Month: <span>July 2008</span>

This weekend was a two boating-day weekend. Saturday I spent the afternoon bouncing around the Potomac between Occoquan and Quantico, and at anchor in a quiet cove over on the Maryland side. It was a nice afternoon (any time on the water is nice, actually) even though the water was a bit rough. Sunday I went out again with friends as a two-boat rally, which turned out to be a bit of adventure.

Family Stories On The Water

Letters To The Editor
Letters To The Editor

The Republican Smear Machine has already started cranking out their nonsense in all its finest glory.  Some of it leaked out into our local newspaper editorials section of “The Potomac News” on June 15, about Senator Obama allegedly breaking his promise to not take Lobbyist money.  With this letter, I decided to officially become an “activist” and get clarification directly from the Obama campaign.

Opinions & Commentary

Letters To The Editor
Letters To The Editor

I’ve been a bit slow in re-posting my monthly Letter’s to The Editor (LTEs) for June and July.  As I’ve mentioned before, last July I made it a goal to get at least one letter per month published in our local newspaper The Potomac News.

I’ve actually met that goal so far, having one letter per month published since last August, and one column under my byline. With everything else I’ve been doing these past couple of months, I’ve been a bit slow republishing them here.  So here is my June LTE.

Opinions & Commentary

Winnie loves to grow things. Calling her a “natural gardener” may be a fair statement even though she did grow up in a small farming village. Having seen the village she grew up in with it’s wonderful small vegetable plots surrounded by hundreds of acres of rice fields, I’m not too surprised she’s good with plants. But she really does love to grow plants and work in gardens.

She is also extremely resourceful.

Family Stories

Fourth of July!
Fourth of July!

It’s the 4th of July again. Just another great day for kicking off the summer season with fireworks, Bar-Be-Ques, picnics at the parks or beaches, or just hanging out with family and friends. Oh, and it’s also the day we celebrate the official birth of our nation.

Opinions & Commentary

Mom and Pop Shops
Mom and Pop Shops

An editorial in today’s local newspaper, coupled with a news story, has gotten me to thinking about the old-fashioned “Mom and Pop” shops.  If you look around, you might think that those type stores, small specialty outlets run by a single family, famous for knowing their customers and offering great service, were going the way of the dinosaur (and gas guzzling monster trucks).

In reality, if you look around you might recognize that those “Mom and Pop shops” have morphed into something bigger and better.  They’ve become the new age of Internet shopping.

Opinions & Commentary