Roses in the Garden

Roses in the Garden

As the flowers continue to bloom in my gardens, I am reminded of how much I enjoy the colors, scents, and sights of the late-spring as we slide into summer.

Each day as I open the door in the morning to let Makayla out, I am greeted by new scents lingering in the humid air. The warmth that greets me when I step outside is still a surprise, I remember the frigid blasts that greeted me for almost six months and I revel in the damp coolness of the morning.

It is important to notice the day. It would become too easy to get into a car in the garage, drive in air conditioned comfort to my place of employment, and then traverse the parking lot into work every day without taking notice of the beauty that greets me everywhere along the way.

Maybe that is why I am excited about golfing, because I get outside and traverse nature on the course. The course changes every time it is played because of the weather. And I notice those changes across the seasons.

Standing on the porch in the morning, hearing the birds and taking a moment to enjoy and observe the day reminds me that the world if far larger than my myopic view. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Honeysuckle Smells Sweet

Honeysuckle

It is honeysuckle season in Maryland.

The sweet smell of the small but prolific flower is everywhere. I have been driving around in my convertible with the top down enjoying the constant sweet smell in the air.

It is almost intoxicating. 

And I have been enjoying the deep green foliage which has replaced the barren winter landscape.

Perhaps it is the memory of the dead and barren winter view that has me appreciating the green and fragrant landscape more this year.

But the honeysuckle is truly everywhere. Roll the window down and enjoy it because it will be gone soon.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Fixing the Broken Appliances

LG Washer Motor Stator

As Jeremy and I were leaving Eisenhower Golf Course on Sunday morning, I received a call from Chris announcing me that she was going shopping and that the dishwasher and washing machine had broken while I was golfing.

Ugh. 

It was a long drive home, knowing that I was facing the challenge of either calling repair people to the tune pf about $800 or facing replacing two major appliances to the tune of about $1400. Ugh.

I was able to troubleshoot and fix the dishwasher in about 30 minutes. Fortunately, the Whirlpool Dishwasher is fairly obvious when something fans and I was abler to get the malfunctioning door switch working again.

The washing machine, however, took some intense troubleshooting and internet work. I wound up ordering a part, the motor stator, and then installing it to fix the washer--yesterday. And it worked!

Total cost of the repairs? $130

Estimated savings--$670.

It is a good week!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Agony of Defeat

I watched the Orioles lose again, in person.

Sitting in my seat in the ballpark, the problems of the Orioles are painfully obvious.

Right field!

The Orioles need a right fielder and they need to put hits together and not depend upon the homer to score runs.

It was painful to watch the right fielder last evening. It is truly right field by committee this season with the departure of our long-time and gold glove right fielder. The Orioles lost the game 4-1 last evening and I believe three of the runs can be directly attributed to right field play.

On the bright side, the Orioles threw two runners out at the plate during the game--but those came from left field, on a great relay, and the pitcher.

As I was watching the game last evening, I realized that our club, while only 2 games out of first in the AL East, is not fully energized and not playing solid baseball. The defense, with the exception of right field, is solid and the starting pitching is getting the job done. The relievers need to step up and the offense is abysmal. 

The team needs to step it up or they are going to be a disappointment.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Reflections of the Memorial Day Gathering

Ready for the Day

The Memorial Day holiday is behind us now and the summer season of 2015 is underway.

High school graduations are underway and the end of another school year is in sight. The teachers I know are very excited about the end of another school year. 

Guacamole

Yesterday was a family picnic and pool party day. At one point we had a margarita emergency and I made a fast dash to the store for more supplies--I was rewarded by seeing a bright yellow Ferrari! 

Ferrari in the Parking Lot

Lucas in the Pool

The day was a classic holiday of food, fun and games. I think the water balloon games created by Nicole Doan were a highlight--something new and fun and cool and wet all at the same time--well until I got surprised by a balloon in the face, but that is a story for another time.

The Orioles even managed a hard fought victory to bring happiness to the table. 

The youngest member of the family took a nap in a floatie in a Thor costume. He was pretty comfortable lounging in the warm water foe a few minutes enjoying some solitude after a busy day. 

And then it was back into the fracas to enjoy spending more time with the family as we celebrated being together.

Holidays are for family. I'm glad we can gather together for the day and take a timeout from the frenetic pace of life. Today it is back to work, but we have the memories of another family day to keep us going until the next time we can gather.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - May 25, 2015

1. Happy Memorial Day.

Louis Napping--well almost

2. Sitting outside the morning with my coffee, I was able to hear the flapping wings of the birds racing by me in between the series of jets taking off from BWI.

3. I set a personal best on the golf course yesterday. I'm still awful. But, I am at the threshold of having a real handicap, however.

Francis' Retirement Party with Selfie Stick

4. The Orioles are happy to be out of Miami. Losing 2 of 3 games to one of the worst teams in baseball is not a good way to for AL East Division Champions to mount a defense of their title.

5. Cats are weird. Louis likes to sleep on his back. 

6. How do you keep a bunch of adults happy at a retirement party? Break out a selfie stick and let them play with it.

7. Ready, set, summer!

8. Where are you going on your summer vacation? You better have it planned.

9. Break out the pool and let the party begin!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Nostalgia and The Monkees

I took a trip down memory lane, early yesterday morning as we visited Patrick's house to examine their vintage stereo system, a recent acquisition.

Patrick and Tina had asked us to bring over some vinyl records that we had in a closet to check out the stereo system. These were records--yes, really 33 and a third stereo records made of vinyl for the distant decades of the 60's and 70's. A veritable time machine.

The old console stereo was much as I remember. An AM/FM tuner and a mechanical turntable. The total programmable memory of the entire system is exactly zero!

I demonstrated to Patrick how to hang a vinyl record on the spindle and explained how the mechanical system should work--and it did! Rummaging through the box of ancient records we chose the 1972 Ithaca High School Choirs in which both Chris and I performed, and listened to the complete 17 minutes of the Song of Democracy. I am glad that high schools don't perform that music anymore--because it brought back great memories of working to memorize music and perform in front of crowds of bored parents.

The real treats in the box of vinyl records were a Jim Morrison and The Doors album and a couple of Monkees albums. It was nostalgic to see the record turning on the table with the stylus making music come alive. I made the video when a Monkees tune was turning.

It was a long was from the digital music we listen to today with storage in the cloud and tunes appearing as if by magic on demand--if we have an internet connection.

--Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Memorial Weekend 2015

They call Memorial Day Weekend the unofficial start to summer. Of course by now you know that I have already proclaimed a number of days to be the unofficial start to summer. These days include:

MLB Opening Day
Pool Opening Day
Cinco de Mayo
And any day where the temperature gets above 80 degrees.

Face it, I love summer!

For all of the excitement of Memorial Day and the weekend parked strategically at the end of May brings, the real meaning of the day is often lost in my revelry. 

I offer the following paragraph, lifted from Wikipedia, regarding Memorial Day:

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces.^[1] The holiday, which is observed every year on the last Monday of May,^[2] originated as Decoration Day after the American Civil War in 1868, when the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans — established it as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.^[3] By the 20th century, competing Union and Confederate holiday traditions, celebrated on different days, had merged, and Memorial Day eventually extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service.^[1] It typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.

Take a moment during this weekend to remember those who have died in service to our country and to preserve our freedoms and our lifestyle. Their sacrifice is too often lost in the frenetic pace that has become our lives.

If you want to know more, I urge you to read the Memorial Day article from 2014, The Oath of the Soldier, which is a speech given on May 25, 2014. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Snatching Defeat form the Jaws of Victory--but then Winning

A famous 1960's phrase about sports was the ability of a team to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Great teams could stage come-from-behind wins when the game appeared all but over. 

Steve Pearce hits Grand Slam
May 21, 2015

The tale of this season's Orioles, so far, has been just the opposite.

Yesterday's game--which saw two rain delays totaling 2 hours and 17 minutes, got off to a great start with an Orioles grand slam by Steve Pearce in the first inning. From there the Orioles proceed to spend the next 7 innings losing the lead and falling into a tie game which appeared headed for an extra innings loss.

That was the snatching defeat from the jaws of victory part.

But the Orioles persisted. 

On this day, the offense managed to create a timely run in the eighth inning and the closer successfully closed out the game for a win--but it was way too exciting and should not have required heroics to finally win the game and manufacture a much need run to gain a series win.

The Orioles are still two games below .500 ball and need to find pitching and hitting consistency along with reliable defense to begin to move ahead of the other contenders for the AL East crown.

It was a win--of that I'm happy, especially after being at the park for the uninspiring loss the night before. Hopefully, yesterday's win will inspire the team to begin playing better.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Plague Spreads

Palymra, Syria

The news from the middle east this morning is particularly grim as the forces of ISIL/ISIS have captured a second city in about a week. The New York Times reports the capture in an article titled 
ISIS Fighters Seize Control of Syrian City of Palmyra, and Ancient Ruins.
With the fall of Palmyra, Syria, the world is bracing for the destruction of antiquities which document the history of modern civilizations which have preceded us and which no longer exist. The Greeks, the Romans, the Persians to name three. 

My concern, however, is for the people who live there. The press reports that executions are common when ISIS/ISIL capture a city. And not just a few, but hundreds of people are murdered when the plague on the region sweeps through a city. 

The reports from Ramadi were especially grim after the city's capture. A CNN report contained the following description.

"On the first day that ISIS took over the city, they executed a 3-year-old girl whose father was fighting against ISIS. And he later died in battle," he [the Anbar Government Spokesman] told CNN.

ISIS has a grim track record of ruthlessly slaughtering opponents it captures.

"Anybody who supported the government will probably be executed within the next 24 hours," said Baer. "Their families will be driven out. It will be a bloodbath over the next couple of days. All the soldiers who were captured will be executed."

While I agree that the loss of historical antiquities is tragic, the murders of uncountable numbers of people is criminal and should be the lead story. We have become desensitized to the immorality of the slaughter of people in the wake of ISIS/ISIL occupations.

Let's focus upon the human costs first and worry about the antiquities secondly. 

People suffer and feel pain. Antiquities make no sound. We need to hear the cries of the innocents and the prisoners as they are brutally murdered. These are the crimes to which we should respond.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD