Hits, misses and DNF's

Hi Carolyn,

First off, the rhapsodizing ! 

Recently, I was  blessed with a truly wonderful gift. It has made my heart sing and my senses soar. An oppressive and ponderous grief has been banished from my life and the wind of sweet freedom has lifted my spiritual skirt! What, you may ask, has transported me to this place a hair's breadth short of total rapture ??

Well....... I'll tell ya!!

I had my first motorcycle ride of 2013 on Monday last. That  hour and a bit with my two-wheeled therapist has clearly hurled me into remission from the winter blahs. When we were in Merida in February, I came very close to looking into a motorcycle rental. If we get back there next year I just might. Although the kamikaze look of traffic there might just see me rent a bug instead.  




 I'm back on earth now.  Alas, that delightful event was countered by an equally saddening one. Jonathan Winters left us a short time ago. Along with music I am also hopelessly addicted to humour - especially improvisational comedy. In that realm, Jonathan Winters was simply the best and that's not just my humble opinion. Behold him with one of his most fervent and devoted students. Others include Jim Carrey and Bill Cosby. Ten minutes of Mr. Winters was ten minutes of improv bliss incarnate.



So you checked out ballroom dancing already. I had no idea that it would be so pricey.

Regrettably , or perhaps fortunately,  my better half realized early on that while I do have a left and right foot ( as opposed to two lefties) neither likes the other enough to handle something as co-ordinated as couples dancing. I wish I was much more of a twinkle toes sometimes as I know she truly enjoys dancing of that kind.

  I will agree with you that billiards, done right, involves a healthy mix of fine motor skills and mental acuity  but I just don’t think of it as a “sport“. It’s a semantic thing. I’d call it a competitive activity but not a physical, sweat-inducing, calorie-gobbling sport - like baseball, hockey, football, gymnastics, tennis or the like.










To further muddify things, the line between sports and histrionics is being blurred by media.  I can’t get past the idea that some shifty-eyed, chair-bound card shark can enter our cultural consciousness as a sports figure by virtue of relentless exposure on sports networks and poker websites.








Now for some lexicological sports.  I was absolutely surprised to have gotten the bifocals riddle, Carolyn, as my guess was a complete shot in the dark. My previous offering was snowtires, which are snowshoes of a sort, for vehicles. Quebec, right next door to us has just recently made them mandatory for a part of the year. I wouldn't be surprised if there are other jurisdictions in North America or other snowy latitudes that have done likewise. 

As a nighthawk, my guess for your most recent riddle is the sign-off or test pattern most TV stations use when not actually broadcasting. Here's my rejoinder:

Can be sought by begging
Or approaching the bench
Verbal response to an unclear message

 

 

 

 

And on that note, I too, will sign-off.

 

 

Don

 

 

 

Fig. 1 - clipartmojo.com

Fig. 2 - www.cnn.com

Fig.  3 - flopturnriver.com

Fig. 4 - studdedwintertires.ca