Family… On Thursday, November 22, Thanksgivings Day, at about 10:30 PM, Damon, my son-in-law, called and said that my Clarissa, my daughter - his wife, was in acting labor and had been admitted to the hospital; the birth of my first grandchild was imminent! That was the date the doctors had given her, and she was right on time... Instead of leaving for South Florida at that very moment, as I had planned, I decided to wait till the morning (too much turkey and a couple of cocktails would have impeded my best performance at that time). I saddled up for South Florida at 7:30 AM on the Jeep (new oil, new filter, new tires…); along the way, I was receiving frequent updates from Damon and Valentina, my 2nd daughter, who is an OB/GYN MD and had flown in for Thanksgiving the day before… As I approached Valdosta, GA (border town between Georgia & Florida) I got an update from Valentina about a complication (baby is not well positioned and they are working on it – keep you posted). About 45 minutes later, there is another update from Valentina: the baby is not turning, regardless of the efforts everybody is putting forth; the doctor in charge recommended a C-section. And about 30 minutes later, on Friday the 23rd day of November, 2012, Dominic Adolfo Stinson came roaring into this world, complete and healthy! Valentina tells me that the new mom is going through the ‘post-script’ of the procedures, doing as expected, and that everything is right! Lots of emotions! I finally made it to the hospital (Mount Sinai, in Miami Beach) driving straight through at about 9:30 PM EST and was able to spend some time with Clarissa Ane, Damon and the baby, who weighed in at 7.02 lbs and 19.5 inches long; only the four of us; excellent time; I carried the baby the whole time. He is a good looking little man with lots of resemblance, so far, to his father. I left them at about 10:30 PM and spent the night in a hotel nearby, in Miami Beach that Jan, Alex and Leah had found for me… Morning came pretty fast and I went back to the hospital at about 7:30 with breakfast for them; little man was trying to eat so Damon and I decided to have breakfast ourselves while the little guy was trying to get some breakfast for himself (‘food’ is still not flowing at full throttle…). After catching up with Damon and stuffing our faces with sausage biscuits and hash browns, we went back to the room and a nurse was giving a bottle to little man to ensure he did not go too hungry… More conversation (again only the three – or should I say the four – of us) I carried the baby most of the time and, after planning our next visits including future split summer vacations for little man between Kentucky (paternal grandparents) and Tennessee, I decided to take off… I thought I would be able to see Valentina but, by 10 AM she was not even up yet and I would have taken another couple of hours for her to show up at the hospital… So, we exchanged hugs and kisses, said our goodbyes and I left at about 10:15 EST. On my way up stopped to see Tom and Char Merriman in Boca Raton; lovely light lunch and even better conversation, which we had to cut short because I needed to keep on going… Stopped by Publix to get some ‘supplies’ and headed back up to the mountains… Lack of sleep played games with me in the early hours of the afternoon and I had to stop about five times between Boca Raton and Orlando… But then I got into my groove, received and update from Damon that 'food' is plentiful now and little man is happy, listened to the Gators beat the living lights of a wannabe Florida school, and made it back home a little after midnight; exhausted but satisfied… The Jeep was a trooper and held up pretty well the almost 2,000 miles in about 42 hours… All is well!
Sunday, November 25, 2012
0014 - 25NOV2012 - 'I am a grandpa'
Family… On Thursday, November 22, Thanksgivings Day, at about 10:30 PM, Damon, my son-in-law, called and said that my Clarissa, my daughter - his wife, was in acting labor and had been admitted to the hospital; the birth of my first grandchild was imminent! That was the date the doctors had given her, and she was right on time... Instead of leaving for South Florida at that very moment, as I had planned, I decided to wait till the morning (too much turkey and a couple of cocktails would have impeded my best performance at that time). I saddled up for South Florida at 7:30 AM on the Jeep (new oil, new filter, new tires…); along the way, I was receiving frequent updates from Damon and Valentina, my 2nd daughter, who is an OB/GYN MD and had flown in for Thanksgiving the day before… As I approached Valdosta, GA (border town between Georgia & Florida) I got an update from Valentina about a complication (baby is not well positioned and they are working on it – keep you posted). About 45 minutes later, there is another update from Valentina: the baby is not turning, regardless of the efforts everybody is putting forth; the doctor in charge recommended a C-section. And about 30 minutes later, on Friday the 23rd day of November, 2012, Dominic Adolfo Stinson came roaring into this world, complete and healthy! Valentina tells me that the new mom is going through the ‘post-script’ of the procedures, doing as expected, and that everything is right! Lots of emotions! I finally made it to the hospital (Mount Sinai, in Miami Beach) driving straight through at about 9:30 PM EST and was able to spend some time with Clarissa Ane, Damon and the baby, who weighed in at 7.02 lbs and 19.5 inches long; only the four of us; excellent time; I carried the baby the whole time. He is a good looking little man with lots of resemblance, so far, to his father. I left them at about 10:30 PM and spent the night in a hotel nearby, in Miami Beach that Jan, Alex and Leah had found for me… Morning came pretty fast and I went back to the hospital at about 7:30 with breakfast for them; little man was trying to eat so Damon and I decided to have breakfast ourselves while the little guy was trying to get some breakfast for himself (‘food’ is still not flowing at full throttle…). After catching up with Damon and stuffing our faces with sausage biscuits and hash browns, we went back to the room and a nurse was giving a bottle to little man to ensure he did not go too hungry… More conversation (again only the three – or should I say the four – of us) I carried the baby most of the time and, after planning our next visits including future split summer vacations for little man between Kentucky (paternal grandparents) and Tennessee, I decided to take off… I thought I would be able to see Valentina but, by 10 AM she was not even up yet and I would have taken another couple of hours for her to show up at the hospital… So, we exchanged hugs and kisses, said our goodbyes and I left at about 10:15 EST. On my way up stopped to see Tom and Char Merriman in Boca Raton; lovely light lunch and even better conversation, which we had to cut short because I needed to keep on going… Stopped by Publix to get some ‘supplies’ and headed back up to the mountains… Lack of sleep played games with me in the early hours of the afternoon and I had to stop about five times between Boca Raton and Orlando… But then I got into my groove, received and update from Damon that 'food' is plentiful now and little man is happy, listened to the Gators beat the living lights of a wannabe Florida school, and made it back home a little after midnight; exhausted but satisfied… The Jeep was a trooper and held up pretty well the almost 2,000 miles in about 42 hours… All is well!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
0013 - 21NOV2012 - Happy Thanksgivings!
Sports… I believe I am a normal guy because, like most other people I know, I don’t understand – at all – how the BCS works… All I know is that the Gators won and that made it a good Saturday… NFL-wise, the only highlight for me this past week-end were the Bucs; everybody else I care for, either did not play (the Giants) or really stank up the joint (Dolphins & Lions)…
Family… Pancho, our 6 years old Alaskan malamute mutt, loves the outdoors and one of his favorite activities, especially in this weather (a crispy 33 outside), is to run in one direction and without looking back… He tricked his Daddy this past Saturday morning, again, and as I was letting Bella and Bo out, Sir Gooffalot (a.k.a. Pancho - who prefers his Mommy to let him out) stealthily came down the stairs and hit the sliding door in stride as I was opening it, and off he went… I only wish he had the ability or inclination, like the other two, to go out and run and play, and do their ‘business’ and, eventually come back; he could have fun and we could feel at ease that he would be safe… But nooo… He just does not come back when we would like him to; he comes back when and if he’s ready… That morning it took his Mommy to go out and call him and offer him to go for a walk, for him to come out of the bushes and get leashed after about 30 minutes of roaming… He spent the rest of the morning with a grin in his face like saying ‘I got to go out and - look at me - I am still alive; I didn't get yelled at or nuttin’ like that, and I got a treat for coming back!’…
Going to South Florida anytime now… My first daughter is expecting her first child on Thanksgivings Day. Trying to time things properly, I've asked her to let me know when she’s admitted to the hospital and, at that time, I’ll saddle up and start driving to Miami Beach (Mount Sinai General Hospital) and hopefully I am there 13 hours later to see her, my son-in-law, and my newly born first grand-baby. Once that task is accomplished, I’ll turn around and head back home!
Last, but not least, my two younger daughters will be coming home for Thanksgiving… The youngest one, Leah, does not get out of work until 6:30 PM EST on Wednesday; at that time she’ll drive to Atlanta, spend the night with her sister, and then the two of them will come home early on Thanksgivings day… I have a lot to be thankful for and I wish the same for you who read this…
Political Reality… Looking for things that, in my opinion, could be worthwhile talking about, and finding very little… I don’t want to talk anymore about Petraeus (breaks my heart), Mitt’s continuing to stick his foot in his mouth (and now all sort of Republicans seem to find him ‘inadequate’), the Benghazi fiasco and how a man whom I have admired for the last 30 years, John McCain, is seeking justice on the ‘loss of four Americans’ however says nothing about 40 American lost in Afghanistan – in a senseless war that he supported – since the Benghazi attack took place… Are those four more important that these 40? Very disappointing…
Quote of the week… “Thanksgiving speaks in clear, crisp tones of forgotten terms, like integrity - bravery - respect - freedom - discipline - sacrifice - godliness.”
So, reflect and be thankful, my friends…
Family… Pancho, our 6 years old Alaskan malamute mutt, loves the outdoors and one of his favorite activities, especially in this weather (a crispy 33 outside), is to run in one direction and without looking back… He tricked his Daddy this past Saturday morning, again, and as I was letting Bella and Bo out, Sir Gooffalot (a.k.a. Pancho - who prefers his Mommy to let him out) stealthily came down the stairs and hit the sliding door in stride as I was opening it, and off he went… I only wish he had the ability or inclination, like the other two, to go out and run and play, and do their ‘business’ and, eventually come back; he could have fun and we could feel at ease that he would be safe… But nooo… He just does not come back when we would like him to; he comes back when and if he’s ready… That morning it took his Mommy to go out and call him and offer him to go for a walk, for him to come out of the bushes and get leashed after about 30 minutes of roaming… He spent the rest of the morning with a grin in his face like saying ‘I got to go out and - look at me - I am still alive; I didn't get yelled at or nuttin’ like that, and I got a treat for coming back!’…
Going to South Florida anytime now… My first daughter is expecting her first child on Thanksgivings Day. Trying to time things properly, I've asked her to let me know when she’s admitted to the hospital and, at that time, I’ll saddle up and start driving to Miami Beach (Mount Sinai General Hospital) and hopefully I am there 13 hours later to see her, my son-in-law, and my newly born first grand-baby. Once that task is accomplished, I’ll turn around and head back home!
Last, but not least, my two younger daughters will be coming home for Thanksgiving… The youngest one, Leah, does not get out of work until 6:30 PM EST on Wednesday; at that time she’ll drive to Atlanta, spend the night with her sister, and then the two of them will come home early on Thanksgivings day… I have a lot to be thankful for and I wish the same for you who read this…
Political Reality… Looking for things that, in my opinion, could be worthwhile talking about, and finding very little… I don’t want to talk anymore about Petraeus (breaks my heart), Mitt’s continuing to stick his foot in his mouth (and now all sort of Republicans seem to find him ‘inadequate’), the Benghazi fiasco and how a man whom I have admired for the last 30 years, John McCain, is seeking justice on the ‘loss of four Americans’ however says nothing about 40 American lost in Afghanistan – in a senseless war that he supported – since the Benghazi attack took place… Are those four more important that these 40? Very disappointing…
Quote of the week… “Thanksgiving speaks in clear, crisp tones of forgotten terms, like integrity - bravery - respect - freedom - discipline - sacrifice - godliness.”
- Charles R. Swindoll
So, reflect and be thankful, my friends…
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
0012 - 13NOV2012 - "Say it ain't so..."
Sports… My goodness gracious! Thank God for portable defibrillators! Michigan and Florida could not pull any more dramatic squeakers than the ones they managed to win this past Saturday… My heart stopped and re-started several times… And then there was the Alabama/Texas A&M game where the Aggies dethroned Nick ‘Satan’ and his sorry bunch… But then came the heartaches in the NFL… Only the Bucs showed up; Dolphins, Giants and Lions were simply awful! Last, a big thanks to the Saints for beating Atlanta; the undefeated 1972 Dolphins are still intact!
“Say it ain’t so”… Folks, I need help; I am almost in life-support here… First, about two months ago, somebody whom I thought was the greatest athlete – and greatest story - of the last quarter century, Lance Armstrong, was publicly called out as a doper, and stripped of every major title/championship he ever won. His silence and absence of defense spoke very loud about his perceived guilt and his persistent cheating, for years. That was an almost unsustainable blow. Now this past week, one of the greatest military minds of our times, one of the most effective US Army Generals of our times, one of the brightest minds to come out of West Point in recent memory, comes out and resigns from public life due to having engaged in an extra marital affair that, in his judgement, would render him ineffective as Director if the CIA… Good grief! What would be next? That all Muhammad Ali greatest victories were fixed? Or that ‘the Donald’ is mentally deranged? (Just kidding, folks; we know already about that! I needed to add some humor to a very sad situation).
Political Humor… A little while back I cited a story of a US Congressman from a congressional district in Georgia who said that evolution was just ‘hog wash from hell’ or something like that… Well, I just heard that he ran unopposed and, therefore, won a reappointment to the US Congress for two more years; however, the report also said that there were over 4,300 write-in votes for – care to guess? - Charles Darwin! Is this the greatest country, or what?!
Quote of the week… “The same people that put cement shoes on Mitt, expected him not only to float but to out-swim everybody!”
So, when you are painted into a corner ensure there is a way out, my friends…
“Say it ain’t so”… Folks, I need help; I am almost in life-support here… First, about two months ago, somebody whom I thought was the greatest athlete – and greatest story - of the last quarter century, Lance Armstrong, was publicly called out as a doper, and stripped of every major title/championship he ever won. His silence and absence of defense spoke very loud about his perceived guilt and his persistent cheating, for years. That was an almost unsustainable blow. Now this past week, one of the greatest military minds of our times, one of the most effective US Army Generals of our times, one of the brightest minds to come out of West Point in recent memory, comes out and resigns from public life due to having engaged in an extra marital affair that, in his judgement, would render him ineffective as Director if the CIA… Good grief! What would be next? That all Muhammad Ali greatest victories were fixed? Or that ‘the Donald’ is mentally deranged? (Just kidding, folks; we know already about that! I needed to add some humor to a very sad situation).
Political Humor… A little while back I cited a story of a US Congressman from a congressional district in Georgia who said that evolution was just ‘hog wash from hell’ or something like that… Well, I just heard that he ran unopposed and, therefore, won a reappointment to the US Congress for two more years; however, the report also said that there were over 4,300 write-in votes for – care to guess? - Charles Darwin! Is this the greatest country, or what?!
Quote of the week… “The same people that put cement shoes on Mitt, expected him not only to float but to out-swim everybody!”
Joe Scarborough, TV Host and Former US Congressman (R) - Florida
So, when you are painted into a corner ensure there is a way out, my friends…
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
0011 - 07NOV2012 - "The Day After"
Politics... Here is my final assessment on this past presidential election (like if it would change anything, right?): The Good Old Party, as we all have known it, must change in order to come back to a place where it can provide a viable alternative for the majority and, as such, become majority again… IMHO, the Republican Party allowed some faction of its constituency to hijack the party and take it to a place (too far to the right) where it would not appeal to most of us… And once there, they took quite a formidable candidate – Mitt Romney – a man with a Midas touch to turn things around, one of the most successful business-men that has been a presidential candidate in the last 40 years, a moderate and compassionate man who knew, viscerally, that he needed everybody on-board (diversity) in order for anything to work; they forced him to go so far to the right and sound so sectarian to win the Primaries (i.e. Severe Conservative and Self Deportation), that he could not recover; he could not convince people that he was not as extreme as he had sounded; he could not effectively come back to a more centrist – and natural for him - position thus appealing to more moderate voters without sounding to be too much of a flip-flopper… Mitt was dealt a horrible hand by his own Party! I hope this become a case study in future Political Sciences curricula…
Food for thought… (I think I cited this one before, but it applied again…)
Food for thought… (I think I cited this one before, but it applied again…)
“All extremism is toxic”
So, keep your balance, my friends…
- Anonymous
So, keep your balance, my friends…
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
0010 - 06NOV2012 - We'll be just fine!
Sports… Mixed weekend… On College Football the Gators won again and that makes the world better; the Hurricanes also on and that was good… On the pros side it was a mixed bag… The Dolphins and Giants managed to lose their games; the Bucs and Lions won their games outright. Good show!
Local… My hunting season is here… Muzzleloader season for deer started this past Saturday and, although I have not been out there yet, I will be going hunting sometime this week… Jan and I decided that, even though as a licensed hunter I am entitled to take 14 deer (11 does and 3 bucks), and we usually consume three deer a year, this season I will try to take four since we've found ourselves liking it more and more…
Local… My hunting season is here… Muzzleloader season for deer started this past Saturday and, although I have not been out there yet, I will be going hunting sometime this week… Jan and I decided that, even though as a licensed hunter I am entitled to take 14 deer (11 does and 3 bucks), and we usually consume three deer a year, this season I will try to take four since we've found ourselves liking it more and more…
Politics… We’ll be just fine! I am a firm believer that either one of these two gentlemen who may become President will do just fine; I’m convinced they both have the same goal: to make this country better; they only may differ on some details on how to achieve that goal, that’s all… You see, when all is said and done, we have a strong political system with enough checks and balances that would allow not one branch of government to overpower the other two and send the country into mayhem. And if things go really wrong, there are enough tools and mechanisms to change the rules of the game (we've changed it twenty seven times in the last 236 years, as needed). What I’d like to see is that, whoever wins, has the support of all 300 Million American to ensure that their policies and ways to govern got the very best of tries; if it works, there will be lots of happy people in this country; if it doesn't work, we will wait another four years and start all over, as we've done it now close to 50 times…
Some trivia for you… The word ‘mayday’ used by air and sea vessels to broadcast imminent disaster comes from the French expression m’aidez – meaning help me – and it is pronounced, approximately, mayday.
Food for thought… “There's never been a problem Americans couldn't solve. We are the world's leaders, and leaders don't fear change.”
So, stay confident on our future, my friends…
Some trivia for you… The word ‘mayday’ used by air and sea vessels to broadcast imminent disaster comes from the French expression m’aidez – meaning help me – and it is pronounced, approximately, mayday.
Food for thought… “There's never been a problem Americans couldn't solve. We are the world's leaders, and leaders don't fear change.”
- John McCain, US Navy Officer, War Hero and US Senator
So, stay confident on our future, my friends…
Thursday, November 1, 2012
0009 - 01NOV2012 - "Sandy"
Sports… Basketball is back (and Hockey is not!). The Miami Heat started to defend its crown by beating (again!) the Boston Celtics. As some of you may know, basketball season does not start for me until the playoffs, but I had to recognize the Champions! Oh, and I don’t follow college basketball until the big dance (March Madness). So, we will stick to football for the foreseeable future…
Politics… We’ll have plenty to write about next week…
Sandy… So, Sandy came out of the South Caribbean as a small tropical system with the chances of becoming a hurricane, but only a category one at that (just a cat 1 like Wilma, remember?)… It would be affecting Jamaica and Cuba and would eventually come into the Atlantic with a likely NE trajectory; finally it would become a sub-topical system and would dissipate into the North Atlantic… And as we all know now, it turned out to be the most devastating storm the North East of the USA has ever known, the second most expensive natural disaster ever in North America’s recorded history - second only to Katrina, according to preliminary estimates - and the second year in a row that the NE is severely affected by severe storms (Irene last year)… If you still think that the scientist are just a bunch of wolf criers, and that burning fossil fuels (coal and hydrocarbons) the way we've been doing in for the last 100 years does nothing to the atmosphere, you are either lamentably ignorant, or ideologically shortsighted (drill, drill, drill, baby!) or you need to head back to your doctor and have your prescription re-issued (and refilled!).
On as related subject, though different perspective, some folks were complaining in an on-line forum about the facts that ‘so much publicity is given to the damages Sandy did to the US but little is said about the damages it caused in the Caribbean’… As you can imagine, the range of comments and responses is vast and wide. Some of them, however, were worth a second look, like this one where a guy said (semi tongue-in-cheek): “the problem is that, while the estimated cost of Sandy to the US is preliminarily about $50B, the damage to the Caribbean was about 17 (or maybe 18) coconut trees – big deal!” You can imagine all the nasty responses this one got… Another one I found interesting (close to home), was related to a devastating fire and subsequent explosions (very costly on money and lives) that happened about three month ago in the biggest oil refinery in Venezuela; this guy said: “Why are we so taken with ‘our Caribbean brothers and sisters’? When the refinery burnt, only the EU and the US promised – and delivered - help and assistance while none of our Caribbean brothers and sisters even sent a telegram of condolences, let alone help…”
Regardless of what the doomsayers may say, my friends, we continue to lead by example and are still the Shining City on the Hill!
Quote of the week… “I have thousands of people hurting, cold, and hungry to worry about; I have entire cities devastated and destroyed. If you think I give a damn about presidential politics at this time, you don’t know me.” New Jersey Governor Chris Christie answering a question from A FOX reporter prompting him to criticize Obama and FEMA. Watch this man; he’s going far…
Food for thought… (Recently stolen from Hiram Perez, who was my first supervisor @ IBM 37 years ago…)
“You know what getting married is? It's agreeing to taking this person who right now is at the top of his form, full of hopes and ideas, feeling good, looking good, wildly interested in you because you're the same way, and sticking by him while he slowly disintegrates. And he does the same for you. You're his responsibility now and he's yours. If no one else will take care of him, you will. If everyone else rejects you, he won't. What do you think love is? Going to bed all the time?”
So, choose wisely, my friends…
Politics… We’ll have plenty to write about next week…
Sandy… So, Sandy came out of the South Caribbean as a small tropical system with the chances of becoming a hurricane, but only a category one at that (just a cat 1 like Wilma, remember?)… It would be affecting Jamaica and Cuba and would eventually come into the Atlantic with a likely NE trajectory; finally it would become a sub-topical system and would dissipate into the North Atlantic… And as we all know now, it turned out to be the most devastating storm the North East of the USA has ever known, the second most expensive natural disaster ever in North America’s recorded history - second only to Katrina, according to preliminary estimates - and the second year in a row that the NE is severely affected by severe storms (Irene last year)… If you still think that the scientist are just a bunch of wolf criers, and that burning fossil fuels (coal and hydrocarbons) the way we've been doing in for the last 100 years does nothing to the atmosphere, you are either lamentably ignorant, or ideologically shortsighted (drill, drill, drill, baby!) or you need to head back to your doctor and have your prescription re-issued (and refilled!).
On as related subject, though different perspective, some folks were complaining in an on-line forum about the facts that ‘so much publicity is given to the damages Sandy did to the US but little is said about the damages it caused in the Caribbean’… As you can imagine, the range of comments and responses is vast and wide. Some of them, however, were worth a second look, like this one where a guy said (semi tongue-in-cheek): “the problem is that, while the estimated cost of Sandy to the US is preliminarily about $50B, the damage to the Caribbean was about 17 (or maybe 18) coconut trees – big deal!” You can imagine all the nasty responses this one got… Another one I found interesting (close to home), was related to a devastating fire and subsequent explosions (very costly on money and lives) that happened about three month ago in the biggest oil refinery in Venezuela; this guy said: “Why are we so taken with ‘our Caribbean brothers and sisters’? When the refinery burnt, only the EU and the US promised – and delivered - help and assistance while none of our Caribbean brothers and sisters even sent a telegram of condolences, let alone help…”
Regardless of what the doomsayers may say, my friends, we continue to lead by example and are still the Shining City on the Hill!
Quote of the week… “I have thousands of people hurting, cold, and hungry to worry about; I have entire cities devastated and destroyed. If you think I give a damn about presidential politics at this time, you don’t know me.” New Jersey Governor Chris Christie answering a question from A FOX reporter prompting him to criticize Obama and FEMA. Watch this man; he’s going far…
Food for thought… (Recently stolen from Hiram Perez, who was my first supervisor @ IBM 37 years ago…)
“You know what getting married is? It's agreeing to taking this person who right now is at the top of his form, full of hopes and ideas, feeling good, looking good, wildly interested in you because you're the same way, and sticking by him while he slowly disintegrates. And he does the same for you. You're his responsibility now and he's yours. If no one else will take care of him, you will. If everyone else rejects you, he won't. What do you think love is? Going to bed all the time?”
-Jane Smiley, novelist (b.1949)
So, choose wisely, my friends…
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)