New Shoes in the Rain

Happy post-Thanksgiving Monday to all.  Hope you had a nice holiday and were able to spend time with those you love! We were certainly blessed in that regard, as our daughter and her kids made a visit to Lexington the weekend prior to Thanksgiving.  They returned to Colorado just in time for temperatures to drop significantly amid significant snowfall.  While they were here, we had an early Thanksgiving dinner with them and our son and his family, and really had a great time throughout their visit. But the world kept turning, even as I enjoyed a weeklong break from work.  The events in Colorado Springs are yet another reminder of how easy it is for guns to find their way into the hands of those who are not capable of owning and using them responsibly, and my heart sinks each time I hear of another such tragedy. Business mogul/presidential candidate Donald Trump continues to lead the Republican primary race, but his lead appears to now be shrinking.  I saw ...

Happy week-before-Thanksgiving, everyone! You know, it’s that day that comes between Halloween and Christmas, where we all gather with family and other loved ones and give thanks for our many blessings.   What, you forgot?   I know, it’s because of the rapid onset of Christmas music and decorations in the stores, in television commercials, and so on. But it’s important, you know. I’m particularly thankful this year because our daughter is coming home for a long weekend visit, bringing her two children.   Her hubby is staying at home to man the fort, so to speak, and to take care of their dog!   The traveling party arrives tonight (at midnight—long time from right now as I write this!) and departs very early Tuesday morning.    Quick turnaround, but it should be a wonderful visit. And, yes, our clan will be celebrating Thanksgiving during their visit! My wife and I aren’t sure what we’ll do on the actual Thanksgiving Day, a week from tod...

Good Monday morning to all. I’m sure that, like me, you’re still working to process what happened in Paris on Friday.   I was sitting in a café working through some e-mail between an all day meeting and a compulsory dinner meeting of my work team when I first saw the news. Shortly thereafter, a work associate called me and that was the first thing she said, how awful this is.   The dinner meeting went on as planned, and the events from earlier in the day in France were mentioned in passing, but other than my seatmate, there was little discussion of all of this. I finally arrived home around 10:30 Friday night, and our grandchildren were there for a sleepover.   They were both sleepy but had stayed up to greet me.   My granddaughter’s hug felt so good then. My wife had been with the kids all afternoon and evening and had not seen any news, so she didn’t know anything about all of this until I told her.   She was just as shaken as I was. Satur...

Happy Monday to one and all.   Here we are again, those of us who have jobs to do, places to go, people to see, kids to raise, and so on.   I had my annual visit with the cardiologist last week and decided shortly thereafter that I needed to build in more time in my schedule for regular exercise.   It’s often easier not to, when I leave the house for a distant location early in the morning, but something that I still should do.   So I did that this morning, and feel a bit better for having done so. I attended two things over the weekend that prompted my title today.   The first was a fundraising event where my employer bought a table to benefit our client, which is a non-profit organization.   The second was a movie, specifically the new James Bond picture “Spectre.”   Let me share some details about both experiences. The fundraiser was held in downtown Lexington, which is not overcrowded by any means, especially on a Saturday night where ...

Good Monday morning, first Monday in November and the first of “standard” time. Oh, boy.   Nothing like months of darkness starting before 6:00 PM. And let me also add that yesterday was such a long day that it felt a bit like a death march.   I arose at around 6:20 by the new clock, and stayed up until well after 11:00 PM, since there were, you know, important sporting events being played at that hour. But I digress.   I think that the twice-a-year time change is kind of silly, in the overall scheme of things.   If memory serves, the revised schedule of when our clocks are changed was part of a former president’s energy program, so there you go.   How that affects energy consumption is beyond me, and, no, I’m not talking about my own energy here, either. So let’s talk winners here.   Like the Kansas City Royals, who play baseball games like a dammed up river and when that dam breaks, look out.   As it did last night, when they came fr...