Saturday, June 28, 2008
Now that I am Old
Well I finally reached that milestone. I turned fifty, however I was told not to look at as being fifty, I was told to look at it as being the 29th anniversary of my 21st birthday. Turning 40 didn't bother me but something about that 50th birthday. You are a full half century old, qualify for AARP, and other "senor programs" The one thing though that did make me feel old was my two oldest daughters took Janet and I out for dinner tonight and they paid for it. I think that is the biggest turning point in a fathers life when he realizes that his kids are becoming more and more self independent. Their reliance on me is not like it used to be. Sure they still come to dad for money at times, but they are able to do for themselves more and more. I t kind of makes me feel obsolete and not needed anymore, but also proud that they are able to do for themselves.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Fair Treatment from Fair Point
In the idyllic town of Tamworth New Hampshire, nestled at the base of the White Mountains just north east of Lake Winnepesaukee a group of dedicated veterans and other volunteers resurrected a veteran's memorial updating the names and adding markers. In this same community FairPoint Communications worked hard to take over the communications service from Verizon, as it did for all of Norther New England, and many of these veterans supported the buyout. One of the publicity ads supporting the buyout by FairPoint was how they wanted to be part of the community and work with the communities they are in.
Now a little bit of history and I do hope I get this entirely correct, but this band of volunteers who updated the memorial approached Verizon who at that time owned the pole seen in the picture that detracts form the solemnness of the hallowed memorial. Verizon told this group they would relocate the pole for $30,000. No FairPoint comes on the scene and when this intrepid group approaches FairPoint the price jumps to $42,000 but magnanimously offers to defray $12,200 of this cost from their "Community and Economic Development Fund" bringing the price to $29,800 a savings of a whole $200 over the cost that Verizon quoted originally. Jeffery Allen Executive Vice President for External Relations of FairPoint also suggested that the committee contact the Power Company and the Cable Company to get their donations for the movement of this pole. If FairPoint was truly interested in the community they would work with their tenants on the poles and find a suitable and expedient solution to this distasteful problem. With the amount of money people pay the phone companies for their service, and the state of the competition of the cable companies are giving the phone companies for internet and communications, you would think that FairPoint would be eager to generate the goodwill that moving these poles would bring.
Please let FairPoint know what you think of this atrocity in the middle of the Tamworth Veterans Memorial
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
ANOTHER REFLECTION
If many of you haven't guessed by now the visit of The Moving Wall to Ossipee was a very touching event for me. I worked hard on the event, and learned a great deal. We had a get together last Sunday at the organizers house, a way for them to say thank you for all the volunteers. We had a great time, and were able to look at the scrapbooks put together during the event, as well as seeing some of the pictures that were taken. It brought a tear back to my eye as I relived again the experiences of Memorial Day Weekend. I borrowed the guest books to read peoples comments over the last couple of days, and was deeply moved by all the great comments.
As a writer I dream of putting that combination of words down on paper that will stir all sorts of images in ones head when they read it, and there were several lines like that in the guest books, of sons lost or friends never to come home again. The one entry in the guest book that really leaped out at me is the following, I will not list the full name of the author but what she had to write was very haunting and powerful to me....
"God Bless You All! Robert, I'm so sorry for giving you that one last kiss, Kathy."
When I read this I had to stop cold in my tracks, a tear streamed down my cheek, and a lump formed in my throat. It conjured up all sorts of images of what might have happened. This powerful statement has now become a life's definition for me. Never leave someone without letting them know how you feel. In the lottery of life, you never know what may happen, and that last moment can never be recaptured. You may never have the chance again to tell that special person how you really feel, life is to short to waste any moment playing games or being angry. Part of me would like to write to Kathy and find out the story of this very poignant entry in the guest book, and part of me says to let the entry speak for itself, and bring out the images it does. Whatever I do, that one entry in a guest book at the Moving Wall in a small town in rural New Hampshire has had a life changing force in my life....
"Robert, I am so sorry for not giving you that one last kiss...." Don't let this happen to you
As a writer I dream of putting that combination of words down on paper that will stir all sorts of images in ones head when they read it, and there were several lines like that in the guest books, of sons lost or friends never to come home again. The one entry in the guest book that really leaped out at me is the following, I will not list the full name of the author but what she had to write was very haunting and powerful to me....
"God Bless You All! Robert, I'm so sorry for giving you that one last kiss, Kathy."
When I read this I had to stop cold in my tracks, a tear streamed down my cheek, and a lump formed in my throat. It conjured up all sorts of images of what might have happened. This powerful statement has now become a life's definition for me. Never leave someone without letting them know how you feel. In the lottery of life, you never know what may happen, and that last moment can never be recaptured. You may never have the chance again to tell that special person how you really feel, life is to short to waste any moment playing games or being angry. Part of me would like to write to Kathy and find out the story of this very poignant entry in the guest book, and part of me says to let the entry speak for itself, and bring out the images it does. Whatever I do, that one entry in a guest book at the Moving Wall in a small town in rural New Hampshire has had a life changing force in my life....
"Robert, I am so sorry for not giving you that one last kiss...." Don't let this happen to you
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Government
"Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely" -Lord Acton-
This was an observation made in the late 19th or early 20th century about people who have risen to power. I was reflecting on this quote this morning as I was mowing the back yard. It is very obvious in our form of government today. I was thinking about the founding fathers and some of my research on the Federalist papers. The framers of our Constitution had it right when they wrote that great document. I used to think it should be considered a living document meant to be interpreted in reference to the times it found itself, but the more mature I become, the more I realize that as the foundation to our country, it is in fact not a living document, but a static one. It is a document that must be static in order for the base of our country to be stable. You can not build a foundation for a house on live sand that is constantly shifting and moving, you have to put it on a stable compact base. The same is true for our country, and the solid unmovable base that the country is built on is the Constitution written by our forefathers. Further research shows that these great men, with a vision greater than the average man,intended us to have two houses of the legislative body. The lower house being the House of Representatives, similar to the House of Commons in Britain. The intent of this house was to be a body of common men who go to Washington to serve our Country as a legislative body and then to go back to their civilian jobs and their regular way of life. The second body was to be the Senate similar to the house of Lords in Britain where the upper class resided and worked their end of the legislation process. Unfortunately the House of Representatives has become a full time job to be re-elected to in perpetuity. The lines have become blurred and the the power that is inherent in the position has corrupted many individuals. Common sense has been thrown out the window, and the lust for money and power has become the norm. Lobbyist grease palms on a daily basis. While their is nothing wrong with lobbying to get your point across to the politicians, what is wrong is the amount of money that changes hands for political favors on a daily basis. It amounts to legal bribery as the money for the most part does not go directly into the politicians pocket, but for all intents and purposes it may as well.
I call for a return to the original intent of the government, and we do away with lifelong seats in the house. Elect business men who want to share their experience, but then return to their regular jobs when they are done, and don't give the power a chance to corrupt as it has a strong tendency to do
This was an observation made in the late 19th or early 20th century about people who have risen to power. I was reflecting on this quote this morning as I was mowing the back yard. It is very obvious in our form of government today. I was thinking about the founding fathers and some of my research on the Federalist papers. The framers of our Constitution had it right when they wrote that great document. I used to think it should be considered a living document meant to be interpreted in reference to the times it found itself, but the more mature I become, the more I realize that as the foundation to our country, it is in fact not a living document, but a static one. It is a document that must be static in order for the base of our country to be stable. You can not build a foundation for a house on live sand that is constantly shifting and moving, you have to put it on a stable compact base. The same is true for our country, and the solid unmovable base that the country is built on is the Constitution written by our forefathers. Further research shows that these great men, with a vision greater than the average man,intended us to have two houses of the legislative body. The lower house being the House of Representatives, similar to the House of Commons in Britain. The intent of this house was to be a body of common men who go to Washington to serve our Country as a legislative body and then to go back to their civilian jobs and their regular way of life. The second body was to be the Senate similar to the house of Lords in Britain where the upper class resided and worked their end of the legislation process. Unfortunately the House of Representatives has become a full time job to be re-elected to in perpetuity. The lines have become blurred and the the power that is inherent in the position has corrupted many individuals. Common sense has been thrown out the window, and the lust for money and power has become the norm. Lobbyist grease palms on a daily basis. While their is nothing wrong with lobbying to get your point across to the politicians, what is wrong is the amount of money that changes hands for political favors on a daily basis. It amounts to legal bribery as the money for the most part does not go directly into the politicians pocket, but for all intents and purposes it may as well.
I call for a return to the original intent of the government, and we do away with lifelong seats in the house. Elect business men who want to share their experience, but then return to their regular jobs when they are done, and don't give the power a chance to corrupt as it has a strong tendency to do
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Fathers Day
I jokingly tell everyone that my gift to my wife on Mothers Day is that I take the kids for a day and give her some time off. Her gift to me on Fathers Day is I get to spend the day alone with the kids, who wins here.
The truth of the matter is for the most part I enjoy the time with the kids, and now that two of them are older the time I do get to spend with them is very precious indeed. The oldest Anya (21) is away working at camp. The middle one Khrys (16) is way to cool to spend much time with dad and or admit that she likes to spend any time with the old man. The youngest grace (10) is still at that age where time with Dad is fun, but at times she gets into that zone where no Dad you go do it, I want to do something else. For fathers day they "took" me ( I still ended up paying go figure) out to brunch at Whittier House where we had made to order Omelets and just about every other breakfast item you can imagine. I was given my cards and included in the cards was a $20 gift certificate for the local nursery, on top of a $20 gift card I had from Khrys at Christmas. Janet, Grace, and I paid a visit to the Greenery and I picked out five new varieties of Day Lillies. I purchased Apricot Sparkle, Barbara Mitchell,, Rose Emily, Prairie Wildfire, and Joan Senor. This brings my total collection of day lillies to 40. If you haven't guessed, I have a passion for day lillies, and hope to grow my collection to over one thousand before I die (so if anyone wants to make an addition to my collection any donations are accepted). It is a dream of mine to start to raise these commercially, along with Iris, and Peony's. After getting home from the nursery I changed clothes and Grace and I worked in the garden and planted my new treasures. I do enjoy spending time with the girls and it is a pleasure to watch them as they work in the garden. I had just finished weeding out this particular garden and spreading bark mulch on it, so it looks really nice with the new plants in it. I can't wait to see them in bloom, and each time they bloom I will remember the time I spent with Grace planting them, as each time the Hemerocallis Fulva blooms I remember the time with Anya as we dug up the entire patch separated them, replanted some and gave a bunch of them away. With Khrys it is every time I look at my flagpole and remember her helping me put it in, and the blueberry bushes out in the back yard. I remember the gift cards and for the most part I can tell you each year what I bought with those cards. You see my daughters I do love you all and remember the time we get to spend together because in a lifetime it is all to fleeting, and my wish for each of my daughters is that they have a garden of love where they can plant memories, and build off the ones I had already planted, because my gardens are more than just the plants in the ground, it is where I also plant the love of my family and my memories. Little do they know but each and every plant I have planted takes on a new meaning and a new memory for me to hold on to and cherish
The truth of the matter is for the most part I enjoy the time with the kids, and now that two of them are older the time I do get to spend with them is very precious indeed. The oldest Anya (21) is away working at camp. The middle one Khrys (16) is way to cool to spend much time with dad and or admit that she likes to spend any time with the old man. The youngest grace (10) is still at that age where time with Dad is fun, but at times she gets into that zone where no Dad you go do it, I want to do something else. For fathers day they "took" me ( I still ended up paying go figure) out to brunch at Whittier House where we had made to order Omelets and just about every other breakfast item you can imagine. I was given my cards and included in the cards was a $20 gift certificate for the local nursery, on top of a $20 gift card I had from Khrys at Christmas. Janet, Grace, and I paid a visit to the Greenery and I picked out five new varieties of Day Lillies. I purchased Apricot Sparkle, Barbara Mitchell,, Rose Emily, Prairie Wildfire, and Joan Senor. This brings my total collection of day lillies to 40. If you haven't guessed, I have a passion for day lillies, and hope to grow my collection to over one thousand before I die (so if anyone wants to make an addition to my collection any donations are accepted). It is a dream of mine to start to raise these commercially, along with Iris, and Peony's. After getting home from the nursery I changed clothes and Grace and I worked in the garden and planted my new treasures. I do enjoy spending time with the girls and it is a pleasure to watch them as they work in the garden. I had just finished weeding out this particular garden and spreading bark mulch on it, so it looks really nice with the new plants in it. I can't wait to see them in bloom, and each time they bloom I will remember the time I spent with Grace planting them, as each time the Hemerocallis Fulva blooms I remember the time with Anya as we dug up the entire patch separated them, replanted some and gave a bunch of them away. With Khrys it is every time I look at my flagpole and remember her helping me put it in, and the blueberry bushes out in the back yard. I remember the gift cards and for the most part I can tell you each year what I bought with those cards. You see my daughters I do love you all and remember the time we get to spend together because in a lifetime it is all to fleeting, and my wish for each of my daughters is that they have a garden of love where they can plant memories, and build off the ones I had already planted, because my gardens are more than just the plants in the ground, it is where I also plant the love of my family and my memories. Little do they know but each and every plant I have planted takes on a new meaning and a new memory for me to hold on to and cherish
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
We seem to take this for granted and forget what it really means
Please take the time to read these words. I tried to post the audio but it didn't work.
The following words were spoken by the late Red Skelton on his television program as he related the story of his teacher, Mr. Laswell, who felt his students had come to think of the Pledge of Allegiance as merely something to recite in class each day.
Now, more than ever, listen to the meaning of these words.
"I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the Pledge of Allegiance all semester
and it seems as though it is becoming monotonous to you.
If I may, may I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of each word?"
I
me, an individual, a committee of one.
Pledge
dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self pity.
Allegiance
my love and my devotion.
To the flag
our standard, Old Glory, a symbol of freedom. Wherever
she waves, there's respect because your loyalty has given
her a dignity that shouts freedom is everybody's job!
United
that means that we have all come together.
States
individual communities that have united into 48 great states.
Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and
purpose; all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to
a common purpose, and that's love for country.
And to the republic
a state in which sovereign power is
invested in representatives chosen by the
people to govern. And government is the people
and it's from the people to the leaders, not from
the leaders to the people.
For which it stands, one nation
one nation, meaning "so
blessed by God"
Indivisible
incapable of being divided.
With liberty
which is freedom -- the right of power to live one's
own life without threats, fear or some sort of
retaliation.
And Justice
the principle or quality of dealing fairly with others.
For all
which means, boys and girls, it's as much your
country as it is mine.
***~~**~~***
Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country
and two words have been added to the pledge of Allegiance...
UNDER GOD
Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said
that is a prayer
and that would be eliminated from schools too?
Please take the time to read these words. I tried to post the audio but it didn't work.
The following words were spoken by the late Red Skelton on his television program as he related the story of his teacher, Mr. Laswell, who felt his students had come to think of the Pledge of Allegiance as merely something to recite in class each day.
Now, more than ever, listen to the meaning of these words.
"I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the Pledge of Allegiance all semester
and it seems as though it is becoming monotonous to you.
If I may, may I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of each word?"
I
me, an individual, a committee of one.
Pledge
dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self pity.
Allegiance
my love and my devotion.
To the flag
our standard, Old Glory, a symbol of freedom. Wherever
she waves, there's respect because your loyalty has given
her a dignity that shouts freedom is everybody's job!
United
that means that we have all come together.
States
individual communities that have united into 48 great states.
Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and
purpose; all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to
a common purpose, and that's love for country.
And to the republic
a state in which sovereign power is
invested in representatives chosen by the
people to govern. And government is the people
and it's from the people to the leaders, not from
the leaders to the people.
For which it stands, one nation
one nation, meaning "so
blessed by God"
Indivisible
incapable of being divided.
With liberty
which is freedom -- the right of power to live one's
own life without threats, fear or some sort of
retaliation.
And Justice
the principle or quality of dealing fairly with others.
For all
which means, boys and girls, it's as much your
country as it is mine.
***~~**~~***
Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country
and two words have been added to the pledge of Allegiance...
UNDER GOD
Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said
that is a prayer
and that would be eliminated from schools too?
Saturday, June 7, 2008
A Lifetime
I was reflecting today as I am going to a 100th birthday party for a friend of the family. Can you imagine 100 years walking this earth. I am only 1/2 way there and I find it hard to imagine. The changes he saw in the world in his lifetime.
He saw presidents elected from the 27th to the 45th President of the United States. He was 6 years old when the World War 1 started, and 10 when it ended. He saw the Panama canal open when he was 6. He was 7 when the first long distance phone service was offered. At ten he saw the world wide flu epidemic that killed nearly 20 million people world wide and some 500,000 United States citizens. At 19 he saw Lindbergh make his historic flight. At 23 the Star Spangled Banner is adopted as our National Anthem. At 24 he saw Amelia Earhart make her transatlantic flight. At 27 the FBI is formed from the Bureau of Investigation. AT 31 he saw the start of World War II, and at 33 the Us enters the war. At 42 the US entered the Korean War. He saw several amendments to the Constitution pass.
At 51 he saw the US get more deeply involved in Vietnam at 56 the Gulf of Tonkin incident that escalated the war. At 50 the first satellite is launched into space.
At 51 he saw two stars added to the flag with the addition of Alaska and Hawaii as states. At 54 he watched John Glenn launch into outer space as the first American in space. He was 60 when Martin Luther King was assassinated. When he was 62 the Kent State incident happened. At 72 he saw the US boycott the Moscow Olympics.
At 78 he saw the Challenger explode. He was 82 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. At 87 Oklahoma City Bombings happen. At 93 the Trade Towers are attacked by hijacked airplanes. 95 years after his birth the shuttle Columbia burnt up on reentry.
He saw the rise of airlines during his lifetime. The growth of automotive traffic, the development of the Interstate Highway system. He was around when Television was invented. There was no such thing as a microwave oven when he was born, and many homes still had outhouses. Computers were just a dream, and space travel was only science fiction. Wars were still fought in the trenches, and planes had propellers. Helicopters were not even really a dreamt when Wendall was born. He probably saw more changes in the world and society than any other generation.
He saw presidents elected from the 27th to the 45th President of the United States. He was 6 years old when the World War 1 started, and 10 when it ended. He saw the Panama canal open when he was 6. He was 7 when the first long distance phone service was offered. At ten he saw the world wide flu epidemic that killed nearly 20 million people world wide and some 500,000 United States citizens. At 19 he saw Lindbergh make his historic flight. At 23 the Star Spangled Banner is adopted as our National Anthem. At 24 he saw Amelia Earhart make her transatlantic flight. At 27 the FBI is formed from the Bureau of Investigation. AT 31 he saw the start of World War II, and at 33 the Us enters the war. At 42 the US entered the Korean War. He saw several amendments to the Constitution pass.
At 51 he saw the US get more deeply involved in Vietnam at 56 the Gulf of Tonkin incident that escalated the war. At 50 the first satellite is launched into space.
At 51 he saw two stars added to the flag with the addition of Alaska and Hawaii as states. At 54 he watched John Glenn launch into outer space as the first American in space. He was 60 when Martin Luther King was assassinated. When he was 62 the Kent State incident happened. At 72 he saw the US boycott the Moscow Olympics.
At 78 he saw the Challenger explode. He was 82 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. At 87 Oklahoma City Bombings happen. At 93 the Trade Towers are attacked by hijacked airplanes. 95 years after his birth the shuttle Columbia burnt up on reentry.
He saw the rise of airlines during his lifetime. The growth of automotive traffic, the development of the Interstate Highway system. He was around when Television was invented. There was no such thing as a microwave oven when he was born, and many homes still had outhouses. Computers were just a dream, and space travel was only science fiction. Wars were still fought in the trenches, and planes had propellers. Helicopters were not even really a dreamt when Wendall was born. He probably saw more changes in the world and society than any other generation.
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