9/11 Pentagon Memorial

While dropping Erin off in Arlingtion, VA to begin her new job, we were fortunate enough to visit the newly dedicated Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. This is a very poignant space, with benches for each victim and reflecting pools. The most heart-wrenching aspect of the site is the engraved pavement stones with the date and time of the attack. You can see the marks from the airplane wreckage on the blocks. This memorial is a must-see on your next visit to our Nation's Capital,

Water, Water everywhere

We were out of town from September 11 until the 16th. While we were gone, it rained. And rained. And rained. The area received in excess of 10 inches, the most ever recorded. Since our town is settled around a lake, there was much flooding, and all the bridges into town were closed.

Our home was not affected, but many were. The waters are receding, but now the clean up starts, mostly for our park department. The area around the lake has been extensively renovated in three phases, and much of the new area was flooded. It remains to be seen if there was damage to the renovations. Hopefully not.

I've been a baaaad Blogger

My posts have been few and far between since summer, but now that my sorority's fundraiser is over, I can get back to regular pursuits.

Today is election day here in Lake County, Indiana. The races being contested are the municipal offices like mayor and city council. We have quite a mayor's race in my town of Hobart. The incumbent mayor lost in her bid for a fourth term in the primaries in May, so we are guaranteed a new mayor for the next four years. I don't really want to go into the race, suffice it to say it's been fairly dirty, and if there had been a "None of the Above" choice, I would have taken that one.

I've been re-reading Frank Herbert's Dune books for the past few months, and something I read in them really hit home for me. I used to believe that power corrupts, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. But Herbert made the statement in "Heretics of Dune" to the effect that power attracts the corruptable. This is exactly the case in this county, and to a lesser degree the city. These offices attract the people with the least favorable attributes in our society: bullies, liars, thieves. I paint with a broad brush here, and I understand there are exceptions to every rule. There are good public servants who work hard at thankless tasks for not much money and are under appreciated. Unfortunately, these officials are scarce and definately the exception.

Until we the people really take the time to consider who we are voting for instead of blindly pulling one or the other straight party levers, we will continue to get exactly the government we deserve. Eva Peron was right when she said this 50 years ago.

I've been tagged

I've been tagged to reveal seven things about myself that would be news to people that know me, so here goes...
(1) I hate bare feet, not necessarily yours, but my own
(2) I was awarded the Phi Beta Kappa Key in 1977 at Purdue University
(3) My favorite fun thing to do as a kid (if you don't count softball) was flying kites
(4) I have two phobias: knives and fire
(5) I have NEVER mowed a lawn
(6) There are certain words that I really dislike; the one that pops into my head is "busted" as in "The little boy fell and busted his arm" ; I think it is poor English and a sloppy way to speak.
(7) I could watch "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" every day and still laugh at it.

There they are.......tag! Now you're it.

Things to Accomplish before my next birthday

A blog I visit occasionally is "A Beautiful Mess" by Elsie Flannigan. Elsie posted a challenge to list several things you realistically wish to accomplish before your next birthday. Since mine is in September, I don't have very long, but here goes:

1. Design and Publish our first firm brochure to give to clients; we have alot of experience in many areas of law, but we needed a way to let our clients know this. Tom has been after me to do a brochure we can give to clients to enhance our repeat business and referrals. I found a program I think will work for us, so it's now just a matter of DOING IT.

2. Get back on the FlyLady program; see http://www.flylady.com/ That pretty much says it all.

3. Get our yard completely ready for winter: prune bushes and trees, pull out dead plants, cut back perennials, put away yard furniture,etc. This is about a two-weekend job since I do this myself.

4. Begin work organizing the upstairs storage area. I really want to get this area in order so that if Chicago gets the 2016 Olympics, we can be in a position to finish the upstairs rooms for a "bed and breakfast" area I have been thinking about. I think we could pay for the renovations with what we would make over that 2 week period, if it does come to pass.

I think that's enough to realistically think I can get done in the next 51 days.

Peggy Noonan

One of my favorite political commentators is Peggy Noonan. Ms. Noonan is an editorial contributor to the Wall Street Journal and a frequent guest on the "talking heads" news programs. She is a former speechwriter for George H. W. Bush and Ronald Regan.

Her opinion columns for the WSJ are always spot on. Her column today is particularly insightful. Check it out by clicking on the title above.

A fun site

I love the "Found" magazine website. It features found items submitted by people all over the world. I think what I like about looking at these items is that it brings us all closer to one another. We can see how alike we are. And they are usually hilarious.

I really enjoy reading the comments to the finds. There are some really wicked funny people in this world, and none of them are on TV or in the movies, but right there in the cubicle beside us.

Enjoy.