Furlough Day 5: Inoperative Tools

Today, I get to finish a project started yesterday but was left unfinished due to equipment malfunction.

The task? Trimming the ornamental grasses around the pool. The problem? The battery on the hedge trimmer died yesterday and was not sufficiently charged to complete the task. It is frustrating when tools fail to perform as required to accomplish the jobs that they must be used for. I use my hedge trimmer once per year--to trim the ornamental grasses and I expect the battery to be charged and ready to go for the task.

Trimmer without battery on the Trash Can
 where it needs to permanently reside

But, it means that I get to complete the job today, as part of my furlough day 5 tasks. Yes, although it is Saturday, it is still a furlough day because I cannot go to work, even if I wanted to.

I was encouraged by one small glimmer of hope. As reported by CBS News: 

On Friday, House Democrats unveiled a strategy that could end the impasse by October 14. They are circulating a "discharge petition" that, if signed by a majority of House members, regardless of party affiliation, could force a vote on a spending bill to reopen the government, sans any alterations to the health care law. 

That strategy aims to exploit the fissures among Republicans that have surfaced in press reports. A growing handful of GOP congressman are coming around to the idea of ending the government shutdown and living to fight over budget policy another day.

Perhaps, in a piecemeal fashion, this impasse will end.

Trimmer Battery on the Charger

Meanwhile, the list of things getting accomplished around the house continues to grow. I believe that I need to start planning a week of vacation every autumn just to take care of this stuff instead of trying to cram the activities into the already too full weekends. It is nice to get this stuff done 

I wonder if Monday will be a furlough day? Next week?

I have to be honest--if this is what retirement is like, I'm reconsidering it as a future option.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Furlough Day 4 - Pillar of Fire

I saw it yesterday morning as I was leaving the gym after playing racquetball. The pillar of fire was visible on the eastern horizon as the dawn was just beginning to shake off the nighttime darkness. I tried to get an image of it hanging there in the predawn sky. 

I recognized it immediately as the pillar of fire from Exodus 13:21-22:  Now the Lord was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel day or night. He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. - NET Bible

I know, of course, that I was not seeing THE pillar of fire, but in these uncertain times what I saw struck a chord deep within me--WE need a Moses to lead us from conflict and partisanship and into the promised land. We need leaders who can, in the face of uncountable odds, lead this nation and not quibble about the small stuff.

We need leaders who are willing to compromise and listen to reason and act accordingly. I'm not so sure we have any currently in positions of authority in this country. We have become a people of the sound byte with no intellectual depth upon which to evaluate situations and make decisions. "We the people" have become "we the sheep" and the wolves are leading us astray.

Today is Furlough Day 4, and I definitely felt the drag of indifference yesterday. In an effort to shake off the lethargy, and as Phineas says to Ferb, "I know what we're going to do today!" It is going to start on the racquetball court at 0530 and head somewhere after that!

I'll let you know.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Furlough Day 3 - Defending the Homestead

As furlough Day 3 gets into full swing, I am attempting to maintain a fairly normal schedule. I played racquetball at 0530 this morning and now, in addition to watching the news hoping for sanity to return in DC,  I have a list of tasks to accomplish during the remainder of the day.

The task list is significantly different than that accomplished on normal (non-furlough) day as it includes:

1. Shopping for dinner items--a trip to Wegman's is imminent
2. Vacuuming (ugh!)
3. Picking up prescriptions (normally a stop on the way home)
4. Preparing the marinade for the meat for dinner (I do this, infrequently)
5. Cutting the grasses around the pool (normally a weekend task in the springtime)
6. Defending the homestead from the attacking hoards

Stink Bug on the Prowl

The last one is particularly problematic. My house is under siege from the ever present and ubiquitous stink bugs. Every time I look around there is another one crawling in the house that needs to be dispatched into the nethermost regions. 

They are everywhere it seems, hence ubiquitous. And they fly! My choice method of disposal is the toilet and a watery grave. I try to get three or more to flush at a time since they can't be squashed, like so many other bugs, because they stink. And implementing a catch and release policy seems self-defeating. 

I think there may be a market for the Stink Bug Eradicator! It is an invention that, I am designing during my free furlough time, sucks up the bugs and seals them into a small plastic bag for safe, stink-free disposal into the trash. No fuss, no muss, no stink, no environmentally dangerous chemicals, and better yet--no hand-to-bug contact required! I can see the ad already on the TV.

I just looked up and there a three more begging to go for a swim.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Furlough Day 2 - Closing the Pool

Pool with Water Lowered Ready for the Cover

What does a federal employee do when furloughed? Stuff around the house. Yesterday was the saddest day of the year--pool closing day.

It was a beautiful day reminiscent of the summertime with temperatures into the 80's and sunshine. But, that also made it a great day to close the pool.

Since I had precious little else to do, it gave me something to do which is both critical to get done before the bulk of the leaves fall from the trees and it took my mind off the whole furlough thing.

Pool with Cover in Place for Winter

Alone, closing the pool takes about five to six hours to get everything done and all of the chemicals balanced for the winter. It is a sad day because with every action completed in the closing process I am increasing the distance from the summer fun that was experienced around the pool. 

And so now it, the pool, waits as do I for the return of longer days filled with sunshine. There are six months until pool opening day--provided the furlough ends. 

I wonder what I am going to do today? I even offered to go shopping for Chris. Can you believe it? I do know that I will stay in contact with many of my fellow furloughed friends via the magic of Facebook. We need to look out for each other--although it amy not seem like it, these are trying times.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Furloughs and Shutdowns

Having lived through the first day of my adult life in a furlough status and on the threshold of day 2, I can state that it is a very weird feeling to have a profession but not be able to go do the things that I am trained to do. 

I like, I think the number is 800,000, of my fellow federal employees are idle. We know that what we do is important and that we contribute in a positive way to life in the US. I was a bit hurt that there were bills introduced to get the National Park Service back on the job before the rest of the federal workforce. I guess seeing the museums shuttered on the Washington Mall brought the reality of what was happening just a bit too close to Congress. 

I went to a meeting of the Howard County Public School Academic Calendar Planning Committee last evening and found that three other of the committee members, like myself, are furloughed. We exchanged some pleasantries about the day, but were very quickly consumed with the business of the committee--but, it helped to know of others outside my own small work unit who are similarly affected by the nonsense occurring within the government.

I was somewhere yesterday and we were naming the states from which people commute to get to work. The states were Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Confusion. 

I have a huge list of things to do today, so I guess I will practice being retired and do all kinds of things to keep myself busy while keeping an eye on the news to see if I can return to work tomorrow and if the insanity to the south will abate.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Constitutional Amendment Proposal

"We the People" need to propose a Constitutional Amendment in the wake of the politically charged ineffectiveness of our Congress to enact a budget before the beginning of the new fiscal year. Their ineptitude has resulted in a partial government shutdown which will likely have long term negative United States. 

I am amazed that our elected leaders can let a significant date pass without action. October 1st comes on the same day every year, and except when Congress changes the beginning of the fiscal year as they have done in the past, so does the fiscal new year. Many do not remember, but prior to 1976, the government fiscal year began on 1 July. I know that in the discharge of my duties, I have to meet deadlines.

Article 1 of the Constitution specifies the duties of the Congress, yet, there are no consequences for not faithfully discharging said duties as a body.

I propose that a Constitutional Amendment that provides for and holds Congress accountable, as a body, to well and faithfully discharge their duties especially in terms of establishing appropriations to continue running the government and providing for essential services. In the event that a budget is not passed--and I do not mean a continuing resolution, before the start of the fiscal year the Congress will be dissolved. We will immediately enter an election to elect every member of Congress and previously elected members will be eligible to run and get their jobs back. The elections will happen on the 1st Tuesday of November. 

As for the appropriations to fund the government? The President's budget will become the law of the land and once the the newly elected Congress is in session they will appropriate monies to fund the budget without debate. The amendment will further provide for an automatic continuing resolution to fund the government during the election and subsequent seating of the Congress.

Is my idea perfect? No. But maybe more constitutionally literate minds than mine can devise a scheme to help hold the Congress accountable. And, "We the People" can decide who in the congress needs to stay and who needs to leave in order to continue the business of governing our great republic!

Maybe cooler heads will prevail?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - September 30, 2013

1. Today is the last day of the government's fiscal year. There may not be a tomorrow as the new year may begin in the middle of a budgetary impasse.

2. Birthdays, thankfully, only happen once per year.

3. It takes a village to complete a household move in a weekend. P and T's move is complete and now they can begin living in their own home--congrats to them.

4. Watching three deer eat our flowers in the middle of the night and deciding not to do anything about it left me wondering how effective I would have been trying to save the mums anyway?

5. The regular baseball season ended yesterday. The Orioles did not make the playoffs--but at least it was a winning season and they were in the race until the last week AND took the season series from the Boston Red Sox and the unnamed team from up north. Yes, I'm disappointed with the outcome, I had hopes for much more.

6. I wonder how much money is being spent planning for a government shutdown? Shouldn't we spend money on important things and not planning for the failure of our legislative system?

7. What happened to September? It is gone! Did anything memorable happen?

8. I didn't know that my birthday is on Johnny Appleseed Day! He was born on my birthday in 1774!

9. Avoid the redesigned A320 airline seats--they are small, too small.

10. What am I supposed to do with two World Series tickets to a game that will never be played?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Birthday Present

Riordin with the Polar Express

The first present of my birthday was delivered yesterday amid the chaos of moving Patrick and Tina into their new house. Well, OK technically it wasn't the first present of my birthday, but it was one of those "take me back to my childhood and to shut the world out and play with it all day" presents. 

I have wanted a Polar Express train to circle under our Christmas Tree for many years. I used to have a huge train collection when I was much younger. The Polar Express is special because I have been reading the story to the family on Christmas Eve for many years--like decades.

It seems that Patrick and Tina remembered that I almost bought a Polar Express train last year during the Christmas Season when they are about $300. Through the magic of eBay and Craigslist, they found it during the off season presented it to me yesterday as a  birthday gift. 
Wow!

And it works, too!

The hardest part is going to be taking it apart--maybe I won't. Maybe I'll just put is in the office until Christmas!

At least for a while. 

Autumn Breeze

Autumn Breeze

The cool autumn breeze rushed in the through the open window 

Caressing my face as I slept warm in my bed snuggled deep under my covers.

Summer had passed the baton while the night deepened

The warm air turning cold to grace the leaves and hasten their change

It's arrival not unexpected was just undesired as the joys of summer

Slipped into the memories of places visited like waves crashing on the beach.

I woke to the coolness, startled by its refreshing kiss

Wishing for the sultry breezes which had previously graced my slumber.

I piles the covers high on top of the spot where I strove to sleep 

Preserving my warmth from the breeze which would snatch it away. 

I could feel the summer pass, like a good friend waving goodbye before 

Entering the TSA checkpoint to board a flight headed for some exotic location.

I felt alone and abandoned by the passing season, autumn had arrived and

even the constellations in the sky affirmed the inevitable change

At my feet, even my dog nestled further into the rapidly growing pile of  bedclothes

Seeking to retain her warm nest and catch a few more precious minutes of sleep.

Although still dark outside, the dawn was beginning to grace the eastern horizon

With its brilliant hues of red and orange as if announcing the season's change

Another season in an endless string of seasons had arrived with its challenges

It was time to face the next chapter of the year once I decided to wake

For now, my eyes are heavy and I will return to sleep If only for a few hours.

There is time to find autumn’s secrets, later, before the winter arrives.

Boog's, Baseball, and Beer

Orioles Park at Camden Yards
September 26, 2013

I love Boog's barbecue, baseball, and beer. Last evening I made my last sojourn of the 2013 baseball season to Orioles Park at Camden Yards. It was a great evening, but there was a tinge of sadness in it. The finality of a baseball season that began with so much hope and is going to end with the Orioles just a few games short of qualifying for a post-season playoff spot has set in.

Chris snapped the awesome panorama of me in my seat for the game as a memento.  I was imagining last season as the Orioles closed in on their first playoff spot in 15 years and how the loud the crowds were then--this year, the finality of the the imminent end of the season made both the crowd and the team seem listless as they played through the innings in an eventual 3-2 Orioles victory. There wasn't much for either team to play for, it seemed. The Orioles already had wrapped up their second consecutive winning season and are playing to stay ahead of the team from up north which shall remain nameless.

Last night I enjoyed eating Boog's barbecue for the last time this season. Boog Powell was a great Orioles player from the past and I have had the honor of meeting him a number of times outside his barbecue place in the stadium. I watched some great baseball--OK, not so great, at times with all of the late season call-ups it looked like a spring training game complete with two errors. And, I paid way too much for a beer! Stadium prices!

I stood for a few moments after the game absorbing the atmosphere. I am already preparing for next season. A trip to Sarasota for Spring Training and another playoff run which will culminate in me being able to actually attend a World Series game in Baltimore. But, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. There are three games left before the Orioles' season is officially in the books. 

Let's Go O's!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD