going home 

enterance to the kids area 

My youngest son and I just spent 4 moist days in the SW VA mountains attending an event called Floyd Fest. The music was good the people who attended were friendly group of people but for me one day would have been just fine.

I liked the set up of the event. Two large stages on either end of a long midway, the midway housed venders and smaller stages. There was a dance tent for the adventuresome. There was a large area set up for the kids with some interesting things for them to do.

I�ll tell you my best times were spent riding the shuttle buses. The drivers were a hoot and the passengers were talkative no one complained about the weather they all seemed very happy and like me very tired.

The weather was not favorable the ground was soaked but the organizers of the event did there best to keep the main paths walkable. You will be surprised how different it is to walk on hilly wet ground when you are accustomed to walking on solid flat ground and we did a lot of walking.

All and all we did have a good time we hooked up with friends from time to time and if asked I would go again.
 

It�s hot already this morning but that seems to be par for the course these days. On the Outer Banks we are looking for temps at around the 100 mark with a heat index around 115. Record breaking temps have been reported all around the country this month but thanks to our Canadian neighbors many of us on the east coast can expect some relief starting at the end of the week by way cold front.
 

Walking back to my car I was struck by how not one car around where mine was parked was the same. I thought if anything shows diversity in our culture it's the car's we drive. Each car in this photo has a touch of its owners personality added to it with the help of vanity plates, bumper stickers or window appliqu's.

1/3 the way to empty nest!!

My #1 son has moved out!!!!

After owning his own “place” for 1 month, it has taken that long to get it “boy habitable”, he was finally able to move in. I think the best thing about this move is that my kitchen was clean this morning. God I love the boy but he is a slob. The other boys won’t even use his bathroom. The boy is passive aggressive so you can nag, threaten and beg the hell out of him and if he does not want to do it, it does not get done. Well one chick out of the nest 2 more to go. I cant wait for my 2 minutes of empty nest syndrome.

morning on my street as seen from the deck 

Its 7am 82 degree’s with humidity of 79%. I have just spent 1 hour in the yard trying to beat the heat, I will mow the grass tonight. I don’t want to wake the neighbors. I am hot irritable and need a shower. The reason I bring this up is that the plumbers are going to be working at my oldest sons new abode today and to be quite honest the bids he received to do the work were to say the least a bit of a shock but if I had to crawl around under a trailer in this heat I would charge more!!

My hats off to plumbers, electricians, lawn matainence workers, carpenters and all those service people we all depend on.

The first car I ever owned was an Olds Delta 88, it was a boat, you could fit 5 people in the trunk. When you are young you do stupid things. After hitting a telephone pole with it in broad daylight and totally sober I bought a Ford Pinto, I actually had 3 of those, I always liked the ideal of driving a bomb and anyway they had manual transmissions were cheep to drive and did not cost a ton of money. I really wanted the MG but it was a little pricey for me. After the Pintos I had Escorts and now I have a Focus, all reasonable, reliable, boring cars.

What I want is a Jeep. Not one of those fancy smancy ones just a good old fashioned Jeep Wrangler, 5 speed rag top like the army had at one time. I have always liked driving them and any chance I get I do. I don’t own one at this time because it’s not a “reasonable” thing to do. I drive on flat paved well maintained roads. I drive 120 miles round trip to work. I don’t like the beach so I don’t need a 4 wheel drive to get to those great secluded spots the locals know about. When I do go to a beach function I can always hitch a ride with someone else.

Lately for my trips to the mountains I have been renting a Wrangler. It’s not my ideal Jeep, it’s an automatic, but its still fun and in a pinch it does its job. On my last visit to the mountains the weather was great until the last day and then the heavens just let go. The drive way and the area that was leveled for the future house and where the camper is now kept is clay. Clay is great to drive on when it’s dry but when it’s wet we have whole nother animal. The whole area turned into clay muck. One time while driving out the jeep started to slip to the side; Of course it was in 4 wheel drive but even so we slipped in a most uncomfortable way. I let the jeep come to a complete stop slapped it into 4 wheel low, took my foot off the gas and let that sucker pull its self out. It’s a great feeling when a piece of machinery does what it’s supposed to do. My son and I had some fun messing around that day; it took me a whole day to clean that Jeep!

Now mud and Jeeps go together but mud and an 80lb dog in a 19 foot camper dosent. It was an absolute mess. I just can’t describe it. It was horrible. My plan was not to do any more work to the property until I was ready to build. I did not want to work on the road or the building site just to have it messed up by heavy equipment but I want to bring my dogs. There was a choice to be made, spend the money saved to rent the Jeep on the Jeep or gravel. Gravel won out so the week after next when I go to the mountains I will be driving a sensible, reliable, boring Ford Focus but when I move up there I will have a Wrangler!

what next

Burgers From a Lab? U.S. Study Says It's Possible

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Laboratories using new tissue engineering technology might be able to produce meat that is healthier for consumers and cut down on pollution produced by factory farming, researchers said on Wednesday.

http://fullcoverage.yahoo.com/s/nm/science_meat_dc

Trip and Zeke

Had a butt shot earlier here are their sweet faces. (they are nicer than they look)

garden 7-12-05

The garden 7-12-05, lots of little green tomatoes, lots of green peppers. Picked a few cucumbers all ready. The green beans are gone. I have plenty in the freezer and I will be planting more on Friday. Japs are doing well on the deck I'll be canning them soon. The garlic is stressed but still doing ok

the view 

It's a nice morning here on the Outer Banks. Although it is hot, 81 degrees with humidity of 87%, at 7:30 this morning, I did enjoy my coffee on the deck with Zeke and Trip, aka the boyz & girlz. As can be seen from the attached photo, the boyz and girlz love to stand with their noses between the railing slats and breath deep the morning smells. I am sure they would prefer to chase those smells but we live in a community where that would not be safe for them so they will have to be content with smells from the porch.

This morning the breeze was nice and gentle and seemed to be from the SW. Wind chimes played in the back ground couple that with the birds and those of us who are sitting outside are treated to a natural symphony.

I love mornings like this.

together 

War of the Worlds

Yesterday I went to see “War of the Worlds” the new Spielberg movie. It was not E.T. I left the movie theater feeling much like I did when I saw “Saving Private Ryan”. It was a good movie, very well done but it did not leave me feeling good. It made me wonder how I would react in that type of situation. Would I retain my civilized ways or revert to my more animal side. War is the ultimate test of true beliefs and character. I am thankful I have not had to face that test.

ramblings

*I am saddened over the bombings in London. We live in an unpredictable world. I was encouraged by what one Londoner said, she said there are risks in life and taking away freedoms will not take those risks away. I agree when you take away freedoms in response to attacks like these bombings and 9/11 the criminals win. I would rather die in a terrorist attack then lose my freedoms.

*A lot is still being said on the net about the Supreme Court decision on government’s right to take property without true public need. The Supreme Court did leave an opening for local and state lawgivers to step in and pass laws to protect property owners. Now it is our job to write our state and federal representatives saying that we want laws passed to protect the individual property owner’s rights. One way to do this is to e-mail your representatives and tell them how you feel voice your fears and concerns. Tell them what you want. I found that by simply typing (your state) house of representatives in the search box on the browser it is possible to quickly find your local state rep. For federal reps try these;
http://www.house.gov/

http://www.senate.gov/.

We can voice our concerns to each other and it might make us feel better but if we don’t let our representatives know our concerns nothing will be done.

*Tropical storm Cindy visited my brother in New Orleans. He was with out power when I spoke with him Wednesday but all in all he did fine. It looks like hurricane Dennis may visit my sister in Pensacola. Why did so many of us migrate to the coast?

fire works

Manteo is a small Mayberry-isk town located on Roanoke Island on the Outer Banks of NC. Last night my mother and I walked from her apartment to the water front to see the fire works and I must say it was a very pleasant experience. First it was nice to see that we were not the only ones to walk in to town. What started as a trickle of people became a small stream the closer we came to town. There was laughter and good will in that stream. There were conversations between stranger’s that flowed from one person to the other and subject to subject. Children ran laughing and screaming with glow sticks and shoes that sparkled with each step. It was a feeling of carnival. I sensed no discourse even though I know it must have been there; after all we don’t live in Perfect.

This feeling of community spread to the dock where we sat waiting for the fire works to begin. The effortless conversation between strangers continued, the children played and their laughter stayed in the air until the fire works began, then oh’s and awe’s filled the air as parents tried to convince the very young that fire works were great and couples sitting close concentrated only on the fire works and each other.

As we walked home I was glad I took the time to come to Manteo and walk to the waterfront with my mother. How else could I have experienced the good in this life that is so often missed?

O'conner

Yesterday Justice O’Conner announced that she would be retiring from the Supreme Court. Many look at this as very troubling. After all this gives president Bush an opportunity to place a conservative as a Justice. I decided that before I got upset over this I would review the present court make up, this is what I found.

Of the nine justices 7 were appointed by republican presidents. O’Conner was appointed by Reagan. So there will still be 7 republican appointees. From what I can see there has been no rhyme or reason to the way the justices “vote”. They have a job they can’t be fired from so they can become more open or closed minded when they get the position. More than one president has been disappointed by the decisions made by their appointee. Bush does have the potential to place 3 Justices but Reagan placed 4 and all was not lost.

This will be an interesting time for Bush and for the nation. I hope he thinks in the long term because who ever he appoints will be influencing our lives for a long time.

summer heat

Each morning I get up fix a cup of coffee, take the dogs out to the back let them do there morning thing while I mess around in the garden, then we go back up stairs they get fed and I get ready for my morning walk. Its 6:50, 77 degrees with 87% humidity. This is going to be one hell of a walk! Aggggg I hate hot weather!!!!

I just like this picture. I bought this plant last year I think its some type of poppy; it came back on its own this year in a patch of patinas that came back on their own. It's kind of neat to be surprised by your flower garden. Marigolds also came up on their own as did some other flowers that I can't remember the names of. Oh well enjoy.

When I got back from my visit to the mountains my garden was very stressed. I watered and fertilized the plants the first day back and then I proceeded to water every day after that. We have very sandy soil here at the beach and even though I have tried to condition the soil by adding organic material it still dries out fast. I knew what it needed was a good soaking rain and that's what we have had the last few days. There is something about the green after a good rain. The plants seem to glow from within. Thank god for plants.

mountian morning 

mountian morning 

the court, what a mess

Some times I am truly amazed at what those responsible for interpreting our laws come up with. To allow a government to take a persons property and give it to a developer so the developer can make money so the government can collect taxes goes against the very beliefs that this country was founded on. Individual rights and freedoms are the cornerstone of our countries belief. To take away the right of ownership without a true public need is wrong.

The recent decision by the Supreme Court to allow municipalities the right of expanded eminent domain, while passed by a majority of justices was by no means a mandate. The Justices JUSTICE O’CONNOR, THE CHIEF JUSTICE, JUSTICE SCALIA, and JUSTICE THOMAS join, dissenting. Justices O’Connor and Thomas wrote excellent dissenting arguments. I am including a quote from Justice Thomas’s argument I think it sums the decision up nicely.

THOMAS, J., dissenting

“Something has gone seriously awry with this Court’s interpretation of the Constitution. Though citizens are safe from the government in their homes, the homes themselves are not.”

Visit the supreme courts web page and look up recent decisions, Kelo vs. City of New London. It is a long read but worth at least a look at.

http://www.supremecourtus.gov/

Zeke and the cows

I just got back from a week in the mountains. This trip I took my #3 son and my dog Zeke. Zeke found the cows fascinating. He would sit for the longest time and just look at them. More later.

Off we go again

Tomorrow my youngest son and I start on our first trip to the mountains this summer. We will be spending a week in Floyd county Virginia. There will be no computers, no TV, no phones, no washer or dryer, no house to clean, no bills to pay no job to go to. My son says he will bring no gaming apparatus. I am going to Barns & Noble in Christiansburg and pick up the two Star Trek books I ordered so after long days of tramping around the property building a winding walkway from the barn area to the home site I can sit back and enjoy a mindless reading exercise. Star Trek is my Harlequin romance.

If all goes well the weather will be the best it could be, 70 degree days and 50 degree nights. If we can fit him in the Jeep we will be bringing Zeke one of our dogs. A week in the mountains with good weather a Jeep and a dog. Oh heaven could not be better!

One of the nice things about green beans is that they start to produce quickly. These were planted the first of May. The delicate purple flowers are beautiful to look at and the beans they produce taste so good.

 

driving Miss Cindy

For the past 8 years I have been traveling 60 miles from my home in Colington to my job in Elizabeth City NC. To some this drive may seem a bit much but to me it offers an hour and fifteen minutes of peace and reflection, time I appreciate even more now that I drive it only once a week.

The past few years has seen a lot of growth here in Dare County NC. It has become crowded. The roads are busy with people trying to get to and fro with undaunting determination. There is no such thing as a relaxing ride that is unless you have to go to Elizabeth City.

My weekly ride to Elizabeth City takes me through Currituck county farm land. At this time of year the farmers plant their fields with corn. By the time July comes around they will be harvesting sweet corn. In September the corn will be drying up and by October it will be harvested for grain. I have been watching this cycle for the past 8 years. I find this familiar sequence of events calming and I hope it never changes.

and so it begins

The tsunami I alluded to at Easter has struck the Outer Banks. The wave of people and the things associated with them have flooded our roads. The beach is packed with folks wanting to escape to a place of sun, fun and beaches. They pack their families in an assortment of vehicles and come on down to spend a whirl wind week together. Every week for the next 3 months this wave of people will come. Every Saturday and Sunday will have bumper to bumper traffic. The stores will be over flowing. This is Christmas for the merchants on the Outer Banks. This will make them or break them.

To the every day people this is a season of mixed blessings. Just like the visitor, those who live here year round and the students who come for the summer want to enjoy the beaches and water ways but they must work. Many must work 2 jobs because just like the squirrel gathers nuts for the winter they must put as much as they can away for the winter.

My older boys love summer on the beach. For them its surfing, sailing and hanging out at the beach with the gang. It’s the girls that visit and the local ones that blossom with new tans and bathing suits. It’s boating all day on the sound that ends with marsh island bond fires at night. Ah to be young in Babylon.

When I first moved to the beach 25 years ago I too enjoyed the summer but now I much prefer winter and it was not until yesterday that I realized why. I was at a party, not the first of the season mind you, when I resized this is what the summer here is about. There will be parties at friend’s houses and beach bonfires. There will be grass to cut, a garden to tend. There will be vacations to go on. Family will be visiting. Summer is a whirl wind. I truly enjoy my family and friends, my yard has always been a pleasure for me, vacations are great, but to compress all of that and the “normal” every day living stuff into 3 months just seems like too much. No matter summer will proceed as it always does, fall will come and things will quiet down then blissful winter will return.

Enjoy the summer. Peace

addendum; This is memorial day weekend the beginning of summer for many but more important its a time to celebrate those who gave all they had. Raise a glass and salute the people who gave it all for us and our country!

This is bud. He is 12 years old and lives with my X. It 's always nice to see him. 

just another

*Another week has gone by like grease lightning. Its Sunday again and what a nice morning. The clouds are scheduled to come this afternoon about the same time as my company but oh well lets enjoy the morning!

*I have been soooo busy. I just don’t know where the time went. My son is trying to buy a place of his own so I have been doing his leg work so he does not miss any work. Things are not looking good for him. The prices on the beach are so sky high that he will most likely have to look else where. It’s sad when the young cant afford to live where they were raised.

*The yard is looking ok. I love working outside. There is nothing like the feeling of pure physical exhaustion.

*Not much has caught my attention in the news this week. I don’t care for news that centers on the death of little ones. Congress and the senate are still acting in the interest of the republican and democratic parties and not the interest of the country as a whole. God I hope the next president can bring this countries political engine together!

Little is being said these days of the 1800 that have died in the Middle East since the “wars” have began. That count keeps going up and its no longer front page. I went to the site with the coffins on it. My heart just sank. More has to be done to get that area stable and get out of there. We never should have gone there and now we can’t leave.

Inclusion

Excitement is building at my house. The future event is included in many Conversations. When the boys friends are over you can see the excitement in their eyes. The faces of the 15-22 year old “men” light up at the mere mention of the event. “Miss Cindy are you going?” “It’s going to be great!” I tell them yes but I will go early to avoid the rush. Their reply is how lucky I am they can’t go any earlier they have to work! And so goes the anticipation of Star Wars.

These young men, children to me, grew up on it. A space cowboy saga that has expanded over nearly 30 years and at least 2 generations. Moms and dads of my generation have a topic in common with their children. I’m going to enjoy this common thread. I’m going to enjoy the excitement these young men exude over the topic and their willingness to include me in their conversations. I’m going to see the movie and then compare notes with them. I going to relish this fleeting time of inclusion that will be over once the wave are stoking and the girls of summer are back.

Just a few words

I lied to my youngest son today. I told him I was sorry that he had school. It seems that in an announcement stating that because of the CHANCE of sound side flooding and high winds school COULD be cancelled. Well the coastal low is here and he is at school. I’m sitting in front of this computer typing a blog entry drinking coffee and listening to Radio Paradise. I’m glad he is in school I have few of these mornings to myself left this year, the kids get out of school June 2^nd, and I don’t want to miss any of my alone time!!

Nothing new to report this time, even politics has settled down for now. The Daily Show had very little political satire last night. I’m sure that will change with the pres going to Europe. Bush can’t help but mess something up. I am looking forward to the results of the evolution debate happening in Kansas. That will be good for some laughs. I don’t support beach renourishment and that along with the tax decrease which is really an increase due to the property reevaluation that was done are the local hot topics. Things seem to be the same every where. I think I’ll go paint a room!

Not to leave on a sarcastic down note here are some words from one of my favorite musicians/poet’s.

If we have faith in human kind,
And respect for what is earthly,
And an unfaltering belief in peace and love and understanding
This could be heaven here on earth.

Tracy Chapman, Heaven here on earth, Heaven CD

Well it has been a long time since I blogged. I have just been so busy doing little things that I have not had the time. Today is rainy and I can only stroll through the garden not work in it so I have the time to drink coffee and blog.


*This week I put in the tomatoes, green beans, cucumbers and green peppers. I can't wait for fresh green beans with tomatoes and basal! The strawberries are flowering (yum). The flowers in the garden are allowing for some nice simple flower arrangements to bless the dining table and I will have roses soon. Oh how I love spring

*I was just asked by my middle son if he could move back in. Seems he is having a problem with his roommate's cat. And this was starting out to be such a good day.

*Rain or shine I will be helping my neighbor replace his irrigation pump. I've done this a few times for myself so we will have it done in no time. Of course replacing the pump means rain every day for the next week.

*Last night while listening to A Prairie Home Companion's "News from lake Wobegone" it came to my attention that I have been depriving my 15 year old son the privilege of mowing the lawn. I decided that starting today I would deprive him no longer, I would give him the privilege of mowing the front lawn. It's raining. (Best laid plans of mice and men).

Well the trees are that great light green color of spring the air smell good and the weather is pleasant even with the rain. I can't sit for long this time of year so until next time.

May

I've never mentioned May in my blog, but she was my son's cat. I went into my bedroom this morning around 10:30 and I found her dead. She was just laying there and I could tell right away she had gone but I got my stethoscope anyway and listened for any sign of life. She was still warm to touch and limp when I picked her up so I knew it had not been long.

She was a pain in the ass in the morning if her food bowl was not full. If you went to pet her she thought it was play time and she was rough. She never drew blood but you could tell she wanted to. She was a cat. She came when she wanted to the rest of the time you were wasting your breath calling. She will be missed

May was only 5 years old, she died young. It was hard telling my son he loves his cats and he took it hard.

Life is uncertain. No one knows how long we will be here or how long the things we love will be here. All we can do is be a kind to each other and treat the animals dependent on us well and hope life is good.

Spring is in full force now. Pollen has given my gray car and all the outdoor furniture a yellow green sheen. My plants are begging in tiny voices that only I can hear to be let out. The house exterior has been professionally cleaned of the green slime that seems to grow over the winter. And I have a list of projects that just keeps getting longer.

I love this time of year. This is the time to turn the garden again and plant those tomatos and green peppers. Its time to get first planting the green beans in the ground. This is when the roses begin to take off and the fragrance of flowers begins to fill the air, just little whiffs here and there nothing strong. Just a hint of what is to come.

This time of year the inside of my house is an embarrassment. I don't like house work in the first place so if I have to choose between dusting and raking, raking is going to win out! Give me the hammer, mower and lawn tools. Let me enjoy these fleeting moment of spring before the heat of summer comes and makes being outside a chore.

A view from the Buffalo 1993

I have been trying to keep my writing in the here and now but after visiting Fragments from Floyd http://www.fragmentsfromfloyd.com/ and Blue Ridge Muse http://www.dougthompson.com/ I could not help but regress. This is a photo taken in 1993 on top of Buffalo Mt. and those are my boys.

What a way to end the day. Three friends by the fire chit chatting.
 

Winter & Spring

We on the Outer Banks have been experiencing a north easter for the past week. Many people know about the wind and it has been kicking but they don’t know about the noise. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore sounds like freeway traffic at rush hour. This sound travels far. I live on an island 4 miles from the beach and I can hear it. On top of that add the noise of wind at 25-40 miles per hour. This constant noise lasts for days at a time and many of us just tune it out.

To day as I do every morning that I’m home I got up, got sorta dressed, fixed the dog food for the boy and girl, put my coffee water on and took the boy and girl down for their morning constitution. Opening the door to the back yard I was greeted to the sound of birds the sun was shining, the wind was light, and although I could still hear the ocean you could tell it had laid down some.

To see a cloudless sky to hear birds to be able to walk outside with out holding on to my hat was nice. I doubt that this is the last we see of winter. This time of year on the outer banks is a time of flux. We see very little of spring. Winter and spring fight until summer comes along and takes over. Today winter is waning and spring has returned tomorrow we will see what happens.

Lessons

Yesterday returning to my car after shopping I noticed a hand written note on my windshield. The note told me that I had a low tire. Well the tire was almost flat so I quickly went to the nearest air hose and filled the tire up. I decided that I would keep an eye on it and went on about my business. In my mind I thanked the anonymous writer telling my self that I would pass the kindness on.

To be quite truthful I forgot all about the tire until this morning when as I was rushing to get my son to school and I saw that it was flat. Well I hauled out the air compressor cursing under my breath just knowing this was going to be one of those things it took all day to get fixed, pumped up the tire. As nice as I could I explained to my son that this was a little thing and even though it was an inconvenience no one did anything bad so there was no reason to get mad, it was just one of those things you take care of and move on. Believe me that’s not what I was thinking!

Well I dropped my son off at school and rushed to the Fast Lube were I get my oil and tires taken care of. Now we only have one place on the beach that does the Jiffy Lube kind of stuff, you know the simple general car maintenance. When they first opened, Chris the owner wanted to have the customer in and out in 30 minutes well it doesn’t work that way, they are so busy that I had prepared myself for a few hours stay. Imagine my suprise when I get there and there is only one car ahead of me. One of Chris’s guys came out took the keys I told him to fix the tire and while I was here change the oil.

I went to the waiting room and prepared to read the magazines but instead I got into a conversation with the owner of the first vehicle. It seems he just got back from California were he had undergone radiation treatment for prostate cancer. What made this so interesting is that the type of treatment he received is not available here on the east coast. He went to Loma Linda hospital in Loma Linda CA for a relatively new treatment using proton radiation to treat his prostate. The treatment is “new” but it has been around for more than 15 years and insurance covered it. The gentleman went on to tell me that the side effects of this treatment are few. He did not lose his hair, experience nausea or vomiting, his lab work is fine no decrease in blood cell’s. He told me that the proton radiation focuses on the cancerous area and does not harm the surrounding tissue. It does not pass beyond the tissue being treated so it does not affect other organs. It is a relativity non invasive procedure. He told me they are starting to use it for breast cancer. I was very thankful to him a stranger that had just gone through what must have been a frightening time in his life for sharing this with me.

I have always believed if you look for good in any situation you will find it and that there are lessons to learn and relearn every day. A flat tire reminded me of some very important lessons. Yesterday it was that there are a lot of good people out there and little acts of good do matter even if no one knows who you are. Today it was that if you are willing to listen you can learn something that might be important to pass on to others.

Friday a good day

I have so much to do the last thing I need to be doing is spending time writing to myself but I have the urge to blog so here goes.

Spring has sprung here on the Outer Banks. I had to turn the AC on so I could sleep the other day. Too much noise going on outside with all the construction not to mention the lawn mowers and yes the birds and dogs. That’s what happens when you work nights the things you most enjoy become a nuscence when you need sleep!

The Popes funeral has taken the headlines this week. Next week it will be the conclave and then the news will be back to war, death, destruction and Michael Jackson. All the politicians who joined in solidarity at the funeral will again be at each others throats. People will once more look at natures fury and mans stupidly and again declare that Armageddon on the horizon. Very little ever changes in the big picture.

My small picture is good. My youngest turned 15 yesterday and it was a good day. My older sons are doing well. My grass is green, the tulips are going to bloom for the first time EVER, and the fresh fruit stand opened April 1^st. My job, family and friends keep me in constant motion making it seem as though I’m in a losing battle with time but I would not have it any other way. For me at this moment life is good.

Well that is it for today’s blog. I need to get the basement cleaned and the laundry finished. Of course I would be done if I had not gone to the neighbors and had coffee but Turkish coffee with friends is not to be passed up.

This morning at the beach

My prayer is that Pope John Paul may find peace. I dont agree with all he says but he is a good man and leader

adendum: Pope John Paul II, aka Karol Cardinal Wojtyla of Poland, born may 18, 1920 died April 2, 2005 at 9:37pm Roman time.

Music of the times

Musicians are the poets of the people. They have the ability to move the human psyche to incite pleasure, pain, anger, joy, sadness, laughter, all human emotions. There are many types of music more than I can even began to name but I like rock and alternative the best. I listen to the words looking for a meaning seeing if I can relate. I choose my music according to how I feel. Mellancamp, Dylan and Young have some heady stuff where Weird Al is anything but serious.

Songs bring to the surface social injustice, vice, love, passion, humor. A song can trigger a memory. The right song can take you back to your first date, wedding , child, divorce and even that party you don’t remember all that well and its probably a good thing you don’t.

Last night while contemplating the events that have transpired so far this, year songs by Billy Joel and Paul Simon came to mind. The songs “We didn’t start the fire” and “The boy in the bubble” used short phrases to chronicle the events in recent history. I started to do the same with the events starting with the December 26^th tsunami. As I counted off the events I decided that for this year I would, using as few words as possible, make a running account of things that happen. On January 1, 2006 I will take a good look at this time capsule and see if I had more good than bad, see if my song is happy or sad.

So far I have: Tsunami, world relief, President Bush second term, oil prices, Alaskan wild life refuge, Terry Schiavo, congress where it does not belong, & Pope John Paul II.

a view from the deck 

Back from Willis

My son and I just spent a few great days in Willis. I was finally able to get a photo of the Buffalo on a sunny day I hope I'm able to post it

We got the camper ready for the summer and built a small deck. When June comes around we will get to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

My son and I came back a little early from Willis we decided to beat the rain. Its a 7 hour drive there but it was worth it for the fresh air and great tasting water.