Memorial Day, 2005
Memorial Day is now the official kick-off to summer with long waits at the Bay Bridge for the trek to Ocean City. How long will the wait be for the more than 1,600 U.S. men and women killed in Iraq? Will the 20,000 U.S. soldiers who have lost eyes, arms, and legs enjoy the beaches like they used to do?I was just listening to Senator Chris Dodd speaking on Fox News with one of the conservative talking heads. Mr. Dodd was being asked why his committee needed certain information regarding John Bolton before voting for confirmation. Mr. Dodd said that we (the USA) was misguided (this means "lied to") when we were told of the weapons of mass destruction being present in Iraq and this was the main reason the Congress voted along with the President to go to war in Iraq. It is now a known fact this was a lie and was cooked up by people like Bolton on the orders of the White House. Bolton tried to have analysts fired when they would not go along with saying that Syria now had weapons of mass destruction – so it would be an easy step for the US to invade Syria. Is this the kind of person the US needs as Ambassador to the United Nations? I think not! Memorial Day is a day of remembering the fallen soldiers, sailors, and Marines of the country. It should also be a day to remember the reasons the USA has participated in wars over the many years of our history. Reflections of the cold, black granite walls of the Vietnam Wall and of the polished stone of the Korean War Monument in Washington, DC show the smooth faces of youths that were not given the chance to become old and wrinkled with time. We need all work to see that there will not be a need for future war memorials in our country.
Just Another Retirement Day
Seems kind of hard to believe that the month of May is here already. The weather is typical Spring weather with some days being gorgeous and others being kind of cool, dreary, and damp. Well, I really do not care because – I AM RETIRED – and do not have to think about the daily commute downtown to a job. Hey, I have said this sort of thing before and I still mean it. I love being retired.Mrs. Ex-Fed and I went to a volunteers lunch today for Meals on Wheels. It was nice to see the other volunteers and to exchange some stories with them about some of the clients. All of this was done with a good-natured spirit since almost 100% of the clients are really nice folks. The lunch was supposed to be a catered function with a menu of Chicken Cordon Blue, roasted veggies, and fresh home-made pies. Would you believe that the caterer called in sick yesterday and said he would not be able to cater the lunch? The officers of our Meals on Wheels chapter did a mighty decent job of searching out a store that would make sandwich deli platters with all the fixings and cakes for about 75 people. It was not gourmet food but the fellowship was what the event was all about. Good job, guys!My daughter gave me a birthday card a couple of months ago that showed a man wrapped up in a blanket and looking out the window at a bird feeder. It said, "You are now at that age where you enjoy being in a comfortable chair, keeping warm, and looking at birds. In other words, you are turning into a cat." That may not be so far from the truth. We have a wonderful assortment of birds and squirrels that bring as much enjoyment to us watching them as they have enjoyment of eating the seeds and nuts that we provide for them. It is sort of set on a schedule with the squirrels coming first for the peanuts and closely followed by the cardinals and the doves. We have a couple of goldfinches that recently found our finch feeder and now and then there are blue jays that squawk until they get their peanuts in the shell. I have not seen the Coopers Hawk this year but last year he appeared on the deck railing in search of his kind of "bird food".So as you can see, the retired life is not just sitting in the chair and looking at soap operas on television. Our television does not come on except for the noontime news and then again at 4 for "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". It is great fun to shout out the answers to the questions that the dummies have no idea of and just wishing we were on the show. Maybe someday that will happen and people will be calling me a big dummy for going out on the $300 question. The retired life continues to be wonderful. As always, I recommend it for everyone who has the opportunity. One of the classifiers at the Old Agency that I know – and will not name – deserved a promotion since he was doing the job for a long time and was very highly qualified – but the promotion went to someone outside the organization. He is eligible to retire anytime he wants. If you are not appreciated in your job – RETIRE NOW!!
