Honoring our parents

The family unit is one of God's most precious gifts. My sister and I were fortunate to have a mother and father that really loved us. They not only stayed together for the sake of the children. They stayed together because they were bonded in love with each other. They share their love with my sister and I until their deaths. Both my sister Glendon and I hold our parents dear in our hearts. On Tuesday will be a memorial service paying tribute to my mom's life. The neighbors and friends that have been so good afterwards will gather for one last occasion to celebrate and remember a lady and a pioneer of adventure. She would take on a challenge and see the goal through to the finish. She stood by just causes and contribute her time and money to helping others. May other familys feel the wealth which does not live with money, but with love and the improvement of the human condition.

Image to admire

This creature has taken over ownership of the truck parked underneath our carport. This cardinal lands on the side mirrors starting at seven in the morning and on and off again throughout the day. He makes a ticking sound and then looks like he is smacking his beak ends together. He flies into the mirror and the side windows, but doesn't seem to hurt himself. I figured he is just to little to do any serious damage. He loves looking at his image. He flies from the mirrors of the truck to the back storage box bouncing from one end to the other. He looks like he is trying to break into the truck. He also looks like he is challenging the image he sees like the old western bad guys challenging each other in a gun draw. Mom thinks he is a pest and a crazy bird. I think he is a funny bird with a big ego. There was a brown cardinal hanging around the front yard for a while. I figured this bird to be the girl friend of the red cardinal. However, this cardinal pays little attention to her. I wonder if he will sire some baby cardinals or will he be a bachelor the rest of his life.

January past and present

It has been twenty five years since "The Challenger Accident" which destroyed the first space shuttle. I read a book a while back where the author blames the managers for ignoring symptoms of a flawed shuttle just to make a deadline. I feel this situation will be repeated in the future of the space program because it is being made more common by turning the operation over to private industry. In general, I feel private industry is more for making a deadline than to place safety first. They take risk. There is a television show on Sunday nights which I just love called " Undercover Boss." The concept brings to light what a worker does to serve his company. The boss learns of the struggles and pledges to make the worker's life better. I applaud the effort.

Happy New Year 2011

Barbara West left Channel nine in Orlando after so many years. She was like an institution there. There seems to be no party when a person leaves. It is just a sudden goodbye and that is it. I have noticed that mostly younger people occupy the television stations. There are still a few older individuals. I miss Lew's Saturday breakfast reports. Last Saturday, I had biscuits and gravy. Plus an egg that was made into an omelet and a little bacon on the side. New Year's eve will be spaghetti with meatballs and hopefully mushrooms. I like the mushrooms and mom likes the meatballs. The new year will include making new files to store information for the year. Also, writing the new year on whatever is required. Plus, the shuttle program finishes forever. The year should be interesting.

Outside views

I went outside the other night to look at the stars above the Norfolk pine tree. It was a cool night and I could see the tracing of the tree under pattern of the stars. It is nights like that, I wish I could share with people. However, there is no one around. I went back inside when the neighbor across the street showed up in his car and started talking with his wife. The noise ruined the mood of silence and reflection. Speaking of reflection, yesterday I went to the Flagler entrance and saw two shrimp boats and one sail boat way in the distance off of South Daytona. My camera can really focus in on the shot; however, somehow the pictures came out smaller than what I expected. I figure the answer to changing the size is in the settings. I just have to learn where to look. Thanksgiving will be over at my sister's house in Williston, Florida. She will have a free range turkey which I picked out at the health food store.

Missing cooler weather

The weather just seems to stay warm. I miss the cooler weather. Will we feel cooler weather again? This bird squawked at me because I tried to get a facial picture and was in his territory. Both mom and I noticed the rain trees changing color from yellow flowers to deep reddish buds. This is one of the signs I look forward to when Fall comes to Florida.

Keeping a mental list

I have been composing a mental list of items I want to get at the local stores. I want to get coffee at the dollar store. The dollar store sells eight o'clock coffee for 4 dollars a bag. Plus, I have a coupon for a dollar off if I buy two bags. Mom wrote down on the list some vanilla extract. I didn't realize we were low. I will be sure to include this on my mental list. Maybe a little clover honey from Publix to sweeten up my coffee. There are probably other items which I will be including on my list, but for now this is a good start. This Sunday we will be having bacon and eggs. This will be a nice change from the sausage and gravy we have been eating for the past two weekends. I wonder what my friend Lew will be having for his big breakfast? I will keep watching for an e-mail.