Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Mid-Season Break


Baseball is taking a time-out for the All Star game which was again won by the American League!

Bottom Five Teams in Baseball
July 10, 2019


The Orioles are the worst team in baseball. They were the first team to amass over 60 losses and are on track to lose 113 games. The Orioles are 31.5 games out of first place in their division and 23.5 games out of the Wild Card spot in the league. With some luck, perhaps the Orioles can improve and become the 29th best team in all of baseball!

No Orioles player actually played in the All Star game on Tuesday night--the only Orioles player, John Means a starting pitcher, was held in reserve. 

Well, now that the mid-season break is over, we can resume watching the wheels come of the Orioles. Maybe I will go to a game later in the season. I have attended only one game thus far--and it, predictably, was a loss. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

The Fledgling


Fledgling Cardinal on the Pool Fence
Elkridge, MD
July 8, 2019
After another long day at work, Chris and I decided to relax in the pool last evening. Shortly after we began to chat and float in the pool, I noticed a female Cardinal frantically flying around the fence near the pool. I remarked that the bird seemed stressed about something, and then I noticed something moving in the grasses along the pool--yes, it was a fledgling. The cardinal was protecting and caring for the chick which was attempting to fly, walk, and untangle itself from the grasses. 

The male cardinal also appeared and both birds cared for the fledgling by periodically feeding it and trying to get it to imitate their flight patterns. The small bird, for its part, did attempt short flights and made good progress, It rested on the fence for a long time before jumping/flying down and shuffling off into the wooded area. 

All-in-all the entire event took about an hour and we were transfixed watching the small cardinal begin the process of caring for itself and learning to fly. 

Oh the things we can see if we just take the time to watch.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday, July 8, 2019

Monday Musings - July 8, 2019




1. It is the second Monday in July and the month is already beginning to speed towards its conclusion. 

2. In an amazing stretch of baseball, the Orioles have improved their record to 27-62 .303 and have lowered their anticipated losses to 113 for the season.

Finnegan
June 7, 2019
3. Hanging out in the pool for the afternoon is one of the best ways to enjoy a hot, July afternoon.

4. Finnegan knows how to relax on a hot afternoon by sleeping on his back on a cushion by the pool.

5. Congratulations to the Women's National Soccer Team for bringing home Gold! As a side note, the men failed to defeat Mexico for their gold medal.

6. Rain. Everyday there has been rain! 

7. Quandary:  There is a nail in the tire of my truck. My tire is not losing air. Do I remove the nail and potentially cause a leak or do I leave it in the tire until it becomes a problem?

8. Today in History. On this day in 1951, Paris, the capital city of France, celebrates turning 2,000 years old. In fact, a few more candles would’ve technically been required on the birthday cake, as the City of Lights was most likely founded around 250 B.C. The history of Paris can be traced back to a Gallic tribe known as the Parisii, who sometime around 250 B.C. settled an island (known today as Ile de la Cite) in the Seine River, which runs through present-day Paris. By 52 B.C., Julius Caesar and the Romans had taken over the area, which eventually became Christianized and known as Lutetia, Latin for “midwater dwelling.” The settlement later spread to both the left and right banks of the Seine and the name Lutetia was replaced with “Paris.” In 987 A.D., Paris became the capital of France. As the city grew, the Left Bank earned a reputation as the intellectual district while the Right Bank became known for business.



Headlines

Iran Announces New Breach of Nuclear Deal Limits and Threatens Further Violations - The New York Times



Hong Kong protesters march again, reaching out to Chinese visitors - Reuters



Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week


Call it mysticism if you will, I have always believed there was some divine providence that placed this great land here between the two great oceans, to be found by a special kind of people from every corner of the world, who had a special love for freedom and a special courage that enabled them to leave their own land, leave their friends and their countrymen, and come to this new and strange land to build a New World of peace and freedom and hope. Lincoln spoke about hope as he left the hometown he would never see again to take up the duties of the Presidency and bring America through a terrible Civil War. At each stop on his long train ride to Washington, the news grew worse: The Nation was dividing; his own life was in peril. On he pushed, undaunted. In Philadelphia he spoke in Independence Hall, where 85 years earlier the Declaration of Independence had been signed. He noted that much more had been achieved there than just independence from Great Britain. It was, he said, ``hope to the world, future for all time.''
--Remarks at the Opening Ceremonies of the Statue of Liberty Centennial Celebration in New York, New York, July 3, 1986


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sunday, July 7, 2019

Just add sand, water, and palm trees


Getting ready for upcoming vacations can sometimes be a full-time job. 

Ethan in the Pool
Elkridge, MD
July 6. 2019
Yesterday, Chris and I took Ethan out to acquire a well fitting mask and snorkel for his upcoming vacation. He went with us on our cruise last summer and could not find a correctly fitting mast and that really was a problem during our snorkeling adventures. So, Chris made the promise to get him correctly fitting equipment for his vacation this year.

And we made good on the promise! After he was correctly fitted as the local dive shop, he bought the equipment home to try it out. 

The equipment worked and he looked like a creature rising from the blue lagoon as he checked it out.

Ethan is ready for a snorkeling adventure on a far away Caribbean island--just add sand, water, and palm trees!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Saturday, July 6, 2019

Waiting at the Door


Finnegan, Makayla, and Chewbacca Waiting
Elkridge, MD
July 4, 2019 
Dogs wait patiently. No matter when I go outside or for what reason, it seems that my dogs are always waiting to welcome my return. 

This weekend we have a third dog, we are watching Chewbacca for Patrick and Tina. This image was taken on Independence Day just after 10 PM after the fireworks had stopped and as I was cleaning the yard and preparing to go to bed. The three of them waited patiently for my return. Perhaps they knew that it was bedtime?

It had been a long day for the three of them. There were five other dogs that celebrated Independence Day with them. Now as the day is ending it was just the three of them and me and Chris. 

Dogs are an essential part of life, in my opinion. They are always there and at the end of a hard day I have to admit, I appreciate the enthusiastic greeting that they provide to me when I arrive home. 

And, they wait at the door. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD




Friday, July 5, 2019

Whose America is This?


This will likely be unpopular, but I'm going to come right out and say it--I am appalled at the conditions in the concentration camps being run by the U.S. government along the southern border. 

Image from The Atlantic Monthly article
I chose my words carefully. The camps where the immigrants are begin held are nothing short of concentration camps and that insensitive statement that the conditions there are better than where they came from not only is untrue but also attempts to rationalize that we have deprived them of their freedoms and are not providing them with the basic necessities of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that is the bedrock of our America!

After spending time in these camps, how can we expect these people to have a positive image of the United States? 

An article in The Atlantic Monthly: A Crime by Any Name, spells out the conditions and make a poignant reference. From the article:

Detainees described overcrowding so severe that “it was difficult to move in any direction without jostling and being jostled.” The water provided them was foul, “of a dark color, and an ordinary glass would collect a thick sediment.” The “authorities never removed any filth.” A detainee wrote that the “only shelter from the sun and rain and night dews, was what we could make by stretching over us our coats or scraps of blanket.” As for the food, “Our ration was in quality a starving one, it being either too foul to be touched or too raw to be digested.”
Such were the conditions of the Confederate prisoner-of-war camp at Andersonville, Georgia, where, as the historian James McPherson wrote, 13,000 of the 45,000 men imprisoned “died of disease, exposure, or malnutrition.” The images of the captive, emaciated Union troops are shocking, evoking a form of suffering 21st-century viewers will likely associate with the Holocaust. The images so traumatized the Northern public that after the war, the warden of the prison, Henry Wirz, became one of the only people tried for war crimes. The Swiss-born Wirz was an easy scapegoat for Northern anger, which spared most of the former Confederacy’s military and political leadership.



We can try to turn our backs on the situation and we can try to call the detainees criminals--but convicted felons in U.S. prisons do not live in these conditions.

There is a crisis on the border--it is a crisis of our own doing and now we have to deal with it. But calling it a crisis strips the humanity out of the equation. This is not My America! My America does not have concentration camps where people are caged like so many animals and where children are stripped away from their parents. 

It is time to stop the abuse and fix the problem--and a border wall is not the answer.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Thursday, July 4, 2019

Happy 4th


Happy Independence Day!

Along Maryland Route 100
Sunrise
July 4, 2019
It is the 4th of July and we are celebrating the birth of the greatest nation on Earth. I went out and played racquetball early this morning and caught the sunrise along the road. 

As the day dawned I remembered the many 4th's that I have experienced and even been apart form my family in service to this nation. I also remembered two years ago when I was on a cruise during the holiday--and I really enjoyed the celebration. 

Whatever you do today, take time to celebrate and make a promise to make the future better than the past.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Before the Storm


The Pool after the Initial Winds
Elkridge, MD
July 2, 2019
Thunderstorms ravaged the area last evening. Chris and I spent time on our covered deck watching the torrents of rain fall from the wind lashed sky. 

As the winds whipped up, I was discouraged by the numbers of leaves that fell into my pool from the trees. All of the leaves and debris needed to be removed and during a break in the action, I cleared the pool in preparation for additional and later storms during the evening. All-in-all, the storms did not trash the pool in the manner that the could have, but still it seemed that every loose leaf found it way into the pool or onto the pool deck. 

Finally, however, the rains came and the thunder and lightening began in earnest. Chris and I sat on the covered porch with the dogs and one cat and watched the storm. It was impressive to see the sheets of rain falling from the sky. 

I was actually happy for the rain as the ground was getting dry and the soaking will make the fireworks on the 4th of July safer. Our neighborhood lights up on on Independence Day!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Golf Monday


8th Tee Box Looking to the Flag
Carroll Park Golf Course
Baltimore, MD
July 1, 2019
Chris and I did something different last evening to mark the start of July. We took advantage of the great weather and played a 9-hole round of golf. Together!

Chris Working with her Driver
Carroll Park Golf Course
July 1, 2019
Yesterday was supposed to be the best day of the week, weather-wise. It was to be the coolest, in the high 80's, and no rain. And it was!

We had a good time together and we enjoyed playing with two other golfers in what turned out to be an overly extended round due to the slow pace of play by groups in front of us. 

Chris was hitting the ball with more authority and I had a very successful round, except for one pesky hole. We were using the round as a tune-up for the upcoming Troy Whittemore Classic which we will be playing in during the latter part of July. We will need a few more "tune-up" before the tournament. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday, July 1, 2019

Monday Musings - July 1, 2019




1. The second half of 2019 arrived this morning as the calendar changed over to July. 

2. I mowed the lawn yesterday. It is not growing as fast as it once was, but it is still growing. I enjoy the green.

Sky over Elkridge
Elkridge, MD
June 30, 2019
3. I once saw a painting in a museum that was blue. Only Blue.  The entire canvass was a single shade of blue. I did not understand the painting at the time. I had an idea yesterday. I looked at the sky and took a picture, it is blue. I now understand.

4. The sun was hot and the pool was a grand place to enjoy yesterday.

5. Ohio drivers near Cincinnati are worse than Maryland drivers. In Maryland, drivers at least give you a warning before they change lanes with a small turn of the wheel to indicate they are coming over. In Ohio, they just come over into the lane, hard! Neither group understands what the lever on the left side fo the steering wheel is for or that it is connected to turning signals.

6. Independence Day arrives this week. Thomas Jefferson wrote about Independence Day on July 4, 1809: "The fourth of July, the epoch of American independence, is a day when the heart of every American must glow with pride and gratitude. No village, however sequestered, no citizen, however obscure, forgets the celebration of the anniversary of his country's liberty! Through all the land, from the shores of the Atlantic to our mountain-tops, the sounds of gratulation are heard; the roar of cannon, and the peal of bells, announce the auspicious morn, and people of every rank hasten with their festive offerings round the altar of liberty." Source:Margaret Bayard Smith, A Winter in Washington or Memoirs of the Seymour Family(New York: Bliss and E. White, 1824), 3:215.

7. There is something especially enjoyable about taking a nap in the pool on a floatie on a hot sunny afternoon. 

8. History Today. At midnight on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong reverts back to Chinese rule in a ceremony attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. A few thousand Hong Kongers protested the turnover, which was otherwise celebratory and peaceful. In 1839, Britain invaded China to crush opposition to its interference in the country’s economic, social, and political affairs. One of Britain’s first acts of the war was to occupy Hong Kong, a sparsely inhabited island off the coast of southeast China. In 1841, China ceded the island to the British with the signing of the Convention of Chuenpi, and in 1842 the Treaty of Nanking was signed, formally ending the First Opium War.


Headlines

Fresh protests erupt as Hong Kong braces for annual rally to mark handover - Reuters





Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week


People everywhere hunger for peace and a better life. The tide of the future is a freedom tide, and our struggle for democracy cannot and will not be denied. This nation champions peace that enshrines liberty, democratic rights, and dignity for every individual. America's new strength, confidence, and purpose are carrying hope and opportunity far from our shores. A world economic recovery is underway. It began here.
  -- Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union January 25, 1984


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

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