The Big Three: One cool kitty

The world can be a crazy place. Sometimes it helps to step back and list a few of the things you’re grateful for. This year, I’m making it a weekly habit to list three blessings. Here’s what I’m grateful for this week, March 16 – 22.

What I’m grateful for:

—Queen of the court. Ancient Egyptians worshiped cats. Black cats were seen as divine or good luck, with some believing they carried divine energy or brought blessings. Somehow, over the years, black cats got a bad reputation.

They became the bad boys. They became linked with witches and witchcraft. In reality, they’re just looking for a little love. I’m a dog person, but it was nice to spend a some time last weekend with Henry, my daughter’s cat. I’m not sure you’ll find a cooler cat.

—Cinderella of the ball. The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Tournaments started this week. Of course, that means games coming down to the final seconds and David surprising the Goliath’s of the world. The surprise endings make me glad to be alive.

How about this one. On the first day of the men’s tournament, little McNeese State, a 12th seed in the Midwest Region, making the school’s fourth overall appearance in the NCAA tournament, shocked 5th seed Clemson University, beating them 69-67.

Here’s a few shocking wins from recent years. There’s something special about buzzer beaters!

—M’m! m’m! good! A great city bakery.

What gave me a smile?

We spent last weekend in Washington D.C and Northern Virginia. Here’s three things you might not know about Washington D.C.:

—George Washington never lived there. John Adams was actually the first president to live in the White House. At the beginning of his presidency, George Washington and the first family resided at the Samuel Osgood house in New York City. He relocated to another residence on lower Broadway in 1790, then later to Philadelphia.

—The cherry blossoms in Washington were a gift of friendship from Japan with the first trees planted in 1912. The gift included 12 different varieties of cherry trees, totaling 3,020 trees. The National Park Service predicts that the blossoms will peak this year between March 28-31.

—The Washington Monument is two colors. The monument has a lighter bottom third and a darker upper two-thirds, because construction was halted for more than 20 years and resumed with marble from a different quarry. D’uh. I guess they figured that one out a little too late.

“Keep adding bricks Harry. Maybe no one will notice. Yea, that’s it. No one will notice.”