First Storm of the Year

First Snow of 2014
January 2

Well it is clear that 2014 wants to make its mark on us right from the beginning. A huge storm is sweeping up the east coast causing delays and school closings from Washington DC to Boston and beyond. 

It is only Day 3 of the year! I wonder what else is in store. I already have to brave the coldest temperatures of the season--16 degrees as I write this and still falling, and shovel the driveway. Ugh.

Warm Fire, Christmas Tree,
Waiting out the First Snow of the Year

There is a fire roaring in the fireplace adding its warmth to supplement the heating system and providing that ambiance along with the still lighted Christmas Tree. I'm very happy that there we are having a delayed opening and that I can enjoy the fire inside the warm inside the house. 

Welcome 2014--let's try to do a little better as the year goes on.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Tracking Santa on Christmas

Every Christmas NORAD, the North American Air Defense Command headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, tracks Santa on his flight around the planet on Christmas Eve. I, myself, had logged onto their site to track the big guy's progress.

How did this all get started? I never really thought about it, but this year the answer became clear while reading an article in a Federal Employees publication. 

NEARLY USELESS FACTOID

Compiled by Jack Moore

The North American Aerospace Defense Command — or NORAD — first began tracking Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve by mistake. In 1955, Sears placed a newspaper ad that encouraged children to Santa's private phone line to chat with the jolly old elf. The only problem? The ad contained a typo that instead led to the private for NORAD's predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD). When Col. Harry Shoup, the officer on duty began receiving calls from curious kiddies, he decided to play along.
(Source: The Atlantic)

From Mike Causey's Federal Report

http://www.federalnewsradio.com/20/3529019/Will-a-buyout-be-in-your-stocking

And so, it appears, a DoD agency began tracking Santa because of a mistake.

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Happy 2014

I noticed last night while celebrating the new year's arrival with friends and drink, kissing, watching the ball fall, and fireworks;  that it arrives with a sense of hope that it will be better than the year just departed.

I have to be honest though, last year was a good year for me. Sure, there were some definite low points and I don't want to dwell on them, but overall the year was a pretty good one for me and for my family. 

If I measure the year by things, there were a lot of good and new things for not only myself--but my immediate family too. New places to live, new vehicles, new stuff of all kinds.

But the measure of success should not be in the things--it should be in the quality of the relationships. Last year was also good in terms of relationships, but there are some that do require a bit of work. I've let some relationships run along on autopilot and they need a touch of personal intervention. 

Therefore, most of my resolutions revolve around improving the quality of my relationships with family and friends during 2014.

One resolution that I am making, however, is that when 2015 dawns I would like to do it aboard a cruise ship in the Bahamas!  We will see how that one works out. Palm trees and warm breezes as far more preferable to cold winds and leafless trees.

Welcome 2014 and may this year be the best year ever, not only for me but for all who dare to dream.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Interesting Images of 2013

So there are a few more images that I want to share from 2013. 

Opening day for the Jax's T-Ball team that I had the pleasure of coaching along with Mike. They learned a lot and so did I. I was reminded that it is not so much the winning that matters, but the growth associated with the effort.

The Tigers on Opening Day--It was Cold!

Sand castles on the beach in Jupiter during July. It reminds me of warm/hot summer days and ocean surf and warm breezes blowing in off the water. Time spent with grandsons on the beach? Priceless.

The Sand Castle to Beat all Sand Castles

One of the last views I ever had of our car after the accident in PA. Up against the jersey barrier, drivable but not repairable. The car did its job, to kept us safe. If you look at the driver's side you can see Chris trapped and waiting. She was magnificent in keeping us safe. We still, even six months later, miss that heroic machine.

The Lexus Last Drive

One of the most awesome sights and sounds I have experienced. A real B-17 in flight above me. I never thought that I would ever hear one for real and yet, there it was!

B-17 Over Camden Yards

Saving a leatherback turtle hatchling on the beach in Florida. We are officially recognized turtle rescuers. Leatherbacks are hard to rescue according to the turtle center where we took this little survivor. They are treated differently because of their prehistoric senses which will not allow them to calm down in captivity. While other hatchlings can be calmed and rehabilitated, leatherback hatchlings must be taken out to deep water as soon as they can.

Leatherback Hatchling

One of the greatest places to spend a Friday evening, on the Annapolis waterfront! The food isn't fantastic, but the view is stunning! There is always something happening.

Annapolis from Pussers

My last snorkeling excursion of 2013 before leaving Jupiter. The water was calm and the fishes were abundant. I am snorkeling in about five feet of water and there they all are--looking at me looking at them.

Snorkeling at Carlin Park, Jupiter, FL0

Across from the Jupiter lighthouse. I snap this image from the Square Grouper every year and I never grow tired of it. The Square Grouper is one of my favorite watering holes. The view of the rivers of Jupiter is fantastic and the place is relaxing after a busy day of snorkeling and beach wandering. 

The Jupiter Lighthouse form the Square Grouper

Palm before the storm. There is something about a palm tree against a gray and stormy sky that is beautiful. Maybe it is different because palms are usually imaged in front of a brilliant blue sky. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings -- December 30, 2013 Images of the Year

Continuing my review of personal images of 2013, Monday Musings is devoted to some of my favorites of the year. 

1. Riordin, need I say more? He loves to lay in the space between my arm and body because it is warm. Usually when I am trying to use my laptop.

Riordin in my Arm

2. Ever wonder what it looks like to finish a marathon? Remember, the first guy who did it in history, Pheidippides, dropped dead after delivering the important message of joy. Here are Jeremy and Mike nearing the finish line after 26 miles through Baltimore.

Jeremy and Mike nearing the Baltimore Marathon Finish Line

3. OK, so it is my favorite sports mascot, but I did get to see a lot of the Orioles Bird this year and he almost always makes me smile.

Opening Day with the Orioles Bird

4. Ethan was having some fun while we were waiting for lunch at an Ocean City restaurant during our Memorial Weekend get away.

Ethan getting it on

5. Birthdays are more fun at Dave & Busters. Lucas graciously invited us out to enjoy his birthday and walked away with a giant dragon.

Lucas and Poppop Leaving Dave & Buster's

6. The horseshoe crab rescuer. Ethan returned this crab to the ocean and we think he made it out alive! There were three big crabs on the Ocean City, MD, beach that day. One was a goner already and two may have been rescued.

Ethan with a Horseshoe Crab

7. You know what I found out while fishing off the Florida coast? I've never caught anything this big! And, I didn't know how to pose it for a picture. One of my friends asked if I was trying to play this snook like an air guitar. Maybe I was.

Me with a Snook, Catch and Release!

8. Although she is pretty quiet about it, Chris does not like fans who root for the team which will remain nameless coming into our ballpark.

Chris wearing a Yankees go home shirt

9. Ethan getting some air while jumping off the dunes on the beach in Florida. A wild afternoon of fun jumping down the relatively steep slope.

Ethan Airborne

10. Jackson getting through the Christmas Eve church service. I remember when I was a kid--just a few short decades ago, the Christmas Eve church service seemed to last forever. It was standing between me and Christmas morning. We went to church during the evening, at 7pm I think, so when the service was over it was home to enjoy a few niceties and then off to bed to wait for the sounds of bells and hooves on the rooftop. I never remember hearing the bells and hooves though.

Jax Sleeping through the Message

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

2013 In Pictures: The Family Potraits

Wow. I went through the over 1000 images that I or Chris or other family members took this year trying to narrow them down to a manageable number. When I was done, I had 51 images behind which there was a significant story or event during the year.

I had planned on showing them in the blog--but I think 51 is just a bit too many. I will have to make an album out of them, but I also want the stories that go along with them to be remembered as well. I decided to show a few, probably most, of them in a couple of themed entries.

So here is the first batch. I call them the 2013 Family Portraits.

Dad's Birthday, Jan 2013
L-R: Mom, Me, Nicole D, Luke, Jeremy, Ethan, Nicole H, Dad, Mike, Jax, Patrick, Tina, Chris

January brought Dad's 85th birthday celebration and the Raven's playoff run resulting in a Super bowl ring. We gathered together as a group coming right out of the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

Easter 2013
L-R: Corey, Tina, Mom, Patrick, Chris, Nicole D, Lucas, Jeremy, Jax, Ethan, Me, Nicole H, Mike

Easter saw the gang together again to celebrate a holiday. Springtime and a magnificent Easter Egg Hunt!

Mom's Birthday June 2013
L-R: Stephanie, Jake, Tim, Mom, Kay, Dad, Pennie, Me, Chris, Emily

Mom's birthday in June was a beautiful weekend once we got there. We drove to NY with my two sisters for an amazingly fun time, with one small exception. We learned a lot about the kindness of rural Pennsylvania people in response to a fairly serious automobile accident that left our car totaled out by the insurance company. But blessed that there were no serious injuries, the weekend celebration went on as planned!

Halloween 2013
L-R: Me, Chris, Mike, Nicole H, Nicole D, Jeremy, Patrick, Tina

Halloween was a lot of fun. I had not dressed up in a costume in decades. Of course I had to be the Roman Patrician! The party, celebrated in Patrick and Tina's new house was fabulous. Sadly, the weather was really cold that night and many of their planned outdoors activities had to be accomplished around the fire pit.

Christmas 2013
L-R Chris, Me, Jax, Nicole H, Ethan, Mike, Patrick, Tina, Nicole D, Corey, Luke, Jeremy

And then there is the Christmas 2013 photo with the entire gang together again--almost. The year passed so quickly. The boys have really grown.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

2013 Reflections

What a year it has been.

It seemed, to me, to go screaming by faster and faster with each passing day. As of this morning I have created 391 blog posts documenting the year and my thoughts on what is happening. I know there are but a few more and the year will be a wrap. 

The year surged and lagged from day to day. There were highlights, like Opening Day for the Orioles when there was so much promise for the young baseball season. And, there were lows, like totaling our Lexus on a trip to Ithaca, which, thankfully, saw only minor cuts and bruises.  And there were birthdays--everyone had one! Only one!

There was the obligatory trip to Florida for sun, heat, and snorkeling. There were trips to wineries in FL, NY, PA, MD, and of course VA. 

There were house projects, new roof, staining the deck, wood floors in two bedrooms upstairs, and pool maintenance--the usual stuff. 

I mourned the loss of friends and family who passed too suddenly and unexpectedly during the year and they reminded me that every day is a gift and should be treated as such.


I rejoiced at the births and new beginnings and new homes for both of my sons and their families. I rooted for Jeremy and Mike as they crossed the finish line in Frederick's half in May and then Baltimore's full in October marathon. I cheered for my grandsons as they played sports. I cheered on my wife and daughter as they participated in running events as well. And I rejoiced with Patrick as he started a master's program.

I felt bad about cutting down my beloved but diseased plum trees and I was astonished at seeing and hearing a B-17 fly overhead.

I kinda hate doing lists like these, because I always forget something important--like a wedding or a trip or something. Sure, I took business trips this year--but none really anywhere exotic, if there is anywhere still exotic. Is Alaska in February exotic? OK, maybe Tahiti would be exotic. If only I could figure out a way to get there on a business trip. 

All of that written, I also survived the government shutdown and furlough! A definite low point in American history.

It has been a wild and furious year. I have been surrounded by family and friends and we have surged through the rough waters and paddled the then calm seas together. 

I wonder what 2014 will have to offer?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

It's Over? Really? No!

Jax listening to the Christmas Eve Message
 in Church

I remember back when I was a child that the time after Christmas was the most depressing of the year. The "Days Until Christmas" count was reset to 365, or even worse, 366. It was depressing. I was surrounded by all of the gifts that I had just opened, yet I was unhappy. It was a sad commentary on the meaning of the season.

Perhaps these memories are why I continue to write about Christmas even after the day has passed. Of course, it is still the Christmas season. I was out shopping yesterday doing returns and and still enjoying the ambiance of the season. Especially the traffic and the parking. I thought two black BMWs were going to crash into themselves as I pulled out of a primo parking spot at the Columbia Mall yesterday. It was a pretty ruthless situation. I almost got hit trying to leave.

Here are the boys, Lucas (on the right), then Ethan (in the center), and finally Jax (on the left) singing for the church on Christmas Eve. They can be a bit hard to find and who knows why they couldn't stand together?

I think Jax had it right on Christmas Eve. If we could only sleep through the boring parts until we got to the good parts.

Happy Holidays!

Thinking of Christmas Past

The Final Scene from It's a Wonderful Life

As the kids and the grandsons departed last evening after completing almost two days of Christmas celebration and family togetherness, I found time to finish watching the last half hour of Frank Capra's 1946 production of It's a Wonderful Life starring James Stewart. This movie is my favorite Christmas movie! 

The ending of the movie is especially poignant as the main character, George Bailey, played by Stewart, discovers with the help of his bumbling guardian angel Clarence (Henry Travers), that despite how gloomy the present seems, our lives are far more than the circumstances we are presently facing. Most everyone knows the story of how George Bailey wished that he had never been born and how his wish was granted to allow him to realize how his humble life was world changing. 

As  I watched the uplifting ending of the movie last evening, I realized that I am equally as lucky. It had been a long tough two days getting everything together, planning meals, cooking, and bringing together all of the disparate things to make the family holiday celebration a success. Sometimes the activities and the planning get in the way of enjoying the celebration, but at the end of the day, or even during the spectacular meal that we enjoy together, it is all worth it. Like George Bailey whir he was in the middle of his crisis, I may wonder if it is all worth it, but by the end of the evening surrounded by my family the answer is clear--it certainly was!

I hope you had a happy Christmas celebration. Remember, it isn't over yet! I know I have some cool toys that need to be exercised!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Christmas 2013: As the Day Begins

Jax, Chris, and Ethan

I am sitting in my chair, next to the mountain of gifts which are awaiting the arrival of the family later today for the Christmas gift opening. Chris and I enjoyed traveling to be with Ethan and Jackson as they opened their gifts earlier this morning. There is something special about being with children on Christmas morning.

Last evening, I was surprised while at Patrick and Tina's to read again the Polar Express to the assembled group. That is something that I have done for many of the Christmas Eve's since the book was published. I enjoy retelling the story of the magic of Christmas.

The outlaw Haslup brothers!

So far, the gift of Christmas that is the most interesting is the pair of BB guns that the boys got. All I can hear in my mind are the words from the movie, The Christmas Story, "You're gonna shoot your eye out!"

Merry Christmas to all of you!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD