Well, maybe not

Dear Doug, dear Doug, why do you make plans?

To break them, my dear, to break them I make plans.

Dear Doug, dear Doug, how do you mend your plans?

With the internet, my dear, the internet I mend my plans.

And so Edinburgh it shall be!

A slight change of itinerary and we'll scoot up to Scotland for two days in July. Aye, I plan to get the Prince Charlie, a couple of pints of fine whisky and poke around my favorite map store for half a day.

She Stares at Me

Though she’s looking away
I know she does
Because she told me.

Don’t let her fool you
She is a statue
More real than you

I’ve hidden in the back yard
To avoid her
Because she whispers to me

She follows me to the café
And sits there
With her macchiato untouched

I don’t know what I’ve done
She won’t say
Her sadness has followed me all day

I resolve not to go and see her again
To steady myself
To stay home, regard nothing

But I return to the museum
Tugging at my lip
And she stares at me, already disappointed

Recommended Hot Sauce

I've never been a big hot sauce guy, but Blair's line of "Death" sauces have made me a big enthusiast. And the fever is quickly spreading through my family. Blair's has a whole range of sauces. The kids and I both enjoy Pure Death Sauce. I love just the tinniest dab of Mega Death Sauce and look forward to trying many others.

Social media to help aid recovery

Old dog, new tricks. My client uses twitter to push contracts out the door:

A Righteous Open Letter

I wish I had written this:

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/a/m/americandad/2010/03/an-open-letter-to-conservative.php?ref=mp

And I refuse to say there is anything like this from the center left. There just is not.

Dear Conservative Americans,

The years have not been kind to you. I grew up in a profoundly
Republican home, so I can remember when you wore a very different face than the
one we see now. You've lost me and you've lost most of America.
Because I believe having responsible choices is important to democracy,
I'd like to give you some advice and an invitation.

First, the invitation: Come back to us.

Mitt Romney and Individual Mandates

An excellent snippit: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2010/03/bye_mitt.php?ref=fpblg

Of course, this is a reasonable man who will never be President, unless he runs as a Spector Democrat. He'd actually do quite well in that mold in 2016.

Mitt Romney, April 11th, 2006: "Some of my libertarian friends balk at what looks like an individual mandate. But remember, someone has to pay for the health care that must, by law, be provided: Either the individual pays or the taxpayers pay. A free ride on government is not libertarian."

Let us all remember that mandates were a very Conservative and Republican idea and a well thought out one. To my dear friends who think this is a way to challenge the bill in court need simply to look at their paychecks- FICA, Medicare. Federally mandated programs you have no choice participating in. If you are ideologically opposed to those, then, fine, you have an argument. If not, sorry, you have almost nothing to stand on.

Anyway, this is just a post about mandates, where they came from and why Mitt will never be President. He should still be entertaining to watch in the primaries.

There is a Flag by the Mailbox

Flapping out to the left
Nearly horizontal and maroon
And the trees bend like dancers
Bestowing a small blessing
On its thin head

It means nothing
It is the news of the day
It is pushed by March wind
It is simply cold, like us
And it will be gone
By the morning

My Child is Baking

Cookies for us all later
and I've lit the fire
and we listen to music
lightly
while gray March has returned
to hold us fast
inside
and we are happy
like Thanksgiving has come
again

Where would you explore?

I'm going to start my list here and expand it as I come up with ideas:

1) 2011 summer is get the kids out west, the slow way like I used to go. Southern MO, the Rockies, ranching
2) 2012 Turkey, the Black sea... hard to say from there- Israel? Armenia? Something in that area, but I don't want to travel around like mad and miss the small things.
3) 2013 Promised backpacking with Aran in Scotland. Will do something similar with Nelson when he is 14, but Aran and I may want to do this when she is 15 and flip the other trip.
4) 2014 China (no clue)
5) 2015 The Nile, Luxor
6) 2016 We can tour the moon then, right?

Ayn Rand did not write the Bible

Stephen Colbert,interviewing Mary Matalin:

Colbert: First question, why are you wearing a cross? You know Jesus preached social justice. Makes you look like a commie.

Matalin: Yes he did. He also preached teach em how to fish. Not give em a fish, right? You don't work you don't eat.

Colbert: He said "I will make you fishers of men." I don't think Jesus said "if you don't work you don't eat." I think that was Cool Hand Luke.

UPDATE: Colbert is a comedian. Please understand that. And if Jesus is a capitalist in any form, then I am the man in the freaking moon. And you are too. And you know it. Dude gave people bread, wine, fish, said give away half of all you own, turn the other cheek, everyone is blessed with grace and it is up to no man to take that away from you.

He was not out there preaching for all of us to work hard for money, but to work hard for forgiveness, to share, to love, etc.

Back from Chicago

I need to write about Amtrak- since we’ve spent almost 32 hours on board. But I’m so tired I’m afraid my thoughts might be very negative. The sleeping car arrangements were ok- tiny, but comfy. About what I expected. But talking to other passengers at breakfast, it turns out the Cardinal is one of the few trains that they put the sleeping car on the back of the train. What results is much more bumping and sways through the night. Like being on the back end of a very long roller coaster with no straps, I woke about 2 am white knuckling my bed like an inner city American finding himself suddenly on a Siberian Tiger.

So, I’ll write more later. We had fun. We did something very different. We’re both very, very tired.

A trip through the near west

The train from Prince, WV was only about 40 minutes late: much better than I’ve encountered in the past. A different experience riding in our own cabin- steward met us to get on board, set us up and escorted us to the dining car. I won’t say much about “dinner” save to comment that it is Amtrak food. Just bring your own.

Our room is a tiny thing about 4 feet deep. Just barely enough for us to sit in. But it is delightful. It’s quiet and we have our own space and window. At night, Aran had her own bunk up top and me below. While some say the rocking of the train (me, and I heard about it) will send you off to wonderful sleep, it really isn’t restful. I’m giving up sleep for the weekend I see. The rocking is fine, but the starts, stops, bumps, slow downs, speed ups, they don’t do anything for sleep.

Aran seems to truly be having a blast. It’s all very different and new to her (me too). Her delight in all of the little things is the best part of this trip.

Chicago today.

We're off to Chicago, finally!

Our long delayed train trip begins this afternoon. 6:30 we catch the Cardinal in Prince West Virginia and ride through the New River Gorge. Then it's over night through Cincy, Indianapolis with little green apples and on to Chicago. We get there at 10am and depart to come back at 5:25pm. Just enough time to catch the bus out for White Castles and a trip up the Sears Tower.

Aran and I are this ( ) excited.

Health Care Debate

Thought I'd copy over a little face book back and forth on health care. I think I make a pretty good point about public option and have no idea why it is so controversial. I'm no expert, which is obvious, but I don't think this is so complex that ordinary people can't understand it. What is ridiculous in this country is that 50% of all bankruptcies are because of illness. That isn't just immoral, it hurts our productivity and our country.

Douglas Garnett-Deakin In a recession, double digit health care premiums in 11 states (not just California) from a company that has had 27 multimillion dollar junkets in one year. Solution? Competition, pure and simple. Let all companies sell in all states. AND start a Public Option. Two huge ideas from each side, both will drive down prices like the price of my house last year.
11 hours ago · Comment ·LikeUnlike
Elizabeth Halstead Oxendine likes this.

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
Ideas from both sides! Are you a commie?
11 hours ago ·

Acie Slade
I'm definitely onboard with competition. Which doesn't mean that you aren't a commie
11 hours ago ·

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
Public option is great competition. So's removing anti-trust protection. So's me opening "Doug's house o'health care". We shall fix you with beer and crab cakes.- Stalin out
11 hours ago ·

Chris Massey
Public option os not a competition. No one would be able to compete with either the cost of capital (though with these deficits that might be changing!) or the ability to change the rules of the game through new or different laws. Public option = nonstarter for real progress. Your other ideas are spot on though.
2 hours ago ·

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
Hmm.. 3 examples off the top of my head- 1) pre-k through post doctorate educational system, 2) public transportation, 3) roads, d) libraries (I have problems counting from our public education system). All three have private and public options in vastly varying degrees. Private schools do great and have a great niche even though k-12 is pretty ... See Moremuch 100% public funding. I love my library, but buy books, CDs, movies, etc. I love a good toll road if it gets me there faster. The bus sucks, but does the job sometimes.
2 hours ago ·

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
As for health care public option, as a private business owner and long time consumer of Anthem, there is about a .001% chance I would change my company to a public option even if the cost was 25% lower. I am absolutely serious about that. Can you imagine what my professional employees would think? But I do think it would curb those massive rate hikes I see each year completely out of tune with the economy.
2 hours ago ·

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
Oh, jeeze- US postal service vs. Fed Ex or UPS etc. I use them both all the time. They each have their place and work reasonably well.
2 hours ago ·

UPDATE: Some feedback from mom.


Carol Rogers
education, most roads, libraries are local or state rather than federal and eliminating Dept of ed would save a lot. Postal Service is private now except when they continue to lose $. competition over state lines by private cos. is great idea. down right conservative
3 hours ago ·

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
hmm.. highway system is 90% Federal if I'm not wrong. To argue state is better than federal for no other reason than that it is local is to ignore that our population is much more mobile than it was 30-40 years ago. But this is about health care, and to say a public option would not work is to ignore many, many public/private options that are out ... See Morethere- bet they county funded, state funded or federally funded. They work. The postal service is funded by the fees we pay to the publicly owned postal service- how is that different than paying to buy publicly owned insurance service? Student loans have that option- Sallie Mae, Dept. of Educ, or private. Both work great.
2 hours ago ·

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
And our last "Conservative" President came out with No Child- Federally mandated state level unfunded program.
2 hours ago ·

Douglas Garnett-Deakin
I do agree with limiting tort lawsuits, but I think people who favor it may not have thought it through. But as part of fixing the entire system, I'd be for it.
20 minutes ago ·

John Balthis
preach on brother!
14 minutes ago ·

Train trip postponed to March 12!

Rats, foiled by snow. Ah well, it'll be nicer weather anyway. And we are still going.

Other travels coming up: heading to Georgia for great Grandpa Garnett's 95th birthday at the end of March. Going to DC for a Nats game with the kids in either April or May.

A Man's A Man For A' That

1795
Type: Song
Tune: For a' that.

Is there for honest Poverty
That hings his head, an' a' that;
The coward slave-we pass him by,
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that, an' a' that.
Our toils obscure an' a' that,
The rank is but the guinea's stamp,
The Man's the gowd for a' that.

What though on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hoddin grey, an' a that;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine;
A Man's a Man for a' that:
For a' that, and a' that,
Their tinsel show, an' a' that;
The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that.

Ye see yon birkie, ca'd a lord,
Wha struts, an' stares, an' a' that;
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof for a' that:
For a' that, an' a' that,
His ribband, star, an' a' that:
The man o' independent mind
He looks an' laughs at a' that.

A prince can mak a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, an' a' that;
But an honest man's abon his might,
Gude faith, he maunna fa' that!
For a' that, an' a' that,
Their dignities an' a' that;
The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth,
Are higher rank than a' that.

Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a' that,)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an' a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
That Man to Man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.

Testing the rails

My daughter and I will be trying a weekend experiment where we catch the Amtrak Cardinal in Prince West Virginia on a Friday night and ride to Chicago. There, we’ll simply waste a few hours hunting White Castle hamburgers, seeing the Sears (Willis) tower “lose your lunch perch” and finally hop back on board for a return trip with some deep dish pizza. Why? To get to the other side, of course.

I originally had an idea to walk out of our house in Blacksburg, Virginia and see how far we could get over a long weekend. In the dead of winter. It seemed like a simple plan, or not even a plan, just a gesture from a seed planted by authors like Edward Abbey, Muir, even Henry Miller. Go. Wander about. Open one’s eyes. See what one sees and maybe tell others one’s experiences. Well, not to be overly romantic about it, but it is a simple romantic idea. Maybe just because it isn’t done. We drive places to do things, you see. We are Americans.

But that idea is going to have to wait for another weekend. We’re going to do it and I relate it here just because it lead to the idea of hopping a train to Chicago and coming back for kicks and no other reason. We can’t do our simple walk out just because we lost our 4 day weekend in March when it was feasible. So we’ll drive to Prince, West Virginia (we are Americans, you see, we drive) and catch a train. Not a bad compromise given that when I talked to Aran (daughter) about a walk out it went: around the corner, down Airport Rd. to the Blacksburg Transit stop, to my office where we catch the regular commuter bus to Roanoke, to a Greyhound bus there, to Charlottesville, to the train and on to Chicago, or however far we thought we could make it. Deep breath.

Would it be cheating to walk out the same way and then catch a plane in Roanoke? “Next plane leaving for…?” Or does that land you in jail these days? I might just have to find that out. How far can you get from your front door in two days with no car and no plan?

Another time.

For now, Chicago and the rails. I have had one out of five good experiences on Amtrak, as an adult. I had a wonderful trip as a child, but from my Mother’s memories, I’m not sure that was actually a good trip. We want desperately for Amtrak to be better this time- I feel almost like I can wish them into being more like European train service. Just to be somewhat on time, instead of 4 hours late with my last trip. For meal service to be more than a $6 micro waved stale cheeseburger. For more atmosphere than clunking over freight tracks at half speed.

So we’re going to test the rails, for now.

In Memoriam Mae Noblitt - A R Ammons

When you want something holistic to put life in perspective as things get rough. And you have a scientific bent. Go to A R Ammons.

In Memoriam Mae Noblitt

This is just a place:
we go around, distanced,
yearly in a star's

atmosphere, turning
daily into and out of
direct light and

slanting through the
quadrant seasons: deep
space begins at our

heels, nearly rousing
us loose: we look up
or out so high, sight's

silk almost draws us away:
this is just a place:
currents worry themselves

coiled and free in airs
and oceans: water picks
up mineral shadow and

plasm into billions of
designs, frames: trees,
grains, bacteria: but

is love a reality we
made here ourselves--
and grief--did we design

that--or do these,
like currents, whine
in and out among us merely

as we arrive and go:
this is just a place:
the reality we agree with,

that agrees with us,
outbounding this, arrives
to touch, joining with

us from far away:
our home which defines
us is elsewhere but not

so far away we have
forgotten it:
this is just a place.

A. R. Ammons

DOSTOEVSKI SAID MAN

DOSTOEVSKI SAID MAN

1.
Dostoevski said man
is unhappy because he doesn't know

he is happy. What I am is
so real it dies on my tongue.

2.
If I loved you I
would say no if you loved

me you would not let me
say it.

3.
Everything you say is cruel
and bitter glory in my mouth.

4.
There is no disease for this cure,
I tell you what is

on my lips and what I know
it is too soon to know but

something is
falling from me like rain in sunlight.

- Peter Klappert