Spring Training 2012

Here it is the last day of November 2011, and I am excited because the Orioles finally released their Spring Training 2012 schedule yesterday!


But then, at this time of year I am all about Springtime anyway.

I am not entirely sure why it took the O's so long to get their schedule out because i was pretty sure that I could have put it together from the schedules of the other teams that had already been released. But it is finally out.

Now I can dream of baking in the heat and sun of a March afternoon in Sarasota, Florida watching the 2012 edition of the Orioles and wondering if they will be better than this season's Birds.

And they have new hats!

Something else to purchase.

I mean, I have to wear the latest, I don't want to get caught at the park wearing last season's gear, right?

Tickets and tours, here I come!

It actually warms me up a bit thinking of the O's and the baseball season ahead.

I think I actually just skipped over Christmas--wow, don't let my local retailers know!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Give Thanks--Breaking Dawn

I noticed it yesterday morning as I drove to work for the first time in a week. I am driving to work under the cover of darkness again. For most of November, after we had made the switch back to standard time, I was enjoying the sunlight in my eyes as I made my daily journey. Yesterday it was gone--I was mostly in darkness.

During the Thanksgiving holiday, which I lengthened by taking some additional leave, darkness gained hold on the time during which I make my daily commute. It is sad because I enjoy looking at the land along the way and watching the changing of the seasons--which has been fabulous this Autumn.

Here is the funny part though--and it only shows how desensitized to the seasonal change that I really am, I only noticed the change after I had parked my car and was walking to the building that I work in because there displayed on the glass structure of the buildiing in the reflection was the fire lit sky of the gathering dawn.

Maybe my senses had been dulled by a weekend of turkey.

The dawn was breaking behind me is spectacular fashion, and I only noticed it because of the reflection.

I took a moment to admire God's handiwork. The way He painted the clouds and the sky in colors that I have never been able to recreate in either my mind's eye or with a camera.

The blessing of the dawn is being able to appreciate its beauty and to give thanks to the one who created it. It keeps me grounded. It reminds me of whose I am.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - November 28, 2011

1. Thanksgiving is over. And now, appearing everywhere is Christmas. The songs are already playing 24/7 on the radio.

2. The US launched a mission to Mars over the weekend with the rover Curiosity on board, Hopefully, it works a lot better than the Russian Phobos Grunt mission. So far so good. Arrival at Mars is planned for August 2012.

3. It seems that the Grinch is going to let the NBA have a season afterall--beginning on Christmas Day, no less.

4. We enjoyed an incredibly beautiful weather weekend. It really warmed my soul to walk outside without a coat on and feel warm on the final weekend of November.

5. For retailers and the economy, the weekend sales were promising--but nothing is new. We are continuing to delude ourselves into believing that things are getting better when, in reality, I'm not so sure.

6. Christmas is 28 days away. Think about it.

7. I read a article in the Baltimore Sun yesterday about how corporations are paying significantly less in taxes than they were many years ago, while private individuals are paying more. The article made a compelling case for tax reform.

8. I heard a great message in church yesterday about giving thanks and the difference between being thankful "for" and being thankful "in." I think I'll write my reaction to the message up and close out my mini-series on giving thanks with it.

9. I'm still living on left-over turkey, ham, and pumpkin pie. I hope I run out soon so I don't feel guilty about letting leftovers go to waste.

-- Bob Doan Elkridge, MD

Decorations, food and Christmas

The turkey remnants are on their way to becoming soup and the autumn decorations have given way to Christmas. Christmas lights are evident throughout our neighborhood already as the transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas becomes nearly complete. It is a busy time of year.

I managed to crawl up into the attic again yesterday to retrieve more of the seasonal decorations to change our house into its Christmas form.

I am always amazed at the transformation.

It is magical.

I write a lot about the dark days, those days when daylight is precious and short. Christmas lights help to drive out the darkness when they are lighted.

Even in my own home, as I walked into the living room this morning, I was greeted buy a lighted tree and mantle to bring smile of joy to my face. We worked hard yesterday to begin the seasonal transformation which will continue for a few more weeks as more and more decorations are placed and the dark spaces become light--at least for a while.

The pace of the season will continue to increase as well. I already have obligations for parties and and shopping in addition to the normal things that I do. I noticed that the days are beginning to be named to help manage our shopping experience--Black Friday gives way to Small Business Saturday, and then Cyber Monday starts the week off. I wonder if every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas will eventually be named.

It is Sunday though and at least I can relax and enjoy some football--Oh yeah, I just remembered that even today is named, the First Sunday of Advent!

Have a great day--no matter the name.

-- Bob Doan Elkridge, MD

Axis and Allies -- 2011, The Tradition Continues

One of the holiday traditions in our family is the day after Thanksgiving Axis and Allies game, which the guys enjoy while stuffing ourselves with leftovers and sipping beer or wine (or both).

Yesterday's game was a marathon as we played a new version of the classic game which had enough rule changes to make it seem as if we were learning the game all over again. And, in reality, we were.

Unlike last year, the Allies persevered for the victory in the longest game we have ever played spanning over eight hours. Unfortunately, I was playing the Axis and lost a hard fought game in which the Japanese owned the Pacific and were threatening Moscow, but the combined Allied weight in Europe was too much for Germany to overcome. Much like the real WWII events, Germany fell first and then Japan surrendered.

Fun, interaction, and of course problem solving and managing forces. It was all good.

Holiday traditions are fun. This year, for the first time, Ethan participated and so did Tina. Next year's event is something we are already looking forward to.

After Turkey Day Traditions

Black Friday.

For some it is the official beginning to the Christmas Season. A true shopping orgy of cosmic proportions.

It is an unofficial holiday of its own--one where those of us lucky enough to be able to set our own leave schedules can take the day after Thanksgiving and create a four-day weekend.

We transition from a holiday born of sharing the abundance of the harvest with our neighbors into one where the early bird gets the good deal and all-out sales and shopping warfare is practiced.

I am up early today, enjoying the afterglow of a solid Ravens victory last night and watching the women of the house prepare to set out in their vehicles to risk life and finances in search of the best deals on things they don't even knoww they want or need, yet.

Perhaps Black Friday is a social event. A sub-culture of its own created by retailers to separate normally rational people from their hard earned and over-taxed money.

Of course the alternate view to shopping is what the guys of the family do--Axis and Allies Friday. The guys in our family gather together on Black Friday to play recreations of WWII--either the whole war or the Pacific or European theaters. It is something we have been doing for many years, and although we are significantly smaller in number this year--with one guy in Guam (Jimmy), one working (Patrick), and one out of town visiting his in-laws (Jeremy), the game goes on. Ethan will soon be old enough to carry the hopes of a World War II nation on his shoulders.

Th best part of Axis and Allies Friday is not necessarily the game itself, but the left overs from the feast of the day before.

I hear day old fruit salad calling to me even now, early in the morning.

Have a great day, wherever you are and whatever you are doing today.

-- Bob Doan Elkridge, MD

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

It has arrived. Arguably my most favorite holiday of the year. A day to pause and give thanks for all that we have--most of which we don't really deserve.

I do enjoy the football and the food. I enjoy the family gathering around a large table to enjoy each other is a somewhat structured kind of way--but as it is a holiday, it is what we expect to do on this day. And that makes it even better.

We know that there will be noise and chaos and cooking going on.

But most importantly, there will be interaction between people--some of whom we don't see often enough. Thanksgiving is a holiday were we gather together with family and friends to celebrate. Some people travel hours or days to be together. Others travel just across town--but no matter, we are together.

The practice of giving thanks as a nation or community is a long one. Although we draw our current tradition from the 1621 Plymouth Pilgrims, Thanksgiving is a very personal holiday that families modify as they need.

And there is so much to give thanks for--even during these difficult times. I know there is a lot of pain for many people on this holiday--lost health, jobs, family; but there reasons to give thanks and take time to focus on the blessings despite the pain. Most of my blessings are contained in the people I will be sitting around the table with. And yes, I will be sad about those not here, but I am thankful for them, too.

The Apostle Paul reminds us to be “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20), and to “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

I will enjoy the parades on TV, the football games, and the feasting. But most of all I will enjoy family and friends.

The blessing of Thanksgiving is the ability to pause and step beyond my daily life to see all of the blessings that have been given to me and to take a moment, either in public or private, to thank God for the magnificnent way he has provided for me.

I thought I was done writing--but then I ran across the second verse of the great Hymn of Thanksgiving, Now Thank We All Our God by Martin Rinckart.

O may this bounteous God
through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts
and blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us still in grace,
and guide us when perplexed;
And free us from all ills,
in this world and the next.

-- Bob Doan Elkridge, MD

Give Thanks -- Pets

I am sitting here this morning with Makayla trying to fit herself into the chair next to me. We are dog sitting for Ben, Jeremy's Keeshond, and Riordin, the cat that returned is sitting across the room on Chris' lap. Only Louis, the white rag doll cat is missing from the scene this morning hanging out wherever he is.

It is a bit of a circus.

But, I love it. The pets provide comic relief and at the same time are somewhat demanding. It is like I have children again.

Makayla greets me at the door--not unlike the way that Dino used to greet Fred Flintstone in the old cartoon except that I don't get run over by her. I enjoy being greeted at my door when I return. Riordin tries to sit in my lap whenever I am on my laptop or iPad--just to make life difficult. Weekends like the present, when Ben or Patrick's Chewbacca are staying over, provide additional fun like separate walks to ensure bodily functions are complete.

Pets are work--but they are a blessing. Pets provide companionship just in being around. I am reminded of a situation in the bible when Job had just lost everything and his friends arrive and sit with him for seven days without saying a word. (Job 2:13) Now I am not equating Job's three friends with pets, but am illustrating only that sometimes words do not need to be spoken--it is the act of being together that is important.

Pets, well trained house pets like mine, are around and are part of life. Whether laying at my feet, or in my lap, or on the floor a short while away--they are with me and near me.

The blessing of pets is companionship. Walks are not accomplished alone and by caring for pets we practice the skills necessary to sacrifice of ourselves to care for others.

-- Bob Doan Elkridge, MD

Columbia Mall Poinsettia Tree

And there it is. Ready for the season. The most fabulous Christmas decoration in any mall in America.

Give Thanks -- Peace

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I was thinking about peace and realized how self-centered I was being. Sure, I can say thanks for peace because I am not deployed to some far off land where people are trying to kill me on a daily basis which is what many of our military and DoD civilians are facing as this holiday season approaches.

I am insulated from the violence and anarchy in those not so far away lands of Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iran and anywhere else unrest happens on a near daily basis. I do not have to deal with the death and destruction and chaos that the people living in these places have to do. They, I believe, long for the peace that I experience on a daily basis.

I wake in the morning in a comfortable bed in a warm home with the prospect of fighting nothing more dangerous than Maryland drivers on the parkway. My closest contact with the Taliban is the news.

In my world, there is peace and it is a blessing. Peace is something that I do not think much about because I have it and it is a constant. In other parts of the world, peace is something they wish and pray for.

Because there is peace, I can focus on other aspects of life and living without fear. Peace helps me not to be afraid to live.

The real blessing of peace is in those who are on the frontlines around the world to preserve peace and our way of life. They are a blessing to each of us--and we need to remember them and to pray for them.

And we need to consider the gift that they give us--peace.

--Bob Doan Elkridge, MD