Chinook Winds

We have been having an unusually cold winter for Colorado. Lots of snow in the mountains (which is good) and even quite a bit here along the front range. When we went to bed last night the temperature was in the low 20s. When we awoke this morning it was in the high 30s thanks to a "Chinook". It climbed into the 40s before noon. The Chinook winds are always a welcome break in the Colorado winter. I was beginning to think we weren't going to see one this year.

The sun is shinning and it feels more like a Colorado winter day. This evening we drive down to DIA (Denver International Airport) to pick up a friend of ours that is flying in from Kansas City. She is exploring moving to Fort Collins and will be staying with us over the weekend and until Tuesday.

This morning I got a call from "SAINT" asking if I could fill in for a sick driver. My usual day to drive for SAINT is Wednesday. Fortunately my calendar was clear and I was able to fill in. Right now I'm between rides and was close to home so decided to check my email. Since I still have a few minutes I'll add this post - haven't written anything for a while.

Wednesday night we went out to eat and a movie with the Simons. We saw 'The Bucket List' with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. It was a good movie. You probably have to be 50 years old or older to really appreciate it!

Till next time .... stay warm ... Spring is on the way.

Bush's War

"President Bush said Saturday he is open to the possibility of slowing or stopping plans to bring home more U.S. troops from Iraq, defying domestic demands to speed the withdrawals. Updated on war developments, Bush said the U.S. presence in Iraq will outlast his presidency."
(note the date on the cartoon - March 29, 2003)

Those words cut me like a knife today! I'm not really surprised I guess, but somehow I still had the unrealistic hope that public opinion in America would somehow influence our elected leader. Maybe that's the problem - he wasn't really elected. As a co-blogger so aptly pointed out recently, "In 2000 the President of the United States was "elected" in a cloistered room by nine people in black robes." We have paid a terrible price during the last 7 years for their decision.

I ran across a quote from Arundhati Roy recently that speaks to the current "Bush War".

"It's odd how those who dismiss the peace movement as utopian, don't
hesitate to proffer the most absurdly dreamy reasons for going to war:
to stamp out terrorism, install democracy, eliminate fascism, and most
entertainingly, to "rid the world of evil-doers."
--Arundhati Roy

Do I dare hope that things will really change after the 2008 election? All the candidates seem to be promising "change" if elected, but most campaign promises are broken soon after the ballots are counted. I'm old enough that I probably won't see the "fall" of the American Empire but I worry that my children and grandchildren will. Sorry for the pessimistic mood but that's how I feel today. I hope and pray that I am wrong.

Happy New Year

Another year has passed into history and a fresh new year is before us. I remember thinking when I was much younger, how odd it would be to live in a century where the year would begin with 20 instead of 19. It was hard to imagine that in the 1960s & 70s. Time passes so quickly and now we find ourselves, not only in the 21st century, but beginning the 9th year of that century. WOW!

It has been a week of winter weather beginning with a couple of inches of snow on Christmas day, followed by 6 to 8 inches more 2 days later. The temperatures have remained cold so other that some melting from the sun and some blowing around by the wind, most of that snow is still on the ground. Thankfully Jessie and Katie made it home between snow storms and are back at work. Jessie also started school this week.

Kevin & Mimi flew into Colorado on Saturday and are up at their mountain home. They will come here on Friday and stay with us until they fly out on Sunday morning. We have enjoyed visiting by phone with all the children during the past week and are looking forward to Kevin & Mimi's visit. We had considered joining them in the mountains but since both of us have been recovering from colds we decided to stay home and rest.

Tomorrow we both will be back at our volunteer jobs ... an so another year begins. May each of you have a happy and prosperous 2008.

Till next time ... be well, do good work and stay in touch.