January 30, 2010 - Snow, sleds, and digging out...

FINALLY! I got to watch it snow, and I didn't have to stay up all night to do it! Amazing!

Ginny hates it. I think it's great! it never got above 20 degrees all day, and it snowed, and snowed, and snowed! Loved every minute of it.

Yesterday in preparation of the snow, we decided to find out if our two youngest granddaughters had sleds yet. They didn't. They missed out on sledding in December, and I didn't want them to miss out this time. They had never been sledding, and that is something all young people should do.

So, we called all over, and drove all over, and found out that Pleasants Hardware was going to be getting a shipment of sleds and shovels in sometime between 1pm and 5pm. So, we made sure we were there around that time. The saleslady said they would be there sometime during the afternoon, but we should have time to grab some lunch before they arrived. Seems they had a shipment in the morning, and those were gone in an hour.

We left the store and spotted a restaurant across the street called "The Republic" and made our way over there. Ginny had a steak sandwich and fries, both really tasty. I had, and this is not on the list of preferred foods for dieting, but I didn't care, as it was friggin cold out and I was hungry - anyway, I had chili cheese mac! Spicy; great; made my head sweat and my nose run!

Went back to the hardware store and I stood around trying to look like I was looking for something, just waiting for the things to come in. I got there right around 2:30pm. The truck arrived at 4:15... By then there were around 15 people waiting. Ginny grabbed two "SnoBoogy" boards, I paid, and we left to take them to their house.

I told Ginny now that they had sleds they had better go sledding! The reason I said that was because their father, our youngest son, when he was coming up on his ninth birthday, all he talked about was getting a basketball goal for his birthday. So, yours truly went to Sears, and then the hardware for the cement, and spent the greater part of his birthday putting up a basketball goal. I had to stand on the back end of my Pontiac station wagon in order to push the backboard up, hold it with one hand while the other had to place the pin in the pole to hold the thing where it belonged. By the time I finished, I was soaked in sweat, my hands were filthy and bleeding from all the little cuts I had earned while doing this great thing for my son's birthday. I stood back and looked at it, thinking how happy he was going to be.

With that in mind, I almost skipped up the walk and entered the house. Out comes my nine year old son running up to me, and as I waited to hear the words of gratitude flowing from his lips, he said.... "Dad... I want a badminton set!" Amazingly, he lived!

Digging out of the snow was not bad. It was very light, and did not take long. I think I will probably have to do a little more tomorrow, as it seems to be still snowing here and there. They are saying we may have a bit more come Tuesday, and there is a chance for another storm through here next weekend. If that does happen, I guess we'll have to finally admit that it really is winter here! First time in a long time.

This is the first winter I can remember here where we have had two good sized snowstorms in the same winter, but spread out with 6 weeks in between. In the past, we would have one, and another about a week or so later, and that would be it. Not so this year.

Tomorrow, if they re open, we head to Starbucks!

January 28, 2010 - Paintings in the Living Room

I was sitting in "my"chair in our living room looking at all the things hanging on our walls, things we have collected over the years during our travels here and there, and from the art shows we have attended or participated in.

One of the pieces is a pair of cherubs holding one of those air plants. This we picked up one weekend when we upped and went to New York city's Greenwich Village for a few days. We were just walking down the street and noticed some activity in a school playground. There was a flea market of sorts going on there, so we looked around. We spotted the cherubs lying on a table with other plaster items, many of them not fully dried yet. We asked how much they were, and the man said $10, so we bought them! We handled them very carefully, as we did not want to damage them as we brought them home. Once home, and after they had dried thoroughly, Ginny took a small knife and scraped off the excess plaster. They have been hanging in our living room ever since.

Another piece of art is a small watercolour painting done by a man named C. Booth Farcus. C. Booth was 90 years old when we first met him at a local outdoor art show. He painted these wonderful landscapes of different places, all small paintings, all framed, ready to hang. All of his paintings sold for $35 or less, but, there was a catch. Every woman who purchased one of his paintings had to give him a hug as well.

C. Booth was an interesting man. I wish I had been able to spend more time with him and learn some of the history behind his life. He had an artist friend by the name of Cliff Satterwhite, also an artist, who suffered from a mental disability. Cliff was younger than C. Booth, but C. Booth took care of Cliff. In all the art shows they participated in, it was C. Booth who made sure that Cliff got there safely, was able to put his display stand up, and hang his paintings. Then, of course, C. Booth had to do the same for his own work.

C. Booth would sell every single painting he brought with him, whereas Cliff would never sell a thing. It was not that Cliff's paintings weren't good, because they were excellent, it was because Cliff would not let go of one of his "family". Cliff's paintings were amazing! The man could take a photograph in black and white and create a beautiful painting using little dots of colour, somewhat like pointillism, colours that made one think they were looking at reality instead of a painting. But, Cliff only entered art shows where there were monetary prizes. He just did not want to sell any of his paintings.

There was a man who came by his display stand one show, and saw a painting he really liked. The price was $2200. The conversation went as follows:

"How much is that painting?"

"You don't want that painting," Cliff replied.

"Yes, I do," said the man. He walked over and looked at the price, took out his checkbook and wrote a check. After tearing it out, he went back to Cliff.

"Here," said the man. "I want that painting."

Cliff shook his head. "You don't want that painting."

The man held out his check to Cliff, whereupon Cliff took it, and tore it up while repeating, "You don't want that painting."

The man gave up and walked away.

C. Booth told us that Cliff's mother had left a trust fund for Cliff to live off of, and it was administered by his brother. He said if you ever went into his house you would find paintings stacked against the walls of every room in the house.

I felt back then that once Cliff passed away, he and his art would become very well known. I do not know if Cliff is still alive. I can't believe C. Booth is, as he was 90 when we met him, and that has been many, many years ago. I do, however, cherish the memories of both of them and their ability to make others lives richer simply by being who they were, and giving to us who were fortunate to know them beautiful memories of themselves and their paintings.

January 26, 2010 - Books for teens and other irritations

First, the weather. Supposedly there is a snowstorm headed our way. It is supposed to start Friday and go into Saturday. No one knows how much snow we may get, if any, so we'll see if they are accurate or not. The last time a storm took a similar path as this one, we had almost two feet of snow. But, in the world of weather, as in other things, they predict based on what they think will happen. Personally, I hope they're correct, but, only if it snows during the day so I can watch it!

Tomorrow is Starbucks day! Can't wait!

Now to my topic subject.

How many of you have teenage children or grandchildren? Do they read much? I mean things like books, not text messages, or twitters. There is a section in most book stores that house books for teens. There needs to be a classification on books the same as there is for movies. Why? Because there is some real hard core porn in these books labeled for teens.

I am not one to call for preventing books full of porn being kept from anyone, if that's what they want to read. However, I do draw the line when young teens are being fed books by some authors who start out writing provocative stories for young teens, hook them in with characters that appeal to them, and then start writing hard core porn under the same classification.

I ran into this situation years ago when perusing a book for young ladies written by a well known female author that young girls really liked. She had written books that were supposed to help teens deal with situations they might encounter as they grew up. All well and good. Until I picked up her latest book at the time and began to read.

I couldn't believe what I read. Within its pages was hard core porn, using words to describe in detail acts that belonged in Hustler, or Penthouse. The only thing missing were the photos. Fortunately, I had no young girls to worry about. As I stood there, a girl of about ten saw the new book, and immediately ran to her mother wanting to know if she could buy it for her to read. I didn't stick around to see the outcome. I only hoped that the mother would pick up the book and read some of it before she bought it.

Now, do I believe that young people are not aware of these things? Nope! They undoubtedly are. However, they also know about garbage cans, and we wouldn't allow our children to dig around garbage cans just because they might be curious would we? I wouldn't.

Anyone who thinks it okay for they're children to read books that have things in them like a teenage girl who takes drugs and really likes the way they make her feel, and therefore is more than willing to have sex with anyone who her drug supplying boy friend brings around, and to display herself doing certain things in front of a webcam while high, as she puts it, have at it! Then you can sit around and wonder why your kid needs to go to drug rehab over and over, or enjoy the fact that certain things show up on the internet with your naked daughters performing for the cameras...

And to all the moms who allow their 11 and 12 year old daughters to dress like hookers, stop getting mad when some disgusting old pervert ogles her, or for that matter, abducts her. If you do not want this to happen, then it's up to you to stop it before it starts.

I am going to speak to the manager of the B&N Store when I go next time and tell them what I think of them selling porn to teenagers, and suggest someone read the books for young teens and put a warning label on them. And no, I do not believe anything will come of it since no one cares anymore.

January 25, 2010 - Now it's the birds!

I just read a horrifying report on the internet! It seems that several swans (swans mate for life...) showed up at the pond with new mates! Good grief! Does this means that birds are getting into a swinging lifestyle? Or, perhaps even getting divorced?

If swans are starting to get divorced, I guess we should be prepared for some swans to start wearing expensive suits complete with vests and pocket watches and being floated around the pond in large boats driven by gray herons in their formal attire and haughty attitudes. Those would be the swan divorce lawyers and their chauffeurs.

And the ones sitting at the edge of the pond with no feathers? Those would be the male swans who were "taken to the cleaners" by their mates.

Then, of course, there would be the swans with graying feathers floating around with one who has yet to lose their baby feathers. These would be the cougar swans with their young birdie studs.

Then, on top of all that, we would begin to see those black swans with all the rings in their bills, web feet and colored head feathers. These would be the young gothic swans who are rebelling because the pond has been fouled by the lawyers.

Oh, and we can't forget the large, oversized male swans, who have a svelte looking younger trophy swan on their wing. These would be the owners of the swan law firms who deal strictly in high profile swan divorces...

The Super Bowl should be a good, high scoring affair, which means it will be a lopsided game with one team running away from the other one that is over by halftime.

Cloudy, so far, and around 63 today. I guess that means no snow.

Short entry today. Back to work!

January 23, 2010 - Thoughts and other things

Something to see...

I have a friend who takes the most incredible wildlife pictures. He has a blog where he places

pictures. If you want to see some really interesting photos of nature at it's best, take a look see.

His blog can be found at: http://davewhitewildlife.blogspot.com/. Enjoy! I know I do...

I just finished writing a letter to the editor of the Richmond Times Dispatch, responding to a column written by Garrison Keillor. He is obviously one of those "progressives" that feels that if you do not agree with the current administration, you are an idiot!

He stated that "coffee drinkers", most Americans according to him, did not run around waving their arms and yelling. They, being the astute humans that we are not, instead sit and read a reliable newspaper (is there really such a thing? - Man! Wrote that while my arms were waving all over the place! Incredible!) to find out what is going on in the world.

Well, I drink coffee, and, I drink tea occasionally, and I am really sick and tired of people like him, and the government, attempting to belittle and destroy anyone who disagrees with them, and make us all mind our manners and do what we're told.

He had the unmitigated gall to state that Sen. Brown won in MA. because someone dropped a book in a room and scared all the tea drinkers. Of course, the fact the Sen. Brown, a non-democrat/progressive, won the seat in Ma. (only the second time in 126 years that a non-democrat/progressive won it) because, as the voters said, they wanted to send a message to DC, was totally ignored.

While eating breakfast, I could not wait to write my letter. If it is, by chance, printed, I will copy it onto my blog for anyone who might be interested in reading it.

Next topic! The government has authorized that up to 200,000 Haitians would be allowed to come to this country and stay. While I sympathize with them for their terrible misfortunate, I have to ask why? So they can join the 23 million Americans out of work, and the millions who are currently homeless? What's more, the states where these unfortunate people will be housed will have to cough up the money to take care of them. Where are they supposed to get it? Most states are almost bankrupt already, and it's getting worse over here, not better. Sorry, but I just do not understand it.

Different topic. I also do not understand why I have this unquenchable thirst to read all these books on Paris, especially about the 1920s through the 1940s. I am purposely reading the most recent one about Americans in Paris as slowly as possible, knowing that as soon as I finish it, I'll want to read more. Just because every time my computer boots up and I access the internet and see my page saver... a web cam of the Eiffel Tower, doesn't have anything to do with it.

I think my problem is that I wasn't alive and in Paris during those years, meeting Joyce, Hemingway, and all the other writer's who lived there during those years. But then, had I been there then, I would not be here now writing about them and reading about them.

Tonight - movie night! "Young Victoria". Only movie currently out that looks good, as we've already seen the others we wanted to see.

Last night - opening at ArtWorks. A few more people there. Didn't see any of the past regulars. Most of the ones who stopped by the gallery area we have picked up one of Ginny's cards after oooing and awing while they perused them. If I took a poll today, most, if not all, probably tossed them away as soon as they returned home. Am I a cynic, or what? Nope. Just been there, done that. One can always hope, though, at least for a few more months before the plug is pulled.

Also, last night, made another trip to the bookstore. Picked up three classics to read should I live long enough. Ginny picked up several as well, so we're well supplied for the next ten years or so. I have made headway in reading Don Quixote, though. Only 365 pages to go out of 895. Need to read some more of that this weekend. Once I complete that, I will start a different classic. By the time I finish reading all of them I probably won't remember a thing, or even know where I am...

January 21, 2010 - Bits and Pieces

I can't believe it's been several days already since the last time I updated this marvelous piece of... what? I don't really have a description, I guess.

Maine, in the region where our son lives, had 14 inches of snow last night. He's really excited about having to shovel out. I can't blame him. I'd get excited too if I had to shovel that much snow. Speaking of which, they say we might have a few flakes blowing around in the air, the snow type, that is, sometime tomorrow afternoon. The other flakes around here walk around, too heavy to be blown around.

We went for our walk today, and it was cold outside. I think it's interesting that I have not seen my breath that much this year when being out in the cold. I'm not sure if it is because it has been so dry out, or because I'm no longer breathing, and I just don't realize it.

There is an opening tomorrow night down at ArtWorks. It will be interesting to see if anyone shows up for it. Many openings from last year were very poorly attended compared to 2008.

I am an official member of the Virginia Writer's Club for the year 2010. I plan on networking as much as possible to see if that has any impact on my being able to publish my book. I am almost half way through the restructuring, and expect to possibly finish by the end of the month now, or early into next month. I have rewritten the part of one character in the book, the driver person, at least the beginning part. I still have to do the last part which will come once the diary has been restructured. I like the way this is going now much better than last year. Once I have the necessities completed, query letters to publishers will be in the mail, and we'll continue to pursue that end.

I have also spent a lot of time working through the short story I finished several weeks back. I have a little more work to do on that, and I will begin sending that out as well, just don't know where to.

I began reading a new book yesterday, the one I bought on Americans in Paris during the German occupation in WW II. I read where Isadora (A Greek Dancer) Duncan's brother, Raymond, was a great believer in living as the ancient Greeks did, and so ran around Europe, including Paris, wearing a form of Toga and sandals. I also learned that of all the Americans who stayed during the occupation, only one, not yet named, was ever brought back to the US and tried for treason.

Early on, the Germans, who supposedly admired Americans, did not confiscate American property. Unless they were African Americans, and then they were tossed into concentration camps for the duration.

One of the things I enjoy when reading is learning about different people, such as Isadora Duncan. While I knew the name, I knew nothing about her. Such as, she died that the age of 49 in an auto accident in 1927. Prior to that, her two daughters were killed, along with their nanny, when the car they were riding in ended up in the River Seine. After not dancing for some years after that, she began anew, and adopted 6 young children that were in her dance class, referring to them as her "Isadorables".

I've also learned a lot about Robert Bullitt, the American Ambassador who was "elected" by the French government to be the "Mayor of Paris" during the initial occupation of Paris, and to ensure the smooth transition of the city into German hands. It had been declared an open city in the hope the Germans would not destroy it, but when a group of French soldiers decided they would fight to the death, the Germans were gearing up to destroy the city, block by block. Bullitt helped calm that situation. All I can say is, Thank God they didn't destroy it!

I am also learning a lot about the group of doctors who periodically went into Afghanistan to tend to the wounded when they were fighting the Russians. I am a little over half way through that book, looking to finish within a week and a half.

I haven't decided at yet if I will read the biography of Georgia O'Keefe, the artist, or the biography of Alice Longworth Roosevelt. Or, maybe a different book than those. Whatever strikes my fancy.

A few days ago we went into a mall we hardly ever go into and saw where Waldenbooks was going out of business. So, we went in to see what was left, as they were selling everything off at a really good discount. I picked up, among other books, the huge book of New Yorker Cartoons, a coffee table book for a large coffee table. It was originally on sale for $19.99, and I didn't really want to spend that even though I love their cartoons! Well, it was there for $8, so I bought it! I found several others I had debated with myself about purchasing, but didn't. One is the latest novel by Orhan Pamuk, the Noble Prize winning author from Turkey. I had read part of it in the bookstore before this, and did not buy it then as I had, and still have, so many books to read. Now, I have that one as well. I couldn't resist the low price. I fully expect the floor to collapse soon from the weight of all the books we have upstairs.

Lunch time!

January 17, 2010 - Movies, restaurants, and dreams of travel

Friday night we saw the movie "Leap Year". Very good movie! It stars Amy Adams and some guy. Absolutely enjoyable! Even the guy part. It's about a young woman who decides to go to Ireland to propose to her, I don't know what, male personage she's living with? And the trials and tribulations she experiences in doing so. One of the best parts throughout the movie were the scenes of Ireland! Amazing! Can't wait to go back!

When we were in Dublin way back when, we stopped at a small restaurant to have dinner. The maitre de sat us by the front window so we could watch what was going on outside, and, I think, to carry on a conversation since business at that time was slow. After we ate, he indicated he would like to present us with Irish Coffees, on the house. Of course, we accepted. That was some strong coffee, let me tell you! By the time we had finished them, I was really glad neither one of us was driving... anything. Fortunately, we did not knock anyone off the sidewalk as we made out way back to the hotel.

One other event comes to mind as well. Different night. We went to the Temple Bar area, and the Temple Bar, to hear some traditional Irish music. We sat in a corner and nursed our Guiness, listening to the music. In front of us there were five young, relatively attractive, ladies sitting there. In no time, they were joined by four, eager, young men. It was interesting to watch the play as they, over the course of an hour or so, as the young men paired off with the young women. The one young woman who was left alone, so to speak, was the only one there who had several piercings arranged around her lips, ears, eyebrows, and nose. She attempted several times to try and join the fun, and was basically ignored by the young men. If looks could kill, there would have been four dead young men in front of us.

Anyway, we were discussing the evolution of the evening on the way back to the hotel, and I remarked to my wife that what was likely to happen was that the over eager, hopeful, expectant young men, would be left sitting there at the end of the evening wondering where the young ladies were off to, thinking of what might have been. Been there, done that... but then, maybe it was just me, and they would actually score, whereas I was usually left on base wondering why the game had ended so soon.

Because of the scenery in the movie and the memories of travels past, we have decided to eventually find part time jobs doing something, throwing all the money we make into the bank, and then head to Europe in early 2011. Where to will depend on how much money was have saved up by then and how long we could stay.

Saturday morning we met our youngest son and his two daughters for 'brunch' at a place called Kuba Kuba down in the fan. For those who do not live in Richmond, the fan is an older district in the city proper that is full of interesting houses, row houses, and great restaurants. Kuba Kuba is on the corner of Park and Lombardy, across the street from where the granddaughters used to play in the park there.

The food served in the restaurant has a Cuban, Caribbean flavor, and is excellent. Just spicy enough to add a bit of zing to the flavors, but not so hot one's tongue becomes numb to the taste of the food. The prices are very reasonable, and the portions are good sized for many things, just right for the rest.

On the way to the car we passed a house for sale. It was empty, so we peeked in the windows. It looked really nice. But then, it should, since the price listed was $500,000.

Dinner tonight was eaten at Weezys, a restaurant on Cary Street across form the ever popular Can Can. We go to Weezy's when craving crab cakes. One can have 4 crab cake sliders (enough for two people), a good sized bowl of black beans and rice, seasoned, and a bowl of vegetables, all for $20. The crab cakes are $10, and the others $5 each. And, there is more than enough to fill one up and even bring home for eating at another meal.

I was only going to eat one of the crab cakes and bring the other home so I could have another complete meal tomorrow, but my beautiful wife informed me they were not good when reheated. So, I forced myself to eat them both, felt stuffed, hoping they did not go to my waist.

Can Can is our place to go on occasion for Sunday breakfast, which is affordable. We skip eating dinner there, as it isn't affordable, at least not for us.

Diet wise, I have lost 9 pounds so far, with only 16 - 17 to go! I need to lose that by April, so when I go back to the doctor to get my blood pressure checked, maybe it will be good enough whereby I can stop taking the meds for it. One can always hope.

Tomorrow, back to work on the writing! Other than the blog, that is.

Weather wise, I'm going to put the snow shovel back in the shed. Tomorrow, and for the foreseeable future, it is supposed to be warm, 50s and 60s, so I don't think it will snow.

January 15, 2010 - Earthquake...

I'm sorry, but I just have to comment on the tragedy unfolding in Haiti. I really feel for the people who are having to endure the results of this disaster.

However, I find it totally disgusting how many do-gooders have jumped up and taken the opportunity to decry the awful condition of the country after the quake for the simple sake of getting their photos on TV, or in the news to convince someone how much they really care. Our esteemed president said we will not abandon them! BS! The governments that are rushing to help did that many decades ago!

Where the hell were all these "we must save as many as we can" way back when? According to info passed along by the overly concerned news media, 80% of the people live on less than $2 a day! 80% do not know how to read or write! 80% have no access to clean water! And this was before the quake! And you people who are so concerned with saving their lives, I ask, why bother? So they can go back to starving to death, dying from the dysentery they catch because there is no fresh water? Suffering from malnutrition because they cannot afford proper food?

So, run around and do what you think will help them survive, and then, when the story of their plight is no longer newsworthy, and the photographers leave the area, fade back into your previous life and wait for the next opportunity "to rise up and save someone", while the people in Haiti go back to dying the way they were before the quake.

January 15, 2010 - Dogs and other things....

Good news - Ginny sold two paintings yesterday. Now we can eat for another month...

I keep seeing these comments about consumers willingness to spend money being the thing that pulls the country out of the depression we're in. I don't understand how people who have little or no money buying crap made in China and places other than this country can being us out of the depression.

I do not use the term 'crap' lightly. Once upon a time, I used to buy shirts from LL Bean. They were called 'canvas' because they were made from a nice heavy material, and they wore like canvas. The last time I bought them, they were no longer made in this country, and they were made from a very thin material that wore out quickly. And, contrary to popular opinion about less expensive items because they were made with cheap or slave labor, they weren't less expensive. Just recently, I had to purchase some underwear. What I was able to find was 50% more expensive than the last time I bought it, and it feels like tissue paper! I rest my case...

Also, I read where core inflation rose in 2008, and in 2009, but, SS was not raised to cover the increased cost of things. I thought it was supposed to. Am I wrong? Bonuses for bankers and stock brokers went up... hmmmm, must be their stimulus, you know, the money that was supposed to help the economy for all...

The article also said the cost of food went down last year. Obviously they do not shop where we shop. We keep spending more and ending up with less. How does that relate to prices going down?

And, have you noticed the number of big, expensive, vehicles on the roads has increased? Must be that cash for clunkers things... allowed rich people to trade in their their old BMWs, Lexus, Infinitis for newer models...

I wonder if the health care bill being considered prevents doctors from creating those groups that are becoming popular amongst doctors, the ones where they charge $1500 a year just to be able to see them? That's on top of any insurance or patient's $ they acquire as well. I'll bet it doesn't. So, what that means is that as more doctors find out they aren't going to make as much off Medicare and Medicaid, they will begin to move in the direction of 'join my club, or you can't come into the clubhouse'.

Back to Dogs -

I am not a dog fancier, or a dog lover. While I would never do anything to hurt an animal, dogs to me are smelly, slobbering, hair shedding creatures that make too much noise with their incessant barking when the loving owner leaves them out all day to disrupt the quiet of those of us who do not have to go to work.

Perhaps the way I feel is because I was never allowed to have a dog when I grew up. I can't remember every wanting one, but I know I wasn't allowed to have one even if I ever did want one.

When our sons were growing up, we did have a dog for quite a few years. He was a very good pet, but had it been up to me, we probably would not have had him. The way that we acquired this creature was as follows:

I very innocently came home from work one day, and was met by my oldest son, five at the time, who said as I walked in the door... "If Stacy swells up, can we keep the dog?"

My first thought was, "What have you been doing to her?"

Well, I came to find out that the woman who lived in the end apartment we lived in was going to move. They had just brought home a little puppy. Since they were moving, she asked her neighbors if they wanted the dog. The neighbors indicated they did, but that their five year old daughter was allergic to them, so they would have to see how that worked. That's why Stacy would swell up.

She did, and the next thing I know, we have a dog. Everyone said, "Oh, we'll take care of him, we'll walk him, we'll do this with him, we'll do that with him, blah, blah, blah...

So, as things progressed and the pet newness wore off, where would I be found on rainy, freezing days? Why, walking the dog, of course!

The apartment, and later, the house, smelled like dog; the car smelled like dog; the dog had health problems that cost us a small fortune, money we didn't really have. Yes, having a loving pet was our reward. How nice it must be for something that can't talk, work for a living, or do anything except bark and howl when fire trucks went by, and spread fleas around to ruin ones comfort, for them to be able to live in a nice place, and have meals fixed for them with no effort on their part. Almost made me wish I could live a life like that...

All in all he was a good pet, and was missed once he left this world for wherever dogs go, perhaps Hollywood to become loud mouth, know it all actors, or Washington, where they become loud mouth, know it all, congressmen and senators...

January 14, 2010 - Good and Bad...

There's a company cutting down some of the neighbor's trees in their backyard.

The temperature is 23 degrees. It's a sunny day. The snow is almost totally melted.

There is supposed to be a "soaking" rain all day Sunday, which makes me wonder what it is going to soak into, since the ground is frozen, and the water table is very high right now.

Looks like winter for this part of Virginia is over for the year.

The Indianapolis Colts will probably lose come Saturday night, since the idiots that run the team wouldn't allow them to have a perfect season. If I were a player and had a chance at a perfect season and they took it away from me for no good reason I would lose the desire to perform at my best, and if that cost an otherwise should-have-been victory, so what. I'd just have that many more weeks of vacation, and I'd still be paid a ridiculous amount, regardless.

Powerball starts here the end of January. I'll donate to that as well as donating my meager funds to the Virginia Lottery. Odds of winning are astronomical, but, someone will win, and if I don't play, I'll never even have the chance of winning.

I have worked on my book and have the base for a new start to it. I have written it, and will now let it bounce around in my subconscious as I move the rest of the book to the new version, and modify the structure as I go. I want it ready by the end of February.

In the meantime I will rework the short story and look for someplace to send it.

I should finish reading "The Angel's Game" next week, so I can then move on to yet a new book. I am more than halfway finished reading Don Quixote. Have no idea when I will complete that one. I have begun reading "To Serve Them All My Days" by R.F. Delderfield (British). It was first published in 1972, back far enough to the time when people actually enjoyed reading good stories that did not contain descriptive sex and violence.

I find that as I get older, being married to someone who comes from a large, close knit family, that any time the phone rings one becomes anxious, wondering if the caller is calling to inform about a death in the family. This has not happened for some time, and has happened several times in the past. It's just that, as big as the family is, and the fact that we're all getting older, there will come a time when the calls begin coming in on an all to frequent basis.

The calls will be from my wife's family, as there are no older members left on my side, with the exception of my mother. All her siblings have passed, as have their spouses. My sister passed away ten years ago, already, my father almost 40 years ago. It almost makes me want to rid myself of the phone, not that that would make any difference.

We are going to walk to Panera's for lunch today. It's a good three mile round trip, but it is sunny and pleasant out, and we can have soup, a salad, or something light once we arrive. Last night, we ate at a place called "Mosaics", which is probably one of my favorite places to eat. They have excellent food at a very reasonable price, and one can even order a half size of most dishes, which is an aid in trying not to overeat. I love their salmon! Last night, I had that, cranberry cole slaw, and smashed taters with herbs and a light coating of cheese! Excellent combination of flavors! I have yet to have anything there that I did not enjoy.

The thing I notice about eating in local restaurants versus chain restaurants is that most of the food in the local places have dishes that have unique flavors, whereas if one goes to a chain restaurant, I have found that most of the dishes taste the same, regardless of what one orders. Probably because the food is all prepared at some gigantic place to save money, frozen, and then shipped to wherever where it is thawed out, heated, and served. Although, the meats are probably thawed and cooked locally, still having been frozen and received versus purchased fresh and locally.

Richmond definitely has some excellent local restaurants! And we never tire of trying new ones...

January 12, 2010 - Oh no! Conan's not on anymore!

No, not Conan The Barbarian! Conan O'Brian, the guy who now, or did, host the Tonight Show! God! What I am going to do? I know! I'll continue to do the same thing I do every night at that time... sleep.

Shame on me! So little sympathy for the tragic end to one of today's most important problems. Who knows? Maybe Conan will soon be seen in the unemployment line... the same one that we now see 17 million other people in. Welcome, Conan! Can I hold your cashmere sweater so you don't get too hot while waiting to sign up for benefits?

Oh, yes, and let's not forget the "NEW" Kate Gosselin! She just received an all day make-over, adding extensions to that unruly mass of blonde hair she carted around before. Unlike other people getting a make over, this one took eight hours and was filmed. "An Extended Hair Documentary" to be shown on some pathetic TV network for people who have no lives to watch. And, they thinks she's dating already as well. I don't wonder. I know many men who couldn't wait to take on a woman with eight children under the age of ten. And a good time was had by all!

Do I sound a trifle cynical? Sorry. I just have a difficult time thinking so many people actually spend some of the little time they have on earth watching the garbage that permeates our airwaves. Oh, you think, I must do that as well, since I writing about it. Truth be known, I get my gossip from reading the rag mags in the bookstore... Like, there is a difference?

Had to turn in to Dr. Phil yesterday, which was Monday. Every Monday, good ole Dr. Phil has his "Dr. Phil Family" on. These incredible blubbering excuses for intelligent human beings have been being "treated" by Dr. Phil for six, count 'em, six long years! That makes me wonder just how effective is the treatment he's giving these... people? They were a sniveling bunch of crying and whining dorks when it began, and now they're even worse! One of them, who was fifteen when this started, has had two children by two different fathers, married some other guy, got divorced already, and has reached the ripe old age of 21. She's had her children taken away from her and cries with every question that is asked, and is mothered by a woman who cries because the girl is just starting to deal with her issues. That's about all these people do is yell at each other, cry, yell some more, cry a lot more... I'm beginning to think that Dr. Phil pays these idiots to continue to come onto his program because, as he said yesterday, it is "compelling television". Yeah, right. It compelled me to switch the channel and look for something constructive, like "Home Hunter's International" on HGTV. Now that's a good program!

Well, I need to run. The news is on, and I want to watch every minute of the press going over Canan's decision, again, and again, and again!

January 10, 2010 - Sunday - cold and dry...

Was found by the wife of a friend I worked with back in Indianapolis in the mid-70s! I was very happy to learn that they are alive and well, and that he got to retire at a relatively early age, ten years before I did. Mike and I have the same birth day, the 20th of August. However, he is ten years younger. He obviously made good use of his career time, unlike yours truly, who skated by and did as little as possible and still make a decent living. It's great that some people actually work. It makes up for those of us who never really did.

Went to Starbucks this afternoon. Got our drinks and snack, sat down to enjoy an afternoon of reading and sipping, and then discovered I had no eyeglasses with me. I went out to the van to see if the extra pair was still in there, and of course, it was not. Too far to drive home to retrieve them, so I settled down to read without them. People thought it was a little strange what with me resting the book on my ankles and turning the pages with my toes, but I managed to read quite a few pages over the several hours we were there.

Watched a bit of the NFL playoffs this evening. It was a very high scoring game, with Arizona winning 51 - 45. that was exciting... I guess. Didn't really care who won. Don't really know why I watched except that I was eating dinner and didn't feel like finding something else.

Tomorrow morning I will rise early, earlier than normal, and get to work on restructuring the book in hope I can find a publisher this year. Later tomorrow, I will go over the short story and start looking for a market for that as well. Who knows, maybe this will be the year I actually make a few $ writing. Would rather win the lottery...

No grandchildren watching this week, which means I have the entire week to work on my stuff! Bummer. Now I don't have an excuse not to. Shouldn't feel that way. It's not like I'm Benjamin Button, getting younger every day.

Speaking of which, we saw "It's Complicated" (Rated R) last night and thought it was a really good movie. Very funny in parts. Saw two young ladies in there that were not seventeen, even with a stretch. They probably paid for another movie and then just came into the theatre where "it's.. " was showing. Who would know? No one checks once you're in the theatre, and so anyone can go into any theatre they want. Hazards of multiplexes, I guess. At least there wasn't anything really bad in the movie. Most of what was in there has probably already been on TV.

Saw where good ole Harry Reid referred to the president as a "Negro", among other things, during the election season. Once again, apologies all over the place, the wording was not appropriate, blah, blah, blah... I'm really tired of all these ignorant jerks saying what they feel, and then thinking an apology sets everything okay... Why ever tell the truth? Maybe, to quote Jack Nicholson in that movie where Tommy "the handsome boy" Cruise questioned him during some trial for something or other... as Jack said "You can't handle the truth!" Unfortunately, that's the problem with most of America. Lie to us enough, even we believe it....

January 9, 2010 - Saturday

Went to the bookstore last night and did something I swore not to do for quite a while - I bought another book! I couldn't resist it. The title is "Americans in Paris During the Occupation". I learned something just reading the forward. During the '20s and '30s many black musicians went to Paris and brought jazz to Europe. That part I knew. What I didn't know was that during the occupation, all the blacks in Paris were rounded up and sent to a concentration camp for the duration. All, that is, except for Josephine Baker, the singer. I had no idea that had happened as it was never mentioned in any of the other books I have read about the occupation.

Anyway, this book tells some of the stories of the more well known Americans out of the about the 5,000 who remained after the Germans took over the city. I understand there were those who sympathized with the Nazis, those who did nothing during that time, and those that were active in the resistance. Josephine Baker was in the resistance.

One of the more interesting stories I ever read about was Edith Piaf, a tiny - 4'10" singer who became quite famous in France prior to the war. France referred to her as "their little sparrow". The Germans knew her well, and loved hearing her sing. So, she made arrangements to perform for the prisoners in the camps. Each time, she would talk the Germans in charge into allowing her to take group photos of the prisoners after the performances. Some of the German guards were also in the pictures.

She would then take the photos to the counterfeiters. They would use the photos, single out certain prisoners in them and create documents needed to exist on the outside. Then, when Edith would go back for another performance, she would smuggle the documents in with her. At the end of the show, she, her entourage, and the prisoners with the documents, dressed accordingly, would leave the camp. Had she ever been caught she would have been immediately executed.

She was an interesting and amazing woman. Her life, minus her part in the war, is documented in the movie "La Vie En Rose", which starred Marion Cotillard. She won the Academy Award - Best Actress - several years back for her performance. We saw the movie, and she was amazing, even pushing her hair line back to look more like Edith.

Edith Piaf did not have an easy life. She was abandoned by her mother. When her father left to fight in WW I, she was dropped off at a house of ill repute where she stayed until she was around 9 or ten. During her stay there, she had an infection in her eyes and was declared legally blind. This lasted for three years.

Her father appeared one day and took her back, not because he cared about her, but because he wanted to use her in his act as a street musician. Over the course of her life, she was a prostitute, into alcohol and drugs, and died at the age of 47 from tuberculosis. The movie is really good, but emotionally draining.

I saw where it was snowing in Paris again. Wish I were there to enjoy it. Shakespeare and Company have some interesting authors appearing there this year.

Today is grocery day, and tonight, movie night. Tonight we will see "It's Complicated".

The weather pundits are talking about the possibility of another storm next weekend. but that is a long way off. I did see on the radar this morning where it was snowing in Florida. Definitely this is a cold winter. I hope we do get a lot of snow next weekend! I guess we'll see.

January 8, 2010 - Short Story finished!

I have finished my latest short story. It's title is "The Cover of a Book". It has between 4900 and 5000 words. I have re-read it and it looks okay, but I will let it 'simmer' for a few days, and then reread it to see if it still looks okay.

That said, I will now focus on the book, researching publishers, and go from there.

I received yet another call from the company that had been trying to find me some work at COF, all to no avail. I told them shortly after Thanksgiving that they should stop looking, as I knew it wasn't going to happen, and in reality, I really didn't want it to. But, they continued on, even after I told them again before Christmas I was no longer interested. I really do appreciate all the effort they have expended, but my focus has been, and will remain to be, writing and art on the side.

We had our big snowstorm last night. A whopping light dusting cover everything with a blanket of white that was quickly blown off the trees, roofs, and vehicles this morning. Most of what did land in the yard has melted. Long range, no more snow for the foreseeable future. If by chance we have a storm like the one at the beginning of winter I will be very surprised. Temps are cold, but will warm next week. The rest of the country, however, is bitter cold with lots of snow!

I have pretty much decided that my health will be governed by what I eat and do, not by doctors, hospitals, and the pharmaceutical companies. Since having an apple on most days, walking, and attempting to eat right - but not all the time - I will decide when and if a doctor visit is necessary. I have not gone for some time, and will not go for any checkup until March. After that, it will be another 6 months before I return for my annual checkup. Should anything catastrophic happen in between times, well, we'll cross that bridge when and if.

I received a new supply of ink for my downstairs printer yesterday. Today I need to go upstairs and print something in order to give the upstairs printer some exercise. It's a backup printer, just in case, and I want to keep it working, even though the laptop it's associated with is old and really slow.

Grocery shopping at Trader Joe's this afternoon, and back to the bookstore this evening. Would love to be in Manchester, VT, and go to the Northshire Bookstore today, and then, to the great little restaurant we found last May and have some REALLY good blueberry pancakes for breakfast tomorrow. Must be close to lunch because I getting hungry!

Read the news about all the jobs that were lost last month. More and more will be lost, which does not bode well for this country. We no longer make things people need here, and all electronics are made in China or Taiwan, so all these new 3D TVs that they think will be sold in this country will probably sit on a lot of shelves here until the stores trying to sell them go out of business.

We should all be thinking seriously about growing our own food, since soon there will be little, if anything to work at in this country save for government jobs. Of course, down the road, it seems rather funny to think that the government will keep expanding and hiring more people in order for anyone to have any money to pay taxes with. Strange world, to say the least.

Time for lunch!

January 7, 2010 - Nothing in particular...

Observations -

Was waiting in the car for my wife to pick up some corn bread from Ukrops and looked down the row of cars to my left. There was, about 5 cars down, a youngish woman using a pair of tweezers to pluck hair from her chin. After looking in the mirror several times she seemed satisfied she had plucked them all and proceeded to leave her vehicle and go to the store...

Saw two notices on the internet today indicating that CNN and CBS are telling us how president has lied to us about his election promise of making government, and in particular, the health care debate, very public. They must really be concerned with so much of their viewing public looking elsewhere for their news.

Cold but sunny today. Areas north and south of us have winter weather advisories, but, we, as usual, have nothing. It's supposed to be raining here by three pm, but right now, at two pm it is sunny and not too cold out.

The ground seems to be frozen up pretty well, which is good. There's even ice on the ponds, and still some decent piles of snow hanging around. Considering it snowed almost three weeks ago, that's pretty good.

Spent yesterday afternoon in Starbucks. If one sits there long enough one sees some really interesting characters visiting the place. There were identical twin brothers in there when we first entered, each using their laptops. They had expensive looking leather satchels to carry them in. Makes me wonder if they were unemployed, or just working in there for a change of scenery.

Went to Panera's for lunch. Had some soup and their new chicken panini samich.

Tonight is ham and bean night at our house! We'll probably keep each other awake all night after that...

Our friend from the Czech Republic is finishing up his first week of Italian in Frienze tomorrow. It's a four week immersion class. Then, he stays for another four weeks to go wherever. His wife joins him on 11 February.

I received an e-mail from a publisher yesterday. They thanked me for inquiring about them. However, I hadn't. At least, not yet. They sent a website address and said I should check their submission guidelines there. I looked up the publisher and their website in a book I have, and it was a good website. I filed it for possible later use.

Not much going on today...

January 6, 2010 - Getting restless - again...

It's that time of year again! But then, when isn't it? I'm getting restless and thinking of selling the house and heading overseas. I think I'll wait and see what the tax assessment is before getting too excited about that possibility. I don't want to sell it when it might appreciate in value the next couple of years.

We have begun taking daily walks, even though it is cold out right now. I did see where the temps are supposed to moderate to around 50 by next week sometime. Too bad. I'd rather have it snow some more, like, all the way through the end of February. Then it can warm up and rain.

I read about a place in New York where it has snowed every day since late December, and they now have 55 inches on the ground, with more on the way. We'll have to wait and see if the next system will bring us any. It's supposed to hit the midwest pretty hard again, but the pundits say only that it "could" bring us some snow Thursday or Friday. That includes Atlanta, which at least in the past, if they got snow, we got snow. However, unless the system heads off the coast, and then comes up the coast, we'll get very little, if any.

I guess I shouldn't complain. After all, we moved down here from Maine because we were tired of the cold weather up there.

Lunch today with my friend who grew up in Turkey. He purchased a new Outback, and I am anxious to see how it performs. Where we'll go to lunch? Don't know yet. Don't care, really. All I'm going to have is a salad of some sort.

After that - Starbucks, lattes, and reading for the afternoon!

Saw where yet another player of baseball received $120 million for seven years. What a waste of money! I wonder how the sports teams will be doing later this year after people can no longer afford to go to games. The economy will eventually hit them as well, and frankly, I wish everyone would stay away from the stadiums, but, we all know that won't happen, just like all the people who complain about the idiots in congress will complain while they reelect the same bums that are there.

They listed some of the latest restaurants that are closing due to the economy in the paper today, some that we have gone to, but like many others, have not for a while. Too bad. More people out of work now.

I think it is disgusting how many American companies have left this country to seek "cheaper" labor in other countries. Their products are just as expensive as they ever were, in cases more expensive. But, they could care less. Their big concern is satisfying the huge Chinese market, since that is where they can make the most money. The US is nothing more than an afterthought now.

And still, the powers that be keep saying we just need to come up with the next big thing, whatever that is. If there is another big thing, it will be made in China anyway, so what does that get us?

I corresponded with Robert Reich, Bill Clinton's Secretary of Labor, a few years ago, about all the outsourcing that was draining jobs from American soil. His response was that we needed to adapt, that outsourcing would create opportunities for Americans to be retrained into the new fields that were just emerging. We never got into exactly what those fields were, or the fact that no company I can think of would retrain their older workers in new technologies and pay them what they were making. I cannot think of a single company that will hire a person over fifty who has retrained themselves to do something, and pay them even close to what they were making, and that's if they hire them at all.

Even though the trend is for more "old" people in the future, all the thrust of advertising and jobs is for the younger generation. This tells me that most companies will treat anyone over fifty as if they were non-existent, lower their sales expectations, and market their goods overseas to the younger generations of the upcoming leaders of the world, China and India.

This president, and presidents past kept telling us that America's best days lie ahead. This while everything keeps sinking lower and lower... And, we hired them to lead us to this better place, but where they are taking us is into the morass of newspeak... George Orwell, we may be a few decades late, but we're coming, man, and we're picking up speed!

January 5, 2010 - So it's Tuesday already?

The weather forecast has gone from a few snow showers on Friday, to snow showers on Thursday and Friday, to a few snow showers on Thursday. And people think the "experts" can predict the weather for years to come? They can't even predict it from one day to the next.

I began the process of restructuring my book, not changing it so much, as moving things around to try and make the beginning more interesting before getting into the real story. I have added some verbiage to the title, which now reads "The Diary of Aimee Roth - The Girl Who Lived in Colours". I want to finish and have it ready to submit to a publishing house by the end of February. The changes are in response to my not being satisfied with how it reads and the response of agents who were kind enough to provide constructive criticism.

I'm also working on my short story, which is titled for the time being "The Cover of A Book". I am probably 60 percent finished with the initial writing, and want to finish that by the end of next week. And then, the rewrite begins. I'm going to attempt to complete the story as close to 5,000 words as possible. We'll see how that goes.

Later today I am going to retire to the upstairs and do some drawing, hoping to return to the mood whereby I can do some more watercolors in the near future. Having sold one, my "inventory" is down to four. I plan on taking one of those to the store where I sold the last one, and add it to the selection, see what happens.

Tonight, we will venture into the cold and drop by Border's to see if there is anything there we can use our coupon on. This time of year, not many new titles become available, what with most stores trying to pare down their inventory in order to take inventory.

I am reading yet another two books in addition to the two I was reading. I decided that these two would be classified as "the Starbucks Books", and I would take them to read when we go, whereas the other two, "Don Quixote..." and "The Red Wheel" will be my afternoon and bedtime books. I'm just about half way through Don Quixote, and almost a third done with the other one.

One of the two I am reading at Starbucks is "The Angel's Game" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It is the second novel I have read by him, the first being "The Shadow of the Wind". He has other books out, but they have not been translated into English as of yet. I hope they are. These two are really well written, and tell very interesting stories. This one is set in Barelona, Spain, and having been there when reading about the city it beings back nice memories of places we've been and seen.

The other is a graphic novel titled "The Photographer" by a French artist and writer. It is also the second book by him that I have read. The first book, "Alan's War" was a graphic novel that for some reason was incredibly interesting even though Alan, a real person, did nothing exceptional during the war, never fired a shot in anger, and survived without any injuries. Perhaps it was so interesting because of that. Alan, at the end of the war, opted to stay in France and lived the rest of his life there. What he did for a living over there is not covered so much in the book, but he did meet and get to know some really interesting people later in life.

The book "The Photographer" is another true story about a photographer who accompanied a group of doctors, member of the organization 'Doctor's Without Borders', to captur a mission they went on into Afghanistan when Osama Bin Laden was one of the leaders of the rebels fighting the Russians. I just began this book, and find it interesting how the artist incorporated actual photographs into the story line and his artistic representations.

As you can see by what I am reading, none of the stories were written by American authors. Sad to say, since the writer's like Leon Uris, Herman Wouk, James Michner, Upton Sinclair, Theodore Drieser, John Steinbeck, Hemingway, and others of their time and before, no longer write, there's not much written by current American authors I find that interesting in the world of fiction. I find that the foreign authors I have read are more interested in writing a good story about people then they are in creating titillating physical scenes, bloody scenes, or chase scenes. Now, if I want to get disgusted by a persons actions, or depressed by the state of things, I need only to look at C-span and watch our senators and congressmen and -women in action...

January 4, 2010 - Freezing out!

It's cold here, but we're lucky compared to the people up north, like in Burlington, Vermont. It's not only cold up there, but they received 33 inches of snow over night! 33 inches! In a few hours! It broke the record for snow total for a storm. It used to be 30 inches, and that was accumulated over three days, not 8 hours. Amazing!

Now they're saying that this could be the coldest US winter in 25 years! Must be that global warming thing, the one where the average temps have not risen in 10 years, or the one where the weather is related to the sun spots, or lack thereof, or the cycle before when the earth was warmer than it is now, back when the dinosaurs were driving really big SUVs around, chasing down their dinners at the local fast food places that filled them with delicious fatty foods, making them extinct.

When people speak about Australia and the Aborigines, one thing stands out. The experts have said that the Aborigines walked to Australia before the water rose enough to create an ocean between Australia and the rest of the world. That was over 30,000 or 60,000 years ago, which also means the ice was melting way back then, too. Once again, the Aborigines must have been driving those big SUV's which melted all that ice back then.

Of course, there have been min-ice ages along the way, and who knows, maybe the government will now start warning people about the impending ice age as they did back in the mid-seventies. Oh, and of course there was the famous Dr. Barry Commoner who predicted back in the 60s that we'd all starve to death by now according to his scientific assessment.

I remember when Mt. St. Helen's erupted. All the experts said it would be decades before the area around the mountain would begin to recover. Lo and behold, the very next spring what popped up through the volcanic ash? Flowers! The rebirth began in less than 6 months!

When Saddam blew all the oil wells in Kuwait and parts of Iraq, the experts said it would take up to two or three years to put all the fires out and the environmental result would be a disaster. What happened? The last fire was put out within 6 months, and the impact was minimal. And these people are looked at as experts?

Scientists have said that the moon used to be very close to the earth millions of years ago, and it is moving away at about .5 an inch a year. The farther it moves from the earth, the more the earth will wobble on its axis. Maybe it already is, at least to the point where areas that are hot sometimes are cold other times, and vice versa, depending on the movement of the axis. If that is impacting our weather, which it could, man can do nothing about it. Cap and Trade will do nothing more than what it has done in Europe... Making the big companies richer because they can afford to buy a lot of polluting credits for resale later at a much higher price to the smaller companies. Pollution is worse in Europe than it was before Cap and Trade, and will continue that way because it solves no problems.

Why am I talking about the weather and global warming? Because I feel like it. When one reaches their elder years, global warming sounds like a nice scenario. Too bad it won't happen in my lifetime. Not as long as mother nature controls things and makes it cold during the winters. Will winters return to the way they used to be when I grew up? I don't know... but then, neither does anyone else. All they can do is speculate.

January 3, 2010 - After I'm gone...

When we reach our "elder" or "senior" years, we begin to look back and ask ourselves, "What was my life about? What was it for, the purpose of it all?" At least I do. After watching CBS Sunday Morning today where they reviewed people who had passed away in 2009, once again I began to wonder "why" about a lot of things.

Like, why was there not one single thing I could be passionate about from an early age, something I could have devoted my energy to doing instead of switching from one thing to another, never becoming a master at anything, and only mediocre, at best, of few, or many things? I truly envy those people who have a desire to focus on one particular thing in their life. My sons were lucky to be like that. They each had a specific area where they had an undying interest to achieve, whether it be as a policeman, a chef, or an expert with knowledge of comic art as well as art in general. We, as parents, attempted to encourage each of these areas while allowing them to explore other things as well. But, for them, they knew what they wanted to do, and were able to focus on just those areas.

While I realize it was because of how they grew up my parents never once asked me what I wanted to do with my life, or what I had an interest in. My father, God rest his soul, was never close to me. He was a tool and die engineer, and all I ever heard from him was "be and engineer". I never ever looked into being an engineer, mostly because I heard that so many times I would not have been one if it was the only thing there was to do in the world.

Looking back, even when I was young, I could never settle on anything. There were always too many things I found interesting, and if I started one thing, eventually I would loose interest in that and start something else. This process probably had nothing to do with how I was raised, but I guess I will never know. I mean, other people have problems growing up, yet they have things or something they focused on and made their way in the world. So, the bottom line was and is, the problem, whatever it is, is within, not the result of some external force or parents.

Some people have been kind enough to suggest things I could do, like join the Peace Corp. While I have the utmost respect for the people that have done that, it's not me. Others say, go to school and learn something. Okay. What do I want to learn? If I had it to do over again, what would I study? Architecture? I'd love to have the ability to create beautiful and functional buildings that would allow the people in them to achieve their best... No, perhaps I'd study Journalism. I'd like to be a reporter, gather stories of people, real people, and let the world know what's really going on... And, I'd like to study Art History, how and where color comes from, how did the Impressionists layer their paintings, bringing the colors together to capture a moment in time that will be appreciated for many after they passed... I'd really like to study Marine Biology as I love the sea and all the wonders and nourishment one finds within the world below us... History has a special place in my heart, albeit small, to allow all to look back at how we arrive here, and how things might have been different if only... I wish I had studied languages so I could travel and speak to the people of the world, learn about them, and how their lives and cultures developed...

And now you see just a portion of why I envy people who were able to focus on something, have a passion about something. I was asked more than once in my life what my passion was, or is. I could never come up with something, so I evaluated the person I was speaking with, and lied to them, telling them what I thought they wanted to hear in order for me not be be fired from my job.

Even though I know my lack of achieving anything of merit is based within, it does not make one feel any better knowing that once I'm history that the words brought to mind when, or if, someone thinks of my time on earth will end up being..."Yeah, I remember him. He was really great at......?

January 2, 2009 - 'nuther Saturday of cold weather...

We still have a somewhat small pile of snow beside our mailbox. I think it's waiting around to see if anymore will fall before it's all melted.

Went to the mall to get some exercise and not freeze in the process. We're not 'mall walkers' per se, more like mall strollers (legs and lower torso), ooops, found something (eyes and upper chest from breathing heavy sighs), extract wallet (arm muscles), and buy it (tear ducts)...

Having exercised, we stopped at Chick-filet and had a small bowl of chicken noodle soup (more exercise - lifting) and relaxed after such a strenuous half hour.

Left the mall and headed to Trader Joe's. We have found they have some really good buys from a food standpoint. We found some cranberry almond biscotti which sounded pretty good. And, we bought some veggies as well. So far today I've only had an apple, two hard crackers with sunflower butter and honey, and the bowl of chicken noodle soup. This is to make up for the all the desert I ate yesterday. My wife didn't want anymore, so I felt if I didn't get rid of it, I would be eating it for several days. It was something called a truffle of trifle, take your pick. It was made with angel food cake, vanilla pudding, raspberries throughout, and topped with whipped cream and shreds of white chocolate! Needless to say, it was all I could do to manage to eat most of the half that was left! So, today, I'm atoning for my effort!

Went to see "Me and Orson Welles" last night at the Westhampton at Grove and Libby. Excellent movie! It was not only enjoyable, but there were some previews of upcoming films that look really good as well. They seem to come out with too many good movies all at once, and then there are none for a long spell. We managed to get a free drink and an almost free popcorn. It used to be free, but they now have it 'free for a dollar'. However, one does still save some money doing it that way.

We have entered the season of the gum balls! That is the dreaded time when all those little balls hanging from the gum trees begin to drop so that they can grace ones yard. If the ground is hard, one can sprain an ankle walking across ones yard. If the ground is soft, then one pushes them into the ground as they walk, and the next thing one knows is that they have a lot of new gum trees sprouting in their lawn. I use the term 'lawn' loosely, as what I have is a yard that was covered pretty much with crabgrass before I killed most of it, and currently have a few strands of grass remaining with a lot of mud.

I spread $60 worth of grass seed in December, after which it was immediately soaked by one of the many monsoon rains we have in December, to be followed by our snow and freezing temperatures. I will be interested to see if any of it germinated. Next month, I'm going to spread fertilizer and lime. Why? I have no idea, except that I like to think I'm cultivating a lawn with real grass. Last resort - buy a spray painter and spray paint the yard green. I've been hoping it would all turn to moss. Moss is perfect! Green, soft, doesn't need mowing or fertilizing, but, no luck so far, except in the driveway. But then, I can get grass to grow in the driveway. Perhaps I'll start parking in my yard...

New Year's Eve was a quiet one for us. Went to bed around 11pm. Ginny said she was awake at midnight but did not hear anyone firing off firecrackers as in the past. I was glad they didn't. At least I got to keep sleeping!

Short story is going well. I have no idea where it's going, but that's part of the fun - letting the characters drive the story and take it where they want it to go. Many times I have been pleasantly surprised as where they took me. But then, sometimes they lead me down a dark alley and I can't find my way out.

Well, I guess I'll plug in the TV and watch something...