Ahoy! Here it is again, me most favorite of all me favorite holidays – National Talk Like a Pirate Day!!

This year the celebration will be even more special, if that’s possible, because this is the 10th anniversary of the holiday.

Ye are probably thinking the day will be hopping here in Shepherdstown. To some extent, that’s true – there’ll be the usual Hornpipe ceremony of course and ye can’t let the day go by without me splice the mainbrace and listen to a shanty or two…

But this year, me and me wench Claire are going to take it easy and just reflect on the good times we’ve had on this day over the past 10 years.

Of course in the evening we’ll knock on all the doors in the neighborhood and yell, “arrr scurvy dog I be needin to swill a pint or two of grog.” That’s always one of the highlights of the day. If the grog isn’t forthcoming, me usually use the blige rat insult, or sometimes “ye scurvy dog!” response.

All in all, me expects the normal good time. Fair winds, me hearties!!
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A few years ago, when on a business trip, I decided that all stupid people should have to wear a sign – one that says something like, “I am really stupid.” I figure that it would be a great time saver (not to mention the elimination of a lot of annoyance) for me. Just imagine you are in a city you’ve never been to before and you need directions. You go up to someone on the street, tap them on the shoulder and when they turn around, you see the sign… You can just say, “oh, never mind!” and you don’t have to waste your time listening to some stupid person giving you bad directions. And that’s just one example of the many benefits of such a sign…

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve mellowed a bit and decided that it might be cruel to have so many people running around with the same sign. But the fact is, at least from my view, the population is becoming more stupid. Rarely does a day go by that I don’t make a remark about someone being stupid.

There’s an old saying that ignorance is bliss. My extensive research found a 2005 study of intelligence and emotional health conducted at the University of Edinburg that found there was no correlation between brains and happiness. And I remember that Forrest Gump always said, “Stupid is as stupid does.”

But I still ask myself, “Am I totally surrounded by stupid people?” The answer of course is yes.
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Well, here it just about my least favorite time of year – my birthday. I’m not sure why, but I’ve always hated for my birthday to roll around. Maybe I subconsciously don’t want to get older – as I said, I don’t know why – it’s just something I never looked forward to and am usually glad it’s over.

I guess some birthdays are considered to be more significant than others – again, I’m not sure why… but I recon by just about any account, at some point in your life any time you have another one, it’s a “major” one. While I don’t consider myself “old,” the fact of the matter is that I am – physically anyhow – mentally, I hope that’s debatable.

While I plan to have many more birthdays, I decided it might be about time to mention to my (our) kids some of the rules I’ve tried to live my life by and things I’ve learned over the years. I don’t expect to change their lives (wouldn’t want to) or change their opinion of me (those opinions have been formed over a lot of years under a lot of circumstances.)

Since, like most parents and children, we don’t spend a lot of time talking, I thought that someday, they might like to check out my thoughts and philosophies about “things.”

One good reason to mess around with this blog is that it’s sort of a “permanent” record – in a way like diaries that people used (maybe still do) keep. I figure that maybe a good many years from now, if the hard disk doesn’t crash or the server go down, my kids will be able to go back and read what I’ve written – and maybe somewhere in these ramblings they’ll be able to find clues to just how important they are to me and their importance to my life.

I thought that on this occasion I’d try to come up with some things that I believe in, don’t believe in, really like, don’t like, things that are important to me, things that aren’t important to me, “rules” that I try to live by, and just maybe give my offspring some insight into who I am, or who I’d like to be – other than their dad. Of course, that’s number one on the list — the thing I’m the most proud of — I’m their dad.

• One thing I’ve always tried to do is to “be where my feet are.” In this age of multitasking, I’ve never believed you can do multiple things at the same time as well as you can do one thing that gets your entire attention.

• I’ve always heard that “the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.” Some people say that the grass is greener because it gets better care. I believe “grass is grass.” It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you’re on – it’s up to you to make the best of the circumstances.

• I never look directly at the sun…

• I really do use WD-40 and duct tape a lot.

• I do my best to be honest – no exceptions – you’ve got to be honest to everyone (including yourself) – always. Being honest isn’t always easy – sometimes you have to be diplomatic or maybe even a little bit evasive, but the old saying “honesty is the best policy,” is absolutely true.

• Even though I have pains, I try not to be one.

• One thing I have a bit of a problem with is jumping to a conclusion – I almost always form an opinion right away, I guess based on some internal intuition or something. I’m trying to work on withholding judgement. You never know the whole story about a person, or situation. No matter what you think, remember, there’s always more that you couldn’t possibly know.

• I’m convinced that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

• I don’t like people that write something borderline mean, and then follow it up with a smiley face 🙂

• Since Emily arrived on the scene, I’ve gained a new perspective on life. Watching her makes me realize how much better this world would be if we could just never, ever lose our sense of wonder and fascination. Looking back, I can see that we lose that so gradually that we don’t even notice it, and then find ourselves middle age (or older) blasé about sunsets, kisses, roller coasters, finding pictures in clouds and things that used to excite us and make our hearts sing. It’s so great to see Emily experience these things for the first time, and by watching her, I am beginning to do so myself again.

• I try to tell the people that I love that I love them and how much they mean to me.

• I’ve decided that I really don’t like AAA batteries. Things that use them usually require an odd number, like 3 or 5 and that means there is usually enough room for 1 or 2 normal AA batteries, which we always have plenty of….

• I’ve always tried to be myself and stand up for my convictions. I’m beginning to think it’s when people start to agree with you that you should be the most worried.

• I’ve come to realize that at some point you should just “let it go.” When there is very little left in any situation – just let it go, so something new can begin to surface. Acceptance is part of life…

• I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.

So that’s it – some things I like, some I don’t and some principles I’ve tried to live by. Over the years when I’ve screwed up (and that’s happened more often than I’d like) I ask myself if I had violated one of my “principles” – almost always, the answer is yes.

Although it’s great to be popular and have lots of friends – and don’t think for one minute that I’m belittling the importance of that – I’m not sure that should be the primary goal. I’ve always tried not to live to be liked so much as live to be respected.
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Well, it’s a hundred days and counting – I’ve got 100 days to figure out who I’m going to vote — against. I’ve been a registered voter for over 50 years and I’ve voted in every presidential election over those 50 years. I’m trying to think how long it’s been since I voted “for” someone instead of “against” someone.

I’m often accused of being old and crotchety – and I probably am, but it seems that every presidential race is becoming more and more negative. I don’t remember a TV ad this year that one candidate wasn’t knocking the other. No one tells you how good they’re going to be for the country – just how bad their opponent will be.

I read an article a day or so ago that indicated that the presidential election is sinking to record depths of negativity and nastiness. The fact is that it does all seem negative, but I wouldn’t call it “nasty” just yet.

If you look back in history, politics has always been a bit nasty. The 1800 race between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams is a good example. (No, I wasn’t old enough to vote for or against anyone in that election.) A Jefferson hired hand wrote that Adams was a “hideous hermaphroditical character which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensitivity of a woman.” Adams’ campaign countered that Jefferson was “a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a Virginia mulatto father.” I hate to say it, but if the current campaign gets to that point, it might at least become more entertaining.

In one recent poll (at least according to the Washington Post) more than two-thirds of voters said they already had all the information they need to make their choice. Apparently a lot of people can make up their minds with a lot less information or “facts” than I can. I’ll stand by hoping something happens in the next 100 days that makes me want to vote “for” someone.

The fact is, one of these guys (Obama or Romney) will be elected president and will immediately have to deal with a fiscal crisis that will test his political and leadership skills. Whoever I decide to vote against, I wish his opponent the best of luck…
—30—

We had quite a storm last night – wind gusts apparently somewhere between 60 – 80 miles an hour. I looked out and all the trees were just about laying down and and rain was coming sideways.

Emily peacefully slept through the whole thing. During the height of the storm we lost power for between 5 and 10 seconds. Apparently Leesburg and other places weren’t so lucky – Kelly and Chris lost power around 10:30 and rumor has it they won’t get it back until 11:00 tonight.

So… we now have visitors from the metropolis of Leesburg (Kelly, Chris, Riot and Cisco.) Of course Emily was smart enough to already be in West Virginia. Someone asked me if I missed the big city – actually I’d rather be out here in the wilds where we have electricity.
—30—

Well this is certainly a very special day.
It’s only six months until Christmas, but that’s not why it’s special…

Happy Birthday Dave and Chassie!!!!

Love you guys!!
—30—

We had our driveway resurfaced yesterday. It was six years old and put in by the builder – it wasn’t a particularly good job to begin with, but six winters and summers had taken their toll and it was beginning to crack in spots, so it seemed like a good idea to get it done before it got worse – and cost more….

Of course the process got me to pondering about a few things….
I wonder where they came up with the term asphalt – after extensive research, I’m still not sure, but the origin of the word appears to be Greek – one source indicating it is from the Greek word, asphalia which means to give assurance. Another source that I like better says its origin is from the Greek word asphaltos, meaning secure. To tell you the truth, neither makes a lot of sense to me, but i wasn’t in any mood to pursue the origin any further.

Asphalt has been around almost forever. It occurs naturally in both asphalt lakes and in rock asphalt (a mixture of sand, limestone and asphalt.) The ancient Mesopotamians used it to waterproof temple baths and water tanks as a sealant to prevent leaks. The Phoenicians caulked the seams of their ships with asphalt. In the days of the Pharaohs, Egyptians used the material as mortar for rocks laid along the banks of the Nile to prevent erosion. I found one article that indicated that the infant Moses’ basket was waterproofed with asphalt.

The first recorded use of asphalt as a road-building material was in Babylon around 625 B.C. In 1870, the first true pavement in the U.S. made of asphalt was laid in Newark, N.J. During that same time frame, Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington was paved using 54,000 square yards of asphalt.

Of course, I couldn’t talk about our new driveway without wondering about the age old question of, why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways? Apparently Parkway wasn’t used to designate roads until the 1950’s and the term was used for roads that went through parks and people often drove on them just to tour the scenery… so – ‘way’ pretty much means ‘road.’ A driveway is a road that you drive on, even if you just drive from the street to your garage. And a parkway (originally) referred to a road through (or to) a park.

I remember when I was growing up, driveways were usually much longer than they are today. Houses set further back off the street and if people were fortunate enough to have a garage, it was usually at or near the back of their property. So then, you really could “drive” on your driveway.

Of course, you could chalk this nomenclature up to the English language – lots of things seem backward – like for some reason anything sent by ship is cargo and things sent by cars is a shipment.

No matter — when you come to visit us feel free to park in our (new) driveway.
—30—

Seems we’re in the midst of a lot of holidays — we’ve celebrated several birthdays in the past week or so, including Claire’s yesterday. Today is Flag Day and one of the more important holidays is coming up on Saturday — National Hollerin’ Contest Day.

Unfortunately, hollerin has just about become a lost art. That’s too bad because hollerin’ is really the earliest form of communication between humans. Before the days of telecommunications, it was the traditional form of communication used in rural areas to convey long-distance messages.
Fortunately, hollerin’ still exists among some peoples of the world and is still practiced in certain societies. In the US, the art is practiced mostly in the south.
Hollerin’ usually falls into one of these groups:

Distress hollers — these hollers were essential in rural communities. They notified others within hearing range of imminent danger…

Functional hollers — these hollers were/are used in day-to-day life on the farm or in the field. Each farmer had his own distinctive hollers to bring in his hogs, cattle, sheep, dogs, etc.

Communicative hollers — the main purpose of these cries were to express the greeting, “howdy neighbor.” Women frequently used this form of holler.

Expressive hollers — some hollers are voiced purely for pleasure’s sake; often this is a hollered version of a popular tune of melody and serves no purpose other than of entertainment.

So there you have it, in case you were wondering. Next time you hear a holler, see if you can categorize it – expressive, functional, distress, communicative. Why would you want to do that? The answer to that question is beyond the scope of this blog. I suggest we just all be quite and listen for the hollerin’ on Saturday.
—30—

Chúc mừng sinh nhật
Maligayang kaarawan
Buon compleanno
Všetko najlepšie
Nakutakia mema kwa siku yako ya kuzaliwa!
Halala ngosuku lokuzalwa
Hepi berthde
Ia manuia lou Aso Fanau
Laa-ruggyree sonney dhyt
Barka da sabon shekera

In any language, the message is the same today.
Happy Birthday to the love of my life.

You are still the woman of my dreams and hanging out with you is still my favorite thing to do.
—30—

In a couple of days we’ll celebrate Flag Day. Well, “celebrate” probably isn’t the right word, because lately the day usually passes without much notice. That’s too bad, because the flag is a symbol of our country and should be treated with the respect that was intended and that it deserves. I hate to see any type of clothing made from the American flag.

Flags have been around for at least 3000 years. They are mentioned in lots of old literature and there a biblical references to “flag” symbols. Some believe that flag colors and symbols originated with the Chinese who consigned different colors with religion or philosophy.

We’ve probably all heard that the first American Flag (the flag we’re celebrating on Flag Day) was made by Betsy Ross. The fact is that there is no historical evidence that Betsy Ross made the first American flag – or – that she helped design it.

The fact is that there’s a lot not known about how the flag originated. There’s been a lot of speculation, but we really don’t know why the American flag contains stars and stripes, or why the colors red, white and blue were chosen.

The Star-Spangled Banner (the flag that inspired the National Anthem) was made by Mary Pickersgill in Baltimore in 1815 and had 15 stars and 15 stripes. In 1818, Congress enacted the third (and final) Flag Resolution, mandating that official flags would have thirteen stripes and one star for each state. Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” in 1815 but it didn’t become the National Anthem until 1931.

The idea of a national Flag Day was conceived of, and worked for by B. J. Cigrand, a small-town Wisconsin school teacher. Only one state (Pennsylvania) observes June 14 as a legal state Flag Day holiday.

The 50-star flag was designed by a 17 year old high school student, Bob Heft, of Lancaster, Ohio. He made the flag for his 11th grade history class in 1958. (He got a grade of B minus.)

During the manufacture of the flag, the material left over is never allowed to fall onto the floor (it always falls into containers.)

The flag planted on the moon is made of nylon and set in an aluminum frame.

Miniature flags of the 50 United States and 124 United Nations were carried to the moon and brought back to Earth. These flags were distributed by President Nixon to the governors of the states and the heads of the member nations of the United Nations.

There should never be guide wires on a flagpole. It must be free standing.

Happy Flag Day to everyone….
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