How is everyone’s weekend going? Hope everyone getting outside and tolerating the stifling heat.
I attended my first Friday night football game in almost two years. I got to the school late, and started to gripe out loud about the lack of parking. Then I caught myself and thought, ‘this is how its supposed to be in late August!’
Delightful to witness—massive crowds at the stadium and a crazed student section.
Saturday, watching a bit of the Illinois-Wisconsin game from Champaign, the same scenes. Football means large community gatherings and regardless of imperious actions taken by federal and state government, we need to remain fiercely diligent in celebrating life experiences every chance we have.
Let’s proceed with the Six.
The Science Of Masking In Schools Remains Uncertain.
This week in Illinois, we saw our governor (who acts more like like a megalomaniac monarch than an elected official) institute another mask mandate. During the press conference, when asked to cite any data or science for the mandate, J.B. Pritzker turned his back and walked out. Of course, there are plenty of studies being done on masking. This apolitical piece from New York Magazine is a deep dive on masking in schools and concludes its efficacy to be…inconclusive at best.
Charlie Watts, Drummer For The Rolling Stones, Dies at 80.
There’s a running joke about the Rolling Stones rock band that they will outlive all of us. Up until this week, we no reason not to believe it. It took me a few days to process the news that Charlie Watts, the band’s drummer since 1963, had died suddenly at 80 years of age. The dapper gentleman, a stark counter image to the bombastic, debaucherous behavior of lead singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards, sheltered the fact that Watts, more a fan of jazz music than rock, was a fantastic drummer and gave the Stones their historically brilliant groove. No outlet does obits better than the NY Times and it does a thorough job with this epitaph on the life of Watts.
The Strange Summer Land Rush in Peoria.
Why are homes selling for a few thousand bucks, and why are people from across the country buying them sight unseen? This story comes from downstate Peoria, IL, where buyers in California are snatching up homes for pennies on the dollars. The explanation, as The Washington Post explains, spans decades, and says so much about modern American life.
Why Longtime Couples Decide to Divorce.
I was surprised to learn this week that the parents of NBA basketball great Steph Curry are divorcing. For a decade-plus, the couple have been court side for seemingly every one of Curry and the Warriors NBA finals games. Now they are splitting up and this article uses their example to tell a larger story about a cultural trend with ‘gray’ divorces, long time couples whom walk away from each other well after the kids are out of the house.
A Shocking Tale Of Love, Loss and Survival In The Deep Blue Sea.
“Adrift in the middle of the ocean, no one can hear you scream.” That’s how Boston Magazine writer Kevin Koczwara begins this wild tale of a deep-sea rescue that never came—and the man who is still coming to terms with his lonely fight for survival all these years later.
Woman Banned From Zoo Over Affair With Chimpanzee.
How’s that for a headline? To be clear, the alleged ‘affair’ is not physical (that would just be way too weird, even for the Six) but this story is still icky and creepy. A woman in Belgium has been visiting an area zoo more than officials believe to be appropriate. “Other dozens of visitors are allowed to make contact,” the woman told a local television station. “Then why not me?” The NY Daily News has the rest of the story.
Have a great rest of your weekend everybody. Thanks for reading as always.
Have a suggestion for the Sunday Six? Send email to jon@jonjkerr.com