Spring is here!

Oh, yes. Spring is here! 70 degrees in our parts yesterday and already 62 at 11:15 this morning.

Spring!

Is President George W. Bush insane?


I keep wondering about this.

Recently, he spoke to some of his warriors in Afghanistan. He said, approximately, -If I'd been younger and didn't have a job here, I'd like to be over there. It must be romantic to be part of a new adventure in democracy.

This from a man who dodged the Vietnam War and did not live up to his responsibilities as a member of the National Guard. The President is addressing people who are dying for his adventure. Granted, the Afghanistan war is at least more reasonable than the one in Iraq. But, what is this man thinking?

What is he thinking when he is doing his soft shoe shuffle in front of the White House?

What is he thinking when he cracks jokes and tells financial people that the economy is strong and he's optimistic about the country?

What

Is

He

Thinking?

What can I say?

It's a fine green day

Well, now. I had forgotten that today is Saint Patrick's Day until some friends sent me an e-card, noting that on March 17th . . everyone is Irish.

I was particularly pleased because the automated card culminated in a big pint of Guiness Stout.

Once upon a time, back in another city, when I was working for a radio station, I went to a true Irish pub on Saint Patrick's Day. The owners had removed every stick of furniture from the pub and covered the floor with thick rubber matting. They posted a policeman at the door so that once the pub reached its posted maximum occupancy no one could enter until someone left.

And the Guiness began to flow.

I was calling my radio station throughout the afternoon and doing live reports on the activities from the pub. Of course, I had to indulge in a wee drop of the brew. Every once in awhile. As the afternoon wore on, my reports became . . . . more fluid. I'd like to tell you how it all ended but for some strange reason, I can't remember. So I'll just leave you with this final thought:

One correction for true lovers of that dark Irish stout. The correct brand name is Guinness. I lost an "n" somewhere in that mad crowd back years ago.

Submarine Races

Here it is folks!

The first annual coverage of the great submarine races!

Well, what did you expect??????

Special thanks to my pal, Danny Bananas, for the coverage!

The Hole in the Wall Gang

It all started when Lowe's decided to build a new home store in our neighboring community. The spot they picked was a ravine that needed to be filled in. It was. But there was a small community just to one side of the new Lowe's site. Lowe's had a huge wall of compacted dirt facing the community. They covered the wall with stone facing.

But then . . . the wall began to collapse.

One home sits facing the wall, only feet away from a huge grey wall. Previously, the homeowner had a view of a small creek and trees on a hillside. After considerable complaining, Lowe's bought the house from him.

A security car now sits in the driveway of that house. The guy in it told me there had been some movement at the edge of both of the holes even today.

The folks from Lowe's and the city have been talking, and talking, and talking about repairing the wall for months now. They say the problem was caused by some kind of moisture build up behind the facing. It appears the entire wall will now have to be torn down and rebuilt.

There was a lot of angry talk and letters to the editor in the local newspaper calling for a boycott of the Lowe's store. While some people are honoring that and shopping elsewhere, the parking lot at the store is never empty

Meantime, the scars in the wall get uglier, day by day. And the homeowners in the nearby development lose sleep at night, wondering if the entire wall will let loose and come down on their homes.

A couple tips of the hat

It's supposed to be close to 75 here today. Spring has sprung. Right? Well, maybe, maybe not. By Sunday, the National Weather Service is predicting a possibility of snow showers and a high temperature 25 degrees lower. We have often remembered that our heaviest snowfalls occasionally come in March.

But SWMBO is already planning a plant-buying trip and the last couple of days saw her pruning the mimosa tree out front, with some help from yours truly. But for a real sign of spring in the high country, check out Granny J's blog today. She's getting her pots ready.

And, if your weather is bleak or you just need some laughs, my man Tombo has some hilarious videos on his blog today. I had tears running down my face from laughter.