where's MY bailout ???!!!

How the heck did all this financial "crisis" happen (again!) I seem to remember a little thing called Sarbanes Oxley Act that was supposed to hold companies accountable for their financial statements. So, what happened ? How long have the numbers been tanking before the "bailout" is now needed ? We're pretty quick to help put a band aid on a problem and less enthusiastic about teaching or providing long term help.

Clearly these firms didn't have investments in the oil market

Yeah, we're cool..we know it !

What I'm reading - Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman

I've read several pieces that reference this book as a "must read" for any aspiring observer/writer. I started it last night and I'm trying to get into the spirit of the verse. I don't know if I'll get there or not, but it will be good to try.


"Leaves of Grass (1855) is a poetry collection by the American poet Walt Whitman. Among the poems in the collection are "Song of Myself," "I Sing the Body Electric," "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking," and in later editions, Whitman's elegy to the assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd." Whitman spent his entire life writing Leaves of Grass,[1] revising it in several editions until his death."

I'm back !

For no particular reason, i took the summer off from posting. I've got the time and energy once again to post...and actually discovered that the act of Blogging is actually considered a "job skill" these days.

So here we go...back into my head, my eyes and my heart.

Sea - King

Ahoy....

Just a few more payments and this little baby is all mine.

Who's up for cocktails on the lido deck ?

TK

"The _______ Road "

So how does a road in Maine get "The" status ? Sometimes its the road itself, as in "the payne road" or "the hogan road" sometimes its a nickname as in "the golden road" and sometimes it comes from where the road goes as in "the howland road". What does a road have to do, or have to be in order to get "the" status ?

From now on, I'm going to start saying "the Sylvan road" to people who ask me where I live and see if it catches on.

It seems to me that each of these roads are the polar opposite of "The Road Less Traveled," and that has made all the difference.

TK

Hi Ho Alan....AWAY !

"Giddy Up Love Bug!"

what I'm reading - Copper River - A cork o'connor mystery

"From Publishers Weekly
On the run from anonymous contract killers, ex-sheriff Cork O'Connor goes to ground in a remote corner of Michigan's Upper Peninsula in Krueger's subdued sixth thriller."


Pretty good so far, we'll see where we end up...

Column - A dandy time of year

After all, dandelions are early blooming, hardy, bright yellow and tend to spread well on their own. What’s not to like? Yet we spend our hard-earned time and money trying to kill them, while yellow tulips are tenderly cultivated and yellow daffodils are celebrated with parades and rides atop pretty Easter bonnets. You would think a flower that is so revered by young children both in life and in death would maintain some emotional appeal for us adults. Certainly, every one of us at one point has pulled a handful of dandelion flowers from the lawn and proudly presented it to someone as a beautiful bouquet. While many of us also remember tickling the flower under our chins to see if we liked butter or not.

Latest Column - Where I'm Coming From

Now, if you’ve been a reader of my columns for a while now, you may think that I was raised out in the country somewhere. Perhaps on a farm with rolling hills and meadows of wildflowers nearby, lots of trees and a river or pond in the area too – my younger days being spent listening to gentle breezes, birds singing and crickets a-chirping.

The reality is, for the first six years of my life, this could not have been further from the truth....

What's your Sign ?

Latest Column - Seedlings Wo-Wo-Wo Seedlings

had some fun with this one. I wonder if the Scarborough Hannaford's is having a run on Lasagna Pans this week ?

Sláinte!

Happy St. Patrick's Day !


Written on the back of the Worry Stone envelope: "There are only two things to worry about: either you are well or you are sick. If you are well, then there is nothing to worry about: but if you are sick; there are two things for you to worry about: either you get well or you die. If you get well, then there is nothing to worry about. If you die then there are two things to worry about: either you go up or down. If you go up, then there is nothing to worry about, but if you go down you will be so busy shaking hands with old friends you won't have time to worry".

Lighten up

I recently made the decision to avoid the "Castanza Wallet"...I was by no means over stuffed, but i thought it was time to slim things down a bit. I might even try putting my new slimmed down version (no pictures, no superfluous membership cards) in my left pants pocket. I wonder if there is a term for the imprint that wallet wears into pants and jeans over time ?

Yeah, i know, i live on the edge.

Latest Newspaper Column - Plant it Again, Sam

For some reason, when I thought “flower show” I had images of little girls, sun dresses and tea parties all walking from table to table looking at bouquets and centerpieces. In other words, more foo-foo than poo-poo (oh, sorry I meant “composted manure”)

(click the Title to read the whole article) My editor loves to get comments on the site too!

Garrett and a unicycle

look at him go !!

Handlebars? He don't need no stinkin' handlebars!

Great article on what's really "Green"

"Consuming until you're squeaky green. It feels so good. It looks so good. It feels so good to look so good, which is why conspicuousness is key...It's done with the best of intentions, but all that replacing is problematic. That "bad" vinyl flooring? It was probably less destructive in your kitchens than in a landfill."

Monica Hesse - The Washington Post

Trees

Passed on from a coworker who thought I would enjoy. I do.

Joyce Kilmer. 1886–1918

Trees

I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day, 5
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain. 10

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Portland Flower Show

Still don't like the name, but i can't wait to see some stuff actually growing!! I've had more than enough of this snow and rain!!

Buddy Miles - Hendrix drummer (& California Raisins singer...who knew!!?? ) dead at 60

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Buddy Miles, a drummer who played with Jimi Hendrix and sang in the claymation commercials featuring the California Raisins in the 1980s, died Tuesday. He was 60.

Miles, who had been suffering from congestive heart failure, died in Austin, publicist Duane Lee said.

Miles was drummer on Hendrix's landmark "Electric Ladyland" album before officially joining Band of Gypsys a few months later. Miles is best known for "Them Change," a song he wrote and performed.