Add Some Music to Your Day

As promised in my first post of this year, this second is about what I hope to accomplish in 2014.  Of course, six weeks into the year, it is way overdue.  But to coin a well-used phrase, “better late than never.”  So here are my hopes for 2014.

1. Music – I played drums in a rock band when I was in college, but these days my drum set is packed in cases in the basement.  A number of years ago, I decided to learn to play the guitar.  During 2013, I barely touched my guitar.  When I was contemplating retirement, I bought a banjo.  My banjo sits in its case collecting dust.  The title of this post is taken from one of my favorite tunes from the Beach Boys’ 1970 Sunflower album.  To quote a line from that song, “Music is in my soul.”  Music has always been an important part of my life.  This year, I plan to add some music to my day as often as I can. 
2. Outside Interests – The thought of spending more time outside is not particularly attractive in the midst of the harshest winter in twenty years.  But I am looking forward to more outdoor activities in 2014.  I enjoy taking walks and love to bicycle, both of which I spent some time doing last year.  But I would like to make the most of the current season and learn once again how to cross country ski.  I’ve done a little cross country in the past and really enjoyed it.  I’d like to find a place nearby that rents cross country ski equipment and spend some time getting back into it.  I also would like to do some fishing this year.  When I was an Indian Princess Dad, I had fun fishing with my daughter.  I would like to start fishing again this year and learn how to clean the fish if I’m skillful or lucky enough to catch some.
3. Writing – I had business cards printed last year to identify myself as a “Writer/Blogger/Editor.”  Though I continue to maintain active status as a lawyer, I really don’t identify as one anymore.  I am a writer and that should be my primary activity.  I need to write to entertain, to challenge, and to change the world.  I have a folder full of ideas that I never found time to open in 2013.  I want to try to publish my children’s story, “Anna Breaks a Stick.”  I want to write more op-ed pieces and offer them for publication.  I plan to take an intensive writing course in 2014.  By the end of the year, I hope people can begin to think of me as a writer rather than as a retired lawyer.  For that to happen, I need to find more time to write.
4. Hobbies – Many years ago I enjoyed several hobbies that involved making things.  I made beer, wine and did a little bit of simple carpentry.  I’d like to find the time to take up those hobbies again.  I have about ten gallons of wine aging in my basement that needs to be bottled.  I have two cans of malt collecting dust that I need to make into four cases of beer.  I have several little woodworking projects sitting in a bin in my workshop.  I hope this is the year that I can make time to create something real and enjoyable from the work of my hands. 
5.  Estate Management – I am the lord of my manor.  With that title comes much responsibility.  Rooms need to be painted, plaster needs to be repaired, and artwork needs to be hung in the appropriate places.  In addition, floors need to be washed, grass needs to be mowed, and carpets must be swept.  Either I need to find time to exercise these responsibilities with my own hands or hire contractors to do the work.  Otherwise, the castle will start to fall down around my head.  Where are the servants when you need them?
6.  Reading – I love to read.  Last year, I read fifteen books.  Every writer needs to be a voracious reader.  I am currently reading my third book of 2014 and plan to match or exceed last year’s count.
7.  More of the Same – Finally, I looked over my list of 2013 accomplishments and realized that I will continue to do most of that stuff during 2014 as well.  So where will I find the time to do everything else?  Taking a page from the corporate playbook that I studied for those many years as a corporate lawyer, I know the answer is not to work harder, but to work smarter, right?  Yeah, right. 

So how much of what’s on my list will actually happen in 2014?  Ultimately, that will depend on me.  Each day choices confront me.  I can choose to watch reality TV or I can read a book.  I can practice my guitar, or I can spend that hour checking Facebook.  Like most people, I won’t always make the best choice, but at least by setting down my hopes for the year, I have created some guideposts to remind me how I’d like to be spending my time.  And at my age, time becomes more and more precious.  I can’t count on being able to publish a story in five years, because I know many people in their early sixties don’t make it to their late sixties.  So a year from now, I will measure how I did – how I used this precious commodity – and I will consider whether I added enough music to my day.

Where Have You Gone, Joe . . .?

That line from Simon and Garfunkel’s Mrs. Robinson applies to me on a number of levels.  First of all, my last blog post was way back in the middle of November – nearly two months ago.  Second, 2013 was my first full year of retirement from life as a corporate lawyer.  So where have I been, and how have I spent (or misspent) all that free time that comes with retirement?  I thought this first post of 2014 would be a good time to take a quick look back at 2013.  In my next post I plan to look forward to what I hope to do in the year ahead.  Hey, and it’s actually kind of fun to do this outside of the context of corporate year-end appraisals and goal setting!  So in a weird sort of salute to my past life and corporate drones everywhere, here are my key accomplishments for 2013:

1. Helping my wife – This was my most important accomplishment.  My wife encouraged me to retire early to pursue my dreams, and I promised to help her out in return.  She’s an excellent teacher, and puts her whole heart into teaching.  To help her, I've become an expert at taping things to her classroom walls, filling in charts and correcting papers. 
2. I started a blog – I retired from life as a corporate lawyer to pursue a new life and identity as a writer.  And what self-respecting writer doesn't have a blog?  So on February 25, 2013 I published my first blog post . . . in which I announced that I was starting a blog.  During the course of the year I published a total of 16 blog posts.  The stated goal of my blog was to change the world and be funny.  To date, I've had over 1,700 page views.  The world hasn't changed much, but some readers did tell me they got a few chuckles from reading my blog.
3. I got published – I submitted several articles to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which identifies itself as “One of America’s Great Newspapers.”  They published two of my submittals as Op-Ed pieces in the Forum section of the Sunday paper.  One of the editors called my article on global warming “sprightly,” which was a compliment, I think.  As a writer, I can now brag that I've been published.
4. “Travels with Susan” – My wife and I have vacationed to various places over the course of our 35 years of marriage.  Early on, I started keeping journals of those vacations.  I promised myself that I would copy and edit those journal entries into electronic form someday when I had more time.  In September of 2012 I started this project, and spent a considerable amount of time working on it in 2013.  This travelogue now comprises over 138 pages and 93,000+ words.  If nothing else, this will be a valuable keepsake for our children. 
5. Everybody Wins – During my years in the corporate world, I donated to an organization called Reading is FUNdamental Pittsburgh (RIF), which provides books to low-income children.  RIF’s goal is to increase literacy by cultivating a love of reading.  RIF sponsors a program which places volunteers in urban neighborhood schools to read with students for an hour each week.  I signed up for the program and am having a blast enjoying books with my second grade reading buddy.  He seems to be having fun too, lending truth to the program’s title, “Everybody Wins.”
6. EfM Graduation – Back in 2009 I saw an ad for a course of religious study called Education for Ministry (EfM).  It involved the study of Christian scriptures, church history, theology, and philosophy.  I enrolled with the idea that I should know more about what it means to be a Christian.  After four years of study, I had more questions than answers, but at least I could say I graduated.  I have a certificate to prove it.  I still may not know what it means to be a Christian, but I enjoyed sharing meals and getting to know my fellow EfM students.  I also enjoyed the wine during our annual retreats.
7. PICT – A little more than 3 years ago, I agreed to serve on the Board of the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, which produces some of the best theater in Pittsburgh.  PICT has a relatively small Board and a very small but devoted staff.  Consequently, PICT’s Board is very actively involved in the organization.  My three year term was up in 2013, but I was persuaded to sign up for another term.  I chair one committee and serve on another.  Overall, I put in much more time than I ever thought I would, but theater always has been a very important part of my family’s life.  I think it is time well spent.  
8. Board of Trustees – For the past 5 years I served on the Board of Trustees of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh.  During that period, I have been Board Secretary, recording the minutes of its monthly meetings and maintaining records of Board actions.  My term expired in 2013.  While I initially believed I was ineligible to run for another 3-year term, I subsequently learned that I could serve one more term.  When I was re-elected at the annual convention, I planned to retire from the Secretary’s position and sort of relax during this final term.  That changed when the Bishop asked me to serve as Board President.  My first act as President was to appoint a new Secretary.  At least I won’t have to prepare minutes.
9. “Anna Breaks A Stick” – Often when I tell people I am a writer, they ask me, “So what are you writing?”  I say “Well, I have a blog, and I also have a few children’s stories that I’d like to see if I can get published.”  “Anna Breaks a Stick” is one of those stories, and I never seemed to be able to find the time to edit it into shape for publication.  Late in 2013, my daughter told me she’d like to read it to her second grade class and asked me to type it up and email it to her.  That was the incentive I needed.  My daughter told me that her class really enjoyed it.  Now I can work on trying to get it published in 2014.
10. Church Volunteer – During 2013, I wrote articles for and edited my church’s newsletter.  I also helped with Vacation Bible School, continued leading our Acolyte program, taught a Confirmation class, assisted with our monthly babysitting program and continued serving as a Lay Eucharistic Minister.  I even helped set up the Crèche during Advent.
11. More Time with My Kids – My kids are actually adults, aged 29, 26 and 23.  My daughter got married this summer and lives 300 miles away.  My oldest son lives in New York City.  My youngest son graduated from college and is currently living at home.  During 2013, I made two trips to NYC to spend time with my son and several to visit my daughter.  Several of my blog posts record the wonderful time I had during those visits.  My youngest son and I had fun on many occasions playing disc golf and just hanging out.  If I had still been working, I wouldn't have had that time to spend with them. 

So those were some of the things that kept me busy in 2013.  People often ask me if I am enjoying retirement.  My response is, “Retirement?  I really didn't retire.  I just changed jobs.”  My new job has me working harder than ever, but I am enjoying it more.  I’m looking forward to what 2014 may bring, but that will be the subject for my next post.  

The Best Holiday Ever

Some people love Christmas.  Others prefer Thanksgiving.  Still others can’t get enough of the 4^th of July with its parades, cookouts and fireworks.  But for my money, the very best holiday is Goose Goofs Off Day.  What’s that you say?  You’ve never heard of it?  Well, it hasn’t been around as long as the others.  In fact, I only started it eight years ago - back in 2005.  Yes, that’s right.  I take full credit.  Send the royalties to me when Goose Goof Off Day Cards start being sold in card and gift shops across the country.  Of course, the idea of sending cards to celebrate it runs counter to the whole idea of the holiday.

Read by Captain Kangaroo

So what’s it all about?  My idea of Goose Goofs Off Day is based on the children’s book, Goose Goofs Off, by Jacquelyn Reinach and Richard Hefter.  In the story, all of her neighbors are working hard at various tasks such as painting, gardening, home repair, and hanging laundry.  Goose, on the other hand, was sleeping in.  “I’m taking it easy today.  I’ll do it tomorrow,” was Goose’s response to anyone’s invitation to do some chore or other task. 

So that is what Goose Goofs Off Day is all about.  Any responsibility that can be put off till tomorrow must be put off for another day.  It is a holiday for doing what you want to do – not what you have to do.  Too often on our days off, we start the day with plenty of plans for what we’d like to do.  We tell ourselves, "I’ll sit down with that book I want to read as soon as I finish folding the laundry."  And then we notice that the grass needs to be mowed and the dishwasher needs to be emptied, and that we’re out of bread and milk.  The next thing you know, it’s 4:00 in the afternoon and you start thinking about preparing dinner.  And that book sits on the table unopened, or your bicycle stands unused in the garage and you realize that your day off has been stolen away by chores and tasks that could have waited.

Goose Goofs Off Day requires a different attitude.  On this holiday you have to be able to look at dishes piled in the sink or leaves on the lawn and say, “I’ll do it tomorrow.  I’m taking it easy today.”  Personally, I think it’s best to leave your house for the day.  I like to go on “an explore” – to see something I've never seen before or visit a place I haven’t visited for a long time.  I like to hike in the woods, so on many of my Goose Goofs Off Days, I have explored the hiking trails in some of the parks around Pittsburgh. 

Only the Shadow Knows! 

Yesterday, I visited Settler’s Cabin Park and hiked the 2-mile Blue Trail.  The weather was sunny and bright, though a little windy.  It was perfect hiking weather as I walked through the woods tramping on fallen leaves under a beautiful blue autumn sky.  I took a short detour onto a leg of the Green Trail that brought me to a small waterfall.  After my hike, I drove around the park and stopped at a picnic pavilion to write in my journal and read.  I’m reading Night Film by Marisha Pessl and made some good progress yesterday.  In the morning before my hike, I visited Dunkin’ Donuts, and I stopped at Starbucks later in the afternoon to do some more reading and writing.  I will admit that I emptied the dishwasher in the morning, but I was able to resist the temptation to do any other chores during the day.  Dinner was at Long John Silver’s, so there were no dishes to clean up.

Waterfall at Settler's Cabin Park

So when is this Best Holiday Ever?  November 18^th?  The third Monday in November?  Actually, it is a personal holiday, so it can be any day you want.  So plan to celebrate your version of Goose Goofs Off day.  Find a day on your calendar when nothing else has been scheduled and pencil it in.  Better yet, write it in with a Sharpie.  And if you agree that it’s the Best Holiday Ever, let’s spread the word and start a movement!

In Hot Water . . .Finally!

My wife and I have talked about getting a hot tub for years.  “It would be good for your back,” she would say.  I was always the one that resisted.  “They’re too expensive and too much work to maintain.”  Or I’d say, “We’d never use it, since we’re so busy all the time.”  Or the curmudgeon in me would say, “If we get one, we’ll suddenly have friends we didn't know we had wanting to visit us all the time to use it.”

Then this past year, my wife developed some back problems of her own.  Her therapist assured her that a daily soak in a hot tub would do wonders, so I knew I had to give in.  So in early August we walked into our friendly hot tub dealer to see what they had.  Neither my wife nor I knew much about hot tubs or “spas” as the salesperson referred to them.  We just knew that we wanted it to be fairly modest in size and price.  We also wanted it to be fairly portable.  We have children in New York and Philadelphia and may want to move closer to them at some point.  We wanted to be able to load up the hot tub and take it with us should we decide to move.

We knew where we wanted to put it.  We had a patio in the back of our house.  Next to the patio we had a 110-volt outlet.  We explained to the salesperson that we’d prefer to use that existing outlet rather than having to hire an electrician to install a 220 line.  She showed us a 5’x7’ model that could come either in 110 or 220.  The price was within our budget, so we ordered it. 

The “patio” where we planned to put it consisted of very old 2’x2’ paver stones set in dirt.  We knew we had to build a better patio to support the hot tub.  Fortunately, one of our neighbors had a retired friend who still did some cement work if the job “wasn't too big.”  About the same time, we realized that we had to move some pipes before he could start the patio, so we had to schedule a plumber.  When we were finally ready for our cement guy to start, it was mid-October.  He did a beautiful job, but a series of rainy days meant that the cement wasn't poured until the last week of October. 

We scheduled delivery of the hot tub for November 1^st to give the concrete plenty of time to cure.  I told my wife we would grill some hot dogs and set up our fire pit to make our first hot tub experience a real celebration.  The delivery guy arrived around 10:00 a.m., placed the spa on the patio, gave me some chemicals and pointed out the panel that had to be removed to “get to the electrical components.”  As soon as he left, I eagerly unscrewed the panel and looked for the plug. I couldn't find it.  I felt around the insulation thinking that perhaps the plug had gotten stuck behind it.  But there was no plug that I could find.  I called the store to get their help.  “Uh, those things don’t have plugs,” the guy on the phone told me.  “They need to be hard wired.  You need to call an electrician.” 

My heart sank.  The salesperson had never explained this to us.  There was no way I was going to get an electrician to come over on a Friday afternoon to hook this thing up. Or was there?  I checked the internet for local electricians and started dialing the phone.  First try – no answer.  I left a desperate message.  Second try – they only did commercial jobs.  Third try – bingo!  It was the electrician’s cell phone and he actually picked up.  I explained my dilemma, but what he said made me realize there would be no hot tub party that evening.  He explained that this was not a small job.  To meet Code, he would have to install something called a “disconnect” and the wiring would have to go directly to the breaker box.  I envisioned dollar bills with wings flying out of my wallet – a lot of them!  He told me he had an opening on November 14^th.  I started whimpering.  “Well, maybe,” he said, “I can see if the job Monday would be willing to wait.  I possibly could do it then.”  I texted my wife, telling her the hot tub party would have to be postponed till Monday. 

Monday came and the electrician showed up right when he said he would, which was nothing short of amazing based on my dealings with contractors over the years.  He worked steadily and finished hooking everything up by around 1:00 p.m.  Unfortunately, the spa didn't work.  The display lit up, the light turned on, but the pump didn't seem to work at all.  We spent the next couple of hours on the phone with the store trying to figure out why it wouldn't work.  Finally, the store sent out a tech person who diagnosed the problem.  The manufacturer set up the spa to run on a 110 line, but they had installed a 220 volt pump.  The tech guy said he would be back the next day with a part to get it to run.  I sadly texted my wife to postpone our hot tub date another day.

Early the next day, I got a call from the electrician.  He asked me if I knew that with a 110-volt hookup, we could either heat the spa or run the jets, but we could not do both at the same time.  He wondered if the store had explained that to us.  I was incredulous.  It was like I was having a bad dream.  He suggested that I ask the tech guy when he showed up.  If true, and if this was unacceptable to us, he could redo some of the wiring and change the wiring in the hot tub to convert it to a 220 spa – for an additional fee, of course.  A little while later, the Tech guy showed up and confirmed what our electrician had said.  I told him that no one at the store had ever explained to us that this was one of the drawbacks of a 110 spa.  I told him that I was going to have the electrician convert everything to 220, and that I expected the store to pay for it.  Once again I texted my wife, “No hot tub today.”

I called the electrician.  “We can get back over there on Thursday,” he told me.  I began to wonder if this whole hot tub idea had been a mistake.  Maybe God was trying to tell us we didn't deserve this kind of luxury.  Maybe we should just call the store and tell them to take this thing back.  But then again, we had already spent a small fortune on a plumber, a cement contractor and an electrician. It nearly equaled what we had spent on the spa.  We knew we were in over our heads so to speak and had to see this thing through to the bitter end.

The electrician showed up as promised on Thursday morning.  Before he was finished, I had to go to a local elementary school where I volunteer in a reading program.  I wondered what new problems I’d find upon my return.  When I got back home, the electrician was gone.  I walked back to the hot tub and lifted the cover.  I saw bubbles coming out of the jets and the display indicated that the water had reached a temperature of 85 degrees.  I texted my wife, “I think we’re in business!”  I talked to the electrician and he confirmed that the spa was working fine.  Ultimately, after some negotiating, the store agreed to compensate us for the extra we had to pay the electrician.

We dispensed with the hot dogs and fire pit, but did get into the spa that evening – a mere 6 days after it had been delivered.  We've used it nearly every day since and are really enjoying it.  There’s a quote from the movie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel that comes to mind as I finish describing this experience:

Everything will be all right in the end, and if it’s not all right, it must not yet be the end.

Regarding our new hot tub, everything is all right, so it must be:

The End.

There Was No Outrage

There was no outrage.  No candlelight vigils were reported.  There was no Presidential visit to comfort the community.  I hadn't yet received any emails from Gabby Giffords or Mark Kelly.  After all, the body count was only one dead, two wounded.  It was just one more school shooting.  I had only half read the article before folding the newspaper and tossing it into the recycle bin.  Two days later I woke up earlier than usual.  For some reason, this school shooting incident was on my mind.  I showered, ate breakfast and looked at today’s paper.  The headline, “Boy charged in teacher’s killing,” caught my eye.  A 14-year old boy had been charged with killing his 24-year old math teacher with a box cutter.  The article also mentioned the school shooting in Nevada:

On Monday, a 12-year old opened fire at a school in Nevada, killing a math teacher and wounding two students before killing himself.

I walked over to the recycle bin and looked for Tuesday’s paper.  It was the first one I pulled out of the pile.  There it was on page A-5.  The headline read, “Nev. school shooting leaves teacher dead.”  The article described what had happened:

According to police and witnesses, a student at the school – wearing khakis, part of the Sparks Middle School uniform – opened fire shortly after 7 a.m., leaving Mr. Landsberry [the 8^th grade math teacher] dead and two students wounded.  The shooter, who has not been identified, apparently then took his own life, police said. 

The story made no mention of the type of gun used.  Was it a handgun, a hunting rifle, a semi-automatic assault rifle?  How did the student get the gun?  Did it belong to his parents?  What was his motive?  Were there mental health issues?  Was he the object of bullying, or was he just having a bad day?  Perhaps some of these details will be provided in the coming days.

The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut took place over 10 months ago.  According to the Slate.com website, nearly 10,000 people have died from gun violence since the Newtown tragedy.  

After the Sandy Hook incident, President Obama called for Congress to enact legislation that included universal background checks for all firearm sales, reinstatement and strengthening of the ban on assault weapons, limiting ammunition magazines to 10 rounds and banning the possession of armor-piercing ammunition by anyone other than the police or military.  The Obama Administration’s proposals were universally denounced by the NRA and by those politicians in its pocket.  For a short time it appeared that expanded background checks had a slim chance of passage in the U.S. Senate, receiving bipartisan support from co-sponsors, Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Joe Manchin (D-WV).  However, even that limited restriction couldn't meet the Senate’s 60-vote hurdle.  It was killed by the gun lobby; it only received 54 votes which somehow isn't enough these days.  After that defeat, the politicians in Washington seemed to lose their stomach for a fight over any kind of restrictions, particularly after seeing how the gun lobby went after state politicians that supported tighter gun restrictions in Colorado in the aftermath of the tragedies of Aurora and Newtown, not to mention Columbine.

So who really cares about the shootings in Nevada?  There were only two dead if you count the shooter, and only two wounded.  The dead man, Michael Landsberry, tried to stop the attack.  That’s what he gets for interfering with the shooter’s right to bear arms. 

Or could this latest school tragedy just be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back? 

Naah!  Not a f#@%ing chance!

If I Were a Carpenter

Over the course of my working career, I earned my living sitting behind a desk.  I worked for a few years as a county bureaucrat, spent three years in law school, and then 31 years reading, writing and advising clients on various aspects of environmental and commercial law.  Now, having just turned 60, it seems that I am spending less time as a desk jockey and more time doing hard labor.  How did this happen?  I got married and we decided to have kids.  Those kids grew up, got homes or apartments of their own, and decided “Hey, Dad’s retired now.  Let’s invite him to visit us and then work his butt off!”

 

Yes, a few weeks ago, my beautiful daughter and brand new son-in-law invited us out to see the home they had just moved into.  It’s one half of a duplex, but much larger than the townhouse where they had been living.  In contrast to the townhouse, however, this “new” place is about 100 years old.  Not that old is bad.  My own house is approaching the century mark.  I've found that older homes are usually built more solidly with much better craftsmanship and have much more character than many of today’s modern homes.  But my daughter had an agenda in asking us out to see her new digs.  There were some “minor things” that she wanted us to look at and help to repair.

 

Well, I had learned some home repair skills in my youth by helping my dear old father work around the house.  In return, he helped to expand my vocabulary, particularly when helping him with plumbing repairs.  So I was eager to ride into town on my white horse to show off my home repair skills.  Besides, my youngest son had worked last summer as a carpenter for a summer theater company, and he would be bringing his skills (and tools) along for the ride.  We also brought my classic copy of The Reader’s Digest Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual – the do-it-yourselfer’s bible for repairing virtually anything inside or outside the home.

My wife, son and I spent the first day just assessing what we needed to do and what materials we needed.  As promised, there were a number of small repair jobs that needed to be done.  These included patching some holes in her plaster walls, installing a new lock on the front door, and replacing shelf paper in the kitchen cabinets.  And then there was the front porch.  “Some of the floor boards look a little rotten,” my daughter told us.  “And some spots seem a little bouncy, which we hadn't noticed when we inspected the house.”  On further inspection, we found that a lot of the floor boards were weathered and rotten.  And after tearing away a few floorboards, we discovered that some of the supporting joists were rotten or severely cracked. 

So the real fun started on our second day of work.  With hammers and a crowbar we tore up all the flooring to get a clear picture of the structure underneath.  This was no easy task.  Those boards had been nailed down to stay.  We struggled to get the boards up, and then had hundreds of nails to pull out of the joists.  We tossed the old boards in the front yard until we could decide what to do with them. As we were evaluating what we needed to do to rebuild the porch, a neighbor stopped by.  He happened to be a contractor and offered us some great advice on how we should strengthen the structure of the porch before putting on new floorboards.  “And oh by the way,” he said, “did you happen to get a building permit?”  OOPS!  We forgot about that little detail.  Well, do you think a pile of old lumber in the front yard might attract an inspector’s attention?  And then there was the optic yellow caution tape my wife put around the porch so unsuspecting visitors wouldn't step onto a porch that has no floor.  We decided to get rid of the lumber by tossing it into a couple of nearby dumpsters. But the caution tape would have to stay.  A fine for having no permit is not nearly as bad as a personal injury lawsuit.

Since it was the weekend and municipal offices were closed, we decided we would just work fast to get it done before an inspector came snooping around.  So on day 3, we bought our materials and got to work.  My son cut lumber to replace the rotten joists and patch the cracked ones.  I mixed concrete to set a support post to add stability to the structure.  My wife and daughter primed the new floorboards so they would be ready to put down as soon as we repaired the underlying framework.  My son-in-law pitched in wherever he was needed.  At the end of the day, the neighbor stopped by again, looked over our work, and opined that it looked like we knew what we were doing.

 

On day 4 I mixed mortar to re-point brick that made up some of the support posts and my son continued to patch cracked joists and make sure the joists were all at the proper level to lay the floorboards.  Around 5:00 p.m., my wife and I had to leave to return home.  She had to be at work the following day.  We left it to my son and son-in-law to finish.  My son stayed for another 4 days to finish the porch and several of the “minor repair jobs” that still remained to be done. 

My body ached for days afterward.  But I looked forward to a relaxing visit with my oldest son in New York.  I had bought tickets so the two of us could attend a concert featuring Rodriguez, who was the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary, Searching for Sugarman.  A few days before my trip, he called to tell me that he hoped I could help him move some furniture to his new third floor walk-up apartment.  After we finished carrying desks, tables and bureaus up those steep, narrow stairs, he complimented me on being a pretty good mover – for an old guy.  Oh my achin’ back!  I’m currently looking for another desk job.

Patriot Day Lamentation

The young and old are lying

on the ground in the streets;

my young women and my young men

have fallen by the sword;

Those who I bore and reared

my enemy has destroyed.

My eyes flow with rivers of tears

            because of the destruction of my people

Lamentations 2: 21,22; 3: 48

Yesterday the United States observed the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in which over 3,000 of her citizens perished.  It was not an attack on America’s military.  Rather it was designed to kill innocent citizens.  On October 25, 2001, Congress approved a joint resolution designating September 11 as “Patriot Day.”  Since 2009, September 11^th was renamed as the more cumbersome, “Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance.”

I have to admit that I have mixed feelings over the hoopla that has surrounded the observance of 9/11 each year since the tragedy.  On the one hand I believe it is right to remember those that were senselessly killed, along with the emergency responders that worked tirelessly to save lives in the wake of the attack.  On the other hand, I have trouble getting past those self-styled “patriots” that used the emotional backdrop of the tragedy for their own partisan political gains.  Chief among them were members of the Bush/Cheney administration, who at least in my mind, used the September 11 attacks to maintain and increase political power. 

First and foremost, they created an implied link to 9/11 to dupe the nation into an ill-conceived war with Iraq.  After what appeared to be a quick and easy victory (Mission Accomplished?), Iraq was torn by sectarian violence and resistance to the government that the U.S. tried to install.  The weapons of mass destruction that provided the basis for the U.S. invasion were never found.  Further, the war in Iraq resulted in the death of approximately 4,500 American soldiers and over 100,000 Iraqis.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Iraq_War.  If there was a winner in the war, it would have to be Big Oil and a slew of oil service contractors.  http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/19/opinion/iraq-war-oil-juhasz/index.html.  And the perpetrators of this misbegotten war were quick to wrap themselves in the American flag and to question the patriotism of those who for good reasons were opposed to this war.

Beyond the push to invade a country that had nothing to do with the September 11 attacks, the Bush political strategists knew the value of a good war to help their guy get re-elected.  They learned from the mistake of Bush 41, whose artful rollback of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait was too successful too quickly to help him in the election of 1992.  A never ending war on terrorism could be used by W’s strategists to declare their man a “wartime president.”  The Republicans unashamedly used images from the World Trade Center attacks and repeated the phase “9/11” in nearly every speech in the 2004 Republican Convention, which, of course, was held in New York City.  Then Republicans turned around and called “foul” when the Obama campaign trumpeted the killing of 9/11 mastermind, Osama bin Laden, during their guy's watch. 

Then there was the so-called Patriot Act, passed quickly after the September 11 attacks which authorized an unheard of expansion of government surveillance over American citizens.  Many civil libertarians hoped that the Obama administration would lobby to reduce the snooping permitted by this legislation, but instead, it appears to have grown.  This President knows that any political gain from reducing government surveillance power would have quickly evaporated if any terrorist act had occurred during his administration that allegedly could have been prevented with the authorities granted by the Patriot Act. 

Reflecting Pool at 9/11 Memorial

That’s why I feel ambivalent about Patriot Day.  Too many mistakes were made by U.S. leaders who used the attacks as an excuse for pursuing courses of action that actually dishonor those who died that day.  Despite these feelings, I admit to being moved as I walked through the 9/11 memorial in NYC during a recent visit with my son.  Reading the names of those that died in the attack as I gazed into the bottomless reflecting pools was both an emotional and spiritual experience.  Also, I admit to feeling a twinge of patriotic pride seeing the so-called Freedom Tower (now officially called One World Trade Center) rising toward the heavens. 

One World Trade Center

I think I would feel better about the day if we could all finally draw together and agree to once and for all stop politicizing this tragedy.  I believe that Americans of all races, religions and political parties recognize the tragedy of the innocents killed on this day and the heroism of those who responded to the emergency to save as many lives as possible.  We should not forget what an act of terrorism is capable of doing to innocent men, women and children that go about their lives believing themselves to be safe from such unexpected violence.  Perhaps we would all feel better about observing this day if we drop the Patriot Day name and call it what it should be – a Day of Remembrance.  Let’s start a movement.