Thought For The Day

Be civil to all; sociable to many; familiar with few; friend to one; enemy to none.
- Benjamin Franklin -

Saturday Morning Stuff

I noticed recently that a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier was planning to stop in Hong Kong to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with some relatives who had flown there to meet some of the crew members. At the last minute our "friends", the Chinese government, didn't allow the ship to enter the port, and turned them away. With friends like that, who needs enemies.

They might still remember when my old ship, the U.S.S. Oxford, visited Hong Kong in 1969. After a few days they "asked" us to leave. I think the final straw was when a few of our guys rented motor scooters and drove them off the end of a pier.

They made us anchor out in the harbor and use a small boat to shuttle the sailors back and forth to the pier. One day I was on the ship, watching the shuttle boat approach the Oxford. I noticed that the boat kept circling back, coming toward the ship again, and then circling back. When I got some binoculars for a closer look, I saw that some guys were falling overboard or throwing their hats overboard and the boat had to keep circling back to pick them up. Ahh....the good old days.

Thought For The Day

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson -

In The Arena

This is my favorite piece of writing. It's part of a much longer speach delivered by Theodore Roosevelt, our 26th President, at the Sorbonne, Paris, France, on April 23, 1910. It can be applied to sports, business, or just life in general. It's particularly relevent to anyone who puts themselves "out there", in public, for others to see, praise, or criticize. Don't be one of those "cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat".

In The Arena

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Thought For The Day ( two for price of one)

"Forgive your enemies, but don't forget their names."
- John Kennedy -

"Some people feel the rain, others just get wet."
- Bob Dylan -

Election 2008

This is the first time in many years that a sitting President or Vice President is not running for election (and we're happy about that), so the races are wide open. Cheney's war is a major issue, of course, but there are no major scandals to influence the election - yet. Former President Teddy Roosevelt once said, "When Congress takes roll call, they don't know wether to answer present, or not guilty."

Here's a rundown of some of the candidates as I see it.

Republicans:

John McCain: If you want more wars, he's your man. You have to respect his war record, prisoner of war and all that, and he seems like a good guy, but his age is working against him and he's clearly on the wrong side of the war issue.

Rudy Guiliani: "America's Mayor". Ouch! He made his reputation on 9-11, but on 9-10 most New Yorkers hated him. I can't imagine true conservatives voting for someone who is pro choice, pro gun control, pro gay rights, and has had multiple wives. Sometimes even a wife and a girl friend, in public, at the same time.

Mitt Romney: Might be a little too slick, but he has raised, and spent, a lot of money and he's smart. If he wins in Iowa and Cow Hampshire he could be hard to stop. His big problem is his Mormon faith. Southern Christian conservatives won't vote for him. They think Mormons are a cult. I know one thing, if he had been President during hurricane Katrina, New Orleans would not still be a mess. He would have brought his business friends together and fixed it.

Mike Huckabee: Nice guy, former Governor of Arkansas, preacher, true conservative, lost 100 pounds, runs marathons, blah, blah, blah....... His campaign has caught fire but he has no national experience. He's still an underdog, but if he does well in Iowa, he could make a serious run at it.

Fred Thompson: Yawn...... He's the perfect cure for insomnia so far. His only chance is in South Carolina, but if he gets crushed in Iowa and Cow Hampshire, he'll have trouble raising money.

Tom Tancredo: Nut! He wants to build an 840 mile fence. Enough said.

Ron Paul: Another nut, but a likeable nut.


Democrats:

Hillary Clinton: The 800 pound gorilla in the room. Big bucks, well known, the front runner since day one. If you get her, you also get Big Bill. She's the most experienced, but you either love her or hate her. She's a good campaigner and she will be hard to beat.

Barack Obama: New ideas, new look, voted against the war, young people like him, etc. However, he has no experience in foreign affairs and that could hurt him. Nobody mentions race, but that could still be a factor. He needs a win in either Iowa or New Hampshire. If he wins both, Hillary will have her work cut out for her.

John Edwards: Familiar face, some good ideas, but no chance. He might make a good Vice President. His wife talks too much. His plan B is to go back to his 100 acre property in Chapel Hill and make millions in his law practice.

Dennis Kucinich: Who? The Democrats' version of Ron Paul.

Thought For The Day

If you limit your choices only to what seems possible and reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truely want, and all that is left is compromise.

Rockettes & Red Sox

The Rockettes Christmas show at Radio City was spectacular. Many thanks to Julie and Kenny for all of their hard work planning a great weekend. It was nice to spend some time with Julie's family again. I have always liked that part of New York. The Hudson River valley would be a great place to spend some time exploring. There is so much history in that area. We actually went online and found a beautiful house for sale in Katonah. The bad news is; it cost $1.8 million. So we might not be moving there any time soon.

It looks like the Red Sox are closing in on Johan Santana, but I still can't believe the Yankees would let that happen. If they make a better deal than the Sox, they will have to empty their farm system.

Today's Thought

"A goal without a plan is only a wish."

Monday Night Whiners

Wasn't it nice to hear someone else claim that an NFL game was fixed? There is no doubt in my mind that the New England-Indy game was fixed, but Tom Brady was so good, he was able to overcome it. It was also the first time that I have watched a nationally televised game where the announcer's were clearly rooting for one team. It got completely out of control when Don Shula entered the booth. Did I see Tony Kornheiser kiss him? I think I did.

Tony Kornheiser is so bad on Monday Night Football, he makes Dennis Miller look good. At least Miller was funny.