No Shoes Nation Party

Kenny Chesney
Merriweather Post Pavilion
August 22, 2018

The No Shoes Nation got together last evening for a fantastic performance at Merriweather Post Pavilion as, for the last time, Old Dominion opened for Kenny Chesney.

It was a great concert. When the music finally ended about 10:30 PM the crowd was almost as exhausted as the performers, having been on our feet for the entire Kenny Chesney performance which lasted about 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Old Dominion
August 22, 2018

Old Dominion led off the party with a fantastic opening set. It, reportedly, was the last time the band would open for Kenny, as their three year relationship comes to an end one concert shy of the end of the tour. They were a solid opening act and will be headlining soon on their own tour, I am sure. 

The music was exciting, the atmosphere of the pavilion unrestrained, and neither performance disappointed. 

This was my second Kenny Chesney concert. I remember that he was not the huge hit that he is now when I attended my first Chesney show on the lawn at Merriweather. Last night, the entire venue was crammed with fans and everyone was on their best behavior. Fortunately, the weather was excellent and that made the event all the more enjoyable. The show was a sell-out and Chris and I were lucky to have seats in the pavilion. even though we stood for the most of the night, at least we had our space. 

It was a great evening for the No Shoes Nation and I am glad that I was there.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Weather, News, Plans, and Sunsets

The rains returned with a vengeance last evening. The lightening show associated with the rains was somewhat muted, but the sound of the rain hitting the house was noticeable over the television at mored than one point during the movie Chris and I elected to watch. We were lucky to complete our evening dog-walk as the rain began falling.

I guess the rain was good because some of our plants were getting a bit dry from successive days without rain. 

The blue skies are expected to return today, the gray overcast of the past days was draining and made me want to head off on a Caribbean vacation even sooner. Tonight, however, is a special event as we attend the Kenny Chesney concert at Merriweather Pavilion. Here's hoping that expected good weather holds for the outdoor concert.

The news was no help in distracting attention from last evening's storms, either. What a terrible news night. The President was implicated in a felony, there were the usual murders in Baltimore, the story of the murdered family in Colorado took a sick twist, and a missing girl was found dead in Iowa.

We definitely need a change in the news media. I need to find a good news station!

Chris is at the doorstep of retirement becoming a reality. Howard County teachers return to the classroom in force today as the pre-schoolyear activities and training ramp up. It is hard to believe that the summer has already begun to wind down.

Because of the gloom last evening, I went through some of Radio Flyer's recent video and found one of a beautiful evening with a spectacular sunset to remind myself how a day is supposed to end. I love sunsets almost as much as sunrises. 

Making the video made me feel better and look forward to today's improved weather outlook.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Preparation is Key

Palm Tree on the Beach
Jupiter, Florida
April 9, 2018

Vacation looms and proper preparation is the key to success. 

I am becoming very excited about being away for a Caribbean vacation to decompress.  Life has been a bit crazy during the past couple of weeks. 

My beach time low-level light is fully illuminated. I need sand, sun, surf, and palm trees. 

Looking Along my Favorite Sandy Beach
Jupiter, Florida
April 6, 2018

Although we are not departing for a few days, preparation is the key to a successful vacation adventure. This one is timed to allow Chris to be on vacation when she otherwise would be going back to work for another school year. 

The clothes and other essential travel items such as masks and snorkels are being carefully laid out on the guest bed as we begin the extensive packing process. 

The countdown clock is running down and excitement grows with each passing tick. I have not set for on a beach since traveling to Florida during early April. 

This vacation is shorter than many we have planned. We usually head off for two weeks, but for some unexplained reason we are only away for a just over week this time. I feel an autumn get away in the planning process. Now that Chris has retired we are not limited to school vacations and holidays for travel!

Turn out the lights, the party is starting!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - August 20, 2018

Finn in his Football Jersey
Ready for the Season

1. August is slipping by gain. The days are already shortening perceptibly.

2. Why is going to the ice cream store for a hot fudge sundae after dinner such a treat? It almost seems sinful.

3. Chris and I were sitting around last evening and the subject of our old animal friends came up. I teared up thinking about our old companions: Hans, Meghan, and Zach.

Crepe Myrtle on a Summer Day
August 19, 2018

4. Summer is ending. The teachers are heading back to school. Chris is happily retired and is not suffering from the end-of-the-summer stress.

5. Finn tried on his football jersey the other day, just to be ready for the NFL season kickoff. 

6. House project abound. Yesterday's project: stain the ceiling of the porch!

7. I finally and successfully acquired the correct blade for my chainsaw. That was a lot harder than it had to be.

8. The crepe myrtles are in bloom. Radio Flyer was up yesterday getting a different view of the magnificent crepe myrtle next to my pool.

9. Radio Flyer was busy during its flights yesterday finding things around the neighborhood. 

10. The Orioles had a particularly bad week. They are 2-8 for their last 10 game posting a 37-87, .298 record 50.5 games out of first place and looking at losing 114 games this season. The highlight was a complete game, 100 pitch win by Alex Cobb on Saturday. 

11. Today in History. On this day in 1911, a dispatcher in the New York Times office sends the first telegram around the world via commercial service. Exactly 66 years later, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sends a different kind of message–a phonograph record containing information about Earth for extraterrestrial beings–shooting into space aboard the unmanned spacecraft Voyager II.

Headlines

Greece’s Bailout Is Ending. The Pain Is Far From Over. - The New York Times

‘Please come help’Eastern Shore crab houses are suffering this summer because they didn’t get the visas needed to hire enough pickers from Mexico. - The Washington Post

‘‘Wasted our lives’: Catholic sex abuse scandals again prompt a crisis of faith - The Washington Post

Trump rewrites history as Russia probe pressure mounts - CNN

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

To sit back hoping that someday, some way, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last - but eat you he will.



-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Cicada Squealing

Cicada in the Tree

The sound was deafening. 

I love the sounds and smells of summer. In the afternoon and evenings the cicadas buzz as the temperatures crawl above 80 degrees. It is one of the sounds of summer that I enjoy. They sound like so many buzz-saws in the trees. 

The other evening, Chris and I were walking the dogs and I heard a cicada singing seemingly right above my head. I stopped, saying to myself, "I should be able to see this one." And I found it sitting on a branch, just above the sidewalk. 

Next came the challenge of getting an image of the bug! It was exciting to see one alive, I usually find them dead in the pool skimmers. 

The cicada continued singing all during the imaging opportunity, oblivious to what was happening on the ground below it. 

I successfully snapped the image and then got away from the almost 100 decibel noise that was making my ears hurt.

The bug continued singing as Chris and I continued our walk.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Hibiscus Morning

Hibiscus Around the Pool

Last winter was tough on some of the plants that I bring inside to escape the freezing temperatures.

Hibiscus Blossom Gracing my Pool

While the palms did fantastic, the flowering hibiscus lost most of its leaves and went into a hibernation type mode. It has taken all year for it to finally develop leaves and look healthy. This week, my patience was rewarded with flowers. Beautiful hibiscus gracing my pool environment and reminding me of tropical climates. 

The arrival of the blossoms and the multitude of buds makes the wait worthwhile. I hope to do better this coming winter. This hibiscus has been through a few winters in my basement, but this past one was the worst.

While it is late-August and the hibiscus is only now blooming, I will enjoy its tropical flowers for the rest of the season. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Misleading the World with a Broken Moral Compass

Religion is back in the news--and not in a good way. 

Vatican Calls Abuses by Pennsylvania Priests ‘Criminal and Morally Reprehensible’ - The New York Times


Catholic Priests Abused 1,000 Children in Pennsylvania, Report Says - The New York Times

The abuse of children trusted to the care of religious leaders has been occurring for decades and it has been systematically covered up by the leadership.

One friend wrote on Facebook about the situation stating that his 90-year old mother called to ask if he had been molested as a boy. He reports that she was relieved when he was able to tell her, "No."

The abuses are not something that happened in some distant and barely recognizable far-off "there." It happened, and is likely happening, here in our towns and cities where the church is supposed to be the beacon of morality and the dispenser of hope. 

Instead, thousands are experiencing degradation and living with the brokenness and despair that results from abuse at the hands of trusted religious leaders.

This is not the first time this pattern of abuse has surfaced in the Catholic Church. 

Sadly, it likely will not be the last. 

The Catholic Church is at the center of the current abuse allegations; however, abuse of children by religious leaders has not been confined to its sanctuaries. There have been stories of abuse in other religions and denominations as well. The Catholic Church seems to have adopted a culture amongst it leaders of covering up abuses in a widespread and systematic manner rather than ferreting them out and providing help to the abused and subsequently removing the abuser from contact with children.

It must change!

I should have changed decades ago when the abuses began to be revealed.

My friend makes some insightful comments for overcoming the systemic problems of the church. He writes: "There are solutions that could help. Allow married priests, admit women priests, and conduct an independent investigation of all priests - starting with the Cardinals and working down to the parish level. Any priest that molested someone would be immediately defrocked. Any priest that knew of the abuse would also suffer the same fate. It is long time past to clean up the church."

I am reminded about the difference between religion and Christ-following. Religion is man's search for God and holiness. Christ-following recognizes that God came and stood in the mud and muck next us and then cleaned us up and brought us up to His level.

Religion is fundamentally flawed because it is created by people.

My friend closed his observations about the abuses in Pennsylvania by writing: "We do not want Mothers calling their children asking them if they had been abused by someone from the Church."

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunrise, Sunset, Repeat

Patuxent Greens Before Sunrise
August 15, 2018

In a rare twist, I managed to enjoy both the sunrise and sunset yesterday.

I decided to take some morning time and play golf with two guys from work. We had a 6:15 AM Tee-tim, but were actually able to tee-off at 6 AM. There was no one else on the course and sunrise was not until 6:19 AM. It was very dark when we hit the first golf balls of the day off the tees at Patuxent Greens Golf Club.

Across the Tees
Patuxent Greens
August 15, 2018

I thoroughly enjoy watching the day start from the manicured fairways and greens of a golf course. Yesterday was no different, with the exception that the heavy rains of the past few weeks have not been kind to Patuxent Greens. The fairways and some greens definitely were showing signs of damage. 

And then there was the sunset. I watched the sun pass below the horizon from the comfort of my backyard. Although I cannot actually see the horizon from my backyard, I watched the sun-light move up to the top of the trees and then the colors of the sunset appear.

As Chris and I were sitting there and the twilight deepened, the bats began to fly overhead dancing in the sky performing their unchoreographed ballet in the air. We love watching them twist and turn while hanging in the evening sky as they chase after the bugs and mosquitoes.

And thus the day ended as it began, I was admiring the sky and the sun and the joys of being able to appreciate the rays of the sun as they grace the Earth and bring joy into my heart.

I'd love to do it again, today.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Golf on the Weekends--Tiger's return

Tiger

I was reflecting upon the weekend. 

Golf in the rain. The PGA Championship that Tiger nearly won.

Golf is a great game!

Plugged Ball
August 11, 2018

During the wet course round on Saturday we experienced a lot plugged balls. None of the drives had much of a roll out. That makes the game a bit longer. Those roll-out yards are really nice and help to get the ball closer to the hole.

I heard on a sports talk show that Tiger's return will bolster the game of golf.

That is exciting.

Golf is a lot more exciting than watching the Orioles lose another game, although the Orioles actually won last night and ended a five game losing streak. 

Tiger's return is exciting the fans of the sport and he matches up well against the young guns who have been ruling since he went down with injuries. The drama of the weekend sport is really amping up.

At least it is more fun than watching the political news of the day.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Rain into the Pool
August 13, 2018

Rain Falling
August 13, 2018

It descended on the area again last evening. A torrential rainstorm that was relatively brief, less than 30 minutes, but ferocious. 

The lawn still needs to be mowed!

The pool was a mess. 

The rain drenched everything. The rain also filled the pool above the skimmers and I had to bring the level down after the storms subsided.  

It was quite a storm. I believe we received almost two inches of rain during the downpour.

And then there were blue skies with white puffy clouds.

Wow. what a difference a few minutes make. 

I am hoping for a better day today. Sunshine and dry weather so that I can get the outside chores accomplished.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD