A Look Out the Window

 This is Scout, my kitty pal.  He's on the porch side of our kitchen window.  He can climb anywhere.

Actually, he's not really a kitten anymore.  He'll be one a week from now. That's our best guess for his birthday, and we're sticking to it.

I'm not a cat person, but I am a Scout person.  I've never had a cat want to be with me so much.

Personal Health

At 70, health can be like a game of whack-a-mole.

Diabetes? Bam! Under control! Blood pressure? Bam!  Better, but not teenager-like.  Weight? Bam? Lost about 30 lbs! Prostate biopsy due to slow rise in PSA? Bam! No cancer or abnormalities!

Arthritic flare-ups in feet, knees, and legs?  Bam! Went to a Rheumatologist in Valdosta and was prescribed a better medicine that has greatly reduced pain!  Enough where I can sit at the computer a little bit longer and write more!

Writing

Now I can return to The Strait Line more (now with over a million views!) and pursue some of my other writing projects.

For the second time, I am a runner-up in the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine's Mysterious Photograph contest. Maybe I should expand and try some other contests.

Future topics for the Strait Line:

President Talarico

Top 100 Sci-Fi Films of the 20th Century continued

More stories from the Kingdom (near-future flash fictions that extrapolate into a darker future if we allow fascism to continue to grow and thrive)

More stories from the Stony Land (adaptations from my father's research into my family's history of the Straits in America, going back 13 generations)

Stop! In the Name of Democracy! How to fix the happenings with the Supremes!

More Scout, Pixie, Alison, Benjamin, and Retta! 

Television and Movies

I finished Season 3 of The Diplomat last night.  You would think that, given my personality and interests, I would love more political series, but I am often drawn away from them because of their lack of realism.  With THe Diplomat it's not so much that's not realistic, it's thast it's sometimes amoral.  Even the lead characters commit subtrefuge that I'm shocked thatthey're willing to do that. The acting sometimes is a little stiff or overreaching.  It had enough good moments though, thast I will watch Season 4 when it comes out.

Alsion and I started Season 2 of THe Pitt last night.  It's very, very good, but both of us are squeamish during some of the surgery scenes, and we turn to each other and ask, "Why are we eatching this?"  It's compleeing characters and important social commentary - that's what gets us through.

Not much to say about movies, other than i am really looking forward to Supergril.

Sports

I'll just list my favorites.

MLS: Atlanta United

NWSL: Portland Thorns

MLB: Detroit Tigers

NBA: Detroit Pistons (in the playoffs! Woot! Woot!)

NHL: Detroit Red Wings

NCAA any sport: Michigan Wolverines (my alma mater)

Can anyone tell by this I grew up in Michigan?

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

AOC '28