Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

~ John W. Howell

 

“You know I’m going to miss this old grass.”
“Please. The new is so much better.”
“We have a lot of memories together.”
“You’re killing me.”

Here we are rounding third base heading for home on the week. The weekend is almost upon us. It might be a good time to change into something more comfortable and relax. (Hahahaha. quarantine humor ) I don’t know about you, but I’m having a difficult time selecting something to wear. It doesn’t make sense to spend time on putting on something no one, but your cellmate will see. So the choices boil down to shorts and a t-shirt. I do get a different color for each day. I know, I know a bit OCD of me. Let’s put it this way; if I didn’t select a different color each day after a week, I would have to burn what I wore the last seven days. So my color choices are a rotation device. How did I get on this subject anyway?

If you have stopped by on Thursday, you know that the new grass installation has begun. We are replacing St. Augustine with Zorro Zoysia. We need a lawn that will stand up to the thundering paws of Lucy and Twiggy. We also need some shade tolerance and grass that can sustain a certain level of minimum watering. St Augustine is none of the things. We had counted on our landscaper to install something to meet our needs, but he chose the wrong grass. He is replacing the severely damaged part, but we are buying the new sod needed to complete the yard. It didn’t make sense to have two types of grass or fair to make him pay for the part that is somewhat okay.

I still have concerns about opening the economy too soon. I can understand the need to get the country back to work, but I hope folks have learned a self-protection process and will follow it. There is so little we know about the spread of COVID-19, and no widespread testing available, I think it will be up to the individual to stay safe. Today’s JohnKu talks about individual responsibility. I hope you all have a super weekend.

Individual Responsibility by John W. Howell © 2020

We need protection,
From those supposed leaders . . .
Make our own choices.

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Published by John W. Howell

I have been working in business for over forty years and now have the time to work in special areas of interest. My passion has always been to create compelling stories of fiction. I have authored six novels and am working on my Seventh. The first novel is still in manuscript form and being utilized as a door stop in the laundry room. The second is a contemporary fiction novel of 89,000 words and is complete and I am currently seeking a publisher. I also write poetry but have not had the guts to share any with anyone. The one time I read a piece to a person their only comment was, “it doesn’t rhyme.” I will continue to write and hopefully my blog, Fiction Favorites at www.johnwhowell.com will provide some entertainment and an interesting thought or two. I live in the Austin area with my wife Molly and an assortment of loving pets.

86 thoughts on “Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF”

    1. Yeah. I’m not going to be travelling anytime soon for sure. Old guy like me would be crazy to get on a germ infested airplane. Come to think about it anyone would be crazy to get on a germ infested airplane. Have a super weekend, VR.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. I had to laugh about the clothes, John. I’ve been sending my mother daily videos so she doesn’t forget me. Last week, I realized for several days in a row, I wore the same t-shirt. 🙂 Enjoy the new grass, no doubt Lucy and Twiggy will do a great job breaking it in. Happy Friday!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I think we would all wear the sme thing simply because that is one less thing to worry about. Twiggy and Lucy are enjoying the lawn for sure. I’m really sorry you can’t get together with your mom on Friday’s. The video idea is a great one. I hope you have a super day. See you tomorrow.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. I’m with you on the self-protection. I am so unhappy at places opening up too soon; it puts so many people in danger. In the UK, we’ve been told to expect some form of restriction/distancing until the end of the year. Being in the vulnerable group, that’s both depressing and makes me feel a lot safer.

    Love the colour-coded clothes thing! Have a good weekend and best of luck with the new lawn, John 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Choosing clothes has definitely taken on a weird tradition. It’s still too chilly here for shorts, but I’m mostly on chats with only my upper half seen. My lone pair of sweatpants has been earning its keep. Plus side, not as much laundry to do these days.

    I’m really nervous about places opening up too soon. I’m sure many people will take it as a sign things are over and rush out with no protection. We have a ‘mask required’ order here, but people are still grocery shopping without.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. I’ve had a few online debates with those types. Many feel that they are protecting the rights of others and this is overblown. There’s also a sense of ‘I am not at risk, so why should I stay inside?’ mentality.

        Liked by 2 people

  8. The new grass looks positively lush, John. I hope it works out where the other failed
    Excellent JohnKu. I,m with you on the fear of opening too quickly.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Yes. let’s hope the new works. The ols was a pain and a constant sourse of mud. Too soon is something we need to worry about. I have my personal protection routine, so I’m going to continue with it. Have a super weekend, Dale..

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Ugh. No one wants mud.
        Yeah. Here in Quebec, the premier is planning on sharing a potential reintegration plan next week. Half the cases in Canada are in Quebec. Take it easy!!
        Have a fab weekend yourself!

        Liked by 2 people

  9. Ha! That sounds like me, before I had to stop working. Did you know that many cultures have color correspondences for days of the week? About 20 years ago I picked one set, and that made it so much easier for me to get ready for work. (At least after I had all the colors in my closet!) I don’t really have enough “at home” clothes to do that, but maybe I should invest. It entertained me to do that. Have a fabulous Friday, John. Hugs on the wing!

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thank you, Teagan. When I was working I had white shirts and dark grey, blue or black suits. All I had to do was decide on the tie. I would pull a suit from the right and put back on the left. The ties then became the only creative decision. Have a great weekend. Hugs

      Liked by 2 people

  10. I’m so glad for your Johnkus — were it not for them, I’m not sure I’d know when Friday had arrived — and that was true before the stay-at-home routine arrived. I didn’t realize how poorly the grass had done until I saw this photo, and the comparison. Good luck with the next batch!

    Liked by 2 people

  11. Guess I’m kind of on a clothing rotation also, John – noticed I was folding the same things every few days when doing laundry, lol. Hope this new sod works better with those thundering paws.

    Liked by 2 people

  12. Should it be called re-opening the country ? Or re-crashing the ER ? We have not proven we can keep those two things separated. And personally I do not want to be one of those persons who whispers or gasps ‘Hi we are back !’ to the ER staff. As Hook would say ‘Bad form Peter !’

    Liked by 2 people

  13. If only everyone followed your lead, John. Assess the problem, assign and accept responsibility and work together toward a fair solution.

    Stay safe. Frolic when you can (maybe just Lucy & Twiggy) and enjoy the weekend.

    BTW. I started wearing my team gear. They might not be playing baseball, but I’m still a Pirates fan.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I have a pirates cap. The real deal. Maybe I’ll wear mine too. We are going on a trip to the backyard tomorrow. All packed and ready to go. The sod guys are supposed to be here today but you never know about them. Have a super weekend , Dan.

      Liked by 2 people

  15. The contrast between those two types of grass is amazing. Here, we have Kentucky Bluegrass, which makes for a lush, green lawn (when the weather cooperates!). I’m like everybody else, eager for things to reopen yet cautious about doing so too early. What a conundrum, huh?! Hang in there, John, and enjoy the coming weekend.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. I remember Rick planting Zoysia grass and it worked well, even in West Texas, so I think it will do great in your climate. It is such a pretty vibrant green! I agree about the need to trust our own intelligence and gut feeling to protect ourselves against this silent enemy. We certainly cannot rely on our supposed leaders. Stay well and safe! What is today’s color? 🙂

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  18. Much of the decision to reopen the economy is based on models and that concerns me because there are two types of models. The purpose of one is to scientifically predict future outcomes and the other is to scare the s**t out of the population to motivate them to act. The problem come when we confuse one with the other.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Years ago, I was on an IT team rewriting the pension system for the American Lutheran Church. At the kickoff meeting, the CFO turned to the church’s counsel and pointing to the legal document that defined the pension plan, said, “tell us what it says.”

        The counsel replied, “I am a lawyer, tell me what you want it to say.”

        Many years later while interviewing candidates for a data analysis and modeling position for the Minnesota Dept of Public Safety, one of our stock questions was to ask the future modeler about their approach. Most of our candidates were from the U of Minnesota Humphrey Institute or the Sociology department and to a person, their approach was, [I paraphrase] “I find out what management wants, then make the data say that.”

        Like they say, All models are wrong, but some are useful….but never mistake them for reality.

        Liked by 1 person

  19. Happy Friday, John! I’m with you on the clothes issue. I tried “dressing for work” a couple of times but it seemed to add to my stress. I don’t have the bandwidth for video meetings so what’s the point? So the way I dress enables me to work, practice yoga or go for a walk without changing. Means less laundry too 😉 My husband went grocery shopping yesterday and was appalled at how many people were not wearing masks. Too many people in my county act like we never even closed 🤷🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ Have a great weekend, John, and enjoy that new grass!

    Liked by 1 person

  20. I liked the humor in this post, John. I’m going to wait and see what happens for all those people who stick their noes out near others before I attempt to do so. Any time I go out requires a stretcher now as there’s no lift and forty-three steps. Before this Coronavirus, I was considering selling my flat and buying another one with a lift but for now, I’m stuck and making the best of it. Take care and have a good weekend. 🙂 — Suzanne

    Liked by 1 person

  23. I am very nervous about the country opening up too soon. People don’t seem to understand that precautions still have to be taken. For example, Georgia opened it’s beaches – did people stay apart – No, of course not. The few are going to ruin it for everyone else. IMO

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Are you in St. Augustine Florida? I stopped there on my trip back from Florida a few weeks back but it was right when the virus started and everything was pretty much closed already.

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Good luck with the new sod. Critical time getting it to take now before the pounding heat arrives. There is no limit to stupidity, and sometimes those people get responsibility they shouldn’t have. Stay safe.

    Liked by 1 person

  27. We aren’t really masking in Idaho. People do seem to be keeping a respectable distance, though. We weren’t hit as hard as some areas, but Blaine County was one of the worst in the nation if you look at percentages. Glad that’s not where we live. The sod project is looking good, and it’s nice to have something positive to focus on.

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