Palm Sunday

Another cold day today, although it’s sunny, which makes it feel a little better.  Still below zero, and I’m really getting tired of the cold.  Jerry has an appointment for grooming this week, so I’ll have about a half a dog when we get him back… I love it when he’s floofy, but because of his thick curls, that leads to matts, and snarls, which aren’t good for him.  He’s been on my lap for as much as he can today, and is on my feet right now, pretending to be neglected.  Don is good, he’s recorded a couple of games, but is all caught up.  His team is out of the playoffs (as usual) just in time for baseball season.  I’m just grateful that basketball and golf aren’t part of his rotation!

I slept like a log last night, but was still really tired this morning.  In fact, I’m “beppin” (as my sister says) which means that I’m nodding off on myself.  Early bed tonight, definitely.  I also had a fairly decent lunch, and will work out supper soon.  I think I might do some smoked salmon on a bagel, as I’m feeling for something light.  The pain in my back is gone, thankfully.  I’m thinking that it was muscular, from sleeping in some strange positions.

Today I’m fascinated by the calculations used to determine the dates for moveable religious feasts.  All of the ancient religions (those that are over 2000 years old, and which includes Islam, since its calendar aligns to an older one) have several feasts whose dates are calculated based on the lunar year.  Since the lunar year is a 13-month cycle, as compared to the 12-month solar calendar, these dates change annually.  Having worked in government, I know how challenging it is to get different groups to agree on anything so to have a calendar set, agreed to, and with an understanding of when these important moveable events occur is nothing short of miraculous.  Heck, getting a group of 10 people to agree on a restaurant for an office lunch requires extensive planning, so I can only imagine how difficult it was to get agreement on dates in the time before rapid communication and widespread education.  Think about it — in the ancient Roman Empire, stretching from Great Britain to modern day Türkiye, it could take months or more to travel from the remoter areas to a central meeting spot.  Language would have been an issue, although it’s likely that Latin would be used as the lingua franca but some of the scholars might have been more comfortable in their own dialects.  Plus add in getting agreement on the methodology used, then circulating the information and implementing changes… All I can say is that I’m glad I wasn’t a change manager back then.  It’s enough of a challenge with email and obstructionist personalities who will wait until the day before “go live” to pull out a 15-year-old communiqué as a justification for not doing what we’d agreed on for months… Yes, that actually happened, and yes, it still annoys me!

OK, my babbling is done, so I’m off to toast my bagel and make a sandwich.  Happy Holy Week, and may (those who celebrate) enter fully into the experience and absorb the main lessons (which are not about physical abuse, hating groups or trying to be more showy in your celebration)  Good night!