Now that we're fully unpacked...it's time to pack. We'll leave this morning for Lake Erie. Amy and I will be driving the "little truck that might" which has always provided a certain aura to our travels. It provides Amy and I with only enough room for each other, no air conditioning, and countless stories. This year we've been told the screeching noise under the hood is "benign" and we've been given a spray bottle of soapy water with which to spritz the serpentine ("SERPENTINE SEPENTINE!"- Sorry) belt. We've been told periodic spritzing will end the screeching. I feel utterly confident in this approach to car repair.

It's the stuff of which adventures are made.

There is little chance I will blog for the next week. If you'd like to read a little more about our family tradition...there are several entries from last year at this time in the July 2003 archives, including one I especially like called, Bars, Bells and The Bulletin Man even a few pictures.

So until next week.

God Bless you and keep you.

P.S. On two completely unrelated notes.. Marlon Brando died..I've mentioned previously our vacations are bad for celebrities. Hollywood should really pay us not to go to Lake Erie.

Secondly, I saw a full-page ad in USA today this week from an organization called UntoldIraq.org. It was very moving. I wish I could find a full reprint of the ad.

It reminded me that so often in life we don't see the whole story. I'm not talking about the "media" or the war per se, although that's certainly true. I'm referring to the everyday life we see with our own eyes, and our own perceptions and biases.

It's a good reminder that the truth as we see it, is still very often just that, only what we see.

To find real truth, we must see with more than only our eyes.

Look for wisdom in community...look for God there too.

Enough waxing philosophical....It's time to pack the little truck that might...

I have this problem almost every summer when we travel to Ohio...I fall in love with the area. This morning I slept in, until 6 a.m., and got up for my daily walk before the rest of the family started to stir. I marched out the door and decided on a fairly simple route - yesterday I got adventurous and added about 20 minutes to my walk since I realized I didn't know how to get back to my in-laws house.

This morning the weather was perfect, 60 degrees, very little humidity and my thought was immediately, "I could get used to this."

About a mile or two down the road there is a small pond populated by ducks -they may be geese, I'm not the best at distinguishing birds. As I walked toward them I thought what a serene image they present in the middle of this little bit of suburbia.

As I got right up next to them however I saw the slightly less glamorous side of having waterfowl in the neighborhood. I'll spare you the graphic imagery, but suffice it to say the ducks don't waddle far to do their business. There are feathers everywhere stuck to the sidewalk and what they're stuck there with ain't glue.

The ducks are far more charming from a distance.

I suspect that might be true of my thoughts of this place as well. I've only visited Ohio in the summer when it's 100 degrees in San Antonio and 60 degrees here.

If I were here in December the 75-degree days of San Antonio would likely have charms calling to me too.

As they say, the grass is always greener...even more so where the ducks have done their business.

Interesting article about they've now done what before was considered impossible...created a blue rose.

We've arrived. It was a relatively uneventful trip, although even though I'm considerably skinnier than the last time I was on an airplane, the seats still seem to get smaller.

Security gave us no problems, although one flight attendant did question Amy about her use of syringes on the aircraft. I don't think he was worried about her having syringes, I think he was asking if she actually "used them on board". I'm not sure why, but I got the impression that he thought it might violate some rule if passengers shot up drugs in mid-air. I explained she was "flushing" her central line with saline and then pointed to the line protruding from her chest. At that point he obviously decided he didn't want to know more. It was like a little alarm went off, "Danger Danger...if you continue this course, you may end up caring about these people instead of treating them like cattle". He took our medical debris and threw it away without further comment.

Ohio is nice and cool...the household is asleep, so I'm going to take my morning walk...the only danger being I may very well get lost. Guess I better bring my phone.

Leaving the dogs behind I must confess is one of the nicest things about going on vacation. We love them, but they are a handful. Of course the moment we walked in the door of my in-laws house I was greeted by Kasha barking incessantly.

You can run...

I've discovered why I enjoy vacations so much....because preparing for them is so stressful.
Amy and I swore we were "going to pack light" this year.

I'm going to need Sherpas to schlep all the stuff we're bringing.

In any case, work is done. The job will survive without me and vica versa. Our bags are packed, except for Lisa who seems to be oblivious to stress...I think she's doing her nails.

All systems are go.

Next stop...the joys of airline security. At least I'm a seasoned traveler now. I know to take off my Rockport walking shoes. Last year I thought I must match the profile of some known terrorist because I was stopped and subjected to so many searches along the way. I think Amy was even getting suspicious.

I finally figured out there was metal in my shoes which sets off all the bells and whistles. Of course I figure that out on the way home.

Am I rambling? Of course I am. This is that horrible time when you're all ready to go, but you can't leave yet because it's too early. So you wander around doing meaningful things like bellowing at your wife, "Are you sure you packed deodorant?"

I'm fairly certain they sell deodorant in Ohio even if she's wrong. At least I don't recall meeting any particularly offensive Ohioans.

Oh well, time for one last check of everything. I think I get two more before I qualify as someone with obsessive compulsive disorder.

Let's see....first thing on the check list - turn off computer.

I don't like to blog about politics. Too many bloggers are far better at it than I am, and I'm not all that political. I don't really even enjoy talking about politics. It's not like I'm going to change anyone's mind and in truth if we're going to argue about something I'd prefer it be over something meaningful, like who makes the best pizza.

I suppose it's no secret that I'm fiscally conservative. I've voted Republican in recent national elections. There was a time in my life when I voted the exact opposite. I like to think I'm more liberal when it comes to human rights issues, but I'm probably not liberal enough for a lot of folks.

When I advise people about radio news one of my first suggestions is not to spend a lot of time on politics, I find most people don't care. I know that's probably a violation of some journalistic code, but my real goal is to get people to listen to the radio, and if we talk about things they don't care about they punch the buttons on their radio dials. When enough people punch buttons, I end up unemployed, so I tell people not to talk about politics on the radio too much.

I suppose that's another reason I don't blog about politics...not that I'm going to get fired, but I've figured out plenty of other ways to alienate or bore people.

So, I 'm going to apologize in advance. Today I wanted to write a little about politics. If you push the blog equivalent of the radio button I'll understand. I hope you'll come back.

I saw a quote from Hillary Clinton today; she was speaking to a fundraiser in San Francisco so I suppose I should cut her some slack. I suppose she was probably abiding by the "when in Rome" adage, and certainly if you're going to say something like this, San Francisco is the place to say it.

Anyway, she was referring to her desire to oust the current White House administration but also to do away with the tax cuts passed by our elected representatives. To her credit, she has voted against almost every tax cut proposal that's come up since she's served in the Senate, except for the 2002 proposal to give 14 billion dollars in tax refunds to people who didn't get tax refunds in 2001 because they didn't pay taxes. She voted for that idea...but it failed.

"Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

I'm all for the common good. I'm all for sacrifice...but before you start telling me that the 300 bucks we got back last year can be better spent by Washington for the common good might I suggest that there are some things we "take away" from Senator Clinton and her colleagues, both Democrat and Republican, in the House and Senate?

The starting pay for a member of Congress is $158,000 a year. That's on day one, when you're still trying to figure out where your office is you're making $158,000 a year...or to put it another way, on day one you pocket 600 bucks for stumbling around confused.

Okay, I'll give you that...it's a demanding job and some members of Congress no doubt are capable of earning something comparable to that in the private sector. Everyone who thinks every member of Congress could land a job in the private sector paying that well raise your hand.... yeah, me too.

The top dogs in the House and Senate pocket $198,000 a year.

They get free life insurance. A show of hands for everyone whose life insurance is free please. Yeah... we need to negotiate better.

The Congressional retirement plan has been greatly exaggerated in some Internet chain letters but it is still safe to say it's generous. It's based on a formula depending on years of service and the average of the highest three years of his or her salary. Their retirement annuity can not start at more than 80 percent of their final salary...it can increase beyond that in later years.
Members of Congress qualify for retirement benefits after FIVE years of service. They can begin collecting them immediately or defer them depending on their age.

How's your retirement plan? Do you start collecting retirement pay after 5 years on the job? I worked for five years to earn 3 weeks vacation.

From what I can tell, the average retirement pay for a long term member of Congress, someone who served about 25 years is around 73 thousand bucks a year. Not bad and I think that's probably fair, for someone who toughed it out in Congress for 25 years.

Of course, the average Social Security retiree, who worked about 40 years gets about 10 thousand bucks a year.

"Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

Now let's add in a few other things.

Every member of Congress receives, free office space in Washington and in their home district. That seems sensible. Ever been to the office of a member of Congress? Very bleak. Bare bones stuff.

Luckily they can spruce the place up with flowers. Anytime they want they receive free fresh cut flowers from the Botanic Gardens.

House members get a staff allowance of three quarters of a million dollars a year. Members of the Senate have staff allowances that vary according to the population of their state and the distance their state is from Washington - really. The bottom rung...say someone from North Dakota is $400,000. Senators from state's with big populations, like Senator Clinton receive about $2.4 million. They also get more money for "committee aides", which presumably are lowly creatures that do not constitute "staff".

Of course they each have an expense account covering their phones, stationery and basic office costs...for both of their offices.

These hard working members of Congress receive 32 taxpayer paid for trips home per year. They have the same years we do...the ones with 52 weeks in them.

If they do any foreign travel, that's basically free and also includes a travel allowance....as long as they're making official "inquiries".

"Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

They get to mail virtually anything for free. Licking stamps can really be a waste of time and the staff members splitting that $750,000.00 a year really are far too busy.

Our Washington lawmakers have free access to video and film studios, owned by Congress, to record messages for their constituents for those 20 weeks a year they can't make it home to see them.

Eating and shopping at the Capitol is cheap. There are 'tax free" shops on Capitol hill, and members of Congress get a discount for shopping there. Certainly they should be rewarded for shopping in places where they don't have to pay taxes don't you think? A cup of soup in the Senate dining room costs $1.40. A cup of soup at a popular and reasonably priced restaurant chain in San Antonio, "Jim's" is $1.99. I'll bet the Jim's soup is better.

A haircut on Capitol Hill will cost you 10 bucks. Well, not you...but a member of Congress. You're not allowed in the Congressional barber shop.

"Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

Congress people don't pay to park at Washington National Airport; in fact they have reserved parking spaces. This is convenient when they're rushing home to see their loved ones, 32 times a year at taxpayer expense.

They do have to pay for their memberships to the House gym and Senate "Bath". What's your gym membership run you? Members of Congress pay 100 dollars...a year. It's probably a pretty shabby place though...I'd wear shower shoes if I was allowed to set foot in there...but I'm not.

Keeping track of all this stuff can be very complicated, even if you have a paid staff earning three quarters of a million dollars annually, not including the pittance you toss at the lowly committee aides. Luckily, if you're a member of Congress your taxes are done for free.

They get every holiday off...and usually several days, weeks or months around each holiday. When it comes time to decide if they should receive a pay raise...they are the ones who decide. In the past 4 years or so Congressional raises have totaled $18,000.

I think they've shown a great deal of restraint...if I got to decide how much my pay raise would be each year I'd probably get all goofy and go way over 18 grand.

"Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

This is why I don't blog a lot about politics...pizza anyone?

Today is my birthday. I hesitate to mention that, but it's germane to the events of the day, and it's nothing to be ashamed of...it's not like I'm 50....yet.


*image swiped from toothpastefordinner.com
No birthday cake please... I'm still watching my girlish figure.

We spent much of today running around doing all those last minute things you do in preparation for vacation, but ours included getting arrangements made with our home health care agency to "overnight" Amy's supplies to her in another state. They were fabulous about it.
We also had to meet with Amy's surgeon one last time and go over our game plan.

This trip has been our main goal for at least the last three months. I firmly believe it's going to do wonders for Amy's health.

We've put off other medical decisions and concentrated a lot of prayers toward making sure this family tradition did not get derailed.

Amy's doctor has been wonderful in understanding our intentions and working with us to try to make sure that we can leave town with everything we need, including peace of mind.

When the doc said, "As far as I'm concerned, we've covered all the bases and you're good to go" all I could think of was, "Thank you, God...that is the only birthday gift I truly desired."

We've got a few more issues to contend with, ramrodding a prescription past the insurance Nazis ahead of their pre-determined timetable is one of them. We've also got to figure out how to keep Amy medicated "in flight" with security folks frowning on syringes. However I'm confident we'll clear those hurdles as well... in fact I'm certain it's going to be a piece of cake.

Summer House has been updated. I still have no idea where it's going but after reading Dave Barry's column today, I have high hopes for it.


P.S. The Gmail invitations are gone

I started to write this in the comments area, but then I found myself spreading out responses all over the place so I figured I'd simply put it in a post.

I wanted to make sure no one was confusing fact with fiction. We do spend a portion of our summers at Lake Erie. However there is no Summer House...there's no town named Water's Edge. It's not something I have done for a lifetime. I think this will be the tenth year Amy and I have gone there. The houses where we've stayed have varied over the years. It's a wonderful time with family, 17 or 18 of us, all together. There are no dark times of introspection. We eat ice cream, play shuffleboard, and rush to get the daily newspaper to learn what celebrity has died (our vacations are always bad for celebrities...they start dropping like flies). Last year, Amy and I explored a little winery nearby which is about as exciting as it gets.

There is no Internet access. I think there's a phone in the rental house but we won't use it.

The only link between Summer House the story and our annual family vacation is that I love that area and I thought in the winter it would make a nice setting for story about isolation and fear. There is a lighthouse, but it's not on Johnson Island, it's at Marblehead, across the bay from the Cedar Point amusement park where my stepson works summers as a caricature artist. Johnson Island was a prisoner of war camp during the Civil War, thousands of confederate soldiers were housed there - hundreds are buried there. You can learn more about that through the Daughter's of the Confederacy.

I may write a little while I'm at Lake Erie -on my PDA with its pseudo usable keyboard, but I doubt it. Our time away is a time "unplugged".

We'll spend part of our vacation near Dayton, Ohio where I will have Internet access. I may post something brief, and will check email, but I do believe when you go on vacation you should try very hard to leave almost everything behind...that includes work, dogs, and blogs. I make an exception for kids, but then again our kids are all grown up...in past years I might have been willing to negotiate that as well.

We don't leave until Wednesday, but have lots to do before then so posting is going to be sporadic even before we leave I suspect.

This post is one of those things on the "to do" list, so now that's one more item I can scratch off, and we're one step closer to departure.

P.S. Any burglars, thieves, aimless blog worshippers reading this...our house will not be empty while we're gone and there are big vicious dogs...well, okay they're not big or vicious, but we do have dogs. Plus, there's nothing worth stealing...everything we have that is of any true value travels with us...always.