Yesh Li Blog

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2012-02-12T16:53:00.001-07:00

Blizzard February 2012

2012-02-04T15:28:00.001-07:00

At the beginning of the week, Colorado meteorologists began to warn us of an impending snowstorm of historic proportions.

It seems the greatest recorded snowfall for February in Colorado was 22 inches in 1912.

They were predicting between 15 and 22 inches for one 36-hour period.

It came in Thursday evening. I must say CDOT (Colorado Department of Transportation) and our City did a satisfactory job of keeping the roads open in difficult conditions.

There was a short hiatus Friday midday, and we wondered (hopefully) if the weather folks had been wrong again, but alas...Good for making snow angels, though.

It piled pretty high on our front lawn. Here's Pam modeling. Official total for us was 20 inches.

Clearing a path to the porch. These snow walls remind me of what we read in Exodus this morning, i.e. the walls of water rising up on either side of the Israelites as they fled through the Sea of Reeds (aka the Red Sea) before Pharaoh and his chariots.

For those who think we live in a frigid climate, we do not!

It was cold for a day or so, but this morning dawned bright and clear. The sun was out, the temperature was in the upper 30's, the humidity was low, and the snow was melting. Balmy!

Pam captured me "prancing" out to get the snow shovel.

And of course, we had to illustrate that in Colorado, we barbecue year round. Our 2012 Blizzard barbecue picture.

Previous Blizzard barbecues here.

Thanks to niece Pam for the most excellent photos.

So. It's Friday the 13th. So, what?

2012-01-13T18:04:00.001-07:00

Friday the 13th. Big deal. The day and the number have gotten a bad rap for a long time. Yet Friday is beloved as the end of the work week, and do not Christians believe an event of universe-shattering proportions took place on Good Friday?

We have dealt previously with the number 13 here and here. Far from being unlucky, it has many praiseworthy qualities and connections.

One is in its connection to the Hebrew word love, ahavah, which has the numeric value of 13.

The word echad, one, also has the value of 13. It is said this alludes to the 13 attributes of God's compassion revealed to Moshe.

The United States had its original 13 colonies.

Our flag has 13 stripes.

Furthermore, it is said that "God is one" and "God is love," and adding the numeric values of ahavah and echad, we come up with 26, which happens to be the number of the Tetragrammaton, the ineffable Name of God.

I think those things are pretty good—lucky, you might say.

Lucky 13.

There are many 13s on the Dollar Bill, for example the stars...

...the stripes...

...the arrows...

...the leaves-berries...

...the letters (of Annuit Coeptis)...

...and the rattlers, among others.

For more than you wanted to know about the number 13, check out MysticalNumbers.com.

For a plethora of interesting mathematical facts about the fascinating number 13, check out this site.

Happy New Year 2012

2011-12-31T12:49:00.004-07:00

In present-day Japan, they celebrate the solar new year on January 1st, but they associate the new year with the symbol of the upcoming Chinese lunar year, which begins later.

2012, then, is the Year of the Dragon, and this is the dragon Kanji (Chinese character).

Before the new year begins, the greeting is

"Yoi otoshi o omukae kudasai"

which is wishes for a good year.

よいお年をお迎えください。

or informally "Yoi otoshi o."

よいお年を！

After the new year begins, the greeting is

"Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu"

明けまして
おめでとう
ございます。

One blog translates this roughly
"The year is changing...
darkness gives way to light...
new life begins...
Congratulations!"
I really like that.

or "Shinnen akemashite omedetou gozaimasu."

新年あけまして
おめでとうございます。

In writing, Happy New Year is often given as

"Kinga Shinnen."

謹賀新年

In Japan, the custom is to write New Year's Greeting cards.

A phrase such as "Sakunen wa taihen osewa ni nari
arigatou gozaimashita," which means
"Thank you for all your kind help during
the past year" is a common text.

昨年は大変お世話になり

ありがとうございました｡

or "Honnen mo douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu"

(I hope for your continued favor this year.)

本年もどうぞよろしくお願いします｡

My wish for all of you in my virtual New Year card is this:

"Minasama no gokenkou o oinori moushiagemasu"

(Wishing everyone good health.)

皆様のご健康をお祈り申し上げます｡

For more Japanese words and expressions, check out this blog.

The Season of Lights

2011-12-25T01:00:00.000-07:00

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.

See, darkness covers the earth

and thick darkness is over the peoples,

but the LORD rises upon you

and his glory appears over you.

Nations will come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

I am the light of life.
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness
but have the light of life.

In the same way, let your light shine before others,

that they may see your good deeds and

glorify your Father in heaven.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

I came that they may have life,

and have it more abundantly.

Immanu El — With us, God!

Amahl and the Night Visitors

2011-12-10T01:17:00.001-07:00

Since its first performance on NBC TV, Christmas Eve, 1951, Amahl and the Night Visitors has taken its place with "A Christmas Carol" as a holiday classic. Peformed on every continent and in many languages, it has been seen by more people than any other opera in history.

The story tells of the night the Three Kings, following the star to Bethlehem, stop for shelter at the home of Amahl, a poor, crippled shepard boy who lives with his widowed mother. Inspired by the Wise Men's tale of a kingdom "built on love alone," Amahl offers his own simple gift to the Christ Child. And then a miracle happens.

In this warm and compassionate story, Gian Carlo Menotti has captured the essential spirit of Christmas. At its premiere, The New York Times called Amahl "rare art. . . tender and exquisite."

Gian Carlo Menotti was born in 1911 in a mountain village in northern Italy. He began composing at age five and had written his first opera before he was eleven. As a little boy, he was miraculously cured of lameness by a pilgrimage to the nearby Sanctuary of Sacro Monte. This was the genesis of Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera ever commisioned for television.

Sample or download the music here.

The Story of Amahl

Somewhere in the world lives a crippled little shepherd called Amahl, with his mother, an impoverished widow. Nothing is left to them of the little they ever had, and they are now faced with hunger and cold in their empty house.

Three Wise Men, on their way to Bethlehem, stop at the hut and ask to be taken in for the night. Amahl and his mother welcome them and their Page as well as they can, and are much astonished at the splendor of their robes and the wealth of gifts they are carrying with them. When Amahl's mother realizes that the Three Kings are looking for a newborn babe and that the expensive gifts are all destined for him, she becomes bitter and envious. She cannot understand why at least some of these gifts could not be given to her own child, who is so poor and sickly.

Under cover of darkness, while the Three Kings are asleep, she steals some of the gold from them - and is caught red-handed. When she explains to the Three Kings that she needs the gold to feed her starving child, she is readily forgiven. With great tenderness they try to explain to her who this newborn child is and how much he needs the love of every human being to build his coming kingdom. Touched by their words, the poor widow not only gives back the stolen gold, but wishes she could add a gift of her own. Little Amahl comes to her rescue. He impulsively hands the Three Kings his wooden crutch, his most precious possession, and in so doing he is miraculously cured of his lameness.

As dawn appears in the sky, the Three Kings prepare to resume their journey. Amahl begs his mother to let him join them, and he is finally allowed to follow the Kings to Bethlehem to adore and give thanks to the Christ Child.

(Synopsis taken from www.boychoirs.org here.)

Amahl and the Night Visitors is one of our favorite Christmas stories, but we have only rarely been able to see it performed live. This year we will be seeing it in Evergreen, Colorado at Center/Stage, performed by the Evergreen Chorale.

Remaining Performances:
Thu, 12/22/2011 - 7:00pm
Fri, 12/23/2011 - 4:30pm
Fri, 12/23/2011 - 7:00pm.

Boulder Messiah Sing-a-Long

2011-12-01T00:47:00.000-07:00

One Christmas tradition that has brought us great joy is the annual Boulder Messiah Sing-a-Long. We discovered it in 2002, and with one exception, have participated every year since. This year's (2011) three events will be held on Saturday and Sunday, December 17th and 18th. See the link for more information on this 29th annual event..

Mr. Robert Arentz has been conducting this wonderful event three times a year for the past 28 years (this wil be the 29th). Professional soloists and an orchestra are hired, and a festival choir that has been practicing since September leads the singing. The congregation sings along on all of the choruses.

Here's a shot of the joyful participants in the annual Messiah Sing-a-Long in the beautiful sanctuary of St. John's Episcopal Church in Boulder.

Another shot of the enthusiastic singers (you can see me, my wife, and our niece on the righthand side of the picture if you look really closely).

Everyone is invited. Tickets are only $15, if purchased in advance at The West End Wine Shop (8th and Pearl in downtown Boulder), Page Two (in Gunbarrel), John's Cleaners at 28th and Iris, the Trattoria on Pearl Street (east end of the Mall), St. John's Episcopal Church (14th and Pine Street), or at the door for $20.

Most of the participants in the congregation have sung Messiah many times over and have their own scores, but scores are also available at the door. Don't allow the lack of a score to keep you from one of the most uplifting events of the Christmas season.

For more on Handel, check out an excellent article here.

For much more information about the Sing-a-Long and about G. F. Handel and his music,
check out the Boulder Messiah Sing-a-Long site here.

My Barber

2011-11-30T01:46:00.000-07:00

Looking for a barber that is courteous, competent and reasonably priced? Check out my barber, Carlos Barber Shop at Mission Trace, Thornton.

Location:
In the Mission Trace Shopping Center
3837 E. 120th Avenue (at Colorado)
Thornton, CO 80233
Phone:
(303) 255-5594

Hours of Operation
Monday: Closed
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 9 - 5
Thursday: 9 - 2
Saturday: 8 - 2

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Psalm 100

1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his

presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath

made us, and not we ourseleves; we are his people,

and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his

courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless

his name.

5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting;

and his truth endureth to all generations.

I went to school—Kindergarten and First Grade, that is, in the late 1950s. It was a golden age of the United States of America. We had, with our Allies, beaten back the forces bent on world domination in both the European and Asian theatres in the 40s and had contained the forces of communism above the 38th parallel on the Korean peninsula in the early 50s. Eisenhower was in the White House, and the U.S. was at peace and prosperous, beginning its climb to a position of preeminence in the latter half of the 20th century. These are events for which I am thankful

I don’t remember this, of course; I was in Kindergarten and the First Grade, after all. In fact, I don’t remember much from this time, least of all how those wonderful people called teachers taught me how to read and write and cipher (actually, we never called it ciphering; it was just plain, old arithmetic), some of the most important events of my life. For those people and those times, I am extremely thankful.

I do remember, however, that this was a time before God was exiled from the public schools. I remember vividly during the days leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday that we would read Psalms and sing hymns of praise and thanksgiving to the Creator. That was a thankful time, indeed.

I know as surely as my name is Jim that we read at least Psalm 100: "Make a joyful noise unto the LORD." Of course, at that time we memorized the psalm in the King James or Authorized Version of the Bible. To this day I remember and love this psalm. I am very thankful for the Psalms, which show us how to praise and teach us of God and the truth of God.

I remember, too, the harvest hymns that were part of the remembrance and celebration of Thanksgiving in public schools in those days. These psalms and hymns are among the reasons that this holiday is my favorite of the American holidays. It has always been about praise and giving thanks to the Creator of all. The feasting and family get-togethers are important, joyful, and treasured corollaries, but the premise of the holiday, its reason for being, is thanksgiving to One greater than ourselves, one worthy of our thanks, who gives us the breath of life and the ability both to enjoy the fruits of creation and to return thanks for them.

Here are some of the hymns I think I remember from school, and that I know I remember from church and from this holiday season. (I won’t bet my life that we sang all of these in the public schools, but I know we sang some of them.) I love them all. I have given the first stanza of each. For the complete lyrics, click on the title.

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home;

All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.

God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied;

Come to God’s own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.

                         We Gather Together
                    We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
                    He chastens and hastens His will to make known.
                    The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
                    Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.

                           For The Beauty Of The Earth
                    For the beauty of the earth,
                    For the beauty of the skies,
                    For the love which from our birth
                    Over and around us lies,
                    Lord of all, to thee we raise
                    This our hymn of grateful praise.

                        Now Thank We All Our God
                    Now thank we all our God,
                    With heart and hands and voices,
                    Who wondrous things hath done,
                    In whom his world rejoices;
                  Who from our mother's arms
                    Hath blessed us on our way
                    With countless gifts of love,
                    And still is ours to-day.

                        This Is My Father's World
                     This is my Father's world,
                     and to my listening ears
                     all nature sings, and round me rings
                     the music of the spheres.

My Thanksgiving thanksgiving 2010
Thinking and Thanking
Thankful to be so Thankful
Thanksgiving 2005
A Turkey by any Other Name
Give Thanks in Everything

Thanksgiving 2011 (Quotes)

2011-11-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

Discovered a great Thanksgiving quote this year...

...and an excellent quotation blog.
More quotes from Chesterton:

"When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?" ~G.K. Chesterton

"You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink." ~G.K. Chesterton

Boutique Judaica

2011-11-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

Boutique Judaica, just west of I-25 on Hampden Avenue, is one of our favorite shops in the Denver area.

A look in the front window provides a glimpse of the myriad of items inside. Books, Kippot, Hanukkiot, Greeting Cards, Challah Plates and Covers, Shabbat Candlesticks, B'nai Mitzvah Gifts, Mezuzot, Tallitot, Fine Jewelry, Candles, Music CD's.
You name it.

The appeal is not just the cornucopia of wonderful merchandise they stock.

It's the warmth and friendliness with which every visitor is welcomed. If you need to hear a good word, visit Boutique Judaica. You'll be treated like family. Here's Roz, showcasing a few of the items available.

Kathy stands by the front window display, chock full of Hanukkiot for the fast-approaching holiday.

Boutique Judaica

Hours of Operation:
Monday - Thursday: 10:30 - 6
Friday: 10:30 - 3
Sunday: 10:30 - 4
Closed Saturday

Location:
5052 E. Hampden
Denver, CO 80222

If coming from I-25, watch for the Starbucks on the corner and turn left into the Happy Canyon Shopping Center. You'll see Boutique Judaica on your left.

Directions here.

Phone:
(303) 757-1317 Fax: (303) 757-1326

Real Tokyo Ramen in Denver

2011-11-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

After spending five wonderful years in Japan, we were delighted to discover an excellent ramen shop in Denver. Our son discovered it originally, and we have been back many times since. There are a couple of places in Denver where you feel as if you are walking out of the United States and into Japan. Domo Restaurant is one, and Oshima Ramen is another. The proprietor speaks to us in Japanese, and the place has the authentic feel of a ramen shop in Tokyo or Yokohama. Here we are on our latest visit.

This was a few years ago. The ongoing visit of our close friends, Bob and Vicki, and a promise we had made to our niece, Liz, was a perfect pretext to make the drive south to 7400 Hampden (just east of I25) to share a bit of Japanese cuisine with our friends. (In point of fact, ramen originated in China, but ramen shops are ubiquitous in Nihon, and that is where we learned to love it.)

At Oshima Ramen, you can also enjoy yakisoba, fried rice, Japanese pickles, and gyoza, to name just a few delightful dishes. Here's the gyoza. Not only is the food tasty, it is reasonably priced. Whether you are a veteran noodle slurper or are looking for something different, give Oshima Ramen a try. You won't be disappointed.

Here's a link to a map and some reviews of this shop, one of our favorite places to eat in Denver.

Original Oshima Ramen with a quintessentially Japanese drink, Ramune.

Chicken-Vegetable Ramen.

Original Oshima Ramen.

Spicy Kimchi Ramen

Chicken Ramen, Gyoza, and two types of Japanese pickles (Tsukemono/Takuan).

For more about ramen, check out this link.

The crew in front of our favorite Ramen shop a few years ago.

2011 review: Eat Local.
2009 review: From Japan, with love: a True Noodle House.
2008 review: Strangelunch.
2004 review: God Has Smiled on Oshima Ramen.

Longmont Symphony Orchestra

2011-11-12T11:19:00.003-07:00

As I have posted in the past, one of the raisons d'etre of my blog is to highlight some of our favorite things. The Longmont Symphony Orchestra is one of those things. We first discovered the LSO at the annual Thornton Fourth of July fireworks celebration, at which they have been performing for over 30 years. Later, I was privileged to take a course in Music Appreciation from one of their musicians, Deb Corisis, who is also involved in many other musical endeavors, some of which can be seen at Ribbons and Strings Ensembles.

Saturday, we attended LSO's latest offering, A Night in Old Spain. We love Spain, which was our home for ten years. We love good music, and we love the Longmont Symphony Orchestra, one of the top amateur orchestras in the country.

We started the evening at a favorite local eatery.

The menu was varied, the service excellent, the atmosphere appealing, and the food delicious.

At the concert, the music was wonderful, and the flamenco was outstanding.

This was the program, as described on their web site.

Capriccio Espagnol has always been one of my favorite pieces of "Spanish music," although it was written by a Russian! The LSO did it justice. This is how director Robert Olson put it.

A Night in Old Spain
Nov. 12th @ 7:30
The music of Spain is immediately recognizable, whether it be from the exciting cross rhythms inherent in its folk music, or its unique scale resources that conjure up images from Moorish Spain. Spanish music is always passionate and colorful and reeks of energy, perfect for Flamenco!

The LSO is thrilled to present Longmont’s own Salli Gutierrez, flamenco dancer and teacher. Salli will be choreographing a work with orchestra, and her favorite flamenco guitarist, Steven Mullins. Mr. Mullins, also from Longmont, has written a work especially for this concert we will premiere.

As I was researching for this concert, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a wealth of wonderful music written by various composers celebrating Spain and its musical heritage. Oddly enough, two pieces I found particularly exciting were written by French composers, Massenet and Chabrier! The former contains a series of short dances celebrating the various regions of Spain (all quite different from each other), while the latter is simply a flashy, exciting work capturing the energy and romance of Spain.

No concert of Spanish music would be complete without the music of Spanish composer Manuel de Falla. El Amor Brujo is a ballet suite, a story of ghosts, magic and of course, love. The exotic sounds are remind us of Moorish Spain, one of the great epochs of Spanish history.

Oddly enough, we’ll end the evening with probably the most exciting “Spanish” work ever written, by a Russian! Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol is a tour d’force for orchestra, highly colorful, exciting, and a piece “in overdrive” from start to finish.

I’m really looking forward to this concert, and I hope you are as well. See you there.
Robert Olson
Music Director

Veterans Day 2011

2011-11-11T10:48:00.020-07:00

It sounds incongruous to say “Happy Veterans Day.” It seems to me rather a day to say “Thank you.” It is a fine rehearsal for Thanksgiving. We give thanks for the lives we enjoy as a result of the sacrifice of the one percent who served. 11-11-11.
There is much speculation as to the significance of this auspicious date. To me, it seems a fitting date to honor our veterans.
There is something unfinished about the number 11. First of all, it is an odd number. Odd, because it is not evenly divisible by two; it is two ones side-by-side but eternally looking for that final mate to bring it back into evenness.
1+1
1+1
1+1
1+1
1+1
1
It lies just beyond the perfection of the number 10, reaching ahead to the future yet falling short of an even 12. The number 11 is somehow deficient, incomplete.

The number 11 reminds me of veterans. We’re odd, first because we entered the service alone, leaving mates, family, friends, lives behind. And then again, many of us are bona fide characters—oddballs! Secondly, there is something unfinished about our lives. Our service was a phase—a very significant phase—but just a part of a life. There is a saying that “a veteran is someone who, at one point in his life wrote a blank check made payable to The United States of America for an amount of up to and including my life. That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it." Those who paid that all-inclusive price—known or unknown—had their futures cut short. There is the sense of a life unfinished, although they gave their lives that others might live, so in that sense, their legacy is complete and incomparable.

HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD For those of us who served and came home, whether for one tour or a career, we had more to do. We came out of that crucible of service with unfinished lives and were granted the grace to run the course, however long that might be. All the while, we remember with eternal gratitude, pride, and admiration those brave souls who laid down their lives that we might live, and live in liberty and peace.

To all those who came home—and most especially to those who did not—we say, “Thank you.”
2010

Happy Birthday, Toby!

2011-11-04T11:37:00.012-06:00

Happy birthday, Toby!

We celebrate your birth, and we are happy you are in our lives!

Looking forward to Thai Chicken Soup tonight...

...and Cottonwood Hot Springs in two weeks...

...for the 2nd Annual Jimmy/Toby Birthday Bash.

Here's a pic from the 1st Annual.

This picture? Just because I like it!

Happy Birthday, Jimmy

2011-11-04T02:26:00.008-06:00

Happy birthday to our dearest son, Jimmy.

You may be seeing one of these tonight!

Birthdays are always time to celebrate with family...
...and to celebrate with friends (here in
Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain)...
...and with sisters (here in Japan)...
Yom Huledet Sameach!

More family and more friends celebrating Jimmy's birthday here in the Centennial State.

Just had to include this picture because of the smile on his face, which exudes happiness.

All of this celebration of Jimmy's birthday shows how much he is loved and how much we have all been blessed by his birth and presence in our lives.

2010 2009 2007

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2011-10-11T13:32:00.013-06:00

Happy birthday, Mom!

Inside, the card says:

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO —

your prayers, your words, your example —
and every moment you've selflessly given to our family

You are appreciated, celebrated...and loved.

Have a Wonderful Birthday!

We were so excited that you were able to visit again this summer. Here are some pictures from your birthday party, which was either nine months late or three months early!

You have everyone's birthday memorized, so you were surprised when you saw the birthday cake. Whose birthday is it, anyway?

Oh, it's my birthday cake!

Speech! What a summer it was, with so many family and frends visiting.

Happy Birthday, Mom, and may you celebrate many more!
2010

Happy Birthday, Ellie!

2011-10-04T11:51:00.015-06:00

We love you.

Here are a few nostalgic pictures.

With Grandma A.

With Aunt Margaret

Unknown Birthday.

Negishi, with Bonnie.

Negishi with siblings.

And Ellie now, with her boys (3 of them).

With her guy.

Tanti Auguri

お誕生日おめでとう

2010 2009 2008 2007

Pest Control

2011-09-15T00:30:00.013-06:00

I just finished reading (or rather listening to) Bob Fitzhugh’s zany “thriller” Pest Control. I would describe it as a cross between Shakespeare’s “Comedy of Errors” and the Abbott and Costello routine “Who’s on First.” The characters constantly misunderstand one another’s meanings, causing a simple exterminator unwittingly to get involved in the dangerous business of contract killing. Fitzhugh loves to play with words and phrases, especially exploring the variety of idioms used to describe identical situations in various languages and cultures. He also describes various insects and their cousins in excruciating detail, making this book a delight to etymologists and entomologists alike! The Last Word Audio book is expertly narrated by Colby Elliott, whom we had the pleasure of meeting recently.

Synopsis on amazon.com

PROFESSIONAL EXTERMINATOR
FIFTEEN YEARS FIELD EXPERIENCE!
GONE PRIVATE WITH LETHAL NEW
CONCEPT! NO PEST LEFT ALIVE!

Bob Dillon just can't get a break. A down-on-his-luck exterminator, all he wants is his own truck with a giant fiberglass bug on top--and success with his radical new, environmentally friendly pest killing technique. So Bob decides to advertise.
Unfortunately, one of his flyers falls into the wrong hands. Marcel in Paris needs an assassin to handle a million dollar assignment, and he figures that Bob Dillon's his man. Through no fault--or participation--of his own, an unwitting bug-killer from Queens has become a major player in the shady world of contract murder. And now he's running for his life through the wormiest sections of the Big Apple--one step ahead of a Bolivian terminator, a homicidal transvestite dwarf, meat-headed CIA agents, cabbies packing serious heat...and the world's greatest hit man, who might just turn out to be the best friend Bob's got.

Availability/Reviews on audible.com.

From Library Journal
Fired from his job with a pest control company in Queens, New York, Bob Dillon starts his own business using his environmentally friendly technique: hybrid killer insects that eat cockroaches. Meanwhile, Marcel, a broker who contracts for assassins, is looking for a reliable newcomer to complete a million-dollar hit. He advertises and Bob responds, neither understanding the nature of the other's "exterminating" business. Very shortly thereafter, ten of the most dangerous hitpersons in the world descend on Queens, which is pretty dangerous itself and more than up to the challenge. Broadly satiric, extremely funny, and tailor-made for film (rights have already been sold to Warner Brothers), this is not exactly demanding reading, but it is fun and likely to be popular. A reasonable purchase for most public libraries. Edwin B. Burgess, U.S. Army Combined Research Lib., Fort Leavenworth, Va. Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

9th Annual Central City Opera Weekend—2011

2011-08-26T12:19:00.005-06:00

This year we saw two of the Central City Opera's offerings, Bizet's "Carmen" and Handel's "Amadigi di Gaula."

The "Carmen" presented this year was quite different from what we had seen at the opening of the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver in 2005. It was very good, very entertaining, just different, and that is one of the things that makes the Central City Opera productions so much fun. They are not afraid to do things differently, to try new things, to perform operas that are not often performed. It keeps us coming back year after year!

"Amadigi di Gaula" was different from most operas we have seen. A Baroque Opera, it focused more on the music than the story. It also made use of the countertenor voice. The lead in this opera was sung by South African countertenor, Christopher Ainslie, making his Central City and North American debut. The musical score allowed the performers to demonstrate their virtuosity on many levels. For lovers of Handel, it was a feast. From the opening chord and every note thereafter, it was unmistakably Handel.

I love this quote from the 2011 Opera Insider, "Amadigi di Gaula is a Baroque 'magic opera' based on a Renaissance story about a Medieval knight. It is also an Italian opera written by a German composer for an English audience, based on a French play, based on a Spanish book." I might add, "and performed in a mountain gambling town's nearly sesquicentenarian opera house for an American audience."

Friday night we arrived in town, and after checking into the Inn, we shared our traditional dinner at the Ameristar's Centennial Buffet (one day, I'll have to take a picture, but we're always so intent on eating that I forget). For Saturday lunch, we wandered Central City and came upon a place called Stella's, in an alley near the Teller House. Inside, it looked enchanting, but the service was not good, and we do not recommend it.

Saturday, we had our traditional dinner at the Kevin Taylor restaurant operating out of the Face Bar at the Teller House. They may lose us next year, however, as the portions had grown smaller, the prices higher, and they did not serve Truffle Fries, which is one of the items we especially liked on their menu.

Sunday, we like to stop at Millies, an old-fashioned family restaurant above the Easy Street Casino in Central City. They have a fairly extensive menu, fast, courteous service, and reasonable prices.

Cheese Fries at Millie's (in our defense, four of us shared this culinary luxury).

And of course we stayed at our favorite B&B, the Chase Creek Inn.

Here we are, preparing to enjoy one of Karen's marvelous breakfasts.

Yum.

A nice cup of java before breakfast.

The relaxing porch with rocking chairs is one of the many attractions of the Chase Creek Inn Bed & Breakfast that keep us coming back year after year. Hummingbirds buzz around the feeders to quietly keep us company.

I like to tell people our favorite B&B, the Chase Creek Inn, is around the corner from all the hustle and bustle of the casinos (it's behind and around the corner from Bullwhackers in Blackhawk). Here's a view off the back porch.

Another attraction of the B&B for me is Chase Creek itself. The babbling brook, the chortling creek, the gurgling stream can always be heard. As we drift off to sleep, we can hear the pleasant sound of the creek in the background.

Click on the video with speakers on to hear Chase Creek's pleasing tune.

This weekend is a highlight of our year. This was the 9th annual weekend relaxing in the mountains of Colorado, enjoying a lovely weekend of fellowship with friends, drinking in the fresh air, walking around the quaint towns of Blackhawk and Central City, as well as the Chase Creek neighbohood, and enjoying wonderful musical entertainment at the Central City Opera House.

Former Weekends:

2010, 2009, 2008, 2007

25,000

2011-08-25T01:19:00.001-06:00

Fifty-nine!

2011-07-15T01:29:00.004-06:00

Birthdays make me reflective. We humans love to commemorate big landmarks, e.g. the Market hits another 1,000 level (10,000, 11,000, 12,000, etc.), the mercury hits triple digits, a batter gets his 3,000th hit, a pitcher 300 wins, or we mark another decade of life (30, 40, 50, 60). When I hit 30, my wife made me a cake in the shape of a hill to mark my approaching decrepitude (over the hill, you see). At 40, my favorite Skipper, Capt B, gathered my family and co-workers in the conference room with cake and balloons to mark the occasion. At 50, I realized that the best thing about being over each hill was that another lay in the distance. How many more hills I climb is out of my hands. That I keep climbing my best is not.

I have not yet reached 60, but at 59 I realize that I ought to be thankful not only for living another decade but for another year, another day—in fact, for every new breath. Every breath is a gift from the One who first breathed life into the first lump of clay to bring it to life. In the same way, miracles happen every day. They consist not only in the parting of the Sea or the manna in the wilderness or the resurrection from the dead. The creation itself is a miracle. The birth of a child (or grandchild), the ability to earn a living, the rejuvenation of sleep, the nutrition of food, the list is never-ending. These are everyday miracles in the physical realm.

Love is a miracle: that we love others; that others love us. Kindness is miraculous: that people perform acts of kindness without ulterior motive. Comprehension is a miraculous gift from above. As Abraham Joshua Heschel put it, "even the very act of thinking baffles our thinking, just as every intelligible fact is, by virtue of its being a fact, drunk with baffling aloofness...What fills us with radical amazement is not the relations in which everything is embedded but the fact that even the minimum of perception is a maximum of enigma. The most incomprehensible fact is the fact that we comprehend at all." These are but a few of the miracles in the emotional and intellectual realms.

So, here are just a few of the miracles from my birthday. I opened my eyes at 6:00 a.m., something I have taken for granted my entire life and for which I am learning to be consciously grateful. After completing a circuit to bring artificial light into the room, I twisted a handle to start water flowing so that I could wash the phiz and brush the teeth. In addition to electricity itself being a miracle, ours was out until our electrician and a helpful Xcel repairman brought it back to life. Shower, shave, mirror, shave cream, after shave, everywhere I turned a miracle of technology.

I also ingested three tiny tablets to keep my blood pressure and cholesterol in check before dressing and walking (ambulation—miracle) to the shed to grab my golf clubs, which had been carefully crafted to make my shots straighter oftener when I hit the balls that were designed for maximum distance. Tossing the clubs in the trunk, I turned a little key in a switch and my powerful horseless carriage roared to life.

Arriving at the driving range, I joined my good friends: a coworker; my employer, my cousin’s husband, who is like a brother to me; and his son, my cousin-nephew. Green grass, sunshine, fresh air, good shots, bad shots, joy, frustration, conversation, a typical round of golf. So many miracles. Were I to list them all, this could go on forever.

Then when I turned on my computer, the electronic impulses representing 1s and 0s became intelligible English words, as the birthday greetings started pouring in from around the country and the world, close to a hundred from friends and family. So many everyday miracles went into making this possible, I won’t even try to list them, but the miracle of the love and appreciation of others, and the communication skills to express these sentiments to one another, touched my heart all day long. That is not to mention the friends, family, coworkers who wished me a happy birthday in person, all miracles of human communication, kindness, expressiveness and interaction.

Having reached the exalted age of 59, am I to feel old? I don’t. Oh, I’m not saying I don’t have aches and pains. Sometimes, as some comedian said, my aches and pains have aches and pains. But I don’t feel old. I more and more identify with my mother-in-law, who used to say she would get confused by the woman looking back at her in the mirror because she felt like a 16-year-old girl. I feel more like 25 or 30 (and male), but I now know what she means.

Tomorrow will have its challenges, to be sure, and I will face them as optimistically and as confidently as when I was 30, 40, and 50, and I shall try to be more aware of the myriad miracles surrounding me every day as I walk through this life for another breath, another day, another decade, gratefully.

A 4th of July Seder

2011-06-27T22:56:00.009-06:00

Prager University has put together a marvelous, brief program to remind us what the 4th of July is all about and why we celebrate it. Here's what they say about it:
"Welcome to our 4th of July Declaration!"

"We have modeled this Declaration on the best known commemoration of a historical event in the world — the Jewish Passover meal. It has successfully kept the memory of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt alive for over 3000 years."

"As Americans we need to reconnect with our Founding Fathers. We need to rediscover the meaning of our country's creation. And we need to do it every year. That is the reason for ritual — to enable us to remember. Without ritual, the memory fades. And without memory, life — whether of the individual or of a nation – loses its meaning."

"If you follow this simple ceremony, this holiday will not just be another barbecue. It will be the meaningful day it was meant to be: a celebration of the birth of our exceptional country, the United States of America."

To find out what materials you'll need and to download a copy of the Declaration of Independence, check out the entire program here.

Our Night at the Capitol Hill Bed & Breakfast

2011-06-10T00:36:00.019-06:00

We had a wonderful, one-night stay in a beautiful downtown Denver Bed & Breakfast, the Capitol Hill Mansion B&B the Sunday before the Memorial Day holiday. We were so delighted with our short stay, this B&B made our top five.

Kath arrives at the stately mansion.

The gardens are as meticulously cared for as the mansion.

Just a 15-20 minute walk from the 16th Street Mall, the Capital Hill Mansion B&B is ideally located in Lower Downtown Denver. We decided to eat on the Mall. The Cheesecake Factory was packed, but Ling & Louie's, right next door, seated us at an outdoor table on the patio immediately upon arrival. We enjoyed the Black Orchid Ahi, among other delicious dishes.

My lovely date perusing the menu.

Kath's favorite apéritif, a Midoritini.

Capitol Hill Mansion by night.

The huge whirlpool in the room was relaxing after our dinner and stroll.

2011-06-09T17:12:00.008-06:00

The 2011 Festival opens June 25th. Check it out here.

Check out the "Central City Opera Festival Blog: Behind-the-Curtain" here.

Capitol Hill Mansion B&B

2011-05-24T01:57:00.006-06:00

We are getting away to a new B&B this weekend. Can't wait.

Pasque Flower Suite. Whirlpool in the turret of the Victorian manse.

Apparently the Capitol Hill Mansion Bed and Breakfast has a great view of the Colorado Capitol, hence the moniker. We'll see.

Check out their web site here.

Triskaidekaphilia!

2011-05-13T14:37:00.006-06:00

Eschew Triskaidekaphobia.

Give Triskaidekaphilia a chance!

13 is a lovely number.

Check it out here.

13 is a Lovely Number!

2011-05-13T14:21:00.006-06:00

If 13 is an unlucky number, why is the great "Love" chapter of the Christian scriptures 1 Corinthians 13 and its 13 verses?!

By the way, the numeric value of the Hebrew word for Love (Ahavah) is 13.

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant

5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part,

10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T06:45:00.011-06:00

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!
I hope you've already received this card in the snail mail.
Here are the words, which are difficult to read in this picture.

A Mother is...
someone who has
a generous heart
and a capacity for giving
that's as limitless as the sky.
With her understanding
and caring,
she creates a safe place
for her family...

Thank you for being that mother!

Love, Your son

Happy 6th of May!

2011-05-06T16:05:00.018-06:00

As I pointed out in my Seis de Mayo post last year, Cinco de Mayo. is not as important a date in our family as Seis de Mayo (the 6th of May). Many, many (!) years ago, my brother, John, was born on that date, and not nearly as many years ago, I met my wife, Kathy, on that auspicious date. Johnny and Jimmy (as we were then called) one Christmas in front of the tree.

Dad, Johnny and I with Puppies. My beautiful wife posing in Cadiz, Andalucia, Spain just months after arriving in Spain for our first tour of duty at the Rota Naval Base.
My still-beautiful wife in our "mile-high" living room a few years ago.
A day of celebration for our family, the 6th of May. Happy Birthday, my brother. Happy Anniversary of our Meeting, my wife!

Phizzog

2011-05-01T02:15:00.005-06:00

A friend playing Words for Friends recently intimated that I might not know the meaning of the word Phiz, which I had just played for a hefty number of points on a Triple Word score.

I owe my knowledge of this lighthearted, little word (and its cousins, phizzog and physiognomy) to two sources: Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe detective novels and Carl Sandburg's poem, Phizzog. I have read all of the (nearly 50) Nero Wolfe novels multiple times (of course, by reading I also mean listening to the unabridged audiobooks). They are among my favorite books, and Nero's (Rex's) love of language has improved my own vocabulary, grammar, and diction immeasurably over the years.

So here are some quips and quotes from the novels. Invariably the speaker is Wolfe's sidekick, assistant, and man Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the celebrated detective, Archie Goodwin. (Wolfe, himself, despised slang and never used it!)

"Then I proceeded to cleanse the form and the phiz and get the figure draped for the day."
—The Rubber Band (1936)

"The one in front was a six-footer with a long narrow phiz and grizzled hair…"
—“Too Many Detectives” (1956) from Three for the Chair

"Cocking an eye at his earnest phiz, which was passable, but no pin-up, I would have said that she was overpricing him."
—“When a Man Murders” (1954) from Three Witnesses

“ 'I see.' Jessup looked at me, saw only an open and manly phiz, ready to help, and went back to Wolfe."
—Death of a Dude (1969)

"I had of course done a survey on him, including the contrast between his square-jawed rugged phiz and the indications that the race of fat and muscle would be a tie in another couple of years, but I wasn't ready for a final vote."
—The Second Confession (1949)

"She is not amused but after looking at Archie’s 'open, intelligent, interested, sympathetic phiz…' "
—Please Pass the Guilt (1973)

"It was no pleasure to look at Wolfe’s gloomy phiz, so I looked back at the performers."
—“The Next Witness” (1955) from Three Witnesses

"A peep through the glass showed me a phiz only too well known, so I slipped the chain on before I opened the door to the extent of the six inches which the chain permitted."
—“Bitter End” from Death times Three (1985)

PHIZZOG
By Carl Sandburg
This face you got,
This here phizzog you carry around,
You never picked it out for yourself
at all, at all—did you?
This here phizzog—somebody handed it
to you—am I right?
Somebody said, “Here’s yours, now go see
what you can do with it.”
Somebody slipped it to you and it was like
a package marked:
“No goods exchanged after being taken away”—
This face you got.

These slang/shortened forms (as well as alternate spellings such as phizog, vizzog, fizzog) derive from physiognomy, the face or countenance, especially when considered as an index to the character: a fierce physiognomy. See http://www.dictionary.com/. (Note the similarity also to the word visage.)

He is Risen!

2011-04-24T00:01:00.007-06:00

Why do you seek the living among the dead?

He is not here, for he has risen!

He is risen!

He is risen, indeed.

Christ is risen from the dead.

Dying, he conquered death.

To the dead, he has given life!"

"Go quickly, and tell his disciples he is risen from the dead!"

Check out "The Easter Song" on youtube.

And the new release " by Matthew Ward.

Happy Birthday, Bonnie!

2011-04-06T01:00:00.001-06:00

Above: Spain. Three little girls with birthdays in April.

Chipiona. Bonnie's 3rd birthday.

Maryland. Bonnie's 7th birthday.

Spain. Bonnie's 11th Birthday.

12th. Spain.

Idaho Springs. Indian Springs Resort. Birthday at the Hot Springs.

Japan. Capt. B's Retirement.

Central City Opera April 2011 Wallpaper

2011-04-02T22:32:00.002-06:00

Check out the Central City Opera web site for all the details of this summer's festival season.

Central City Opera March 2011 Wallpaper

2011-03-01T22:21:00.005-07:00

March 2011 Wallpaper provided by the Central City Opera House Association.

Caption reads: Horace and Baby Doe Tabor were married on March 1, 1883. Their marriage has been immortalized in the opera THE BALLAD OF BABY DOE, pictured here from the 1956 (world premiere), 1996 and 2006 Central City Opera productions.

We saw the 2006 production, and it was very enjoyable.

Happy 30th, Hannah

2011-02-05T00:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

Share the Warmth Coat Drive

2011-02-03T15:53:00.005-07:00

Share the Warmth Coat Drive

Affordable American Insurance is teaming up with Metropolitan State College in the "8th Annual Share the Warmth Coat Drive" for the Denver Rescue Mission.

In the upcoming months, many will be cold this winter. Help "Share the Warmth Coat Drive" this February by donating your used coats to one of our many Insurance office locations around the Denver Metro Area.

Last year, The Coat Drive for the Denver Rescue Mission was a huge success, collecting 581 coats!!! The Denver Rescue Mission was very grateful for such a wonderful donation.

This year we want to double that number. With YOUR Help, I think we can match their donation.

Share the Warmth by donating your old coat to someone in need. We not only help our clients in their time of need but also our surrounding community. Help us reach our goal!

Feel free to drop by any of our Affordable American Insurance offices between January 28th and February 8th to drop off your donation.

By the way, even if you don't have any old coats lying around, you can still help. Drop by a Goodwill or ARC or Salvation Army store, or any of the other organizations that help people and pick up some great coats at reasonable rates. That way you'll help the people in the cold stay warm, and you'll help the people in the stores help others.

Central City Opera February 2011 Wallpaper

2011-02-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

February 2011 Wallpaper provided by the Central City Opera House Association.

Scenes from Carmen.

We saw it performed by Opera Colorado in 2005, when the Ellie Caulkins Opera House opened. Can't wait to see the Central City Opera performance.

What is a Cockle, Anyway?

2011-02-01T01:39:00.011-07:00

So the other day I heard a rabbi talk about "the cockles of your soul." I think he was just trying to be different, because of course, the phrase is "warming the cockles of your heart." So naturally, my inward response was, "What in the world is a cockle, anyway?"

Well, notwithstanding some of the scurrilous definitions at Urban Dictionary (none of which come close to the real meaning of the phrase), it is a well worn idiom in English dating to at least the middle of the 17th century.

Quoting from the site World Wide Words: "Something that warms the cockles of one's heart induces a glow of pleasure, sympathy, affection, or some such similar emotion. What gets warmed is the innermost part of one's being. It's not that surprising that it should be associated with the heart, that being the presumed seat of the emotions for most people. But what are the cockles?"

One theory of its etymology is from the heart shape of certain bivalve mollusks, as pictured above. There are other theories, about which you can read here and here.

Happy New Year (for the Trees)

2011-01-19T23:17:00.016-07:00

Tu B'Shevat (the 15th day of the month of Shevat) is one of four Jewish New Years. Its purpose is to establish a method of calculating the age of trees in order to follow the Torah prescription that the fruit of a tree is not to be eaten in the first three years. In the fourth year, it is holy, and in the fifth year, it may be eaten "that it may yield its increase to you."

In 2011, the holiday occurs on January 20th (beginning at sunset on the 19th).

Since it would be next to impossible to keep records of the "birth date" of each and every tree in a large orchard, Tu B'Shevat was established as the day on which all trees add another year to their ages. In this way, it is often thought of as the birthday for trees! If a tree was planted the day before Tu B'Shevat, it becomes one year old on that date; if planted the day after, it waits a year to become one year old.

Customs in celebrating this holiday include planting trees, eating dried fruits and nuts, especially those grown in the land of Israel, including figs, dates, raisins, carob, and almonds. In the Middle Ages, a seder was developed for the holiday, following a similar pattern to the Pesach (Passover) Seder.

In Israel, the flowering of the almond trees coincides with Tu B'Shevat, and although the holiday occurs during January or February, cold months in North America, in Israel the sap is beginning to rise in the trees at about the time of this holiday.

Human beings are often compared to trees in the scriptures. Just a few examples follow:

For man is a tree of the field.

That person is a like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither--whatever that person does prospers.

But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God. I trust in God's unfailing love forever and ever.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree; they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.

Like an apple tree among the trees of the field is my beloved among the young men; I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

Linguistic Note. Tu is not an actual word. It is the pronunciation of the two Hebrew letters Tet and Vav, which are used to represent the number 15 (Tet has a value of 9 and Vav has a value of 6, the sum of which is 15. Normally the letters Yud and Hei would be used, but since Yud Hei spells the shortened form (Yah) of the Tetragrammaton, it may not be used for such a mundane purpose as marking a date.)

When is.....?

2011-01-19T10:34:00.004-07:00

Ever wonder when a certain holiday rolls around, especially on calendars around the world that differ from the western civil (i.e. Gregorian) calendar? Here's a handy site that will tell you when holidays occur for various nations and religions.

Check it out. If not now, when?

When-is.com

Central City Opera January 2011 Wallpaper

2011-01-10T15:10:00.009-07:00

January 2011 calendar provided by the Central City Opera House Association, celebrating the birthday of Francis Poulenc, composer of Central City Opera's 2000 production of Dialogues of the Carmelites (pictured) and the upcoming 2011 Festival production of Les Mamelles de Tiresias.

Happy New Year 2011!

2010-12-31T17:45:00.012-07:00

In accordance with Japanese versus Chinese custom, we change the year on January 1st. The Chinese calendar will change from the Year of the Tiger to the Year of the Rabbit on February 3, 2011, the Chinese New Year.

Chag Urim Sameach!

2010-12-08T15:00:00.002-07:00

Zot Chanukah!

More lights here.

20,000

2010-11-26T18:23:00.002-07:00

page views of Yeshliblog since the counter was installed a couple of years ago

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T13:29:00.017-07:00

My Thanksgiving thanksgiving 2010

Hodu L’Adonai Ki Tov Ki L’Olam Chasdo

The theme of this Thanksgiving thanksgiving was to be the things we take for granted. I was going to wax eloquent about traffic lights and baggage handlers and the like, and I still may do that, but it dawned on me as I meditated upon the things we take for granted...no, actually reality rushed in on me as our latest grandson was born, that we take nearly everything for granted. To be truly thankful every moment would be to fully appreciate, and give thanks for, every breath, every heartbeat, every morsel of sustenance, every drop of water, every beam of sunshine, every rotation of an earth positioned exactly the right distance from the sun.

Yet, I am extremely thankful for one day on which we can all remember to express the things that come to mind for which we are thankful. Since nearly everything in this world is worthy of thanksgiving in one way or another, we never run out of things for which we are thankful, and it is wonderful to hear what our friends and families are thankful for.

LIFE
So let me start with life—that life that came springing forth from the love of Ryan and Ellie and the Spirit of Life—three partners, not two, bringing a new measure of goodness into this world. Presently unnamed, but soon he will be called by his name; a prophecy will be spoken over him to give him direction in his life. Our prayer is that he will become all that he is named to be, is meant to be, to bring the greatest goodness with him into this plane of existence. For life, we give thanks.

WORDS
Without them we could not communicate, but furthermore, without them there would be nothing to communicate about. They are not arbitrary descriptions of things. They are the underpinnings of things. Without words, there would be no things. Things are spoken into being. With words we weave wonderful warp and woof with regard to other words. For words, we give thanks.

BREATH
Words lie cold on a piece of paper or a computer screen until breath is applied. Breath was applied to red clay, and living being was the result. Applied to consonants, breath brings words to life. Things become. Thoughts arise. Ideas dance. Actions emerge. Breath ought not, but can, bring death. Let not our breath blow out the candle of another. Breathe life. Speak life. Bring life. For breath, we give thanks.

FAMILY
The first place to speak life, the place of receiving life is family. The place, when you go there, they have to take you in. If we’re fortunate, they want to take us in. I am very fortunate and thankful for all my family. We should love everyone, but we cannot love everyone with the utmost intensity. Grandpas, grandmas, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, out-laws, friends of family. Families give us that place to love to our uttermost. For families, we are thankful. For family, we give thanks.

MUSIC
The harmonies of instruments in a fine orchestral piece, the blending of voices in an a cappella choir, hymns of grateful praise raised on high, a joyful shout, the haunting strains of early chant, the close intervals of Barbershop and Sweet Adelines, the rock beat, the jazz improvisation, the sweet, angelic harmonies of polyphonic sound, music is all around us. All we have to do is listen!
Yet music is more and more is music; the music of the spheres, they called it. The underlying harmony and beauty of the universe is musical and fills us with awe and wonder and reminds us of its Orderer, its Harmonizer. As the movie August Rush puts it, “You know what music is? God's little reminder that there's something else besides us in this universe: harmonic connection between all living beings, everywhere, even the stars."

ELECTRONS
Electrons and their harnessing allow me to type this message to all of you on my binary machine called a computer. First of all, the electrons in my brain have to transmit the messages to the motor parts of the body. Electrons in the electro-magnetic spectrum allow me to wing these words to you at the speed of light. Electrons at your location allow the words to be reproduced so that new things can come into existence as the electrons in your body reach your brain and produce thought. For electrons (and for light, with its speed) we give thanks.

TRAFFIC LIGHTS
Traffic lights bring order to chaos. Have you ever been at an intersection when the traffic light is out of order? Chaotic! Think of how slowly things would move on our streets and highways without traffic lights. And speaking of out of order, traffic lights are rarely out of order. Either the traffic-light-bulb changing guys are extremely efficient or the traffic light bulbs are very long-lasting. Traffic lights are operable over 99.9 percent of the time. For traffic lights, we give thanks.

PLANES, TRAINS, and AUTOMOBILES
We send our words around the world at the speed of light, and we send our bodies hither and yon at speeds that would boggle our ancestors’ minds. Yet do we take for granted the people who make this possible? I’m talking about those who mine the metals, make the plastics, build the engines and door panels and light bulbs, who maintain the vehicles, who drill the oil, who build the pipelines, who produce the gas, who lay the tracks, who fly the plane, who serve the drinks, who conduct the train, who print the tickets, who sell the tickets, who produce the flyers that tell us when the planes and trains depart the ports and stations, who build the terminals, who make the schedules, and of course, who handle our baggage so ably almost all of the time. We ought not forget all of those nor the materials that have been given to them to do the jobs they do, whether physical or mental or motivational. For all of our modes of transportation, even the hands and legs we use to crawl or walk, we give thanks.

Resolved, to be more aware, day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment of the infinitely many, innumerable, we can’t count that high, lots and lots of, things to be thankful for, and especially for each and every one of you.

Come, ye thankful people, come!

Hodu, Hodu, Hodu L’Adonai Ki Tov Ki L’Olam Chasdo.

Memories of Thanksgivings past:

Thinking and Thanking

Thankful to be so Thankful

Thanksgiving 2005

A Turkey by any Other Name

Give Thanks in Everything

Cottonwood, Here We Come

2010-11-19T12:19:00.005-07:00

Buena Vista, Colorado

Cottonwood Hot Springs

Going this weekend.

Can't wait!

Thanks to our Veterans

2010-11-11T21:19:00.014-07:00

It is interesting that Veterans Day occurs shortly before Thanksgiving.

We are very thankful for our veterans.

Some gave their lives.

Some faced great danger and came home to tell about it.

Others, like me, traveled the world and never faced down an enemy in person.

Nevertheless, every veteran put his or her life on the line, with the possibility of risking everything at any moment, in any place, in defense of our constitution and our country.

"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

We owe our liberty, our ability to live lives unmolested from foreign enemies, our survival into the 21st century and beyond, to these men and women, who for whatever reason, dedicated a season of their lives to the defense of this great nation, "conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

Here are two such heroes I knew personally.

My Dad...

...and my wife's Dad.

Happy Birthday, Son!

2010-11-03T20:08:00.016-06:00

Happy Birthday, Jimmy!

Another year has passed.

You've been many things this year.

A surfer.

A photographer.

A musician.

A golfer.

A world traveler (beautiful Australian waterfall in the background).

A true friend (here's a blast from the past with your Spanish friends in our home in Puerto de Santa Maria, Andalucia).

A great brother (another shot from the same place/same time frame).

You've been many other things as well, an excellent employee, an enthusiastic Mah Jongg player, a loving pet owner, a wonderful cook and host,

a very special person

but most of all

to us

you've been a remarkable son

and we're very proud of you.

Happy Birthday, Son.

May the coming year be the best and brightest so far.

Central City Opera November 2010 Calendar

2010-11-03T17:39:00.004-06:00

Season tickets for next summer's festival season on sale now.

http://www.centralcityopera.org/

Featured Blog: Cognitive Dissonance

2010-10-31T23:33:00.007-06:00

I discovered this most excellent blog when I reconnected with a friend from many years ago. I had the pleasure of working with Mike Kubat when we were both stationed in Rota, Spain. Although his self-description below is of a grump, I remember him as a courteous, pleasant, intelligent, well-spoken naval officer, for whom I had the utmost respect.

The writing on his blog, Cognitive Dissonance, reinforces those impressions from so many years ago. I commend the entire blog as a source of "real help when things simply make no sense," but in particuluar, I consider his recent article concerning global warming/climate change/climate disruption to be one of the most articulate, clear, well reasoned, and adequately documented I have encountered.

His writing style is not only cogent but engaging and often entertaining. Check it out. You'll be glad you did.

Cognitive Dissonance

real help when things simply make no sense...

About Michael J. Kubat

I'm a grumpy Czech-born clinical social worker who is vitally interested in the survival

of the United States as a viable democracy and a beacon of hope for the rest of the world.

Go to Michael's blog.

Featured Dictionary Site

2010-10-14T19:38:00.011-06:00

As a word lover, I discovered the greatest dictionary site the other day. courtesy of my friend Dan. With one entry, you get dozens of results.

Dictionary Search

Here's an example of what the results of a search look like:

We found 31 dictionaries with English definitions that include the word balderdash: Click on the first link on a line below to go directly to a page where "balderdash" is defined. General (30 matching dictionaries)

1. balderdash: Compact Oxford English Dictionary [home, info]

2. balderdash: American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language [home, info]

3. balderdash: Macmillan Dictionary [home, info]

4. balderdash: Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, 11th Edition [home, info]
5. Balderdash, balderdash: Wordnik [home, info]

6. balderdash (noun, exclamation): Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary [home, info]
7. balderdash: Wiktionary [home, info]
8. balderdash: Collins Pocket English Dictionary [home, info]
9. balderdash: Encarta® World English Dictionary, North American Edition [home, info]
10. balderdash: Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4th Ed. [home, info]
11. balderdash: The Wordsmyth English Dictionary-Thesaurus [home, info]
12. balderdash: Infoplease Dictionary [home, info]
13. Balderdash, balderdash: Dictionary.com [home, info]
14. balderdash: Online Etymology Dictionary [home, info]
15. balderdash: UltraLingua English Dictionary [home, info]
16. Balderdash (disambiguation), Balderdash (game), Balderdash (game show), Balderdash: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia [home, info]
17. Balderdash: Online Plain Text English Dictionary [home, info]
18. balderdash: Webster's Revised Unabridged, 1913 Edition [home, info]
19. balderdash: Rhymezone [home, info]
20. Balderdash: AllWords.com Multi-Lingual Dictionary [home, info]
21. balderdash: Webster's 1828 Dictionary [home, info]
22. BALDERDASH: Dictionary of Americanisms (1848) [home, info]
23. Balderdash: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) [home, info]
24. balderdash: Free Dictionary [home, info]
25. balderdash: Mnemonic Dictionary [home, info]
26. balderdash: WordNet 1.7 Vocabulary Helper [home, info]
27. balderdash: LookWAYup Translating Dictionary/Thesaurus [home, info]
28. Balderdash: The Word Detective [home, info]
29. balderdash: Dictionary/thesaurus [home, info]
30. Balderdash: World Wide Words [home, info] Slang (1 matching dictionary)
31. balderdash: Urban Dictionary [home, info]

Check it out here.

¡Viva los mineros!

2010-10-13T23:39:00.010-06:00

¡Felicitaciones, Chile!

¡Viva los mineros!

After 69 Days, All 33 Chilean Miners Rescued

How Capitalism Saved the Miners

Happy 80th, Mom!

2010-10-09T22:40:00.012-06:00

Happy Birthday, Mom!

For once, I'm on time with my birthday wishes (although not in the snail mail)!

So, I was looking around for the perfect birthday card, when I came across this one, and it brought tears to my eyes, so I figured it must be the one.

It is true that I see many unhappy people in the world. I realize that what I am today, what I've become, is in large part due to the faith you and Dad had in me. I am happy, and I believe in myself. You believed in me, and that gave me the confidence to believe in myself, and to do my best, to pursue my dreams and become...

Your love, time, and support...

You were always there when I needed you. Your time was always there for me. You always supported me.

I am so happy that you have reached this milestone, your 80th year, and I look forward to many, many more. Again, happy birthday to the best Mom in the world for this grateful son.

I obviously don't remember when this picture was taken, but I love it now.
One of the pictures we have hanging on our wall. The back says 1992, but it doesn't say where. We were stationed in Japan at the time, so this must have been when we were home on leave.

So, again, Mom, we wish you a very Happy Birthday, Happy 80th, a wonderful year to come, and many more after that.

Your son....

With Love

Happy Birthday, Ellie!

2010-10-04T12:34:00.001-06:00

It was in Italy, many, many years ago (well, not that many—she’s not that old) on October 4th that her mom and I received the most excellent gift, unique and amazing. She grew into the most delightful child, with smiles and winks galore, and into a fun, well adjusted daughter, and a kind young woman, wise beyond her years. Now she’s become a wonderful wife, a marvelous mother, and a faithful friend to all who choose to get to know her.

That’s how I remember it, El. (That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it!) Happy birthday, Ellie Bella. Italian Bella means beautiful. Beautiful Ellie.

Tanti auguri per un buon Compleanno!

2009, 2008, 2007

Matsos Family Restaurant

2010-09-23T23:18:00.016-06:00

Recently, I was home for my 40th High School Class Reunion, and some dear friends took me to one of their favorite restaurants in a nearby city, Wooster, Ohio. A Greek restaurant, Matsos offers a mouth-watering array of fine Greek cuisine, one of my favorite of all international culinary delights.

Matsos offers an amazing array of Greek favorites. I can vouch for the Spanakopita (which is a filling entrée, not an appetizer) and the souvlaki. My friend, Thorne, loves the Seafood Pizza. I've only been there once, but everything I saw looked and smelled great. Check the place out if ever in Wooster. The menu is here.

Here's another view of the front of the restaurant with Spiro Matsos, the owner.

An interesting sidelight is the owner's participation in a group called Ohio Light Opera. He has pictures of the group decorating the eatery's walls. Here he appears in costume for one of their productions.

For more on the Ohio Light Opera, check out their web site here.

Matsos Family Restaurant offers their delicious Greek dressings online at http://www.matsosgreekdressing.com/.
Thanks again, Thorne and Linda, for treating me at this great Ohio restaurant. Next time, I'll have the presence of mind to snap some photos of the food, which looked and tasted great!

Usage notes:
An entrée, although formerly a smaller course that precedes the main course, the term is now used to describe the main course itself, in which case what would otherwise be called the entrée is called the first course, appetizer or a starter.

Spanakopita (σπανακόπιτα, from σπανάκι, spanáki, spinach, and πίττα, pítta, pie) is a Greek spinach pie made with layers of phyllo and a filling of seasoned spinach, onions and scallions, feta, and sometimes eggs.

Featured Blog: Ethan in Australia

2010-09-12T14:19:00.014-06:00

Our daughter's husband's brother (I don't think we have a special name for that in English, but he's a special guy) is going to Australia for three months of training with Youth with a Mission, followed by three months of outreach in Central Asia. You can follow his exploits on his newly minted blog.
He will be at the YWAM base/school on the Whitsunday Islands, which are off the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia, approximately 560 miles north of Brisbane. You can find out more about the YWAM base at Whitsunday on the following site:

YWAM Whitsunday

Whitsunday is another designation for Pentecost Sunday on the Christian calendar (especially in the United Kingdom). More information here and here.

The Thimble Book

2010-08-10T15:35:00.010-06:00

Our son created an amazing book based on his grandmother's thimble collection. She used to keep detailed notes about each thimble: where it came from, who gave it to her, the significance of the design, etc. The title of the small notebook she kept was "Thimbles I Have Known and Loved." Here are a couple of examples from the book.

You can see more of the book and/or order a copy here.

Central City Opera Weekend 2010 - Recap

2010-07-13T01:29:00.013-06:00

Last weekend we saw two operas that couldn't be more different from one another. On Saturday it was Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld, which was a total romp, a farce, in French, opéra bouffe. There was nary a serious moment from beginning to end.

On the other hand, Madama Butterfly, on Sunday, was as intense a performance as we have ever seen. By the end of this sad, tragic story, I would venture to say there was not a dry eye in the house. It was intensely emotional and powerfully performed. We thoroughly enjoyed both productions and highly recommend them.

Here we are, all gathered for breakfast at the Chase Creek Inn Bed & Breakfast. This room is so bright. It is illustrative of the entire B&B, a place full of light and peace and good food, thanks to its proprietors, Karen and Hal.

Opera a la Carte is a lot of fun, and we haven't attended in years. Just before the afternoon opera, some of the performers present three scenes from three different operas at the Williams Stables, just across the street from the Opera House. It's a great way to broaden one's opera experience. In this venue, the actors/singers are right in front of you. It's almost like being on stage with them.

One of the many relaxing features of the Chase Creek Inn B&B is the porch, with its comfortable rocking chairs. Here are Abe and Vickie enjoying the porch.

The view from the Inn's porch.

Bidding adieu to our favorite Bed and Breakfast for another year.

Spain Wins World Cup

2010-07-11T22:30:00.001-06:00

Congratulations, Spain!

Central City Opera Weekend 2010

2010-07-09T10:38:00.014-06:00

This weekend we embark on our 8th annual Central City Opera Weekend. The picture below comes from their website here. Also, I recently discovered another excellent resource, the Central City Opera Festival Blog: Behind the Curtain.

Along with two other couples, we spend Friday and Saturday night at our favorite Bed & Breakfast, the Chase Creek Inn B&B, nestled just around the corner from the hustle and bustle, the flashing lights and electronic sounds, of Blackhawk's casinos.

We see two of the three operas offered this season by the Central City Opera House Association.

On Saturday, we'll see Orpheus in the Underworld by Offenbach.

And on Sunday, we see Puccini's Madama Butterfly (photo taken from the CCOHA web site).

We relax in the B&B's hot tubs; enjoy the gentle breezes in the rocking chairs on the porch while listening to the babbling brook (Chase Creek) and watching the hummingbirds and chipmunks.

We take walks into town or into the nearby mountainous countryside. Friday night has become the night to walk to the Ameristar casino and enjoy their fine buffet. Coincidentally, the Chase Creek Inn B&B is "an historic structure saved from demolition by the Midcap family. The top of the structure was moved from the current site of the Black Hawk Casino by Hyatt (currently the Ameristar) and placed on a long abandoned mining site."

Then Saturday we reserve a table after the opera in the Teller House's Face Bar for a fine meal provided by the Kevin Taylor Group.

All in all, this is a weekend we look forward to with eager anticipation throughout the year. It is a weekend to relax, to unwind, to enjoy time with friends, and to appreciate marvelous music in the splendor of the majestic Rocky Mountains. Does it get any better than this?

Check out previous weekends here: 2009, 2008, 2007.

Independence Day 2010

2010-07-04T11:06:00.017-06:00

"When in the course of human events..."

Seven score and seven years ago, on this date (July 4th), the United States adopted this 35-star flag, having admitted West Virginia as the 35th state. The admittance of West Virginia as a state was the result of its having broken away from Virginia over a little matter known as the Civil War or the War Between the States.

Our nation's 16th president was faced with the prospect of the dividing asunder of the country and a fundamental change in the underlying principles and character of the nation, in fact a dissolution of the Union envisioned by its founders.

Had there been no Lincoln, it's difficult to imagine what this nation would have become, or whether it would even exist today in any form we would recognize as the United States of America

Every year (2009, 2008, 2007) I find myself quoting Lincoln on the 4th of July, and perhaps it's because we find ourselves in similar circumstances today to those in which he found himself. We see our nation being pulled apart and splintered by those who would rule over us, unwilling to derive "their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed" but rather arrogating to themselves dictatorial powers.

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." My Business Law professor had a favorite, trick question. What rights are granted by the U.S. Constiitution?

The correct answer, of course, is that the Constitution grants us no rights. Governments do not grant rights. Divine Providence does. The purpose of the Constitution is to prevent government from usurping those rights. Listen to the language of the Bill of Rights. "Congress shall make no law...prohibiting...or abridging..." "the right of the people...shall not be infringed," "no soldier shall...without the consent of the owner," "the right of the people...shall not be violated," "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." The rights exist; the Constitution seeks to prohibit government from preempting them, as it is so often wont to do.

We stand at a crossroads in our nation's history, much like that faced by our 16th president. There are forces at work in our land that would transform the very nature of the United States of America forever. To quote Lincoln, we are now "testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure."

When I enlisted, and reenlisted, and when I was commissioned an officer in the United States Navy, I swore to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic" and to "bear true faith and allegiance to the same." Millions of my fellow Americans took the same oath. It has never been more important that we do just that.

As for me and my household...

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-03T16:42:00.001-06:00

Happy 234th

2010-07-02T10:52:00.000-06:00

Central City Opera July Calendar

2010-07-01T12:07:00.005-06:00

Madama Butterfly

We'll be in attendance Sunday, the 11th of July.

Encouragement

2010-06-15T13:31:00.000-06:00

I was thinking about words the other day (there’s a big surprise!), and the word “encourage” came to mind. It was a startlingly simple revelation yet profound. It was more on the level of “duh” than “aha” or “eureka”!

To me the word encourage always had a connotation of being positive and supportive, building up rather than tearing down, but the root of the word makes it much stronger than that. Encourage breaks down into en- (to put something into) and courage, at the heart of which is the word heart. When we encourage, we put courage into someone. We give them heart!

Courage is certainly expressed in bona fide life-threatening situations, such as wars, emergencies, disasters, etc., but for most of us, courage is needed in much more mundane circumstances in our everyday lives. It takes courage to meet life’s challenges. It takes courage to be one’s self in the face of tremendous pressure to conform. It takes courage to stand for truth and justice. It takes courage to hold unpopular views and take unpopular positions.

The word hearten is a good synonym, and it shows the breadth of meaning in that word—heart. To have heart can be to be brave, courageous. To lose one’s heart to another is to be smitten. To have the heart for something can mean to choose it, to will it. To have one’s heart broken is to be smashed emotionally by someone or something. The heart symbol has lately come to signify the word love, a concept that encompasses will, intellect, and emotion—and takes courage.

Why was I thinking of the word encourage? I think it’s because I was thinking of the encouragers in my life. Our daughter, Bonnie, is an encourager nonpareil. She never leaves a blog entry or a Facebook update uncommented. She answers her myriad of emails, calls regularly to encourage family and friends, speaks health and blessings over those she meets. She even writes actual letters and puts them into the snail mail!

Daughter Ellie is another great encourager. She always has a good word for anyone she interacts with. When we worked together, she gently helped me to be more sensitive in my dealings with others, and she did it in a very nonjudgmental, encouraging way. A pastor’s wife, she speaks and brings the blessings of peace and love to all within her sphere of influence.

Hannah is an encourager par excellence. She loves to tell people how nice they look, how much she likes their hair, and especially what a nice dog they have! As we walk around the neighborhood, she seems to know every dog, and those she doesn’t know soon become her friends. Everyone within hearing range becomes Hannah’s target for attention and encouragement. She loves to love people and to tell them she loves them.

Jimmy encourages his friends and family with his loyalty and friendship, as well as good words. He shares the things he loves with those around him. He takes people on hiking trips and visits to places that are his favorites. His encouragement is often playful, especially with his sisters, cousins, and parents. Yet this kind of joyfulness, playfulness is also important in giving us courage to be who we are, because it shows acceptance of who we are.

My wife is my ultimate encourager, without a doubt. My self-image was tiny and shriveled when we met. Her appreciation and encouragement gave me the courage to believe in myself and blossom to be the person I was meant to be.

The more I write, the more I see how spoiled we’ve been with all the encouragers in our lives. We’ve been surrounded by them. Parents, siblings, cousins, teachers, friends. A quick learner, I was immediately singled out and encouraged in school, and it made all the difference in my academic/intellectual life. Our voices made choir directors encourage us to sing, and that has enriched our lives immensely.

Space and time prevent me from mentioning all the encouragers in our lives, not the least our mentors, Bob and Vicki, pastors, chaplains, brothers and sisters in community in Spain and Italy, Navy leaders, choir directors and members, Japanese friends, language mentors in Yokohama and Boulder, coworkers, bosses, and many, many others.

The more I think of all the encouragement and encouragers in my life, the more thankful I am. This could well have been my annual overflow and outpouring of thanks in celebration of Thanksgiving.

En fin, my prayer for all of us, all of you, for everyone is that there should “never be heard a discouraging word.” May we all have put into us the courage, the heart we need to be all we were meant to be and to do all we were meant to do. Be encouraged to encourage, my friends, as you also have been encouraged.

Central City Opera June Calendar

2010-06-01T12:15:00.003-06:00

Central City's Opera House, one of our favorite Colorado landmarks. We'll be attending this year's festival the weekend of July 9-11. Can't wait.

ANZAC Day 2010 - Atonement

2010-05-28T10:47:00.005-06:00

Approaching our own Memorial Day weekend, I thought it worthwhile to highlight an analogous day set aside by our Allies in Australia and New Zealand. ANZAC Day is observed about a month earlier than Memorial Day in the U.S., and I had every intention of writing something in honor of ANZAC Day this year, but didn't get it done. Instead, I am including a link to a blog post by a friend in Australia at Tessa's Take, featuring the following painting. Check it out here. It's well worth the read.

ANZAC stands for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps.

Previous ANZAC Day posts:

ANZAC Day 2009

Remembering, Reminiscing, Revisiting 2008

ANZAC Day 2008

Wikipedia on ANZAC Day here

Bike MS: Virginia's Ocean to Bay Ride 2010

2010-05-14T12:22:00.006-06:00

When’s the last time you put in 150 miles on a bicycle? Never, you say? Well, our cousins are riding 150 miles in support of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Hampton Roads, Virginia, and we thought you might be interested in hearing about it.

Having multiple sclerosis means that you may suddenly have blurred vision. It could mean that your memory will fail you for no apparent reason or that you may not always be able to walk. The symptoms of MS are different, and devastating, for everyone - the only certainty is that it will affect yet another person every hour of every day.

Emily and Bob love participating in this event and are serious about providing funds for MS research. They will ride the 150 miles, but they need us to help raise the funds. I know we are all asked daily to give to this or that organization, but if you want to be part of this effort, give a donation, whether small or large. No donation is too small to help Bob and Em reach their goal and to contribute to finding a cure for this disease.

This year’s ride will take place June 5th and 6th in the southern part of Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

Listen to what Bob has to say about this event.

Bob: Why I Ride

Five years ago I registered for the MS Bike Tour because I thought it sounded like a good cause, and I wanted to join friends for the big bike event. The minute that I started to raise money, my perspective began to change. Everywhere I went I heard, "My brother has MS," "My cousin was just diagnosed", "I have a co-worker that has that." I even met a family that had lost their mother/wife after a long fight with MS. Now my motivation is very different. I want to be part of the fight to prevent more people from learning what it means to live with this disease. Today, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis. Perhaps if we all pull together we can change that!

And here's what Emily has to say:

Em: Why I Ride

This year I am riding in memory of Pat K., and in honor of Lisa H and Linda Bard. The leader of our new Gloucester based team, Heroes Live Forever, Jeff K., also suffers from this disease. As I ride along the roads of the Eastern Shore I will think of them and of all of you who supported the fight against MS. We all have challenges in life, but those with health issues need the support of those of us who are able to give. Today, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, and with diagnosis occurring most frequently between the ages of 20 and 50, many individuals face a lifetime filled with unpredictability.

Why You Should Sponsor Bob and Em

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society will use funds collected from the MS Bike Tour not only to support research for a cure tomorrow, but also to provide programs which address the needs of people living with MS today. Because they can help fight this disease simply by riding a bike, and because you can chose to help thousands of people through a contribution to the MS Bike Tour, we are now getting closer to the hour when no one will have to hear the words, "You have MS."

So, revel in the fact that you do not have to hop on your bike and ride 150 miles to help find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. All it takes is a couple flicks of your mouse finger to support Bob and Emily as they support the Multiple Sclerosis Society. And if you cannot make a donation, how about sending a link to this post to your friends? Thank you and bless you.

Here are the links to their web sites, where you can make a donation:

Bob's Site

Em's Site

Central City Opera May Calendar

2010-05-01T12:56:00.001-06:00

This year's offerings at the Central City Opera. Check them out here.

Cottonwood Hot Springs, Buena Vista, Colorado

2010-04-09T15:51:00.006-06:00

Momentarily we'll be hitting the road for Buena Vista, Colorado, where we'll be spending two nights and enjoying the therapeutic waters at Cottonwood Hot Springs. You can check out our accommodations here and get more info about the resort here.

There are eight of us sharing a nice cabin (pictures here).