RADIO RECLINER

I love this. As the Washington Post explains, at

”Radio Recliner, a new online radio station, the DJs are elderly folks who have spent the past two months stuck in their rooms, meals delivered to their doors, activities canceled, their relatives relegated to waving through a window, at best.”

Take a look at one group of these late-life deejays:

Find out more at the Washington Post and at the Radio Recliner website.

WHY WE WASH OUR HANDS FOR 20 SECONDS

We have been doing it for months now, washing our hands for at least 20 seconds many times a day, and in the case of me and some of my friends, complaining about it mightily – as we continue.

TGB reader Joan McMullin found a video explaining why that 20 seconds is important:

LAST PERSON TO RECEIVE CIVIL WAR PENSION DIES

Sometimes history is a lot closer to today than we realize.

Last Sunday, Irene Triplett died at a long-term-care home in Wilkesboro, N.C. at the age of 90. She was the last Civil War pensioner.

Recall that the Civil War ended in 1865 – 155 years ago. So how was she receiving benefits (of $73.13 per month) all this time later. The Washington Post explains:

”The jaw-dropping fact that someone in the year 2020 was still earning a Civil War pension was the result of two factors: First, Triplett suffered cognitive impairments, qualifying her for the lifelong pension as a helpless adult child of a veteran.

“Second, her father, Mose Triplett, who’d served as a private in the Confederate Army before defecting to the Union...

“Mose married [his second wife] Elida Hall. He was 78. She was 27. Their 1924 marriage, according to the Journal, was rough. They lost three babies. Then Irene was born on Jan. 9, 1930, but had mental disabilities, according to the newspaper.”

The details of the story are much more colorful than the bare bones I have related. You can read all that at the Post.

HAPPINESS TREE HOUSE

As Atlas Obscura explains on the Youtube page,

”When Buddy Melvin set out to build a treehouse in 1997, he only planned for one room. Today the sprawling structure has 16, including bars, bedrooms, a pool room, and a dance floor.

“At the heart of the treehouse is an enormous trunk, which continues to grow, fed by the subterranean stream below.”

It's an amazing place. Take a look:

RAHUL DUBEY SHELTERS 70-PLUS D.C. DEMONSTRATORS

This is my favorite feel-good story of our current political saga. A man named Rahul Dubey, a resident of Washington, D.C., opened the door of his home to more than 70 demonstrators who were fleeing police who were trying to arrest them at curfew. Despite pressure on Dubey from the police, they stayed the night. Take a look at this story:

BLACK LIVES MATTER

On Friday morning, at the behest of the Washington, D.C. mayor, seven local artists spent Friday morning painting the words, Black Lives Matter, in gigantic yellow letters on 16th Street between H and K. Take a look.

The mayor, Muriel Bowser, also renamed the area, that is within hollering distance of the White House, Black Lives Matter Plaza.

LATEST FROM THE LINCOLN PROJECT

The Lincoln Project is a new organization of disaffected Republicans whose goal, according to their website, is

”...to hold accountable those who would violate their oaths to the Constitution and would put others before Americans.”

They have been releasing one or two and sometimes three powerful, one-minute videos a week. Here is the latest which, besides it's political point, it a pretty good short video montage of all that has happened this week:

The Lincoln Project website is here.

GOVERNMENT SEIZES MASKS SENT TO DEMONSTRATORS

The group, The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), spent tens thousands of dollars purchasing masks to donate to demonstrators around the country to help protect them from the coronavirus. They never got there. Reported Huffpost:

The first four boxes, each containing 500 masks, were mailed from Oakland, California, and were destined for Washington, St. Louis, New York City and Minneapolis, where on May 25 a white police officer killed George Floyd...

“But the items never left the state. The U.S. Postal Service tracking numbers for the packages indicate they were 'Seized by Law Enforcement' and urge the mailer to 'contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for further information.'”

Here is the post office tracking information:

Did I miss new legislation making government confiscation of private mailings legal?

CORONAVIRUS RHAPSODY

TGB reader Nina sent this music video titled Coronavirus Rhapsody, based, of course, on Bohemian Rhapsody. The singer is Raúl Irabién.

WHY DOGS LIKE TO HANG THEIR HEADS OUT CAR WINDOWS

It's all about their amazing noses. This amusing BBC video about that was shot in Paris so, of course, love is part of the story.

Interesting Stuff is a weekly listing of short takes and links to web items that have caught my attention; some related to aging and some not, some useful and others just for fun.

You are all encouraged to submit items for inclusion. Just click “Contact” at the top of any Time Goes By page to send them. I'm sorry that I won't have time to acknowledge receipt and there is no guarantee of publication. But when I do include them, you will be credited and I will link to your blog.