Bob's Photos

Bob shares these photos today (well actually yesterday but I didn't get them posted until today. Thanks Bob. As always they are beautiful pictures. You inspire me.

Recommended Reading

Ben, over at The Checquered Carpet has an excellent post on What is Freemasonry?
Obviously I agree with him and recommend that you go read it. In case you could not tell from the spelling he lives in the UK. Evidently they have the same things going on over there that I see happening over here. Curiouser and curiouser.

By the Side of the Road

By the Side of the Road in Boone. Plantings at the Eastern Star Masonic Home at Boone. I had a Board meeting there this morning. Then after supper at the Gilbert Corner (Suburban) Restaurant I drove home by Soper's Mill and gravel roads. There is an on-line album of all the pictures here.





We Should Talk About This Problem

Hafiz

There is a Beautiful Creature
Living in a hole you have dug.

So at night
I set fruit and grains
And little pots of wine and milk
Beside your soft earthen mounds,

And I often sing.

But still, my dear,
You do not come out.

I have fallen in love with Someone
Who hides inside you.

We should talk about this problem---

Otherwise,
I will never leave you alone.

NEA Convention

President Reg Weaver of the NEA invites you to learn about what happened at this year's NEA Convention by visiting the on-line Newsletter. Over the years I attended 7 or 8 of these events. It is the largest deliberative body in the world.

They Are Everywhere!

Click on the Banner to go to the Official RAGBRAI Web Site.

Every year since 1973 a traveling city has magically invented itself on the west side of Iowa and over the next week citizens of this city test themselves by riding bicycles across the state of Iowa. (They have been likened to a plague of locusts.)

RAGBRAI is limited to 8,500 week-long riders and 1,500 day riders. There is a lottery to get tickets. That is a city of 10,000



The route changes every year and the riders are supported by a lot of people. These folks set up camp grounds and drive buses and cars and carry supplies.

There are individuals and families and groups who organize themselves into teams.

This year they stopped in Ames and I went out and took some photos to share. You can embigggen them by clicking on the pictures if you wish.



The central camp grounds are out in the area around the Cyclone Stadium. Lots of people.











They seem to party their way across the state.


One of our Masons, Ken Smith has been riding RAGBRAI for about 30 years. He is now 83 and still riding. Congratulations Ken. You are braver than I.







Groups of cyclists can be found all over the city. You have to drive a bit more carefully.













They held a Band Concert at our Band Shell - I am not sure how many Ragbrariers were there but there were a lot of folks gathering in the park for the concert.







This man and his son were collapsed across the corner. It was a little hot but not really to bad. If you look at the clouds in the picture you can see that it is a beautiful day. They should sleep well tonight it is 73 degrees at 10:15 PM as I am writing this.







In other news, I just heard from Jon. He went to Minnesota today to go to an Amusement Park. Valley Fair. He wanted to get out of town for Ragbrai. He had a great time and is just starting back. He really likes some of the rides. I think he said that he rode "The Wild Thing" five times.

He said that the place was full of teeny boppers who have season passes. He didn't look at them too much as they were to young for him
.

I went to see Journey to the Center of the Earth tonight. I was supposed to go to a York Rite Practice but it was canceled due to not many people being able to be there. I enjoyed it. The star is Brendon Frasier and I have always enjoyed him. I was kind of surprised that he reminded me of Someone that I know. (Except my friend is better looking) They have some of the same mannerisms. I know this is not really a movie that a lot of adults will go to but you know it was very well done. Almost believable. I would recommend it. Some of the kids in the theater applauded when the movie was over.

A sad note Estelle Getty died today. She was one of the Golden Girls and really was a mainstay of the show. I got rather sad when I think that she had to suffer from dementia towards the end. She was so talented and worked so long and hard to get into show business. Diane has a nice tribute to her at Forks. Click here to Read.


Barak Obama is in the Middle East. I got tears in my eyes when I saw the faces of the troops greeting him.
For the first time in 8 years I have hope for my country. I found this on the Daily Kos. There is more there.



So that is it for today. Except for mone more thing it turns out that Jalapeno peppers are the cause of the health crisis in this country. I knew there was a reason I didn't eat them. Remember - "It is nice to be important but it is much more important to be nice." Be loving, Hugs, jcs

Time for a Rant

The Ubiquitous Cell Phone.

It does not matter where you are any more. The damn things are everywhere. I have one. My sister has one, my nephew has one. I am surprised that Bailey doesn't have one. He complains that the keyboard is too small for his thumbs.

Some of us have them for emergencies. And they do come in handy at times. If you are out driving and have a need to call AAA they are lifesavers. I got one for Jon so that when he is out on one of his little jaunts and gets stuck or his older car breaks down he can call Uncle Jay and I can come to the rescue. I love that about them.

There are several things I don't like about them One is that they seem to take precedence over everything. In that they are just like the regular telephone. When the phone used to ring in our house my mother would break her neck racing to answer it. If I am busy I will let the darn thing ring and the answering machine can pick it up. I also have caller ID so if you have your number blocked or you aren't someone I know prepare to be ignored.

People on the other end always seem to think that they are more important than anything else. I had one woman who used to call me and ask me if I was busy and if I said yes she would go right on with her agenda and 40 minutes later I could finally get back to what I was doing. If I am being waited on in a store and the sales person leaves me to answer the phone I am very likely to leave. If I am not important enough to be waited on I can find someplace else to shop.

But the CELL PHONE is everywhere. It doesn't matter. You see people walking down the street carrying on loud conversations with the person on the other end. They sit in a restaurant ignoring their dinner partner and talk on their cell phone. I saw a presidential candidate on TV answering his cell phone during a speech.

I took a course from a high official in my (then) church. His Blackberry was going off constantly and he continually stopped teaching me and looked at his messages on his phone. It was not conducive to feeling good about Class. Texting is just as bad. I was sitting in the theater (The Dark Knight) and there was a new sign on the screen asking people not to Text during the movie. They always ask for people to turn their cell phones off or down (as if they should have to - Common courtesy should dictate that) but now they ask people not to Text. And did it do any good? I don't think so! - There were two guys to the left of me that continued to text during the movie. And guess what? It was very annoying. Little screen lights in the dark theater.

I have even seen people text during Masonic meetings. Not too cool. I turn my phone off - entirely off during Meetings. Besides there are some Masters who will fine you if your phone goes off during a meeting. I don't ever use the Text function on my phone (too stupid to figure it out) - The cell phone is for my convenience.

The other thing that really bothers me is to see people driving while holding a cell phone to their ear. Now I have a bluetooth which I wear when I drive because I won't answer the cell phone when I am driving. I probably should just shut the phone off but the bluetooth is no more of a distraction than listening to the radio and so I use it. Probably just another case of what I have been accused of "saying one thing and doing another" - but both of my hands are free and I do watch the road.

Somebody I know just got a 3 GB Iphone. He can blog from it and keep up with his business and other e-mail using it. He will probably read this blog post using it. But he might not see this paragraph as I am adding it after publication (evil grin) - He took it on vacation. I understand. I take my computer and I am just as obsessed with taking my computer. I guess it is just a part of modern (modem) life and I should just like it or lump it.

So there you have it. I have given you a rant. Comments are welcome.

Oh, and by the way if you don't know what ubiquitous means click here.

Addendum:  I thought of one more thing about cell phones that irritates me.  The various ring tones that you have to listen to. They are just annoying.  Some of them on the TV make me want to turn the show off. The one on Medium is that way. (Yes I know why am I watching it in the first place?)  The all time most annoying cell phone ring tone was one my cleaning lady had on her phone. It would announce in a loud voice "You have an incoming call."  Well DUH that was just stupid.  It is almost as annoying as AOL's "You've got mail." that I hear periodically.
Be loving. Hugs, jcs