Homesick?

Do you ever get homesick? I think when homesickness comes up most people associate it with young people going off to camp or school or into the military. I can associate with the last one very distinctly. I remember being so homesick in the military I cried. The longer I stayed, the less homesick I was. And I would imagine that is true for most people.

When I went to the Pacific I had orders for an 18 month assignment. As it turned out, after I was there a couple of months the tour was shortened to a 12 month tour. Those already on assignment had their tour prorated. Mine was dropped from 18 months to 15 months. I was pretty homesick the first month or so, but as I made friends and made contact with a missionary from our church I settled into the flow of things.

When I returned to the US I was assigned to a base in southwest Oklahoma just 4 hours from home, and in the same town one of my mother’s sisters lived. I ended up not staying on base but staying with my aunt and uncle for the rest of my enlistment. So I wasn’t homesick much at all.

During my stay in southwest Oklahoma I met my future wife. After being discharged I moved to Baltimore, married and settled into life near the east coast.

But there were times when I would get homesick. Being about 20 or so hours from my home by car we didn’t get to visit very often. I missed my family and the area in which I grew up.

I remember one time crying like a baby when leaving my parents and heading back to West Virginia. It hurt to leave again.

Time brought a lot of changes in my life as it does to everyone’s. We moved to West Virginia as I just mentioned, then later we moved to Virginia. We had children and began to become a family ourselves. The nucleus changed from my parent’s home to my own. Most of the time I was too busy to be homesick. Most of the time I was involved in taking care of my own family to think too much about the family into which I was born.

Events that typically are celebrated with extended families were difficult. My parents and siblings could not be with us as we welcomed our children into our lives. My parents and siblings did not get to witness and celebrate our children’s accomplishments as they grew. I and my family missed out on being with my parents as they grew older. My own family missed out on weddings, births, graduations and accomplishments of my first family. We even missed out on funerals. I was able to be at my dad’s funeral but no one else. Georgiann was able to be with me at my mom’s funeral but none of our children. And only Todd was able to accompany Georgiann and me to my brother’s funeral.

All of us missed the funeral of my first nephew. All of us missed the funeral of my brother-in-law.

I now have only the remnants of a family. I know that comes to a lot of people as they grow old. But if you have been close as your family slips away, and you have celebrated the good times and shared the bad times it seems easier.

Beyond family and family events I find myself with an enduring homesickness for the Midwest. I love the mountains in which I live. I love to spend time in them and see them on a daily basis. But I still miss the wide open plains. I miss Kansas as well. Kansas and Oklahoma have much in common as far as landscapes go. I miss standing on the only high point in miles, the overpass of a road as it crosses a set of railroad tracks, and looking down the tracks until they merge together into a single track and fade into the distance. Turning to the left or right and as far as you can see looking over the tops of wheat or hay tassels.

I miss the narrow two lane roads that are so straight the concrete fades in the distance as the heat waves cause it to shimmer out of focus. The narrow two lane roads with grass that begins at the edge of the pavement and goes as down into the shallow ditch and under the 3 strand barbwire which is held up by old locust and oak post cut from branches just the right size with knots on the sides where other branches were trimmed.

Narrow two lane concrete roads with a seam every 20 or 30 feet which make a distinctive clunk clunk as the tires roll over them, first the front tires then the back tires.

The electric poles with the creosote fading from them with the foot pegs up the side and the electric wires attached to the cross beam with glass insulators.

And the cows standing in the heat of summer slowly chewing as they slowly turn to watch your car go by. Red cows and brown. Black cows. Beef cows. Mostly all beef cows. Dairy cows require more pasture than beef. The grass in Oklahoma and Kansas mostly grows too slow to support much dairy. Beef cows are the majority.

I miss all of that. I get homesick for that. And it seems odd to me. Odd because I would have thought that homesickness was about missing people. Family and friends. Relationships and events. Laughter and sadness. But I seem to miss places.

And the most odd thing about this homesickness is the homesickness I have for a place I have only been in about 22 days total.

How can a person miss a place so foreign and so different after only experiencing it for 22 days? I don’t know. But I do. I miss Kenya like I miss Oklahoma and Kansas. And if given the choice of living in any of the three places, it would be a difficult choice for me.

There are many reasons why I could be happy in each place, and just as many why I would not be happy in any of them.

But before you think I am unhappy where I am, let me assure you I am not. My family, my own family, is here. My job is here. My church is here. I love the mountains. And what about the ocean, you say. You are close to the ocean. Well, the ocean I like in 2 or 3 day doses. After a couple or three days at the ocean I am ready to get back to the mountains.

Homesickness. A weird thing. With no cure as far as I know.

Between Christmases

*** Just wanted to post a few pictures in between having Christmas with part of the family and having Christmas with all the family. Todd, Diana, Abigail, Jill and Amari were with Georgiann and I for Christmas on Christmas day. Chad, Lesa and Madison were having Christmas with Lesa's family in Bemus Point, NY. New Years eve we will have Christmas with everyone here.

I won't detail what we got, but it was a nice Christmas. Just wanted to show some pics. I have also included a couple of pictures of our good friend Sergio of Sergio's Pizza in Bridgewater. I need to go back and get pictures of his sister who works with him and pictures of the restaurant. I have plans to write a story about them.

Christmas 2008 countdown

From talking to young people who come into the store with moms and dads shopping I know that most are getting really excited about Christmas. I know I always got excited, I guess until my teens, then I hit a low point in Christmas expectations while in the service. Being in a tropical climate with temperatures in the high 70s year round and being below the equator so that Christmas fell right in the middle of summer, seemed to take all the magic out of Dreaming of a White Christmas. But it didn't seem to detour those responsible for playing Christmas music all over the US military base.

That was Christmas of the 20th year of my life. By the time my 21st Christmas came around I was on the plains of southwest Oklahoma. I can't remember what the weather was like. Cold I'm sure with a significant windchill. One more Christmas there, then the rest were in Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia. All much more Christmas weather like places. Especially in our home in West Virginia when we lived up in Preston County.

But by this evening, December 21, I am sure the visions of Wiis, PlayStations and a host of other electronic gadgets as well as snowboards, skis, roller blades and skateboards are dancing in small heads all over this country. I really don't know about other countries, what the children dream for or want.

We will be down 3 for Christmas as Chad, Lesa and Madison go to New York to have Christmas with the Lipsey family. I know that will be a nice time for them. We just pray their travels are safe in the less than ideal conditions that might come their way. And we think of everyone travelling to be with family and friends this time of year and hope for safety for them.

Have you ever meet someone you knew in the past and can't remember how you know them? In the last couple of weeks I have spoken with a woman that looks extremely familiar, and her name is very familiar to me. She says the same thing about me, but neither of us can find a point in our lives that seem to cross. We even got her husband in on the process but he only suggested pretty much the same things we had covered. It isn't important to either of us, I am sure, but it drives a person crazy. I won't mention her name here, but it's weird.

I have to work Monday and Tuesday then again on Friday. The next week I work at least 5 days in a row, and most likely 6. The week schedule that includes the 6th day hasn't been post yet. But after being off for 7 days in a row, then working 2, off 1, working 2, off 2 I guess I deserve a long run of work. I have plenty to do.

I will endeavor to get some pictures of our Christmas, especially the granddaughters and post them here.

I look forward to 2009. I am hoping to finish my current book early in the year because I have 3 more books on parallel topics I want to explore. I discuss the books on my other blog, Dendrite Activity found here http://fiberflashes.blogspot.com/.

It is open to anyone who would like to read it, but the focus is probably narrow for most. I mostly just lay out what I am discovering in reading books concerning ancient text. Some of the texts became canon scripture, others were rejected. I have found my scriptural interest lies in ancient text that references events recorded in the Old Testament. Comments are turned off, because I don't see it a a forum for discussion as much as it is a place for me to write out my own discoveries so that I can examine them.

But 2009 is shaping up for me in my mind to be a year of more study, more books read, and a lot more biking done. I really hope to bike a significant amount of the trail system in Washington DC this next spring, summer and fall. If anyone wants to join me I'd be happy to hear from you.

Merry Christmas to each of you.

Mary Christmas

Erectus Correctus

I stand corrected. Chad commented that he does not regard DC as a gun toting jungle full of thugs. I apologize, Chad. I was again being glib and it backfired on me, again. I know you love to spend time with Lesa and Madison. And you should and I am extremely proud of you for that. I sincerely believe both you and Todd will make better Dads than I did. Because of the love you both show for your girls.

We, Todd and I, would love to have you along if you feel you can on our next trip. I felt much safer on the trails we were on there than I do on the back roads here. Not only from vehicular traffic but also from the people around me. Bikers, joggers, walkers and all sorts of people use those trails on a daily basis and the incidents of problems is extremely minuscule.

My apologies for misrepresenting you in any way.

Washington Biking

Well we both survived our trip to and in Washington, DC. Actually, it was a great day. The temperature was chilly. We were dressed in layers, but I stayed a bit on the cool side all day. And as the shadows got longer as we biked south in Rock Creek Park I was wishing I had brought my windbreaker. It was in the truck. Great place.

We were more than a little confused about the directions both on the trail and to the trail. What we did find out is that the Capital Crescent Trail is the first several miles of the Great Washington Loop trail that we were planning to bike.

The CCT was a great place to bike. We passed a lot of joggers and walkers and were passed by a lot of bikers. I only remember passing a couple of bikers all day, except for the many going the other direction.

We reached Bethesda in about an hour, and then opted to continue on to the bridge over Rock Creek Park with plans to return to Bethesda for lunch. The best laid plans of mice and men.

We stopped a gentleman on the bridge who suggested we take the Rock Creek Park trail back to Georgetown. Probably not the thing we should have done, but it worked out fine. First problem was no place to eat. Second problem it never seemed like we were making any progress. But that was because the scenery wasn't changing too much and we weren't familiar with the park.

After being convinced we were lost beyond finding we finally took to heart the repeated instructions we were getting to STAY ON THE TRAIL. We stayed on the trail for what seemed to be many miles and suddenly popped back into civilization right in Georgetown about 2 blocks from the truck.

It was a great ride. Yes, my quads were screaming by the time we finished. And my gluteus maximus is still sore. But I'd do it again in a minute. No make that several days. I doubt I could sit on my bike at the moment.

You can look at the pictures Todd took with this link:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=yv11rtl.1o8rlmk1&x=0&y=-mcwy4d&localeid=en_US

If I could have copied them here I'd have captioned some of them. But you can sort them out for yourself.

I spent part of this evening in the workshop sanding on my railings. I like to work listening to my mp-3 player with my ear protectors on. The ear protectors block out the sounds of the equipment so all I hear is pure music.

This evening I was listening to Enya's album A Day without Rain. I had a conversation one very cold evening with a friend with this very album in the background. It was an amazing conversation, one that will most likely stick in my mind for a very long time. I realize I am a very melancholy person, and I have been accused of living in the past too much. But some things will stick with me until my mind no longer processes information. Some memories will never die. One of the songs from that album has a song sort of related to that fact. Here are the words to Fallen Embers.

Once, as my heart remember, All the stars were fallen embers.
Once, when night seemed forever, I was with you.
Once, in the care of morning, In the air was all belonging.
Once, when that day was dawning. I was with you.

How far we are from morning. How far are we.
And the stars shining through the darkness, Falling in the air.
Once, as the night was leaving, Into us our dreams were worth keeping.
Once, all dreams were worth keeping. I was with you.
Once, when our hearts were singing, I was with you.

I don't know that I can sort out all she is saying, but the music seems to make the words mystical somehow. I think it must be talking about a love once held and now lost.

On a very different note, do you like Longhorn cheese? When I was growing up I ate copious amounts of Longhorn cheese. But as an adult I eat copious amounts of Cheddar cheese. In searching for the Longhorn I remember from my childhood I found that Longhorn is a Cheddar. I found this on foodreference.com: Longhorn cheese refers to a mild Cheddar or Colby cheese made into a long orange cylinder. Now available in both its original shape and also in rectangles and half rounds. So Longhorn is cheddar, but not just any cheddar. It is actually more correctly referred to as Colby. Colby Longhorn Cheddar I guess.

But today's Colby Longhorn Cheddar does not have exactly the same texture as the Longhorn of my childhood. And the reason is, the Longhorn of my childhood came wrapped in cheese cloth. And as we munched on it and added it to sandwiches we repackaged it for storage in cheesecloth. Today's comes packaged in plastic.

The difference? Plastic doesn't breath, cheesecloth does. So as the cheesecloth breathed the outer sides of the cheese would age a little faster than the insides. So when you ate it, the outer sides had a distinctive dryer taste and a firmness the inside did not have.

And I liked it. Another example, at least for me, when progress isn't necessarily a good thing. I bet you never thought much about the difference between Longhorn cheese in cheesecloth and Colby Longhorn Cheddar in plastic, did you? You can find anything on the Internet if you look deep enough.

Weather Notwithstanding, we are going biking

Weather.com has been moderating the temperature forecast for Washington, DC all week so yesterday I decided to press on and at least get in a day of riding. Todd and I hope to land in DC about mid morning tomorrow and do the 30+ miles of the Great Washington Loop. We hope to have company who know the route intimately but if not we will try to wing it. In the event we get lost, tire out, get cold or wet we'll look for metro signs and kill the run.

If you have been following the blog you know I have been working on a railing for the front porch. It takes me much longer than most people who work in and around construction to accomplish seemingly simple tasks. I work slower and I have never developed the ability to visualize projects from start to finish in my mind as well as others. I need drawings and sketches, and sometimes experimentation. But I am making progress and hope to have the railings up before my vacation ends this week. Georgiann has listed some more small tasks from some projects in the past that are not quite completed yet. I need to work on them.

But tomorrow is play time. I love being on my bike, and I love the many and varied neighborhoods in the Washington area. I'd like to live in one close to a metro station and not own a car. Just a bike. Maybe work downtown and use the metro. Have an ethnic restaurant nearby where everyone knows my name and I know the menu by heart. Where one can lean on the railing of the porch and talk to the neighbor leaning on his or her railing. Where the postal person walks delivering the mail. Where the front yards are small but the houses are big, old and quaint. Somewhere one might pick up a second language just by listening to the neighbors.

I think that is one of the reasons I am excited about this ride. It goes through many neighborhoods. And it is always fun to ride with my boys. Chad was not interested in going. He regards Washington as a gun toting jungle of minority thugs. I think all of that is a direct result of extremely bad publicity and worse case scenario media. I believe most of the people in the world everywhere are decent people. I've proved in many countries.

My last post generated some feedback from a number of sources via email. I guess I had forgotten I posted my email as the place to respond. It's OK, actually. I had turned off the comment ability but have since re-enabled that function.

Most of it was very encouraging and agreeable. Some were from confused readers who missed the point of the blog. I realize much of that lies at my door. I try to write very lucid and transparently, but I think my mind sometimes runs far ahead of my handicapped fingers. If I don't proof read very carefully I end up with ambiguous verbiage. For that I apologize. My goal is to write succinctly and exactly. In trying to write using perfect wording for the thought I purposefully avoid local jargon and butchered syntax. I see so many blogs that are written like people talk, incomplete sentences and made up words, that I try to avoid them.

I also stand by my last blog as true in my understanding. It was not meant to be a statement of situation in my sphere of influence, but an analogy of a situation I see most of us encountering throughout our lives. To the persons who suffered umbrage at my "insinuation some may have to go different directions in order to restore peace" I can only say that it seems to me some differences of opinions are not resolvable because of the depth at which the difference is held.

If, in fact, the difference is regarded in totally different ways, i.e. one party simply can not get a cohesive understanding of the other party's offense to the action, stance or ideology, then the parties may be at an impasse. I know it can happen. I have seen it happen. And no amount of explanation or arguing or reasoning will help the situation if one is not equipped either through experience or training to see the situation the same. Going separate directions is not the end of the world. Sometimes it leads to happiness on both sides.

Besides, this is my blog and I put in it what I see from my nearly 60 years of life. I don't need to be told I should know better. I put that statement in the ground with my mother, rest her soul. Sort of like the statement read during the NPR What Do You Know show. "If anyone thinks otherwise they should get their own show." If you don't care for what is written here, you are free to read somewhere else. Freedom of speech is one if not our greatest freedoms. Hallelujah pass the powder.

Shifting Landscapes

Differences of opinion. When both parties are sure they are right to believe in their actions, how is the resulting conflict resolved? This is a dilemma that every adult faces many times in their lives. When relationships are formed even more divergences arises. When anyone engages in commitments to another the individualities are going to go different directions at times.

Whether it is as simple as a choice of where to have dinner together or as complex as where to live, our opinions as to what we want to do will very often conflict with the person with whom we are committed.

The conflict is exasperated when neither side can fully understand the other’s feelings about the dilemma. In the very mobile society we live in we find people committing to marriage and other types of relationships with people from extremely different backgrounds. With more and more inter-racial commitments we are seeing more differences brought into relationships which are difficult enough already. Sometimes the differences are so sensitive that violent and explosive actions result if the issues are not defused quickly. Even seemingly small differences such as family traditions and opinions on things like public and private displays of affection and personal space can bias a person for life.

And quick diffusion may not be possible when neither party understands the other’s position or sensitive to the situation. It may take a lot of counseling, a lot of time and a lot of mental and emotional position changing to achieve diffusion. If neither party will adjust their positions, reconciliation may never happen. It is then up to both parties to agree to disagree. Not always a bad thing, agreeing to disagree can actually bring strength to commitments and more respect for each person’s position. More respect can lead to more commitment.

It hinges on whether the parties are in fact not able to understand the other’s position, or if they are simply being hard to get along with. Standing by a position after seeing that it isn’t defensible is suicidal. You are going to die at this position, at least in light of the relationship.

There are two ways to consider the action to be taken. It is claimed that Demosthenes said "The man who runs away may fight again." That quote goes back to 338 B.C. “Pick your battles” is another quote we have all heard in every aspect of life from backyard fence to pulpit. And there is validity in the statements. But neither of these actions will necessarily resolve the problem. Either concept may diffuse it for a while, but it won’t be resolved. It will return to haunt the relationship.

I do not have an answer to the problem of differences of opinion when an impasse is encountered. I wish I did. One has to hope that the issues are not earth shacking or relationship ending. Sometimes they are. I have known of people who needed to go their separate directions in order to bring peace to both sides. If the two lives are intertwined with mutual investments and interests such as children, property and accumulations, the separation can be more painful than agreeing to disagree.

In observing people and in living in a commitment for 36 years I believe most problems result from one of two areas. Those are money and outside interests on one or both of the parties.

Money always creates tension when there isn’t enough for the lifestyles desired. And on the flip side money can very often gloss over difficult situations when there is plenty to go around.

Outside interests encompasses more things than anyone could list in a lifetime. But a list very popular ones must be headed by relationships outside of the committed one, family traditions and mannerisms, work, careers, activities (an entire list in itself), and religious beliefs.

Toss in varied backgrounds with difference in more than one of these and stir in personal incompatibilities and vulcanology may shape your personal landscape. And the resultant scenery may be one you don’t want outside your picture window of life.

Conflict resolution may be the greatest and most important skill not taught to us as children.

Another mostly sleepless night

Well, still not sleeping through the night. I worked from 12:30 pm yesterday until almost 10 pm last night. I walked into a mess because, ... well just because. I'll just say if I worked for the Post Office they might be hiring in the next few days. That's what their flag a half mast means in case you ever wondered. I got home last night around 10:30 and to bed by 11:30. Back up about 12 am to work on some documents and a money saving suggestion for Lowe's corporate that suddenly surfaced in my brain. I went back to bed about 12:30 am, back up at 2 until about 3 then the alarm went off at 3:45. Got to work about 4:40 am.

I found out how to submit my idea for money savings to corporate and now we wait to see what happens to it. I think each store could save a few thousand dollars a year, multiplied by the number of stores. A nice hunk of change they could save.

It has been rotten cold here for a few days. My trip to the nation's capitol in 11 days may be in jeopardy. Biking in cold weather doesn't sound like the best fun a person could have. My Ocracoke calendar is on it's last page. I won't be returning to Ocracoke until the end of March. Now what do I do? Leave December up for 4 months? Nah. Maybe someone with get me a calendar for Christmas that I like enough to replace my Ocracoke. I could purchase one of Kerry's calendars. The money for his goes to missions. I may have to consider that on Sunday.

Anyway. I added some music to the blog and switched the order a bit. I hope you enjoy it. I have listened to this Winter Songs album at least 50 times in the last 4 days. I discovered Lenka and several other Indie artists. Some great folksy type music out there right now. And for right now that seems to fit my personality best. Enjoy.

Day/Night flipped out

On Saturday after Thanksgiving I woke up feeling terrible. I had not felt good on Thanksgiving, and after Googling my symptoms (yes, you CAN Google anything) I decided I just had a cold. By the time Thanksgiving day was over I was in the throes of a common cold. Rats. Sore throat, coughing, nose running, you know. Had to work at 6 am the next morning, and by the time I got to work I was feeling like I had dodged the bullet. I had a good day. A good day on Super Friday as we call it at the store. We had a LOT of people at the store at 5:45 waiting on the doors to open. Busy all day.

By the time I finished dinner and slowed down to watch some TV I was miserable again. So I went to the drug store for an inhaler. While there I decided to drive through Wendy's and have a Frosty. Love them Frostys. At that point I was right near the entrance to the I-81 interstate and not wanting to go home yet for fear of just filling up again, I went on to work. At work I ran a report that I would need on Sunday. Not that it would get done on Sunday because I am off all weekend. But I ran the report so I could look it over.

Got home, went to bed, and woke up the next morning feeling like I just described. Got up about 9:45 and slipped a little later over to Jill's house where she and Todd and Georgiann were painting Jill's master bath and bedroom. Felt bad all day.

G & I went to my favorite place to eat, Sergio's in Bridgewater. New York style pizza and subs. I felt 300% better by the time we finished and returned home. I planned to go to bed about 10, but got seated at the computer looking up different things while listening to a CD G bought for us titled "Winter Songs" presented by the HOTEL CAFE featuring a number of Indie female artists, in particular some of my favorites like Ingrid Michaelson, Kate Havnevik and others.

Along about midnight, just before closing down and heading to bed, I got an email from my dear friend and Pastor. Read his email, replied and went to bed.

Bad choice. I couldn't sleep for wheezing, coughing and hacking. So got back up and began Googling each of the artists on this album. Read through most of their bios, their music, their shows and photos. Well, didn't particularly read their photos, just looked. It is always interesting to see the person behind the voice, especially when you like their music.

So here it is 3:30 am and I still have not slept at all. Now will I pay for it later today, Sunday? Pretty good chance I'd say. I know G has to do some shopping today. If left alone and to my own devices, I may be taking an afternoon nap. Which will only lead to me not sleeping as well and perhaps being up half the night again. Not good. Although I don't go to work Monday until 12, I do need to run by the health clinic and get blood drawn for the Dr. appointment I have the next Monday.

As much southern sweet ice tea as I have had in my 59 1/2 years you would almost believe I'd have tea in my veins. Although, it might be partially at fault for my high blood sugar. We did switch to Splenda a while back for that reason. I like it better than sugar, actually. Seems sweeter for the same amount.

If I am able to stay up I would like to get my two new porch railings sanded and a primer coat of KILZ on them. I have been "working" on them too long. Need to finish. Right now I have heard this Cd about 10 times in a row. And I still have to stop typing and listen to parts. Especially to Lenka sing All My Bells Are Ringing.

I discovered in my blogging and Googling the top 10 saddest songs in pop culture. It starts out with the Everly Brother's "So Sad to Watch Good Love go Bad." As I read down through them I had in my mind Roy Orbison. He would have to make the list. He did. Number 2. "It's Over." Now how sad is that? To realize your love for someone is done? Saddest words on earth, outside of spiritual things. And even sadder in my opinion than the song that was voted number 1.

I remember the very first time I heard this song. It was about 1981 or 1982, I was standing in the dean's office of the College of Mineral and Energy Research at West Virginia University. I worked for them for 7 years. And being country music fans in that office they always had the local country music station on. George Jones came over the airwaves singing, you betcha, "He Stopped Loving Her Today."

Allow me to quote the article from Yahoo.

"I don't care how hard-bitten you may be, I defy you not to get a lump in the throat from this 20-year-old classic of cornball liebestod. It's utterly transcendental--the most heartbreaking record ever made. "

Now if the word liebestod throws you, it's OK. I wasn't sure. According to the Oxford Dictionary it means love-death and is attributed to the German opera writer Wagner. He used the word in his opera Tristan und Isolde. No, I am not familiar with it either. I knew he wrote Die Wakure and I am familar with that music. It is known in English as Ride of the Valkeries.

4 am. The carriage turned into a pumpkin about 4 hours ago and the footmen ran off into the field. And here I sit with a glass slipper in my hand. Alas. She is gone. I didn't even get her cell phone number. Drat.

Camera choice

I have settled on the camera I would like to have most. The Canon PowerShot SD790 IS. It has all of the features I would like to have in a camera. You can see it here:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_sd790-review/index.shtml.

If you have any input let me know.

Take them NOT for granted

This may be a little lengthy, but I wanted to share it.

In church last night we had a Thanksgiving eve service of sorts. It was very poignant for me as Pastor Kerry led us in a responsive reading, listening to several songs of thanks and prayers of thankfulness.

During one of the songs he asked us to list, just privately, the things we would not want to take for granted. Here is my list. After the first 3 or 4 that all began with the letter F, I continued with the theme and this is the result.

Things I Don’t Want to Take for Granted

Family: Family is a gift. Family is a treasure. Family is precious. No matter where we go in life we can never change the family we were brought into the world in, or replace them entirely.

Family Extended: Family extended includes my two beautiful and precious daughters in law, and my three precious granddaughters. Without them now I would be very incomplete.

Friends: Precious to me as well are my friends. It has been said there are friends who come into our lives to bring joy for a season and then move on. And there are friends who come into our lives to remain until the end. Both are sweet to me.

Fellowship: Fellowship not only with those of my social and spiritual status, but those of other cultures and ethnicity whose lives I can’t even begin to understand.

Faith: Faith has been the surest anchor of my entire life. It has seen me through good times and not so good times. And now in my latter years it has become the passion of my life.

Fatherhood: Through the process of watching Georgiann carry my three children to birth, through their birth, through their young years and now into their adult years, I have been blessed by being a father to the three of them.

Fine Food: From burgers to filets, from crayfish to lobster, from snickers to fudge royal cheesecake I am thankful for fine food. Fine food does not, however, include liver or injera bread.
Fun times: Vacations at Cape May and Williamsburg. Weddings in Bemus and Annapolis. Walks in the woods. Bike rides. Football at the Talbots. Sledding in the I-77 exit ramp ditch and ice skating on Back River.

Finances: Those times when we had enough money to do what we wanted, both times. Those times, all the rest, when we didn’t have enough to pay attention.

Finality of Life: Knowing I will not be here for ever. Knowing that this life is not all there is. Knowing that my end is closer than it has ever been and not being unhappy or afraid.

Future Home: Going to a place of no pain, no fear, no parting, no sadness. And staying there forever.

All of these things I do not want to take for granted.

Thanksgiving 2008.

Neighbors

OK, I have no idea who lives here. But I can tell you what road it can be seen from. It is in the Weyers Cave area. I was on some back roads today and came around a corner to see this. "Whoa," I said, "that would look out of place in my neighborhood." Wouldn't you just hate having that just over your back yard fence? "Hey, neighbor, can you clean up your place? It's affecting my property value."

Canon wins

I need to buy before I change my mind. I have pretty much settled on the Canon Powershot A2000IS . Three things won me over. 10mp, 3" LCD and optic image stabilization. It has a 6x zoom lens. Buying this camera may not necessitate me selling my D-70 which at this point would be painful. I am just beginning to get the hang of it and would hate to let it go. It is a truly professional camera and enables a lot of in camera flexibility over the image.


So, I would like to order it in the next week or so. I'd like to have time to get to know it before Todd and I bike Washington DC. If I could get it ordered before the weekend I might have it in time for Thanksgiving dinner. It looks like everyone will be here at our house for dinner including Lesa's dad, David, from Bemus Point, NY. Where is Bemus Point, NY? Go north out of Pittsburgh until you come to the water (that will be Lake Erie), turn right until you cross a reasonable body of water (that will be Chautaugua, a smaller lake for sure, but too big to jump across), turn immediately left. Tada! Benus Point. No, don't go now. Wait until late spring, July, when the sledding is poor. The roads are clear and the water is clear.


I'd say with three little ones I'd have lots of photo opportunities.


Maybe I'll post some from the new camera.

My choice

Unless someone out there raises their hand in the next few days I am most likely going to buy a Canon Powershot SD770 IS with a 4Gb memory card. I've looked hard at a number of small cameras and like this one. Actually, it is the newest generation of an older camera that I had thought I might buy. It is a Canon Powershot SD750. And the 750 is still a possibility. It has a very large, by small camera standards, 3" LCD screen that is used as a viewfinder as well as playback. The 770 IS has a 2.5" LCD screen but takes pictures at 10 megapixels vs 7.1 magapixels for the 750. Of course 10 mp fills up a memory card 30% faster than 7 mp. And the higher mp rating would only come into consideration at high enlargement dimensions. I can reduce the pixel rating within the camera, and the 770 has Image Stabilization technology built in. So, until it is time to push the purchase button, I am waffling.

I would like to find a way to attach the camera to my bike helmet and trip the shutter remotely with a handle bar mounted switch. Not sure that the small digitals even have the capability for remote shutter activation.

I just think it would be cool to have the camera mounted on the helmet and learn to aim my head to get the picture I see in from of me. When you take pictures a lot you learn to see pictures all around you. I'm sure you know that. Sort of like the hands framing of a movie camera that the producer of the Mayberry documentary showed Andy, Opie and Barney.

On my day off tomorrow I have to go in to work for a meeting with one of my associates, the HR manager and my zone manager. I don't seem to be on the same page as this associate, and I want the others to sit in as I go over my expectations for the department. Hope it make a major difference in attitudes and job performance. I really don't want to go on butting heads with this individual.

Midnight at the Oasis

Except I don't have a camel to put to bed. A free fruit roll up to the first person who sends in who recorded that song first and the year they recorded it written on the back of an open airline round ticket to London. Don't peak at Wikipedia now.

Still undecided about a new camera. But I am seriously considering scaling back on specifications. I don't need high end pictures here. It seems that Sony, Fuji, Canon, Kodak and Pentax all offer small format cameras with 15 mp capability. Whew, that is a lot. I first began looking at 8 mp, then got interested in a couple of 10 mp, then 12 and 14 mp caught my eye. Of course, if mp was the only criteria the Hasselblad H3DII-50 records images at 50 mp. The drawback might be price. They start at a base price of $27,995.00 and can hit $50,000.00 in a hurry. But you could blow up a picture taken at 50 mp to cover the side of the moon and see it from earth I bet.

I think I am going to drop back to an 8mp camera with full features. I can probably get one of those for around $100.00. Or about the cost of half a lens cap for the Hasselblad. Interestingly enough, the photographer that took our wedding pictures used a couple of Hasselblad film cameras. Well, glass plate cameras maybe. I don't know if film had actully been invented when we got married. Dirt was just becoming common in most people's front yards.

Here is a a photo I took with my D-70 after Pastor Spruill showed me the sharpness setting on my camera. I had it set for normal.

Well, you'll have to trust me on the sharpness. I guess blogger can't handle it. But is is a nice example of depth of field photography.

Cold with a chance of frigid

Turned cold overnight with showers. But thankfully it wasn't cold enough for snow. If you were blind today it would have seemed like snow. It seemed cold enough, the air smelled of snow (no I have no idea how to explain what snow smells like) and the spitting rain would make you believe it was snow if you couldn't see it was only rain.

I haven't consulted my 2008 Farmer's Almanac about weather in December yet. I can't find it, in fact. I imagine it is somewhere here. I would like to know what the weather is supposed to be like on December 13 & 14. Todd and I are in the early stages of planning a bike ride around Washington, DC. We would either go up early Saturday or late Friday evening, park at a motel not too far from a metro station, ride our bikes to the metro and ride the metro into a place to hop off and onto a couple of trails. One on Saturday and one on Sunday. Right now I am leaning towards riding the Mount Vernon route on Saturday and the Great Washington Loop route on Sunday. The MV route is about 18 miles long and goes through the heart of Old Town Alexandria. It is not a circuitous route, however. The GWL route is 30 miles long, but circular, ending where it started. There are metro stations near both routes so we could quit when we felt like it.

The weather in Washington DC in the middle of December can be at either extreme. I can't get my bike into 4 wheel drive so snow would not be a pleasant choice. And actually anything below about 45 would be colder than I have stamina to ride in. I don't have complete turn by turn instructions for the MV route, but I do on the GWL route. It utilizes some city streets and some city alleys as well as unpaved trails. Looks challenging.

Once again I have to put on my manager demeanor tomorrow and explain what I and the store expects of our employees. I am dealing with one, two or all three of three possible situations. Either we are getting lazy, getting hard headed and want to do things our own way, or just don't give a horses patoot. Thank you Colonel Potter.

I have to begin with myself, of course. I can't expect others to do what I am not willing to do. But there are quite a lot of things I alone am responsible for in the department. And in order to have adequate time for those duties I have to ask the others to do more than an equal share of the work all of us can do. Makes sense to me. You don't need to bother telling me it doesn't make sense to you. It will be OK. I trust me and I know you are sure that I know what I mean. And that may be the only reality necessary.

Sitting here contemplating how cold it is going to be for a while I find myself sorely jealous of Barbara down there in Miraflores just outside of Lima, sitting on her balcony high above the city overlooking the Pacific Ocean as summertime comes with clear skies and nearly equatorial temperatures. I would love to go spend time on her balcony as well, but may not get to. I did get to sit on her former balcony but it was only a second story and the people going by on the street must have figured me for a stuck up American because I had no idea how to answer their very friendly greetings. I just waved and didn't say anything. I hope my wave looked friendly. I did smile and got a few smiles back. Nice people. Anyway, I hope to not dwell on the image of her basking in the sun while I am scraping my truck windows this winter.

The outside temperate has dropped 3 degrees since I started writing this. Not that I can type fast anymore. My poor left hand only has one finger doing all the work. Reminds me of another situation I know about. Oh, sorry. I didn't really say that did I?

I went to Stuarts Draft this evening after dark and passed a road that always brings back a singular image to my mind. And I wonder if I'll ever totally get over it. There are memories stuck in my brain from a number of events. I can still see and smell my grandmother pulling a cherry pie out of her ancient oven when I was about 8 or 10. I can remember how my glasses steamed up so I couldn't see at all walking from the cold outside into Jim's Coney Island hot dog stand behind the Chevrolet dealership just two blocks from school. I can remember playing football in the Talbot's backyard in Morgantown WV and getting beat up so bad I could hardly drive back to Baltimore. And way back in the recesses I can remember my dad's parents, grandma cat and grandpa cat, living above Dumham's grocery store during one of the very few times grandpa cat was sober enough to stay home and the amazing number of stairs it required us to climb to get into their apartment in Okmulgee.

If grandma cat seems strange to you, you might not know my last name. Trust me, it was a natural.

Quandary

You may not know me enough to know of my interest in photography. I began taking pictures and learning to take seriously good pictures in 1969. Not that I took seriously good pictures then, but I was interested in taking seriously good pictures. I wanted my photography to pop and please the viewer. I began with color slide film because my dad had shot literally thousands of color slides during my young years. We had slide shows of about everything the family did that would put an insomniac into a comma.


I soon switched to black and white for most of the photography I did for my own amusement because I was always more impressed with a great b&w photo than a great color photo. It depended on the subject, of course.


After I got married I turned a half bath in our apartment into a dark room for b&w developing. I had poor to mediocre results until I began to get the formula right.


When the children began to show up (and I still wonder how that happened) I again switched film formats and was shooting mostly color print film, with an occasional print/slide film.


I went through a long spell of not shooting pictures much at all until the digital age came along. I wanted a good camera, and for reasons I won't go into here I decided to stick with the 35mm platform and chose a Nikon. It has the look and feel of a great camera, and it took incredible pictures. It is capable of taking better pictures than I am capable of seeing in the view finder.


But the Nikon is big and heavy and quite conspicuous. You can not be stealthy with it. It dominates the scene. Because of it's bulk I find it a burden to carry, use quickly or unobtrusively. It is impossible to use while biking. At least it would most likely crush a hole in my chest while riding, and at worse be violently killed itself in a crash. I'm not saying I ever crash, but in the extremely unlikely event I did crash my bike the camera would suffer to the point of demise I am sure. And a painful death it would be for me, considering the outlay of cash it took to obtain it.


All of that to say I am looking at some seriously small cameras with serious technology on board. Two that have my attention now are these:













They have similar features and one that my Nikon, at 5 times the cost, does not have, native b&w. I am trying to decide whether to buy one at all, to buy one and then decide to keep it or stick with my Nikon, or sell the Nikon.


My Nikon is only 6 MP. The Olympus is 10MP and the Canon is 10.1MP. It would most likely be over kill to shoot normally in the higher resolution. The pics would take too much room and time to upload. But if I really wanted the detail for a large format print it would be available.

We had a pretty day here today with just a little chill in the air. I was planning on going mountain biking with the boys today after church but after a rough and partly sleepless night I opted out. There is no telling what I may have saved my body from in the pain and carnage category. I am sure I missed some great riding and great fun. I have not heard from either one so that must be good news. Neither one was left for the buzzards in the woods at least.

I went out a little while experimenting with the settings on my Nikon. I knew my film camera so well I didn't use a light meter for many years. It was a 1971 Nikon Ftn and built long before auto exposure and point and shoot was perfected. I was able to take very good pictures with it. I have been stymied with this new Nikon D70-s. The auto settings don't seem to be sharp enough or have the saturation I like. Plus, and a terrible flaw in my mind, it doesn't have native black and white capabilities. I was really disappointed when I discovered that. It was one feature I didn't investigate when considering the Nikon. I believe it might have made a difference.

The images above have not been manipulated in any way other than shot in manual mode with the settings chosen by me and not the camera. I believe I mentioned here before that James Spruill showed me a setting that might sharpen the pictures a little. It would not help the saturation factor at all.

Enjoy. Bruce.

More little ones

Top picture is two granddaughters and one grand-niece. Clockwise they are Madison Nicole, Amari Roza, and Callie Shea. The second picture is Callie. Double click on this picture and you will see how beautiful this girl is. Of course I'm biased. Not pictured is granddaughter Abigail Kate and two grand-nephews, Logan and Brendan. Brendan is also known as Mr. B. Logan and Callie belong to Christie and Lyn while Mr. B belongs to Juli and Robert. They all live in Kentucky.

They are on Georgiann's side of the family. And a fine family it is.

The third picture is dinner being made at Jill's and left to right is Georgiann, Juli, Diana and Lesa. The final picture is Jill's view to the west at sunset. I hope you enjoy.

Project done

OK, here are the pictures for my sweet sister-in-law, Susan. Susan would have done a much better job on this, but since she lives near the edge of the world where tornados are born I couldn't get her help. So Pastor Kerry has to live with my very poor skills. Dad used to call himself a wood butcher. I think I have a lot of his genes running in me.

Susan I did learn some things during this project, and my next one will be better. I just need someone to give one to when I finish it. Until I know who I won't start it.

I may post tomorrow night. I will find out tomorrow if one of my full time associates was let go yesterday after I left or sometime today. It was looking like they were not going to be kept.

My pictures may be better from now on because of a setting a visiting evangelist made for me in my camera the other evening. He has an identical camera but knows his much better than I know mine. You can see his handiwork here:http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/gallery.asp?mem=48704

James lives in Tennesee and works hard to attract "hummers" as he calls them. He and his wife, Mary, have traveled many times to Haiti to minister to the Haitians' medical, spiritual and building needs. See what you think of his pictures.

No donor required

I just stumbled upon a blog that brings details of a new artificial heart the French have just developed. It has proved successful in animals, and if successfully tested in humans and certified will go into production. It is expected to cost just below $200,000.00. Enough, as the article points out, to give one a heart attack. I wonder what you do then?

Haha. Couldn't keep it to myself. You can find it here: http://besthightechnology.blogspot.com/

New experiences

It has been said you are never too old to learn. But it has also been said you can't teach an old dog new tricks. As of today, and for my experience of today, I have to side with the latter.

Todd took me over to Walnut Creek Park south of Charlottesville just off Route 29. We rode one of the less strenuous and technical difficult trails. It was my first ride on an honest to goodness mountain trail. It might very well have been my last. I haven't decided yet. I didn't get hurt. Pretty amazing. I did take a number of spills but only one hard fall. I launched myself off the bike sideways down a steep incline a couple of times. It might not be common knowledge to you but I proved today that you can only go so slow on a bike before balance is totally lost. At that point it is best to exit the bike or seek outside stability. Since my feet barely reach the ground on nice flat pavement, finding stable footing on the downhill side of a steep incline is only wishful thinking.

There were plenty of oh-my-gosh moments as we hurtled downhill among the very large roots, rocks and leaves in the very narrow trail with every size fallen branch across the trail and standing limb severing trees on each side of the trail within inches of the ends of the handle bars.

Many of the branches and rocks were not secured to anything and the leaves were just lightly resting on the trail so any or all of those objects could roll with you in any direction or simply slide along with you as you applied the back brakes with vengeance.

Braking evidently is an acquired skill as you don't want to apply too much braking to slow beyond balance speed, but if you don't apply enough brake you will not negotiate the next very narrow very sharp hairpin either to the left or the right. Throw in a few good size logs for entertainment because the other obstacles are just too boring and you have the makings of disaster if things like compound fractures and concussions are things you like to avoid.

All in all, I had a blast. But the thoughts of being laid up with pins in shattered bones kept me from laughing hilariously. It was a splendid day in a wonderful part of the woods. If I was decades younger I think I could take the sport on with vivaciousness. But at my age and fragility I may stick to paved or at least semi paved roads. Yes, motor vehicles are a consideration, but there can only be so many motor vehicles. I may have seen upwards of a trillion skull crushing tree trunks go by my head in less than 90 minutes today.

But it sure was fun.

Pictures and mumblings

Things here have been going pretty much normal without anything exciting. I often remember the Chinese curse that goes, in translation, "May you live in interesting times." You can think that through.

Work is going ok for me. I am beginning to get a handle on more of the mgt stuff. I've had some challenges with some of my associates. One is new to Lowe's and has struggled shaking off former job mentality. But they are coming along. The other is young and doesn't have the work ethic us old geezers have. Nor do they have a Lowe's work ethic. So we are encouraging both to study Lowe's retail methods and come on line, so to speak. Lowe's is my first venture into retail since high school. I did pull brief stints in a shoe store, a fast food restaurant and a grocery store. But in 4 years of Uncle Sam indoctrination and then all of my adult life in the electronic service industry I really lost all trace of understanding of retail. And besides, it probably has changed significantly in those 38 years.

My blood sugar readings each day seem to jump all over the graph (yes, I graph them) and Jill just now suggested it might be in part to my shift work. Good, I have something to blame it on. My wife was suggesting my late night high sugar snacks could be a reason. Well, whatever. Some people always want to look at practical things. Inhibits those of who look at the esoteric in things. Being too grounded in reality causes the artistic brain cells to quit firing.

I've been working on a project in wood for our vision pastor at church and while it is coming along slowly, it is coming along nicely. I mixed oak with pine and have begun to question the use of pine. But it is what it is and with some stain and varnish it think it will be suitable for public viewing. I hope he doesn't believe he will have to put it away when he has visitors.

50 degrees and sunny here today with a little wind. Looks like mostly sunny to partly skies for the next 10 or 12 days with day time temperatures ranging between the current 50 and 68. I have been venturing out on the bike some lately. I am planing a trip to the Williamsburg area in December. It can be cold there, but hoping for mile temperatures and NO perception. I want to bike the Colonial Parkway and other areas.

I'll post pictures of my project when I'm done. After I give it to Pastor Kerry, of course. I doubt he even knows about this blog, but someone close to him might.

Cheers. Hope you did all you wanted to do in October. It is closing fast. I have one more report for work to finish. Argh.

Reading blogs

As I was working on a gift project just now I was also listening to Public Radio with Roy Blount Jr. (http://www.royblountjr.com/). Listening that is between the table saw, the belt sander and the shop vacuum. A quotation was attributed to Oscar Wilde. I looked the quotation up and found the attribution was indeed accurate. The quotation is this: "But what is the difference between literature and journalism? Journalism is unreadable and literature is not read. That is all."

I thought about that a minute and based on my experience with blogging I think I can expand this quotation to "Journalism is unreadable and literature is not read while blogs are about 50/50 on both accounts."

Blogs are most probably written with a much narrower audience in mind. I know my other blog, http://fiberflashes.blogspot.com/ is certainly written with just a few in mind. And those to whom it is not written for most likely have less than adequate interest to stick through an entire entry.

Those to whom the blog IS targeting may many times fall into that category as well. So, while some entries may catch the attention of any blog hopper some articles won't hold any one's attention.

So mostly blog entries are arrows shot into a night sky. If they find a target, woohoo. If not, oh well there is always the next entry.

If you venture into the other blog I must warn you. It is NOT intended for general audiences. It is written for serious theologically inclined mindsets. I venture into areas that for new or less spiritually mature persons may present stumbling blocks to faith. Especially to faith in the authority and authenticity of the Old Testament scriptures.

I think in my case the original intent of blogging is still very much intact. I blog for my own interest. If the blogs interest others, great. If not, I am no less. Get your own blog. I may not read it, but then you shouldn't care. Right?

Recent Pictures

This is our friend Barb from Peru. Well, now from Peru. She has lived, as far as I know, in many places but has been in Peru right at 20 years now. She is holding Abigail and I have Mari. Diana is in the lower right corner.


These are kissing cousins. Hard to tell them apart, huh?

Madison helping dad color outside the lines.


Chad with Madison and Jill with Mari at a nearby farm.



All smiles. Ebony and Ivory.

Pictures

OK, you've had to wait long enough. Here are pictures of the last two major projects we finished, or got close enough no one else can tell. First is my office. The next two are, of course, the half bath in the basement. And at the very end, a picture of me, the oldest member of this family holding the youngest, Abigail. Sweet, sweet Abigail. Madison, Amari and Abigail. What more could a granddad want?

You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Cheers.

Fall colors muted

Todd and I went for a 10 mile ride this afternoon. The fall colors here in the central Shenandoah Valley look like they are going to be somewhat muted this year. I don't know if that is a result of little rainfall during the last few weeks of summer or what. I would have liked a camera along today, but mine is just not suited for bike riding. Way too big and heavy. It would bust a hole in my chest if I put the strap around my neck. I probably ought to sell it and the rest of my camera gear and buy a new smaller one. If you know anyone interested in a very little used Nikon D70 with two lenses and a very well used Nikon FTn with several lenses give them my email address.

I did pretty well on the ride considering it was my first foray on the bike in at least 6 months. I was nursing a very tender torn meniscus in my left knee and was afraid riding would aggravate it. I may have been wrong. Today's ride caused me no discomfort except in the bum area. The little seats on road and crossover bikes are not made for old guys like me. My thighs burned a good bit on some of the up hill sections. Unfortunately up hill sections are a major part of any ride in this area.

Yesterday I drove through a neighborhood just west of Route 42 in Bridgewater and fell in love with it. The homes all look to be 1950's to 1970's architecture, and the streets are Kansas flat and very open. No hidden intersections or blind spots. Wonderful place to bike ride or walk the dog and/or your main squeeze.

Saturday evening I created a spreadsheet that will have color filler in time squares indicating who in my department is working each day and what hours. Different colors for different people, of course. I transferred it to my Dell PDA so I can carry it at work. It looks like it will be a useful tool. The PDA is not the smallest thing I have in my pockets, however, so I may resort to printing the schedule 3 weeks at a time and carrying it in my pocket folded up.

I have needed a tool for knowing who works when so I can keep on top of creating work lists and so I know who opens, etc. Some people are better openers and some are better closers. I hate getting up early, but I love leaving work at 2pm when I do open.

I got to hold precious Abigail for a few minutes today and she smiled at me. She is so beautiful. Madison and Amari are beautiful as well. But you know how granddads are. Totally unbiased. G and I have been blessed with great children, the sweetest daughters-in-law imaginable, and three beautiful granddaughters. On Friday one of my former store associates came by with his boy who is exactly the same age as Madison. He is almost certainly the most beautiful little boy I have ever seen. His daddy broke my heart when he said he and his wife had divorced.

Our very precious friend Barb is supposed to be with us this Wednesday for an overnight stay. We are looking forward to seeing her again. I can't remember when we last saw her in person. I know Todd and I saw her in Peru in August 1999. Way too long, I know that.

Lately I have spent all of my time working, sleeping or reading / researching. I need to work on some projects around the house and do more with the family. I have been so caught up in this reading and discovering I can hardly think about much else. I have two smaller projects going at the moment. I am adding electrical outlets around my workbench which should have only taken a couple of hours, but I am missing one EMT fitting. I'll try to get it tomorrow. The other project is a railing on the front porch. I have it all built, but am not as happy with it as I would like to be. I may pull it apart and reassemble it at least.

Later. Thanks for stopping by.

More music

It is midnight, zero hundred hours in military time, time for the clock to send Cinderella running from the ball as her carriage turns into a pumpkin. And I am tired. I must have climbed up and down a very tall ladder tonight 50 times pulling stock and non stock items.

Anyway, on my way TO work I was listening to a program on NPR titled Acoustic Cafe. They played a song with a strong Latin American sound and I loved it immediately. It was written and sang by Zoe (pronounced Zoie) Lewis. Lewis is from England, but lives here in the US now. In an interview I found on YouTube she said that she had been recently listening to Keren Ann, a singer songwriter living in Paris currently, but who was raised in Israel. I listen to some of her music and liked it as well. Check them out and see what you think. Lewis' song that grabbed my attention is titled Gringo from her CD "Small Is Tremendous."

I think I have discovered my favorite genre of music. It seems to be a blend of R&B and folk, and in some circles falls into a category called Indie, for independent.

Anyway, just wanted to share. So what are you dressing up as for Halloween? Think I could pull off Batman, for obvious reasons? Or is that too lame? Considering recent events and popularity?

Movies

Georgiann and I went to see Fireproof Saturday evening. This is an overt Christian film about saving a relationship. If you don't go in with a bias against Christian disposition you just might find some real good advice about keeping your marriage intact. I did. But then again, I am a Christian. And my marriage has lasted this long, and certainly remains intact because of my Christian commitment I submitted to in my wedding. If not, I would have exited the relationship a few years ago. I was ready, but was never able to get around that commitment I had made.

You can think what you want about me, and believe me, it has been difficult for me, but for me, the commitment was made and I will stick by it.

Didn't do much today. Have worked on and off on the front porch railing I am putting up. It was going quite nicely until a few minutes ago when I discovered one of my spindle holes was too shallow to accept the dowel pin. So it had to come apart. I have fixed the problem, but need for some joints to set before putting the top rail back on.

I wanted to put it all together with dowels and glue, and set the rails on pipe set in the support posts so the railings can be simply lifted out if needed.

I also watched The Addams Family, the movie, this afternoon. Funny movie. I always liked the TV series. Maybe I have a very morbid sense of humor, but movies like that always make me laugh. I also like the Tim Burton movies, Edward Sissorshand, Beetlejuice, Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride, Batman, and Return of Batman.

Walt Disney is soon releasing a music album called Nightmare Revisited. Not sure what it is about. I liked the music to NBC. If you saw the movie you will remember a three piece street band that played the most mournful music. I loved it. I would love to have a full length instrumental of whatever it was they were playing. Mournful is great if it evokes a smile, don't you think??

My friend Mike used to be able to sing all of the songs from NBC and quote most of the dialog. Oh, Mike, we had such fun in those days. The three musketeers. Probably nearly got us all fired some days we were having so much fun. Speaking of mournful, that place was turned into a mortuary which I understand it still is. The management is dead from the chest up, what else could it be?? Dark hearts and empty brains. Must be terrible to trapped in their bodies.

If you get a chance to see Fireproof I give it 4 stars. I have only personally considered 3 movies as 5 star. I know you know. LOTR, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. 5 stars. Hands down.

I did not get into the woods hiking this weekend. It started raining on Thursday due to some weather off the Atlantic coast and did not stop until today. No, I don't hike in the rain. Now if I get caught in it, different story. I'll continue unless it rains hard.

Thus, no pictures.