The View From My Window - December 27, 2009

I found it interesting that President Obama returned from the conference on Global Climate Change to be greeted by the largest snowfall ever recorded in Washington, DC for a single day. The conference of course was concerned with “Global Warming”. The cameras could hardly pick out the president’s silhouette as he exited the plane in the middle of the storm—two days before the official start of winter. For the longest time scientists feared that we were heading into another ice age, now Global Warming is the driving force behind so much of what governments are trying to accomplish. For thousands of years people have tried to control the weather using everything from human sacrifices to rain dances to salting the clouds. All of these efforts proved to be vain and usually ended up costing innocent people dearly. But now our enlightened society believes we have inadvertently turned up the thermostat and if we do not act decisively and swiftly we will cause the end of civilization. I’m all for renewable resources and a reduction of waste, but stop crediting (or blaming) ourselves for what we cannot control. At least that’s the view from my window.

View From My Window - June 14, 2009

When my daughter and her husband visited recently, they not only brought their Yorkie home to stay with us, they also brought their new addition, a Scottie pup along. So for the week we had three dogs in the house. I think the best way to adjust to having two dogs is to live with three for a week; especially when the third is a puppy. Chris and Kayla were so proud of the way Bentley (the Scottie) picked everything up so fast—he’s so smart! As far as I could tell he only went to the bathroom outside when he wasn’t able to hold it long enough to get back in the house. If that dog is intelligent, I’ve met some worms that are brilliant.

However, he is cute and friendly. I guess cute is the new smart. It’s amazing how far cute will get you in the world today. It will get a roof over your head, food in your bowl, all the treats you can eat, and some very nice chew toys. You can even get away with biting the hand that feeds you ever so often - just ask my hand. He was a delight to take on a walk. Bentley thoroughly enjoys life. Green grass, birds, mail boxes, trees and everything else is a delight for him to behold. And he likes to be holding them in his mouth. Pinecones are his favorite. If he finds one he carries it the whole way home. Now who can stay mad at a Scottie puppy who thinks pinecone collecting is his purpose in life? I think I’ve worked with a few Scotties…

Everything Changes

Last month my daughter came home wiht the news that she’s getting married in February.  Last week my future son-in-law came by with the news that they’ll be moving to Arizona for a year while he undergoes flight training. A few days after she gets married, Kayla will be getting on an airplane & moving to the other side of the world. Makes me wonder what kind of news I’ll be getting this week. Your life goes along rather routine for a while & suddenly everything changes.

I like changes like, “Hey honey the post office came out with a new stamp today” not “Your son is moving to South Carolina & your daughter to Arizona”! One minute you are living with people & the next they are gone. I like my people. Moving away will probably do them some good, but why does good have to feel so bad?

Weddings should feel like weddings not goodbye parties! They say “you’re not losing a daughter, you’re gaining a son.“ Actually I’m losing them all. Well, not all—there is my wife. We’ve been having these nice little lunches together lately. Some evenings its just the two of us in the house. At first the quiet was unsettling but I’m beginning to like it. A few of my friends tell me to enjoy the peace while we have it because the next phase is a complete & utter disruption—wonderful, but a complete & utter disruption. I wonder what they’re talking about…