Monday Musings - October 19, 2009

1. What a season of celebration this is. Birthdays and weddings and anniversaries. Happy Birthday today to Jeremy.

2. Eight hour drive vs one hour flight--you do the math. Who knew that Rochester, NY was so close? Even so, why was I so tired when I got home? All I did was ride in the back like a the self-loading cargo that I am.

3. When traveling, make sure to take time to see the area--and we did yesterday doing a return trip to Niagara Falls, NY. It was a beautiful day.

4. Weddings are one way that families reconnect. It allows everyone to get back together for a while and remember how much we used to see everyone and how busy and separate our lives are now.

5. One more time--why are weekends only two days long? I usually need three or more days to get it all in.

6. Thanks to Patrick and Tina for driving us to and from the airport and retrieving Makayla for us.

7. Two lane roads in Upstate NY are pretty to drive along on a sunny autumn Sunday--but don't plan on getting anywhere in a hurry! The proportion of police to miles traveled is higher in NY than anywhere else I have been in a while. I also noticed a huge driving philosophical difference--in Maryland, drivers drive the speed limit plus five (or ten) MPH. In Upstate NY--they drive the speed limit minus five, UGH!

8. And for my political comment of the week: I meet a lot of people who think the President enacts laws--actually it is the Congress. If we are unhappy about what's happening in Washington--let's change Congress--they pass the laws, raise taxes, and develop flawed health care proposals. BTW--2010 is an election year. Just remember who had control of the Congress (both Houses) when the economic decline started and decided to do nothing to ensure that a Democrat would get elected President! Now they blame the other guys for their intentional lack of action.