"Tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu."

 "Tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu" is how they say it in Japanese. That's how they say, "Return it the way you find it." 

Literally, it translates to, "A bird leaves nothing behind," which is true unless you've had to visit a dry cleaner after a pigeon flew overhead.

Americans are neat in a lot of ways...we obediently dump our trash in fast food places. But why do we leave public parks and stadiums looking like that space was just declared a landfill? 

There's a nice system of parks here in my beloved Baltimore County, and yet, most every Monday morning, you'll see Facebook posts about how some slobs picnicking at one of them left chicken boxes and burger wrappers and soda cups and I don't know what-all else on the ground, tables, and parking lot when they left.

So how come Japanese soccer fans clean up everything when their games are over? It happens after every match, and here is how Scott North, professor of sociology at Osaka University, explains it: "Cleaning up after football matches is an extension of basic behaviours that are taught in school, where the children clean their school classrooms and hallways.

"With constant reminders throughout childhood, these behaviours become habits for much of the population."

He added: "In addition to their heightened consciousness of the need to be clean and to recycle, cleaning up at events like the World Cup is a way Japanese fans demonstrate pride in their way of life."

As a longtime sufferer of SIN (soccer-induced narcolepsy) I would be inclined to help them, even before the game ended. 

You have a meeting with the Bobs

 Female plebes (first-year students) at the United States Naval Academy must now have their hair cut to chin length.

Women arriving at USNA in Annapolis last week who did not have their hair in a "bob" cut had to report to a processing station to get a regulation haircut to begin their "plebe summer," the seven-week orientation and initiation process.

Male students have their heads shaved.

This was the rule for women at Annapolis from 1976 (the first year women were admitted) until 2019, when sensible people sought to create a more inclusive atmosphere and follow the Navy's standards for differences in hair texture.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who likes to call himself the Secretary of War since he's so tough, came up with this change on the grounds that "efforts to promote diversity make the armed forces weaker."

In being this hard-headed, Hegseth aligns himself with former Maryland Governor Bob "Bob" Ehrlich, who used to go around saying "multiculturalism is bunk." 

It would be good for the Bobs and the Petes to remember that there are different kinds of people in this crazy old world.

Sunday Rerun: For a Swim

 

If you ever want to get a lot of opinions churning in the air, here’s a topic that will get things going. It's more controversial than regular vs. decaf, vanilla vs. chocolate, grits vs. Home fries, and "versus" vs "verse," which is particularly concerning to me.

The topic is anchovies. To the bewilderment of all, Peggy and I both love those salty little fish. Pizza chefs and servers always give us the fisheye when we order one with extra cheese, sausage, and anchovies. Servers have even told us that the kitchen crew gives them a hard time for turning in an order for that tasty pie.

And many restaurants will offer a salad with Caesar dressing, but they durst not call it a Caesar salad (more in a minute). And if you ask for anchovies, they act like you requested 14 "carrot" gold flakes on your salad. 

To make a proper salad, you need romaine lettuce, croutons, and a rich dressing, which would contain olive oil, raw egg, Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and a dash of lemon juice.

And, for pity's sake, give anchovies a try next time you strap on a salad feedbag. Attempting to cajole a friend into signing up for the We ❤️ Anchovies club, I told him I like to arrange 4 or 5 of them on top of a salad in such a pattern that suggests an entire school of them swimming in a hurry to join the lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and dressing in my bowl.

At least, he said he'd think about it! 

The Saturday Picture Show, June 27, 2026

 

Big doin's in Baltimore this weekend! Sail 250 with the tall ships and flyovers and big crowds downtown. Should be something to see!

Free Wallpaper for the week features a chipmunk. I did not know they were tree-climbers, but it looks like this one has a pretty good grip on the branch.

Don't tell me birds aren't smart. While humans intentionally seek sun, birds know what to do. Not shady at all!

Well, Andy, we didn't get an invitation either, but we wish her and that big lug lots of love and happiness!

Every year at this time, they send the press photographers to the Naval Academy in Annapolis to cover the induction of a new class of middies. They always show people getting the mandatory Navy haircut and I always think of John Candy in "Stripes."

I don't know either. Just don't say anything.

A guy goes to the trouble of building a protected box for dropping off package deliveries. Amazon just can't go to the trouble.

"The Princess Bride" is one of those pictures that you just have to see, if only to know what everyone is talking about with gags like this!

You just have to set boundaries somewhere!

From a wristwatch to a huge TV screen, see me for all your box needs. Really. I cannot throw them out!

JP Moregone

She's a New York Knicks basketball fan, she's 40 (old enough to know better) and her name is Angie Báez. We didn't know her until the other day, but when video of her dumping out the contents of a Knicks-themed trash can after their victory parade last week hit the internet, we all found out something new about Ms Angie - namely, that she is no longer a DEI executive with JPMorgan Chase. 

It would appear that she wanted the trash can to use at her home in Harlem, so she emptied it, got on the subway home and presumably was using it in her house when word got around who she was.

Advice to anyone thinking of doing anything wrong anywhere: there is video of you that will soon be seen on every channel, including Martha Stewart's. So, just don't.

She has returned the stolen goods — and found herself slapped with $175 in fines for the foolish theft of city property which must have seemed like a great idea AT THE TIME.

The happy ride home. 

That smile must have faded fast this past Tuesday, when Chase tied a can to her. So, the final score reads Trash Cans: 0, Jobs: 0. 

Lessons learned: 1.

But if they decide to make a TV movie out of this, she can be portrayed by Meg Griffin from "Family Guy."

 

Don't weep

I belong to a subscription for a daily word sit called Wordsmith (wordsmith.org). They send a word out daily; I know some of them, some are complete surprises. So I want to share this one from the other day:

 psithurism pronounced (SITH-yuh-riz-uhm) 

It means the rustling or whispering sound, such as of leaves in the wind. Wordsmith says the word comes from the Greek psithurizein (to whisper), from psithuros (whispering, slanderous). Earliest documented use: 1848.

Who has not experienced psithurism? And who, having experienced it, has known the name for the whispering sound of leaves and green branches swaying in the breeze? 

We had a large weeping willow tree in the back yard when I was just a little psithurer (that is not a real word) and, while we didn't have an American flag flying (the one at the fire house was right across the street) we did have the whistling willow branches, not far from the clothesline, where sheets and t-shirts and boxer shorts got dry from the winds of summer. 

In winter, if you didn't get outside soon enough, the laundry froze, and you took it inside stacked up, and sometimes the next morning saw me putting on pants and shirts that crackled as if they had been heavily starched.

As the years went by, we got a clothes dryer, which meant no more running outside at the first sign of a thunderstorm, and the willow wept alone.

 

 

Riddle me this

So we were driving up a country road yesterday afternoon when the car ahead of us slowed for no reason we could see.

And very soon, we could see the reason after all.  A chicken was crossing the road.

I guess she wanted to get to the other side.

It's cool, lots of people have fowl right in their yards these days. In fact, not far from where the chicken was takin' her time getting across, there was a sign "TURKEY EGGS FOR SALE".

But ever since, I've been wondering if other childhood riddles can come true. If I still got the newspaper delivered, I could tell if were indeed "black and white and read all over." 

In the very room from which I write to you, I see a clock my father made, and it does have a face and two hands but no arms or legs.

I once won a spelling bee in sixth grade, so I know a spelling bee beats a talking parrot.

"I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old" reminds me to order more dining room candles from Amazon.

 I once saw a guy two doors down in the middle of a domestic "disagreement," throwing his son's computer and desk out the front window. I hung around for a while in case he threw out a wall clock, so that I could say I have seen time fly. (Absolutely true story!)

And, with today being election day, remember, there are two questions to which you cannot expect an honest answer: "Whom are you voting for?" and "Are you awake yet?"

Riddles are fun.

Snapshot of sadness

 There was a time when we saw something we wanted a picture of - a sunset, kids on the beach, Lyndon Johnson showing his gall bladder surgery scars- and we grabbed the old Kodak Instamatic, snapped a snapshot or two, and then took the film to the drugstore for processing.

And we waited, and waited, to get the prints back.

The middle of next week, someone stopped off at Drugs-So-Lo and picked up the 4 x 6 pictures, and then we took them home, sent one in the mail to Aunt Gladys in Kankakee, and put the others in a shoebox.

Now, we all carry a wonderful camera right in our hand, with a smart phone.  It's too bad the qualities of being "smart" don't necessarily rub off on the smart phone user, but it seems that the phones are a lot smarter than we.

The most recent tragedy occurred two years ago, when Sydney Monfries, 22, a senior at Fordham University just weeks short of graduation, fell 30 feet in the bell tower of the school, landing at the bottom of a stairway in a horrible, sad, death.

She actually fell through an opening in a stairway landing at Keating Hall, plunging down the inside of the clockworks.  The tower is supposed to be locked at all times and is strictly off-limits to students, who are told from day one at Fordham to stay away, but, according to the student newspaper, The Observer, climbing the tower is a "rite of passage" for seniors.

“There are no words sufficient to describe the loss of someone so young and full of promise — and mere weeks from graduation,” university president Rev. Joseph M. McShane said in a statement.

Why was Monfries up there? Early on that Sunday, just before her fatal fall, she was posting video of the great view of New York to Snapchat.

There have been several fatal falls among tourists at the Grand Canyon this year, people who leaned over just a bit too far to get that perfect picture.

I hope these warnings don't fall on deaf ears, but there is no Snapchat, no Instagram, no picture or video whatsoever that is worth risking your life to get. Ms Monfries was set to receive her degree and start law school in the fall, and now she is gone for not a very good reason at all, unless her loss is enough warning to save others.

And you can bet that Fordham has installed a new security system on that bell tower by now.

Sunday Rerun: Tales of Brave Ulysses

 President Ulysses S. Grant was still in office when he got in trouble with the law. 

Now, Ulysses was a war hero, having been the leader of the Union troops in the American Civil War (1861 - 1865) who sent the Confederate running home, no longer able to own other human beings. (They're still mad about it.)

Grant was a brilliant military tactician, outfoxing Confederate General Robert E. Lee time after time, but he did like to hit the sauce now and then.

And then, he would get behind the reins of his horse and buggy and haul ass around the streets of Washington. It was on M Street, to be precise, where Grant was stopped several times in 1872 by Officer William H. West. West, a formerly enslaved person, was one of two Black police officers on the DC force at the time when he saw Grant speeding around. 

The first time, West allowed Grant to pay a fine and walk home to the White House, but the very next day, West (like Grant, a Civil War veteran) caught the president breaking the law again and took action.

"I am very sorry, Mr. President, to have to do it, for you are the chief of the nation and I am nothing but a policeman, but duty is duty, sir, and I will have to place you under arrest," West said, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. 

Grant was released on $20 bond ($430 in 2023 money). 

The Washington Evening Star newspaper wrote about the arrest in 1908. West retired in 1901 and lived another 14 years, telling the Star, "The General's Love for Horses and His Pleasure in Driving Were the Cause of His Trouble."

Things change, but not too much.

The Saturday Picture Show, June 20, 2026

 

So the rumors are true! People have been talking about it and now the confirmation: Eastpoint Mall, on Baltimore County's east side, is closing in August, the latest victim of Amazon, big box stores, and people's reluctance at being in an enclosed area with gun-carrying lunatics. There was a time you could hardly park a car anywhere on that lot, and the crowds were happy, buying tank tops and Nikes and books and candy and I don't know what-all else, but you can get all that delivered right to your house now. Who knows what will end up in the mall space? They're closing all over the country.

Ralph, on the left, is often stopped and told he looks a lot like someone. That someone is his eleventh cousin, our sixteenth president, Honest Abe Lincoln.

I'm not going in those woods! It's all full of beetles and stuff.

Don't go to Paris and try to rip off a croissant, buddy. The vaunted Roller Brigade will skate you down, eh?

Here is this week's free wallpaper. It reminds of the farmhouse from the vision test at My Eye Doctor.

You get one shot at having your customer ID card made at Costco. If you sneeze, too bad.

I don't even know if Ball's Gro. is still open. I wouldn't shop there on a windy day for fear of getting hit by a flying Pepsi sign. The whole place puts me in mind of the grocery store holdup in "My Cousin Vinny."

To be really accurate, one of these Beetles should have no tires on.

I can't figure out why "Pride Month" gets so many people upset. Any time it's mentioned on Facebook or anywhere else, the uptight brigade hitches up their suspenders and takes to the keyboard. Settle down, Archie. It's almost July. 

This is diner food deluxe! Chicken-fried steak and gravy, mashed potatoes with more gravy, and a fruit salad. Toss a little pepper on that and slide it down my way, please!

Today is Friday, June 19: Juneteenth 2026, The is the sixth anniversary of the Juneteenth federal holiday. It marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were officially informed of their emancipation - yes, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

It's hard to imagine anything worse than being held in slavery. But being freed and not being told about it for two years...

Today is a paid federal holiday. Most government offices, banks, libraries, and post offices will be closed. Nationwide, more than 30 states recognize Juneteenth as a legal state holiday. In our state and around our area, organizations are heralding the day with festivals, concerts, educational programs, family activities, and community celebrations.

In Baltimore County, from 3 til 8 pm today, there will be a free and vibrant community celebration at the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum, 300 Oella Avenue Catonsville, Maryland 21228.

And Baltimore's 50th Annual AFRAM Festival takes place over three days during Juneteenth weekend: today through Sunday, June 21, 2026.  The free, family-friendly event is held at Druid Hill Park. Festival hours:

Friday, June 19: 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Saturday, June 20: 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Sunday, June 21: 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 

more info: aframbaltimore.com

However, wherever you celebrate human freedom and dignity, please be safe!

Why I love history, reason # 182,930

One of the gags I have repeated is the one about the guy who lost his job at the fire hydrant factory because he could never find a place to park.

That's a joke, but this is true. In 1836, there was a fire at the Blodget Hotel Bldg in Washington, D.C. That December 15 blaze marked the first of two major fires the U.S. Patent Office has dealt with over the years. The patent office had its offices in the hotel, and thousands of documents made ashes of themselves.

The Blodget Hotel

AND...the original US patent paperwork for early fire hydrants was destroyed in that fire, so think of it - the paperwork for one of our most useful firefighting innovations was destroyed in a fire!

 A little something else - remember how the British burned down a lot of buildings in the War of 1812? Someone was able to talk them out of burning down that hotel. Then in 1820, a slate roof was added to the hotel, and a fire engine was purchased to protect the building. Fire engines in those days were not like how we picture them today; they were hand or horse-drawn and relied on humans to pump the water. 

But the local volunteer fire company stationed at the hotel lost interest in firefighting when all this fire-prevention techniques were added. The engine was moved down the street, but no one wanted to volunteer, so when the fire broke out in the Patent Office, no manpower showed up to extinguish it.

One more hoary old punchline: "If we had ham, we could have had ham and eggs, if we had eggs."

One-Two-Three-Four!

People are often amazed that I remember when The Beatles came to save America from the post-Kennedy assassination blues/post-Eisenhower lethargy. 

But that was 1964, when they were young, cheeky blokes from Liverpool, Now, as the years have rolled by, we've lost John Lennon (standard American gun murder) and George Harrison (cancer).  That leaves Paul McCartney (83) and Ringo Starr (85) and, let's face it, they're not getting any younger. 

There is always talk of a Beatles tontine, and no, that's not an Italian dessert. A tontine is an arrangement in which members of a group pool money, and the last survivor collects the whole pot. I don't guess that either Paul or Ringo need money.

I'm not inclined to wager, so I wouldn't bet a nickel on which of the Fab Two would be around to cash in all the chips. There's no indication that a tontine exists between them. However, since Americans are willing to bet on anything, such as the exact temperature reading at the kickoff of Super Bowl, so I have to figure there is money on the "who's next - who's last?" topic in the Las Vegas betting books.

I have my hunch. Not to be morbid, but what do you think? 

  

Got a light?

First of the season! I saw a couple of lightning bugs (AKA fireflies, or the popular Baltimore variation "Lightening" bugs) when I was hauling the garbage out last night. Cute little girls and guys, they are, and they use bioluminescence to light up. And they're out in summer, but they don't get overheated, because they use 99% of their energy to produce light, rather than heat. They carry around a supply of a compound called luciferin (note the root word "Lucifer"!) and mix that with an enzyme called luciferase, and presto: Light!

They only live for a couple of weeks, so they get right down to business, which in their cases is the old mating game. And there are lots of species of lightning bugs, each with its own unique flash pattern and flight path. This is how they make sure they are signaling the right kind of potential mate with their on-off lights. 

And they spend up to two years as larvae, living in leaf litter and happily gobbling snails, slugs, and worms, before they get to spread their wings and live it up!

And while the common lore around here in the east is that the western part of the USA does not play host to lightning bugs, the fact is, western fireflies do exist- but nature did not equip them with the chemicals that would make them glow. So they are out there zipping around, but they don't light up.

The more you know about fireflies, the more you start to realize that maybe nature is trying to tell humans to use more of their energy to produce more light and less heat. Hmmm.

A little ruff on the soccer field

 They're getting ready to have soccer games in Canada as part of the World Cup, featuring humans from Canada and nations all over the globe.  And geese from Canada. They fly overhead and might even land on the field (the "pitch," as soccer fans call it) and however they travel, they are bound to leave their little ...biscuits behind.

That's no way to play important games of soccer ("football," as soccer fans call it), having to dodge geese droppings. 

Canadians being infinitely resourceful (they found a way to make Geddy Lee and Rush famous), the grounds crew at a  World Cup practice pitch in Etobicoke’s Centennial Park found a way to keep the field unpoopulated.

They use dogs, working canines employed by Border Control Bird Dogs, out of  Sterling, Ontario.

Soccer dog "Ben" reporting for duty

This is Gareth Williams's business. He has taught the hounds to "haze" the geese, instead of chasing them. Williams says this “reeducates” the birds. By convincing the geese that there are predators in the area, this keeps them away, so it's considered a humane way of keeping birds off grassy areas.

“The dogs crouch down and stalk the geese, as they would traditionally for sheep and moving livestock,” Williams told CTV News Toronto. “Geese then start thinking the border collies are predators in that area, and it encourages them to leave.”

Williams has a five-dog squad that he dispatches around the province, at golf courses, schools, cemeteries, and any other type of large, open green space. The premise is that "they’re fighting nature with nature, ” as he puts it.

Down here in the states, we would just send hoodlum dogs to tell the geese to "get outta town if you know what's good for you, see?" They're more restrained north of the border!

Sunday Rerun: If you can't say something nice...

  Oh, how nice it would be if talented people were allowed to enjoy their lives, sharing their blessings and making people happy. 

I'm thinking of Karen Carpenter, the singer who performed with her brother Richard in the 70s and 80s. Her velvety contralto voice sweetened the air as The Carpenters had hit after hit. She comes to mind today because I read an interview with the late great Hal Blaine, the drummer who kept the beat on the greatest songs of the rock and roll era. 

As Karen and Richard began making records, she was the drummer, and his keyboards provided accompaniment to her divine singing. But her drumming, although good, was not great, and Herb Alpert, head of their record company, brought Blaine in to spice up the beat.

Hal arrived at the studio to find opposition from...the mother of Karen and Richard, who sought to make the decisions, musical and otherwise, for the duo. Blaine said that Mrs Carpenter was telling Richard he was the star, and had little regard for Karen's talent. She wanted him in the spotlight and Karen behind the drums, while she was ten times better as a singer than drummer. 

They wound up making great records, but Karen was never made to feel worthy. No wonder she developed the eating disorder that would cut her life way too short.

No one asked me for advice, but if you have a child who displays talent at some creative venture, how about encouraging them, and urging them to do their best? Why hurt them by belittling them?

The Saturday Picture Show, June 13, 2026

 

You never know what you're going to find when you tear out some old drywall. Someone finished their quart of lunch and walled off the evidence. 

Do you want to tell her? I didn't think so! 

This is from a sandwich shop in Vancouver, Canada. They really know how to draw the celebrities! Liam showed up for his free sammy.

I admit, I stole the joke, but I once left a message for someone who worked for another County office, stating "Arrived Venice, streets flooded, please advise." It was Robert Benchley's gag a hundred years ago, and yet it still fooled someone in Towson, Maryland, 40 years ago.

Speaking of county employees, it seems that about half of the retirees have decamped for sunny Florida. Not I, and this is why. The closest we come to this beast is some of our larger mosquitoes.

This sign says "NO BIKE PARKING" in Dutch. So here are people scoffing at it in two languages. Meanwhile, the only Dutch word I know is "treat."

The water of the Pacific ocean created this arch in Maui. It took time, sure, but it's way to remind us to be patient with nature and with ourselves.

This will make a nice free wallpaper this week, especially for someone such as I who loves red barns, the older the better.

When you think about the creation of the universe (and you should!) remember that decision was made as to how many gills (or lamellae) should go under the head of a mushroom. 

A couple of drivers' test examiners are going to have great times at dinner if someone asks them if anything interesting happened at work today.

I think I'll call myself "Judge Knott"

The guy who got between me and my goal (the checkout line at LIDL) wanted to bend my ears awhile about how man disrespects God by thinking we are as smart as He is.

I don't think that. I don't even think I'm as smart as the Pope, but I saw no point in having a theological discussion with this guy, so I took a clever shortcut around him and started piling my goods on the belt.

He pulled out all the greatest hits ("God will not be mocked," "Judge not lest ye be judged") but he found no willing dialog partner in me. I was there for paper supplies, foamy hand soap, bacon, and toothpaste, and I paid for all that and scooted out the door. Loaded up the car and went to back up, and there stood a woman directly behind my car. I did that thing where you put it in park and back into reverse to catch her attention, but then I noticed she was intently listening to that same man. After he stowed his purchases, he took her cart and put it right in the middle of a parking spot. Together, they piled into their car and creaked off, presumably in search of more people to annoy.

Not the actual cart!

God never told anyone to leave their cart in the middle of the consarned parking lot, either. It's annoying that people who have so much to say about everything can't abide by the simplest of niceties.

Support Group

Donkeys know what I, and countless others who dodder around on aging legs, know, and that is, you can't beat a nice pair of support socks. Soccer players wear special socks that prevent slipping, wick away sweat, and cushion the feet to prevent cramping.

Donkeys would also agree that the Arsenal Football Club is not only a perennial winner but also a generous group of humans. They saw that they had tons of unworn socks sitting around in the locker room, and donated them to the Redwings Horse Sanctuary, the largest horse welfare society in Britain. Donkeys now clamber around wearing socks that both protect their legs and help them to heal from injuries.

“It’s really one of the most unusual donations we’ve ever had,” said Nicola Knight, the sanctuary’s head of communications and campaigns. She deals with around 1,000 equines, none of whom have indicated a preference for socks other than red ones. Horses rarely complain!

And besides the comfort of having the leg muscles wrapped up tightly, donkeys and horses don't have to worry about horseflies biting their legs, or keeping bandages on tight, or holding their leg hair back when they go in for a nice hoof trim. AND employees at the Sanctuary hide bananas and ginger cookies in the socks as treats for the herds.

So, Ms Knight says, “We hope they’re going to make a real difference."

So don't look a gifted horse in the mouth!

 

McWreck

You know, they say the French are the greatest gastronomes among us. They love their chow, and they are proud of the way they cook it, even though it's all glopped up in goo that leaves no room for hot sauce.

But even the French are subject to the laws, both of traffic and of physics, which brings us to the case of a French guy who was tying on the old McDonald's feedbag last week in Sydney,  Australia, and paying more attention to the food in his bag than to the fountain he ran into down under.

"Strangely, he was still eating Macca's there", said Police Inspector Anderson Lessing. The article I read did not specify whether the unnamed man, 21, was charged with culinary crimes or just with traffic offenses. He reversed an SUV into the Archibald Fountain in downtown Sydney's Hyde Park in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and the sad results of the driving mishap are to be seen below.

"Half of it was sticking inside, and half it was sticking out, with the driver still inside," Lessing told local radio station 702 ABC Sydney. I suppose he meant half of the car.

The man was uninjured, except for whatever pride he had before he drove off. Police refused to say what he was delivering.

 

 

Jeeves whiz

Jeeves, I am sorry, we forgot about you, and now you are gone!

Back in the wacky 90s, when we wanted to find out the capital of Brazil, or when the next Die Hard movie was coming out, or how many cups of sugar to add to a recipe, we hooked up the computer and Asked Jeeves, the online butler and keeper of all information.

Jeeves, and his home, Ask.com, are now shuttered forever. Things come and go in the world of commerce, and to be honest, most of us forgot ever going to Jeeves, since Google, and to a lesser degree, Yahoo, came along.

“To you — the millions of users who turned to us for answers in a rapidly changing world — thank you for your endless curiosity, your loyalty, and your trust,” the company said in a notice posted on its now-defunct website.

Remember him?

It was 1996 when the screens first lit up with a character that could help us find answers. Jeeves was a character in a series of books by P. G. Wodehouse. David Warthen and Garrett Gruener were a couple of early-PC days smart guys. They saw a need for what came to be called a "search engine," and they developed Jeeves for us.

I think I can remember switching over to Google because it felt like giving up the toy tools we all had to fix things - wee screwdrivers, tiny tack hammers - for real professional gear.  Google does us fine, but I am sitting here wondering if Jeeves's feelings were hurt when we abandoned him....