We were happy to hear from you this morning. You sounded good...like you were in LA on your way to work. I'm anxious to see some photos. Send me the name of the island you are going to...I'll google it. I like to see where you are so I get a mental picture of the places.
How do you get on the internet? From the hotel? By the time you get this, you'll be out of the hotel so I'm guesing that it will be internet cafes.
Not much news to report; temperatures have dropped to the 90's. I hope it stays there. The water at the condo is being turned off tomorrow so I'll go down and install the faucet for the guys. Haven't checked the account for Ricardo's rent but I will when I get home.
Love,
Dad
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
September 19
It's cooler in Phoenix. I drove to work in the jalopy with the top down. We sat on the patio and had coffee with the doors and windows open to get some fresh air into the house.
It was good to hear from you last night. I thought it was 14 hours, too. Now it will be easy to figure out. How does your 'free internet' work? Do they give you a PC as well? Create a blog in Google and upload your photos to it so we can see what you are seeing. It will be a good place for you to keep a diary of your travels...too. We want to read the funny stuff.
Did my phone work with the sim card? I read about another service for international cell phone calls. I will go their site and see how it works. If it's as cheap as they say, I'll put it on our phones. If we could figure out how to call you, we will call from our home phone...it's cheap there, too.
It was good to hear from you last night. I thought it was 14 hours, too. Now it will be easy to figure out. How does your 'free internet' work? Do they give you a PC as well? Create a blog in Google and upload your photos to it so we can see what you are seeing. It will be a good place for you to keep a diary of your travels...too. We want to read the funny stuff.
Did my phone work with the sim card? I read about another service for international cell phone calls. I will go their site and see how it works. If it's as cheap as they say, I'll put it on our phones. If we could figure out how to call you, we will call from our home phone...it's cheap there, too.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
I never thought it would happen to me. I've become a wonk. I read the front page and the editorial page first. I rarely get to the business page. I skim the sports section. But I do the crossword puzzle...at least I try.
I can't tell whether it's a function of age or the environment ( the political one, that is.) I find myself arguing with people I don't know...gently, but firmly. I have to restrain myself sometimes from talking to strangers who say things that I find objectionable. I see bumper stickers and there is an urge to knock on the window and ask if the driver really believes 'that'.
First and foremost for me is the war in Iraq. As I watch the events unfold, I sometimes think I am watching a Kafka play. Am I the only person who can see this for what it is? What possesses otherwise intelligent people to latch onto shreds of truth to make silly arguments. For example, I heard a writer this morning telling Chris Matthews that Saddam Hussein provided aid to the people who flew into the World Trade Center. The source for that nonsense was a quote from a Judge who was hearing a case someone filed against Saddam Hussein (and I'm paraprhasing) that said..."Saddam Hussein provided aid to the people who flew into the World Trade Center."
Every, or nearly every administration official (except perhaps for the Vice President but he is so irrelvant, I don't count him) has ackowledged that there was no connection between SD and the WTC perpetrators. This fellow would not let it go...and insisted that it was accurate and thus a good reason not only to have invaded Iraq but was a good reason for staying.
Maybe I was watching Alice in Wonderland, not Kafka.
By any account, we will have troops committed to Iraq for well into the future. We know the ending to this movie and it's awful, ugly and will upset us. But we keep watching. No one has the nerve to hit the stop button.
I suspect 2008 will bring a new thought process to the situation, though. And sadly, it won't be the concern for the troops or an intellectual awakening. It will be November 2008 and the foreboding that it brings to the 535 members of Congress. Well, actually 435 House Members and 33 Senators who have to run for election. Not one of them wants to face us next Fall if there isn't a clear path to bringing those people home to their families. If you're reading this, you know in your gut that I'm right. The one motivation for our elected officials to do something is an election.
I can't tell whether it's a function of age or the environment ( the political one, that is.) I find myself arguing with people I don't know...gently, but firmly. I have to restrain myself sometimes from talking to strangers who say things that I find objectionable. I see bumper stickers and there is an urge to knock on the window and ask if the driver really believes 'that'.
First and foremost for me is the war in Iraq. As I watch the events unfold, I sometimes think I am watching a Kafka play. Am I the only person who can see this for what it is? What possesses otherwise intelligent people to latch onto shreds of truth to make silly arguments. For example, I heard a writer this morning telling Chris Matthews that Saddam Hussein provided aid to the people who flew into the World Trade Center. The source for that nonsense was a quote from a Judge who was hearing a case someone filed against Saddam Hussein (and I'm paraprhasing) that said..."Saddam Hussein provided aid to the people who flew into the World Trade Center."
Every, or nearly every administration official (except perhaps for the Vice President but he is so irrelvant, I don't count him) has ackowledged that there was no connection between SD and the WTC perpetrators. This fellow would not let it go...and insisted that it was accurate and thus a good reason not only to have invaded Iraq but was a good reason for staying.
Maybe I was watching Alice in Wonderland, not Kafka.
By any account, we will have troops committed to Iraq for well into the future. We know the ending to this movie and it's awful, ugly and will upset us. But we keep watching. No one has the nerve to hit the stop button.
I suspect 2008 will bring a new thought process to the situation, though. And sadly, it won't be the concern for the troops or an intellectual awakening. It will be November 2008 and the foreboding that it brings to the 535 members of Congress. Well, actually 435 House Members and 33 Senators who have to run for election. Not one of them wants to face us next Fall if there isn't a clear path to bringing those people home to their families. If you're reading this, you know in your gut that I'm right. The one motivation for our elected officials to do something is an election.
September 18
I woke up this morning and realized, for the first time, that I couldn't pick up my cell phone and call my kids. I felt panic or at least extreme anxiety and couldn't go back to sleep. As they planned their journey, I got caught up in the planning, the packing and things I would need to do while they were gone. I never really thought about the usual fears...plane crashes, tsunamis, cyclones, floods, muggings...I thought about the practical things. How would they get cash...ATM's? How would they access the internet? What if they needed something from the states...how would we get it to them? But I never thought about how often I would call them both and 'chat' with them online. It's going to be a long 4 months.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)