Ok this is the close up post for this on-the-road series on Washington DC.  I missed a few days posts because of late night arrivals to the hotel and just being too tired after we got home yesterday. After we left DC on Monday we went to Baltimore Maryland’s Inner Harbor for a quick visit. We got there just after a celebration weekend for their part in the war of 1812. Fort McHenry there is where our national anthem was written during this war so they make a big deal out of that one. As a result of the celebration … Continue reading On-The-Road Washington DC

The first thought that comes to mind to describe today is CROWDED!!! Everywhere we went there was simply masses of people. I expected crowds, even on a Sunday, but not that many.  We started the day at Arlington Cemetery and caught the changing of the guard as soon as we arrived. It was a rather somber thing. But then again I think there were more live people there than there were dead ones. We actually missed the grave of JFK because there were people crowding around it we just didn’t see it.  I seems like it must have been downsized … Continue reading On-The-Road Washington DC Day 4

Today started at 5:00am. We left so early that we missed breakfast at the hotel but did make it to the White House before 8:00am as dictated by the security people there. They seem to be much more serious about their job than when I was there forty-seven years ago. :) We were only allowed to go through some of the rooms on the first floor but did manage to see everything between the East Room and the West Room. Was it worth getting up so early? I am not sure yet; I guess so…. After the White House today … Continue reading On-The-Road Washington DC Day 3

I think this cartoon says it all for me. Am I being too optimistic to think that we could get out of all the problems generated by the previous administration in less than four years? I was hoping for better than this… But as far a net worth, which for most of us is the value of our homes, is concerned I think any idiot could have seen the housing bubble burst long before it did.  At least many of us didn’t go into big debt based on that false value…. Continue reading Says It All….

I woke up this morning with a song attached to my brain. I know I dreamed about it last night but since I almost never remember what my dreams are I can’t give you the context. Here is the lyrics of the song;  I hope I don’t cause you to be humming it all day as I likely am: Sing, sing a song, Sing out loud, sing out strong, Sing of the good things, not bad, Sing of the happy, not sad . . . Sing, sing a song, Make it simple, to last your whole life long, Don’t worry that … Continue reading Sing….Sing a Song…..

Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself –  Eleanor Roosevelt I have sure made my share of mistakes but haven’t we all? Sometimes I don’t but I like to believe that I learn from my mistakes and try not to make them again. But some mistakes creep up on me and I stubbornly refuse to admit that they are mistakes at all.  Instead I blame them on circumstance or outside factors or just plain dumb luck.  Let’s admit it, no one likes to admit mistakes. Eleanor Roosevelt was as most of … Continue reading From Eleanor…

Source:Rumor roundup: The next iPhone – Gadgetbox on msnbc.com. I will state up front here that after several failed attempts at having a cell phone I finally got and iPhone last October. It is everything I hoped it would be. My previous attempts at owning a cell phone proved less than expected. Since I am deaf almost all of my communications via cell is with text messaging. Sometimes my wife uses my phone for voice calls but not often.  One of my previous phones was so slooooow.., another insisted on losing its signal daily and then went into a battery … Continue reading The next iPhone …

There are only two kinds of people in the end; those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done’ and those whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done’ –C.S. Lewis C.S. Lewis was one of my favorite authors and theologians in my early years. He had insight that few could match. I warmed to him maybe because he was a lay theologian, that is he had no formal training in theology. He was one of us who was unpolluted by the religious hierarchy. It all just came natural to him.  His writings gave me the courage to also … Continue reading Thy Will Be Done…

msnbc.com Entertainment – Bob Dylan is honored by president with Medal of Freedom. I must admit that I was a big fan of Bob Dylan during my hearing years. I was a teenager when I “discovered” Bobby Dylan’s first album. He like me, at least in my mind, was somewhat of a rebel. His songs frequently railed against the establishments of the day. I learned to play the guitar because I wanted to play his songs. I, like Bobby, had a rather raspy voice so I thought I could pull it  off. Even now I can still recite many of … Continue reading Bob Dylan…

Source: Charles Taylor Sentenced to 50 Years for War Crimes – NYTimes.com. I just don’t understand why the continent of Africa is so prone to these types of things.  Taylor was found guilty of atrocities committed in Sierra Leone during its civil war in the 1990s. I am ashamed to say that I only vaguely remember the Sierra Leone slaughter. I can make excuses like “I was just so busy in the 90s I didn’t have time” but that doesn’t excuse the fact that I along with millions of others stood by and just let it happen with hardly a peep from us. … Continue reading I Just Don’t Understand…

No one can drive you crazy unless you give them the keys  – Unknown I don’t know about you but I think “Unknown” is a pretty smart fella. He seems to come up with all kinds of memorable stuff and this is one of the best. We all love to jerk each other’s chains once in a while. I can usually turn my wife around on a dime because I know where her keys are :) She usually reacts first and then realizes that I am pulling one on her. There was a guy I worked with for almost a … Continue reading The Keys…

I know I am going to sound like an “old guy” here but I seem to remember the same thing happened as shown by Mr. Stahler’s cartoon above with math. I was in college when the first calculators were invented so I remember the hours and hours I spent in my grade school days learning multiplication and long division. Although I was somewhat proficient at it I was never that keen on math so memorizing the multiplication tables was not a favorite thing for me but I did learn them. My teacher drilled me back and forth on them. When I went … Continue reading Math… Now Spelling….

Here it is Sunday again. On this day I try to give you a post about something or someone who inspires me.  For today I have chosen a quote from Albert Einstein. I will not even bother to tell you who he is as I’m pretty sure you all know. Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.  – Albert Einstein Of course Einstein was a brilliant scientist but he was also a brilliant and inspiring thinker. His words above should be how all of us approach life. Learn from yesterday … Continue reading Inspiring Words…

I only fear that I may live too long. This would be a subject of dread to me –  Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson is not alone in this subject of dread.  I personally have already seen this too many times in my life and since I leave no heirs to care for me I dread that I too will live too long.  Those that I love sometimes have a very bitter end to their existence. They wither completely away before that last heart beat. They are a shell of what they once were before the Lord takes them. Then there … Continue reading Living Too Long….

Memorial Day is supposed to be about remembering those who have died in our wars. Since I believe that every person is equally valuable I will mourn the innocent civilians lost in our wars as much as the soldiers on both sides who fought in them. After all the vast majority, if not all our previous enemies in war are now our allies to one degree or another. The twentieth century is known as the bloodiest century of our existence. Let us all pray that somehow all of us in this world manage to put our belligerent ways behind us and … Continue reading Memorial Day…

If by some divine act of providence we could get rid of both these parties and hired some good men, like any other big business does, why that would be sitting pretty. – November 1, 1932  Will Rogers I am going to go off-topic here and talk about divine providence. Just what is it? Here is the general definition: Divine providence is the means through which God governs all things in the universe. The principle of divine providence asserts that God is in complete control And here is one from Wikipedia more aligned with religious theology: In theology, divine providence, or simply providence, is God’s … Continue reading A Divine Act of Providence….

I just saw a segment on CNN about kids, high school age and younger, who are dropping out of school to take care of a home bound love one.  These kids are caring for a mother, father, grandparent, or sibling on a full-time basis because there is no one else available  to do it. The compassion they show is inspiring indeed. But at the same time it is totally shameful that they are even be put into a situation like this. It is estimated that there are about 1.3 million kids in this situation. They have dropped out of school to … Continue reading Dropping Out of School….

What is a culture, the non-medical kind that is? The best definition I could find in relation to this post is:  a particular form or stage of civilization, as that of a certain nation or period I was recently introduced to the term “the culture of viciousness” and was immediately struck by its seemingly accurate description of our current times here in the U.S.  and perhaps the world as a whole. The most appropriate term to describe what is going on in congress and in much of the country is viciousness. The way we seem to treat each other lately is very saddening indeed!  Have we turned permanently to the dark side of … Continue reading The Culture of Viciousness….

Source: Naked face project: Women try no-makeup experiment – USATODAY.com. For nearly 60 days, two women from Charlotte, N.C., have been doing something that many women say they could never do: leave the house without makeup Given all the marketing that is targeted for women to paint their faces it is somewhat brave for these women to leave their homes without makeup on. Call me a yokel or whatever you want but I much prefer the natural beauty of women and believe that painting their faces is more distracting than anything else. I just can’t understand why women think they need … Continue reading Women try no-makeup experiment