Cheryl Flies the Coop! (Part 1)

Today's Top Story:
At the time of this posting, 864 US soldiers have died in Iraq.
Source: www.icasualties.org

(Why is this "The Top Story"?

1. Each of these soldiers died in a war that was initiated by a President who intentionally misled the American people to serve his own ends, and
2. Like Gen. Anthony Zinni, I believe that this has got to be more important than "American Idol").

Today's Feature: Cheryl Flies the Coop!

It's been a busy summer here in paradise. Mary and I have spent entire weekends working around the house on small projects and regular maintenance. We've spent most evenings on the screen porch, enjoying the cool breeze, watching the finches and hummingbirds visit the feeders, and usually sharing a nice dinner, a bottle of wine and background music from the outdoor speakers we finally wired up and placed in the corners. (We brought them from Memphis 6 years ago...) I've made two business trips in the last 3 weeks. All of that activity means blog posting takes a back seat, and the telling of some good stories has had to wait.

One of the most amazing moments we've had this summer was the day the polyphemous moth finally hatched.

Last fall, Mary found several large, green caterpillars on the bushes in our front yard.


Polypheomous moth caterpillar 
(Photo source: Stratford Landing, VA elementary school. )
A friend told her that they would spin cocoons and hatch into moths in the spring. We made a "caterpillar house" out of some plywood disks and cloth mesh. Mary brought in three of the caterpillars and clipped a bunch of branches off the bush so they'd have food. Since all the animals in our home need names, Mary (known to our kids as "Dr. Doolittle") christened them. The smallest she named "Mary". The biggest she named "Mike". The middle-sized one she named "Cheryl", after our next door neighbor. (Cheryl is marreid to Bill. I gave Bill credit in my initial posting for my attitude about living in paradise.) We hung the caterpillar house in the garage and checked on Mary, Mike and Cheryl every day.

After several days we saw one cocoon. Then another appeared. Then a third. Fall turned to winter, and the coccons hung in the garage waiting for spring. I had nearly forgotten about them during the winter. As we got engaged in lawn mowing and gardening this spring, I saw the house regularly - it hung between the wheelbarrow and the weed eater.

Then, during the long Memorial Day weekend, it happened - Cheryl hatched! I was indoors, doing something, when Mary raced in yelling "Mike, hurry! Come quick!" I thought there had been an accident outside, and raced out into the garage. Mary pointed at the caterpillar house, and said "Look! One of them has hatched!"

We quickly hung the house outside and I grabbed the digital camera. The new moth was clinging to a stick at the top of the house. We weren't sure how long she had been out of the cocoon, and wanted to get her out so she wouldn't hurt herself in the house.


Cheryl stretches her wings. 


What stunning colors! 

It took a bit of coaxing (for me and Mary, as well as for the moth). We wanted to be very careful not to hurt it as we tried to get it out of the house. I pulled some of the cloth mesh away to make a bigger opening. Mary nudged the moth with a branch.


Mary coaxes Cheryl out of the caterpillar house. 

After a few tries, "Cheryl" flew from the house to the ground, then sat there sunning herself for a few minutes. Her flight was a bit wobbly, and we realized at this point that she had only hatched minutes earlier. We figured her wings weren't dry...or something.


Cheryl makes a safe landing. 

We stood and watched in quiet amazement for a few minutes. Then "Cheryl" wiggled her wings and flew off into the garden. I grabbed the big film camera and hustled after her. The film is being processed this weekend, and I'll have a digital cd made. More pictures in Part 2 later.

The F-Word

Today's Top Story:
At the time of this posting, 860 US soldiers have died in Iraq.
Source: www.icasualties.org

(Why is this "The Top Story"?

1. Each of these soldiers died in a war that was initiated by a President who intentionally misled the American people to serve his own ends, and
2. Like Gen. Anthony Zinni, I believe that this has got to be more important than "American Idol").

Today's Feature: The F-Word

One of the big stories last week was that Vice-President Cheney had said "f___ you" to Sen. Patrick Leahy on the floor of the Senate during a photo session.

Up until that time, I didn't think I had anything in common with Cheney. Like most of my other assumptions, this one also proved to be false. But I, too, have used the f-word. I have worked in enough construction sites, factories and spent sufficient time in bars to have heard (and used) the word used in practically any context imagineable. It works well as an adjective, a verb, and a noun. It works as a descriptor of both sexual activity and pure stupidity. I even heard it dissembled on NPR last week (pre-Cheney).

But despite its increasing commonality, it is still one of the most hurtful words that one human being can direct at another. I know. That's how I used it last.

I was in a private conversation, behind closed doors, with my boss, a man I have worked with, traveled with, and shared a few beers with for six years. He had asked my opinion on why an internal supplier organization was experiencing a high rate of turnover among its employees, causing them to be unable to meet their commitments to our group. My opinion was that the management of the group in question had put costs first, ahead of the welfare of their employees. So I said to my boss, "they basically told their employees 'f___ you, we're taking your jobs offshore', leaving them with no sense that their skills and efforts were valued, let alone with any sense of job security. Why would anybody stay in an environment where you were treated so poorly?"

Was it appropriate for me to use that word? Maybe...maybe not. Would I use it in a public meeting? Absolutely not. Would I direct that epithet at a colleague or an employee? Only if I wanted to be shown the door.

Used indirectly, the f-word has broad, if coarse, descriptive powers. But when it is directed at another human being, it is an unconscionable slur - the worst type of insult. If I used it directly against a colleague or employee, I would be swiftly terminated, especially if I expressed no remorse, like Dick Cheney did.

That's what Dick Cheney deserves. The good news is that we have the opportunity to fire him come November.

The Actual View from the Roof

We've been enjoying a couple weeks of absolutely wonderful weather in southern Indiana. Yesterday was about 75 degrees, with a dazzling blue sky punctuated with fluffly white clouds. Mary's comment is right on the mark: "We've got to capture the feeling of these days and remember it in the dead of winter when it's grey and dreary."

Maybe this photo will help.


The View From the Roof - June 26, 2004 

A shot of the Serenity Garden, from the roof.

Three Steps for Challenging Ambiguity

Today's Top Story:
At the time of this posting, 848 US soldiers have died in Iraq.
Source: www.icasualties.org

(Why is this "The Top Story"? This has got to be more important than "American Idol". See my earlier post on comments about the Iraq war by Gen. Anthony Zinni.)

Today's Feature: Three Steps for Challenging Ambiguity

In my earlier post about the comments of General Anthony Zinni, I got on a soap box.

It is easy to rant about "the Administration" and "the war" and to advocate some action that no one of us can effect on our own (like "Let's start by firing Donald Rumsfeld"). As much as we each might like to see that happen, it's doubtful that any of us have the responsibility or latitude to do that as part of our work plans. (However, Mr. Bush, if you're reading this and are considering "lowering the boom", I'd be happy to give you ten or twenty good reasons to do so...). It is easy to rant, easy to comment at the "100,000 foot" level, easy to gloss over the messy details of pragmatic action.

In short, it's easy to get lost in the ambiguity. You can feel good for raising the issue, without any feeling of responsibility for participating in the solution. It's even better when you can raise it in a company of friends over a coffee or a beer.

But commenting at an abstract level without personal commitment is just whining. It misses the point. Remember "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem"?

It is harder to provide a set of concrete suggestions to the urgent question, "What can I do, NOW, to make the world a better place?". Much harder. I started this posting two weeks ago, and got to the "here goes" part below...and drew a blank.

In the interest of combating ambiguity where it lives...of speaking directly to the heart of the issue, hear are three concrete actions that any of us can take. Here goes:

Number 1. Talk to your neighbors. Start the dialogue, even if it's just saying "hello" to someone you see every day but have never met. Don't assume anything about their beliefs or opinions. Ask. Years ago there was an ad for a non-profit humanitarian organization that used a tag line that stuck with me -- "You can't change the whole world...just a little part of it." Start with your little corner. Conversation leads to familiarity, which leads to understanding, which leads to trust. The fearmongers of the world would prefer that we remain huddled inside, insulated from each other, with our paranoia fed by the Department of Homeland Insecurity reports of nameless, vague (yes...ambiguous!), but somehow "credible" threats. Are there bad people in the world? Absolutely. Do they live next door to you? Probably not.

Number 2. Call your elected officials. Let them know what you think and where you stand. Most US Senators and Representatives have voice mail, so you can do it after regular business hours. (One exception: The last time I called the White House, there was no voice mail. You can draw your own conclusions - mine ranged from "They really don't want to hear" to "G-dubs couldn't make it work".) Leave your name, address and phone number. Tell them you are one of their constituents, and that you are calling to express your opinion about . State your case succinctly, in 3 or 4 sentences. (Make a few notes before calling if you feel better with a script.) Be sure to close with a "thank you". Need some facts to help bolster your case? Visit MoveOn.org or The Daily Misleader. You'll find plenty of material.

Number 3. Volunteer. I know, you're busy. Really busy. Too busy. Me, too. But if we don't make the time, who will? There are plenty of options available to you, no matter where you live -- local political campaigns, food pantries, tutoring programs. Find an hour. Make a difference.

That's my three. What are yours?

Today's Final Note In an earlier post I mentioned that I had enjoyed reading Denny Coates' Book of Life blog. Denny recently announced that he is giving up blogging to concentrate on writing a novel. His site will be archived after June 30th, so if you haven't visited it yet, you'd better hurry. I will miss reading Denny's posts. They were insightful, humorous, inspiring, and usually made me smile. They also provided a benchmark for good writing that I aspire to reach. Thanks, Denny. Good luck with your book.

What's Up, Tiger Lily?

Today's Top Story:
At the time of this posting, 833 US soldiers have died in Iraq.
Source: www.icasualties.org

(Why is this "The Top Story"? This has got to be more important than "American Idol". See my earlier post on comments about the Iraq war by Gen. Anthony Zinni.)

Today's Feature: What's Up, Tiger Lily?

A new explosion in the Serenity Garden this week. Mary told me this was a "Tiger Lily". I had never seen one before. This flower is amazing. I made this photo my PC's wallpaper last night and have enjoyed looking at it all day today.


The "tiger lily" - June 9, 2004 

I am not a gardener...I just wield a shovel when asked and take direction. Mary has the vision and love for the plants. I just get to walk around in the evening and enjoy them. Another day in paradise...

A Site to Get Lost In

Today's Top Story:
At the time of this posting, 819 US soldiers have died in Iraq.
Source: www.icasualties.org

(Why is this "The Top Story"? This has got to be more important than "American Idol". See my earlier post on comments about the Iraq war by Gen. Anthony Zinni.)


Today's Feature: A Site to Get Lost In

I have spent a lot of time recently wading through different blogs, trying to understand the medium, and the quality of information available. This is a great activity for an adult with an undiagnosed case of ADHD -- you can follow every odd link like a rabbit's trail, and not feel bad about yourself at the end.

Somehow along the way I stumbled on Tim McSweeney's site: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/. It is not a blog. It is a political satire site, with numerous contributors. The quality of the writing is excellent, and the wit is sharp!

Some recent postings include:

-- "Pros and Cons of John Kerry's Top Twenty Vice-Presidential Candidates"

-- "The Making of The Autobiography of George W. Bush (An Excerpt)"

-- "Daily Reason to Dispatch Bush"

There is much more here to explore. I'm going back every day. Enjoy!

Memorial Day Reflections

Memorial Day is unfolding as a beautiful day here in Southern Indiana. The sky is clear and the temperature is warm. Soon we'll have the smoker fired up to cook ribs. We'll clean up the sticks and debris from last night's thunderstorm, then do a little work around the yard and garden. About mid-afternoon we expect several of Will's friends to join us for a cookout. For us, it's another day in Paradise, living the American dream.

But I've recently had two vivid reminders of what Memorial Day is all about.

First: Last Friday I was listening to NPR's "Morning Edition" as I drove to work. Steve Inskeep was interviewing retired Marine General Anthony Zinni. General Zinni had some very blunt criticisms of the administration's handling of the war in Iraq. He said that the military was given unrealistic objectives that have led to unnecessary loss of life. "We [The Bush Administration] were in there talking about Jeffersonian democracy, free market economies, changing the face of the Middle East with this one blow. That was ridiculous, and I think now what we have is young kids paying the price..."

Gen. Zinni went on to comment that he had heard on the news that morning that three more Marines had died in Iraq, but that it was not the lead story -- it was number 3, behind the results from "American Idol". Gen. Zinni was concerned that a loss of focus on the human cost of the war will lead to a situation similar to Vietnam.

Second: Gen. Zinni's point was brought home in a very graphic way by yesterday's Doonesbury comic strip. Gary Trudeau filled his entire 6 cartoon panels with the names of soldiers killed in Iraq from the beginning of the war through April 23,2004. He provided a pointer to www.lunaville.org, a web site that maintains a detailed tally of casualties from the US, UK and other countries. At the time of this post, the US casualty count stands at 813.

The View from the Roof today is that we must not allow our soldiers' sacrifice to go unnoticed or, worse, to be trivialized in the media. We need to see the numbers every day, first thing, not as part of some grim exercise in scorekeeping, but as a prompt to continually demand an answer to the bottom line question: "Why is this happening?" More importantly, we must continue to demand accountability from the government officials and policy makers that started this war. (Let's start by firing Donald Rumsfeld!) One of the mistakes of the Vietnam era was that we confused the targets of our opposition -- blaming the soldiers for the mistakes of their generals and the elected policy makers. There are many today who maintain that any criticism of the war or the current administration somehow equates to lack of support for the troops. I think we're smart enough to tell the difference.


(You can hear the entire interview with Gen. Zinni here: http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1912641 )

We've got pictures!

This post is really a test to see how the "hello!" software works. Within Blogger there is no way to directly upload photos. But "hello!" handles it for you. Very cool!

So, for this morning, the View from the Roof is the view from ground level. Mary has a beautiful rose garden started. The blooms got clobbered by a thunderstorm last night, but earlier in the week I captured some shots of the first blooms.


Some of the first blooms on Mary's roses. 


Another first bloom. 

Out of the Stone Age?

My grown daughters, Katie and Sarah, call me "Stone Age Pop" because until recently I had the oldest, ugliest cell phone on the planet...and I didn't know how any of it's features worked. The numbers that I programmed in the memory of the thing when I first got it two years ago were the same numbers in it when I lost it in a New York cab two months ago. (The one night I decided to go out with it in my pocket instead of hanging from my belt on a really ugly aftermarket belt clip I bought at Wal-Mart for five bucks.) I didn't care that it was ugly. It was a tool, not a part of my lifestyle. We have 350 minutes a month, shared across three phones. We never came close to running out.

Now I have a new flip phone - the same kind that Katie has. (See her new blog for her opinion of it.) It's newer, lighter, and hipper. And it fits in my pocket very nicely. And I talk on it a little bit more. But it's still a tool. I still don't know how all the features work, and the voice activated numbers I entered don't work - a step back from where I was.

And so the girls still call me "Stone Age".

I let them get away with it mainly because as long as they're teasing me, they're still talking to me.

But neither of them knew what a blog was til I started mine. Old Stone Age surprised 'em.

I'll admit, I hadn't paid much attention to them until we gave up television. (More on that another day.) I had read a few at random, but they usually contained the drivel that caused my son Will to turn up his nose at them. Will said

It's some kid sitting in a dark room at night, all alone, with no friends, writing crap like "I'm all alone, listening to this music. It sucks. I think I'll kill somebody." Don't ever tell my friends you have a blog!

OK. I won't tell. Your secret is safe.

Creating a blog won't change my life. Reading it won't change yours. This is fundamentally a very self-centered endeavor. It's about my opinions, my point of view, me...me...I...I. It might be the cyberspace equivalent of the crazy guy on the corner shouting at the people passing by. And you know what? If you don't like it, you have two choices:

1. Ignore it. Cross the street and don't look back. Click somewhere else. I'm not being rude, I'm just reflecting the reality of the Internet. Nobody made you come to this site. Maybe somebody suggested it, or included a link in an email. (Ha! Maybe it was me!)

2. Start your own blog and tell the world I'm wrong. Find your own corner and startj shouting. It's free. Go ahead. I dare you...no, I double-dog dare you. Send me a link when you do. (But please, no angst. It upsets Will.)


Here are some of the blogs I was reading before I started my own:

Denny Coates -- "The Book of Life". I like reading Denny's posts. He inspires me to look for the "glass half full", like my neighbor Bill does. Some of us need constant reminders.

Franklen (Sorry, I couldn't find the last name...)-- "Bicycle Commuting Now". I've been dabbling in bicycle commuting. (OK, so 3 days in 4 weeks doesn't constitute much more than good intentions.) Frank's running commentary on bicycling in Harrisburg, PA gives me frequent reminders of how easy, and fun, it can be.

Kiril Kundurazieff -- "The Cycling Dude". Kiril, aka the "Mad Macedonian", is a west-coast cyclist who comments on cycling issues around the country. He has put up some great pictures from California rides.

John Perry Barlow -- "BarlowFriendz". Barlow was a member of the Grateful Dead. He also was a cofounder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation a non-profit group working to protect "digital rights". An interesting blog that addresses a variety of topics.

My favorite blog today, however, is:
Katie Johnston, "Things That I Like and Things That I Do Not Like"

OK, so she's my daughter. I think she's funny as hell. What's so Stone Age about that?

"Hello, world!"

"Hello, world!"

Anyone who has ever written a computer program recognizes this cheerfully optimistic two word salutation as proof that his or her code has successfully executed. It is the simplest programming task: display a line of text on the screen. Why "Hello, world!" and not "What's up, Bubba?", I don't know. But as a starting point for a new blog, it makes perfect sense to me.

I used to be a programmer. I loved it. Now I'm a director of IT for a large Indiana-based manufacturing company. Some days I love it. (Those are the days when I get to see somebody else's "Hello, world!" moment and cheer them on.)

I'm 48 years old. Next week I'll be 49. I'm almost out of that magic demographic range of 18-to-49 year old males. Next year I'll get my AARP card. Damn!

For 25 years I lived in Tennessee, which explains why "What's up, Bubba?" also makes perfect sense to me. Now I live in Southern Indiana. I've looked up "Hoosier" in the dictionary. It's not really a flattering term.

For the last several weeks I've been reading other people's blogs. There are some excellent ones out there. (I'll share some links later...as I learn how.) There is some trash out there, too. (You can find it on your own.) I hope to land somewhere in between. (You can decide.) My reason for starting a blog is probably the same as anyone else: I think I have something to say, and the Internet provides a free podium. We'll just have to see if it's worth reading.

So why "The View from the Roof"? It was really my third choice.

As I thought about the tone I wanted to set for this blog, I remembered a conversation I had with my neighbor, Bill, a couple of years ago. It was a warm spring Saturday morning. The sky was blue, just a few clouds in the sky, and I was standing on the roof of my back porch, cleaning leaves out of the gutter. Bill was in his yard next door. He called up to me, "Good morning, Mike!". I said good morning, and asked how he was doing. His reply stuck with me: "I'm just enjoying another day in paradise. I'm living the American dream." I'd never thought of it that way. We both have nice houses, good jobs, loving wives and great kids. Bill is a "glass half full" kind of guy. I'm a bit grumpier. He shook me out of it that morning. I try not to forget. So I thought about naming the blog "AnotherDayInParadise", but that was already taken. (You can find it. It's probably very good. I don't know.)

My second choice was "The View From Here". That was already taken, too.

So I'm in the middle of the sign-up form, needing to enter a name. Two strikes. I get up and walk through the house to think. I don't want to cancel and start over tomorrow, and I don't want a lame name. I consider "Free Frame of Reference", a lingering memory from a news story in the 60's about a large door frame set up in a San Francisco park. (I think that's right. Some of my memories of the 60's are cloudy. Bet yours are, too. Be honest, now.) But that's kind of obscure...and I'm not sure I've got the details right.

Then I remembered another spring day, another rooftop moment. We were living in the suburbs of Memphis, in a two story house. My wife, Mary, and I were replacing the roof. Throughout our marriage (28 years, as of yesterday! She still hasn't figured out that she got the short end of the deal.) we have enjoyed doing major projects together. This particular year we were doing the roof. I remember being up on the second story on a clear, warm Memphis day. It was early afternoon and we had few more pressing concerns than how we were going to finish the roofing project. In the back of our minds was the news we had heard the night before about an older woman we knew from church, Olive, who had been rushed to the hospital after a stroke. Mary was on the ground when the phone rang. She went in to answer it. A few minutes later she came out of the house and climbed up the ladder to join me. She said that the call was another church member calling to let us know that Olive had died that morning. We stood on the roof for a few minutes in silence, gazing out over the neighborhood rooftops. I remember looking up at the sky and seeing the misty trails left by a jet and thinking "there goes Olive, streaking up to heaven.". That moment stuck with me, too.

"The View From the Roof" wasn't taken on blogspot, so here we are.

Hello, world!