First Sunday 2021

It's 3am. No, not now as you read this, but now as I write this. 

I woke up and got my day going at 1am. At 1:30am I heard the rain begin. It didn't rain yesterday but it seems like it rained for a week prior to yesterday, and now it's doing it again. The forecasters say today will be the last rainy day for a while. It will be nice to see the sun again.

There's a new law in my state (Virginia). As of January 1, drivers can be stopped and ticketed for having a cell phone in their hand. They don't have to be talking or texting. All that's required is holding a cell phone. For drivers, a mobile phone is the Forbidden Object. I guess people are tired of distracted drivers on cell phones crashing into other drivers and killing or maiming them, so the state's General Assembly has taken the nuclear option. You can still use a cell phone for music or navigation, and even for talking, but you have to set it up before you start driving. I predict crashes will increase rather than decrease, because drivers will not only still be talking and texting, but now the indifferent driver will be looking around for police cars as well as looking down at the phone that is now in his/her lap.

There are many other new laws effective January 1. The state's minimum wage, currently $7.25/hr, goes to $9.50/hr and will continue to increase each year until reaching $15/hr in 2026 (if the 2024 General Assembly approves). Attention Virginians: you see what happens when you elect Democrats to the General Assembly? Before you know it, hourly workers are making enough money to live on! Fortunately, the state sells lottery tickets so people with excess cash have a way to get rid of it.

I have a friend who has a lady friend who gambles. Over the last several years she won about $56,000 at a casino called Rosie's. She paid taxes (I assume) on her winnings. And what did she do with the remainder of her winnings? She gambled it away—all of it—at Rosie's. Such is the life of the dedicated gambler.

I made a New Year's resolution of sorts: to do more toward straightening up my house, getting more exercise, eating healthier. Why are these things so difficult? Typically, my New Year's resolutions last about three days. And then? 

"What do you mean, frozen pizza isn't a health food?!" 

"What do you mean, two liters of soda every day isn't healthy?"

"A can of Beanee Weenees is too considered a health food. Isn't it?"

I don't want to overdo my health regimen. If I wanted to go nuts about exercise, I'd be washing my dishes every day. It feels like exercise when I'm doing it.

It's still dark. It's still raining. The temperature is rising; it's already 45° outside. (Today's high is supposed to be 48°.) I am thinking of gathering all the cardboard from my recycling container and setting fire to it (the cardboard, not the container) in my fireplace. I'll watch the flames for a while, then I'll go back to bed. Today is Sunday and everyone knows Sunday is a day of rest. By Divine law, I am not permitted to do anything today that might resemble work. I think it's okay if the microwave oven works for me. I have frozen health food in my freezer that needs defrosting. For example, I have frozen sausage and egg and cheese croissants. See that—if it were a biscuit it would be unhealthy junk food, but just by giving it a French name it even sounds healthy. Bon appétit!

It's raining really hard now.