Good Afternoon Folks,

Today I am saddened by the death of Senator Ted Kennedy. Even though he lived a sometimes flawed personal life he was a great Senator! He ran for the Presidential nomination against Jimmy Carter in 1980 and lost. I think he has been a much better in the senate than he would have been as a President. He always championed programs benefiting the lesser of our citizens and national health care for all. Hopefully, his death will spur on those in both legislative houses to hammer out a program in his honor. He is the last of his generation of Kennedys in public life. I hope the younger Kennedys follow on with his and his brother's legacy.



In my reminiscence of the elder Kennedy brothers I know exactly where I was when I heard that they had been killed. I think most everyone of our generation does as well. Ft. Benning, Georgia in the army was where I first heard of President Kennedy's assasination. I was devastated. With Robert Kennedy 's death I had just gone to bed with my pregnant first wife when a friend called and said, "your boy has been shot." I had been a big supporter of Robert Kennedy on campus while other students were supporting Eugene McCarthy. It was unbelievable . . . Martin Luther King had been assassinated just a few days prior. It was just too much. A lot of people's idealism went by the wayside with those events.


I had my two week anniversary in my new Condo yesterday. It seems as if I have been here longer. It is nice to have my own space. The problem is that the $$$$ has pretty much run out and I am still looking at things I want to add to the place. Guess when it is yours there is always something you want to do to make the "nest" more to your liking. However, it is kind of funny that when I was renting that same feeling was at a much lower level.



So far there have been no overnight visitors now that there is an extra bedroom for "guests." It has been so long since I have had them even with the bedroom I'm not sure I know how to act. But, I do find myself walking around the place saying to myself, "now you have more room." Guess it something we old bachelors do, that is, talk to ourselves.


As for movies since last we communicated, Quentin Terrentino's new flick, Inglorious Basterds, is the only one I've seen lately. I liked it quite a bit, but as I usually say for films like this, it is not for everyone. There is a lot of pretty gory violence. The actors do a great job, especially the lead German actor who's name escapes me. So, I give it a cautionary "thumbs up."


Adios Amigas y Amigos

Howdy Folks,

It is a beautiful August morning here in Flagstaff. Part of this fine morning I spent sitting on my deck reading. I am now moved into my new condo and really "digging it" (so far).

It was an arduous week of moving. On Tuesday Jamie Griffin and his truck assisted me in the most rigorous move, three loads of the heaviest stuff. Jamie is an older student (mid-20s) at NAU and an afternoon denizen of Barnes & Noble like myself. In all, so far I have moved about 14 loads in my Subaru, have a partial one left from the storage room at the old apartment

My hope is that this it for moving in my life. That is unless someone moves me to the "home" in a few years. It was kind of funny when the beautiful Hispanic lady at the title company was having me sign my papers. She said that my mortgage would run for 30 years. My response was that I doubted I'd be in existence for that long. But it is nice to have my own place, especially one with a spare bedroom and bathroom for guests. 800 square feet is just about right for me.

Yesterday morning I spent a couple of hours cleaning the old "flat." I did not do more than an ordinary job on it as I am paying for the whole month (and not staying there) and have a very large "breaking the lease" fee due at the end of the month. I did not do as some suggested, in light of the amount I am paying to get out, and not clean it at all. It is not in my make-up to leave a place filthy (not that it was that bad, after all I'm a very neat person).

\Daughter Natasha and I went to the cinema yesterday afternoon. We saw Julie & Julia, the film that parallels parts of chef Julia Child's life along with that of a fledgling writer's attempt to make all of Child's recipes within 365 days and chronicle them on a blog. Both actors Meryl Streep and Amy Adams do a wonderful job in their respective roles. I remember watching Julia Child's humorous cooking show back in the late 1960s on PBS (not that I am a good cook or fan of this genre of programing but she was so damn entertaining). Streep, with her very good since of dialects and acting ability, does Child perfectly. She very aptly depicts her sense of humor which brought laughter to me as well as the rest of the audience. Amy Adams, who like very much, does another great job in her role as well. The two stories play off of each other well. The movie works. If I were using the five star form of rating, I would give it four.

That is about it from West Flagstaff.

And so it goes . . .

In Between . . .

An Early Good Sunday Morn Folks,

It has been an exciting couple of weeks since my return from Wyoming. All of the activities associated with buying a new abode have made me anxious, tired, and busy, not to mention, pretty happy. Who would have thought that the, not so simple, act of purchasing a home would again revitalize what was becoming a pretty mundane existence.

As I have said many times, I did not want to own anything because it begins to own you. The thought of limiting my mobility was also part of this overly simplistic philosophy. I have come to realize, firstly, that I like Flagstaff. It has clean air; is the right size for me and is a relatively progressive town/city. In addition, if I want/need something from the "big city," I can go down the hill 135 miles to Phoenix. I had, at times since retiring, toyed with the idea of moving to Montana: Bozeman, Missoula, or Kalispel. And, although liking all of those places, I found Flagstaff won out for me every time.

For various reasons my friend Ed, daughter Natasha, and a couple of others are not so thrilled with this place. In the case of Natasha and her husband it does not offer what they need professionally. In Ed's case, the old curmudgeon does not like the political climate (too liberal for him) and the lack of social life, even though he seems always to be communicating with friends and acquaintances in town. He harkens back to the corner neighborhood bar in Philadelphia.

At any rate, for me the arduous task of moving has begun. The new condo closed a couple of days ago and all of the anxiety over whether everything would be approved is over. Now the back-braking labor has begun. So far I have moved four loads in the Subaru. In addition, I have been sealing the grout on all that nice ceramic tile in the place. Have done both bathrooms and the kitchen. Today I hope to finish up in the dining room ( in addition to moving another load). When purchasing a new place I did not know that I would have to do this task. But, again it is, somewhat, a labor of love, a new place, another new beginning.

On the movie front: Don't see Funny People with Adam Sandler and Seth Rogan. From the previews I had thought it would have some merit, WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! Natasha felt the same way. It is an overly long and meandering film. It has much too much in the way of "penis humor," which gets pretty tiresome in a 136 minute film. On the other hand, a very good and gripping movie is The Hurt Locker." A warning though, this film is not for everyone and is not a "happy summer" film. The movie follows a bomb disposal team in Iraq. It delves into the lives of the men involved. It is not a documentary and is not political. The acting is great and the film has "gritty" substance.

And so it goes . . .