AWAITING 2005

2004 is winding down quickly now. A few more hours and we'll be entering 2005! Wow! I like to compare present times with those of a century ago. A hundred years ago in 2005 Albert Einstein was just formulating his "Special Theory of Relativity", Norway was deciding to separate from Sweden, Ty Cobb was just beginning his Major League career, the New York Giants would win the World Series from the Philadelphia Athletics, and the first neon lights would start to appear. What strange and wonderful new things will we see in 2005?

I like to think there will be much good. There's always a mix. In 1905 the Russo-Japanese war was just ending, Sun Yat-Sen was forming a union of secret societies to expell the manchus from China, and the Sinn Fein party was organizing in Ireland. That same year Ayn Rand, Howard Hughes, Greta Garbo, and Jean Paul Sartre were born. What wars will end and what great people who impact their own times will be born this year? We live in intriguing times. Here's hoping 2005 will be a good year for you and me!

BACK IN WINDSOR

Dickie and I had a great trip back to California on Tuesday of this week. Our US Airways pilot landed the plane without a bump. Dickie didn't even know we were down. That was quite in contrast to our trip to St. Louis a few weeks ago when "crash", the ace at the wheel, did everything but knock the landing gear off the plane when we came in. To be kind, I think it was his "first" landing. We noticed him and the co-pilot checking the tires before we took off!!!

It's good to be back here in foggy northern California. The sun has come out a time or two, but it's our version of winter and sometimes it takes a while for that fog to burn off.

Last night we drove down to Santa Rosa to see the new house that Gretchen and her kids are renting. It's beautiful - a great yard, plenty of room, and close to downtown. Looks like a real winner.

It'll take some time to settle back in here. Plenty of yard work to catch up on, but I'll manage inch by inch. Our neighbor, Jon, kept our front yard in great shape while we were away. I can't thank him enough. What a guy!

We did our morning walk late today. I stayed up last night until 1:30 A.M. fooling with this computer. I get started on things and just can't quit.

Found out this morning that the Sonoma County Library has several copies of the Ben Franklin book I was reading out in NJ. I was less than a third of the way through, so I'm glad to find it again. The book is 1605 pages long, so it's like reading an encyclopedia, but I've enjoyed it, so I'm determined to finish it off. 10/4

Longwood Gardens

Dickie and I took a drive down to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania today. They have their Christmas exhibit on display in the conservatory. It's a beautiful sight - poinsettias everywhere, not to mention a host of other flowers, a gorgeous feast for the eyes. Here's what I mean:







On the way home we stopped briefly at the Brandywine Museum so I could take a few pictures along the river. I can't get over those statues of the cow and pig. They look so perfectly suited for where they are.

Had to take a little detour on the way back, since the Commodore Barry Bridge route was temporarily closed because of an accident so we came on up and crossed the Delaware at the Walt Whitman Bridge. It was a fun day!

FOUR MORE YEARS!

I wish I could be happy about the results of the just completed national election, but I cannot. Today has been one of the most depressing days of my life. President Bush has won re-election and, apparently with some degree of correctness, now considers that he has a "mandate". I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but I genuinely fear for our country, if, as our President has indicated in his acceptance speech today, the next four years will be more of the same - particularly as regards the war in Iraq.

Like, perhaps, half the citizens of this country, I have been opposed to this war from the start. I believe that this mis-guided attempt to establish a democracy by force is bound to fail - unless we kill far more Iraqi's than Saddam Hussein himself did.

As far as I'm concerned, we are sowing the seeds of our own destruction. There is a Christian saying, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church". In much the same way the blood of the Arabs we kill in Iraq can only spawn a huge angry response in the Arab world. To think that it will promote democracy seems to me ludicrous. How long, how many decades, how many centuries will the Arab world hold us responsible for our slaughter of Arabs in Iraq? And it is a slaughter. There's no real contest. Our military has never doubted that. For every American who dies, Iraqi's die by the dozens, even hundreds.

I have little hope that history will prove me wrong. I think it is far more likely that the "terror" in this world has only begun.

Election Day!

Dickie and I voted by absentee ballot again this year since we're out here in New Jersey at this momentous time. Dickie says she heard that some 30% of voters have voted before today. That sounds like a lot!

My Mini-Poll on our November Web Page is showing Kerry leading (57% for Kerry, 35% for Bush, with the other 8% going to Nader and Other). I wonder how much that could reflect the national mood. My friends and relatives do come from all over this great country of ours. We'll see. It's almost 11:30 A.M. here in Jersey, so the votes should be piling up.

Coming to the End of October

The Boston Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series and all the ball players are headed for their winter homes.

Here in Shamong, the autumn leaves are streaming from the skies. The colors are still pretty, but they're fading fast. The air is fresher. You need a heavier coat now. Speaking of heavier coats, the woolly caterpillars don't look particularly heavily clothed. We've seen several in the last few days. Maybe it will be a mild winter.

There was a complete eclipse of the moon the other night. We had too much of a cloud cover here in South Jersey so I didn't get any pictures.

I see in today's news that a new species of humans has been discovered on a tropical island between Asia and Australia, a pygmy-like creature that appears to have been a mighty hunter some 18,000 years ago.

Pictures of Titan, one of the 33 known moons of the planet Saturn, are being sent back to earth from the Cassini spacecraft and are puzzling scientists who have found no evidence of fluid of any kind on Titan which, we are told, is as big as the planet Mercury.

The political campaigns are reaching the end. Shortly, we'll know which direction our country is headed for the next four years - or maybe not. Many pundits are predicting a wild finish that will leave us all hanging.

It's an interesting world!

On With the Show

This day has begun inauspiciously (gee, haven't used that word in a while!). It's cloudy and bleak. Looks like it could rain again. Dickie and I did manage to get our morning walk in. They're expecting rain in St. Louis tonight, too, for the third game of the World Series which I'm hoping the Cardinals will win. My team kind of got creamed up there in Boston. Maybe some home-cooking will do them some good.

There's not much to report around here today. We tried to get some flu shots yesterday, but the place was so mobbed we decided to skip it for the time being. Hope we don't live to regret that.

I've been working on my November web page and reading a good book, "The Plot Against America" by Philip Roth. Watched the last half of "The Lost Prince" on PBS last night. It's the story of Prince John, the brother of King George V. Here's a link, if you want to know more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/lostprince/matthew_thomas.shtml .

My Picture of the Day

For months I've been submitting digital photos to BestFoto.com in an effort to get one posted as the picture of the day. I finally managed to do it on Tuesday, October 19. Here's the URL that will get you there: http://www.bestfoto.com/ . To see it on site after today, you'll have to check the "archives" for October 19; but, just to make sure you see the picture, here it is below:



I've had a great time taking pictures over the past ten months, but getting one chosen for "Picture of the Day" has been a special treat.

The Cards and the Astros

Wow! My last post on this blog site was nine days ago. It's amazing how fast time flies when you're having fun!

Dickie and I had a visit from acquaintances from years ago last week. The Grosses stopped by for a couple days. They've been doing that every 45 years now! At least, it was about 45 years ago that we last saw them. Took them down to Atlantic City so they could satisfy their urge to gamble. Didn't win anything but we had fun trying.

At the moment I'm excited about the prospects of my favorite basball team, the St. Louis Cardinals. They beat the Astros, 10 to 7, last night in the first game of the NLCS. I like the Cards' pennant chances at this point. Don't know about the World Series. Looks like whoever wins in the NL will play the Yanks for all the marbles. That could be tough.

I didn't see too much of the Bush/Kerry debate last night, although Dickie watched the whole thing and we recorded it so I could watch it, if the spirit moves me. I've already made up my mind as to how I'll vote, so watching the debate doesn't seem that important anymore.

A Beautiful Day in New Jersey

Hey! The sun is shining brightly today. It's a little brisk, but invigorating. Dickie and I didn't walk this morning, since we had some chores to tend to. Maybe we'll still get a walk in later. It looks like a great day to take pictures. I think I'll grab my camera and take a look around.

My Cardinals played a great game yesterday and beat the Dodgers 8 to 3 in the first game of the playoffs. They looked strong! Hope they can keep it up.

We're expecting company this afternoon. Gordon and Evelyn Gross (from Colorado) will be arriving for a brief stay. Haven't seen them in 46 years or more. Should be fun catching up on the between times.

I've been reading Bill Clinton's "My Life" for the last few weeks and I'm coming down the home stretch. It won't win any Pulitzer prize, but it's interesting. How the man managed to do as much as he did, with all the constant nagging of the opposition, is amazing. Of course, he made a monumental mistake, but the hounds were after him, even without that mistake and, that they didn't succeed in bringing him down, is a testimony to his own intelligence and strength.

The Baseball Season Is Over

Looks like all the races have been decided now. The Cardinals will play the Dodgers in St. Louis on Tuesday at 12:09 CST according to Mike Shannon. The Astros will play the Braves in Atlanta, I suppose. In the American League, the Yankees will play the Minnesota Twins and the Red Sox will be the guests of the Anaheim Angels, I believe. Should be an interesting round of playoffs!

Raining Again

Well, I had a whole new post composed, but I made a wrong choice and blew the whole thing. I'm too lazy to do the whole thing over today, so I'll content myself with this. I do notice that this editor is just like any other web page editor. You can change the color of the text, resize it, link to another site, even post a picture, it appears, although it was while I was trying to do that that I blew my first composition today. I'll have to work on that one.

October Begins

I've been patiently waiting for more of my relatives and some of my friends to post a comment or two on this blog site, but, so far, no luck. I'm beginning to think it's too hard for people to figure out how to post a comment.

All you have to do is click on the word "comment" (in yellow) at the end of this post. You'll see a pencil appear and find that the words at the end of this post will change slightly to: "Post a Comment". When you click on those words, you will bring up the "Sign In" page. Since you are not a registered blogger, click on the little blue line that reads "Or post anonymously". You just click on that and start typing in the dialog box that comes up. When you're finished writing, just click on "Submit".

You can say whatever you want here. Tell us how your day is going or what you had for breakfast or what the weather is like in your part of the world. This isn't really a "public" site. I haven't advertised it anywhere except on my web page. Come on! Don't be chicken! Jump in.

End of September

This is my last post for the month of September. It's still raining here in southern New Jersey today. Carl and Lisa are planning to attend the Phillies' ballgame with some friends tonight. Looks like they could get wet.

Guess the big news today is the debate tonight between Kerry and Bush. As I read somewhere today, "May the best man win!" I think I know who that is, but I'll let history decide.

Keeping in Touch

I'm still learning how to handle this blog site. It finally dawned on me today that I'm the creator of each day's first subject. Those of you who come to the site can add your comments to whatever subject I choose. All you have to do is click on "comment" and then on "Post a Comment". It takes a minute or two before a post appears, so you don't want to get upset that your post doesn't show immediately.

Of course, if you start your own "blog" you can choose the subject and those whom you invite to participate can add their comments.

It's raining again today here in Shamong. There has been considerable flooding in the near vicinity, not to mention a couple of tornados. Delaware is pretty far away, but Cherry Hill is quite close.

Dickie and I were able to complete our morning walk without getting wet

Moving On

I haven't figured out exactly how this works yet, but I'll keep experimenting.

Beginnings

I decided to do this just to see that everything was on the up and up. It looks to me like anybody can do it. It certainly isn't complicated.