This in, since bars and restaurants and music clubs in the area are “banding” together to help those most in need, and that’s saying a lot these days, even if its just the current thing to do. The war in the Ukraine yields this pronouncement, as the ultimate benefit event. Bring the trapped-there child Emmakay home, and I’m writing this at the same time as hearing while doing streaming, Dio belt out — and not screaming — and extend the word “home.” How? Buy a $5 flag of the besieged country, and consider doing two, then get a free drink from Dick’s Bar, home of the claim of being the oldest bar in Wisconsin — and in a twist of timing just found a man who I’m guessing must be from Minnesota taking a selfie that was pointed the wrong way and encompassing the sign that says so — and so Minnesconsin meets the Ukraine. For little Emmakay, even after finding her way from a sorta safe haven in an underground subway with bombs going off above it, that was a temporary “home,” to the initial depot, there’d be multiple bus trips taking in multiple countries. And even then, needs that include short-term and long-term housing once here will continue. Though not even a teenager she has seen the horrors of war, although the thought is still there to get back to the many interests and ones she loves. But does all this smack of the bombs bursting in air and their red glare, and a flag that was still there?
And it’s also out there in the media, mostly in columns, and not in just one place … “Not to make light of an intense moment.” Or more than one moment. But since these moments can’t be ranked — its personal for who all of us are — and build through time, one needs to bring about say a pound of light (if only) through laughter, even if it gets there through an ounce of darkness. But don’t make it more. And be careful about the way you lyrically/comedically/satirically dress it up to reach the light.
So these days, in our country that all is about materialism and only goes out there to fix the world if there is something in it for us, there are — and here I go — so much more important things right now then getting your Chicken Kiev. War and as part of that supply chains and more such factors. And (get it) at a great price, so we can later buy more.
— For more such silliness, the rule of threes times four, see if you can answer the question posed, in Where Did You See It? —
Satire of a more serious note:
Someone in my family made this suggestion to end the war and its not necessarily diplomacy: Throw several million dollars or more, if needed, the way of the Russian Mafia (note the caps) and have them take out Putin covertly. I’d thought, dare I say this, the same route could easily have been taken with Saddam Hussain and/or Osama bin Laden, as we must have the capability, with our Intelligence, (although they did miss on Weapons of Mass Destruction). No other deaths would be needed, but he likely had his handlers too. They, spoiler alert, could have gotten in the way, or taken a bullet for him.
And on an analytical note:
One has to wonder, couldn’t portions of the Ukrainian populace be airlifted out, was as done last year? It could be noted that The Ukraine is a bit less spread out in overall population, but has more people in a larger number of big cities, so you would have to be residing in just the right location, even though it would seem there are more airports in the Ukraine. So no concentration around just one from which to serve an evacuation.
In the longterm, the Ukraine population is projected to trend around 41.46 Million in 2022, according to econometric models. The population of Ukraine represents 0.66 percent of the world´s total population which arguably means that one person in every 153 people on the planet is a resident of Ukraine.
Or was, after all the deaths caused by Russian flights and the refugee flight to leave it.
There are almost 40 million people, it turns out, in Afghanistan, and about 252,000 square miles. Even The Ukraine is less than 500 miles each way if square, but still it can be a long way to Poland. A trek from the Boundary Waters to the Twin Cities pales by comparison. Russia obviously is many times bigger than both together, and has 144 million people. So, the fact that soon after the last flight left Kabul, I saw a virtual caravan of jeeps taking refugees across Wisconsin to Fort McCoy, near its midpoint …
Stats to consider when there was only the one airport to take people out of Afghanistan, but what about the second when you did not hear about — but it was on the other end of town that was getting rural.
(I was writing this and listening, just by chance, to The Levee, which will soon break, by Led Zep. Could require another major Exodus, and we are not talking about rushing the stage at a concert by the death metal band. Lyrics comment on such a levee were given at length, like usual, by Vin and Sori on their channel — which I highly recommend — and included an important double meaning).
And of all these calamities of war and disease, a president such as Biden could not be faulted for dealing with the virus, since he did not create it, or with Putin or even Rasputin, since he did not procreate them, or the Afghanistan situation, since he did not start it.
Back to Dick’s and diplomacy and its dates, the art was shown by one of the bouncers a short time ago who stepped between a few feuding Twin Citians sporting an upbeat attitude and a sense of common ground, and in short order got them smiling like a moose and slapping each others’ backs. Don’t know just what he said that was so effective in simply seconds, but it was sad and sweet and I knew it complete when I wore a younger man’s clothes.