First Day of Fall

Wildflower, originally uploaded by pappy65.

Today is another beautiful first day of Fall. The picture remines me of a walk taken four years ago. Seems like only yesterday. Time passes on, but remains much the same in these days that are the Fall of my life.

Edinboro Football

Saturday, September 12, offered a beautiful late summer afternoon, perfect for a football game. The Edinboro Fighting Scots defeated C. W. Post 31 to 23 in a come from behind victory that turned into a see-saw contest with Edinboro able to go ahead in the fourth quarter and grind out the final minutes for a victory.



An entertaining half-time show featured some well played music by the Edinboro University Marching Band and graceful moves by the dance team.

Nine Eleven Zero One

9/11/01, most of us remember where we were and what we were doing when we first heard about the suicidal attacks by Al-Qaeda on the United States. Although, at first, we may not have understood what was happening.

On September 11, 2001, I was working in my office when a colleague came in to say a plane had just crashed into the Twin Towers. My first response was matter-of-fact. Hadn’t small planes crashed into large buildings before causing fire and falling debris, but no deaths? My nonchalant attitude prompted him to say, “No, this is serious.”

Without a TV, I used my computer to get the latest news, and the grim reality of airliners intentionally crashing into the World Trade Center, with an aftermath of death, falling and burning bodies, and crumpling buildings slowly sank in. To amplify my horror and concern one of my sons returned on the Tenth from leaving my other son in Manhattan to look for work, who knew, perhaps at the World Trade Center. Communication was difficult and we didn’t know where he was. Not until a day later did we know he was safe.

Like most Americans, I wanted swift and just action. For a time, it seemed as though it might happen, but slowly we became fearful, misdirected, and lost sight of our goals. A fog of confusion dimmed our clarity of purpose and denial set in.

Now, eight years later, I’ve retired, had a heart attack, started wintering in Florida, two of my children have graduated from college and started working. A crippling recession has caused declining wealth, unemployment, and homelessness. Ignorant pundits babble about health care for the sake of crippling a president, and incidentally a country. Celebrity misdeeds and death cry for our attention and crowd our airwaves. Young people die, but we barely acknowledge their sacrifice. 9/11, a day of terror, still stings the heart and mind of our countrymen and disunites our populace. 9/11, a day to remember, so that we can rightly and justly put it in the past. Meanwhile, wars smolder on the backburner of our concern.

September Calendar 2009

September Calendar 2009, originally uploaded by pappy65.

Early September and Labor Day weekend ushers in the end of Summer with hints of Fall. The weather has been beautiful and we've enjoyed backyard cookouts, tennis, and gatherings with friends. The shifting shadows of late Summer have brought cooler evenings and cheerful, sometimes foggy, mornings. There is peace in the air along with the bustlings of increased activities as school begins, vacations end, and the summer residents prepare to head South.

Something, Anything

I've been wanting to get back to writing the blog, but have been too lazy and unmotivated to be thoughtful and articulate. Unfortunately, I'm still in that mode, but if I don't start...,well you know.

I've looked in on twitter the last couple of days and done some searches to see what makes this popular site tick. The revelation is that the normally hidden thoughts of people that now shout out their mundane, but previously hidden thoughts give the lie to the notion that still waters run deep. Apparently, people are in a hurry to let us know that nothing much is on their mind, and probably never will be. Not that I'm any better, mind you, but, at least, I haven't (until now) proclaimed it with such resounding volume.

While, I'm about it I'll reveal one of my new pet peeves...the word "appalled" as when people write letters to the editor and begin by saying, "I'm appalled that (fill in the blank)." A few bucks for a thesaurus is in order; for instance, "I'm amazed that no one has noticed...," or "I'm in awe of the mendacity of people," or "I'm horrified by the injustice of ....;" or people could realize that the best way to write is to describe your issue in a way that will describe how appalled you are.

So, perhaps I should have started this return to the blog with this sentence, "I'm dismayed by the apparent lack of thought in the tweets on twitter."

My First Take on Obama’s Inaugural Address

President Obama addressed the legitimate concerns of us who suffered through the Bush administration’s lowering of the esteem of Americans in the world while creating the worst of times at home. Obama reminded us of our own responsibility to the future, by recalling our history. Our history has fought for freedom, equality, and the pursuit of happiness. We have honored disagreement and cherished justice, education, and morality. We worked hard and were inventive. We created a better life style for many people and offered the same opportunity for others, but somehow, we as a nation, lost sight of our history, our integrity and our ingenuity. I think Obama’s address reminded us of our greatness and challenged us to bring our best to our current problems. Don’t expect handouts and easy solutions. Roll up your sleeves and go to work.

Inaugural Quartet’s Cold Performance

My impression of the quartet of Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, McGill, and Montero playing Williams was that they performed live despite the cold, but according to this New York Times article, the performance was synced. With the havoc the bitter cold can have on performers and their instruments, it is understandable, if a minor disappointment, to know that their freezing perfection was due to being prerecorded. At least, now we know they are very good actors as well as musicians.

The Times article also has a beautiful video of the performance.