Patches by Dickey Lee - Random Oldie of the Day

 

Random Thoughts of the Day - August 8, 2026

 

• Last night I had a dream about visiting the University of Rhode Island, where I was a graduate student from 1972-74.  I last visited the campus in 1978.  I still get snail and email from them asking for money.  Why does my dreams bring me into the past?
• Since the trading deadline, the Mets are now 4-0.  Are they going to do what the Red Sox are doing now, by getting hot?  I doubt it.  Nobody says anything about the human side of professional athletes.  Where do a player and his family live after they are traded in the middle of the season and not know how long the team will keep them? Likewise, many players move from the majors to the minors and back several times in a season.
• I still don't know what percentage of hits to this journal are from real people and how many are from bots.

I am Giving Dating Apps One Last Try

 

I have written about my disappointments with dating apps several times in this journal.  After Karen passed away in 2021, I didn't even want to think about dating for at least one year.  I always thought that it would be nice if I found someone, but it was OK if it didn't happen.  All those years ago, my parents brainwashed me so I wouldn't even think of dating a gentile girl.

I did try a Jewish dating site, but nothing worked out.  Many of the matches were from women who lived 200 or more miles away.  You can't travel so far for a first date.  A friend convinced me that if the intention is not marriage or cohabitation, the difference in religion is not that important.  At my age, I don't think I'll remarry.  At first, I thought I should only seek out widows.  Someone else convinced me that I should not be dismissive of divorced women since the mourning process after a divorce may be similar to mourning after a death.

Since Eharmony was rated the #1 dating app for older adults, I decided to sign up with them.  So far, the results have been the same.  There is a chatting relationship that dies out quickly.  Ghosted again.  I'll stick with it until my agreement with them concludes.  I will not renew and am not optimistic right now.

There are more important things in the world.

Is David Stearns Being Fair to the Loyal Fans of the New York Mets?

 It is part of MLB culture that, at the trading deadline, teams not in contention for a playoff spot get rid of players with expiring contracts.  In this way, the losing team gets prospects in exchange.  Here are the moves the Mets made:

Nobody knows how these prospects will work out in the long ron

This obviously created openings in the roster that were filled:

Dedniel Núñez (RHP) – Returning after pitching in the minors on a Tommy John surgery rehab assignment.

Jefry Yan (LHP) – Bullpen reinforcement brought up to fill vacated pitching spots.

Nate Lavender (LHP) – Left-handed reliever called up following bullpen departures.

Chayce McDermott (RHP) – Acquired from the Dodgers in the Ben Rortvedt trade and immediately brought up.

Xzavion Curry (RHP) – Recalled just days after being optioned back to Triple-A

Obviously, the team has been weakened for the rest of the 2026 season.  No team wanted Polanco, Robert, or Senga.  What moves will David Stearns make in the offseason?  With a lockout looming, we don't know waht will happen.

Here We Go Again Miami Marlins 2 Mets 0

 

I think David Stearns should have fired the hitting coaches instead of the manager, since the Mets managed only 5 hits today.  As usual, they could not hit with runners in scoring position as they left the bases loaded in the 7th inning.  Joe Mack homered, Xavier Edwards added an RBI single, and Sandy Alcantara tossed six-plus solid innings for the Marlins, who won the final three games of the four-game series.  Now it is off to Cleveland.

Box Score

Article in the New York Times Summarizing Films by or About Bob Dylan

 

This article, written in December 2024 by New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson provides brief descriptions of films concerning Bob Dylan.  It is written for casual fans, not my Dylan scholar friends.  I was intrigued by this statement by Wilkinson:

"Somehow it’s not the worst movie (referring to Hearts of Fire) from this period, though. Dylan made a cameo as a painter in the 1990 drama “Catchfire” (a movie its director, Dennis Hopper, disowned). But the real stinker is “Masked and Anonymous” (2003), directed by Larry Charles and co-written by Charles and Dylan (under the pseudonym Sergei Petrov, for some reason). Dylan also stars alongside a bizarrely stacked cast. It’s set in a dystopian near-future America ruled by a dictator. Dylan is (yet again) a washed-up musician, this time named Jack Fate, who is bailed out of jail by some cynical entertainment promoters to perform a benefit concert for … America?

It’s very badly crafted, with clunky editing and a ponderous structure, but if you’re itching to hear old 1960s Dylan songs performed in weird new ways, you’re in luck."

Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion.

Is Snail Mail Returning? I don't see it

 

There was a story on the Today Show about the return of snail mail.  I just don't see that as people are in love with text messaging.  I rarely send out letters via the postal mail.  I remember at the 1964 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, Parker Pen had a pavilion where you could find a pen pal from a foreign country. In the early 1970s, when I was a graduate student at the University of Rhode Island, I sent letters to my friends in NYC.  I just don't see the return of snail mail.