Thinking of Those Who Fell

Every year on Memorial Day, I have a need to post something about the significance of the day.  It's because  the day evokes such mixed emotions.  
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It's the start of summer, a day off, grilling, having beers with friends.... but it is given to us by those lost their lives in the service of our country.  So, as much as I enjoy the day, I also feel a little guilty about having such a fun and relaxing time.... thinking about those who fell to preserve our country.

POTW Week 21

It's been one of the nicest Memorial Day weekends that I can remember weatherwise.
We've taken advantage of it on the porch of the BYC and will undoubtably be gracing the Corinthian soon as well.
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Announcing....
Nanepashemet Peeps of the Week for the 21st week of 2011.

Brendt D'Orio
Will Crawford
Katelyn Nestor
Jessica Rincon
Nancy Kerrigan
Lindsay Kepnes Joffe
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I'll be spending more and more time on the porches.

Otherwise, the power washer will be the focus of this morning's activity within the driveway, with the tender and the pram getting a thorough washdown to get them ready for varnish and paint.    I also want to powerwash the boulder stock for the stone wall in order to identify seams for spltting.

Euphoria

Red Sox are in first place.
Sarah Palin is running.
It's fishing season.
All is right with the world.
Life is good.
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Now if we could only get the boy out of FreshAyer, my euphoria would be complete.
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Go Bruins!

Modern Family

My favorite comedy, now that McHale's Navy is off the air, is Modern Family.  It's on with back to back episodes for an hour tonight.

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I've always liked Ed O'Neill, since Married With Children and also his appearance in Wayne's World.  And his wife in the series, Sofia Vergara, is both hot and hilarious.   I'm too lazy to type out what I like about the rest of the cast, but I really like them too.

Sudden Death

Every morning lately, we've been waking up to horrific stories of killer tornadoes in the Midwest.  The death toll is up to about 500 people this year.  There is obviously a change in atmospheric patterns that is spurring these violent storms that randomly cut a small swarth of destruction .
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Apparently these things can formulate quickly and sneak up on you.   Tornadoe alarms are frequently drowned out by the roar of the winds, and buildings get torn apart and leveled in minutes.
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The odds of getting killed by a tornadoe are infintesmal, which probably is not much solace to the 500 or so that are the grim statistics this year.   Death is a part of life.... but sudden death always seems too harsh.
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My prayers go to the families of sudden death victims.

Almost Over Oprah

Oprah is supposedly shutting her show down this week... And shutting it down... and shutting it down.
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What a freaking good bye.
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That women is a money machine.   She'll make more money saying goodbye than most of us will make throughout our entire working life. 
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Part of me wants to be aggravated by Oprah.  Lots of self aggrandisement and stuff.   But the other part of me stands in total awe and admirataion of the way she has succeeded in her career and touched so many people.
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So she gets a pass for the aggravation part.

One True Religion

I actually got sucked into a conversation about religion yesterday.  Apparently there are a lot of people who have taken this "end of days" dialog seriously.
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I'm not one of them.
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It is so pretentious for any man, Pope, or pauper, to claim to have the inside track on God's purpose and truth.  And also dangerous.   Because as soon as you get people claiming to act for God's side, then the atrocity to others begins.  They can kick the shit out of you because they are on the side of the Lord.
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Can anyone say "Islamic Jihad"?
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American Indians took the brunt of the largess of European Christianity.  And I wouldn't have wanted to be a Jew during the Spanish Inquisition.
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The truth to me is that there is no one solid truth.  Right and Wrong, Good and Bad are constantly evolving and changing.  Walls and rules come up and are knocked down.  The Taoists have tried to represent this fluidity with their intertwined circle symbol.

But I bet people have been killed over this as well.

Crime of Blood Doping

I was just watching Tyler Hamilton, the world class cyclist from Marblehead, on 60 Minutes accusing Lance Armstrong of using illegal substances and blooddoping.   Hamilton has an immunity deal from the FBI, and is singing like a lark.
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Why don't the Feds attack the World Westling Federation about steroid use?  How else would those guys get so big and stupid?   Why don't they test hard rock bands for illegal drugs which would stimulate their guitar riffs and shreds?
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Seriously, why should the government be involved in persecuting anyone who wants to screw around with their body for a sport.  Isn't that their right?   If others in the sport feel that it is cheating, then they have the ability to regulate themselves.  The FBI has no business in the sport of riding bicycles.  Or how many home runs an idiot can hit, or how fast a sprinter can run. 
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Obviously, the FBI has its fingers in this mess for the publicity. They actually send people to jail for this stuff. How absurd!  I'm not in favor of the cheaters... but it's really none of my business, and certainly none of the business of the government that I support with my tax dollars.

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The cheaters should be banned from the sport, by the body that governs the sport.... not the FBI.  Let the sport judge who really won the race.   Keep the freaking FBI out of it, and don't jail these idiots at my expense just to ice the cake.
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If Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Lance Armstrong choose to cheat, that is the business of themselves, their sport, and their fans.   The only time it huts me is when I have to foot the bill for the Federal Government to investigate and jail the participants.  And that is the real crime.

Shed Start

It's good that this Rapture stuff is behind us.   Bring on the Mayans.
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Heading out for some FreshAyer with the Grandkids this morning.  Hope that the rain holds off so that we can run around outside.
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Otherwise, I want to finish the trash barrell shed that I started yesterday.  Had some nice interruptions from the Crawford kids. Mac, Will, Phoebe and Charlotte, who dropped by and played at the park, along with Cam and Francesca D'Orio who came by with Brendt and Kerry after a successful day of flounder fishing outside of the Lighthouse at Marblehead Harbor.
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Brendt brought over some of his catch, which is worthy of a POTW mention.... although if he brought a bottle of Lagavulin, then it would have been an Automatic.   The fish is a nice substitute though.  And Sue Sue came by for her Will and Ethan fix.
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So a one day project moved over a day or so.  It was worth it.

Skank Clarification

Last night I was having a little fun on Facebook threads about the "Rapture".   Lots of comments back and forth about the pending end of the world that was supposed to happen today.  I have some great friends on Facebook and enjoy bantering with them.
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But the problem with Facebook is the delay in comments.   So I called someone a "Skank", and two of my lady friends immediately thought I was disrespecting them.... because of the timing of my "Skank" comment.
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Damn....
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I don't need to be misconstrued by females on Facebook!  I get enough of that in person, sitting in the living room with my wife, Joanne, without getting into a jam with other women on FB.  
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Why is it so easy to piss off women??? It's something that I'm wicked good at... and I don't practice it or anything.   I guess it's just a natural talent that I have.
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For the record... I never called Denise or Liz a Skank.    The Skank above is the only Skank that I called a Skank.

Good Luck Tomorrow

Just in case tomorrow turns out to be Judgement Day, there are some things that I wish that I would have done in this life.... some things that I'm sorry about.... some people that I could have treated better... and some others whose ass I should have kicked when I had the chance.
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But all in all, I have no regrets.  Took my chances.....sailed the boat out of the harbor and into the open ocean.   In the end, the real satisfaction in life is in helping people, and in seeing the beauty and harmony that lurks quietly all around us.
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Course I'm not exactly done helping and harmonizing.   So if would be fine with me if that wacky minister touting our demise was dead wrong.... instead of us getting dead.
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Good Luck Tomorrow.

Maria Rowen said...


Good luck to the MoaM too...It's been a great ride...and if the lights go out tomorrow at 6:00 PM, some of us belive in the 'group souls' theory...so...where ever we end up...we will all still be doing the same thing...How exciting is that! So stock up on the red, white and Canadian Club...'cause next weekend is the Memorial Day Holiday and we are overdue...*_*

Tuna Lips said...


Sitch Apocalipsis makes fer staging a revival! Lotta room in the tent, make way fer thems that needs healin, that saw buck won't do yiz no good in the hereafter, unburden thyself!

Rapture Rumination

Apparently, some Christians are touting that the Rapture is about to happen... maybe this Saturday.  
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The Rapture was never described in the Bible, but it is supposed to be an end of the world event where born again or chosen Christians will dramatically disappear and will be swept to a heavenly aferlife, leaving the sinners to bear the brunt of the gruesome destruction of the world.
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I don't buy it.
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It just seems too wacky and complicated.
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When the world ends, we will probably all go together in a cataclysmic disruption.  God can always sort things out in the afterlife for whatever exotic punishment we require.
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But if the Rapture does occur, I'm sure that I will be around to put a Blog post together about it.... and I'm equally sure that most of my Peeps will be here to read it.