I got to wondering the other day as to why Great Britain seems to align itself more with U.S. policies than any other European nation. When it came to us invading Iraq the Brits were right there while the French and many others were screaming no. What conclusions have I reached about this observation. The answer is, at least in my twisted mind, super power mentality. Those of us who are history buffs know that before 1950 or so Great Britain was the dominant super power in the world. The Great British Empire was spread across much of the world. … Continue reading The U.S. & Great Britain…

I couldn’t leave Monticello without a picture of the life size bronze of Thomas Jefferson to go along with the one of Madison at Montpelier. I don’t know how those guys wore all those clothes during the hot Virginia summers ;) Continue reading Monticello VA – April 2011

One thing that might keep some of the old barns up is making them “dual purposed”. This one is in Virginia somewhere around Monticello. Continue reading Virginia – April 2011

Monticello which was Thomas Jefferson’s home is just down the road, at least by today’s standards, from James Madison’s home shown in the previous post. I have been to Monticello a couple of times before but it is always a somewhat spiritual experience. Continue reading Monticello VA — April 2011

As I get older I find that my muscles and bones just don’t always align with my chores at hand so I have to find ways to cope. A good part of that lately is to find tools to enable me to complete my many yard and garden tasks. What was relatively easy a few years ago is becoming more of a real chore today. For that reason I am starting to assemble a seemingly barn full of tools to cope. Of course at the front of that is my garden tractor with its 56″ mower deck. I can’t imagine … Continue reading As I Get Older….

While most of the barns in our portfolio were taken on one of our many road trips this one is just a few miles from our home. We pass it several times a week.  The backside of the barn sustained considerable damage in the Spring storms. I hope it stay up. Continue reading Indiana – 2011

GOP pivots on ‘birther’ questions, blames Obama for media attention Ok, here it is. Now that President Obama finally tried to put the birther issue to rest the radical right in the Republican party are hitting on him for wasting time with providing his birth certificate! They say he should be producing more jobs instead of settling this issue. It is just totally amazing to me how they will spin anything the President does to make him wrong. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here is what I think of this: This is so hilarious that I … Continue reading What's Obama Doing Wasting Time….

We visited Montpelier in Virginia a few weeks ago. James Madison is one of my heroes so it was good to make this connection with him. Continue reading My Hero – James Madison (and Dolly too)

I have been getting more questions lately from some in our old church asking why we haven’t been there for such a long time. I got a very heartfelt note in the snail mail today from one of those friends.  She said that she really misses my wife and me on Sundays especially in the Bible classes. She mentioned that when I had a disagreement with the pastor on a biblical issue she and her husband tended to agree with me more than the pastor on that issue. She was wondering where we have gone and hoping that we would … Continue reading Where Have You Gone??

Let’s finish up this journey through our tax code in the U.S. and its reform. I know many people out there think that taxes are just government shaking them down.  But I don’t see it that way.  I enjoy going to the store to get a gallon of milk and be assured that drinking it will not make me sick. I also enjoy driving down some reasonably good roads to get there. We all need to pitch in to make these types of things possible. Ok, let’s get on to fixing this tax mess we are currently in. The one … Continue reading More About Taxes….

The title question came to me from a fellow blogger of the Quaker persuasion. The premise around the question is at the end time will there be more people in heaven or hell? If you answer hell then it appears like satan wins. From an evangelical Christian perspective I’m sure the answer is satan will win.  By their very nature evangelicals believe that if you are not a Christian you are going to hell. This, like many things is a very black and white issue for them. Since it is widely known that the majority of people are not  Christian then that … Continue reading Is God a Winner or a Loser??

The picture shown above is of President Woodrow Wilson’s car from 1913 which is currently housed in his Presidential Library and Museum in Staunton Virginia. The library was somewhat spartan by today’s presidential libraries but it was well worth the visit. The reason I chose the his car to represent this visit is that it languished in oblivion for nearly 50 years before it finally found and restored. It’s nice that this little piece of history was not lost. Continue reading Woodrow's Car… Staunton VA 2011

We now move on with our recent vacation trip through Virginia. I must admit that I have been to this State several times and even to a couple of the sites we visited. But one city I had not been to was Staunton, Virginia. Among other things with was the birthplace of one of my heroes Woodrow Wilson. I’m sure not too many people put Wilson on such a pedestal but I admire him for his wisdom and foresight. Wilson spent the majority of his adult life in New Jersey as president of Princeton University and as Governor. He was … Continue reading Oh Virginia… Here’s To You Woodrow