Bonfire Evening

Last evening we enjoyed a bonfire and smores in Ithaca. The sky was
clear and we sat around watching the night fall while keeping warm
around a bonfire.

We saw a couple shooting stars and a couple satellites as well as
identifying Venus and Mars and Saturn.

We were also treated to the emergence of some fireflys and heard a fox
barking in the nearby field.

And so summer is officially underway.

Trev and Cat

We have Cat out for it's first road trip this weekend. I can't begin
to tell you how it pains me to put all of the miles on it, but it sure
is fun to drive.

Trevar thoroughly enjoyed his trip in Cat. Radio up full blast with
the wind in his hair.

Makayla enjoyed riding with the top down, too. She was leaning ony
shoulder with her nose just below the windshield cruising down the
interstate.

So far it has been a great holiday weekend. Still haven't made it to a
floatie in the pool with a beer in my hand--but I will.

Summer Pool Fun

It finally happened on Wednesday evening before I went to see the Orioles lose (again).

I made my initial entry into the pool for the 2010 Summer Season!!!!

Yup, I braved the chill and hits the surf, so to speak.

I had just finished brushing Makayla (outside) and it was really warm and i was hot and sweaty. A perfect time to check out the pool--

And I did.

It was awesome! So awesome that I grabbed a floatie and took a nap for about 30 minutes.

Yes, it's baaaaaaaack!

Since I was heading off to an Orioles game, I left the beer in the fridge, but clear water, the light smell of chlorine in the afternoon and lying on a floatie in the pool listening to the birds play in the trees.

It doesn't get much better than that!

Memorial Day Weekend

Well--even though astronomically it hasn't happened yet and won't happen for another almost four weeks--the official start of Summer is here!

Yup--Memorial Day.

Break out the pools, the grills, the bikes, the Summer fun equipment because we are gonna have a party.

Memorial Day, although with somber beginnings, has become the start of the Summer season. Many municipal pools open on this weekend--and around here they should be fairly cold given the weather we have been having right up until this week.

A lot of people have forgotten the reason that Memorial (or Decoration) Day was established. Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 31 in 2010). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War), it was expanded after World War I.

And so from this somber remembrance, we also enjoy the start of a summertime season that includes Independence Day and ends on Labor Day in early September. More than 92 days of heat, travel, vacationing, and sunburn.

Take a moment though on Monday, to remember our fallen heroes--the men and women of the military services from all of America's wars who died while in service to this great Republic.

I will be traveling--so I am sure to enjoy spending time with family and friends this weekend. We are going to do a test run with Cat--to see if we really want to pack ourselves into the car for a long ride to Florida in July. I wonder how Makayla will do riding with the top down?

Don't be Afraid

I'm going to circle around to the Monday Musing today and explore that phrase I learned on Friday night:

"The entire world is a narrow bridge, but the main thing is not to fear" - Rabbi Nachman of Bretzslav.

Fear is after all the one thing that really paralyzes us when we let it.

These words by the Rabbi are similar to those of Jesus when he said:

Do not let your hearts be distressed. - John 14:1 NET Bible

The exhortations to "not be afraid" or "do not be afraid" are rampant throughout the Bible--and it is good advice. Hard to do, but good advice.

When I get paralyzed by fear, I am not only hopeless, but I am helpless. I become unable to act or react properly to the situation.

Yet, if I can hang onto my wits just a bit--I can react. And in the face of overwhelming odds, there is only one way not to be paralyzed by fear--and that is to trust in the Lord, who is bigger than any obstacle.

So the Rabbi had it right--the world is a narrow bridge which seems too narrow to cross if we actually look at the bridge. I've noticed that when I am trying to walk on a line or even a curb that if I look down at it, I lose balance. I find I need to keep my eyes up and looking forward and then I can easily follow the line or the curb without losing my balance.

Now imagine a narrow path over the world which is far below--looking down, I would get vertigo and be afraid of falling--but if I keep my eye on the horizon--I don't notice how far up above the world the bridge is and I am not afraid.

The Royal Gorge in Colorado is a great demonstration of this principle. The bridge is 955 feet above the Arkansas River--and if you don't think that is a long way down--you have never been there. But don't look down--and you won't be afraid.

That's the thing about fear--don't look at the object of the hear, but look above or around it.

So on the narrow bridge of life--do not be afraid--don't look down; look up.

Oil and Politics: Food for Thought

I heard something pretty unbelievable the other day--and while it was true, the context needed to be wrapped around it a little.

I heard that of all the senators in the past 20 years, Obama while he was a senator received the most in campaign contributions from BP Oil.

While this is true--here is the context.

"During his time in the Senate and while running for president, Obama received a total of $77,051 from the oil giant and is the top recipient of BP PAC and individual money over the past 20 years, according to financial disclosure records."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/36783.html#ixzz0oq4L5CbC

Now, does receiving $77,000 while in the Senate contribute to a lax response against BP in the oil spill follies? I'm not sure. But if you read the article, BP spends a lot of money contributing to the political leadership of our country. In fact the article says $3.5 million. Obama received about 2% of those donations. When compared to $3.5 million, is $77,000 really that much?

It is a bit hard to conceive--that the candidates accept money from all of these interest groups and are not expected to provide anything in return. Really? Really?

So here is where I wind up--yeah the statement is true, he did receive the most--but in the overall scheme, is it really that much? Slinging the fact around without the context makes it sound much worse than it is.

The bigger issue is--who got the remainder of the $3.5 million and is that why BP can take its time to clean up the mess while an ecological disaster continues virtually unchecked? Are all of our politicians on the dole from the oil lobby?