Today is Flag Day

Today is Flag Day.  Try to find a moment to throw a salute to Old Glory.

The Right to Remain Silent

Have you had your Miranda rights explained to you?

It was on this date in 1966 that the Supreme Court of the United States confirmed your right to remain silent and warned you that anything you say may be used against you.

More people--especially certain politicians--need to exercise that right.  If they did, imagine how much more peaceful the world would be!

Another milestone

Today was yet another milestone in the Stockwell family.  Cole graduated from preschool.  This is not the first  such event nor will it certainly be the last. But as they occur I'll post news of them here with pictures.

For more pictures go to the photo gallery of my website and click on the link labeled Current Family Photos.

A busy few days

This has been a very busy week. 

Monday and Tuesday were normal with babysitting and volunteer stuff but Wednesday I had to be at Pete's early because he had a meeting.  The day began with the boys at 7 A.M. and ended at about 5:15 P.M.

Thursday I spent the afternoon with Courtney searching for slugs in the garden.  We found a lot of them and deposited them in a container she had for them.

Then  Courtney & I got Brooke off the bus.  Brooke did her homework and we ate an early dinner after which I drove them to their T Ball game.

Given the fact that I tend to dislike activities that are not organized properly, it was a little annoying.  There were kids running all over, getting in the way of the on-deck batter and generally not quite as orderly as usual.  At the end of the game one of the girls was running around doing cartwheels and managed to kick Brooke in the face.  On that unhappy note we went home only to have Courtney become very upset with me for not letting her finish what I thought was a complete sentence.  Poor Becky came home to a rather confused mess.

Friday was calmer but equally busy.  Blood work and yard work in morning, a dreadful round of golf in the afternoon but a pleasant evening with our friends.

Today (Saturday) it's work on the pool, go to Cole's preschool graduation and the girls' recital tonight.

Tomorrow it's off to Becky's in the afternoon for a while.

Monday it all starts over again.

It may be busy but it's all good stuff and it's better than sitting around wondering what to do.

Happy Birthday

On June 5, 1975 Becky Stockwell, now Becky Stockwell Sullivan, came into the world.  Hope she has a great day.  We celebrated her birthday over the weekend.

The house is too quiet

 With Pete & Jen back from Florida the boys and Sadie have returned home.  The house is way too quiet.  Sandi and I thought for a while we had gone deaf.  But the up side is today and Wednesday are Grampy days.  

For a week we went from being grand parents to the role of parenting and we discovered how hard it is.  It's one thing to baby sit for a few hours or even a day but then you go home and relax.  

Parenting requires a 24/7 commitment.  Not an easy thing to do--especially where both parents are working--or more difficult yet, how about working single parents?

I know there's a Mothers and Fathers Day and even a grand parents day but I wonder if there's a Parents Day.

Happy June

It's June!  One of my favorite months.  Not quite summer-hot yet and lots of flowers in bloom.  Here's a little information about June.

Click here

Another Week Rolls Around

Memorial Day has come and gone and now it's head-long into summer with temps today expected to be around 90 degrees.

It was  a fairly quiet weekend with Sandi and me working hard planting flowers, vegetables,  putting up the deer fence and spreading mulch. 

My effort to open the pool has been delayed by an unexpected problem with the pump.  I'm attempting to repair a crack that formed thus leaking a great deal of water.  If the repair doesn't work, I'll have to replace the part.  Fortunately, I have a spare so with the help of the boys, I should be able to get it up and running today.

Speaking of the boys--they will be spending the week with us since their parents are on a trip to Miami that Pete won.

We'll be bringing them to and from school Tues, Thursday and Friday.  They're home with me all day Wednesday.  We're expected to go to Mike & Becky's Friday or Saturday.  I forgot which one.  So it's going to be a very busy week. 

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Where's the outrage?????

Several recent polls have shown that a large number of  people (those asked at least) aren't terribly bothered by the fact that the then 18-year-old Mitt Romney committed what today would be considered a hate crime.

Is it normal for 18-year-olds (they can vote) to do such things as part of the growing-up process?  Don't we consider an 18-year-old as grown?

Or how about this:  People don't seem to be concerned with the fact that Romney made his fortune--now safely tucked away in a  Caiman Island bank--by raiding companies, bilking them for all they're worth and laying off the workers!!!

In fact a couple of fairly well-known democrats-at least one mayor and a Wall Street worker (go figure)--condemned the Obama campaign for using tactics that seem to attack Romney's kinds of business tactics.

Personally, I think Romney is not only a bully but a guy with the ethics of a rat as well.  

Why don't others seem to feel the same way?  Am I too indignant with moral outrage?  Should I tone it down just a little?

More to come on this.

Injury and Illness

While Cole & Nicholas continue to steam along at full speed, poor Courtney and Brooke are laid low with first Brooke breaking her pinky toe while playing soccer with me of all people.

Then yesterday afternoon while returning from picking up Brooke, Courtney got sick to her stomach in the truck.

Hope both girls make a quick recovery.

A beautiful weekend draws to a close

The weather these past three days has been beautiful and with the exception of a problem transporting my log splitter to someone's house, very productive.

The lawns are finally mowed, garden readied for planting and mulch spread.

Saturday afternoon and part of the evening was spent with family--always a good time.

The next step is to buy more mulch, spread it, get vegetable plants, plant them and do some painting.

Finally, I'll work on getting the pool opened.

Voter apathy

Recently there was a referendum in our Newtown to approve--or not--the budget for the coming year.  It did not pass by 77 votes.  Voter turnout was very low.

The failure of the budget for the 2nd time probably means the proposed all-day kindergarten will not happen next year.

Voter apathy has always been a problem at every lever--local, state, federal.  People just don't care.  Oh sure, they complain enough but they apparently feel that their little vote couldn't possibly do any good.

Voting is the bedrock of a democracy.  Veterans serve to protect ones right to vote. 

Yea or nay--vote!

A Little Discretion, Please

Have you seen the cover of Time magazine lately?  It shows a picture of a woman breast feeding her 3-yr-old son.

Look-I'm not one of these far right wingnuts who run around the country, frothing at the mouth telling others how to live their lives.  On the other hand, can we have just a little discretion here, please?

Breast feeding is of course as old as mankind.  I've seen lots of women who do it publicly but while wearing one of those blouses designed for it.

The title of the article is "Are you mom enough?"  suggestion that unless you're going around with your boobs hanging out and a 3-year-old hanging off them, you're not.

Here's the other thing that gets me.  Isn't a 3-year-old kid supposed to be using a fork...with his teeth?  I haven't read the article yet because I just picked up vacation mail but stay tuned for more...if you can stand it...and I promise...no pictures.

Back to the Routine

Yesterday, Mothers Day, capped off a great week.  Now it's back to the routine with baby sitting duties, volunteer stuff, talent shows and a yard that hasn't been mowed in a very long time.

With the exception of this past weekend the weather has hampered efforts to get outside work done.  I still have a large pile of wood to cut, split and stack, grass to cut, mulch to spread, a garden to plan and plant and a pool to open.

It will all get done eventually.  It always does.  The forecasts for the coming weekend are calling for beautiful weather so I expect to make a lot of headway on the 'to-do' list.

Last full day in sunny Naples

Tomorrow we'll be headed back home.  While we enjoyed--mostly--our stay here with friends, it's always good to me to be headed home.

This trip was marred by the water leak issue referred to in previous pieces.  The situation has been largely resolved with the plumbing company finally figuring out what the problem was.  It was a five minute fix!

Unfortunately we now have a damaged ceiling in our main bathroom.  The property management association will arrange for repairs but possibly not until Sandi comes down in September with her friend.

It could have been much worse.  This all could have happened while we were still in CT or the upstairs neighbor could be uncooperative or the leak could have been more intense or in a more inconvenient location so we're not complaining.

In the meantime it's back home to family and the routine and improved weather.

The Saga of the Leak: Part Two

Our warranty company sent out a plumber who cut a small hole in the ceiling and confirmed that it was coming from the unit upstairs. He said the water had to be turned off to the toilet as soon as possible.  The guy who lives there wasn't home so I called the management company.   The contacted the owners of record who are in another state somewhere and speak very poor english.  The lady couldn't understand what the management company lady was talking about.  A leak?  Impossible.  They just had new faucets put in.  The conversation must have been hilarious.  Anyway, management company sent out a plumber of their own to confirm and he did.  I wrote a note with the plumber's card and was just about to tape it to the door of the upstairs unit when the son pulled in.  I introduced myself and explained the problem.  He was very nice but didn't have a clue as to what to do so I went up, turned off the water and noted that it was actually the tank that was leaking, not the seal.  There was a large pool of water around the base of the toilet bowl and that's what was slowly leaking through the floor to our ceiling.  Anyway, today it's still dripping but much more slowly so it should be OK by the time our two-day guests get here.  Also, the property management company will arrange for the repair of all damage.  Cool.

So that's it for now.   Another day in paradise.

Weather: Great-Leak in upstairs unit: Not so great.

Well, you know what they say about Murphy's Law.  It's hard at work here in Naples.  Our guest Linda was in the main bathroom drying her hair yesterday when she felt a drop of water on her head. Sure enough water was coming our of the exhaust fan.  We called the home warranty company who sent out a plumber and an investigation revealed the upstairs owner's toilet is leaking.

The property management association will take care of it but it never fails that something like this should happen  when we're expecting more company for a stay of a couple of days.

Added to this is that the property management company spoke to the owners and she is convinced her bathroom couldn't be the problem because they just had work done.

Well, guess what?  Two plumbers confirm that  the problem is in fact hers.   So...we'll have to see how this all shapes up.

Stay tuned. Life's A Beach!

Day Two, Naples, Fl

Day two in Naples.  Today we met Linda's friends, Chuck and Sue, at the Naples Zoo.  We had been there before with the kids but there's always something new to see at a zoo.  I took lots of pictures which I'll be posting on my website when we get back.

Tomorrow it may be a return trip to Cork Screw Sanctuary which is a huge Cypress swamp maintained by the Audubon society.  I never tire of visiting that place.

While we miss the kids a great deal and never could live here for a prolonged period, we are very happy we bought this place.  It's a great place to enjoy nice weather, the beach and see a ton of stuff.  I no longer have much desire to see much of anything else in the world except for the United Kingdom so I don't have a problem hanging out here for vacations.

We'll be returning on Saturday the 12th.  In the meantime I think I'll watch the Kentucky Derby and make myself a rum and coke.

 Bye for now.

Yet another Monday

It was a great day yesterday.  I spent the morning with Mike, Becky and the girls to watch Becky run a half marathon.  After lunch I went home and worked on my cranky tiller which I finally got started. 

There's much to be said about well made machinery.  My tiller is probably about 30-35 years old.  It's a TroyBilt Pony.  The reason it wouldn't start isn't because of anything inherently wrong with the machine.  It's because the gas probably had water in it and it needed a new spark plug.  Also the throttle mechanism was rusty and stiff so I took everything apart, cleaned it up, put in fresh gas and a new spark plug and PRESTO, it started.

For the next three days I'll be watching the boys and doing my volunteer thing.  I also have to get my weekly column written for HamletHub since I won't be here Friday to do it.  The problem is I have no idea whatever on what to write about this week.  Any ideas?

Then it's up to Becky's Thursday to drop off the tiller for Mike and watch the girls.  Finally, first thing Friday morning it's off to Florida for a week.

I may or may not write one or two blogs from there.  We'll see how it goes. 

More of life's paradoxes

Guy one:  Strong, athletic,  eats right foods, worked out regularly his whole life, no drugs, very little alcohol--Dead of cancer at 65.

Guy two:  Never works out, smoked for many years, eats whatever he wants,  sedentary life style,  over weight--going strong.  

Explain, please.

A Visit to A Farm

I took Cole & Nicholas to a mini farm to day.  They saw, fed and petted sheep, lambs and a llama.  What is it about farms that kids love?  Well, certainly the animals for one.  But they also like the fact that it's  an adventure with grandpa and it involves something for which they don't have much experience.

We had a great time and will surely do it again.  My next trip there will be with Brooke & Courtney.

Happy Earth Day

School children and "green" conscious adults across the nation are celebrating Earth Day this weekend.

I recall during my teaching days the great lengths we'd go to to bring awareness to students regarding the problems we face in terms of the Greenhouse Effect and global warming.

We had kids make posters, we saw movies and put on skits of our own.  Very often we had visitors come to the school and make presentations.

Community efforts are in full swing also with groups of people roaming the streets with garbage bags picking up litter.  Towns and cities of course have been running recycling programs for several years now.

All of this is good.  We need to be recycling glass, paper and plastic.  Our landfills are filling up. But here's the problem.  In terms of actually reducing our carbon footprint it's small potatoes.  The fact is one coal fired power plant like the one shown here does more harm to the earth than all of the litter combined in the country.  And given the fact that this country has enough coal to keep us going for many, many years, the prognosis doesn't seem promising...unless government and industry work together to find ways to burn coal cleanly.  That will involve tax dollars and reduced profits but the end result will be worth it. 

Unfortunately a republican controlled Congress is not in the least bit receptive to this idea.  More reason to make some dramatic changes in Congress this November.

A busy day

Yesterday I spent much of the day with all four grand children.  They're ages 8, 5, 4 and a recently turned 3. 

As I was running around after them, settling little spats, dealing with some sharing issues, taking them outside to play and later getting lunch organized I thought about the many families that have four kids about those ages.  It must be very challenging. 

For the most part everyone got along very well and as expected Brooke helped out a great deal with the younger ones but by 5:30 I was home relaxing.  Their parents still had  to get dinner ready, give baths and have some family time. 

Of course a huge part of coping with large families is to establish a routine and a set of expectations.  After that, things pretty much fall into place.

In fact the only thing I thought was going to be a problem was when I was fixing lunch.  I assembled them in the family room to watch a show so they wouldn't be underfoot in the kitchen.  My dilemma was finding something that would appeal to all of them.   Incredibly enough, they immediately agreed on Max & Ruby!

I could never figure out the appeal of that show.  It's about two rabbits.  Ruby is Max's big sister.  I have never seen their parents but they do have a grandmother.  On top of that the animation is very primitive.

Anyway that's what they watched until the pizza was ready.  Which brings me to the topic of food.  They were bottomless pits.  Imagine feeding a family of four children these days?  I do the grocery shopping for my wife and me every week.  We are not big eaters by any stretch yet I can't get out of the store for less than $100 and it's often more.

And feeding them is just the tip of the iceberg where it comes to the cost of raising a family. It's no wonder both parents have to work.

All in all it was a great day with four great kids.  I look forward to more like this.   

Happy 3rd birthday Nicholas

Happy 3rd birthday to grand child number 4 Nicholas George Stockwell. It doesn't seem possible that he's three already. They're growing fast!

Time marches on!

Yet another milestone occurred yesterday to remind us that time is in fact marching on and at a pretty furious rate at that.

Cole had his kindergarten screening. Jen reports he did fine so maybe they'll be sending him this year. Newtown is planning to offer full day kindergarten so I'm sure that will figure into the decision.

Now there's only one more to go--Nicholas. Before you know it, all four grand children will be in school full time. Looks like I'll have to find other ways to occupy my time. Maybe volunteering in their rooms?? Hmmmm...That's an idea.

A Visit with Jack

My last blog reported on an unfortunate situation in a veterans hospital. It was about a friend of mine named Jack.

Yesterday, before I picked up Brooke & Courtney from school I looked in on Jack. He was very happy to see me. As we chatted, the conversation inevitably drifted back to his WWII days. He loves to tell stories about his navy days on a battleship.

We agreed that I would try to look in on him some time on Fridays since my other days are pretty much filled up with other things. I used to visit him on Tuesday afternoons but I'm reserving that because from time to time I help out my daughter then or I do something at the other places where I volunteer.

I'll have to start searching for more pictures of navy warships to show Jack. He also likes cars so I'll be able to mix it up a little.

A sad story

I generally try to keep these blogs fairly upbeat (except when I'm venting about something or the topic is politics). But unfortunately this is not one of those.

I used to visit a WWII navy veteran at the Lutheran Home in Southbury. His name is Jack. He wasn't happy there because there were no other veterans for him to talk to so he transferred to the Veterans Hospital in Rocky Hill, CT. This all happened about a year ago.

Yesterday, his brother called me and told me he was back at the Lutheran Home and that he would like for me to look in on him. Apparently, conditions at the brand-new veterans hospital were dreadful. Most of the men with whom he hoped to make friends were in fact not WWII veterans. Rather, they were men who served in more recent conflicts like Viet Nam and Iraq.

Most of the men were seriously impaired from injuries or drug dependence. Jack's brother went on to report that while the hospital looked shiny and new from the outside, it was everything but that inside. He reported that the place was filthy inside. For example he reported that the bathroom in his room hadn't been cleaned in a very long time. It contained days-old vomit and feces from his roommate.

The hospital was understaffed and the workers who were there were all 'foreigners' who spoke little if any English. They were unfriendly and generally unresponsive to the needs of the residents.

Jack couldn't take any more so his brother moved him back to his former location.

This is a very sad situation. Is this typical of veterans hospitals across the nation or just this place? Someone needs to look into this.

The Ratings War Is On

The Today Show and Good Morning America are battling each other for morning viewers. GMA has been nibbling away at Today's lead in recent months so NBC is getting nervous.

So what does NBC do to combat this erosion in viewers? It recruits none other than air head, gas bag Sarah Palin to co-host! Good move Today. You lost me.

Oh. In response to this bonehead move, ABC got Katie Couric to fill in for Robin Roberts for the week. A much better move in my view.

Actually, I don't care what either of them do. Morning TV has sunk to new lows in recent years. Fortunately I get Fox Business News station which airs the Imus in the Morning show. Depending on who he has for guests, this is preferable to network TV.

Lest you get the wrong idea, I don't actually watch morning TV for very long. With the exception of Tuesdays, I'm usually up and out fairly quickly.