From Disney to Danby

It is not just the miles--it is an entire lifetime and state of mind.

From Fantasyland and the carefree joys of childhood punctuated by happy stories and scary monsters, and into the reality of life and living.

A small town boy living in the big metropolitan area cheering for an "I think I can" baseball team who this year keep finding ways to win rather than discovering new and more painful ways to lose.

I know life can be simpler--but can it be better?

Family and friends make it all work day after day.

And the escape back to Fantasyland, whether Disney or the beach, provide the much needed pause in the middle of the frenetic pace of life.

Tomorrow I am off again to Danby and family. The counterpoint to Disney yet the same pause in the frenetic pace of life. There is no fantasy in Danby--just a rugged reality.

Maybe in their extreme difference they are almost the same, Disney and Danby.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Mowing the Lawn

Sometimes, it seems, mowing the lawn can be an important interlude in the cycle of the day's activities. Although technically work, there is so much more to mowing my lawn. It is a time to grasp how things are growing and developing.

Last evening, as I was mowing, I noticed the plums developing on my trees. They are growing bigger and I dream of harvesting them and enjoying their sweet taste. Truth is, the squirrels get to them before I do and I get to enjoy precious few of them. But I enjoy my plum trees--they are the first trees to blossom in the Spring and the first to fruit in the mid-summer.

I also noticed how the grasses around the pool are rapidly growing to achieve their full height and provide the privacy screen that I so enjoy.

Life has a way of getting out of control and the time spent mowing the lawn gives me the opportunity to review the activities of my life and get them back into their proper order.

To say that I look forward to mowing the lawn is not entirely correct, but I do appreciate the time to pause and reflect away from my phone and iPad. My mind is always turning while I am mowing--and when the task is completed and the mower is back into its spot in the garage, my life always seems to be a more organized.

No--I will not mow your lawn, too! One lawn a week is enough!


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Across the Bridge and Into Eternity

It is with a great deal of sadness that I report the passing of my Aunt Janice yesterday morning, after a short, incredibly sudden accident. Se was a faithful reader of my blog (one of my few) and the last surviving sibling of my Mom.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to gather with the family around her bed on Monday night and to reminisce of our childhood and the closeness that we all used to share. I realized that I have become a bit distant--and we need to tighten up the bond that we call family.

I always looked for and enjoyed Aunt Janice's comments on my blog posts--she usually had something interesting to write. I enjoyed seeing her reaction to the items I wrote.

I have many fond memories of growing up and knowing her and all of my cousins--we never understood back then in the safe 60's (yup, I wrote it) how our lives would develop and how fragmented we would become as adults.

I read an awesome book a few months ago titled: Heaven is for Real. I highly recommend it. It made me cry for joy. Some of what was written within its pages comforts me now.

When standing on the edge of eternity, it is easy to wonder if it is all real. Yeah, it is.

A pastor once told me that death is a lot like moving and changing your address. You are still alive, you just don't live at the old house anymore. Although cell phones don't reach into heaven, yet.

To all my family--may God fill you with the peace of assurance and help to turn your mourning into gladness. (Jeremiah 31:13)

For me? I'll always remember her riding in my car last summer and how much she enjoyed it and remarked that it reminded her of when she was a teenager.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Trees and Green Again

The bats were flying last evening as Chris and I sat out on in our outdoor living room to enjoy one of the first, nice evenings of Spring.

The trees have filled in the voids nicely and we again have our our own private piece of the world.

We reflected upon the events of the past couple of days and counted the blessings that we have been given for no good reason other than God loves us. I reflected upon the message in church on Sunday which reinforced the concept that God owns everything and gives me the use some things for my enjoyment and his pleasure.

What a perspective changer.

I enjoy the backyard that he has seen fit to surround with a leafy canopy of green.


I leaned forward to smell the honey locust blossoms on the breeze.

And smiled remembering the gardenias I found in Disney just over a week ago.

A world to enjoy, if only I would slow down.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Family in Action

What is family?

The people who stand with you during a crisis.

They also rejoice when good things happen. And very often they help make good things happen.

I was reminded of a bible verse, Job 2:13,where Jobs friends join him after calamity takes away his family and possessions. They sat with him for seven days and said nothing. That is hard to do. But they were there.

Presence--is more important than words. Being there is the best form of comfort.

Sometimes the best thing to say, is nothing at all.



-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - April 30, 2012

1. April is over, already? It seems as if it only just arrived. And here comes May, wow!

2. The pool is open, bring on the 80 degree temperatures.

3. If I lived in Florida or south Texas, I wouldn't have to spend a whole day opening my pool. Anyone want to offer me a fairly good paying job in South Florida?

4. Families with members in very different places in their lives create natural tension.

5. Cats are wild cards. They do what they want.

6. The O's are in a tie for first place in the AL East with Tampa--and the best part is that they have a 1.5 game lead over the Yankees who they play tonight. O's fans may finally have a team to believe in.

7. Chili is a fun food and chili competitions bring out the best in cooks.

8. Vacation planning is constant it seems. I just returned from one and am already planning my next.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Thank-you Shout Outs

In reflecting on the logistics of my recent vacation, I realized that in there were a couple of people who, behind the scenes, worked really hard to make the experience a success--and they didn't even get to enjoy the "land the mouse built" in person.

So P&T -- thanks for getting up at 4:30 AM to drag us to the airport and watching the animals while we were away. I know Makayla appreciated the mini-vacation. And thank-you too for being there when we finally wandered back into the airport and dragging us home.

I know sometimes that I especially forget to thank the behind the scenes people who work hard and make things successful.

Thanks

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Green

The color of Spring. The color of life.

I really noticed how the leaves have filled out on the trees the other day as I was driving home from work and it seemed that the highway was nothing more than a trail leading into the forest.



Green is peaceful and provides the perfect counterpoint to the color of the sky. It also provides a great background for flowers. Like this gardenia I happened across while in Orlando last week.

I look out my window now and see full green trees and bushes. I live in seclusion now--apart from the world, protected by the screening of the leaves of green.

Bring on the green and let the outdoor living begin.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Fourth Amendment Alert

In Maryland police take DNA from accused suspects--who are not convicted without probable cause--and do not see that as wrong. The article Maryland Law Enforcement Agencies Still Taking DNA Samples, as reported in the Baltimore Sun, details the latest insidious assault upon our Fourth Amendment right to protection from unreasonable searchand seizure.

I have copied the Fourth Amendment here: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.


The court told them to stop--and they haven't. I read an editorial, Court of Appeals vs CSI which thinks the practice is a justified expedient because they are solving other crimes by violating Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure. Although the end (convicting perpetrators of crimes) seems to justify the means, it is still a violation of our rights.

The author writes, For starters, the majority opinion conflates the presumption of innocence afforded to a defendant prior to conviction with his expectation of privacy. Judges Mary Ellen Barbera and Alan M. Wilner correctly note in their dissent that arrestees' expectations of privacy are diminished in far more intrusive ways than the collection of DNA by means of a cotton swab rubbed for a few seconds inside their cheeks. They are subject to thorough searches of their bodies and possessions (including strip searches, an intrusion the Supreme Court recently blessed), and are observed in states of undress by police and fellow detainees while in jail.

But collection of DNA is an intrusion and a means to collect evidence without probable cause to be used against people--to convict them. The line between authorized intrusion for safety and security and intrusion with the intent to collect evidence may be a fine one--but it is a line that must be protected.

Sure it means the police have to work harder to develop probable cause--but hey, that is a good thing. The down side is that the erosion of Fourth Amendment protections will become so complete that ultimately our personal freedoms will be just a memory of what past generations used to have.

We must protect our rights and freedoms and be aware of the forces in our society and government which seem to want to protect us from ourselves.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Random Things

Today, some random things.

1. The neatest T-shirt phrase I've seen in a while: "Careful or you'll end up in my novel."

2. I walked about 122,846 steps in 8 days (according to Chris's pedometer). At 2200 steps to the mile, that is almost 56 miles in 8 days.

3. Disney employs 65,000 people--and they all smile (mostly).

4. I think Makayla was upset at me when I got home after my vacation--she walked by me and straight to Patrick. I felt very unloved.



5. Yesterday there were four teams tied for the MLB AL East lead; today only two and the Orioles are one of them! The Yankees aren't.

6. I saw the sign "Find of the Day," and thought it was good advice. Find something new, unique, or memorable about every day.

7. I am very dependent upon a good internet connection.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD