Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Vote for America

The New Hampshire primary is in the news as the Republicans continue the process to challenge for the White House in November.

Although I am affiliated with a particular political party, more and more I am feeling the need to advocate to people that we should be electing people based upon their ability to do the business of America and not because they represent one or the other political party.

Partisan politics is not working.

The divide is too wide to allow one or the other party to control our government and system.

I would prefer the ability for truly unaffiliated people to run for office based solely upon their plan and qualifications to do the work of the nation. But, alas, fundraising is very difficult and the best people to run this country are not independently wealthy.

It is clear to me that we are not being well served by many of the people we have elected. Some of the most junior are too idealistic and are unable to work within their convictions and ideology to run the country. Some of those who have been in office for along time are unable to adapt to the changing situation in the country and the new mood of the electorate.

The business of running the country has almost become a secondary task.

Some people have proposed a part time Congress--I am NOT a fan. Living in Maryland where we have a part time legislature, I witness an example of why that concept will not work every year.

No--it is up to "We the People" to elect the right representatives--and in some cases reelect those representatives. I am not a fan of not reelecting any incumbent because we need some experience in Washington to be familiar with how the system works.

Elect a President and then support that person with Representatives and Senators who clearly demonstrate an America first and politics second approach! That is what I am looking to do this election season. People willing to do the work of the nation, regardless of ideology.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday, January 9, 2012

Monday Musings -- January 9, 2012

1. I can hardly believe that the first week of 2012 is in the history books. Where did it go?

2. Football playoff weekends are longer than regular football weekends even though there are fewer games--they are more spread out.

3. The weather this past week went from really cold and winter-like to springtime. I looked in the flower beds to see the daffodils and hyacinths are already planning for an early arrival this year.

4. Is it possible that we will have a winter with no snow accumulation?

5. Through some miracle, I have been a week without a headache. Maybe the grip of NDPH has loosened and I am free!

6. While walking around the grocery store, I noticed they were selling crawfish from China. Why not Louisiana? They also were selling shrimp from Vietnam. Really? Why not Texas? Is it really cheaper to ship these items from Asia?

7. There is almost nothing worse than being awakened in the middle of the night to the sound of a cat hocking up a hairball.

8. I was at memorial service for a friend yesterday who died before his time. It was good to be in the company of so many people who, like me, loved him and were awed by everything he had accomplished.

9. Athough we did not set a record, I enjoyed the unseasonbly warm tempertures this past weekend. I'll take 60's in January while living in Maryland any day.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Grandsons and Basketball

I attended Ethan's basketball game yesterday. A typical sporting event it was not.


The gym was packed with prents and supporters and the players were charged up to play their games. Practices had been completed and the teams were ready. The introductions were accomplished in the best style of the NBA with the players running onto the courts to the sound of flashy music and an announcer calling their names.

It seemed like a normal youth basketball game, similar to many youth events I have attended or coached during my life. But this was different.

Why?

Because the games were played in a gym attached to a large church and they began with a prayer and half time was a devotion for the spectators. They even closed the concession stand during the halftime devotion.

This league is church league and the ministry of this church. It was really an experience see sports and God brought together on the same court, in public, for everyone to see.

I wonder, sometimes, what we are teaching our children about life and sports and good and bad. This church, through this seemingly thriving sports ministry, is truly making a difference and helping to reduce the confict that sometimes occurs in our lives between believing and living what we believe.

I am told there is a devotion at every practice. Wow, that is really powerful. God and sports together.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Saturday, January 7, 2012

War Horse -- Movie Review

I was lucky enough to see this movie last evening. I am a huge softie for dog and horse movies, so I definitely wanted to War Horse

The movie was much more than I expected.  I had expected a sappy tale about a boy (Albert) and his horse (Joey)--and when the Joey was separated from Albert the subsequent journey for them to be reunited.

What I got was a movie about the hard side of life in England and Europe during the early part of the 20th Century and focused mostly on the WWI time period of 1914-1918.

Life was hard and real. Albert is there from Joey's birth, although his family does not own the horse and they come together on a whim of Albert's father who buys the horse at auction--and really buys the wrong horse for what they need--although in the end, Joey is exactly the right horse for what is asked of him.

The characters in the movie are real--it is easy to hate the hard, business-like, buffoon-seeming landlord and his overly privileged son. Even the weather is used to create the sense of hardship and that nothing can go right for life in the period.

The movie is about relationships centered around the horse--Joey, who by the end of the movie has at least four different names. One of the most touching relationships is between Joey and a rival cavalry horse, a big black stallion, who experiences life with Joey during the war. Through the movie, Joey touches the lives of many different people, and almost all of them are a bit better for their contact.

There are some really hard scenes of war--the trench warfare of WWI France is graphic--although not as gruesome as the movie could have made it, the scenes there are truly memorable and hard. The use and abuse of horses in war during the transition from agrarian based life to our current mechanized lifestyle is evident. It is hard for an animal lover like myself to accept how horses were treated--but one scene stands in my mind as Joey is being marched off to war and Albert is allowed one last good-bye, the battle hardened sergeant cuts the good-bye short by saying something about Joey being a horse, not a dog.

This movie is not for children--and it is a hard movie for adults to enjoy, because the hardest realities of life and war are ever present in the movie. I sat through the movie hoping for a happy ending--which seemed impossible. The struggles, the ever present death and destruction, even the interludes of moderate joy were tempered with the knowledge that these too soon must end--and they did.

I am glad I saw the movie on the big screen of a theater to experience the fullness of the movie. I am sure that it will not be nearly as powerful in a TV. The movie gets long in places--it seems that the trials of the war will never end, but then war is like that.

Recommendation: See this movie, but do not expected to feel good about yourself or the world while in the theater. You may even wonder why you went to see a movie that is so hard and real and that seems to highlight the worst of all of us at every turn. But, like other great war movies that depict war at its worst and hardest--this movie deserves to be seen.


Friday, January 6, 2012

Cats and Computers

Riordin has a need for warmth and he hates it when I am working on my computer, as I was last evening.


Usually, he crawls into my lap, or face, and tries to get between me and the computer screen.

But while I was away for a moment--he decided to take extreme action and placed himself directly on the keyboard.

I was getting some help from a site I was working with and had to step away for some additional information and when I returned, my keyboard was being used--by a feline.

Some days it doesn't seem fair--but when I picked him up, he was definitely very warm.

So I smiled and enjoyed the moment with him.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Fault and Responsibility

Our society is missing the boat when it comes to the issue of personal responsibility. That is probably why 40,000 new laws went into effect on January 1st, because we place the responsibility for the actions of an individual on the wrong people.

An article in the Baltimore Sun the other day really got me going and highlighted for me how backwards we have become.

The article is about a local congressman who is facing problems associated with an incident last summer when an underage intern was allowed to have alcohol at a party.

There is a lot of finger pointing in the article about who is to blame and who was reprimanded and how such a travesty could occur--that a 20 year old might get a drink of alcohol at a party. The article goes on to say that the Representative's Chief of Staff was reprimanded and further suggests that one aide was fired for the incident. The firing part was later determined to be untrue.

Here is the problem.

What about the underage drinker? They certainly knew the law and that they should not drink alcohol at functions. Why is the responsibility for wrong doing being deftly shifted away from the responsible party? There was almost no mention of the underage drinker in the entire article and their name was not mentioned at all.

That seems to be the way our society works. Instead of holding the guilty responsible, laws are passed which shift the responsibility to others. In this case, we are dealing with a 20-year old who is able to vote and serve in the military, own property and serve on a jury. Yet, the blame rests on the person holding the party.

That is wrong!

Think about how much better life would be people were responsible for their actions.

Instead of someone suing because the coffee burned their tongue, they would realize that coffee by definition is hot and can burn.

I have tried to read the warnings and labels on many products--the type is too small and all they are really trying to tell me is: Don't be stupid. But still it seems that if I am stupid and hurt myself for some reason, others are responsible.

We need a society where people stand up and say, "I did that and it wasn't very smart." That same society can also allow people to say "I'm sorry and it won't happen again" without threatening dire consequences, unless of course they do it again.

So my response to the article simple is--the writer missed the real culprit and the rose is being pinned on all the wrong people.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

January Freeze

Winter's grip is firmly on us at this point. The mild temperatures of December have been lost with the changing of the calendar into January.

Ugh!

Really cold. Twelve degrees of cold this morning on the thermometer outside of the house.

I am really glad I got the Christmas lights down off the outide of the house on Monday when it was warmer. Chris and I spent last evening beginning to pack up the indoor seasonal decorations. My back really feels the weight of each box which I forced up the ladder into the attic. And it was cold in the garage last evening as the temperatures were beginning to fall.

But, I am looking forward to the dawn, because on cold mornings like this the dawn is usually pretty spectacular.

A new day and new promise.

The news last evening was reporting how we had not seen a cold snap like this since January last year. It seems weird to say last year already when referring to 2011, since we are just four days into 2012.

I knew that winter was coming--I guess it had to arrive sometime. I had been enjoying the low bills from the local electric company--I guess those are over as well.

I continue to be amazed at how much of my life is tied to the weather, even though I am not a farmer. I use the weather to predict the mess I'll face driving to work and what I should wear. I use the weather to help me decide what kind of afternoon activity I will choose to participate in.

Yesterday, when some snow flakes began to fall, it was amazing to hear everyone that I work with suddenly interested in the weather--specifically the snow. I guess there is something exciting about the first snowfall of the year--although it turned out to be just a few wayward flakes dancing in the morning air.

From my standpoint, I know that to get to spring there must be a winter. So let's get on with it. Football is finally winding down and Oriole Spring Training is not far off. In about 75 days, it will be pretty much over and the grip of winter will bbe gone and we will be well into the springtime growing season.

So even with frigid outdoor temperatures, there is a silver lining: Springtime is not far off!!

Oh yeah--115 days until pool opening Saturday. See? I knew Springtime was coming.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD


Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Most Popular Posts of 2011

I reviewed my blog's statistics for 2011and it was interesting to find that an area that I have been ignoring was responsible for some of the most popular posts of 2011, that would be wine reviews and reviews of wineries. I have been limiting my wine reviews to a program called CellarTracker, which I use to monitor my wine cellar.The other popular area pertains to reviews of concerts. I wrote four concert reviews during the year and two of them wound up in the top five.

The most popular posts written during 2011, in terms of hits, were

1. Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 -- Review

2. An Evening with Josh Groban

3. Sheldrake Point Vineyard

4. Surfboard Poppop

5. Dynamic Duo Create Memorable House Concert Evening

From my perspective though, I find it much harder to decide the best post of 2011 from the 430 posts that I wrote during the year.  I find that parts of the year are a bit fuzzy and others stand out clearly in my memory. The posts from St Lucia and St Vincent were certainly the most interesting in terms of travel, but I was amused by my out the hotel window series.

But, in reviewing the entries, I really enjoyed reliving the experiences described in The Turtles of Tobago Cays.

I wrote seven poems this year--mostly, I notice late in the year as I lose touch with summer. Of the seven, October Night was my favorite.

I tried to find my favorite image of 2011--but there just too many for me to narrow down. Sunsets of St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines contain not a few of my favorites. But the image of the fence in the sand in On the Beach, Again really appeals to me. Although the best was probably taken by Chris and published in Image of the Weekend from Assateague.

The post which I reused was When One Plus One is One and I think it worked really well as the message for the wedding that I did during the year.

So all in all--I am glad that I don't have to pick just one favorite or best. It's my blog after all and I get to set the rules.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday, January 2, 2012

Monday Musings - January 2, 2012

1. Happy New Year--don't forget to write 201"2" on everything you do for the next year.

2. I read a scary item in the news about 40,000 new laws taking effect yesterday across the nation. Really--can anyone keep track of all of the laws we have on the books? Some of them can be found at the article titled 40,000 State Laws to Become Reality in 2012. A more complete list is at New Laws Ring in the New Year.

               a. One of the new laws is that anyone 11 or under in Colorado who appears to have sustained a head injury during an sporting event will be forced to sit out the rest of a game until they can be examined. OK--here is my take--just forced to sit out? Why don't they require immediate medical attention or something more drastic? And who is making the decision on whether the the child has sustained a head injury?

                b. A law in California will require gay and lesbian history to not be overlooked in public schools. Really? And what is the purpose of this law--to rewrite history yet again?

3. 2011 ended with some really enjoyable and mild weather. I believe we will soon be paying for all of that nice weather when the worst that winter can throw at us arrives.

4. Resolutions? Do we really need resolutions to help start the year? We discussed a few in church yesterday that resonated with me and that I will be attempting for the year ahead. If you want to hear more about them, go to the website and click on More.
             
               a. More desire, less duty
               b. More trust, less panic
               c. More aprons, less bibs
               d. More friends, less acquaintances
               e. More compassion, less apathy

5. The county that I live in has wasted over $250,000 trying to buy a piece of land for a new school. They began planning to build before settlement--really, why can't our government officials use the same common sense that the rest of us use when buying land. It is not ours until after settlement. I am happy about the school not coming to my neighborhood, by the way.

6. When should the Christmas decorations come down? I'm planning on starting today--although we have already put the Christmas dishes back into storage.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD


Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year 2012


And so it begins--2012.

Who knows where we will be this time next year? And for most of us it really does not matter. The year ahead will do its thing and we will wind our way through its twists and turns and emerge at New Year's Day 2013 different than we are today and hopefully better for the experience. Sadly, that will not be the case for all of us.

I know that to start the year, I have to put away the decorations from last year. It seems every year begins that way--having to clean up the mess from the Christmas season and the holidays.

Chris and I got a start on that yesterday and received a bit of help from Riordan--the cat who came back. He crawled up into the empty cupboard as we were swapping Christmas dishes for the everyday dishes. I thought it was cute in that he at least wanted to give us a bit of assistance. Or was he trying stop us from putting away Christmas.

Well the dawn is breaking and 2012 is itching to begin.

As the old TV show used to state:"And away we go!"

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD
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