Reflections of Summer

As school is back in session and the kids have lost their summertime freedom, Ethan, my grandson, made the following observation:

"We don't realize that we should treasure every day of summer because too soon it is gone and all we have left are the memories."

That was deep--very deep.

Be in the moment and enjoy the moment.

I spent a lot of time yesterday getting my pool ready to close for the season. I could feel summer slipping away even though the temperature was in the 90s. 

But I was fully enjoying my work on the pool because I know that in a few very short weeks, the cover will be on and the fun will be over.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Losing the Light

Chops on the Grill
September 7, 2016

I went out to my grill last evening and fired it up to prepare dinner. It was after 7PM and I was amazed at how dark it had become. It was too dark to cook. Fortunately, I have a grill light that was ready to pierce the darkness and illuminate the cooking surface.

I looked at the evening as it was falling and realized that it only happens sooner every night from here. Each successive day is about 2 minutes and 30 seconds shorter right now. Sunset tonight, in the Baltimore area, will occur about 7:25 PM. Just a short month ago, sunset occurred at 8:10 PM.

All I know is that I had to turn the light on to see the meat on the grill. Of course, there were some rainclouds in the area that provided a short shower a while later. It was dark and that made me sad. The light of summer is fast fading.

I need to grill as much as possible right now because too soon I will be standing outside in the dark wrapped up in a heavy coat grilling as the snow flakes blow past my face.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Clawing Back into the Race

Standings as of the games played on September 6, 2016
From MLB.Com

It is the closest division in all of major league baseball--the american League Eastern Division. Three teams are within one game. Two are tied for the lead and the Orioles, after a poor showing during August, are poised just one game out of first place.

It is September baseball. 


The smallest lead in any of the other five MLB Divisions is 4 games--but the AL East is a true fight between the Bluejays, the Red Sox, and the Orioles. There are 24 games left to play in the regular season and now it seems that every game is just a little bit more important. And the team whose name shall remain unspoken is just 4.5 games off the pace, too--something added to make it interesting.

The push for the playoffs is underway.

This is the time when the 162 game season gets serious for teams still in contention.

Let's Go O's!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Three-day Weekends

Holiday weekends are a great change of pace. I enjoy having a Monday off--until I get to work on Tuesday and realize that I what backed up over the three-day weekend.

I especially enjoy the idea of being able to head off somewhere, like to the beach, for a quick weekend away, or to complete a larger than normal project around the house. 


The season of holidays is upon us. During the next four and a half  months, we will celebrate seven of the ten Federal holidays. I have a feeling, for instance, that a new and better fire pit will be my Columbus Day project. It will be October then and there will be many opportunities for its use immediately after it is built. 

I do miss going to the beach. I only had about one day of beach time this year--it that. Amazing for a beach lover. I am glad, however, that we did not go to the beach for Labor Day this year because of the tropical storm that sat off the coast. And I got to help with a remodeling project which took a lot of time and creativity.

Well, Labor Day is over and it is back to work and getting into the rhythm of September. Too soon it will be October.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - September 5, 2016

1. Happy Labor Day!

Jeremy and Mike as the Flooring
Begins to be Laid

2. We turned out to be geniuses by not planning a beach vacation for this Labor Day. Tropical Storm Hermine has been keeping many beaches closed and providing for less that beach fun weather.

At the End of the Day
Still more to do

3. Laying flooring is a hard and long job. the weekend has been mostly devoted to getting a flooring project done for Nicole and Mike. 

4. Makayla was tired last evening on the ride home. She fell asleep on my arm. Fortunately, Chris was driving.

5. Interesting problems associated with the President's arrival in China. The New York Times reports that the Chinese and the Americans disagreed about many things related to the arrival and both countries get a black-eye in the incident. 

6. More people prefer printed books to electronic books! Yay. I'm not weird. 

Makayla Sleeping on my Arm

7. The Orioles are clawing their way back into the AL East Division race. They fell to three games out of first place yesterday, but did win the series from the team whose name shall remain unspoken from up north.

8. The swirl around Colin Kaepernick's protest bothers me. I support his right to protest, I do not approve of the widespread media coverage. The media has again created news rather than reporting news.

9. The weather is going to get hot again this week! Yay! 

10. I enjoyed three relaxing mornings this weekend. Two of them included sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee reading the newspaper. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Football Arrives

Jax (#8) On the Ball Carrier

It was hard to believe, but it was already the second game of the season for Jax's youth football team.

Jax after the Game

I hate to admit it, but it was a beautiful September afternoon on a local football field which was clearly built for the home team while the visiting team had to sit in the weeds around the other side. 

It was, sadly, another blow-out for the boys from GORC. They lost 31-0 and have now scored a total of 0 in their two games and given up over 60 points.

But they are learning the game and they have good attitudes. The coaches are doing a great job with all of the raw talent they have on the team.

Jax did make a highlight worthy play. He hit the opposing quarterback just as he released the ball for an attempted pass. The ball fell harmlessly to the ground. Jax got a defensive sticker for the play!

If they are playing football, it must be September!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

September Morning

Sitting on the back deck this morning with the temperature in the upper 60's, I had to accept that September had arrived. I have been in denial.

September Arriving

Although the leaves still retain the vibrant green of summer, the breeze was blowing many of them down into my pool--which prompted the question, "When are we going to close the pool?"

I hate that part of September--closing the pool.

Even though the pool still looks like summer, autumn is creeping closer to steal away the sun, the warmth, and then the leaves.

The pool is still open and the water is warm. The air, however, is cool.

It was a great summer and the thought of its passing makes me sad. But there are many joys in the memories.

The circle of life continues.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

What is a TNC?

I learned something new last evening.

I learned what TNC and TNCS stand for.

I think.

I had to pick up someone form BWI (Baltimore Washington International Airport) and spent some time at the Cell Lot.

There were lighted signs at the entrance to the Cell Waiting Lot announcing that TNS and TNCS pick-up were illegal!

That seemed pretty extreme.

I had no idea to what they were referring. I wondered if I was doing something bad?

Turns out the signs were referring to transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft.

Who knew?

I would think that something as important as having a big sign about it would be a widely understood term. I guess not.

Beware the illegal TNCS pick-up!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

My Take: The Media is Selecting Our Next President

I have been very busy lately with the pace of life speeding up as school starts and summer ends. I have even lost the "bubble" on the Presidential Olympics.

Do You Know These People?
One of them will likely be our next President

I have noticed that the two "horse" race seems to be broadening.

In some of the latest polls, which I view on RealClearPolitics, there are four names in the race.

The current face-off between the front runners is a media creation. Uneven coverage of the issues during the primaries and coupled with the sensational antics of both of the current major party standard bearers caused the electorate to focus on "form" and overlook "substance."

The same is happening now. But, may be beginning to change.

I have heard commentators suggest that both of the leading candidates are flawed Presidential contenders--yet, the media, when showing poll results continues to focus only on those two even though there are at least two additional candidates garnering up to 20 percent of the potential vote (depending of course on which poll results you choose to view).

Even the scheduled presidential debates only recognize the two major party candidates. The media is limiting the access of Americans, the voting public, the We the People to a predefined paradigm without recognizing that many Americans are asking for alternatives.

Can you name all four of the candidates who received at least 5 percent of the interest as recently as the August 30 NBC News Poll?

My Take: Keep your options open and do not let the media shape you views or vote!Search for the truth by digging deep!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Autumn Airs

I can feel it in the morning when I can also see it in the stars above. Autumn is approaching.

Morning temperatures have been in the 60's--which seems cool. I even had to drive my convertible to the golf course on Sunday with the heat running and the windows up because the air seemed too cool on my arms.

Orion has returned to the morning sky and the fact that I see stars again as I head out for my day reminds me that the days are growing shorter. Too short it seems. I went out for a walk last evening about 8:30 PM and it was dark. Totally dark. Scary dark.

Daylight has been reduced to just over 13 hours per day and I noticed yesterday morning that the sun was only just beginning to rise as I left the club following a tough racquetball match. Since daylight peaked during the solstice, at just less that 15 hours during June, we have lost almost two hours of sunlight. 

With the demise of August, the slide towards December darkness continues at a steady rate of about two and a half minutes per day. By the end of September the sun will be rising after 7AM and setting before 7PM. We lose over two hours of sunlight per day as September progresses and finally becomes October.

I need to make the most of the remaining daylight. And enjoy it and remember it until it begins to return and strengthen.

The first days with a highs less than 80 degrees are on the horizon for the weekend. 

Summer is slipping away. Too fast. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD