A Visit to the Cape

This past weekend, we returned to south Florida to visit friends in the coastal town of Cape Coral, where we lived for a couple of years.
This photo was taken at the Cape Harbor Marina as we were eating dinner on the porch of a neat restaurant called "The Joint".
The picture does not begin to do justice to the beautiful view of the harbor from this neat place!
We had a great time!

Remembering my Dad

As I turned my desk calendar over this morning and saw "September 10th" , I remembered that it was my dad's birthday. Not that it requires seeing a certain date to remind me of him. I am reminded of him every time I take a walk and remember the thousands of walks we took holding hands and tapping the sidewalk with my hand-carved little walking stick Dad made for me.

Every time I sing a tune, I remember the hundreds of times we sat in the front porch swing on warm summer nights singing "My Blue Heaven". Every time I play a card game, I remember the countless times Dad played "Old Maids" or "Rook" with me - often losing on purpose so I could win. Every time I read the comic section of the paper, I remember sitting with Dad and reading the funny papers from cover to cover every single night. We read them all but we always had a few favorites.

The blogsphere is not large enough to hold all the ways I remember Dad but I just wanted to say a special thanks to him today on his birthday. 105 years ago today the world was made a better place!

Uncle Sam $407 Billion in Debt

Last year the federal government had a deficit of $161 billion. This year we will have a deficit of $407 billion which by most calculations is $246 billion more in one year!

The federal agency cites a substantial increase in spending and substantial decrease in revenue growth as the reason for this - Really?? I would have never figured that out!

By the way, that figure does not take into account the takeover this week of the two mega-mortgage folks - Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. That should add a few bucks to the debt. Sheesh!!!

I don't think the feds use the same bank I do. My bank has a tendency to get nasty if I'm $3.00 overdrawn.

Good Health is a Blessing

As my readers know, I have spent the better part of three months visiting family members in hospitals! It is pretty awful! I personally have enjoyed a lifetime of good health - having retired from one company an entire year early because of accumulated sick leave! I have come to realize that having good health and not having to deal with doctors, medications, hopitals, and all the stuff that goes with it is a true blessing!

I have lost several friends to cancer and now have another dear friend who had surgery for a brain tumor and is now facing a battle with liver cancer. Depressing as all that seems, it should give us all a wake-up call to be more appreciative of our blessings - in my case, one of my many blessings is the blessing of good health! Thank you, God.