Sunset Above the Clouds

Sunset Above the Clouds
Southwest Flight 2418
July 12, 2019

Last evening, Chris and I returned home to Florida. Having homes in two states means that we can wake in our own bed in Maryland in the morning, work through the day, head off the to airport and fly for just over two hours to Florida and then go home and sleep in our own bed! It was great to step through the door to the condo and be home, even though we were almost 900 miles from where we woke in the morning.

End-of-the-Day
Flight 2418
July 12. 2019

During the flight we were treated to a display of color as the day ended and the sunset appeared. The reflection of the setting sun off the clouds was spectacular. I occupied a rare, for me, window seat. I usually prefer aisle seats. The scene outside the window was beautiful and I captured a couple of images to remind me of the splendor of the end-of-day display.

The day dawned here bright, cloud-covered, and humid--a near carbon copy of weather in Maryland. The big difference is that we will be heading to the beach in a few minutes for our morning walk along the shore. 

It is nice to get away from it all by going home and to be treated to such beauty along the way.

And now, it is off the the beach.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, Florida

Flamingo

Flamingos are back! 

Flamingo Sofa Pillow

I am seeing flamingos adorning all sorts of items these days as the lawn objects form the 60's make a resurgence into the mainstream again. I remember, from when I was a boy, that we had a pair of lawn flamingos--they were tacky, but it seemed many people added flamingos to their gardens. 

Flamingos are making a resurgence and just yesterday, I received a gift of a sofa pillow adorned with flamingos. This is not a solitary flamingo item, however, because out Florida house has a while room dedicated to flamingos! It also had a room dedicated to pelicans and another dedicated to turtles!

I love flamingos! They just scream the Caribbean to me and make me smile when I see them. I remember going the salt flats in Curaco and seeing the flocks of flamingos--they made me smile even then.  

And now, I smile whenever I see flamingos--I could go a bit overboard, but Chris keeps my irrational flamingo desire in check, mostly.

Think pink!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Money on the Road

Money Along Atlanta highway
From The New York Times

Money was just laying there along the side of a road near Atlanta yesterday according to a report I saw on the news last night and read about in The New York Times this morning. 

The article in the Times was titled, An Armored Truck Spilled Thousands of Dollars on an Atlanta Highway. What Would You Do?


According to the reporting, about $175,000 fell along I-285, the beltway encircling Atlanta from the back of an armored truck. Drivers stopped and scooped up money and fast as they could, BUT, it is actually theft to keep any money retrieved from along the roadway and the windfall should be returned.

While the skies may have been raining $50 bills, it was not a windfall for those who gathered them from the roadway. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Mid-Season Break

Baseball is taking a time-out for the All Star game which was again won by the American League!

Bottom Five Teams in Baseball
July 10, 2019

The Orioles are the worst team in baseball. They were the first team to amass over 60 losses and are on track to lose 113 games. The Orioles are 31.5 games out of first place in their division and 23.5 games out of the Wild Card spot in the league. With some luck, perhaps the Orioles can improve and become the 29th best team in all of baseball!

No Orioles player actually played in the All Star game on Tuesday night--the only Orioles player, John Means a starting pitcher, was held in reserve. 

Well, now that the mid-season break is over, we can resume watching the wheels come of the Orioles. Maybe I will go to a game later in the season. I have attended only one game thus far--and it, predictably, was a loss. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Fledgling

Fledgling Cardinal on the Pool Fence
Elkridge, MD
July 8, 2019

After another long day at work, Chris and I decided to relax in the pool last evening. Shortly after we began to chat and float in the pool, I noticed a female Cardinal frantically flying around the fence near the pool. I remarked that the bird seemed stressed about something, and then I noticed something moving in the grasses along the pool--yes, it was a fledgling. The cardinal was protecting and caring for the chick which was attempting to fly, walk, and untangle itself from the grasses. 

The male cardinal also appeared and both birds cared for the fledgling by periodically feeding it and trying to get it to imitate their flight patterns. The small bird, for its part, did attempt short flights and made good progress, It rested on the fence for a long time before jumping/flying down and shuffling off into the wooded area. 

All-in-all the entire event took about an hour and we were transfixed watching the small cardinal begin the process of caring for itself and learning to fly. 

Oh the things we can see if we just take the time to watch.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - July 8, 2019

1. It is the second Monday in July and the month is already beginning to speed towards its conclusion. 

2. In an amazing stretch of baseball, the Orioles have improved their record to 27-62 .303 and have lowered their anticipated losses to 113 for the season.

Finnegan
June 7, 2019

3. Hanging out in the pool for the afternoon is one of the best ways to enjoy a hot, July afternoon.

4. Finnegan knows how to relax on a hot afternoon by sleeping on his back on a cushion by the pool.

5. Congratulations to the Women's National Soccer Team for bringing home Gold! As a side note, the men failed to defeat Mexico for their gold medal.

6. Rain. Everyday there has been rain! 

7. Quandary:  There is a nail in the tire of my truck. My tire is not losing air. Do I remove the nail and potentially cause a leak or do I leave it in the tire until it becomes a problem?

8. Today in History. On this day in 1951, Paris, the capital city of France, celebrates turning 2,000 years old. In fact, a few more candles would’ve technically been required on the birthday cake, as the City of Lights was most likely founded around 250 B.C. The history of Paris can be traced back to a Gallic tribe known as the Parisii, who sometime around 250 B.C. settled an island (known today as Ile de la Cite) in the Seine River, which runs through present-day Paris. By 52 B.C., Julius Caesar and the Romans had taken over the area, which eventually became Christianized and known as Lutetia, Latin for “midwater dwelling.” The settlement later spread to both the left and right banks of the Seine and the name Lutetia was replaced with “Paris.” In 987 A.D., Paris became the capital of France. As the city grew, the Left Bank earned a reputation as the intellectual district while the Right Bank became known for business.



Headlines

Iran Announces New Breach of Nuclear Deal Limits and Threatens Further Violations - The New York Times

Florida, the Sunshine State, Is Slow to Adopt Rooftop Solar Power - The New York Times

Greek Conservatives take charge in landslide win, vow more investment, fewer taxes - Reuters

Hong Kong protesters march again, reaching out to Chinese visitors - Reuters



Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week


Call it mysticism if you will, I have always believed there was some divine providence that placed this great land here between the two great oceans, to be found by a special kind of people from every corner of the world, who had a special love for freedom and a special courage that enabled them to leave their own land, leave their friends and their countrymen, and come to this new and strange land to build a New World of peace and freedom and hope. Lincoln spoke about hope as he left the hometown he would never see again to take up the duties of the Presidency and bring America through a terrible Civil War. At each stop on his long train ride to Washington, the news grew worse: The Nation was dividing; his own life was in peril. On he pushed, undaunted. In Philadelphia he spoke in Independence Hall, where 85 years earlier the Declaration of Independence had been signed. He noted that much more had been achieved there than just independence from Great Britain. It was, he said, ``hope to the world, future for all time.''
--Remarks at the Opening Ceremonies of the Statue of Liberty Centennial Celebration in New York, New York, July 3, 1986

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Just add sand, water, and palm trees

Getting ready for upcoming vacations can sometimes be a full-time job. 

Ethan in the Pool
Elkridge, MD
July 6. 2019

Yesterday, Chris and I took Ethan out to acquire a well fitting mask and snorkel for his upcoming vacation. He went with us on our cruise last summer and could not find a correctly fitting mast and that really was a problem during our snorkeling adventures. So, Chris made the promise to get him correctly fitting equipment for his vacation this year.

And we made good on the promise! After he was correctly fitted as the local dive shop, he bought the equipment home to try it out. 

The equipment worked and he looked like a creature rising from the blue lagoon as he checked it out.

Ethan is ready for a snorkeling adventure on a far away Caribbean island--just add sand, water, and palm trees!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Waiting at the Door

Finnegan, Makayla, and Chewbacca Waiting
Elkridge, MD
July 4, 2019 

Dogs wait patiently. No matter when I go outside or for what reason, it seems that my dogs are always waiting to welcome my return. 

This weekend we have a third dog, we are watching Chewbacca for Patrick and Tina. This image was taken on Independence Day just after 10 PM after the fireworks had stopped and as I was cleaning the yard and preparing to go to bed. The three of them waited patiently for my return. Perhaps they knew that it was bedtime?

It had been a long day for the three of them. There were five other dogs that celebrated Independence Day with them. Now as the day is ending it was just the three of them and me and Chris. 

Dogs are an essential part of life, in my opinion. They are always there and at the end of a hard day I have to admit, I appreciate the enthusiastic greeting that they provide to me when I arrive home. 

And, they wait at the door. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Whose America is This?

This will likely be unpopular, but I'm going to come right out and say it--I am appalled at the conditions in the concentration camps being run by the U.S. government along the southern border. 

Image from The Atlantic Monthly article

I chose my words carefully. The camps where the immigrants are begin held are nothing short of concentration camps and that insensitive statement that the conditions there are better than where they came from not only is untrue but also attempts to rationalize that we have deprived them of their freedoms and are not providing them with the basic necessities of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that is the bedrock of our America!

After spending time in these camps, how can we expect these people to have a positive image of the United States? 

An article in The Atlantic Monthly: A Crime by Any Name, spells out the conditions and make a poignant reference. From the article:

Detainees described overcrowding so severe that “it was difficult to move in any direction without jostling and being jostled.” The water provided them was foul, “of a dark color, and an ordinary glass would collect a thick sediment.” The “authorities never removed any filth.” A detainee wrote that the “only shelter from the sun and rain and night dews, was what we could make by stretching over us our coats or scraps of blanket.” As for the food, “Our ration was in quality a starving one, it being either too foul to be touched or too raw to be digested.”

Such were the conditions of the Confederate prisoner-of-war camp at Andersonville, Georgia, where, as the historian James McPherson wrote, 13,000 of the 45,000 men imprisoned “died of disease, exposure, or malnutrition.” The images of the captive, emaciated Union troops are shocking, evoking a form of suffering 21st-century viewers will likely associate with the Holocaust. The images so traumatized the Northern public that after the war, the warden of the prison, Henry Wirz, became one of the only people tried for war crimes. The Swiss-born Wirz was an easy scapegoat for Northern anger, which spared most of the former Confederacy’s military and political leadership.

We can try to turn our backs on the situation and we can try to call the detainees criminals--but convicted felons in U.S. prisons do not live in these conditions.

There is a crisis on the border--it is a crisis of our own doing and now we have to deal with it. But calling it a crisis strips the humanity out of the equation. This is not My America! My America does not have concentration camps where people are caged like so many animals and where children are stripped away from their parents. 

It is time to stop the abuse and fix the problem--and a border wall is not the answer.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Happy 4th

Happy Independence Day!

Along Maryland Route 100
Sunrise
July 4, 2019

It is the 4th of July and we are celebrating the birth of the greatest nation on Earth. I went out and played racquetball early this morning and caught the sunrise along the road. 

As the day dawned I remembered the many 4th's that I have experienced and even been apart form my family in service to this nation. I also remembered two years ago when I was on a cruise during the holiday--and I really enjoyed the celebration. 

Whatever you do today, take time to celebrate and make a promise to make the future better than the past.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Before the Storm

The Pool after the Initial Winds
Elkridge, MD
July 2, 2019

Thunderstorms ravaged the area last evening. Chris and I spent time on our covered deck watching the torrents of rain fall from the wind lashed sky. 

As the winds whipped up, I was discouraged by the numbers of leaves that fell into my pool from the trees. All of the leaves and debris needed to be removed and during a break in the action, I cleared the pool in preparation for additional and later storms during the evening. All-in-all, the storms did not trash the pool in the manner that the could have, but still it seemed that every loose leaf found it way into the pool or onto the pool deck. 

Finally, however, the rains came and the thunder and lightening began in earnest. Chris and I sat on the covered porch with the dogs and one cat and watched the storm. It was impressive to see the sheets of rain falling from the sky. 

I was actually happy for the rain as the ground was getting dry and the soaking will make the fireworks on the 4th of July safer. Our neighborhood lights up on on Independence Day!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Golf Monday

8th Tee Box Looking to the Flag
Carroll Park Golf Course
Baltimore, MD
July 1, 2019

Chris and I did something different last evening to mark the start of July. We took advantage of the great weather and played a 9-hole round of golf. Together!

Chris Working with her Driver
Carroll Park Golf Course
July 1, 2019

Yesterday was supposed to be the best day of the week, weather-wise. It was to be the coolest, in the high 80's, and no rain. And it was!

We had a good time together and we enjoyed playing with two other golfers in what turned out to be an overly extended round due to the slow pace of play by groups in front of us. 

Chris was hitting the ball with more authority and I had a very successful round, except for one pesky hole. We were using the round as a tune-up for the upcoming Troy Whittemore Classic which we will be playing in during the latter part of July. We will need a few more "tune-up" before the tournament. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - July 1, 2019

1. The second half of 2019 arrived this morning as the calendar changed over to July. 

2. I mowed the lawn yesterday. It is not growing as fast as it once was, but it is still growing. I enjoy the green.

Sky over Elkridge
Elkridge, MD
June 30, 2019

3. I once saw a painting in a museum that was blue. Only Blue.  The entire canvass was a single shade of blue. I did not understand the painting at the time. I had an idea yesterday. I looked at the sky and took a picture, it is blue. I now understand.

4. The sun was hot and the pool was a grand place to enjoy yesterday.

5. Ohio drivers near Cincinnati are worse than Maryland drivers. In Maryland, drivers at least give you a warning before they change lanes with a small turn of the wheel to indicate they are coming over. In Ohio, they just come over into the lane, hard! Neither group understands what the lever on the left side fo the steering wheel is for or that it is connected to turning signals.

6. Independence Day arrives this week. Thomas Jefferson wrote about Independence Day on July 4, 1809: "The fourth of July, the epoch of American independence, is a day when the heart of every American must glow with pride and gratitude. No village, however sequestered, no citizen, however obscure, forgets the celebration of the anniversary of his country's liberty! Through all the land, from the shores of the Atlantic to our mountain-tops, the sounds of gratulation are heard; the roar of cannon, and the peal of bells, announce the auspicious morn, and people of every rank hasten with their festive offerings round the altar of liberty." Source:Margaret Bayard Smith, A Winter in Washington or Memoirs of the Seymour Family(New York: Bliss and E. White, 1824), 3:215.

7. There is something especially enjoyable about taking a nap in the pool on a floatie on a hot sunny afternoon. 

8. History Today. At midnight on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong reverts back to Chinese rule in a ceremony attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. A few thousand Hong Kongers protested the turnover, which was otherwise celebratory and peaceful. In 1839, Britain invaded China to crush opposition to its interference in the country’s economic, social, and political affairs. One of Britain’s first acts of the war was to occupy Hong Kong, a sparsely inhabited island off the coast of southeast China. In 1841, China ceded the island to the British with the signing of the Convention of Chuenpi, and in 1842 the Treaty of Nanking was signed, formally ending the First Opium War.


Headlines

Fresh protests erupt as Hong Kong braces for annual rally to mark handover - Reuters

Europe's heatwave burns on, but eases from record highs - Reuters

A Family Portrait: Brothers,Sisters, Strangers - The New York Times
‘I have lost hope for my life’: Iranians describe hardships as Trump expands sanctions - The Washington Post

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week


People everywhere hunger for peace and a better life. The tide of the future is a freedom tide, and our struggle for democracy cannot and will not be denied. This nation champions peace that enshrines liberty, democratic rights, and dignity for every individual. America's new strength, confidence, and purpose are carrying hope and opportunity far from our shores. A world economic recovery is underway. It began here.

  -- Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union January 25, 1984


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Footprints in the Sand

As there last day of June deepens, I reflected about my

Chris and I Leave Footprints in the Sand
Carlin Park, Jupiter, FL
June 3, 2019

travels this month. 

I began the month with a trip to Florida to work on the condo there and I ended it by completing a 1,000 mile round trip to Cincinnati to say good-bye to a friend. 

It was a month of contrasts. Sandwiched between the trips was the unsatisfying end to the youth baseball season and the excitement associated with the beginning of Summer.

I found the image in my files and remembered that I took it as Chris and I were walking the beach one day while we were in Tequesta. Much like the month of June, my footprints in the sand were soon erased by the ocean removing any evidence of my visit there except for my memory and of course the image.

And now it is onto July--and the 4th and travel, summer and pool.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

A Visual Feast

In the Maryland Mountains
June 28, 2019

I am in Blue Ash, Ohio, this morning. I am here to attend the memorial service for a mentor and friend. I drove, instead of flying, partly to remember my friend and all of the similar trips that he made by car between Cincinnati and Baltimore over the decades that I knew and worked with him. The last time I saw him he joked that I was one of the two best supervisors that he had during his career, I laughed, because that title was only bestowed to me on paper. We were more colleagues and over the decades that I knew him, I never felt as if I were any more than that. 

Maryland Cloud Covered Mountains
June 28, 2019

The drive yesterday was a study in contrasts. As I rolled into the mountains of Western Maryland, I was a treated to a visual feast. The mountains were clothed with clouds that made it appear as if they were massive water falls at the end of the world. It was stunning and I tried to snap a few pictures to capture it. 

They were beautiful and a stark contrast to the flat landscape here in western Ohio. 

The mountains made the trip exciting and I made really very good time on the road. 

Today, I get to drive the return trip. I hope everything goes well for my travels.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Blue Ash, Ohio

You Are Bothering Me, Why?

Finnegan
Tequesta, Florida
June 3, 2019

Sometimes an image just says it all.

I took this picture one morning while we were in Florida earlier this month. Finnegan's expression just says it all. Here are a few thoughts that come to mind.

What is it you want?

You bothered me, Why? 

Just be quiet and go away!

This better be good!

Go find someone else!

It is an accident that I'm awake, go away and let me get back to my nap.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Orioles Depressing Week

The Orioles have completed another week of baseball. They have played 80 games and are one game shy of the mid point of the season.

The Highs of the Week:

During the week, the Orioles managed to end a 10 game losing streak, but they now have a 3-game streak underway. 

Chris Davis has increased his batting average to .170.

Trey Mancini is arguably the best player on the team and is sitting in the top 10 among hitters in some categories. He survived a potentially serious injury this week and is still playing baseball.

The Lows of the Week:

Sitting at 22-58 .275, there is not a doubt that the Orioles are the most frustrating team in baseball. They have increased their projected losses for the season to 118 during the week. They are 30 games out of first place and 22 games out of the wild card race. 

The modern day loss records of the 2003 Tigers (119) and 1962 Mets (120) are definitely in danger of being broken. The Mets hold the record for most losses in a baseball season of all time!

But, they are my Orioles and I continue to care. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Defender of the Homestead

Finnegan vs. Dolphin
Elkridge, MD
June 25, 2019

Finnegan is our Yorkie. He is smallish at about 5 pounds, but he thinks he is as big as Chewbacca. 

Least evening he defended the homestead from the attack of the pool cleaner. We call it a dolphin. 

The dolphin was doing its job and Finnegan was having no part of it. Seeing the dolphin as the Creature from the Black Lagoon, he dutifully barked at it each time it surfaced to ensure that it remained in the pool and did not try to attack the home. He was very energetic and persistent in his task.

Chris and I finally had to take him inside to restore peace to the neighborhood and allow the dolphin to complete its task in silence.

It is nice to have such a persistent and animated protector around, but in reality I wonder who would win during a direct confrontation? 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Equal Pay for Equal Play

I have become aware that the U.S. Women's Soccer Team, currently competing in the World Cup is being under paid. 

The women are paid less than the men, yet they are winners.

U.S. Holds Off an Ascendant Spain, for Now, at Women’s World Cup - The New York Times

The men's team never seems to make it very far in the tournament, if they even qualify for the World Cup. 

Here is the basis of the pay dispute. 

The main complaints from the players involve claims of wage discrimination. The petitioners pointed out that men receive a $5,000 bonus for a loss in a friendly match, while women receive nothing for a loss or a draw. However, when the teams win, the men receive as much as $17,625, but women only receive $1,350. Further, in 2011, when the women placed second in their World Cup, they were awarded $1.8 million, split evenly among the 24 players on the team. The men's team made it only to the round of 16 that year; however, they were awarded $5 million. In 2014, when Germany won the Men's World Cup, the US team was awarded $35 million by FIFA, while the women received 5% of that for their Cup victory in 2015. (Source: Wikipedia)

The women's team continues to be a source of national pride, while the men's team is often a source of national embarrassment. It seems that the pay for playing, winning, losing, or drawing should be the same for both teams. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - June 24, 2019

1. It, believe it or not, is the last  Monday of June. Summer began last week and already the days are getting shorter, 

2. That seemingly far-off, mid-summer holiday, Independence Day, is next week! 

Finnegan Looking for Chris to Return
Elkridge, MD
June 22, 2019

3. The presidential election season is upon us already, with 16 and a half months left before Election Day 2020.

4. Finnegan is definitely attached to Chris. On Saturday, while she was out of town for a wedding, Finnegan stood on the sidewalk for quite a few minutes looking down the driveway hoping that he would see Chris' vehicle with her driving. 

5. The flowers in the flower boxes are in full bloom as the long days of summer have stimulated their growth.

6. The Orioles ended a 10-game losing streak on Saturday only to begin a new one on Sunday with a disappointing 13-3 loss to the Mariners. With the loss yesterday, the team remains on track to lose 117 games, which is two more losses than last year's dismal showing.

7. I heard an interesting comment yesterday, as we were cooking ears ob corn in the microwave in 2 minutes. "How did we cook before microwaves?" I remember that, we cooked the old fashioned way with pots and pans on a stove! 

8. Since I almost always mention the weather when it is bad, I have to note that we have had four in a row days free from rain. I actually had to water the outdoor plants yesterday. It has been fantastic.

9. On this Day in History. 

On this day in 1997, U.S. Air Force officials release a 231-page report dismissing long-standing claims of an alien spacecraft crash in Roswell, New Mexico, almost exactly 50 years earlier.

Public interest in Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs, began to flourish in the 1940s, when developments in space travel and the dawn of the atomic age caused many Americans to turn their attention to the skies. The town of Roswell, located near the Pecos River in southeastern New Mexico, became a magnet for UFO believers due to the strange events of early July 1947, when ranch foreman W.W. Brazel found a strange, shiny material scattered over some of his land. He turned the material over to the sheriff, who passed it on to authorities at the nearby Air Force base. On July 8, Air Force officials announced they had recovered the wreckage of a “flying disk.” A local newspaper put the story on its front page, launching Roswell into the spotlight of the public’s UFO fascination.



Headlines

Trump’s Iran Reversal Raises Allies’ Doubts Over His Tactics, and U.S. Power - The New York Times

Chennai, an Indian City of Nearly 5 Million, Is Running Out of Water - The New York Times

Trump to visit South Korea as Pompeo raises hope for new North Korea talks after letter - Reuters
U.S. cyber attacks on Iranian targets not successful, Iran minister says - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week


Good evening to all of you from California. Tonight, I'd like to talk to you about issues. Issues which I think are involved or should be involved in this primary election season. I'm a candidate for the Republican nomination for president. But I hope that you who are Independents and Democrats will let me talk to you also tonight because the problems facing our country are problems that just dont bear any party label.

In this election season the White House is telling us a solid economic recovery is taking place. It claims a slight drop in unemployment. It says that prices arent going up as fast, but they are still going up, and that the stock market has shown some gains. But, in fact, things seem just about as they were back in the 1972 election year.

-- To Restore America, Ronald Reagan's Campaign Address March 31, 1976

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunday Golf

I played golf for the first time since early-April this morning. 

Crofton Country Club
15th Green
June 23, 2019

It was an early morning because I had to take care of Jeremy's dogs before going to the course for the 7:08 AM Tee-time. But it certainly was good to get out onto the course and hit the small white ball around. I got my money's worth since it took me more strokes to get the ball into the holes than the other guys I was playing with. All-in-all, it was a great morning and despite two terrible blow-up holes, I did reasonably well for not having played in such a long time. 

It was in the 50's as we teed off, but soon got warm and it was 81 degrees when we holed out on the 18th green at about 11:00 AM. 

Well, maybe another Sunday morning soon.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Solstice Celebration

Cod and Crabmeat
June 21, 2019

Dinner is a great meal, especially when done with panache and elegance as it was last evening to celebrate the solstice. I gathered with friends to enjoy the meal which celebrated the end of the workweek and the start of both the weekend and the summer.

We gather almost every Friday night--but last night the main course was very special and may have pushed the bar to its limit. 

The conversation was great and as the evening deepened into darkness, our solstice celebration began to break upon--but we definitely celebrated the longest day of the year in a fabulous fashion and with great food and no shortage of well chosen wines. 

Welcome Summer! The best season of the year!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD