My Valentine

Mid-winter holidays and celebrations are a lot of fun. They help to cast off the darkness of the season and bring some light into life.

Chris Checking out the Menu
February 14, 2019

Last evening, Chris and I did something we have not done in a few years to celebrate Valentines Day: we went out to dinner. 

I know that does not seem dramatic, but for the past few years I have treated Chris to a romantic dinner at home to celebrate the day.

This year, we rode off together for an early meal at a local Mexican establishment and dined on fajitas and chimichangas along with a margarita to mark the day. It certainly was not the planked salmon and the expensive wine of past years, but we were out together. And it is important to get out of the house during the dark days. Also, in past years Chris had worked late doing parent-teacher conferences and so I had time to prepare the meal in advance of her arrival at home. This year, since she is retired, there were no conferences to attend.

Chris was dressed in a festive manner and I wore a red shirt to mark the day. I was encouraged by the number of couples and families who were similarly enjoying the evening. We went early to avoid the crowds and I have to admit it was weird to get home after dinner and still watch Jeopardy. Wow, am I getting old or what? The world revolves around Jeopardy during the winter. The only thing that we didn't get was the early-bird discount! 

It was a great evening and a romantic way to mark the celebration.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD 

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

It is a great celebration for lovers and would be lovers!

I remember being in grade school and doing the obligatory Valentine exchange. I wold come home with a folder full of Valentines from my classmates, and I likewise would give a Valentine to each of my classmates. It was fun to go home and open each of the Valentines and realize that there were only so many different little Valentines in the packages--I would get multiple copies of the same greeting. I wonder if kids still do that in class today?

I'm not sure I understood the reason behind Valentines Day, but it was fun to give and get a folder full of Valentines. 

Here is a fun fact--there were multiple Christian martyrs that were named Valentinus! Wow, who knew?

Here is a paragraph Wikipedia about the day:

Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine,^[1] is celebrated annually on February 14. Originating as a Western Christian feast day honoring one or two early saints named Valentinus, Valentine's Day is recognized as a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and romantic love in many regions around the world, although it is not a public holiday in any country.

Have a great day!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Big, Beautiful Wall

Hopefully the agreement to fully fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year will be inked today. 

The stumbling point continues to be the wall. The President emphatically states that the wall will be big and beautiful!

A ‘big, beautiful wall?’ Yeah, right . . . - The Miami Herald

It will be immovable. 

It will be a monument to 19th century thinking transformed into reality during the 21st Century. 

We there people will be spending our national treasure on a wall rather than actually doing some good in the world and even in our own country. 

The wall will not feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, nor heal the sick. 

The wall will not protect us from attack, deter aggression, nor stem the flow of drugs coming over the border through established ports of entry such as the recent largest drug bust in history.

An interesting article in the New York Times provides perspective of the magnitude of the wall project.

The Border Wall: WhatHas Trump Built So Far? - The New York Times

It appears that if the President wants a wall, he is going get a wall. I would rather build missile defense, or bolster the armed forces with the money--but the wall will certainly provide a fitting and historic commentary on the presidency.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Ice on the Orioles Season

We have been enjoying some really difficult weather lately. It was what they call a wintry-mix. In reality it was freezing rain.

The freezing rain was interesting. It covered the bare branches of the trees creating a surreal scene, but it also created some dangerous driving conditions.

I would have liked to get some pictures of the ice covered trees, however, since I was driving in some really heavy traffic it would have been far too dangerous. 

February, all-in-all has been relatively mild and as we roll into mid-month, I note that MLB Spring Training is underway. Orioles pitchers and catchers report to Sarasota today! While the arrival of Spring Training is usually exciting, my enthusiasm is tempered with the knowledge that the Orioles do not look any better than the last year's team which secured 15th place on the all-time list of the worst major league teams during the modern era. The ice that we have been experiencing has extended apparently to Sarasota and the team which begins training there.

Last year's Orioles lost 115 games. I believe it is possible that this year's team could lose more! 120 losses is a definite possibility. The team has, so far, done nothing in the off season to improve the overall quality of the team. I am so underwhelmed at the Orioles that I have decided not to renew my season tickets for this year. It will be the first time in about 15 years that I will not have season tickets to see the Orioles.

I may not go attend Opening Day on April 4th. Fans vote with their feet and my feet are planning to stay away until the team decides to get serious about improving. Mediocrity is not a reason to go to the ballpark.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - February 11, 2019

1. It is the second Monday of February. That is awesome. Spring begins in 37 days on March 20th!

2. It is tax season and the initial indications are that last year's tax cuts aren't showing up in the returns.

3. Cold weather is part of February in the Northeast. Knowing this, I'd rather winter somewhere further south.

4. Believe it or not, the youth basketball season is already ending. That means baseball season is warming up in the bullpen. Sadly, Jax's team lost a tough playoff game yesterday. Ethan's team had a bye and competes in their first playoff game next week.

5. I woke up this morning to an ice storm. 

6. This weekend was the first weekend since August where there was no NFL on TV. It felt good.

7. Is it me, or are other drivers on the highways getting worse? They don't signal intentions and then make sudden lane changes. Wow!

Daffodils in the Garden
February 10, 2019

8. It is now two months since I completed treatments for prostate cancer! In another month I get tested for my first results! I cannot believe how time has flown. Keep supporting everyone who is battling cancer! No one fights alone!

9. And despite the cold weather guess what I found growing in the garden yesterday? The harbinger of Springtime--daffodils! OK, maybe they are pushing the envelope a bit.

10. Today in History. Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, is released from prison after 27 years on February 11, 1990. In 1944, Mandela, a lawyer, joined the African National Congress (ANC), the oldest black political organization in South Africa, where he became a leader of Johannesburg’s youth wing of the ANC. In 1952, he became deputy national president of the ANC, advocating nonviolent resistance to apartheid–South Africa’s institutionalized system of white supremacy and racial segregation. However, after the massacre of peaceful black demonstrators at Sharpeville in 1960, Nelson helped organize a paramilitary branch of the ANC to engage in guerrilla warfare against the white minority government.

Headlines

Talks Over Border Security Break Down, Imperiling Effort to Prevent Shutdown - The New York Times

He Survived More Than 40 Hours as Scores Drowned Around Him - The New York Times

Millions of Americans could be stunned as their tax refunds shrink - The Washington Post

Climate change seen as top threat, but U.S. power a growing worry: poll - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: "We the People."

"We the People" tell the Government what to do, it doesn't tell us. "We the people" are the driver - the Government is the car. And we decide where it should go, and by what route, and how fast. Almost all the world's constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are. Our Constitution is a document in which "We the People" tell the Government what it is allowed to do. "We the people" are free.

  -- Reagan's Farewell Address to American People, January 11, 1989

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Thinking of Florida

Jupiter Island, Florida
 Intercostal Side
From Radio Flyer
January 25, 2019

Suffering through the cold of the past couple days, I have been thinking of being in a warmer place--Florida.

The Shops of Jupiter,
Jupiter, Florida
January 20, 2019

I was just there during late January and even though I complained that it was too cool, I dearly would love to have awakened there this morning with the temperature outside my door touching on 16 degrees!

Despite the bright sky, it is too cold. Much too cold. Yes, I know that it is February, but still, I enjoyed the taste of Spring last week and fervently wish that it would return. I know that Spring is officially 38 days away, but I have grown weary of winter: the cold, the rain, and the "wintery mix."

While I was in Florida a few weeks ago I was able to play three rounds of golf despite not being able to spend much time on the beach. I would not even think of touching my clubs right now here in Maryland. Well, I did consider it on Friday, but I was too busy at work.

Look at it this way--a cold day in Florida is a lot warmer than a cold day in Maryland. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Virginia is for Messes

The government of Virginia is in a mess.

The allegations become uglier with each passing day. 

It is an ethically and morally charged issue that dates back decades--and there is the fundamental problem. 

I think society is getting too sensitive about things that happened 40 years ago!


Is it possible that we are losing perspective and taking actions out of context? Are we engaging in what is called: revisionist history?

Do not misunderstand me--I am not condoning the activities of the leaders in question, I am just urging that actions be viewed in context with the norms of society at the time. Society changes over time and what is acceptable, likewise, changes. 

As an example of changing societal context, think about the Bugs Bunny cartoons or the Three Stooges. When I was young, Bugs Bunny was a very violent cartoon. They were funny but were filled with violence and biting, insulting comments which were, at the time, acceptable. Since then, the cartoons have edited for the current generation to remove the violence and the now unacceptable comments. This is an example of how what is societally acceptable changes over time. What was acceptable is not now accepted. It is the same with the Three Stooges--their humor was funny then, but now it is not accepted. In fact, I do not find the Three Stooges funny anymore and do not watch their antics.

I have to believe we are forgetting that what is acceptable to society changes over time and as we become enlightened we forget that applying the mores of today to the past confuses the issues. We need to ask ourselves, are the actions by someone in the past outside of the norms for the period of time? 

Put another way, for the time and the place, was the action egregious? 

Just a thought. Ultimately, it is for each of us to decide.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Mixing it Up

With the arrival of Friday, the weather will begin a transition form unseasonably warm and enjoyable to seasonable cold. There seems to be little consensus as to whether there will be rain, snow, or both as Monday arrives.

I received an enjoyable email yesterday. It was from a local golf course advertising that today, Friday, was going to be beautiful and recommending that I play hooky from work and hit the links. 

Haha. Maybe, had the situation been different, I would take them up on the offer, but I have been away from my desk for three days attending a course on managing conflict AND I have developed a really nasty case of plantar fasciitis--I am totally hobbled. 

Chris talked me out of playing racquetball yesterday morning and suggested that I go for a walk with her during the afternoon, just to see if I could. It was great for the first mile. After that is was very painful as I forced myself to walk, limp, crawl (OK, not really crawl) the last half-mile home.

I hope the weekend finds the heel better! 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

A Brush with Spring

It happened on Tuesday. We had a brush with Spring as the temperatures in the region touched 70 degrees! It was awesome. By the time I got home, the temperature had fallen to 66 degrees, but Chris and I enjoyed Happy Hour on the back deck savoring the warm, dry weather in advance of another cold, wet front.

It was great to be outside and not get freeze or get wet!

Spring is coming. 

Also on Tuesday, we received and interesting gift in the mail from a company we are doing business with. It was cute. Last week they sent us a lottery ticket and on Tuesday the Smore package. 

It was cute and thoughtful. 

February is going to be a great month! I can tell.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

So Here We Are

It was surreal watching the State of the Union (SOTU) address last evening. 

The divided nature of our government was obvious. 

The Speaker of the House was clearly more interested in making a statement of her own rather than listening to the President.

CNN has published a piece titled 
5 key takeaways from Donald Trump's State of the Union speech. 

I have to admit that at the beginning of the speech, I was encouraged by the bipartisan call, but by the end of the speech it was clear that any bipartisan action would have to be made on the President's terms.

The President began by saying:

The agenda I will lay out this evening is not a Republican agenda or Democrat agenda, it is the agenda of the American people. Many of us have campaigned on the same core promises, to defend American jobs and demand fair trade for American workers, to rebuild and revitalize our nation’s infrastructure, to reduce the price of health care and prescription drugs, to create an immigration system that is safe, lawful, modern and secure, and to pursue a foreign policy that puts America’s interests first.

It was interesting to read the Fact Checker of the President's address. He takes credit for many things that began before he took office. The good note is that the good trends have continued, the bad is that he is taking whole credit for them and not recognizing that efforts of Presidents who preceded him.

State of the Union fact check: What's true and false in Trump's address - NBC News

One continual Trump claim that the NBC article focuses on is border security. I extracted the beginning of the item here:

CLAIM: TRUMP SAYS THE STATE OF THE SOUTHERN BORDER IS 'LAWLESS,' THREATENING THE SECURITY OF ALL AMERICANS

America's immigration system is broken — that's something experts, advocates and politicians across the spectrum can agree on — but there's little evidence the southern border is experiencing a new state of emergency. Violence isn't spilling over the border, and terrorists aren't being caught in droves trying to cross it. Illegal drugs largely come through legal ports of entry, not unguarded parts of the border, according to border authorities.

In the Democratic response to the SOTU, Stacy Abrams made a statement that really struck a chord with me:

My father has battled prostate cancer for years. To help cover the costs, I found myself sinking deeper into debt -- because while you can defer some payments, you can’t defer cancer treatment. In this great nation, Americans are skipping blood pressure pills, forced to choose between buying medicine or paying rent. Maternal mortality rates show that mothers, especially black mothers, risk death to give birth. And in 14 states, including my home state where a majority want it, our leaders refuse to expand Medicaid, which could save rural hospitals, economies, and lives.

I have read about people dying because they have been forced to choose between insulin injections and eating. This is wrong. This is not my vision for the America that I have served for my entire adult life. 

It was an interesting, if not scary evening as the gulf between the parties was on display. 

As a country and a society we need to do better. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD