
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Hillary and RFK
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Unisex
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
"Do you hear what I hear?"
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Hot Stock Tip
Friday, May 23, 2008
Henry Waxman: King of Checks and Balances
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Pink, paper lanterns . . .
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Some Stuff I Know
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Ruminations on 2001 and Beyond
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Dear Dad,
Happiness is . . . PartIV
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
A More Humane Mortgage?
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Random Act of Kindness in Foggy Bottom
On my way back home the sight of huge, white peonies stopped me in my tracks. They and deep red roses gave the historic house they surrounded a welcoming glow. A charming older lady was seated on a bench in the yard, so I asked her if I could come closer to take a sniff of the peonies. We chatted briefly about flowers and their different blooming seasons where I grew up in the North and here, in the Mid-Atlantic.

When she asked if I would like some, I was dumbfounded and insisted I couldn't, but she went ahead and clipped one for me. Just smelling it took me back to years and years of fragrant peony bouquets in our house.
I don't suppose this kind lady will see my blog, but I had to show-off a gift that made my month and express my sincere thanks!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Uh Oh. . . .!!
Mid-morning today, I took our car in for an oil change. Of course it ended up needing more than that. Who was I to argue about belts? Being told they were eight years old didn't seem like a problem to me; I have dresses older than that. But the guy who broke this news to me said if any of the belts broke the results would be dire. $Kaching$ and there went the rest of my day.
Whilst I waited on an incredibly uncomfortable chair outside where the air smelled considerably better than inside, a tow truck lumbered into the service area. On it's bed was a big SUV -- nice looking and not too old. Intrigued by how these trucks work, I put down my novel and watched as the driver tipped and lowered the truck bed and eased the vehicle onto the ground. He then started it up and backed it a few feet into a line for service.
Nothing extraordinary there. But when a mechanic tried to start it so he could drive it into the service bay -- nothin'. He put up the hood and diddled around and tried again. After perhaps 25 minutes of this, another guy came out, opened the gas tank cover and took a sniff. Much to everyone's astonishment, the owner had loaded the tank with diesel instead of gasoline! Serious head-shaking ensued as more guys appeared and tried to figure out how to get it into the service bay. Eventually, one of the guys got it started and it sputtered a huge cloud of surprisingly nice smelling white smoke. That was it. Brute manpower was then applied.
As a discombobulated mechanic walked past me, I just had to ask how they would fix it. He told me I didn't want to know. I then went in to my service agent to ask if the owner was a man or woman. He started making excuses right after he said it was a man. Oh, they do look out for each other! Being that it was a man, he must be "a truck driver used to going to the diesel pump" or some other lame excuse.
Now we all know that if a woman had done that, she would be the butt of jokes from here to kingdom come. Then, again, it's kinda cute to know that guys can screw-up bigtime and fellow guys will cover for them come hell or high water!