Opinion

Live sports can be wildly entertaining, giving viewers lots of ups and downs to enjoy (or endure). That emotional roller coaster has made live sports, and football in particular, especially popular among television viewers. Data from Nielsen indicates that the National Football league was responsible for 45 of the 50 largest Nielsen-measured sports audiences in 2022. In fact, the top 32 events were all NFL games, with the 2021-22 College Football Playoff National Championship Game between Georgia and Alabama coming in at no. 33 among the year’s most watched sporting events. Even the thrilling World Cup Final between Argentina and France was no match within the United States for the NFL, garnering 22.32 million viewers. By comparison, that year’s Super Bowl between the Rams and Bengals attracted 99.18 million viewers. Curiously, despite baseball’s designation as “America’s pastime,” Major League Baseball did not have a single game place among the 50 most watched sporting events of 2022.

Everyone was so excited to be going to the beach; celebrating New Year’s there would be a first for us. However, no one was excited to be leaving at 5:00 AM on Friday. The one most feared to be late was a bit early, and we were all loaded up when the others arrived at our house. I had the car all warmed up, and we left at 5:20. We grabbed breakfast just outside of Memphis at a McDonald’s, taking turns to go in as the baby was sleeping soundly. We had a plan to make it to Mobile to have lunch at Wintzell’s Oyster House, famous for its raw oysters, and of course, the brightly painted signs with funny quips and quotes all over the walls. We arrived in their parking lot before anyone had perished away. It was well worth the wait as usual. The bread pudding was just as the waitress had said, divine! We talked about one at home and how she loves bread pudding, always ordering it when it is on the menu during our travels! Yes, we, of course, were all stuffed as we left. Sweet Thing took the wheel, driving us through the underwater tunnel and the rest of the way to our condo. We were all unpacked when the others had finally arrived. Of course, I was already tucked into bed; my new bedtime is 7:30—hey, I heard that! But I get up and start my day extremely early.

I asked Mike to send me a text to remind me of a couple of things. I don’t remember that last part...

I essentially stopped tuning in to national TV news some time ago; it’s all horrendous. Almost every day, I’ll take a quick look at internet news to see if the world is still revolving. Every single day, there are multiple reports of acts of animal cruelty from all parts of the U.S. and occasionally the UK and Australia too. I won’t elaborate on these acts as I don’t want to encourage “copycat” behavior. Many of them are horrendous and unconscionable, beyond how “normal” human beings would act. What possesses anyone to behave this way? Indeed, some of the terrible behavior can only be characterized as “demonic.” Here are some thoughts about the causes:

The month of January has been home to many historical events over the years. Here’s a look at some that helped to shape the world in January 1924.

When we first got married, I had a lot of nightmares. Over the years, Mike has learned how to calm me, rub my arm and gently talk me out of them. They have almost disappeared but I did have one last night. All I remember is screaming out, Mike patting the side of my head and then sticking his thumb in my left eye, saying “There, There. It’s ok.” He’s such a comforting soul...

I essentially stopped tuning in to national TV news some time ago because it’s all horrendous. Most days, I’ll quickly check internet news to see if the world is still revolving. Every single day, there are multiple reports of acts of animal cruelty from all parts of the U.S. and occasionally the UK and Australia too. I won’t elaborate on these acts as I don’t want to cause “copycat” behavior. Many of them are horrendous and unconscionable, beyond how “normal” human beings would act. What possesses anyone to behave this way? Indeed, some of the terrible behavior can only be characterized as “demonic.” Here are some thoughts about the causes: