When we were considering which specific cruise to take we narrowed the list down to four options.  One wanted sunny warm weather and beaches.  The other wanted sightseeing in the Mediterranean (a sailing with a different amazing port every day).

In the end the sunny warm beaches won.  Had it not, we’d have been on the Costa ship that went down off the coast of Italy.

Its not just the big decisions that make a difference.

Anyway, most of you – most everyone – knows the name Pele.  The greatest soccer player of all time with an amazing life story, even more so after becoming “Pele”.  Since the first Pele so many have been the “next” one.  Fact is, there have been some amazing “historical” players, and two of them have been Brasilian as well – Ronoldo and Ronoladinho.  But, there’s also Christiano Ronoldo, and Messi, my goodness, Messi is amazing.

Just my opinion, and as good as the others have been (and they have been amazing), Messi is in a league by himself.  Until very recently.

If you’ve not seen Neymar, or even if you have, this highlight reel is a must.  If you have any appreciation for the sport, watch this young man (born in 1992!).

And please don’t think everyone can play like this.  Watch how he manipulates the ball and the opposing player.  Watch how many defenders he leaves in the dust.  What how he handles the ball with his feet.  Only a few people have ever show the kind of grace of play Neymar has, especially at 19.  There is no doubt he is one of the greatest living players.  THE greatest?  [Shrug} Time will tell, but its going to be an amazing and entertaining ride.

This is why it is called the beautiful sport.

So, I was visiting family in Vermont for the holiday and my Uncle suggested a skiing lesson, since I was a “never ever”  lol.  My goal for the year was born.  To do as many things I’ve never done before in the next 12 months.  So, here’s proof of the first one – skiing.  I enjoyed a 2 hour lesson and then a run down the beginner hill.  It seemed like Mount Everest when I had the skiis on.  LOL  I had an excellent time and look forward to the next first – to make a ski “run” with out falling down.  (also, learning how to stop better would be good).

Cheers – here’s to an excellent 2012!

I’ll post anything new here.  plus, I’ll be updating this site eventually.  The major thing I’ll be doing is finding a theme I like.  If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Fortunately I am on the first floor so I just had to walk to the end of the hall to get out.  I feel bad for some of my colleagues who are up the 9th and 10th floor, I’m not sure what they did.  It was VERY cold outside (comparatively) and I was glad I had a jacket on.  Some folks went out in the pajamas and many were in shorts, etc.., especially the kids.

I wandered over to the nearby Swam Hotel to wait in their lobby and was not there long before people started streaming back.  All told it was about 30 minutes from the time I left my room until the time I got back.  I’m sorry it had to happen, but glad to know that if it were a real emergency, that the processes are in place and that people were willing to respond even in a difficult situation (very early morning, most people asleep, lots-o-kids).  I know some people were pissed off and unhappy.  I have to wonder how unhappy they would have been if they got trapped in their room for a real fire.

What an interesting way to start November 11th, 2011 – better known as 11-11-11.

So, there is this dull, droning that is breaking the silence of night.  I live in a very quite neighborhood.  I live very close to a river crossing and so all traffic from our immediate area channels down a road that is not far from my house.  During the day you don’t really hear the traffic.  But at night, when it is quite, sometimes you get sirens from ambulances heading to the closest medical center, which is just on the other side of the river (more or less).    Following along the river is a highway (3 lanes on each side) and, again, during the day you don’t hear anything but at night, occasionally, you’ll hear the drag racing or motorcycles or trucks downshifting.  But it is pretty rare, and not really loud enough to be an annoyance.

Last night when I got home I heard this dull droning sound.  It sounds like a tractor-trailer is idling on the street outside my house.  Noise curfew is 10pm but I waited until 11pm to contact the local police (on their non-emergency number) to see if they knew anything.  They told me that the sound is coming from a neighboring city and there was nothing they can do about it.  They were very nice and sounded frustrated with it themselves.

When I got home from class tonight I noticed it was happening again.  I didn’t notice it this morning when I left for work, but it is clearly back tonight.  I called the police back to see if they knew what it was and how long it might last.  The officer said it was construction that is taking place on the major roadway mentioned above.  Damn!  I now think it must be the generator for something, like the equipment or the lights.  I don’t see the work lights, but the sound is traveling from the highway across the river and right up the hill – into my bedroom window.

There is nothing I can do and I can’t really be upset.  Fixing the highway is a good thing.  We don’t want them working on it during the daylight hours because that would cause great problems with the traffic and inconvenience far more people than some noise.  I’m guessing this is what it is and I’m also guessing it’s not going to stop tomorrow.  In fact, when they are done where they are, they will probably move up the highway, which may mean the noise source will actually be closer.

As they say in French…Le Sigh.

For all of you who have ever had a pet that died. . . .
Or a child with many questions. ..

We don’t know who replied, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service.

Our 14-year-old dog Abbey died last month. The day after she passed away my 4-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so, and she dictated these words:

Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.

I hope you will play with her. She likes to swim and play with balls. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet….. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, ‘To Meredith’ in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, ‘When a Pet Dies.’ Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help and I recognized her right away.
Abbey isn’t sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don’t need our bodies in heaven, I don’t have any pockets to keep your picture in so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.
Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I’m easy to find. I am wherever there is love.

Love, God

Given that the window into our dorm room was near a side entrance, our poster got a LOT of attention.  So much so that they asked me (told me, actually) to take it down.  I guess you can see why.

Anyway, I was on my way home from work tonight listening to the song Fat Bottomed Girls and I noticed something unusual about the lyrics.  Check these out

I was just a skinny lad
Never knew no good from bad,
But I knew life before I left my nursery,
Left alone with big fat Fanny,
She was such a naughty nanny!
Hey big woman you made a bad boy out of me!

So, lets deconstruct this just a bit.

Lad.  According to the Oxford English Dictionary, lad means “a boy, youth: a young man”.  So, we know the protagonist is young.  And his claim was that he knew life BEFORE he left his nursery, so that means REALLY young.  Young enough to be left along with a nanny – or perhaps with some kind of emotional or physical problems that he needed to be with a nanny at an older age, but it doesn’t matter and I digress.

So this young boy – DEFINITELY under the age of consent, is left “alone” with “big fat fanny”.  Now, I get that that there was really no political correctness back then, so we’ll forgo the critique of calling Fanny fat.  Again, I digress.  Of course he should be left alone with her, that is the purpose of a nanny, right?   But we find out that she was not just a nanny but a NAUGHTY nanny.  And, she makes a “bad boy” out of our lad.

The only conclusion is that it doesn’t really matter if Fanny is fat or not, she is a pedophile.  So, here in this song, we are celebrating…in fact, nearly worshiping, a pedophile.

I’ll never be able to listen to this song the same way again.