Sunday, June 30, 2019

Footprints in the Sand


As there last day of June deepens, I reflected about my
Chris and I Leave Footprints in the Sand
Carlin Park, Jupiter, FL
June 3, 2019
travels this month. 


I began the month with a trip to Florida to work on the condo there and I ended it by completing a 1,000 mile round trip to Cincinnati to say good-bye to a friend. 

It was a month of contrasts. Sandwiched between the trips was the unsatisfying end to the youth baseball season and the excitement associated with the beginning of Summer.

I found the image in my files and remembered that I took it as Chris and I were walking the beach one day while we were in Tequesta. Much like the month of June, my footprints in the sand were soon erased by the ocean removing any evidence of my visit there except for my memory and of course the image.

And now it is onto July--and the 4th and travel, summer and pool.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Saturday, June 29, 2019

A Visual Feast


In the Maryland Mountains
June 28, 2019
I am in Blue Ash, Ohio, this morning. I am here to attend the memorial service for a mentor and friend. I drove, instead of flying, partly to remember my friend and all of the similar trips that he made by car between Cincinnati and Baltimore over the decades that I knew and worked with him. The last time I saw him he joked that I was one of the two best supervisors that he had during his career, I laughed, because that title was only bestowed to me on paper. We were more colleagues and over the decades that I knew him, I never felt as if I were any more than that. 

Maryland Cloud Covered Mountains
June 28, 2019
The drive yesterday was a study in contrasts. As I rolled into the mountains of Western Maryland, I was a treated to a visual feast. The mountains were clothed with clouds that made it appear as if they were massive water falls at the end of the world. It was stunning and I tried to snap a few pictures to capture it. 

They were beautiful and a stark contrast to the flat landscape here in western Ohio. 

The mountains made the trip exciting and I made really very good time on the road. 

Today, I get to drive the return trip. I hope everything goes well for my travels.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Blue Ash, Ohio

Friday, June 28, 2019

You Are Bothering Me, Why?


Finnegan
Tequesta, Florida
June 3, 2019
Sometimes an image just says it all.

I took this picture one morning while we were in Florida earlier this month. Finnegan's expression just says it all. Here are a few thoughts that come to mind.

What is it you want?

You bothered me, Why? 

Just be quiet and go away!

This better be good!

Go find someone else!

It is an accident that I'm awake, go away and let me get back to my nap.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD


Thursday, June 27, 2019

Orioles Depressing Week


The Orioles have completed another week of baseball. They have played 80 games and are one game shy of the mid point of the season.

The Highs of the Week:

During the week, the Orioles managed to end a 10 game losing streak, but they now have a 3-game streak underway. 

Chris Davis has increased his batting average to .170.

Trey Mancini is arguably the best player on the team and is sitting in the top 10 among hitters in some categories. He survived a potentially serious injury this week and is still playing baseball.

The Lows of the Week:

Sitting at 22-58 .275, there is not a doubt that the Orioles are the most frustrating team in baseball. They have increased their projected losses for the season to 118 during the week. They are 30 games out of first place and 22 games out of the wild card race. 

The modern day loss records of the 2003 Tigers (119) and 1962 Mets (120) are definitely in danger of being broken. The Mets hold the record for most losses in a baseball season of all time!

But, they are my Orioles and I continue to care. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD





Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Defender of the Homestead


Finnegan vs. Dolphin
Elkridge, MD
June 25, 2019
Finnegan is our Yorkie. He is smallish at about 5 pounds, but he thinks he is as big as Chewbacca

Least evening he defended the homestead from the attack of the pool cleaner. We call it a dolphin

The dolphin was doing its job and Finnegan was having no part of it. Seeing the dolphin as the Creature from the Black Lagoon, he dutifully barked at it each time it surfaced to ensure that it remained in the pool and did not try to attack the home. He was very energetic and persistent in his task.

Chris and I finally had to take him inside to restore peace to the neighborhood and allow the dolphin to complete its task in silence.

It is nice to have such a persistent and animated protector around, but in reality I wonder who would win during a direct confrontation? 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Equal Pay for Equal Play


I have become aware that the U.S. Women's Soccer Team, currently competing in the World Cup is being under paid. 


The women are paid less than the men, yet they are winners.

U.S. Holds Off an Ascendant Spain, for Now, at Women’s World Cup - The New York Times

The men's team never seems to make it very far in the tournament, if they even qualify for the World Cup. 


Here is the basis of the pay dispute. 

The main complaints from the players involve claims of wage discrimination. The petitioners pointed out that men receive a $5,000 bonus for a loss in a friendly match, while women receive nothing for a loss or a draw. However, when the teams win, the men receive as much as $17,625, but women only receive $1,350. Further, in 2011, when the women placed second in their World Cup, they were awarded $1.8 million, split evenly among the 24 players on the team. The men's team made it only to the round of 16 that year; however, they were awarded $5 million. In 2014, when Germany won the Men's World Cup, the US team was awarded $35 million by FIFA, while the women received 5% of that for their Cup victory in 2015. (Source: Wikipedia)

The women's team continues to be a source of national pride, while the men's team is often a source of national embarrassment. It seems that the pay for playing, winning, losing, or drawing should be the same for both teams. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday, June 24, 2019

Monday Musings - June 24, 2019





1. It, believe it or not, is the last  Monday of June. Summer began last week and already the days are getting shorter, 

2. That seemingly far-off, mid-summer holiday, Independence Day, is next week! 

Finnegan Looking for Chris to Return
Elkridge, MD
June 22, 2019
3. The presidential election season is upon us already, with 16 and a half months left before Election Day 2020.

4. Finnegan is definitely attached to Chris. On Saturday, while she was out of town for a wedding, Finnegan stood on the sidewalk for quite a few minutes looking down the driveway hoping that he would see Chris' vehicle with her driving. 

5. The flowers in the flower boxes are in full bloom as the long days of summer have stimulated their growth.

6. The Orioles ended a 10-game losing streak on Saturday only to begin a new one on Sunday with a disappointing 13-3 loss to the Mariners. With the loss yesterday, the team remains on track to lose 117 games, which is two more losses than last year's dismal showing.

7. I heard an interesting comment yesterday, as we were cooking ears ob corn in the microwave in 2 minutes. "How did we cook before microwaves?" I remember that, we cooked the old fashioned way with pots and pans on a stove! 

8. Since I almost always mention the weather when it is bad, I have to note that we have had four in a row days free from rain. I actually had to water the outdoor plants yesterday. It has been fantastic.

9. On this Day in History. 

On this day in 1997, U.S. Air Force officials release a 231-page report dismissing long-standing claims of an alien spacecraft crash in Roswell, New Mexico, almost exactly 50 years earlier.

Public interest in Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs, began to flourish in the 1940s, when developments in space travel and the dawn of the atomic age caused many Americans to turn their attention to the skies. The town of Roswell, located near the Pecos River in southeastern New Mexico, became a magnet for UFO believers due to the strange events of early July 1947, when ranch foreman W.W. Brazel found a strange, shiny material scattered over some of his land. He turned the material over to the sheriff, who passed it on to authorities at the nearby Air Force base. On July 8, Air Force officials announced they had recovered the wreckage of a “flying disk.” A local newspaper put the story on its front page, launching Roswell into the spotlight of the public’s UFO fascination.



Headlines

Trump’s Iran Reversal Raises Allies’ Doubts Over His Tactics, and U.S. Power - The New York Times




Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week


Good evening to all of you from California. Tonight, I'd like to talk to you about issues. Issues which I think are involved or should be involved in this primary election season. I'm a candidate for the Republican nomination for president. But I hope that you who are Independents and Democrats will let me talk to you also tonight because the problems facing our country are problems that just dont bear any party label.

In this election season the White House is telling us a solid economic recovery is taking place. It claims a slight drop in unemployment. It says that prices arent going up as fast, but they are still going up, and that the stock market has shown some gains. But, in fact, things seem just about as they were back in the 1972 election year.

-- To Restore America, Ronald Reagan's Campaign Address March 31, 1976


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Sunday Golf


I played golf for the first time since early-April this morning. 

Crofton Country Club
15th Green
June 23, 2019

It was an early morning because I had to take care of Jeremy's dogs before going to the course for the 7:08 AM Tee-time. But it certainly was good to get out onto the course and hit the small white ball around. I got my money's worth since it took me more strokes to get the ball into the holes than the other guys I was playing with. All-in-all, it was a great morning and despite two terrible blow-up holes, I did reasonably well for not having played in such a long time. 

It was in the 50's as we teed off, but soon got warm and it was 81 degrees when we holed out on the 18th green at about 11:00 AM. 

Well, maybe another Sunday morning soon.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Solstice Celebration


Cod and Crabmeat
June 21, 2019
Dinner is a great meal, especially when done with panache and elegance as it was last evening to celebrate the solstice. I gathered with friends to enjoy the meal which celebrated the end of the workweek and the start of both the weekend and the summer.

We gather almost every Friday night--but last night the main course was very special and may have pushed the bar to its limit. 

The conversation was great and as the evening deepened into darkness, our solstice celebration began to break upon--but we definitely celebrated the longest day of the year in a fabulous fashion and with great food and no shortage of well chosen wines. 

Welcome Summer! The best season of the year!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Friday, June 21, 2019

Orioles Train Wreck


Catastrophe. That is how the Orioles season is going right now. Some might call it a train wreck.

It is, believe it or not, worse than last year. Sporting a 21-54 .284 worst record in baseball, they are even worse than last year's edition which lost 115 games. Given their current record they are on pace to lose 117 games this year. And it could get worse!

Their most recent series in Oakland was another sweep--0-3 to start a road trip. Chris Davis' batting average has dropped to .159. The best player on the team, Trey Mancini, was hit on the elbow during the last game and is out for an unspecified period of time. 

The Orioles have used 27 different pitchers this year en route to a MLB worst team ERA of 5.72. They have given up a MLB leading 148 homers. They are currently in 30th place in all of baseball. Did I mention that there are only 30 teams in MLB?

Last night in Seattle they managed managed to lose again 5-2. They now 0-4 for the current West Coast road trip.

And so the season continues to be even more dismal than I expected.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

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