Jesus didn’t waste his time on useless banter with silly King Herod. Perhaps, Jesus had a checklist of prophecies he was expected to fulfill all throughout his life and this was his last day on earth … and he had not slept a wink. I'm guessing he needed to conserve his strength to go through the trial, the scourging … the crucifixion.

My wife and I watched a beautiful movie about the struggles of married life. It’s not a new movie; I'm surprised I never heard of it before … maybe because it was made in 2019 and it got lost during the start of the pandemic. It was written and directed by William Nicholson. It’s called Hope Gap featuring Annette Benning, Bill Knighy and Josh O’ Conner.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. We’re here in Hollywood California to celebrate the biggest gathering of Narcissists and Prima Donnas in the world --- Welcome to the Oscars! Yay!! I’m the one and only, Inigo Montoya de Los Angeles the Third, and I’m your host for tonight! Approaching the red carpet in her fuel efficient, recently rented, 20 foot long, 100 seat EV limousine is wanna-be Israeli-superstar Elizabeth Mephiboseth."

Remember the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines? He transitioned from a legally-elected President to a pretentious democratic president when he declared Martial Law at 7:15 p.m. on September 23, 1972. Prior to this, he orchestrated a crime wave that justified this declaration to place himself as the gatekeeper of freedom. Smart move, Mr. Ferdinand.

During the recent rains, I heard that almost all the roofs leaked and the runoff water created potholes. They have so many problems, they don’t know where to start fixing the mess. Our country’s in the same kind of mess. Well done politicians!

I picked up my grandson from school the other day. He was dressed sharply and every strand of his hair was in its proper place. He carried a small pouch just big enough to carry his notebook, pen and cell phone. He was very proud of himself because he was among the select few who had gone on a field trip for Leadership training. What a surprise.

February is an interesting month here in America. It's jam packed with events like Ground Hog Day, Chinese Lunar New Year, Superbowl Sunday, Abe Lincoln's birthday, Mardi Gras, Valentine's Day, Ash Wednesday, Susan B. Anthony's birthday, National Flag Day of Canada, President's Day (George Washington's birthday) and Leap Day (Feb 29 --- an extra day which happens every 4 years). February is also Black History Month -- wait! Why are the African Americans the only race (in this melting pot of races) that has a month dedicated to them? Is this fair? Who decided these things?

Water --- what a great invention. Life wouldn't exist without it. I remember the first time I was conscious of the effects of rain was right after a storm in the Philippines. We had an outside fish pond filled with goldfish. When it overflowed with rain water, the goldfish escaped into the street canals. The neighboring kids were excited to find colorful goldfish in the sewers. The streets were cleaned of debris. The tree trunks were drenched and dark. The birds were busy feeding on the earthworms that emerged from the soaked soil. My older brother and I raced our paper boats in the canal rapids. Everything was clean. Zero pollution.

Did you know that I am also a Property Manager? It was a week of legal mumbo jumbo for me. One of my people wanted to install solar panels on his roof against the wishes of the other residents. Another one is trying to game the insurance system --- because of a burst pipe, he wants to replace all his floor tiles and repaint his whole house. We towed a car for illegal parking, the tow truck driver messed up and cracked the tire reams that cost a thousand bucks. Now the tow truck company doesn't want to tow for us anymore. We had to return 2 sets of internet equipment because the units would not connect as advertised. A relative needed to evict squatters in her property and those people aren't leaving quietly. They want to get paid.

My high school just had a reunion but I wasn't able to attend. Thankfully, my classmates shared pictures. I recognized but a handful of people. The rest were senior strangers. I looked at the ugly guy in the mirror and I surprised even myself. My classmates wouldn't have recognized me if I bumped into them. Before it was just my baldness but now I'm noticing the age spots, the wrinkles, and especially the puffiness around my eyes.