Holiday Concert Season

It is the holiday concert season and last evening I was able to attend the strings concert at Waugh Chapel Elementary School.

What do the meanest middle linebacker on the GORC 80 pound football team and one beginning violin player at Waugh Chapel Elementary have in common? They are one in the same: Jackson.

A well rounded life includes an appreciation for music. Holiday Concerts showcase developing talent.

Ethan also had his holiday concert last evening. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason the two schools scheduled their festivities for the same time and I could only attend one.

Holiday concerts are one of the joys of the season. While the music may not be executed like the recordings we are listening to, the enthusiasm makes up for everything.

Happy Holidays. Rather, I mean, Merry Christmas.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Color of the Morning

Autumn is slipping quickly into Winter and the days are becoming shorter. With so much to do, the short amount of daylight is deceiving and by 5:30 PM, I have been feeling like it is bedtime.

Pre-dawn Light
December 13, 2016

With that backdrop, rewind to yesterday morning as I was coming out of the gym after playing racquetball. 

It was dark, but on the eastern horizon the first rays of light from the rising sun were silhouetting the bare branches of the trees and beginning wake the world. The street light was casting its cold illumination onto the parking lot, but was soon eclipsed by the gathering rays of the still hidden sun.

I admit, I felt funny standing in the parking lot taking a picture of the darkness. But seeing the first colors of the day reminded me that all is not dark and that the light returns to the world with each new morning. From the first rays of the morning, the light strengthens and the world wakes. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Birthdays

Nicole with her Family

They arrive every year. They arrive whether we want them to arrive or not.

Birthdays. When I was young I always wanted to be older. Now that I am older, I want to be younger.

I never seem to be happy with my birthday.

This weekend, Nicole turned another year older. Her birthday made me feel older. Too much older.

I cannot comprehend that my daughter is getting older. And that she has sons who are getting older.

It is the circle of life.

From our youth to our old age. We celebrate each additional year on the planet.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - December 12, 2016

Christmas Tree outside the White House Entrance

1. There are less than 2 weeks until Christmas, I am finding it hard to believe how close the holiday is rushing towards me.

2. Time Magazine selected the President-elect as the Person of the Year, but I take exception to the subtitle: "President of the Divided States of America." 

3. Why do cars seem to need brake jobs on some of the coldest days of the year.

4. I don't like snow! During my short trip to Central New York this weekend I saw enough and drove through enough snow to last an entire winter.

5. "Our nation was conceived in liberty, and we have always understood that the fate of our own freedom is tied to the fate of freedom in the world. The flourishing of liberty, democracy, and constitutional government is the goal of this administration as it is the greatest wish of Americans and that Americans have for all peoples of the world. We pray that we'll all come to enjoy what we consider our greatest treasure -- freedom." Ronald Reagan. Remarks on Signing the Human Rights and Day of Prayer for Poland Proclamations, December 10, 1982

Dirty Vehicle from Traveling on Snow Covered Highways

6. Has anyone wondered why the Russians supported Donald Trump to be President?

7. Cars seem to take the brunt of winter weather by getting very dirty. 

8. I am a bit bummed because the temperatures have been to cold to golf. I miss chasing the little white ball around the course.

9. I want to say thank you to the Congress for passing another continuing resolution and preventing another furlough. Now let's see if they can finalize a budget.

-- Bob Doan, Elkidge, MD

Christmas at the White House

Looking out a White House Window
at the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial

East Wing Entrance to
the White House

Visiting the White House during the Christmas season is an experience not to be missed. 

On one of the coldest mornings of the season so far, Chris and I headed into Washington, DC, for our appointment, with eight of our friends, to tour the Christmas decorated White House.

There is something truly special about visiting the White House. It is the "People's House."

Decorations in the East Room
Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington

The White House is decorated festively and each room holds new excitement. The self-guided tour allows for thorough exploration of the decorations and the rooms. The tour enters through the East Wing and winds through the White House coming out through the front entrance. I found security to be efficient and the Secret Service agents to be pleasant but thorough. 

Vermeil Room

The Library, the Vermiel Room, the China Room, the East Room, the Blue Room, the Green Room, the Red Room, and the State Dining Room are all on the tour. The exit is out through the front and we had some great pictures taken in the doorway. Along the tour, however, there are decorations and lots of art to enjoy. The art is fantastic and represents a wide cross section of American art. It is not just portraits, but one of the most famous is that of George Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1796 and hangs in the East Room. This painting was saved by Dolley Madison when the British burned the White House. 

I highly recommend this tour and I thank my good friends who did all of the work to get our group approved and scheduled. Unfortunately, this tour must be requested months in advance and so it can't be done this Christmas, but next Christmas is still possible. 

Leaving the White House
One Last Look

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

From the White House to Ithaca

The White House
Main Entrance

What an interesting day I experienced yesterday. The day began in Washington, DC, with a tour of The White House and ended with an arrival at my parents house near Ithaca, NY.

The White House tour was fabulous. It was cold waiting and walking around DC, but the tour was definitely worth the effort. I will write more about the tour itself tomorrow.

What was really interesting was that Chris and I were back at our house by 1130 AM, and I was on the road for Ithaca an hour later.

The trip to Ithaca started with the Baltimore beltway being shut down due to an accident, but WAZE got me around it. I drove into a snow squall in Shamokin Dam, but drove out after 10 miles.

The rest of the trip was thankfully uneventful.

What a day, however, it included the winter cold of DC, the elegance of The White House, and the snow of Ithaca.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Danby, NY

Space is not Just for Dreamers

John Glenn and Friendship 7

The passing of John Glenn at age 95 yesterday caused me to pause. The New York Times calls him an American Hero of the Space Age. He was the last surviving member of the Mercury 7--the first seven astronauts selected by NASA.

I remember growing up and following each successive barrier that was broken and each new achievement that was made during the Cold War Space Race. The pride of the country rode on the backs of a few brave men, yes they were all men then. 

Mercury 7 Astronauts

I learned new words like Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. I also learned about Redstones, and Saturns; the boosters that these brave barrier breakers rode into the heavens. 

My mind was on the space and space travel as I considered the possibilities. In my young mind, I believed that we would have missions to Mars during the 1990's. For a while I wanted to be an astronaut and ride the fire into the heavens.

The country chose to go another direction in space; developing the highly successful Space Shuttle program to haul payloads into low earth orbits. The dream of Mars remains. Sadly, the United States does not currently have the capability to launch people into space. There are no man-rated boosters or vehicles in the inventory and the cruel twist of fate is that we are dependent upon to Russians to carry Americans into orbit to the International Space Station. Many of our space launch vehicles rely upon Russian produced engines--the U.S. has lost the technological lead.

The space program provided something back then that our country lacks. We were dreamers and we set our sights on the stars. There were new horizons to conquer and the successes and the failures came almost every day. Life has become so routine since then. We still making stunning advances in space, but it has become the expectation.

Godspeed John Glenn!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Roads' End

I have had the pleasure of standing at the end (or was it the beginning) of two famous highways.

The beginning and end of US 1 in Key West is one. 

The other was Route 66, which ends on the Santa Monica Pier in California after traversing the western portion of the country.

US 1 is a road that I deal with daily. I drive on part of it every day. There is almost no way to leave my house and not traverse a portion of this famous North-South route which runs from Maine to the very southern tip of Florida. 

Route 66 is a bit more elusive for me as it runs East-West from Chicago to Santa Monica. But the road makes the famous connection across the middle portion of the country.

I have enjoyed being at the end/beginning of these famous highways an thinking amount how much of our country is connected because of them. Interstate highways may be faster, but in terms of connecting cities and towns and people, these two roads are some of the workhorses of our society.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

My Take: Projecting Power

Air Force One
Reagan Library

I was there, recently, at the Reagan Library and I saw it first hand. I saw and touched, and entered the aircraft that served as Air Force One during the Reagan administration.

It is beautiful. 

When it carries the President of the United States, it is the most important aircraft in the world!

I read with fascination yesterday how the President-elect was making an issue about the purchase of two new aircraft to serve as Air Force One. 

It is important to note that the current aircraft are almost 30 years old. There are a lot of improvements to technology which have occurred since these aircraft first flew.

When Air Force One touches down in a foreign country, it is a statement. The President of the United States has arrived and no other county's leader arrives in such a manner. It recently infuriated the Chinese and caused an incident. 

But Air Force one is more than transportation, It is an extension of the Office of the President. It is a working area that allows the conduct of the Executive branch to continue during long and otherwise non-productive flights. 

Air Force One is as much a projection of national power as sending an aircraft carrier into some country's backyard or flying B-52's along a disputed border area. It makes a statement: The U.S. is here. 

My Take: The President of the United States should not be transported in a 30 year old aircraft. Project power and prestige with a new symbol of national power. The President-elect needs to focus on big issues.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

When is a General Not?

General Mattis
Being Considered for Secretary of Defense

The construction of President-elect Trump's cabinet continues to draw the attention of the news media and his expected selection for Secretary of Defense is the current hot news item of the day.

I am happy the issue is not a Constitutional one, but a legal requirement imposed when the Department of Defense was created. Established during 1947 the Department did not take on its current name of Department of Defense (DoD) until 1949. An interesting twist of history.

The laws that established the DoD mandated that persons being appointed to the top jobs in the Department must be separated for at least 7 years. It was originally 10 years, but later amended. And even with the newly created DoD, an exception to the law was given for General George Marshall in 1950. 

My point here is that the "law" has been changed in the past and the situation must be evaluated based upon it merits. Sadly, the blind application of law seems more important that looking at the merits. 

I believe it is time for someone to lead the DoD who has experienced the weapons, tools and tactics being provided by the to the troops and he may be able to separate the good from the unnecessary. I believe that the DoD is bloated and inefficient, but much of that is due to Congressional mandates. If the DoD is going to become efficient, then Congress needs to back and allow DoD to get about the task of defending the nation. 

Maybe General Mattis will restore some swagger to the DoD.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD