Oktoberfest

The first Oktoberfest had its origins in Munich on this date in 1810. The occasion was a royal wedding: Ludwig, Crown Prince of Bavaria, was marrying Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen, and the royal couple wanted to invite all of Munich to their wedding reception. They threw a parade and a huge party in the field outside the city gates, culminating in a horse race. The citizens of Munich had such a good time that they decided to repeat the horse races at the same time the following year.

On the first anniversary of the royal wedding, the organizers added an agricultural show, to bring attention to the Bavarian farming industry. The horse races are no longer held these days, but the agricultural show remains a big part of Oktoberfest in Bavaria. Over the years, attractions have been added to the celebration: in 1818, organizers brought in a carousel and a couple of swings. They also set up a few modest beer stands. By the end of the century, the little stands had been replaced by huge beer tents and halls, sponsored by German breweries, and the carousel had grown into a full-fledged fair. In 1885, the beer tents were lit with electric lights for the first time.

Today, the Bavarian Oktoberfest is the largest festival in the world. It draws some 6 million thirsty visitors, who quaff more than a million gallons of beer. Contrary to its name, the celebration begins on the third weekend in September, and runs through the first Sunday in October.

In My Life

There are places I'll remember
All my life, though some have changed.
Some forever, not for better;
Some have gone and some remain.

All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall.
Some are dead and some are living,
In my life I've loved them all.

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you.
And these mem'ries lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new.

Tho' I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before,
I know I'll often stop and think about them,
In my life I love you more.

Tho' I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before,
I know I'll often stop and think about them,
In my life I love you more.

In my life I love you more.

Happy Birthday!

Boldog születésnapot, Cameron!

And a happy birthday to John Lennon! (b. 1940…who knew?)

Wow! I Did Not Know That…

• 121 This surprised me. It's the number of restaurants in the Ft. Meyers, FL area(!). This includes the barrier islands hit hard by Hurricane Ian. But still, Ft. Meyers isn't my first choice for a vacation to Florida; there are more famous resort areas (for me, that'd be the 'Redneck Riviera,' baby!) But think how many eating establishments there are in the state (I don't consider McDonald's a 'restaurant,' but I'm assuming the chain is included in this number, as well as the other fast-food joints.) Also, think how many people work in those eateries: one owner of a restaurant in the article I read, mentioned his worry for the welfare of his 92 employees. I forget how labor intensive the large tourist spots are.

• 144 & 2,253 This is the number of 'vessels' (ships & barges) backed-up on the Mississippi between Vicksburg & Memphis, today, October 8th. Also, towboats are only allowed to push 25 barges, rather than the 40 on a normal run. The combination of fewer barges per trip, and less cargo per barge, has cut the capacity of barges moving on the river by about 50% even before the recent river closures. And that has sent the rates that shippers are paying soaring.

River barges are still a major method of moving cargo within the United States, especially for agricultural products.

About 5% of all freight in the United States moves on river barges when measured by the weight of the cargo and the distance traveled, according to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The shippers who use river barges have few, if any, affordable alternatives.

Most of the barge traffic moving south this time of year is carrying agricultural products. Many of those moving north are loaded with fertilizer that farmers will need for their next planting.

This is just one more stumbling block for US supply chains that are still struggling to recover from disruptions since the start of the pandemic two and a half years ago. West Coast ports, where most of the nation's imports arrive by container ship, are still congested, too.

And while a freight railroad strike was narrowly averted last month, even the freight railroads themselves admit they are providing substandard levels of service as they struggle with their own labor shortages

• $500 Million This number shocked me! This is the amount of money that colleges & universities in the U.S. are paying their 'ex-coaches' to NOT coach their school teams any longer. To do nothing. And this is only since 2010(!). "We can't pay student-athletes; we'd go bankrupt!?!" I'd say 'bankrupt' is the right word for major college sports. Sad.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." 

Kierkegaard

"Life can only be understood backward; but it must be lived forward." 

Kaposvár Hi: 22°/71.5° Lo: 11°/52° 99% Humidity(!)

This morning, looking out as I enjoy my coffee, the fog is so 'bad' that I cannot see beyond the 5-story residence across the courtyard(!)…I know I have never seen fog so thick here in Hungary…so I went to the weather app on my phone and it said the humidity was 99%…that may explain why I felt so 'refreshed' when I awoke this morning: it felt like home! 😉