Monday Musings - January 18, 2010

1. I love holidays and days off from work. They allow me to recharge my batteries.

2. Lucas, my newest grandchild, is cute, is home, and is doing great. Amazingly, last week at this time none of us had any idea that his arrival was so close. Now, he is part of the family.

3. I never realized how jealous dogs are of other dogs. We have been watching Ben, Jeremy's dog and Makayla always works to be closest to me in every situation she can. It is pretty neat to watch.

4. Well the football season unofficially ended. Both the Cowboys and the Ravens lost this weekend. Interestingly, they each scored only 3 points in going down to lop-sided defeats. Just in time for Oriole fan fest! Pitchers and catchers report soon!

5. Haiti is in shambles. I urge everyone to assist in whatever way they can. Our church already has been supporting agencies shipping goods to Haiti with water, baby formula and other supplies.

6. The senate seat election in Massachusetts may provide a barometer of the mood in the country. I didn't realize that that seat had been held by Ted Kennedy since 1962. Tuesday should be an interesting day.

7. The weather has been warmer--and there has been more sun. Maybe we are finally moving into a time of more mild weather. Maybe we can get some outside work done yet this three day weekend--if the rain would just stop.

8. Still looking for a new rim for the Lexus. Who knew it would be so hard to find one?

You are what you eat--proven by science!

You better be careful what you eat!. I recently read a news item about sea slugs who get the ability to produce their own food from the algae they eat.

Yes it is true. Here is a link to the story: Sea slug surprise: It’s half-plant, half-animal



Here is an excerpt from the article:



The sneaky slugs seem to have stolen the genes that enable this skill from algae that they've eaten. With their contraband genes, the slugs can carry out photosynthesis — the process plants use to convert sunlight into energy.

"They can make their energy-containing molecules without having to eat anything," said Sidney Pierce, a biologist at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

So the phrase-- "You are what you eat" is really true, it seems. The permutations on this are endless.

I have played with sea slugs in the warm Atlantic Ocean waters off Key West. Who knew that such a seemingly passive creature could be so devious?

So next time you want to have one more piece of that high calorie pie--remember the sea slug--you really are (or become) what you eat!

Riding the Bull

Sometimes life can be like bull riding.

Ever think of it that way?

A bull rider only needs to stay on a bull for 8 seconds to win. That seems like a relatively short time. Most of the things we do--the activities of life, are of relatively short duration. Longer than 8 seconds--but still short in comparison to a lifetime of activity.

In the bull riding competition, the bull is trying to get the rider off him as soon as he can using every trick in the book to dismount the rider. The rider is hanging on just trying to stay on the bull.

In terms of relative size--the bull is many times greater than the rider--yet a good rider can actually ride the bull.

I noticed something interesting about bull riding while I attended the Professional Bull Riders Association meet in Baltimore a few weeks ago. Riders are not alone. It takes a team. There is a team of people who assist in getting the rider onto the bull before the ride and then there are some very specialized people who help the rider get out of the ring after he either successfully rides the bull or is dismounted.

Life is like that.

We are the riders hoping to hang on for 8 short (lifetime seemingly long) seconds. Life (the bull) is doing everything in its power to unseat us.

But we hang on. For dear life, we hang on. Better than to be trampled under the feet of the raging bull.

Successful "hangers-on" in life know they are not doing it on their own. They have help--family, neighbors, friends staying on top of the bull of life. Our team helps us prepare for the ride and then either picks us up after we are thrown or celebrates with us if we successfully ride the bull.

To take a snap shot from something that happened recently--Lucas' birth. Although it really was Nicole doing the work, she was supported by her husband and a larger family, and medical staff throughout the pregnancy and birth of Lucas. And from Lucas' perspective--he went from being uniquely bonded with his mother, to being part of a much larger family and it is a family that he will continue to be part of for his whole life.

Wow--I'm riding the bull!

Lucas arrives

Well--here are some of the first pictures of Lucas. Above is of course the happy Dad and grandparents.
What more needs to be said.

We call this one--Baby burrito because he looks so happy all wrapped up

Nicole commented as she took the picture--this was a three generational picture.
Wow--who's the old guy?


Ok--here is the shot you've all been waiting for--Lucas Robert, after bath and just about 4 hours old.


They are from Nicole's blog since we didn't really use our camera.
There are a bunch more pictures out there.

Luke, I am your father!

These were the first words that Lucas Robert Doan heard from his father (my son, Jeremy).

Born at about 1228pm today, January 14, 2010; Lucas weighed in at 8lbs 13oz and 20 inches long.

We still have not seen him as of 254pm since the birth was cesarean. We have seen pictures, but are still waiting for him to be allowed visitors.

Mom and son and dad are all doing fine. Reportedly.

Grandma, on the other hand, is a wreck. Of course she has been at the hospital since 1130pm last night.

More to follow as pictures are available--although some are already out on Facebook.

Bob Doan
Elkridge, MD
Sent from My Blackberry

What's New?

This past Sunday in church, the pastor suggested during his message that as we meet people this year we should greet them with "What's New?" rather than the more vernacular "hey" or "hi."

More importantly though--if you ask "what's new" you need to hang around and listen to the answer. How often, really, when you are greeting someone do you really want to hang around and hear what they have to say? Really?

So I tried this out this week on an friend who was walking the halls and who I had not seen in sometime.

It was amazing. We had a fairly lengthy discussion about what's new and all of the things going on--in both of our lives.

Suffice it to say, we caught up and know a lot more about each other and are more fully connected because instead of just a casual, "hey" I said "what's new" and then was prepared to discuss it.

Of course the theme of the pastor's message was that we should be prepared to say--why "I'm new," but you know what? If we can improve our personal relationships in this ever increasing impersonal world, then that is good, too.

Jax

I don't write much about Jax.

I probably should write more--he is an awesome kid and when I am reminded of how he started his life, I am reminded of our miracle baby who God protected and restored. Who demonstrates, just in the fact that he is living and breathing and playing, that God answers prayer.

Why is it so easy to forget that? Maybe because we see it every day and forget the miracle and the hours of prayer--by so many of our friends and family that accompanied this kid into the operating room at six days old to have his heart replumbed.

But--his blond hair and the way he looks at me always makes me smile. He has a temper--just like me and like throwing a switch he can go from laughing to screaming in mere milliseconds.

The hat he is wearing in the image is one of my favorites--I think it looks a bit like the hats that jester's wear--with the two ends and puffy balls.

His favorite word right now is: play. Which he says in increasing volume and rapidity when pop-pop is too slow getting the DVD to play in the player in the car or on the TV in the house. He knows what he wants. I wish more people knew what they wanted out of life.

A Walk in the Woods

I periodically review images that I have taken because it seems that aside from wondering why I took a particular shot, sometimes I begin to see different things in the images than I remember. Also, sometimes I remember important aspects about what we were doing.

This image, for instance, was a shot in early autumn as Chris and I were walking off the Monticello grounds in the woods back to the visitor center. While it might be considered a throw-away image by many, I remember the day well and why I took the picture of the tree just beginning to be robed in the colors of autumn.

The sun was highlighting the just turning leaves in a bright kind of way. And while the day was warm, it was not hot--like summer in Virginia can be. It was a lovely walk down the mountain to the visitor center in the cool shade of the trees.

I remember the smells of the forest and the rustle of the leaves. And the quiet---because it was quiet. But the smells reminded me of my childhood.

Chris and I talked all the way down the mountain--and commented on how much walking that day reminded us of how we grew up--running around out in the forests of central NY under the canopy of sugar maple trees. Climbing trees and building tree forts. I always thought that the trees were my friends. In fact, I actually mourned the loss of one tree which died while I was growing up--an over 100 foot tall elm tree that stood proudly outside my bedroom succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease when I was a tween. I still remember the school bus drivers asking me where they needed to stop and I would proudly say: "just past the tallest tree you can see." Once that tree was gone--everything seemed so ordinary.

There was another other tree I loved--an old, majestic sugar maple which proudly stood over the backyard of our house and shaded our activities. I had a small dirt pile at its base where I played with my trucks and earth moving equipment. I also fought many WW2 battles there with my green and gray plastic army men and equipment. That tree had a trunk over six feet thick. That tree protected us from storms and provided shade the entire time I grew up. I heard that it has died and been cut down--but my memory of it still remains. And it was magnificent during the autumn!

So I guess that when I see trees, I look at them as friends. We are surrounded in our current house by tulip poplars, honey locust, and black walnut trees that tower over us. During the summer, I love to look into their canopies as see the fire flies shimmering in the night sky. During the winter I look at their bare branches and remember the green leaves of the summers I love so much.

And so this image says to me--in an old familiar way, "hey there, I know your cousins."

Monday Musings - January 11, 2010

1. I wonder if I'm the only person still having trouble writing 2010 instead of 2009.

2. With most all of the Christmas decorations returned to storage for another year (except for the outside lights because it has been too cold to deal with them) the house looks empty and bland. It is amazing how seasonal decorations really spruce up a place.

3. Take two active boys under the age of five, add toys, DVDs, sugar and food and the result is total chaos.

4. We are on baby watch--who knew that unborn babies needed to be watched so closely and by so many people!

5. Football success inspires people to excel. I wonder how many people in the larger Baltimore region are feeling great this morning after their teams won during the playoffs yesterday and Saturday?

6. Below the Fold: "NBC Cancels Leno Show in Primetime" (Washington Post). If I got canceled and removed as many times as Leno has and still had a job, I'd consider it a miracle. I guess the old saying of "mess up and move up" really applies?

7. Did you ever take a picture, really work hard to get it all set up only to wonder later whatever possessed you to take the picture? In that vein, I present an image I have titled--Tulip Poplar Stump at Monticello. What was I thinking?

8. I wonder why it is that we cannot seem to buy a new rim and get the wheel on the Lexus fixed. I guess because it is on the "todo" list.

What if Dogs had Opposable Thumbs?

I was playing with Makayla a few minutes ago and she was mimicking my hand movements with her paws. It led me to wonder--what if dogs had opposable thumbs?

It made me laugh--just think--they could open their own dog food without chewing through the bag.

They could brush their own fur.

They could open door and go in and out on their own.

Put their own leash on--or take it off. And run in packs together?

They could grab your hand when they get tired of playing--or lead when I get confused.

I wonder if they would drive? Could it be worse than some of the drivers we see out there?

So if we extrapolate it all out--would our world be a better place if dogs were in control and we were the pets? Dogs, after all, do not hold grudges and they get most of the information they need about new acquaintances from a friendly sniff.

I don't know how it would all work out--but I think I would enjoy Makayla having an opposable thumb--then she could at least throw the ball back when we played catch.