Covid19 Spare time

Grumpy Bear · January 27, 2021

The game of Chess is a place where I get to experience a pure sense of self.

It's a game that will educate you on your capacity for humility. About 25 years ago I played the same fellow, Sal, over the course of several years a total tally of 2,000 matches. He was a local high school chess coach and played at the national level in college. No idea what his exact ranking was but it was certainly better than mine. I played him to a draw 1 time, beat him 2 times and lost 1,997 times. Yet I rarely lost a game in my local circle.

This fellow at the peak of his ability played a Dutch Grand Master in an exhibition at the University of New Mexico where he had played during his college years with eleven others. It was my understanding that this dozen was invited as their ratings were over 1700. Sal would relate this story as this Master attempting to light his pipe for the entire 20 minutes it took him to defeat them all. Said he looked absolutely ambivalent. Annoyed that the game was preventing him from keeping his pipe lit.

The once we drew my heart was pounding like a jackhammer. The two times I beat Sal I swear I could see the entire board in a way that is not normal from me to experience it; a very heightened sense of total awareness. Sal sees the board like this every time he plays. Imagine what this Grand Master saw!

Pondering that a bit I play like a blind man with half his wits Yet in a local theater it's difficult to find a solid challenge.

About the time your thinking you're a somebody you find out that not only are you are nobody, but positively nobody.

Humility check

Donstar · January 28, 2021

Your story reflects positively on you as a person. You continued to play chess with someone even though you knew you'd likely lose. I remember the first time my grandson "lost" to me in a game of Checkers. I thought a loss would help him to pay closer attention but it opened up the need for a much more important game. (Humility check) My grandparenting skills were challenged when he reported he didn't want to play checkers with me anymore. Fast forward ten years and he now loves to play games, including checkers, with me. I am particularly proud when he coaches me through some successful moments on his turf - video games. I'm all for supporting and encouraging "participation" but not comforting a sorer loser. My parents set high expectations but always gave me full credit for "trying". I credit them for giving me the courage to compete for some pretty significant job postings. Each "failure" helped me focus and do better at my next attempt. Covid19 Spare time has provided a regularly scheduled zoom meeting between me and the grandkids. Your story will be part of my "monologue" on our zoom tomorrow. (I'm confident they'll have no problem explaining why you kept playing.) I encourage everyone with influence over children to teach them how to accept and learn from not being first. Poor sportsmanship at any age is never a pretty sight!

Grumpy Bear · January 28, 2021

I appreciate the compliment Don. I will pass that on to my father. It will make him smile to here it.

We come from a time were they didn't hand out participation trophies.

My oldest grandson lived slept and breathed baseball from the day he could walk. He dreamed playing the majors. All state several years. Play college ball, scouts were giving him a hard look and did well enough till his last year. Coach benched him. The explanation was that he was also a gifted student (medicine) and the school was not going to allow him to waste his medical talents when others on the team had nothing but ball to look forward to. Imagine that! The boy didn't sulk and he isn't bitter about it. He's a good doctor. Sometimes it just isn't up to you. That kids would be a soul crusher if your whole life you believed you would be given chances regardless. Participation trophies indeed. Cruel wrapped in sugar. Yuck

Donstar · January 30, 2021

A personally positive result of the Covid experience is my regular zoom meetings with family, particularly the grandchildren. I miss the in person contact but the focus of a scheduled online video discussion is special. The screen can provide enough "protection" for us to speak a little more comfortably. I also realized that here is no more righteous of an excuse for a 13 yr. old to own a phone than needing to converse with nana & papa! Yesterday, my conference included a discussion as to why my friend would continue to play a game with a 1/1000 chance of a win. I detected a gender split as the boys focused on the love of chess and the girls on the love of the relationship. I was proud of all four of them. One did at one point, in jest, comment on the futility of such a situation which only served to strengthen the defense. It was a year ago this week that I last hugged a son, daughter or grandchild. This makes me sad but rather than get mad, I seek ways to pave the way for more together time in the future! For example, it typically takes a couple of days of preparation to make us comfortable having a neighbor watch our house when we leave the country. I believe now my wife and I could be packed and on the way to the airport within the hour!

Grumpy Bear · January 30, 2021

33 minutes ago, Donstar said:

One did at one point, in jest, comment on the futility of such a situation which only served to strengthen the defense.

Tell them I thought it a fair trade for just a glimpse of the way A Grand Master sees the board every game.

It's like being given the mind of Steven Hawking or Einstein for an hour.

I don't mind singing for my supper.

P.S. I'm honored to be called among your friends.

Donstar · February 4, 2021

I set up an area with a dedicated laptop, a VCR, a cassette player and a cd changer. I have a mountain of CD's, VHS tapes, cassettes and a handful of new thumb drives. Transferring my old stuff to digital is easy with my $40 treasure from amazon...but why? With the exception of a few personal home moves on VHS format, every store bought movie or song can be readily found online if on the rare occasion I may want to listen to an old CCR or Burton Cummings tune or watch an episode of Fawlty Towers!! I think I may have gone too far with my Covid19 spare time projects. I'm sure that I'm not alone in discovering that there is often a good reason for putting off projects. Sometimes it's because they don't need to be done!!

Grumpy Bear · February 5, 2021

Got a package from my Stepmother of my mothers belongings. Small package of personal papers and mementos. Mom and dad are of of the "Lost Generation" and I'm finding there is a reason for the tag. They didn't or don't want to be remembered.

I knew mother was artistic and was musical. She taught art in later life at Iowa. Played guitar and piano. What I didn't know was that she has copywrite and published music from the mid 40's that was played in venues in dance halls of the Big Band era when such bands toured. I received the scores for the entire band in that package for one of the songs. I learned more about her from the lyrics than from her limited stories she told about her life B.D. (before dad).

As far as I know there are not any recordings or films of my early family life and what photos there were have been tossed. This is a pattern. My aunt who passed of Covid recently...."Nobody wants the responsibility of that stuff", is what I was told when her life collection of antique porcelain German, Dutch and Danish dolls housed in Romanian Crystal Bells with hand made clothing that she and my grandmother made was tossed in the dumpster. No one beyond her siblings was even told about it until I asked. Some of which was pre 1900 family collected.

I think they could tell I was not happy about that thus the care package. Nothing to digitize, eh?

txab · February 5, 2021

17 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

My aunt who passed of Covid recently...."Nobody wants the responsibility of that stuff", is what I was told when her life collection of antique porcelain German, Dutch and Danish dolls housed in Romanian Crystal Bells with hand made clothing that she and my grandmother made was tossed in the dumpster. No one beyond her siblings was even told about it until I asked. Some of which was pre 1900 family collected.

I think they could tell I was not happy about that thus the care package. Nothing to digitize, eh?

Well that was pretty dumb and short-sighted of someone. Probably some $$$ to be had with a collection like that, especially from that era. My mom has maybe 2 dozen porcelain dolls. I'm not interested in keeping them, particularly. Might be a few to hang on to, but I'd sell the others some way or the other. I know they have value

Grumpy Bear · February 5, 2021

1 hour ago, txab said:

Well that was pretty dumb and short-sighted of someone. Probably some $$$ to be had with a collection like that, especially from that era. My mom has maybe 2 dozen porcelain dolls. I'm not interested in keeping them, particularly. Might be a few to hang on to, but I'd sell the others some way or the other. I know they have value

I've spent enough time in nursing homes and hospitals in the last two decades to understand that at some point in your life your memories are all you have left. Even your dignity will be stripped from you. A picture, a letter, a memento...something to hold in your hand.....

Grandmother and my Aunt use to make wedding dresses. Hand made, hand embroidered...some real old world stuff. Nicer gowns could not be bought on the runways of Paris or Rome. Months of work to be paid a few hundred dollars and then...forgotten. Same effort went into those dolls dresses. A lifetime of it....

People tend to value oddly. Valued by it's CRAFTSMANSHIP...they were priceless. Valued by WHO made it....just two German peasants. My daughter collects dolls. She would have known...and cared...

(New International Version) Luke 12:20; "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

Nobody is seems. Just some creepy sad stuff people do these days.

Donstar · February 6, 2021

On 2/4/2021 at 7:13 PM, Grumpy Bear said:

Nothing to digitize, eh?

I did say, "With the exception of a few personal home moves on VHS format". I feel it is incumbent on me to "deselect" treasures that have no sentimental or monetary value. I do not need to digitize an old tape to tape copy of Home Alone. There are also items I personally treasure that I don't want to leave for my children to sort out. For example, I still have my first motorcycle helmet from 1971. It is unremarkable in looks and isn't safe to use. I keep it because it triggers memories of my youth. In contrast, I have my father's WWII helmet which will be highly valued by future generations in my family. It is accompanied with considerable provenance. One could argue that a future descendent may realize some value from a "1971" helmet once worn by an ancestor on a '69 Triumph Tiger but ...

KARNUT · February 6, 2021

I did say, "With the exception of a few personal home moves on VHS format". I feel it is incumbent on me to "deselect" treasures that have no sentimental or monetary value. I do not need to digitize an old tape to tape copy of Home Alone. There are also items I personally treasure that I don't want to leave for my children to sort out. For example, I still have my first motorcycle helmet from 1971. It is unremarkable in looks and isn't safe to use. I keep it because it triggers memories of my youth. In contrast, I have my father's WWII helmet which will be highly valued by future generations in my family. It is accompanied with considerable provenance. One could argue that a future descendent may realize some value from a "1971" helmet once worn by an ancestor on a '69 Triumph Tiger but ...

You’d be surprised what is considered treasure. My wife was a big E-Bayer for many years. I have two storage buildings, garage, every available nick and cranny full of garage sales and estate sale treasures. I worked helping a customer in Ohio in the early 2000s for nine months. My pickup camper shell was crammed full of estate sales goodies coming home. When we built the rent house on the back of our property. She furnished it with I love Lucy era furniture through out from garage sales. Remember the kitchen table. We still have most in one of the buildings. I laugh thinking about the kids sorting all that. They’ll make big bucks if they take the time selling some of it. This comes to mind. It was an old coffee maker she put on eBay. They wouldn’t let her sell it for safety reasons they said. Someone wanted it bad. Not bad money either. The fix was and was fine with eBay. Sell it in pieces. Don’t throw anything out. Check out on line first. And a great covid pass time.

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Donstar · February 6, 2021

33 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

You’d be surprised what is considered treasure. My wife was a big E-Bayer for many years. I have two storage buildings, garage, every available nick and cranny full of garage sales and estate sale treasures. I worked helping a customer in Ohio in the early 2000s for nine months. My pickup camper shell was crammed full of estate sales goodies coming home. When we built the rent house on the back of our property. She furnished it with I love Lucy era furniture through out from garage sales. Remember the kitchen table. We still have most in one of the buildings. I laugh thinking about the kids sorting all that. They’ll make big bucks if they take the time selling some of it. This comes to mind. It was an old coffee maker she put on eBay. They wouldn’t let her sell it for safety reasons they said. Someone wanted it bad. Not bad money either. The fix was and was fine with eBay. Sell it in pieces. Don’t throw anything out. Check out on line first. And a great covid pass time.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I understand your logic and if I had similar storage space they'd probably be full. I went for many years renting storage space but the cost of storage eventually exceeds the resale value of the contents! My extra stuff is either sold online, given away or donated. I still have many treasures and know if I leave them behind, a dumpster will be involved!

Donstar · February 8, 2021

I just finished a very happy birthday weekend. I had electronic visits from Norway, New Zealand, USA and central Canada! I know this is no big deal anymore but I sure wouldn't be feeling as good if it was a few decades ago and under pandemic restrictions. I woke up Monday morning feeling like I was up-to-date with everyone who matters. A screen to screen meeting feels impersonal at the time, but my memory works as if it it was an in-person meeting. I mentioned earlier that around Christmas I connected a very senior friend with her family via a larger flat screen TV. She still talks about this visit as if it was a person to person visit. There are many, many seniors with limited visitors and/or the technology for virtual visits. If you ever have the opportunity to electronically connect a senior with a distant loved one, your reward will be incredible. Tip: Take a HDMI (or?) cable with you and hook up to their TV. Watching on a phone or tablet makes the experience less real for tired eyes!

Donstar · February 15, 2021

My parents' baseline for media technology would be his family gathering around a radio. My beginnings recall the first TV in our home. It is fun to think of the growth in this area my grandchildren will be able to reminisce about in their senior years! This weekend I upgraded our TV's to wireless cable. This involves little boxes you can Velcro to the back of your screen and no coaxial. Your remote doesn't need to be pointed in any particular direction to operate and will provide you the opportunity to record six shows while watching another. You can talk to the remote or use the push buttons. Any show I record on one TV will be available on the other TV's in my house. The most amazing thing about this recent project is that very few people will see this as incredible! I've had an interest in "electronics" since I was 8 years old. My father gave me a dedicated corner in the basement to pursue and explore my interest and he would bring me old tube type radios and TV's to dissect. An early lesson I recall is that if you put your screwdriver in the right place of a tube TV, you'll be blown to the floor! I continue to make full use of my spare time. I don't want my grandchildren feeling like Judy and Elroy Jetson visiting Fred Flintstone when the border opens up!