It’s Christmas Eve and time to travel. Everyone is going somewhere for Christmas. There are some intrepid travelers who are going interstate for the holidays. And then there are some others not so adventurous who will remain at home and watch in amazement some of these travelers on television.

Right now I am looking at a passenger jet that has come to rest about ten feet from the Caribbean Sea in Kingston, Jamaica. The front part of the plane is parked at an odd angle and it is clear that the maintenance schedule will need to be moved up before it flies again.

Here’s the quote that I find interesting. Talking about the landing one passenger said “All of a sudden, when it hit the ground the plane was kind of bouncing.” It is reported that nobody was hurt too seriously although there was lots of pain and emotional suffering involved.

Amazing. These people were involved in a miracle! When your airplane crashes and you are able to talk about it the next day you have become a member of a very elite fraternity.

But let’s go back for a moment and examine this report by a passenger that the plane was “bouncing”. Clearly a passenger jet that is trying to stop on a runway needs to apply its brakes. And it is difficult to do this when the wheels are not making contact with the ground. There was another report that the flight crew gave up trying to serve drinks because of in-flight turbulence. Violent turbulence can actually cause an aircraft to crash when it is close to the ground.

Here is a brief explanation of wind shear.

There has also been a report in recent days about Amtrak passengers who were stranded along the NE corridor. And right here in Richmond at the bus terminal I recall a news report on the tube about a young woman who was stranded and ran out of her medication.

People are not getting where they want to go!!

What we really need to work on is the technology associated with the transporter. These were used in Star Trek to move people around because it would have taken too long to land the ship every time someone wanted to leave or come aboard.

Someday every home and business needs to have a transporter. Imagine being able to spend the evening on a great beach in the middle of the Pacific and be home in time to tuck the kids into bed. How great would it be to see your favorite team play their away games in person? And what would it be like to never again sit in a traffic jam and think ” I am a hostage to this transportation system”.

There is a downside to the idea of replacing our transportation system with transporters however. If someone pulls the plug while you are transporting you will probably endure a very painful death. No technology is ever going to be perfect. So the cat should be watched very carefully while it is being used.

But the upside far outweighs the downside. We could plant grass over highways and airports. We could develop communities that are not all bunched up around our cities. And they could be agrarian in nature. Local resources would be needed for electricity and water. It would be quite a challenge and there would doubtlessly be many debates over the way our new society should grow.

But let’s do ourselves a favor and use our imaginations to bring into focus some of these things. It will be tempting for some to cast a political skein over the whole idea and that means we will be shutting down much of what the future may have in store for us.

When you use your imagination you become a pioneer. And pioneers have no use for politicians.

Everything has its place and time in this world. If you have difficulty with your present situation there is always another one just over the horizon. You may not be able to imagine how you will get there. But it’s a lot like working out. Use your imagination. Strengthen it in any way you can.

Eventually you will wake up one day and find that things have changed in ways that you can appreciate. I have seen it happen. I promise you that it is so.

A Happy Holiday to everyone of you. And if you don’t have a holiday. . .

Imagine that you will have one.

God Bless Us Every One

Andrea Bocelli/ My Christmas

Play – I Believe

Play- God Bless Us Everyone

• Heath Ledger And Drugs / A Love Story Gone Wrong
• Does Your Wife/GF/Friend Play Mystery Games And Hide The Cookies?
• The Next Stage/ StumbleUpon
• Tiger Woods Misses His Drive And Decides Not To Finish Round/ Ray Charles/ Oh, What A Beautiful Morning
• Maymont Park at Christmas/ Josh Groban/ The Christmas Song

Well here we are! It’s Tuesday and Christmas Eve is just two days away. There’s snow on the ground and all the Christmas lights are burning fiercely throughout the neighborhood, the city and the world.

Maybe they are not burning throughout the world. There are places in the world without electricity after all. They are not burning throughout our neighborhood either now that I think of it. Not everyone celebrates Christmas.

I don’t celebrate it all of the time but the lights keep burning because my wife would toss me out in the snow if I started unscrewing the bulbs.

Why do I sometimes indulge in Scrooge-like thoughts during this wonderful season? Because my neurological circuits tend to overload rather quickly and a circuit-breaker in my brain suddenly snaps shut.

Or open. It can go either way I suppose. On the one hand I feel so much love for all these people who make up our family. They are all treasures and the grandchildren are the most delightful little jewels that decorate the treasure box.

But when things become loud and chaotic I want to head for the Citadel of Solitude. And that would be RIGHT HERE in this peaceful room which has recently been equipped with a stationary bicycle so I can exercise AND remain in this peaceful place awhile longer.

Christmas has a solitary side that attracts me a great deal. But it is much like life, in general, I suppose in this way. There is nothing like exchanging a hug with someone you haven’t seen for so long on Christmas Day. But there also is much joy in watching the snow fall outside the window in a peaceful moment when nothing much else is happening. How to combine the two?

It’s a continuing challenge. But one that is suffused with gratitude for both parts of a wonderful life. I could sit here and make a very long list of all the things I am grateful for this holiday season.

Working it all out into a giant, unified whole that resemble a crystal sphere full of light is perhaps not possible in this part of the galaxy. But I keep working on it. And someday, when the rocket up on the roof is ready, I plan to explore other parts of the universe. An important part of this scenario includes piloting an interstellar spacecraft. This particular notion first enlivened my job resume when I discovered Star Wars some thirty years ago.

This is what I want to do when I grow up! BE Han Solo’s co-pilot! So if you are on an interstellar flight someday heading towards a distant star please come forward and say hello to your flight crew. Things will be much more informal out there in the heavens and you won’t have to worry about locked doors or the buffeting of atmospheric conditions.

Because it’s not really going to be like Star Wars where we are going. It will be more like. . well. . ..

Look down at the floor and it’s gone. Try to find the windows and you will see only stars. Look at me and I will remind you that we had a conversation about this near Christmas in the year 2009.

Will you be able to see me? Yes! When all the exotic metals have fallen away YOU and I will still be here. We will travel beyond space and time and we will all be family. A much bigger family who are able to enjoy so much more together.

I may not even miss the Citadel of Solitude all that much. Happy Holidays!

Something to do while you are listening to Pink Floyd. . .

Listen

Imagine a revolving sphere of light

Stand far above it and dive into it.

Reach the center of it as it explodes

And sends you in countless directions.

You become wheat in a field of grain

And the wind takes you towards a beautiful sunset

And a pool of water next to a waterfall

Made of rainbow colors of pure delight.

You can stay here as long as you wish.

Unencumbered by a body.

In love with the sound

Of the water and the wind.

Pink Floyd/ Dark Side Of The Moon

Play Us and Them

Elton John/ Greatest Hits

Play Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time)

• Britney’s Song/Love Poems/ He Wishes His Young Girlfriend A Happy Christmas
• Back To A Peaceful Scene and Solitude
• Eeyore And Christmas/ Taking Care Of Your Friends
• Wanting A Sleigh Ride/ Johnny Mathis/ Sleigh Ride
• Let It Snow/ Lewis Ginter Christmas Lights/ Andrea Bocelli And Natalie Cole/ The Christmas Song

Table of contents for 4/Sports

1. Giants vs. Patriots Prediction / Ask Edgar Cayce About Jordin Sparks
2. Congratulations NY Giants And Their Fans / Pep Talk For Bill Belacheck
3. Photo Opportunity at Colonial Downs/ Horse Racing/ Stallions And Mares
4. Cuban Olympian Banned For Life/ Kicks Referee/ Olympic Jokes
5. Suntrust Richmond Marathon 2008/ Jyocel Basweti Wins/ 22 Year Old Wins In 2:22:22
6. Green Bay vs. Minnesota/ Who Is The Better Team In December 2009?/ NFL Football Ruminations

It’s Monday morning and a great time to talk some football after watching all the action yesterday. So much drama on and off the field as teams battled for playoff spots, home field advantage, perfect seasons or just simple respect!

It came down to the last play in two interesting contests. You must try to cover the sidelines in the end zone when you are playing the Pittsburg Steelers and it comes down to the last play of the game.

They must spend hours practicing this one play because they definitely know how to execute it and score 6. It’s their biggest money play securing them a NFL World Championship last year as well as preserving their playoff hopes this year.

Let’s move on and think about the middle-aged miracle playing quarterback in Minnesota for a moment. I would expect that most football players in the NFL tend to wear down as we arrive at the end of the regular season. The human body takes awhile to heal especially when it is being thrown to the ground by very large defensive linemen.

Brett’s coach wanted to rest him in the fourth quarter of yesterday’s game. The playoff berth is secured and it makes a lot of sense to keep him out of harms way if possible.

That’s why he has large offensive linesmen protecting him. Unfortunately they were not doing such a great job yesterday. Maybe they are worn down too or maybe they were not as highly motivated as a team struggling to stay alive or save their jobs.

Whatever the case Brett was upset and talked about it to the press. He wants to play. Period. He starts having flashbacks of his last year in Green Bay if you suggest he should save himself for the next strategic battle.

But Brett needs to be very good in the playoffs. He needs to be Mr. October in January or February. To use another baseball analogy he needs to see himself more as the starting pitcher who may need to hand over the ball to a closer in the 8th inning.

And don’t complain about the coach. Your teammates need to know the coach is in charge of the team. The team cannot win without a coach even if he is not one of the great ones.

Brett has just screwed up his team’s chances in the playoffs and increased the possibility that he will not perform well or at all.

Both Green Bay and Minnesota lost yesterday. But the Packers played well in a great game and only lost in the last second when the Steelers went to their most favorite money play.

They lost to the World Champs by one point. The Vikings lost to a worse team by a lot more. I would say that means the Green Bay Packers are now the better team and their coaches and managers made the right decisions to bring them to this point.

• Football Predictions And Outcome/ Patriots vs Chargers / Giants vs Packers/ January 2008
• Congratulations/ New England Patriots 16-0
• Redskins VS. Cowboys/ Free Prediction Of The Future
• Sean Taylor #21/ Joe Gibbs and The Redskins
• Congratulations NY Giants And Their Fans / Pep Talk For Bill Belacheck

Well here we are the last Sunday before Christmas and there’s lots of snow outside. It is piled up on the limbs of the trees. And it’s covering the ground. It’s everywhere! And we are going to climb up and down the little hill that separates us from B’s parents so we can all watch the football game and have a little Christmas cheer. Together.

The car may not make it but we can walk or slide or fall down and get up.

We can chug along the roads that have been so recently scraped (thank you county workers!) and think about the cold and ice. We can wonder what happened to our Flexible Flyers and why don’t we sled anymore?

The world used to revolve around sledding on a day like this.

And fires built on the edge of a pond where skaters learned to walk on a couple of steel blades. It was not that long ago.

But we are older now and some of us do not even think about these things. I only remark upon it because there’s a snow covered hill in my immediate forecast. And then there will be a game on television where young men will run, jump and catch for several hours. They will risk serious injury as they attempt to win a football contest.

Thousands will cheer if they do something well. The noise will explode around their ears. And the adrenaline rush will make them feel like gods for a few minutes or an hour.

I can only try to imagine what that is like but I know what it is like. . .

Eventually. When they come back down to earth. When the cheering crowds are gone and they are alone with their thoughts, the bruises and the pain.

We all can join them here. We are all as one when it comes to our moments alone.

When another important contest begins.

When you can successfully and happily be alone you have won a battle with yourself. When you don’t need the affirmation and applause of a crowd you have won an important race.

But it would still be nice to go down the side of a hill on a fast sled before darkness falls. Wouldn’t it?

Johnny Mathis/ Johnny Mathis Gold: A 50th Anniversary Christmas Celebration

Play – Sleigh Ride

• She Is Dressed In Sylvan Twilight/ The Blogger Goes Home/ Andrea Bocelli/ What Child Is This?
• Snow Day!/ College Kids Frollick In The Snow/ U of Richmond Photos
• University of Richmond Spiders Win National Championship/ All I Want For Christmas Is You/ Mariah Carey
• Football Predictions And Outcome/ Patriots vs Chargers / Giants vs Packers/ January 2008
• The Blogger Is Sick / The Last Act

Table of contents for 3/Christmas Decorations

1. Tacky Christmas Decorations
2. My Grandchildren And Santa/ Kellie Pickler/ Santa Baby
3. The Day After Christmas/ Josh Groban/ Thankful
4. Eeyore And Christmas/ Taking Care Of Your Friends

Last night B and I headed out to the Westwood Club for some Christmas dinner and Christmas Carols. It had already started snowing and deposited almost a foot of snow on the front yard and B’s friends, the two reindeer and Eeyore.

I swept off the car so we could see and turned around to see B talking to Eeyore who seemed more depressed than usual. The snow was weighing him down. He’s an inflatable about four feet tall and his chin was stuck to his chest. She let the rest of the air out of him and covered him with an old shower curtain so the snow and ice wouldn’t mess up his skin.

You have to love somebody who will do things like this on a snowy night.

Dinner was very nice but tons of people didn’t show up because of the snow. The television meteorologists are just about ordering people to stay home today. Well that’s fine!

I wasn’t planning to come out of my room til Spring anyway.

I did take a few photos this evening of our Christmas decorations. Here’s a photo of the reindeer. You can’t see Eeyore because he’s under the shower curtain and a pile of snow.

He’s really feeling it right now. . .

No doubt.

Here are a few photos

The week before Christmas

• Let It Snow/ Lewis Ginter Christmas Lights/ Andrea Bocelli And Natalie Cole/ The Christmas Song
• The Blogger Is Cheered By His Numbers/ Andrea Bocelli/ Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
• Snow Day!/ College Kids Frollick In The Snow/ U of Richmond Photos
• Dr. Davidlind’s Martha Stewart Moment
• Beautiful Snow Scene

Table of contents for Botanical Garden Christmas

1. Outdoor Christmas Decorations/ Ginter Park
2. Is This A Green “giantess garden?”
3. One More Photo Of Christmas
4. Outdoor Christmas Decorations
5. My Lovely Lady
6. Let It Snow/ Lewis Ginter Christmas Lights/ Andrea Bocelli And Natalie Cole/ The Christmas Song

A week or so ago B and I went over to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens to see their Christmas lights. They made some interesting changes this year and I was able to take some photos. One of the major differences I noticed was the hot air balloon that hovered in the background. It was tethered securely but did manage to take some excited children and their parents up into the darkness 100 ft or so for a nice but short ride.

I thought about wandering over and untying the balloon when it was in the middle of its short ride so the children might enjoy a genuine holiday thrill. Perhaps their parents too would cast aside their everyday complaints while they silently rose over the City of Richmond.

But then I decided somebody would not be happy and I would probably end up spending the night in jail. It would only take the balloon a few seconds to lose its buoyancy and return to earth. So it wouldn’t really be worth the effort.

Besides, B would be mortified and probably not make any Christmas cookies for the next ten years. Or she would hide them in places I would never discover. The dogs wouldn’t even discover them.

And if the dogs can’t discover them you know they must be encased in lead or in a safe deposit box somewhere far, far away.

Hopefully it is going to snow in the next day or so and your intrepid photographer and blogger will have a chance to take some more photos of the Christmas season. I say “intrepid” because a certain amount of psyching up is needed at this point. We are supposed to drive up to Leesburg this weekend!!

And that is challenging enough without a foot or more of snow and ice on the ground.

Grandpa may get to play in a winter wonderland just as he did fifty years ago.

Here’s a wonderful Christmas song by Andrea Bocelli and Natalie Cole. It is a real Christmas treat listening to these two artists combine their vast talents.

And this is what Christmas is all about. . .the music. Is there anything better during this time? Our society is based on a philosophy that creates a certain space between itself and the spiritual way. But for a few days a year we relax those ideals a little bit and allow a glow to permeate our world.

Some people love it. And some don’t like it at all. I love the music, the sights and sounds most of all. And this weekend we may also have snow! This is literally frosting on the cake when it comes to the Christmas season.

The lights are enhanced by snow and it also absorbs many of the sounds around us. The darkness arrives and things become very quiet. . .

In these moments I catch my breathe and look expectantly towards the sky. Perhaps it is not Santa who will arrive tonight…

Perhaps the One who is named every time we say “Christmas” will join us!

He’s not far away you know! And he could decide to make a visit. Such an event would certainly excite the parents more than an unattached balloon ride.

And I wouldn’t have to spend the night in jail. Sounds like a win/win situation for all who are weary and need some rest.

First click on the music and then the photo below for a slide show with music.

Christmas 2009

Play- The Christmas Song

Andrea Bocelli and Natalie Cole

• I Believe/ Andrea Bocelli/ Have A Blissful Christmas too!
• Andrea Bocelli Listen/ A Great Sound
• Andrea and Katherine
• Andrea Bocelli/ September Morn/ Can’t Help Falling In Love/ Music Of The Night
• Andrea Bocelli/ El Silencio de la Espera / My Blogging Notions/

During the past year my Wordpress.com stats have been pretty stable but they also have had a downward tilt in terms of monthly visits. This led me to believe that at some future point readers would disappear completely.

How sad it was to contemplate this! Why write and take photos if no one is going to see your work? If a bear falls down in the woods and nobody is there to hear him does he actually make a sound?

Tree! Excuse me. A tree is supposed to fall down in the woods and not make a sound. A bear does something else. Sorry. I got the two stories mixed up.

In any case I looked in the Cpanel at a completely different reader counting system called Awstats and it says I have an increased readership for the year of over fifty percent! Visits went up from 20 thousand in January to 33 thousand in November. That’s probably over a 60 percent increase . My math is not great but in any case this was good news. Lots of people say that Awstats wildly overstates visits and maybe they do. I was more concerned with the trending since we can assume that they were doing the same things all year long.

They separate their robot counts and their people counts too by the way.

My readers are not robots! They have eyes! Over sixty six thousand of them in November apparently. Of course not all of those eyes stick around long enough to even focus on the title of the blog before they are off on another journey.

But some of them did and it is encouraging to the blogger to realize that his blog is not going to sink below the surface in the future while he furiously tries to save it with the written word and the edited photo. Futility is such an unhappy state of affairs.

So thank you readers for visiting and I hope you will leave a comment or two after you have finished reading. Comments are more encouraging in general than stats. And they also give some of us ideas for future posts.

B told me that we may have snow in a couple of days. Snow before Christmas! Imagine. Santa always likes it when he has actual snow on the big night for his roof-top landings. Braking is not an issue because he comes (almost) straight down. The snow just cushions the bump when he lands.

If you have ever landed in a crowded jet with two sleeping pilots you know about the bump and why Santa tries to avoid it.

Santa likes snow in general because people tend to stay indoors when it snows at night. They like to stay warm and look out the window every once in awhile to see how deep is the snow. There is something very magical about this to small children. They will look out the window often to see if the snow is covering the bushes or the cars on the street.

It thrills them to think about being buried in the snow.

And Santa wants them to stay inside. If the children were out running around there would be a small chance that he would be discovered while flying around and landing on people’s houses.

So it’s better that the children stay indoors. And it really doesn’t matter if their parents stay inside or go outside and try to hunt Santa down. Because they can’t see him anyway. He’s invisible to adults unless they are homeless and have been sitting in the snow drinking wine for at least six hours.

Those people deserve to see Santa even though many of them do not believe he exists. Almost anyone who is going to have a really bad Christmas deserves to see Santa.

I can’t see Santa. When he hits the roof I probably won’t hear him either. Because it’s going to snow. And that will ease the bump and make Santa go “HO-Ho-Hoooo”. Generally he wakes up the whole neighborhood when he does that!

But then we just say something like “Ha! That sounded like Santa. I must be hearing things again.” And we go back to sleep. Or we go play on the computer because most of us can’t sleep. This can go on for years until one day we get a leaky roof and a technician tells us that we are going to need some expensive work done up there.

“I thought those shingles were guaranteed for thirty years!”

Not if it doesn’t snow more than a couple years in a row. The runners on Santa’s sleigh tear them up pretty bad. And insurance doesn’t cover it. Because if you work for an insurance company you can’t see Santa.

Even if you lose your job and end up in the snow drinking wine. Same with bankers and stock brokers. Lawyers too.

So if you are one of these don’t lose your job. And don’t go out in the woods on a snow night hoping to drink some wine or hear a tree fall either. Because there’s only one thing waiting for you out there.

And it’s not Santa.

Andrea Bocelli/ My Christmas

Play – Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

• Let It Snow/ Lewis Ginter Christmas Lights/ Andrea Bocelli And Natalie Cole/ The Christmas Song
• Eeyore And Christmas/ Taking Care Of Your Friends
• Snow Day!/ College Kids Frollick In The Snow/ U of Richmond Photos
• Where Is Santa Clause Right Now?
• My Grandchildren And Santa/ Kellie Pickler/ Santa Baby

How many ways are there to mess up this Christmas? So, so many. So let’s take a few moments and review some of the more obvious ways there are to take a perfectly nice holiday and make it unhappy. I know that none of my readers plan to do any of these things but I need to remind myself (in some cases) about a few things. Also my younger son may read this and I want him to think about a few things also. It should be really easy to tell which things are meant for a twenty-something guy and which are more meat for a fifty-something year old guy.

Although you never know for sure in today’s world. . .

One. Don’t fall in love with someone who doesn’t really love you at Christmas time. Probably she already has a boyfriend and is just messing around with you until he is finishes up at whatever Ivy league school he may attend and returns to claim his reward for cranking out one more semester of Ivy league goodness.

Notice the vacant look in her eye when you try to share something special under the mistletoe. Remember that words are her last line of defense. You must learn to read the eyes.

Eyes. Fire. Santa is going to be good to you this year!

Eyes. Snow. Start thinking about finding an exciting book and going to see your grandmother over the holidays.

Actually you should go see your grandmother in any case. It’s just that your visit may not be quite as long if you saw the fire. But remember that grandmother probably is not going to be with you for many more years. And now that we have H1N1 and Congress taking care of our health care needs she may actually be gone before another one ends.

So go see her! Eat her cookies and pretend they are your girlfriend’s kisses. Gaze upon her lovely Christmas tree and pretend it is your lovely lady’s colorful holiday attire. Sit on her sofa and imagine that she is right there smelling so divine and glowing like those charming ornaments that hang not ten feet away.

Two. Stay away from alcohol over the holidays. First of all let’s not even pretend that this one is a message for the son. Because why waste the space? Why take the time to beat ones head against the proverbial brick wall even though it is strung with colorful lights and Christmas messages. It’s still going to hurt!

No this one is meant for the father who loves to have a few and finds himself at such times saying things he would not dream of saying at other times. They just come out! Why?

Because he doesn’t care! He’s not worrying about every little thing. And sometimes things work out well and everyone has a great time.

But sometimes they don’t and we don’t really need to go there. It’s like going out with someone who doesn’t really care about you. Sometimes you might have a fine time if they are in a good mood. And then at other times you might end up walking around the city all alone after she decides it’s time to go home and freeze vegetables.

And if you do end up walking around the city while the snow is falling and your tears are freezing on your face please remember just one thing!
You will feel better in a day or two or a week. Don’t under ANY circumstances start walking towards your friend’s apartment. You will end up looking up at her window and imagining what is happening up there.

I can guarantee you that it does not involve vegetables so the best thing is to just say away! Go see your family. Give grandma a hug. Finish the beer in the frig so your father doesn’t drink it. Eat some Christmas cookies for the same reason. And, in general, be thankful that you can do so many things he can no longer do.

Three. Don’t sit around and grow old Dad! Plan to go someplace special next year. And don’t ride there in your car or take a jet or a train! Walk! That’s right! I’m going to walk to Cape Cod in 2010 if things work out and benefit from all the exercise. It may take me a year and I may not leave the neighborhood but if I walk in circles a couple of miles every day that’s over six hundred miles by next December.

It takes about ten hours by car to drive those six hundred miles from Richmond to the Bourne Bridge. But it takes a little longer on foot. Look for progress reports here from time to time. I will let you know when I get to DC.

Well that’s all I have for this Christmas holiday. To be honest I did draw from a few ancient memories in the preparation of this blog post. It’s not easy being young and I appreciate the pain that young people often endure. Still some of us can make our lives better and reduce the amount of emotional and/or physical pain we feel during the holidays.

The holidays are not always joyous but they can surprise us with special moments and leave us with memories we will cherish of loved ones who will grow up or grow old before we are ready for it to happen.

Let’s put on some Christmas lights and shine during this holiday season.

Eric Clapton/ Complete Clapton

Play – Layla (Album Version)

Christmas Do’s And Dont’s/ Pain And The Holidays/ Eric Clapton/ Layla

• Tacky Christmas Decorations
• Autumn Photos From the University of Richmond
• Hot Entertainment/ Stopping Migraine Pain
• Autumn Leaves
• To My Longtime Reader

Table of contents for 5/ Sports

1. Sunday Morning and Tiger Woods/ The Masters Tournament
2. Family And Tiger Woods/ The US Open And Father’s Day
3. Tiger Woods Finished Playing For The Year/ Ligament Torn
4. Tiger Woods Misses His Drive And Decides Not To Finish Round/ Ray Charles/ Oh, What A Beautiful Morning
5. Tiger Woods Update/ The Blogger Tries To Understand His Second Statement/ Daughtry/ Life After You
6. Holiday Ruminations/ Wives And The Wonderful/ Tiger Love

Oh man I am a little tired this morning. I woke up at three am and realized that there were some things that needed doing on the computer. So now it’s eight am and the dogs are still sleeping. They sleep a lot. They are sleeping machines. But you don’t want to startle them when they are sleeping or even when they are looking in the other direction. Because they will go prehistoric on you in a second. Fortunately they know they should not eat one of their owners.

ONE of their owners. That would be the one who feeds them and listens to their doggy complaints. It would also be the one who tolerates their moods and their occasional baffling behavior.

In other words this person would be my wife. They would have no qualms about eating me if they were in a truly awe-inspiring, agitated state. They know it. And I know it. So they are sleeping now and that’s a good thing. The computer is all fixed up so when the wonderful B wants to make her Christmas calendars later this morning she can do so without a problem.

What should I do now? Go back to sleep? Or write a blog post about NOTHING?

As a matter of fact there is something I would like to write about on this (looks out the window) sunny, winter-ish morning. And it’s not Tiger Woods. Because Tiger has given up golf for an undetermined amount of time. Apparently something or someone has gained his attention. Maybe he had a talk with Oprah!

It’s difficult giving up something you love to do even for a short while. I can remember the first time I went to a PGA tournament. It was down in Williamsburg, Virginia back in the early 1980’s. I walked up to a green and thought “this is the greatest job in the world”! These guys are doing this for a living! And we can stand right next to them while they are doing it.

Talk about being involved! Can you imagine sitting in the dugout with Alex Rodriguez or Derek Jeter? Or plunking down your lawn chair between the fifty yard line and the players in a pro football game? That would be pretty dangerous actually. But that’s the kind of involvement you get with golf. You can see them sweat and you can feel their displeasure as they make a shot that looks pretty good!

But to them it’s not good enough. Almost every shot has to be great to win a pro golf tournament. And I believe Tiger is something of a perfectionist in many ways. So it is just so difficult to imagine what was going through his mind when he left the pursuit of perfection behind in such a major way.

I wasn’t going to think or write about Tiger.

My problem is that it is so cold outside! And so many readers here do not take the time to comment. Ever. Or maybe there are not many readers. These things play on the blogger’s mind. What is really happening here?

The dogs are up. I can hear them barking downstairs. Now they are barking out in the backyard. But they are not really agitated. They are just looking for voles and other things I suppose. Any living thing that has made the mistake of resting out there for a moment is in danger of becoming a morning morsel.

A Saturday sandwich. A weekend treat.

It’s time to go looking for some music. And I hope YOU have a wonderful weekend. What are your plans? Drive slowly. Smile at the people who are behind the counters trying to serve us during this holiday season. I tried it a few times yesterday when I managed to leave this room for a few hours.

It didn’t hurt.

Very soon 2009 will be in the history books. Does anybody have any ideas about 2010? What sort of year will it be? Hopefully it won’t be too bad and we will all be fine. As long as we don’t stir up the dogs. Be kind to everyone including the dogs. I’m learning this from B. I’m trying to understand.

We don’t want to end up alone. We don’t want to end up with someone who is looking for a free ride and doesn’t really love us. That can be even worse than being alone. Maybe when Elin tried to stick a golf club in Tiger’s ear she was telling him that he had devastated her and she wanted to kill him.

I hope so.

Wives can be such great teachers in so many areas all year round but especially during the holiday season.

Three Dog Night/ Celebrate: The Three Dog Night Story

Play Try a Little Tenderness

• Family And Tiger Woods/ The US Open And Father’s Day
• Tiger Woods
• Tiger Woods Finished Playing For The Year/ Ligament Torn
• Sunday Morning and Tiger Woods/ The Masters Tournament
• Tiger Woods Misses His Drive And Decides Not To Finish Round/ Ray Charles/ Oh, What A Beautiful Morning

Table of contents for 23/ Writing

1. Random Ruminations/ Famous People With ADHD/ Experiments With Time
2. Random Ruminations in Springtime
3. She Is Dressed In Sylvan Twilight/ The Blogger Goes Home/ Andrea Bocelli/ What Child Is This?

Would you still pull me back up the hill on the sled? Sure I would! Oh the joys of Facebook. My sister, Linda, lives up in New Hampshire and I commented on a recent photo of her standing in the snow.

It has been snowing up there in New England while it has been raining down here in Virginia. And I said something about wanting to be up there with her in the White Mountain regions. But it’s so far away!

So when I read her comment it took me back more than fifty years to the small hill in front of our little house where all the neighborhood children used to sled in winter. I tried to come up with a memory of pulling her up the hill but it’s gone.

All that remains is the sound of boots on crushed snow and ice and the steam that used to emerge from us as we ran around full of excitement in anticipation of the next rush down the hill.

I am standing there looking up at the sky as a jet leaves a vapor trail through the atmosphere. Soon it will be dark and before then I must go inside and stay there until tomorrow.

Ice has found its way between my gloves and the sleeves of my jacket. It lands close to the unprotected pulse and tears at the skin. My feet and face are numb but it really doesn’t matter. Because this is living and it is so much greater than anything else in my young life.

I am alive.

In a moment I reach the top of the hill and push off down the slope as mailboxes flash past and someone jumps out of the way. The metal runners hiss as they rip through the packed snow and for a moment I achieve speeds that are probably faster than the airplane overhead.

Probably.

And then it is over and the sled has run up a short pile of snow at the end of a shoveled driveway. I fall backward for a moment and once again look up at the sky.

It is darker now and quieter too. I would love to stay here for awhile and watch the light slowly drift off into the starlit night. Would it be so bad to simply forget all the things I must do before it is time to sleep?

And stay here. Become a part of the landscape. Drift into the silent night.

Perhaps at some point I could get up and walk away from the hill and all the little houses with their solitary lamps and windows full of shadows and mystery. I could find a field with a pond of sparkling ice and a moon that casts a glow upon it. And then I could gather some sticks and build a fire while waiting for someone to come.

She will come. I know she will not leave me here. Dressed in a gown of sylvan twilight she will emerge from the darkness and smile as she touches my outstretched hand. And then we will rise above the trees and the hills. . .

Moving with increasing speed.

Until a distant star envelopes us in light and the warmth of her love brings us Home again.

Andrea Bocelli

Play- What Child Is This

• Wanting A Sleigh Ride/ Johnny Mathis/ Sleigh Ride
• Still Standing After A Week/ Neptune Festival Redux
• The Blogger Is Cheered By His Numbers/ Andrea Bocelli/ Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
• Andrea Bocelli Listen/ A Great Sound
• Eeyore And Christmas/ Taking Care Of Your Friends