Edinboro Homecoming

One of the great events of each year in Edinboro is EUP's Homecoming parade and football game. This year, for the first time since I've been here, the parade will not wind it's way through the Boro, but will travel the campus loop instead. It will be interesting to see how this break with tradition will go over with people who love to celebrate in town. I was looking forward to participating in the parade as part of the Zem Zem Brass Band, however, the Shriners have cancelled their participation in the parade. In any event, the activities will be a lot closer to home for us. A schedule of homecoming events is here.

And, for the first time, the university has a you tube announcement that can be seen by clicking here.

Amelia Leaving

My daughter is leaving today,
setting out on her first real life adventure. She has taken a job teaching physical education at Greeleyville Elementary School in Greeleyville, South Carolina. My wife and I are understandably sad about seeing her leave,
but we are proud and happy that she has found a career track job just three months after her graduation from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She had offers of positions in social service that were nearby. However, she trained to be a teacher, and that is what she wants to be! I know she will do a great job for the children at Greeleyville Elementary.

The Taste of Summer

We ate our first home grown, vine ripened, tomato of the season for lunch today. As my son said, “You can't buy that kind of taste in the store.” Tomatoes are one of my favorite fruits/vegetables; however, I've grown quite weary of those “plastic” tasting hot house tomatoes we get most of the year and the questionably ripened early season tomatoes that are shipped in from the South.
This year, with the additional fear of tainted tomatoes carrying salmonella, I've made it a point to avoid tomatoes until the two plants in our garden started producing. All I can say is, “The wait has been worth it!”

Driving 55

When driving 55 was first introduced in the 70s, I supported the idea. However, driving long trips soon became a physical and mental drain, with no accompanying feeling of gain from mileage or dollars spent. Perhaps, the rationing of gas used during WWII is a better way of making people feel like they are contributing to a solution. Both ideas detract attention from the real problem of finding alternative sources of energy and more efficient methods of transportation. Driving 55 turned out to be a bad idea, and now it's even a worse idea.

The automobile has shaped our lives in innumerable ways. We live miles away from our jobs, shop in strip malls that necessitate driving, and drive to recreational areas and entertainment venues. Our communities have sprawled from small neighborhoods where you could walk to work or downtown stores to metropolitan areas; that means more minutes and hours in the car. We spend too much time commuting and driving now. More time spent in travel isn’t the answer to our problems.

Adjusting the speed limit doesn’t address the oil and automotive issues that everyone has known about for decades. For those who think sacrifice caused by industrial mismanagement and corporate greed is healthy, let them drive at 55 and feel superior to the rest of us. Meanwhile, let’s demand significant research, promote the use of creative imagination, and once more encourage inventive minds to find better alternatives to oil, gasoline engines, and urban sprawl.