(This letter is addressed to my first grandchild who will be a bride on October 1.)
Ashlee dear:
This can't be right---wasn't it the day before yesterday at St. John's Hospital in Toledo that I sat next to your mother's bed and held you? Your grandmother and I were almost as happy as your mother at contempating the first grandchild. And you were beautiful. Some things never change.
And wasn't it yesterday that I watched you pitch softball or set up your teammates on the volleyball team? And saw you graduate with high honors?
And it was just a few hours ago that we drove from your Central Florida campus (with you doing most of the driving) for Thanksgiving at your aunt's home on the east coast of Florida, wasn't it? And calling each other when Ohio State beat Michigan?
And here we are, back in time reality, looking forward to your marriage to a very good guy in Myrtle Beach SC on October 1.
I've never felt so old in my life at the prospect of my first grandchild getting married. But, I have to say, it's a nice old, like good wine and whiskey improving with age.
I like the way you turned out. You are very bright, brighter than you give yourself credit for and you are doing good things in your life. I think your value system is also in the right place. You deserve a good marriage and a good life. I was lucky enough to have one---and you should, too.
You came out of a strong background in your parents and that certainly shaped your character. And you, along with your delightful sister, have appreciated a loving and caring (they are not always the same) family.
I guess the point of what I'm saying is, i'm awfully proud of you and love you very much. I wish you and Tim a lifetime of the best. By the way, one of these days, make me a great-grandfather while you're at it!
Much love,
GooGoo
P.S. And thanks for giving me that ridiculous nickname for grandfather, which I'm stuck with (and learned to like)!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
THE WORLD OF BEES
My old blogging friend, billyann-journal.blogspot.com posted an interesting link. (http://www.truthout.com/conservatives-say-it-out-loud-they-hate-democracy/1316786695) which grabbed my attention. Every now and then I say to myself, enough of your pontificating about politics, you're getting to be a bore, so just stay off the subject. But I'm like a drug addict who has to come back for more when I read something like this link.
The gist of it is the old Ayn Rand business of an elite only entitled to run the world, a kind of fascist oligarchy where a select few should be in charge. I know I have a number of acquaintances who fit right into this philosophy. Screw the majority who don't know diddly squat and aren't entitled to any of the benefits of this world; it's only we the enlightened who should run things and reap the benefits. A few winners and a lot of losers.
When I was a kid of ten, I raised bees, with the help of a local farmer/beekeeper who taught me a lot about this fascinating world of bees. I kept bees for about three years and, thanks to the understanding this farmer/beekeeper imparted to me, I learned to handle bees without a problem; in fact, I only got stung once when I put my thumb on and squashed a bee in one of the frames in a hive.
Ayn Rand and the other monolithic far right would love the principles of a bee society. There is one Queen whose purpose in life is to procreate and produce eggs. 95% of the hive is comprised of worker bees, infertile females, whose sole purpose is to produce honey. The only other classification of bees are the drones, males whose only purpose in life is to service the Queen---and only one gets that privilege in a mating ritual in which the Queen flies higher and higher in the air, and the drone who can stay with her gets the score. Then, for a few weeks, the remaining drones sit around the hive, gorging themselves on honey and doing absolutely nothing for the benefit of the hive. Then one day, usually in early autumn, you come out to visit your hive---and see a mass of dead males pushed out the front of the hive. The worker bees have struck and wiped out the drones.
We are not bees, thank God. I know we have too many drones in humanity, but we can't just turn on them and throw their dead bodies out of the hive. We do have the ability to train some of those drones to be responsible contributors to life, but there will always be a certain untrainable number who are useless who become our responsibility. I don't think we want 95% of us to do nothing but work and to have no time to enjoy the benefits of work in their leisure time. and I don't think we want a single Queen in charge.
Some of the Republican candidates seem to be making Ayn Rand-like noises. I also really get worried when I hear of incidents like a certain campaign debate crowd clapping at the idea of letting the indigent go without health care and die. It is an exclusive elitist philosophy of individualism in an anti-democratic spirit. Democracy can be a pain in the ass many times. But I don't want to contemplate a life without it. John Donne said in the seventeenth century in one of his wonderful sermons at St. Paul's in London, "No man is an island unto himselfe,,," No, we still depend on and need each other.
I don't want to be in a bee society, thank you.
The gist of it is the old Ayn Rand business of an elite only entitled to run the world, a kind of fascist oligarchy where a select few should be in charge. I know I have a number of acquaintances who fit right into this philosophy. Screw the majority who don't know diddly squat and aren't entitled to any of the benefits of this world; it's only we the enlightened who should run things and reap the benefits. A few winners and a lot of losers.
When I was a kid of ten, I raised bees, with the help of a local farmer/beekeeper who taught me a lot about this fascinating world of bees. I kept bees for about three years and, thanks to the understanding this farmer/beekeeper imparted to me, I learned to handle bees without a problem; in fact, I only got stung once when I put my thumb on and squashed a bee in one of the frames in a hive.
Ayn Rand and the other monolithic far right would love the principles of a bee society. There is one Queen whose purpose in life is to procreate and produce eggs. 95% of the hive is comprised of worker bees, infertile females, whose sole purpose is to produce honey. The only other classification of bees are the drones, males whose only purpose in life is to service the Queen---and only one gets that privilege in a mating ritual in which the Queen flies higher and higher in the air, and the drone who can stay with her gets the score. Then, for a few weeks, the remaining drones sit around the hive, gorging themselves on honey and doing absolutely nothing for the benefit of the hive. Then one day, usually in early autumn, you come out to visit your hive---and see a mass of dead males pushed out the front of the hive. The worker bees have struck and wiped out the drones.
We are not bees, thank God. I know we have too many drones in humanity, but we can't just turn on them and throw their dead bodies out of the hive. We do have the ability to train some of those drones to be responsible contributors to life, but there will always be a certain untrainable number who are useless who become our responsibility. I don't think we want 95% of us to do nothing but work and to have no time to enjoy the benefits of work in their leisure time. and I don't think we want a single Queen in charge.
Some of the Republican candidates seem to be making Ayn Rand-like noises. I also really get worried when I hear of incidents like a certain campaign debate crowd clapping at the idea of letting the indigent go without health care and die. It is an exclusive elitist philosophy of individualism in an anti-democratic spirit. Democracy can be a pain in the ass many times. But I don't want to contemplate a life without it. John Donne said in the seventeenth century in one of his wonderful sermons at St. Paul's in London, "No man is an island unto himselfe,,," No, we still depend on and need each other.
I don't want to be in a bee society, thank you.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
THE NEW GAME IN TOWN
The world of sport and big money continues to amaze me. In the case of collegiate athletics, the tail---all that revenue from sports---is wagging the dog. Look at the recent changes in athletic conferences with colleges switcing conferences, or trying to do so. Why? more dollars, of course. the bigger and better the conference, the more chance for lucrative TV deals.
With the cost of education spiraling upward continuously, colleges are looking for any extra income they can get. Private universities are nearing stratospheric levels. My old alma mater, Hamilton Gollege is pushing $40,000 per annum. A little school like Hamilton with no prestigious sports team can expect no help from the athletic department in containing costs. The Ivy league schools aren't much better. Princeton or Penn usually have decent basketball---not football--- teams and make the March Madness tournament, which is good for some bucks but not much in the big picture.
The major conferences, the SEC, the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 (or 14 0r whatever it is, the Pac-10 or 12 or 14----there you see the big bucks. And it's like an insatiable monster, gobbling up new schools, spitting out old ones. Then, if you are part of the N.C.A.A hiearchy, you get nightmares wondering if the colleges formed their own March Madness tournament and pulled away from the N.C.A.A.'s auspices. Whee, it's enough to make one giddy!
It's the new version of musical chairs. Or Abbott and Costello---who's on first?
With the cost of education spiraling upward continuously, colleges are looking for any extra income they can get. Private universities are nearing stratospheric levels. My old alma mater, Hamilton Gollege is pushing $40,000 per annum. A little school like Hamilton with no prestigious sports team can expect no help from the athletic department in containing costs. The Ivy league schools aren't much better. Princeton or Penn usually have decent basketball---not football--- teams and make the March Madness tournament, which is good for some bucks but not much in the big picture.
The major conferences, the SEC, the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 (or 14 0r whatever it is, the Pac-10 or 12 or 14----there you see the big bucks. And it's like an insatiable monster, gobbling up new schools, spitting out old ones. Then, if you are part of the N.C.A.A hiearchy, you get nightmares wondering if the colleges formed their own March Madness tournament and pulled away from the N.C.A.A.'s auspices. Whee, it's enough to make one giddy!
It's the new version of musical chairs. Or Abbott and Costello---who's on first?
Saturday, September 17, 2011
THE CONVICTS VS. THE CONVICTS
I will be watching on TV tonight The University of Miami (FL) versus The Ohio State University, to be formal. This game could be the beginning of a new bowl format---The Hypocrite Bowl.
Both these teams, to understate it. are not exactly bastions of virtue and integrity. In the case of Miami, they have a long history of player suspensions and even arrests. Remember, if you are old enough, back in the early nineties when Miami played Notre Dame, they created t-shirts reading "THE CONVICTS VS. THE CATHOLICS". Ohio State has a more recent record of transgressions. The recent mess was big news of Jim Tressell, the coach fired---or allowed to resign---because of covering up players selling jersey and other memorabilia for tattoos and the like, resulting in five players suspended for the first five games of the current season. O.S.U. also has its businessman/President, Dr. Gordon Gee, he of the darling bow ties, noted for his cute bon mots and for looking the other way.
Both teams are symptomatic of the problems facing college football. College football is by any definition BIG BUSINESS. I saw an article in the papers today on the revenues of various universities for football. Texas edged Ohio State in revenue 86.2 mm to 86.1 mm. That qualifies as big business, and there were many school in the 80-85 mm category.
Some commentators are calling for a reality check and accepting the fact that college athletes should be given some "spending money" or expenses so that they can resist the temptations of unauthorized gifts. Admittedly, it has to be hard for some nineteen year-old athlete who comes from a poor background and is in college on an athletic scholarship to turn down the blandishments of some folded lettuce slipped surreptiously into his palm by a well-heeled alumnus or the use of a brand-new car.
On the other side of the coin, these temptations have been around for years, and you know the ground rules when you enter school and should have been exposed to the caveats of the N.C.A.A.
Tonight will be prime exhibits of this dilemma. THE CONVICTS VS. THE CONVICTS could read the t-shirts or, more gently, THE SUSPENDED VS. THE SUSPENDED, or CANES, CASH, COLUMBUS. Take your pick.
Both these teams, to understate it. are not exactly bastions of virtue and integrity. In the case of Miami, they have a long history of player suspensions and even arrests. Remember, if you are old enough, back in the early nineties when Miami played Notre Dame, they created t-shirts reading "THE CONVICTS VS. THE CATHOLICS". Ohio State has a more recent record of transgressions. The recent mess was big news of Jim Tressell, the coach fired---or allowed to resign---because of covering up players selling jersey and other memorabilia for tattoos and the like, resulting in five players suspended for the first five games of the current season. O.S.U. also has its businessman/President, Dr. Gordon Gee, he of the darling bow ties, noted for his cute bon mots and for looking the other way.
Both teams are symptomatic of the problems facing college football. College football is by any definition BIG BUSINESS. I saw an article in the papers today on the revenues of various universities for football. Texas edged Ohio State in revenue 86.2 mm to 86.1 mm. That qualifies as big business, and there were many school in the 80-85 mm category.
Some commentators are calling for a reality check and accepting the fact that college athletes should be given some "spending money" or expenses so that they can resist the temptations of unauthorized gifts. Admittedly, it has to be hard for some nineteen year-old athlete who comes from a poor background and is in college on an athletic scholarship to turn down the blandishments of some folded lettuce slipped surreptiously into his palm by a well-heeled alumnus or the use of a brand-new car.
On the other side of the coin, these temptations have been around for years, and you know the ground rules when you enter school and should have been exposed to the caveats of the N.C.A.A.
Tonight will be prime exhibits of this dilemma. THE CONVICTS VS. THE CONVICTS could read the t-shirts or, more gently, THE SUSPENDED VS. THE SUSPENDED, or CANES, CASH, COLUMBUS. Take your pick.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
SAME OLD, SAME OLD
Now that I have settled back in our Florida home, I can only note the old French adage: "le plus qu'il change, le plus le meme"---namely, the more things change, the more they are the same.
I note that the Senate Minority leader, Mitch McConnell, in response to the President's latest stimulus plan, has said, "It's D.O.A.---dead on arrival." Attaboy, Mitch, kill, kill, kill, right from the gitgo.
I note in the recent Republican Presidential debates that certain members of the audience, Tea Partyists. no doubt, cheered at the idea of letting the indigents die if they can't afford health care. Nice attitude, guys and girls. Do unto others before they do it unto you.
I note that professional sports just can't possibly get along without the threat of a strike and lockout. The N.F.L. wasn't enough; now we have the N.B.A. Owners are the same in all professional sports: maximum return in revenue and minimum outlay for the players. What the hell, the customers will pay for it anyway...
I note the rate of poverty in America has now reached 46mm people or up to 16.1%. The gap between the rich and the poor continues to accelerate. And we don't need entitlement and tax reform? Not to mention job stimulation.
I note the Euro crisis continues to accelerate. Do you think maybe the euro currency is not such a hot idea and the United States of Europe a giant turkey?
Where have I heard this song before?
I note that the Senate Minority leader, Mitch McConnell, in response to the President's latest stimulus plan, has said, "It's D.O.A.---dead on arrival." Attaboy, Mitch, kill, kill, kill, right from the gitgo.
I note in the recent Republican Presidential debates that certain members of the audience, Tea Partyists. no doubt, cheered at the idea of letting the indigents die if they can't afford health care. Nice attitude, guys and girls. Do unto others before they do it unto you.
I note that professional sports just can't possibly get along without the threat of a strike and lockout. The N.F.L. wasn't enough; now we have the N.B.A. Owners are the same in all professional sports: maximum return in revenue and minimum outlay for the players. What the hell, the customers will pay for it anyway...
I note the rate of poverty in America has now reached 46mm people or up to 16.1%. The gap between the rich and the poor continues to accelerate. And we don't need entitlement and tax reform? Not to mention job stimulation.
I note the Euro crisis continues to accelerate. Do you think maybe the euro currency is not such a hot idea and the United States of Europe a giant turkey?
Where have I heard this song before?
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
IS IT A BIRD OR A PLANE?
Like Freddie Kruger, I'm back--- in the U.S.A.--- after almost three months in England and really glad to be home. My old body is slowly adjusting to the time difference; it takes longer now. I had a good night's sleep, so I'm almost there.
What kept me awake and excited was the great championship match at the U.S. Open between Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal where rallies of pure power hitting were frequently twenty-five times across the net or more. Talk about two heavyweights duking it out! Djokovic has taken the game to a new dimension, somewhere in the warp speed area. He moves with incredible grace and style, all the while with power and precision.
With so many young giants on the horizon,physically and artfully endowed with power and grace, you never know who will emerge to challenge Djokovic. I only wish a few more of them were American.
Serena let her big foul mouth interfere with her tennis and deservedly was beaten thoroughly by Samantha Stosur. It's been awhile since the Aussies had a champion---and Sam deserved to win.
I've commented before how the combination of new technology in racquets---and now in strings---plus the conditioning of today's athletes who are bigger and stronger has totally changed the game. Any resemblance between today's games and thirty years ago does not exist. It's literally a whole new ball game!
What new version of Clark Kent with a racquet will zoom down from the skies? It will be fun to see. For now, Novak Djokovic wears the cape.
What kept me awake and excited was the great championship match at the U.S. Open between Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal where rallies of pure power hitting were frequently twenty-five times across the net or more. Talk about two heavyweights duking it out! Djokovic has taken the game to a new dimension, somewhere in the warp speed area. He moves with incredible grace and style, all the while with power and precision.
With so many young giants on the horizon,physically and artfully endowed with power and grace, you never know who will emerge to challenge Djokovic. I only wish a few more of them were American.
Serena let her big foul mouth interfere with her tennis and deservedly was beaten thoroughly by Samantha Stosur. It's been awhile since the Aussies had a champion---and Sam deserved to win.
I've commented before how the combination of new technology in racquets---and now in strings---plus the conditioning of today's athletes who are bigger and stronger has totally changed the game. Any resemblance between today's games and thirty years ago does not exist. It's literally a whole new ball game!
What new version of Clark Kent with a racquet will zoom down from the skies? It will be fun to see. For now, Novak Djokovic wears the cape.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
MY LAST ENGLISH HURRAH
This will probably be my last blog from England. We leave for America on 9/11, and this next week is going to be frantic, which it has been these last few weeks as we tried and succeeded in selling our house here in Eastbourne. The new buyer of the house, a charming lady in her sixties, is coming here on Tuesday to determine what of our possessions she wants. In England, everything not an integral part of the house is sold separately, and you must file forms showing these contents.. After she has picked her choices, we have arranged to ship certain items we like in furniture, cutlery, kitchenware and personal items by sea to our address in Florida. The day after we leave the shipping company will come in and pack up those designated items. After that is accomplished, an old friend who does cleaning for us will come in and pick up certain items chosen by her and put the house in order. Then the rest will be taken by an antique dealer/liquidator, who will come in shortly after we leave.
Then we must push to expedite the paperwork with the lawyers, hers and ours, so that we can sign the agreement, and some monies get transferred. Since we will be paid in sterling, I’m going to talk to our accountant here on how best at minimum cost to transfer the funds. Should I invest some of it in gold, in low-yield safe bonds or money market funds until final disposition is determined. That’s a nice problem!
All of which means, there is a helluva lot to do in the next eight days. Somehow we will muddle through and get it done. One of our daughters is here and can help in the disposal and packing process, thank God. Arranging the logistics for all these transfers of merchandise is tricky, but we will pull it off.
We are ready to come home. We have had a good time in spite of the English weather, which has forgotten to be summer a good part of the time. England is not the same---then, again, what is? Everything is expensive here, even more than in the states, and the mood of austerity and fiscal pain preys on everyone. As I said in an earlier blog, we’ll probably come back, health permitting, for shorter visits---but no more three months away, it’s too long.
I’ll blog at you soon from home soon.
Then we must push to expedite the paperwork with the lawyers, hers and ours, so that we can sign the agreement, and some monies get transferred. Since we will be paid in sterling, I’m going to talk to our accountant here on how best at minimum cost to transfer the funds. Should I invest some of it in gold, in low-yield safe bonds or money market funds until final disposition is determined. That’s a nice problem!
All of which means, there is a helluva lot to do in the next eight days. Somehow we will muddle through and get it done. One of our daughters is here and can help in the disposal and packing process, thank God. Arranging the logistics for all these transfers of merchandise is tricky, but we will pull it off.
We are ready to come home. We have had a good time in spite of the English weather, which has forgotten to be summer a good part of the time. England is not the same---then, again, what is? Everything is expensive here, even more than in the states, and the mood of austerity and fiscal pain preys on everyone. As I said in an earlier blog, we’ll probably come back, health permitting, for shorter visits---but no more three months away, it’s too long.
I’ll blog at you soon from home soon.
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