Happy Birthday Patrick

Today--March 31st is Patrick's birthday--I would not mention it except to note that he is 25 today--a number which I consider fairly significant.

Patrick is in the early stages of a really significant year--which will include getting married and has already seen him move along from his job of many years at Best Buy to a position more suited for his varied talents.

And when the family assembles to celebrate birthdays--as we always do--it is a special time.

And so--I wish Patrick all the best on completing his first quarter century and blessings upon his future, wherever he is led.

Healthcare Reform - One More Time

I had the opportunity to dine with friends last week. And as we were traveling to dinner, it became clear that we are on opposite sides of the current health care reform issue.

Fortunately, not a problem. They were gentle with me.

What a great country, and what great friends. We can disagree about a very important issue and still be friends.

And I obtained some clarity on some of the real health care issues facing many people and why the current healthcare reform bill--while imperfect, is necessary.

It is a first step to guaranteeing all Americans some form of healthcare access. And that is definitely a good thing. I live in a somewhat insular world when it comes to some issues and I got so focused on what is wrong with this legislation that I overlooked the obvious intended benefit.

I was so in tune with larger constitutional and states rights issues, that I missed the idea that the bill will actually be helping people who need help. What a concept.

I was able to watch some of "Meet the Press" on Sunday and witnessed a lively debate between Senators Graham and Schumer.

Senator Schumer pointed out:

"The positives are going to start weighing in. Senior citizens will get much better opportunities to buy prescription drugs, which we know they care about. Small businesses will get tax breaks so they'll be either able to cover their employees--many small business people want to but can't afford it--or keep the coverage if they have it already. People will be less likely to be--have their insurance policies canceled when they get sick. That's a big thing to people."

And I hope so--I am still worried about the cost, the erosion of personal freedom, the increase of taxes necessary to maintain this bottom heavy giant, and the federal mandates directed at the states without funding to support them--which will be another tax bite.

Senator Graham later spoke to some of my fears during the show:

"You spend Medicare money twice. You take $570 billion out of Medicare to pay for the healthcare bill, then you're using that same $570 to say it lowers the growth of Medicare over time. It's a giant Ponzi scheme. You create a new entitlement called the Class Act where you sell long-term health insurance to the public. You take the premiums and you don't keep them in the system, you pay for this healthcare bill. Where does the money come from when they need the health care? So it's a house of cards. It is a Ponzi scheme of the first order. It's going to blow up the deficit. It's going to affect every business, every family in this country."

During the Reagan administration they called it "Voodoo" economics.

So, let's roll out the increased access and the guaranteed coverage and the good aspects and trim the fat a bit and maybe we have something workable here for the millions of people in this country who do not have the access to healthcare that everyone should have.

Thanks guys--for getting me to look at this again and see the good start which with a bit of tweaking and a tad of reform can do something really good for many many people.

Monday Musings - March 29, 2010

1. Palm Sunday--and Holy Week begins. A time for reflection and rededication.

2. Patrick enjoyed his birthday present--a Penguins 3rd Jersey--and then he went out to get shoes to match!

3. The grass is getting so green--I'm sure that I am going to have to mow it soon. Before the end of March? Nope. But early in April. I can't wait for the smell of fresh cut lawn to fill my nostrils.

4. Next week--Napa. I can hardly wait in fact I am already totally distracted by the though of getting away for a week.

5. Ever notice there is so much more to do when preparing for a trip than really needs to be done? Think about it--we always over pack and over plan and then wind up dragging too much stuff around.

6. My sojourn to the landfill this weekend was much more pleasant--only a 30 minute wait with all of my Howard county neighbors. They opened up another section for lawn debris to more than double capacity. Way to go Howard County!

7. Now that the pile of lawn debris form last year is finally gone--I wonder what the next project will be. I fear the apple tree is not going to make it too far into April. Chris has her eye on a Redbud tree to replace it. The apple tree doesn't produce apples and its bloom production is way off--so it is time for it to become firewood!

8. Just for the record--no one is touching my plum trees! I just wish the plums would ripen after I get back from Florida in early August, because the way it is now--the squirrels get them all before I do!

Saturdays are great

What a productive day I had Saturday.

Unfortunately, I did have to spend it with only my trusty dog--but she made the day by showing me how much of a puppy she is when I took her for as walk in downtown Annapolis while I was picking up some wine we had ordered. She was paralyzed by all of the activity--although she did enjoy looking at the ducks out in the marina. It reminded me how much of a puppy she still is. Secretly, I'm worried she has some trust issues. But it was good to have her with me in the big city. And she enjoyed riding in Cat--shotgun. Shhh, don't tell Chris she wasn't in the back seat.

But along with the obligatory springtime trip to the landfill to rid the yard of more limbs and debris, a quick shopping trip to the store for the essentials of life: birthday cake fixings for Patrick's Sunday party; and doing the wash--it was just a really awesome day. A bit cold--but still a nice day.

BTW--although Patrick's birthday is not until Wednesday, celebrating it on Palm Sunday is fully appropriate since he was actually born on a Palm Sunday morning.

But what really made the day awesome was the realization that the weeping cherry tree is about to burst forth in color.

Question. Do you know how hard it is to take pictures of cherry buds and keep them in focus when the wind is blowing? Answer. Very hard and in a stiff breeze almost impossible! Operative word is--almost.

We figure our springtime flowers will be fully in bloom while we are away in Napa next week.

Riding the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail

Well--Thursday evening, after a hard day of work and a morning racquetball match, we did it.

We drove our bicycles over to the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail for our first bike ride of the year.

I do admit that my legs were screaming at me after a few miles because I had played a tough racquetball match in the morning--but it felt good to out on the trail in a short sleeve shirt in the 70 degree afternoon.

It was Chris' idea, and it turned out to be a good one. We enjoyed the warm afternoon from atop our bicycles--which, by the way we did not use at all last year because we were training Makayla. So we did not want this year to get away from us.

The signs of Spring were evident along the trail--daffodils especially were in bloom. But people were out everywhere--doing the same thing--enjoying an unseasonably warm Springtime afternoon.

But now the real problem--what to do with the bikes when we are not riding them? I have had them in the pool house for the winter to free up space in the garage for my new car. But if we are going to use the bikes at all, they are going to need to be accessible--I definitely need a larger garage.

But since that isn't going to happen anytime soon--I need an alternate solution because I already am attempting to get 15 pounds of potatoes into a 10 pound bag with the car in the garage.

Oh well that is one of those problems I'm not going to solve today--I think I'll just enjoy the memory of the ride and try to forget about tripping over the bikes when I take the garbage or recycling out.

Mulch in the Afternoon

I walked out of work the other day and smelled the newly installed mulch around the plants and trees lining the parking lot.

The smell just hit me with--It's Springtime!

Gardening, and mulch and the rush to get gardens all done and together.

The tulips and daffodils and crocus popping up through the newly laid mulch which looks so clean, unlike the mulch which had remained in the gardens from last year.

It is amazing how spiffy new mulch makes a garden look--and with its unmistakable smell--it just calls to me.

And the flowers, especially the yellow daffodils, look so spectacular against the new mulch, too.

And now the rain showers are back--to further incite the Springtime into action--the warm rain, and it is relatively warm with the temperature in the 50's. It is hard to believe we are facing the threat of frost this weekend and we are going to have to move the plants we wintered back inside for a couple of days.

But that's OK--Spring is truly here. The grass is green and our plum trees are green with leaves and soon will burst forth in bright white blooms.

Peepers in the Springtime

One of my readers from Upstate NY wrote to me about one of her favorite first signs of spring:

"Just got back from walking the dogs (no poopy equipment required) through the wet and muddy (but finally snow free) fields to the pond in the woods and I heard the peepers!"

What is a peeper, you may ask? Well, check out the link and you will find them more correctly called Spring Peepers and they are little frogs which become a deafening chorus during the springtime.

And I too, listen for the peepers. We were out walking Makayla the other evening and stopped to listen to the chorus coming form the wetlands near our house. And after a long, cold, silent winter their joyous springtime chorus is a thrill to hear.

We here in Maryland have been blessed with their chorus now for almost two weeks.

As we were walking, we noticed how the houses in some places muffled their song--but you could still hear it coming from the wetland, if only you took the time to pause, and listen for it under the noise of the traffic on I-95.

It is so much fun to watch and hear the earth coming to life again after winter. To see the signs of rebirth everywhere--even in places one might not expect.

It just takes a bit of time--stop and look for the signs and listen for the sounds and then, allow yourself to be amazed.

It will make you smile, I'm sure of it!

Signs of Springtime in the Neighborhood

While walking Makayla last evening, after an exhausting racquetball match, I noticed a redbud tree in a neighbor's yard in full, magnificent bloom.

Sitting on a small hill, the redbud tree was the centerpiece of the front yard. It sat alone--in full bloom well ahead of its brethren in other yards, drawing attention to itself as if to say, "it is springtime, why aren't you in bloom?"

I wish I had me camera with me, but I do not routinely take it along while walking Makayla--having another thing in my hands just makes the clean-up process too difficult. But, it was a beauty and it underscored to me that spring is here.

And as the walk continued I began to notice the other, more subtle signs of spring. The crocus blooms the daffodil buds, and the occasional tulip leaves peaking up over the gardens. There were even hyacinths struggling up through the mulch in my garden.

It is amazing how in the span of two weeks we have gone from winter to spring. It is up to us to see the signs in order to appreciate and not overlook them in the hectic pace of life. They are there, if only we would "stop to smell the roses" so to speak.

Health Care for Whom? A Rant so Look Out!

Well they have done it--and many of them are happy. Our elected representatives.

The United States has continued down the slippery slope to becoming a state where individual initiative is discouraged and people are encouraged to depend upon the state for their well being and sustinence.

It is really demoralizing.

Here is what one of my readers wrote yesterday after my Monday Musing:

"I agree with your view on the health care bill. How come those of us who have worked hard and are some what successful are now asking ourselves why? Furthermore what do I say to my children and grandchildren? We have inspired our children to become the best they can and want to succeed. However, when I see what is happening should I be doing this? And why, does our administration continue to put other items in their bills to be passed? For instance in this health care bill, there was a measure involving student aid programs! Why? This should be a totally different bill! Correct? How can you vote for one and dismiss the other? Why is it that again, by passing this bill we who are somewhat successful, again, will be losing money! Government control of student aid. Sure it helps the Pell Grant system, but what about those people who have to turn to private loans (government back) like the Parent Plus Loan, to pay for our children to get an education, because we do not qualify for anything else!!!! Guess I need to save more - So what I am hearing is that the government wants total control, and you are not allow to make more then average, because if you do you will be punished!
I will still inspired my children and grandchildren to be the best they can be - maybe there is more to it then just making a successful living? "

Our society is rewarding those who do not desire to achieve. It is failing to recognize that it takes hard work to be successful and that the reward for hard work and risk taking is becoming more taxes and more burden--a disproportionately more burden.

I admit that I hate it every tax season when I discover that I am unable to deduct student loan interest and tuition.

Why are deductions based upon income. Taxes already increase for higher incomes--and removing deductions is an insidious way to further increase the overall tax bite when compared to other Americans. While hiding it.

And now--much like the centrist movement in the schools which seeks to cause kids not to want to achieve because they are different, the incentives to take risk and to succeed are being removed by a government, that while it is supposed to be "We the people," is rapidly becoming "We the disadvantaged."

and so that is my rant for today!

My health care is not going to improve, but my tax burden for paying for everyone else will definitely increase.

Monday Musings - March 22, 2010

1. It is finally officially Spring and the weather has been cooperating with temperatures above normal calling us outdoors to work and play. What a change from just a couple of months ago. The outlook for the week is rainy and cool--but only one day with low temperatures below 40.

2. As I write this morning. I realize that I now live in a country with universal health care due to the Congress ramming it through last night. Why don't I feel any better about it and worry that the quality of the care I receive will only decline?

3. Yesterday was a celebration for and dedication of Lucas. We all met a church for the dedication and then back to the house for an incredibly good pasta meal.

4. "One more ride on the tractor!" Spoken in unison by two grandsons yesterday--at least 10 times. How soon the speed of the tractor will seem too slow for them both.

5. In reviewing some of the provisions of the new health care bill, I see again that our society is perpetuating something that I have seen in our schools--a negative view of those who are successful. Every time there is new legislation that needs funding there seems to be an increased tax burden for the wealthy--which is loosely defined as families making more than $250,000 per year. Where is the incentive to do your best and succeed? Where did the idea of getting something for nothing come from? The desire to obtain votes? Who is voting for this?

6. The grass in the yard is green and growing. I am on schedule to mow for the first time before the end of the month!

7. Another week is upon me--with its challenges and excitement.

8. Syracuse and Cornell both in the NCAA Men's Basketball Sweet Sixteen. Now there is a truly great accomplishment for Central New York. What color do you get when the orange mix it up with the big red? Could happen!