Today all eyes, well as least 120 million, well 240 million if everyone that has two, will be watching Super Bowl 59 tonight when the Chief's play the Eagles. That's a lot of people. For us, who moved down into Eagles country eight years ago, all that is The Birds is evident everywhere you go. While the big game is playing down in New Orleans this year the signs of fandom can be seen just about everywhere in and around Philly. I'm sure it's the same in Kansas City. For me I hope the Eagle's win, kind of for Saquon Barkley, and kind of not for Patrick Mahomes.
Last year when Joe Biden was our president it was the same thing. Just a pause in the nuttiness of all things politics for a day when social media, television and cable, and the airwaves were focused on the big game. This year Donald Trump is in office and on this day the same hype and anticipation for the 630 PM start is in the air.
It's been a few weeks since Trump took office. While I'm no fan of politics, politicians, and Trump, it's easy to get drawn into the fevor and quagmire that is news, both real and fake. Depending on who you watch and who you talk to these days are either the start of a new beginning or the end of the world. While things are bigger than us, meaning country and worldwide affairs, most of us just continue to do what we do with little change in our day to day lives.
Yesterday, just a day before the Super Bowl, Theresa and I were out and about for the usual "we're both off on Saturday rounds". It started with a drug test to re-up my Captain's license, a trip to the Trenton Market and the Dollar General, then a final stop at Wegman's across the river in Yardley, Pa. At each stop I looked for signs of the end of the world but surprisingly didn't find any.
The days of every house having a political or social movement sign are gone. The ones that are still up are in the yards of people that don't do such a good job of staying current with their homes upkeep. Remember a few years back when planting a sign in your yard let everyone know who walked or drove by that you were "On the right side". That's all gone these days. Also gone are all the billboards and signs regarding Covid and all things vaccines. That's a good thing, as hopefully that scourge and pandemic is behind us. What's funny is if you drive down 95 through Philadelphia there are still Kamala Harris billboards up, maybe they plan on switching them up to the ambulance chasing lawyer ads when the weather gets better.
While some folks always have their heads in the sand as to what's going on in the world around them there's something to be said for keeping your head down and your energy and focus on ourselves and our families. Yes, everything is big and global now, maybe more so than ever, but are things really all that bad?
Without knowing all the ramifications of "Putting America First" I must say I'm all about putting America first, while not putting anyone else down. I do believe in taking care of our country and citizens, and its visitors, first, before lending a helping hand to those around the globe that need it. When something happens abroad, I hope the world responds, each doing what and as much as they can for the greater good. But we have been doing too much for too long, at times abandoning, and hurting, the United States. It's akin to being told to put your own oxygen mask on before helping the person seated next to you on a plane.
But if you're going to go "America" then there are sacrifices and practices you have to be willing to make. The internet, now global, has killed local mom and pop brick and mortar shops for the ease and the cost of cheap products made overseas and delivered to our door within hours. We preach one and practice another. Most of us have become used to not living within our means, and then complaining about those basic necessities which are the biggest draws on our checking accounts.
In my visit to the Trenton Market, Dollar Tree, and Wegman's, which represents a cross section and the diversity that is Mercer and Bucks County, I didn't see the division that was once seen as soon as you went outside your house or drove to work. On this day it was all things green and Eagles. From cheesy dollar store items to expensive charcuterie platters, everything and everyone, just about, was brought together by todays game. That's not to say everyone, some have left the NFL a few years back when social issues and the sport became too polarizing, and some never cared "about a stupid game".
If I cared enough, and with just a click of a mouse, I could immerse myself into all things bigger then my day to day life. There's Trump, and Musk, and DOGE, and the border, and Gaza and the Israelis and the Palestine's, and all the changes that are being made by the current president, who, pretty much ran the table during the election in November. I don't know what's good or bad with all of it, but I do sense a lot of people are running scared, but who really knows, the only thing I can look to are the biased reporting and presentations between FOX, CNN, The New York Times, and The New York Post just to name a few.
Sometimes old things need to be blown up and started anew. That could be from something as easy as a room remodel, new landscaping, your own health and wellness, and I guess even parts of our government and the people that run it. But as I have learned, blowing things up are only good if you have a solid plan for a rebuild. And for that to happen you need most of the people that are involved onboard.
Since Trump took office here's some of the things that I have seen that has brought people together, or not. Wildfires decimated counties in California. The fly fishing shows continue to make their tour across the country. We've had two airline tragedies occur in the United States. Beyoncé won the Grammy's. Luka Doncic was traded from the Mavericks to the Lakers, if you a basketball fan. Gas prices have come down a few pennies for each gallon. Egg prices continue to be unstable. To note, we purchased two-18 packs from Wegman's yesterday for $15. If we went organic we would have paid more. And with that I'm sure the price of chicken wings is up these days. How many wingless chickens are there leading up to today's festivities?
I have to admit I get sucked into the routine of checking my phone, from the first thing in the morning to last thing at night. Most of the time it's on Facebook, where I get sucked in into quick videos of dancing couples, things fishing related, Dave Portnoy's pizza reviews, and memes or shorts poking fun at people, which is usually themselves doing it to themselves. But there's also updates and connections made regarding family and friends who welcome a new edition to their family, the death of a loved one, or a kid going off or graduating from school, and of course hero shots of the one that didn't get away.
It also includes checking the news, I don't know why I do that but I do. It's usually biased one way or another and doesn't lead to fact finding and allowing the reader to decipher what is real vs fake. But not all the news is bad. Yesterday I saw that a large group of tourists were heading out
