Early November. Highs in the low sixties. This is the time of year that our grass is beautifully green. And yet, I do not need to mow it. It's too cold for it to grow. At the winter solstice the grass will be brown, or tan like straw. The same way it gets during the hottest part of the summer, when it is too scorched to thrive. So October/November is really when my airstrip looks best. And needs no mowing. I was walking on the strip yesterday. It felt so soft to my moccasins. Fearing it was soft because of dampness I did a little test I often do. I knelt down on one knee and put my weight there. Then I stood up and the corduroy of my trousers was perfectly dry. The airstrip is indeed perfect. The trees aren't even halfway turned. And New England has already had a snow storm!
I've been doing a lot of nothing lately. This is what I haven't been doing: mowing, writing in my Journal, taking my meds, following my diet, having campfires, going anywhere, clearing brush, picking up firewood, playing guitar, reading magazines that I subscribe to, walking Yukon the dog, playing with the airplane, working in the shop, playing with the Triumph, going on outings with wife and her father
This is what I have been doing: sleeping at all times of day- no more than three hours at a time, following news on the computer, watching retro TV and old movies, writing a very few little posts like this one, daydreaming, reading, watching the weather without going out in it. Recharging I hope. Perhaps just being lazy.
In the process of keeping track of the economy and current events yesterday I noticed something I thought was odd. The headlines rattled off. Such as "Obama in France", candidate "Cain" in trouble over scandal, Will EU bail out the going broke Greece, Sexy Lohan gets 30 days, Connecticut still with power outages. And then this little tiny almost footnote remark about Obama mentioning sanctions on Iran during his conversations with the French President.
Is anyone else troubled, surprised and uncomfortable about this? Here we have the regular stuff. A snowstorm, a minor earthquake, a belly landing of an airliner in Warsaw,......and oh yes, also there is a country that is developing nuclear weapons because they want to destroy the world starting with the United States. This country believes in a doctrine that includes killing infidels, those who are not followers of Islam. This is in their holy writings and is their holy quest. And by the way, they don't care if they die in the process of killing everyone else. In fact they believe it's even better that way. They will be impossible to stop. And back to our CNN studios........" a third woman has now come forward in the Cain scandal......
Wait, can you go back to that story about the inevitable thermonuclear exchange? What are we trying to do about it? Are we trying to be politically correct to Iran before they wipe New York off the map? I didn't catch what will happen next because you moved on to the story about the Bride who was texting while walking down the isle.
Just another news day. I guess I really don't have to worry about global warming or QE3 .
I think Sam Harris is right. Deal with religion now. It's the elephant in the room that will make all our other problems in the headlines go away. But in a very bad way.
Let's see... flip on the cable...what are my chances of finding that damn TV channel clicker?
Remote.
Fox news? I'm strangely sexually aroused by that Ann Coulter. Hmm. MSNBC? I'm strangely aroused by that lesbian lady Rachel Maddow. CNN? Bingo! We 'ave a wiiiner! Now they have Erin Burnett!! OMG
LLITTY :::::+:::::
Friday, November 4, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
it's just my opinion, i could be right
Never argue politics or religion because you can't change any one's mind. And you just piss them off! I know I shouldn't, but I sometimes do anyway. I'm always sorry that I do. Kind of like eating sugar as a type two diabetic. I eat it anyway. Then feel sorry afterward.
Last week I was with two good friends chatting. They were making fun of Obama and his "failed" policies, and laughing about how he will be trounced in 2012. I smiled and nodded and said nothing. I'd like to be proud about having kept my mouth shut, but I really just didn't feel like disagreeing with two people that I like. Two people that I want to like me.
A while back another friend of mine was telling me about Herman Cain and how he was now this friend's best choice. And how he liked 9-9-9. I was wincing on my side of the phone conversation but I said nothing and tried to change the subject. I want this friend also to like me. You see, I don't have very many close friends and I like it that way.
I guess my close friends know that I am a liberal and an atheist (or agnostic or non believer). But just about everybody that I talk to assumes that I believe in God. And since I'm a white collar, white male, over 50 they just assume I'm a republican. If they suspect I'm an atheist liberal, they still talk to me as if I am a right wing republican like they are. I think this must be to "help me" and pull me over to the "high moral ground" that they are on. They are my friends after all. They're just looking out after me.
So every once in a while I just like to air out a few things lest my friends mistake my smiling silence with tacit approval for their beliefs. We don't have to agree on everything to be friends.
so here's a few position statements using as few words as possible:
I am a liberal Democrat. Not because I agree all the time with that platform. But only because it is a default position due to my hating what the Republicans think.
My vote for Obama in 2012 will be against the Republicans, not for Obama.
I disagree with 10 commandments in court and faith based initiatives
I disagree with "pro life" including the name "pro life"
I disagree with the "war on drugs" and favor decriminalization of all drugs, as far as possession.
This is a social, not criminal, problem.
I agree and accept the reality of global warming, but I think we have more pressing environmental and social problems to be dealt with first
I disagree with prayer in school and consider "creation" equivalent to fairy tales.
I consider it impossible not to believe in evolution. This blog post I am typing is "evolving" as I write it. We are bigger sized humans than we were in WWII. All of us alive today are descendants of people who were more successful at reproducing, for one reason or another, than their contemporaries. "Everything is the way it is because it got that way"
I don't think you should tax the poor. Set a limit and give the poor that break. I'd rather give someone a free ride they don't deserve than put someone deeper into poverty that doesn't deserve it.
Government is imperfect. Just like the private sector.
I believe we should tax the rich. This is what our graduated income tax is supposed to do. If you don't redistribute the wealth you have a class society. That's better than socialism, but just barely and you spend a lot of money policing the have- nots. Of which there will be a lot. Just because our tax system is antiquated and has flaws like loopholes, and is complicated and cumbersome doesn't mean the graduated income tax is a bad idea. Lets come up with a simple and fair modern tax code. No loopholes.
If you want to make the government smaller, and I think we all do, that's fine. But don't lay off government workers and then complain about unemployment when you just created unemployment during a recession.
Democrats and Republicans criticize each other for trying the same program again after it has already failed. Democrats and Republicans criticize each other for programs that failed when it is uncertain how , when, and if, the programs actually failed. They need to stop doing that. Just do your best. Don't worry about who started the program or who should be blamed for it. We all just want to fix the economy.
Lets put term limits on every seat in congress.
Let's limit the President to one term
Let's encourage a third party. Perhaps there is a way to prevent it from being a spoiler. Such as, if it can't or doesn't win, then it is out and another election is held.
Don't come down on the "Occupy Wall Street" or "Tea Party" movement. You don't have to agree with them. Just read the First Amendment. And don't underestimate them.
I don't know about my conservative friends, but I really, really, don't care if gays get married. No one is asking anyone to be gay. Or even like gays. Or go to a gay wedding. Do you really want to trade votes on Bills in congress over this? What does this have to do with the government? Are we going to wind up spending more money on this?
I would gripe right now about stem cell research, but it's going to become a moot point. The bio tech world will leap frog this if they haven't already. Sooner or later the religious right will have to decide what they want to try to do about cloning and the manufacturing of body parts, and spare parts and androids. They will lose every battle because you can't stop knowledge. Knowledge is power and the church has less every day.
Second Amendment. I don't have good happy feelings here. Guns scare me. They are powerful. The bearer of a firearm has the responsibility of that power. Bad people who are violent and not responsible scare me. If they are bad people with a firearm, the average citizen is dead or a slave soon to be dead. It scares me very much to have everyone have a gun. I don't like it. BUT.... as long as there are guns, everyone should have one and be trained to use it. Not because that is my hard thought out opinion, but for two reasons: 1. each citizen needs to protect himself and his family from danger and 2. the constitution doesn't just permit each individual to own and bear a gun, no the document has a special separate amendment to insure the right to bear arms for protection against enemies and for use in coordination with militia should it come to that. I hate it when the Republicans wave the flag and talk about "traditional" values. But the US Constitution gives us rights. Without the rights we are slaves. I'm a liberal and I wish we could all live in peace, but for now while we can't seem to, we need the protection the founding fathers wisely put in the document.
OK. I'm almost done with this rant. One more thing while I'm on the subject. If we are spending too much then let's cut defense right along with everything else. But let me be clear. Once we have a person in uniform who is sworn in to defend our country. Who puts his life on the line and his family on hold, be he front lines or rear guard, he is ours. He is supported by every taxpayer, every citizen, every businessman, every single American. We thank that person every day. We do not cut his pay or benefits to try to make up for some banking snafu we had while we were safe in our beds and that individual was in Afghanistan. We not only give him or her all that we agreed on when they were sworn in, but we give them more. When they come home we give them their benefits and more. People running for office take note... we all feel this way. Cut defense all you want and pull the troops home, fine. But nobody gets a pay cut. If we want a smaller peacetime army fine. Just pay these people what they sign up for. We can never compensate them enough for their duty and bravery.
Last week I was with two good friends chatting. They were making fun of Obama and his "failed" policies, and laughing about how he will be trounced in 2012. I smiled and nodded and said nothing. I'd like to be proud about having kept my mouth shut, but I really just didn't feel like disagreeing with two people that I like. Two people that I want to like me.
A while back another friend of mine was telling me about Herman Cain and how he was now this friend's best choice. And how he liked 9-9-9. I was wincing on my side of the phone conversation but I said nothing and tried to change the subject. I want this friend also to like me. You see, I don't have very many close friends and I like it that way.
I guess my close friends know that I am a liberal and an atheist (or agnostic or non believer). But just about everybody that I talk to assumes that I believe in God. And since I'm a white collar, white male, over 50 they just assume I'm a republican. If they suspect I'm an atheist liberal, they still talk to me as if I am a right wing republican like they are. I think this must be to "help me" and pull me over to the "high moral ground" that they are on. They are my friends after all. They're just looking out after me.
So every once in a while I just like to air out a few things lest my friends mistake my smiling silence with tacit approval for their beliefs. We don't have to agree on everything to be friends.
so here's a few position statements using as few words as possible:
I am a liberal Democrat. Not because I agree all the time with that platform. But only because it is a default position due to my hating what the Republicans think.
My vote for Obama in 2012 will be against the Republicans, not for Obama.
I disagree with 10 commandments in court and faith based initiatives
I disagree with "pro life" including the name "pro life"
I disagree with the "war on drugs" and favor decriminalization of all drugs, as far as possession.
This is a social, not criminal, problem.
I agree and accept the reality of global warming, but I think we have more pressing environmental and social problems to be dealt with first
I disagree with prayer in school and consider "creation" equivalent to fairy tales.
I consider it impossible not to believe in evolution. This blog post I am typing is "evolving" as I write it. We are bigger sized humans than we were in WWII. All of us alive today are descendants of people who were more successful at reproducing, for one reason or another, than their contemporaries. "Everything is the way it is because it got that way"
I don't think you should tax the poor. Set a limit and give the poor that break. I'd rather give someone a free ride they don't deserve than put someone deeper into poverty that doesn't deserve it.
Government is imperfect. Just like the private sector.
I believe we should tax the rich. This is what our graduated income tax is supposed to do. If you don't redistribute the wealth you have a class society. That's better than socialism, but just barely and you spend a lot of money policing the have- nots. Of which there will be a lot. Just because our tax system is antiquated and has flaws like loopholes, and is complicated and cumbersome doesn't mean the graduated income tax is a bad idea. Lets come up with a simple and fair modern tax code. No loopholes.
If you want to make the government smaller, and I think we all do, that's fine. But don't lay off government workers and then complain about unemployment when you just created unemployment during a recession.
Democrats and Republicans criticize each other for trying the same program again after it has already failed. Democrats and Republicans criticize each other for programs that failed when it is uncertain how , when, and if, the programs actually failed. They need to stop doing that. Just do your best. Don't worry about who started the program or who should be blamed for it. We all just want to fix the economy.
Lets put term limits on every seat in congress.
Let's limit the President to one term
Let's encourage a third party. Perhaps there is a way to prevent it from being a spoiler. Such as, if it can't or doesn't win, then it is out and another election is held.
Don't come down on the "Occupy Wall Street" or "Tea Party" movement. You don't have to agree with them. Just read the First Amendment. And don't underestimate them.
I don't know about my conservative friends, but I really, really, don't care if gays get married. No one is asking anyone to be gay. Or even like gays. Or go to a gay wedding. Do you really want to trade votes on Bills in congress over this? What does this have to do with the government? Are we going to wind up spending more money on this?
I would gripe right now about stem cell research, but it's going to become a moot point. The bio tech world will leap frog this if they haven't already. Sooner or later the religious right will have to decide what they want to try to do about cloning and the manufacturing of body parts, and spare parts and androids. They will lose every battle because you can't stop knowledge. Knowledge is power and the church has less every day.
Second Amendment. I don't have good happy feelings here. Guns scare me. They are powerful. The bearer of a firearm has the responsibility of that power. Bad people who are violent and not responsible scare me. If they are bad people with a firearm, the average citizen is dead or a slave soon to be dead. It scares me very much to have everyone have a gun. I don't like it. BUT.... as long as there are guns, everyone should have one and be trained to use it. Not because that is my hard thought out opinion, but for two reasons: 1. each citizen needs to protect himself and his family from danger and 2. the constitution doesn't just permit each individual to own and bear a gun, no the document has a special separate amendment to insure the right to bear arms for protection against enemies and for use in coordination with militia should it come to that. I hate it when the Republicans wave the flag and talk about "traditional" values. But the US Constitution gives us rights. Without the rights we are slaves. I'm a liberal and I wish we could all live in peace, but for now while we can't seem to, we need the protection the founding fathers wisely put in the document.
OK. I'm almost done with this rant. One more thing while I'm on the subject. If we are spending too much then let's cut defense right along with everything else. But let me be clear. Once we have a person in uniform who is sworn in to defend our country. Who puts his life on the line and his family on hold, be he front lines or rear guard, he is ours. He is supported by every taxpayer, every citizen, every businessman, every single American. We thank that person every day. We do not cut his pay or benefits to try to make up for some banking snafu we had while we were safe in our beds and that individual was in Afghanistan. We not only give him or her all that we agreed on when they were sworn in, but we give them more. When they come home we give them their benefits and more. People running for office take note... we all feel this way. Cut defense all you want and pull the troops home, fine. But nobody gets a pay cut. If we want a smaller peacetime army fine. Just pay these people what they sign up for. We can never compensate them enough for their duty and bravery.
A Dog's Life
After we got back from our trip to California I stayed "in gear". Dempsey was here. He worked on projects and I caught up on corespondence. I kept moving. Wife and I went to town and out to dinner a few times. Dempsey went home. I was caught up a bit and I slowed down. Wife was a bit tired and stayed around over the weekend. I got into a little routine where I kind of hid out in my room and watched old movies and read. Wife had gotten me a book from Amazon. It was called "Breaking the Spell". It took me two days to get through the book and I kept "saving" a bit for later like you might do with a box of cookies. That's pretty good for non fiction. The guy who wrote it is a popular philosopher and he dumbed his information down for laymen like me.
I'm still in "hide in my room" mode. The fact that I can write to you means I am coming out to join the world. Wife has gone to town. Her dogs are hanging out with me it seems. But they are really just waiting for her. If I talk to them and pet them it makes me feel better. It reminds me of my dog "Jake" who is gone and never forgotten. Thinking about Jake is both sad and happy. It is not "mixed emotions". It is the same emotion.
Speaking of loyal dogs. My friend Steve B. went to Alaska recently. He often goes there to be with his buddies, and work on his cabin, and help his buddies build their northern empires. I guess I could write all day about his amazing buddies, and he. But of all his adventures and deeds I am most impressed by this last Alaska trip. This is a guy who has sailed the Carribean. Sailed the Chesapeake in his own beautiful wooden sailboat. Can jump bareback and barefoot on his horse and ride through the woods at night. Has hosted fabulous festivals at his place in Maryland and has flown as a crewmember in the "show" of traveling town to town in restored WWII bombers which are so old and precious that people come from miles around just to look at them. And to hear them. You have to hear them. He can work on anything and if he can't do it, he'll tell you that. And he knows someone who can. He's a minimalist in a world of runaway technology. But what most impresses me is his recent Alaska trip. Even though he could barely afford his own fare, he took his best friend "Reno", the German Shepherd, with him. On an airliner, for 3,000 miles each way. Steve has taken many friends to Alaska with him, including me. But none of his friends wanted to go with him as much as Reno.
I have a great life. A great wife and son. A great place on Delmarva. My health, such as it is. A few toys. Great dreams of future fun. I envy no man. But for Steve to take this beautiful, smart, wild, faithful companion with him to this place that he so loves to visit, and share it all with a creature who not only loves him, but can love the site more than we can imagine, that action, the doing of it, I must say I have to envy. Thanks Steve. Thanks on behalf of Reno, and all of us dog lovers for the inspiration. You lived a dream.
LLITTY :::::+:::::
I'm still in "hide in my room" mode. The fact that I can write to you means I am coming out to join the world. Wife has gone to town. Her dogs are hanging out with me it seems. But they are really just waiting for her. If I talk to them and pet them it makes me feel better. It reminds me of my dog "Jake" who is gone and never forgotten. Thinking about Jake is both sad and happy. It is not "mixed emotions". It is the same emotion.
Speaking of loyal dogs. My friend Steve B. went to Alaska recently. He often goes there to be with his buddies, and work on his cabin, and help his buddies build their northern empires. I guess I could write all day about his amazing buddies, and he. But of all his adventures and deeds I am most impressed by this last Alaska trip. This is a guy who has sailed the Carribean. Sailed the Chesapeake in his own beautiful wooden sailboat. Can jump bareback and barefoot on his horse and ride through the woods at night. Has hosted fabulous festivals at his place in Maryland and has flown as a crewmember in the "show" of traveling town to town in restored WWII bombers which are so old and precious that people come from miles around just to look at them. And to hear them. You have to hear them. He can work on anything and if he can't do it, he'll tell you that. And he knows someone who can. He's a minimalist in a world of runaway technology. But what most impresses me is his recent Alaska trip. Even though he could barely afford his own fare, he took his best friend "Reno", the German Shepherd, with him. On an airliner, for 3,000 miles each way. Steve has taken many friends to Alaska with him, including me. But none of his friends wanted to go with him as much as Reno.
I have a great life. A great wife and son. A great place on Delmarva. My health, such as it is. A few toys. Great dreams of future fun. I envy no man. But for Steve to take this beautiful, smart, wild, faithful companion with him to this place that he so loves to visit, and share it all with a creature who not only loves him, but can love the site more than we can imagine, that action, the doing of it, I must say I have to envy. Thanks Steve. Thanks on behalf of Reno, and all of us dog lovers for the inspiration. You lived a dream.
LLITTY :::::+:::::
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Freeways and Studios
Nine days away from home. Seven full days in Los Angeles. A trusted friend housesitter to mind the fort. An expensive doggie resort to stash the dogs. A long term parking lot off the airport. A wake up at 4AM on departure day.
Day one: Travel. Get the roller skate rental car. Try to adjust to driving in L.A. Wife is pretty good because she used to drive in Bethesda. We go to our hotel. Then to see our son and his apartment. Then back to hotel and a jet lagged sleep.
Day two: Son and his roomate take us to Santa Monica. We buy them lunch on the Ocean. We walk to the end of the pier as a good tourist should. Rt.66. Then over to Venice Beach. Wonderful time. Hippies still exist. Out to the Burbank suburbs and dinner.
Day three: Son picks up his mother for touring of Beverly Hills, and shopping not at Beverly Hills. I take the rental car and the GPS and go out to the north across the Antelope Nat'l Park toward Mojave. I buy myself a fantasy flight in a glider over the mountains. I drive home over those mountains on the amazing Angeles Forrest Highway. It takes a couple extra hours but it is so worth it. A spectacular view at every hairpin switchback turn. Back at hotel wife and I walk to authentic Mexican eatery. And debrief our separate adventures.
Day four: Son picks us up and takes us to Universal City and we tour around. Then a wonderful driving tour of Santa Monica up the Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, and Malibu. Wife and I go to our new favorite local Vegan restaurant.
Day five: Son picks us up very early and we go to CBS and wait in line and get processed to go to a taping of "The Price is Right". This takes all day and is fun for us because we visit with son all day. We enjoy the show. We eat a fine dinner with son.
Day six: We go to Warner Bros. and spend the day. We go to a nice studio tour. See the sets, the back lots and etc. We stand by for Conan, and just barely don't get in, but we had not waited in line at all. We went back to North Hollywood and went to our favorite restaurant.
Day seven: We hang out at the hotel and in the neighborhood in the AM and I eat street food which is fun. We go to the original "Bog Boy" at Taluka Lake, but we don't eat there. We eat at Marie Callender's bakery. Then back to Warner Bros. . We have tickets for live studio audience at the new Chelsea Handler sit com starring Laura Prepon. This taping takes over six hours but we enjoy it very much and are entertained by a great comedian in between "takes". We go back to our hotel on the Hollywood Freeway without needing the GPS.
Day eight: Son picks us up and takes us to a fine Indian restaurant in Sherman Oaks. We cruise Beverly Hills and head up the mountains to Griffith Observatory for great views of the area and the mountains. We say a big goodbye to son. Later wife and I go back to our favorite restaurant and I have tofu chicken yellow curry for the third time and love it.
Day nine: Travel home day. Wake up to beautiful weather. All nine days are perfect weather. Apparently this is normal, except for occasional acid rain and wildfires. We head out to LAX which is a Sunday madhouse. Dark comes soon travelling east and Baltimore has not the summer it had when we left. It is cold and the leaves are turning. We leave the long term parking lot in wife's Altima. I suggest a debrief at the Double T Diner in Annapolis. But wife wants to go to Outback even though she is a Vegan. We have a nice dinner. Then we are back in our own beds.
The Next morning: We sat in the sun on the front porch with sweaters on. The big farm across the street was a freshly disked and planted field of grooved brown earth when we left ten days ago. Now it was full of green virgin winter wheat that looked like a 200 acre lawn. We sipped coffee with the barn cats underfoot. They were glad mommy was back. We wished each other welcome home. LLITTY :::::+:::::
Day one: Travel. Get the roller skate rental car. Try to adjust to driving in L.A. Wife is pretty good because she used to drive in Bethesda. We go to our hotel. Then to see our son and his apartment. Then back to hotel and a jet lagged sleep.
Day two: Son and his roomate take us to Santa Monica. We buy them lunch on the Ocean. We walk to the end of the pier as a good tourist should. Rt.66. Then over to Venice Beach. Wonderful time. Hippies still exist. Out to the Burbank suburbs and dinner.
Day three: Son picks up his mother for touring of Beverly Hills, and shopping not at Beverly Hills. I take the rental car and the GPS and go out to the north across the Antelope Nat'l Park toward Mojave. I buy myself a fantasy flight in a glider over the mountains. I drive home over those mountains on the amazing Angeles Forrest Highway. It takes a couple extra hours but it is so worth it. A spectacular view at every hairpin switchback turn. Back at hotel wife and I walk to authentic Mexican eatery. And debrief our separate adventures.
Day four: Son picks us up and takes us to Universal City and we tour around. Then a wonderful driving tour of Santa Monica up the Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, and Malibu. Wife and I go to our new favorite local Vegan restaurant.
Day five: Son picks us up very early and we go to CBS and wait in line and get processed to go to a taping of "The Price is Right". This takes all day and is fun for us because we visit with son all day. We enjoy the show. We eat a fine dinner with son.
Day six: We go to Warner Bros. and spend the day. We go to a nice studio tour. See the sets, the back lots and etc. We stand by for Conan, and just barely don't get in, but we had not waited in line at all. We went back to North Hollywood and went to our favorite restaurant.
Day seven: We hang out at the hotel and in the neighborhood in the AM and I eat street food which is fun. We go to the original "Bog Boy" at Taluka Lake, but we don't eat there. We eat at Marie Callender's bakery. Then back to Warner Bros. . We have tickets for live studio audience at the new Chelsea Handler sit com starring Laura Prepon. This taping takes over six hours but we enjoy it very much and are entertained by a great comedian in between "takes". We go back to our hotel on the Hollywood Freeway without needing the GPS.
Day eight: Son picks us up and takes us to a fine Indian restaurant in Sherman Oaks. We cruise Beverly Hills and head up the mountains to Griffith Observatory for great views of the area and the mountains. We say a big goodbye to son. Later wife and I go back to our favorite restaurant and I have tofu chicken yellow curry for the third time and love it.
Day nine: Travel home day. Wake up to beautiful weather. All nine days are perfect weather. Apparently this is normal, except for occasional acid rain and wildfires. We head out to LAX which is a Sunday madhouse. Dark comes soon travelling east and Baltimore has not the summer it had when we left. It is cold and the leaves are turning. We leave the long term parking lot in wife's Altima. I suggest a debrief at the Double T Diner in Annapolis. But wife wants to go to Outback even though she is a Vegan. We have a nice dinner. Then we are back in our own beds.
The Next morning: We sat in the sun on the front porch with sweaters on. The big farm across the street was a freshly disked and planted field of grooved brown earth when we left ten days ago. Now it was full of green virgin winter wheat that looked like a 200 acre lawn. We sipped coffee with the barn cats underfoot. They were glad mommy was back. We wished each other welcome home. LLITTY :::::+:::::
This is How We Get There.
Wife and I took a trip to California. We looked forward to it. And it turned out to be all that we hoped it would be and more. The most important and precious pleasure was seeing our son whom we had not seen in almost a year. We shopped in advance on line for the cheapest airfare. Hotel. Rental Car. Being a retired airline pilot, one might think I could have gotten a real deal on the airfare. But the real deal of employee discounts at the airlines is riding "space available". This means you only ride when there are extra seats. The airline industry has changed. There was a time that a full airplane was a rare event. If a flight canceled, there were seats on the very next flight. And tickets were refundable. Then government subsidies went away and fuel prices climbed twenty fold. The full airplane cattle car approach is now the norm. Even before 9-11 the experience of flying on an airliner had become drudgery. Where it used to be the best part of ones vacation or business trip. But since 9-11 the simple drudgery of full airplanes, middle seats, no amenities and no one being nice, has been replaced by a surreal nightmare of just getting there with your sanity. And your luggage. And a shred of dignity. I love to fly in any airplane, but I was dreading the travel days of our little vacation.
There was both good and bad on the travel days. Really, really noisy babies and toddlers during the entire flights both out and back. Oversized travellers who used part of my seat space both out and back. Full airplanes.
On the good side we flew non stop each way. Wife had a window seat and although her window was fogged on the way out to L.A., her flight home was clear all the way and she watched the entire country go by and with the prevailing wind the flight took a little over four hours.
We were on a 737. An airplane that used to barely make it halfway across the country. Now more efficient engines and airframes and winglets make the old venerable "seven three" a coast to coaster. I won't tell you the name of the airline we were on, but it's initials are AIR TRAN and it used to be Value Jet. Now I travel in spite of flying on an airplane.
LLITTY :::::+:::::
There was both good and bad on the travel days. Really, really noisy babies and toddlers during the entire flights both out and back. Oversized travellers who used part of my seat space both out and back. Full airplanes.
On the good side we flew non stop each way. Wife had a window seat and although her window was fogged on the way out to L.A., her flight home was clear all the way and she watched the entire country go by and with the prevailing wind the flight took a little over four hours.
We were on a 737. An airplane that used to barely make it halfway across the country. Now more efficient engines and airframes and winglets make the old venerable "seven three" a coast to coaster. I won't tell you the name of the airline we were on, but it's initials are AIR TRAN and it used to be Value Jet. Now I travel in spite of flying on an airplane.
LLITTY :::::+:::::
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Rambling Update
Today is Sunday. We've already had three beautiful days to make up for the rains. Now it is so nice I don't even know what to do. My wife has been sitting on the front porch lately about once a day. Her barn cats come over and sit with her. They run away when I come out to sit. They are semi "feral". The porch is in desperate need of a new floor. My wife doesn't seem to mind because it's all about the animals and they like the holes in the floor which give them instant access to the crawl space. I don't have the funds or energy for the new porch floor, but it would be a great fall project. We sit out there and drink coffee and watch the tractors work the large field across the street. That's when you know you are retired.
I am not a motor head. In one of my blogs I have a post about what a really bad mechanic I am. I have seven cars. One not running. One in California. I have two cars visiting that are not mine. In the last week or so, I have had three cars break down and wind up in various shops. Friday I picked up one of the cars from the shop. I drove it sixty miles and it broke down again. It is back in the shop. That was the second time in two weeks that I had two breakdowns in one day. I can't complain. There was a long period where all six cars just did their job. I'm bad about maintenance. I take them to Jiffy Lube, but that's it.
A while back, after our fly-in, a good buddy of mine made me an offer. This unnamed buddy, let's just call him Dempsey, had an idea. He suggested I let him base and store and work on his little sports car in my shed and he in return would work on my "Brittish piece of sh-t". Well, I have never been able to afford a mechanic to work on a hobby car. So I took him up on it. My little Brittish car is called a TR-6 and it was way not running. It could not even move with it's rusted brakes locked. It had not been driven in about 13 years. I have had it eight years and kept it high and dry in my shed and in 2003 I had patched the floorboards so it would not be like a "Fred Flintstone" car. Our first day of working on the thing was just getting the bees nests out of it and making sure the snakes would not come back. About three weeks after our "deal" I found myself driving the crazy little thing down the runway at 50 mph with no brakes. Fueled by a soda bottle full of 100LL aviation gas run through brand new fuel lines into a new fuel pump into the unknown carburators. We had robbed a battery out of my jeep. I was amazed the starter and the clutch and for that matter the engine itself, mostly worked. It was a long way to come from a "dead" car. After that drive I was happy and telling Dempsey he was a "genius" and a "wizard". And he was and is. But there is a long long way to go. Last Saturday we nursed the car about thirty miles on back roads to a "Wings and Wheels" fly in. Dempsy drove the TR and I followed chase in the Ford pick up. We had a great time. Saw two B-25 Mitchells, a Corsair, a T-28, T-6's and many others. And so many beautiful cars. You know. You've been to car shows. If you saw any one of the cars in a grocery store parking lot you'd be blown away. But when there are 200 of them you barely have time to give them a look. I coveted a beautiful cream white Studebaker Avanti parked along side it's show mate, a cherry Hawk. There were 60's convertables, Corvairs, which my mechanic and I both like. Antiques like Model A's and T's, rat cars, etc. you know. But there was my little Triumph on the front line by the planes. Yes it was a rat. No top. Primer patches, bondo patches, no carpet, every single thing on it needing some kind of attention. Yet as I sat in my lawn chair by my car as if I had an immaculate 1957 T-Bird, I talked to passers by who said things like "Oh yes, I know exactly what this is. There was only one at my High School. I love these" My car was a hit. And we had fun because we knew some of the aviation folks too. I owe it all to you Dempsey. Thank you.
LLITTY :::::+:::::
I am not a motor head. In one of my blogs I have a post about what a really bad mechanic I am. I have seven cars. One not running. One in California. I have two cars visiting that are not mine. In the last week or so, I have had three cars break down and wind up in various shops. Friday I picked up one of the cars from the shop. I drove it sixty miles and it broke down again. It is back in the shop. That was the second time in two weeks that I had two breakdowns in one day. I can't complain. There was a long period where all six cars just did their job. I'm bad about maintenance. I take them to Jiffy Lube, but that's it.
A while back, after our fly-in, a good buddy of mine made me an offer. This unnamed buddy, let's just call him Dempsey, had an idea. He suggested I let him base and store and work on his little sports car in my shed and he in return would work on my "Brittish piece of sh-t". Well, I have never been able to afford a mechanic to work on a hobby car. So I took him up on it. My little Brittish car is called a TR-6 and it was way not running. It could not even move with it's rusted brakes locked. It had not been driven in about 13 years. I have had it eight years and kept it high and dry in my shed and in 2003 I had patched the floorboards so it would not be like a "Fred Flintstone" car. Our first day of working on the thing was just getting the bees nests out of it and making sure the snakes would not come back. About three weeks after our "deal" I found myself driving the crazy little thing down the runway at 50 mph with no brakes. Fueled by a soda bottle full of 100LL aviation gas run through brand new fuel lines into a new fuel pump into the unknown carburators. We had robbed a battery out of my jeep. I was amazed the starter and the clutch and for that matter the engine itself, mostly worked. It was a long way to come from a "dead" car. After that drive I was happy and telling Dempsey he was a "genius" and a "wizard". And he was and is. But there is a long long way to go. Last Saturday we nursed the car about thirty miles on back roads to a "Wings and Wheels" fly in. Dempsy drove the TR and I followed chase in the Ford pick up. We had a great time. Saw two B-25 Mitchells, a Corsair, a T-28, T-6's and many others. And so many beautiful cars. You know. You've been to car shows. If you saw any one of the cars in a grocery store parking lot you'd be blown away. But when there are 200 of them you barely have time to give them a look. I coveted a beautiful cream white Studebaker Avanti parked along side it's show mate, a cherry Hawk. There were 60's convertables, Corvairs, which my mechanic and I both like. Antiques like Model A's and T's, rat cars, etc. you know. But there was my little Triumph on the front line by the planes. Yes it was a rat. No top. Primer patches, bondo patches, no carpet, every single thing on it needing some kind of attention. Yet as I sat in my lawn chair by my car as if I had an immaculate 1957 T-Bird, I talked to passers by who said things like "Oh yes, I know exactly what this is. There was only one at my High School. I love these" My car was a hit. And we had fun because we knew some of the aviation folks too. I owe it all to you Dempsey. Thank you.
LLITTY :::::+:::::
Monday, August 29, 2011
Irene Sunday Cyclone
Yesterday was a long day. Filled with excitement, concern, anticipation. Filled with dramatically bad weather. And dramatically good weather. Oddly our electric power stayed on through the cyclone's visit. So I was able to watch TV and look at the storm's progress on the computer. Until the down cable took those things away. The eye passed abeam our house at 2:45 AM yesterday morning. It was forty miles from us. I got a few hours sleep. I got up at dawn and went out in the high wind. Wind as strong as anything I'd seen leading up to the eye. Maybe worse. The eye at dawn was now 50 miles north of it's abeam latitude but the winds were not subsiding. But I now knew it would get no worse. I stayed out of the house and in the weather from dawn to dark. At nine AM the winds had not let up and I hung out in the pole shed/hangar/lean to. The rain had stopped. But the wind made "rain" as it blew water everywhere. The wind sock was standing straight out and shifting in all directions. At ten AM the windsock showed little signs of bending down and swinging less. By 11 AM the sock had steadied to a less gusty west wind. The eye was now 90 miles north. My wife was going back and forth to the barn and pointed out a narrow band of blue sky on the southwest horizon. I stared at that for a long time. I was soaking up the sea change. The natural feeling you get when you feel the weather and you've been in the pace of the system. The altimeter I had sitting on the kitchen table showed the air pressure had gone up another tenth of an inch but I knew what it was going to say before I read it. Hour by wonderful hour and minute by minute the weather got slowly and steadily better. And I watched it and felt it. I started to pick up limbs. And branches. And twigs. I filled the pick up truck and emptied it several times. The wind was still blowing but ever lessening. At about 4 PM even the thin high cirrus overcast was breaking apart and the sun was shining. I sat down in the hangar on the couch in the "man cave". I slept for an hour. I had had six hours sleep in the last forty eight. When I got up from my nap, the sky was clear except for a band of cumulus low on the horizon out toward Ocean City. A final band of Irene to remind me of her immense size. The wind was calm. The sun starting to set. I opened hangar doors. I got out mowers. I got out cars. I got out the golf cart. I got out the big trash can. I did some mowing and a lot more picking up of sticks. It was one of the prettiest days I had ever seen. Before it got dark I went down to the ditch that runs as a stream thru my property. The state calls it a "branch" as it connects to the Choptank River. In the morning after the eye had passed the water in the ditch was just barely below the footbridge. Now before dark the water had dropped to about a foot lower than the bridge. My farm is saturated but not flooded. If another storm comes anytime soon, I will be flooded.
Now today as I write, I can't wait to get back outside. Into the refreshed atmosphere, the sunshine, the light breezes. I'll walk the airstrip and see how soggy it may be.
My wife invented a dessert called "hurricane cake". It was fabulous and we finished it off quickly. She is now making another one. It's time for our second pot of coffee. There is so much more I could say about the troubles of big Irene. But I probably won't.
I hope all you fellow east coasters fared well.
LLITTY .. .. :::::+:::::
Now today as I write, I can't wait to get back outside. Into the refreshed atmosphere, the sunshine, the light breezes. I'll walk the airstrip and see how soggy it may be.
My wife invented a dessert called "hurricane cake". It was fabulous and we finished it off quickly. She is now making another one. It's time for our second pot of coffee. There is so much more I could say about the troubles of big Irene. But I probably won't.
I hope all you fellow east coasters fared well.
LLITTY .. .. :::::+:::::
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