, and invited us to her condo in Hawaii Kai for dinner. It was a lovely dinner but little did we know that it would be her last Christmas. Joann was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer three days later, and passed away in September 2018.  I miss them and remember with fondness the moments I spent with them. They had a impact on my life. Hang loose and wear lipstick...  And it has occurred to me that today is All Souls' Day.

November 2025

 "My November Guest"

By Robert Frost

My sorrow, when she's here with me,

Thinks these dark days of autumn rain

Are beautiful as days can be;

She loves the bare, the withered tree;

She walks the sodden pasture lane.

Her pleasure will not let me stay.

She talks and I am fain to list:

She's glad the birds are gone away,

She's glad her simple worsted grey

Is silver now with clinging mist.

The desolate, deserted trees,

The faded earth, the heavy sky,

The beauties she so truly sees,

She thinks I have no eye for these,

And vexes me for reason why.

Not yesterday I learned to know

The love of bare November davs

Before the coming of the snow,

But it were vain to tell her so,

16€ And they are belter for her praise.

Coaching again

 For the last 2 months I've been coaching Rowing again. Kit Bennet the Head Coach at Skyline(former assistant of mine from 20 years ago) asked if I would like to help out as he was short on coaches at the time.  I struggled with the idea of commitment since I haven't done anything since retiring 10 years ago. It has been a roller coaster for me. Times when I felt connected and other times dissatisfied with my role. Anyway all in all I would probably say it was good for me to get out and do something again.

A quote from Sugar, "Often when you think you are at the end of something, you are at the beginning of something else."

Fr. 02.14.2025

Snow blankets the ground 

The sun peaks thru wispy clouds 

A dullness seems too prevail 

The humming sound sits behind my ears 

And oriental grasses softly flutter

Birthday refrain

Grey clouds blanket the sky

a saxophone plays a slow refrain

a stillness pervades my sole

slowly the the vain turns south and hangs there

El Tapatio

gracias por dejarme ir a El Tapatio. Mucho Gracious

The Year of the Snake

 Beginning of Spring

Key reasons for different interpretations despite the same facts:

 Even when presented with the same facts, two interpretations can arise due to differences in individual perspectives, biases, prior knowledge, cultural backgrounds, and how people choose to weigh and prioritize certain aspects of the information, essentially leading to different conclusions drawn from the same data set. 

From Sugars Blog

 "Winter hung in there, like an invalid refusing to die. Day after grey day the ice stayed hard; the world remained unfriendly and cold.” ― Neil Gaiman

Sub Zero Day

 EXTREME COLD WARNING

Extreme Cold Alert

Today L is 3 degrees, the H is 10 degrees