House For Sale
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Zion’s Red Rock Lichen
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Wordle in 4
This week saw the demise of the Washington Post. Democracy died not in darkness, but in yesterday’s morning light, when a sizable portion of the paper’s staff was laid off. I promptly again re-cancelled my subscription. My on again, off again, love, hate relationship with this paper has been on the rocks ever since its owner, Jeff Bezos, turned traitor and trump suck up last year. I had canceled the paper before but was lured back again when it appeared that my worst fears might not be realized. I was wrong and will not be back again.
The Post had long been on the rocks. Its 2013 sale to Bezos was only the first indicator of this difficulty. Back in 2016, when Trump was first elected, I rushed to subscribe to both the Washington Post and the New York Times. It was my way of showing solidarity with the resistance. Both papers enjoyed a renaissance then, but the Post’s comeback was squandered. Not so the Times. It was able to diversify into of all things, games. Who knew that five letters are all that it took.
It just had to be the right five letters. This week, the New Yorker had a funny Wordle themed piece, Murder Most Wordle. That and Anne’s announcement this morning that she had gotten Wordle in four was all it took for the genesis of this post. This got me thinking, what is the most perfect Wordle score? Certainly not one that is just dumb luck. Likewise, two is simply luck adjacent. Conversely, six implies luck of a different kind. Like you were finally able to guess which was the right five-letter word that matched the four letters you already had. As with two so it is with five. Signifying slightly more luck than otherwise. That just leaves three and four. With three there is still the air of privilege hanging about it. You were a little bit lucky with your first guess, plus a guiding angel helped steer you quickly to the correct answer. Still, it was mainly on you, and you should be proud of your score. But with four, you have proven yourself on your own. With a little bit of luck, luck is always a part of this game, intelligence and some patience, you were able to able to pilot your game safely for the win.
In our after-game discussion Anne shared with me her Wordle wins distribution. With almost fourteen hundred wins, she is currently batting 97%. A lot more impressive than I would be, if I ever played. I still use the Times for news and cooking. Don’t forget about cooking. I am currently trying to ripen some persimmons for Saturday’s potluck. Anyway, Anne is a solid four, by far and away. That is what I love about her. She is both patient and smart and I am very lucky that she loves me too. At least that is my best fourth guess.
Zion Canyon Overlook
Active Aging
Today, we went to the Heights, our local community / fitness center. Anne decided that it was time for us to take advantage of our Silver Sneakers subscription, which we get through Medicare. We have used it some in the past and this looks like a good opportunity to get some more use out of it. To this end, we decided to take a fitness class. The first indication that this pursuit might be a thing was the parking lot, which was nearly full on a Wednesday morning. Our class was a major contributor to this situation. It was standing room only in the chair exercise class. The count of participants was forty-five. For an hour, we were led through a series of exercises designed improve our fitness. Our Gyro instructor is on vacation this week, but we will add one of these classes to the regular rotation. At least until we next skip town.
Delicate Arch
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Meskerem
Yesterday after visiting the gardens, we went to the Ethiopian restaurant Meskerem on South Grand. There we enjoyed its excellent and authentic traditional Ethiopian cuisine. This restaurant is named after the first month of the Ethiopian calendar. It is the most favored month in Ethiopia because it ends the three month long rainy season and begins a new year marked by sunny and pleasant weather. Meskerem is a symbol of new beginning, new life, joy and renewal of hope for all people.
Anne ordered their Yebege Alecha Wat. Tender pieces of lamb marinated with Ethiopian spiced butter then sautéed with ginger, garlic, and curry. I had Tibs N’ Quosta, sautéed beef mixed with Quosta (spinach slowly simmered with onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes), onions and green peppers. Both dishes were served on two-foot diameter plates, lined with injera, a sour fermented pancake-like flatbread with a slightly spongy texture, made with teff flour.
Anne also ordered a spiced tea, and I had their Ethiopian coffee, which was served with burning incense. We have experience with Ethiopian coffee from our Team Kaldi’s days. Kaldi was the legendary Ethiopian shepherd who first discovered coffee, when he noticed that goats who ate the berries from this one plant were energized and began prancing and dancing up the mountainside.
Traditionally, Ethiopia was Christian as the pictured iconography implies, with Judo-Christian ties dating back to Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Ethiopia is still home to many ancient Christian sites. We found our brief afternoon visit with their culture delightful and look forward to returning.
