A Picture Perfect Day.

Thomas and I were just a little bored today so for lunch we drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was a picture perfect kind of day. Not too cold, just a few high wispy clouds and tons of blue sky. The drive was nice, the conversation was nice, and the diversion was nice. Utah at its beautiful best.

And to all...... a good night!

I heard the Bells on Christmas Day

"Christmas Bells"
The Original Poem
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
All Seven Stanzas
~~~~~
"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

~~~~~
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

~~~~~
Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day
,A voice, a chime A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

~~~~~
Then from each black accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

~~~~~
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

~~~~~
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said.
"For hate is strong, And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

~~~~~
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!"

December 25, 1864

Deckin' the Halls

Well, its that time of year to deck the halls once again. This is our eighth Christmas in this house so that means that we have had Christmas decorations up for nearly two-thirds of a year! Wow... that's a lot of Christmas. Well, here is our four trees for this year.

The Traditional Tree in the Living Room
The Family Tree in the Basement.
The Disney Tree in our room.

Chris and Vanessa's Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer tree.
It's a real tree too....

Merry Christmas, Novell Travel!

Its been nine months since I left Novell and started working from home. I don't miss the 30+ mile commute each way each day, (now my commute is in feet, not miles) but I do miss my friends and being on the phones..... Yes, I even miss the guy in Montrose! Guy! and that guy in Florida that always made is reservations direct with American!

Lari called me last night to say that they read my blog in the Novell Travel Office... so to Mike, Cindy, Lari, Nancy and Lori, (and the new guy.. Leonard, Larry, Dexter.. what ever your name is) Merry Christmas and best wishes for the new year.

Remember Pearl Harbor

This Sunday marks the 67th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Honolulu in the Territory of Hawaii, on December 7th, 1941. I have no idea why this event has made such an impact on me. Perhaps it is because I've spent so much time in Hawaii and have been to Pearl Harbor many times that it is so familiar to me. Like it was an attack on me. Perhaps is it because of the way in which the Japanese carried out the attack and the enormous impact it had on America. Maybe it is because my mother was living in Hilo at the time and I recall her stories and the effect it had on her. Nevertheless, as long as I can remember, I've observed Pearl Harbor day.

Today in Pearl Harbor there are two monuments to help us remember what happened on the morning December 7th, 1941. The first is the Arizona Memorial. A gleaming white edifice that spans the width of the sunken battleship, the USS Arizona. From its deck the visitor can peer down into the water and see the remains of the ship where she sank within in opening minutes of the attack. Nearly half of all that died that morning, die aboard the Arizona.

Just a hundred yards to the stern of the Arizona floats the USS Missouri. The Missouri represent the final minutes of the war. It was on the deck of the Missouri, commemorated by a plaque, that Emperor Hirohito surrendered to the US General Mac Arthur, ending World War II.

The real monument at Pearl Harbor is what lies between the stern of the Arizona and the bow of the Missouri. It is only 100 yards, but that 100 yard represents the sacrifice that millions of Americans had to make to win the war. They went the distance. They gave it their all, and they won.

It has now been 63 years since the end of World War II. Her brave solders and sailors are fading into history along with our collective consciousness of the events of that war. Will we, as a nation, forget Pearl Harbor? What happened at Pearl Harbor changed this country. We can't afford to forget it.

We face seemingly insurmountable obstacles today. Bank failures, dropping home values, unemployment, and the fear that they breed. The flip side of the tragedy at Pearl Harbor was that it mobilized America. The instant the first bomb fell, America had a cause, a mission and a resolve. She shifted gears and went to work creating the largest logistical movement of men, machine, and material in the history of this planet. America changed from a land of depression and desperation to the land of innovation and opportunity. There was zero unemployment. There was sacrifice on all levels. The country pulled together and produced.

We don't need another Pearl Harbor, but we do need a cause, a mission and a resolve. We need to shift gears and get our people back to work. We need to become a land of innovation and opportunity again. We need to sacrifice for the greater good of everyone in the country and for the country herself.

I hope on Sunday we can look back on what America was able to do between December 7th, 1941 and September 2nd, 1945. By remembering Pearl Harbor, we are remembering that there are no mountains we can't climb, no floods that we can't ford and no obstacle that we can't overcome as long as we work together with a cause, a mission and a resolve. Remember Pearl Harbor.

A great Thanksgiving....

We had a great Thanksgiving week. Left Monday and drove as far as Barstow where Laura and I spent the night a the KOA...(Kind of a sandy pit off the side of the road, but it was quite.) Next day we drove through the Mojave Desert, down the Tehachapi grade, through Bakersfield, past the James Dean memorial junction, over some unnamed hills, through Paso Robles, over some more hills to Cambria on highway one, then three

miles to our camp ground. Our timing was perfect because as we pulled in to camp, our friends, Doug and Deloris were right behind us....

Vanessa, Chris and Thomas left Wednesday afternoon and traveled all night and got in around two in the morning.

A gloomy looking Morro Bay------------------>

Thanksgiving day was bright and sunny, but a little on the cold side. Doug cooked the turkey in the weber... 5 hours to perfection. It was delicious. Turkey and all the traditional Thanksgiving fixings... out doors with good friends and family... Only thing that could have made it more perfect was if Brett and Brenda could have joined us.

Thomas and Nicole dug a big sand fort down on the beach It was large enough for Thomas to crawl through from one side to the other. It was at least five feet deep. Sadly, on Saturday, huge waves destroyed it.

The beach was great. Chris' sister and husband drove up from LA on Friday with surfboards. Thomas tried his hand a surfing, but the waves were not cooperating. They stayed for dinner and camp fire. It was a fun visit.

On the way home there are two huge hills to climb just outside of Baker, California. As we reached the top, I notice the power cord on the trailer was starting to come out. We pulled over in a truck stop and then I noticed anti-freeze dripping from under the engine.... we had blown a water hose. I called AAA and they said someone should be there within the hour.... three hours later.. Edgar the tower showed up... Towed us into Las Vegas to Pep Boys... they fixed the hose and we were on our way again.... six hours behind schedule. Chris, Vanessa and Thomas were home before we left Vegas.....