Friday Comes Again

 What is not to love about the beginning of the weekend. 

And it is going to be a busy weekend, just two weekends before Christmas. There is a lot to do and some fun to enjoy along the way.

I am looking forward to attending the Capitals-Penguins hockey game this evening. I have not been to a hockey game is a few years--since the Capitals raised their seat prices to keep Penguins fans from attending. I remember one game a few years ago when there seemed to be more Penguins fans in the Capitals arena than there were hometown fans. I am sure to be in a minority tonight, but the change to see again some of the greatest NHL players of all time will be fantastic. 

And then there is a birthday celebration tomorrow in Annapolis at an Escape Room followed by some time wandering through a German-style Christmas Market which should be fun. And wet, it may rain. I remember fondly the Christkindle Marts in Germany we used to enjoy during the season. 

As Christmas rolls closer I am on the lookout for that special gift for someone special. 

BTW, important safety tip: Two weeks from today is Christmas Eve! Be ready!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Shopping Panic Grows

 

I don't know if anyone else is having "shoppers block" this year, but I definitely am. I cannot think of the perfect gift for the people on my shopping list. I actually think that is happening to a lot of other people due to the number of gift cards that are being purchased. 

I troll Amazon looking for ideas and draw a blank. I have not really had time to hit the shopping mall--except once and then Chris and I arrived after 7pm and most of the stores were closed. Who does that during the Christmas shopping season? It was very strange to walk around a shopping mall during what used to be prime shopping hours and have it mostly deserted. Only the anchor stores and the Apple Store were open. No wonder people are shopping on line. We had been to dinner at a restaurant on the mall's periphery and decided to knock-out some shopping afterwards only to be thwarted. 

So I am stymied. I have some ideas, but I am failing at execution. 

And this morning I realized that there are only two Fridays remaining until Christmas! It is really hard when Christmas is at the beginning of a weekend! I lost a weekend's worth of shopping opportunity. I feel as if there should be 15 shopping days until Christmas, but with shipping times there are really only about 6. Ugh!

OK, it is officially time to panic!!!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Out with a Bang

Fireworks with a Bang
Elkridge, MD
July 4, 2021

The year is sliding inevitably towards its end and I am beginning to review the things that I have been involved with this past year. 

It was a fairly sedate year without major travel, just a few trips to Jupiter and two trips to Houston. I am planning on changing that for 2022 starting by the year off with a Caribbean cruise, if the COVID protocols allow. 

As I looked through the pictures that I took during 2021 I noticed a few things. I did not play enough golf. I lost two points on my handicap as a result and I need to remedy that. I saw a really cool space launch from the beach in Jupiter. I took too many pictures of my newly mowed lawn. I enjoyed coaching baseball again this Autumn. I miss the cicadas only because they were impossible to control and it made me laugh about how many people complained about them even knowing they would soon be gone for another 17 years. 

I began clearing my office, seriously, yesterday. I brought the first box of treasures home and it is all really beginning to sink in--when the year ends my daily life will change dramatically and I get to reinvent myself, again.

I think I am going to buy a real bicycle and ride outside, rather than just on my NordicTrack bike. So I need a lot of riding gear for Christmas--and a bike, of course. 

Waking up that first Monday in January as a retired person on a cruise ship at Coco Cay will be awesome as well. I likely won't even think about being at work. Not!

It will be weird! And different. At least I'm going to figure out how to go out with a bang.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Eighty Years

 

Sailors, planes and a huge ball of fire and smoke atwreckage-strewn Naval Air Station, Hawaii, following 

one of the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A date that will live in infamy forever.

 - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Eighty years ago today the Japanese Empire conducted a largely successful surprise attack upon the the U.S. forces stationed in Hawaii that brought the United States fully into World War II.

2,400 Americans were killed and another 1,200 wounded during this surprise attack which began before 8 AM Hawaii time on a Sunday morning. 

Pause today and think about how lives were transformed in just a few minutes as the idyllic tropical islands were transformed and thrust onto the frontline of the world at war. 

The attack on Pearl Harbor remains an event that must never be forgotten, not so much for who conducted the attack, but more because of how and why it happened.

Take a moment today and read or reread an account of the attack in memory of those who served and lost their lives, whose world was turned upside down within a few moments on what served as a gateway for the U.S. to fully engage and enter World War II. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - December 6, 2021

 

1. It is the first Monday of December 2021. The year is sliding to a conclusion and there are but three Mondays remaining in the month.

Patrick's Snow Village 2021
Glen Burnie, MD
December 5, 2021

2. Happy St Nicholas Day! Most Americans don't remember this holiday which is very popular in Europe. Did you put your boots outside of your door last night?

3. Family NFL Report

    Cowboys (8-4) defeat Saints (5-7) 27-17

    Ravens (8-4) lose to Steelers (6-5-1) 19-20

    Washington (6-6) defeats Raiders (6-6) 17-15

4. Snow Village weekend. Although I did not set up a village this year, Chris and I went to Patrick's and helped put the finishing touches on his annual edition of the Snow village. It was fun and then I was able to watch a frustrating Ravens team lose to the Steelers.

5. From the Washington Post this morning: About 1 in 420 Americans has died of covid-19, according to official data. And we’re still averaging more than 1,000 deaths per day.

6. It is with sadness, but in recognition of a life well lived that I note the passing of former Senate leader and three-time Presidential candidate Bob Dole at 98.

7. Today in History. On December 6, 1884, in Washington, D.C., workers place a nine-inch aluminum pyramid atop a tower of white marble, completing the construction of an impressive monument to the city’s namesake and the nation’s first president, George Washington. As early as 1783, the infant U.S. Congress decided that a statue of George Washington, the great Revolutionary War general, should be placed near the site of the new Congressional building, wherever it might be. After then-President Washington asked him to lay out a new federal capital on the Potomac River in 1791, architect Pierre L’Enfant left a place for the statue at the western end of the sweeping National Mall (near the monument’s present location).

Coronavirus vaccine demand grows in U.S. amid omicron concerns, booster eligibility expansion - The Washington Post

Return to Iran nuclear deal remains an elusive prospect - The Washington Post

The most-vaccinated big counties in the U.S. are beating worst of the coronavirus - The Washington Post

Inflation, Falling Unemployment Prompt Fed Pivot - The Wall Street Journal

China Seeks First Military Base on Africa’s Atlantic Coast - The Wall Street Journal

China threatens countermeasures if U.S. boycotts Beijing Olympics - Reuters

Protest against coronavirus restrictions turns violent in Brussels - Reuters

Bob Dole, war hero, longtime U.S. senator, presidential candidate, dies at 98 - Reuters

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Juxtaposed

Snow Thrower in the Yard
Elkridge, MD
December 4, 2021

 After I finished removing the leaves from the yard yesterday,  it was time to get the snow blower out of the shed and ensure that it is prepared to face the Winter season ahead. 

Winter starts in just over two weeks and it can be a real problem to retrieve the machine from the shed when it has snowed. Having the snow blower out and ready is much preferred. 

Once I had wrestled it out of the shed and had it sitting in the newly leaf-free yard, I noted how the scene seemed strange--a snow blower sitting in a grassy yard on a warm late-Autumn day. 

The good news was that apparently I had properly stored it for the season as it started easily and ran smoothly. Of course, I could not check the snow blowing capability as there was, thankfully, no snow. Snow, however, in the forecast for Wednesday and it might mark the first use of the season. 

I hope not! But I am ready.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Wedding

Jeremy and Julie
Ellicott City
December 3, 2021

 Jeremy and Julie, after five years, formalized their love and relationship yesterday by saying: I do. 

It was a perfect wedding on a fantastic December-almost-Winter afternoon. The assembled family and friends were treated to a touching and beautiful ceremony at the new Howard County Circuit Courthouse followed by an enjoyable reception lunch at a local tavern. 

Welcome to the Family
Ellicott City
December 3, 2021

It was a great day. The bride was stunning in her movie-esque dress which was perfect for the day. The groom stood tall in his suit coat and tie. Together they make the perfect couple. The family was excited to welcome Julie officially into the family and there is the hope that the newly married couple will find years of happiness together.

The reception luncheon after the ceremony at a local tavern allowed for us to meet Julie's family. We enjoyed an afternoon of food and conversation and worked to bring the families closer together. I think we all meshed very well. 

And so, today the wedding is over and the marriage begins! Congratulations Julie and Jeremy.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

A December Fire

Around the Fire with Christmas Wineglasses
Elkridge, MD
December 2, 2021

Typically, when sitting around a December fire I am bundled in heavy clothing and coats. But last evening, the temperature was in the 60s and Chris and I decided that we could enjoy the fire pit without being heavily bundled against the cold. 

We enjoyed sitting around the fire planning our exploits for the next two months and discussing the ever-present Christmas gifts that remain to be purchased. It was remarkable how comfortable we were even among the mounds of leaves that had gathered in the pool area sine I lose removed them about two weeks ago. 

I am fairly certain that we will not likely be sitting around a winter fire like this again soon. The cold weather is coming and it will make it all just too cold. But for one evening it was nice to sit and relax before we become swallowed by the hustle and bustle of the season

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD  

Advent Wine Calendar

 With the first day of December Chris and I began to open our Advent Wine Calendar. The countdown to Christmas will now be littered with wine bottles in addition to shopping bags and boxes.

What a great twist on a tradition. Instead of only moving a marker on a calendar or opening a small compartment containing a candy, this adult-themed Advent Calendar provides a sample of a wine for enjoyment during the holidays. 

Chris searched diligently to find the calendar during early November and she was fortunately able to secure one for our Advent enjoyment. 

We sampled the first offering last evening--a Cabernet Sauvignon from Lodi. The CabSav was a light body wine with a satisfactory nose but a bit thin in terms of flavor and definitely did not last. As one of my friends would say, it allowed too much light to escape when held up for examination. 

But, the glass we enjoyed set the tone for a great evening out and a great dinner. 

Welcome to the Advent Season. I wonder what the wine will be tonight.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Endings and Beginnings

 

December 2021 has arrived. It happened overnight when November slipped into history and December arrived with the stroke of midnight.

And the frenzied shopping season will definitely ramp up now. 

As the dark season ramps up, we are down to 9 hours and 36 minutes of sunlight per day. There are about 11 more minutes per day to lose before the solstice and light begins to return.

And so it is interesting that as November has ended, December began, but December is in itself an ending. 

It is that circle of the calendar and the year. 

But as many know, this December is special as when the month ends I will transition from full-time employment into some form of retirement. And warmer weather in Florida at least for the Winter, and Autumn, and maybe Spring.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD