Now that your unpacked and got to test drive the area for a bit, encountered some locals and yokels, and hopefully some actual people that moved to the area from your home town or state its time to list the likes you have of your new or semi-new, or heck if the area is your native home than by all means and ways list what you like! Y'all got it? Well here goes!
Weather! You like or not!
Year round flowers!
Long springs!
Longer Autumns!
Shorts year round! For the hearty ones that is.
Variety of sub divisions to chose from!
Snow is a neat event versus a ho-hum not again event!
No rust on older cars! Amazing if your from the Northeast!
Can fish year round without cutting holes in the water (ice) for us North Easterners!
Pretty country side is usually only 5 minutes or less from where you live anywhere in the triangle.
People R People. No matter what they say!
Day trip to Mountains!
Day trip to Ocean!
And in a lot cases no trip at all to the many lakes, ponds, river, and streams that spot the area!
Good food can be had by all and more is always welcome irregardless if they are called viddles or pickins!
Out away from the city lights the sky at night explodes with the many stars that fill the emptiness of space with the occasional flying star to catch a dream or two on!
Groceries can be cheaper but we all have to eat!
Sure it takes time to get use to this place, remember the place you came from was called home and that is never a easy place to replace! But give it time, explore the area and get involved and this place too will be your new home not only in name but in feeling!
May the triangle, RDU, RTP, Crossroads, the Quay, Wake Forest, Knightdale, Apex, Raleigh, Durham, Zebulon, Oxford, Mossisville, Franklinton, Youngsville, Chapel Hill, Henderson, ...seems like I am forgetting somewhere.
...????......Oh yea! and Cary, be with you!
Oh Tarheels! I forgot to number the above as I did say I would count thy ways!
Weather! You like or not!
Year round flowers!
Long springs!
Longer Autumns!
Shorts year round! For the hearty ones that is.
Variety of sub divisions to chose from!
Snow is a neat event versus a ho-hum not again event!
No rust on older cars! Amazing if your from the Northeast!
Can fish year round without cutting holes in the water (ice) for us North Easterners!
Pretty country side is usually only 5 minutes or less from where you live anywhere in the triangle.
People R People. No matter what they say!
Day trip to Mountains!
Day trip to Ocean!
And in a lot cases no trip at all to the many lakes, ponds, river, and streams that spot the area!
Good food can be had by all and more is always welcome irregardless if they are called viddles or pickins!
Out away from the city lights the sky at night explodes with the many stars that fill the emptiness of space with the occasional flying star to catch a dream or two on!
Groceries can be cheaper but we all have to eat!
Sure it takes time to get use to this place, remember the place you came from was called home and that is never a easy place to replace! But give it time, explore the area and get involved and this place too will be your new home not only in name but in feeling!
May the triangle, RDU, RTP, Crossroads, the Quay, Wake Forest, Knightdale, Apex, Raleigh, Durham, Zebulon, Oxford, Mossisville, Franklinton, Youngsville, Chapel Hill, Henderson, ...seems like I am forgetting somewhere.
...????......Oh yea! and Cary, be with you! Oh Tarheels! I forgot to number the above as I did say I would count thy ways!
Wake Forest, Gosh its a pretty nive place to live!
Posted 03-09-2009 at 08:59 PM by dansdrive
Wake Forest, NC. located in Wake County NC. Some call it Wake's Forest of the Triangle....Ok maybe that's just me. But if you come from the North East, Wake Forest seems to fit. It has some rolling hills and many farming areas.
It has a small town feel but close to Raleigh, you could be down town Raleigh, depending on time of day in about 15 to 30 minutes. You can be at the Virginia border in less than an hour.
It has old Historical homes and some new subdivisions. It certainly worth a look see if your looking and seeing the area. It has transplants from New Jersey, New York, and many other NE State and Mid West and California and....well you get the idea people from all over this great country now calls Wake Forest home!
C'mon down, over, left, or right and check it out you may just like what you see.
It has a small town feel but close to Raleigh, you could be down town Raleigh, depending on time of day in about 15 to 30 minutes. You can be at the Virginia border in less than an hour.
It has old Historical homes and some new subdivisions. It certainly worth a look see if your looking and seeing the area. It has transplants from New Jersey, New York, and many other NE State and Mid West and California and....well you get the idea people from all over this great country now calls Wake Forest home!
C'mon down, over, left, or right and check it out you may just like what you see.
Total Comments 1071
Comments
-
Friday March 19, 2010 and its 44.1 degrees in route to 67 degrees.....This is true March madness! The last two weeks in upstate NY have been amazing weather wise. It just don't get this nice this early in March......but I'll take all the nice it wants to give.
Well my basketball bracket after day one of the madness is more sad than mad!
Holy 3-pointers....Georgetown.....Georgetown.....Vandy... .Vandy.
say it isn't so! Wake pulled that win out of the Forest..indeed! You just have to love it! What will
today's games bring? Calm after the storm or another turbulent day of hoops?
What a great diversion from the Health Care debate going on that has the Washington insiders singing the hit from KC and the Sunshine band, "That's the way a-ha a-ha I like it, a-ha a-ha, that's the way a-ha a-ha I like it" while the Washington outsiders seems to be singing, the Supreme song, "Stop in the name of Love before you break my HEART, Stop in the name of Love before you break my HEART, think it o-o-over"
Sounds like Sunday will be the day the bill comes off life support and has to breath on its own. After getting 'Brown' fever two months ago it looks like it may make a full recovery. Sure there will be some paralysis and discoloration but nothing Medi-ready or Medi-ain't can't fix!
Quote of the day from Bill Clinton in 1981:
"Canada has shown the world how to balance freedom with compassion and tradition with innovation, in your efforts to provide health care to all your citizens, to treat your senior citizens with the dignity and respect they deserve, to take on tough issues like the move afoot to outlaw automatic weapons designed for killing and not for hunting...."
Can you say 'eh'? No better time than now to practice up on it.
Happy Friday and may your weekend be filled with 'better picks' for sure!
Posted 03-19-2010 at 06:57 AM by dansdrive
-
Monday March 22, 2010 and its 42.1 degrees in route to 56 degrees with rain. The weather this weekend was spectacular! Yesterday was about as perfect as it gets here in upstate NY! Not hot not cold just A-HHHHHHHHH!
Speaking of AHHHHHH. Saturday evening was pretty special. Had Saturday dinner with family members and headed to their neighbors for a evening around a campfire. There were about a dozen or so of us ranging in age between 21 and 60 or so that sat and chatted around that fire pit. Spent the better part of three hours talking and laughing. Our host popped a large pot of Popcorn and roasted some almonds on the fire. In the coarse of those three plus hours not a TV was in sight, not a word of politics entered the conversation. The talk was more laughter than serious as each had a story to tell about life growing up. The stories were based on growing up Italian and Polish mostly. Stories of what the town use to be like some 20, 30, or more years ago. There were discussions on making cheese, beer and wine. In the coarse of those three plus hours only one person's cell phone went off to answer a text. We had a truly social circle without it being called a social media. As the fire grew dim someone else around the campfire got up and grabbed some more wood to place on the fire. That wood also seem to add fuel to the conversations, sometimes there was a single theme capturing everyone's attention while at other times it was a free for all with many conversations going on at the same time. Just a truly wonderful time was had by all. Than as the conversations and laughter subsided everyone got up as on cue without anyone requesting started to help to clean up the tables, helped the owner collect up the cushions from the chairs, pick up the bottles and cans. And as each friend, family member, and stranger alike said their farewells and thanks for a truly wonderful evening the fire was doused and the hot embers were extinguished at least in the campfire but in each of us that circled that campfire on Saturday night kept a bit of those hot embers to burn in all of us in the name of friendship and Americana until the next time...................
Quote of the day from Thomas Jefferson:
"To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."
What would Thomas think today?
Happy Monday and may your conviction to liberty smolder within you for the rest of time!Posted 03-22-2010 at 06:21 AM by dansdrive
-
March 23, 2010 and its 44.6 degrees with overcast skies. Plenty of rain was in the offering yesterday evening. More rain today with high of 50 degrees.
I see that NY State has three different flood warnings issued today. A flood warning, a flood watch, and a flood statement. Flood statement is new to me. I would think the flood warning and flood watch were both statements.......see, something new to learn everyday!
This day in 1775 our quote of the day was uttered. It was uttered in a court room in Virginia pleading to allow the Virginia troops to enter the Revolutionary War. In fact in that court room that day was Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Not a bad place to make a historical statement!
Quote of the day by Patrick Henry:
"Give me liberty or give me death"
Happy Tuesday and fortunately for us in 2010 we do not need to make such proclamations. For us its "Give me the remote or give me my Laptop!"Posted 03-23-2010 at 05:59 AM by dansdrive
-
Wednesday March 24, 2010 and its 32.0 degrees out. No frost just cold and damp outside. Suppose to get some sun and warm up to 50 degrees and that will be nice.
Speaking of nice I was thinking back to games we played as kids growing up. Games that we played as 1 on 1 and 1 on groups, and on teams. Some of these games are lost forever. These games taught us a lot about interpersonal relationships, negotiation, personalities, and that someone won and someone lost. Not sure how all that learning takes place these days with all the non-interpersonal electronic games kids have. But anyway back to the games we played.
Tag - You it! You against one or as many friends as could be rounded up.
Hide-N-Go-Seek. Best played after dark and the more friends the better. Had a giant neighborhood tree that was home base where one would count up or down and yell READY-OR-NOT here I come. One would search while others would run like jack rabbits on a date back to home base and yell, FREE! Than if the chaser or a.k.a. Looker gave up they would yell ALLI-ALLI-IN-COME-FREE, and the game would start again. If they found someone they had to Tag them so that person was it.
Hop-Scotch. One needed a nice rubber shoe heel. Our town was full of shoe factories so finding a heel was quite easy. Our school playground had hop-scotch outlines painted on them and they were always in use. One could also form a team of two and challenge another team at a game. Goal was to throw you heel in the numbered 1 thru 10 boxes and retrieve the heal without touching any of the outlines, on box at a time. Box #7 was large and one could use both feet in that box and it was a.k.a. rest-y!
Girls had a game of slapping hands against each other and sang a song to the rhythm of the snacking in what we would call a Rap rhythm today I suppose. As they got older I know one of their chants started with, there was a man from Elpaso and his "blanks' where made from El-Brasso......I dare go no more.
Girls also had these made up large rubber bands they would put between around the ankles of two girls and a third girl or boy would have to step through, over, and cross the rubber bands as they chanted some songs. Needless to say I know the least about this game.
Relieve-o One of more could run after someone and catch them and bring them back to the home base. This tested how quick one was and how elusive one could be.
Pre-teen and teen Relieve-o was called French Relieve-o. This is where is was most important to have an equal number of boys and girls. The boy would chase and hopefully catch the girls and visa-versa and bring them back to home base. Once there they got to kiss them. That my friends was a big deal back in the day!
Card games - War, Rummy, Fives, Hearts, Fish, these was best played when it was raining out side. NO indoor games when it was snowing, one had to be outside for the snow!
Hula-Hoop. Grade school has competitions even!
Bollo-bats. A flat piece of wood with a lonf rubber band stapled to it and a red rubber ball. The object was to smack that red rubber balls as many times as you could against the flat wood and then challenge your friend to beat you.
Some school yard games that used balls, Dodge Ball, Kick Ball, Wiffle Ball, Football, and snow balls!
Each of the above games required negotiation on the rules, dispute management on rule violations, set of pre determined rules, the honor system, and the formation of alliances and friendships.
Today's children seem to be preoccupied with game systems and possibly playing some virtual opponent in the next town or the next country. Their games look real on a flat screen TV but that IMHO is as deep as it goes. Some children I have witnessed have shown great anger at playing the video games so they actually yell and holler at the TV screen as if it will holler back. They play virtual games on Wii when they could be playing the real deal out in the fresh air. But that's just me having the opportunity to play all the above games as a child.
Quote of the day by John Adams, July 3, 1776:
"It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not. "
Happy Wednesday and teach your children a game you played as a child and tell them all the fun you had doing it! Who knows we may see a new market for some old heels!Posted 03-24-2010 at 06:25 AM by dansdrive
-
Thursday March 25, 2010 and its 39.9 degrees out. Cloudy with some rain in the forecast. High in the low 50's today and than the bottom drops out as the forecast high for tomorrow is 34. UGHHH!
Been doing some reading about our neighboring state to the south namely Pennsylvania to see what historic sites would be within a days driving distance and there are a lot of them. Did read why it is referred to as the 'Key Stone' State. Geographically it lies in the middle of the 13 original colonies. 6 to the north of it and you guessed it 6 to the south! Why Philadelphia was such an important site to our founding fathers.
Quote of the day from Thomas Jefferson in 1774:
"The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest."
We can ask no more of ourselves nor our Government!
Happy Thursday and let honesty shine like a beacon from within you to light the way forward.Posted 03-25-2010 at 06:43 AM by dansdrive
-
Friday March 26, 2010 and its 23.0 degrees. Back to winter temps for today as the high is only going to warm the mercury up to 29 degrees. Tomorrow it rebounds to near 50....now if only Syracuse could of rebounded like that!
Up state NY is reeling after the Butler defeat and the Cornell exit from the NCAA tourney. Sweet 16 became anything 'But' ler or 'Wild' catty for the up state NY teams. My bracket has been shattered and unrecognizable since the opening games. A pick here a miss there an OT loss here and a 'you got to be kidding' win there and my bracket has more holes in it than my favorite pair of socks I wore in college! Come to think of it if my bracket could stink it would smell as bad of them too!
But the games must go on. Speaking of games and going on, the country too shall and move beyond this Health Care debate / law. What is done is done and now proof will be in the amount of time it takes to see a Dr. this time next year and the year after and the year after that. Proof will also come in the form of the $2900 annual savings my family can expect to get at some point in the future by this historic legislation. It is the gift that keeps on giving too, as there are benefits that take effect in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2018 even! Why its a decade full of Health Care improvements!
Quote of the day by George Washington Carver:
"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these. "
Happy Friday and what a fitting quote for the days we are in my friends! Make this weekend count like the stars in the sky, truly endless!
Posted 03-26-2010 at 05:56 AM by dansdrive
-
March 29, 2010 and its 44.6 degrees under cloudy skies. Rained last night and more on the way today with a projected high of 49 degrees! Speaking of more, filled out the 2010 census and mailed it back. Maybe the 2020 census will be done electronically like our taxes. Would save a lot of mail and trees!
I also went and read Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution and Title 13 of the US code and could not reconcile the current TV commercials promoting the census with the Constitutional intent of the census. The commercials promote counting heads for the sole purpose of having monies (entitlements) returned to our communities. The intent as I read it was to ensure "the people" had the proper representation in the U.S. Federal government. The representation would determine what was returned to the community not purely the census results. However, I am not a lawyer just a simple humble person or in the eyes of the country a citizen. So I will leave it up to the experts what they are trying to convey in their commercials....
Speaking of conveying, it was a quick weekend. Seems like Friday arrived, Saturday slipped by and Sunday evening set like the sun at the beach! No historical places to visit this weekend, performed some plumbing tasks for a friend. Its always one of those things, the task seemed simple but by the second day of the couple of hour project you think to yourself, how did Bob Vila from This Old House, always finish his projects in a half an hour?
Quote of the day by James Madison in 1788:
"An ELECTIVE DESPOTISM was not the government we fought for; but one which should not only be founded on free principles, but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among several bodies of magistracy, as that no one could transcend their legal limits, without being effectually checked and restrained by the others."
Happy Monday and may the water in your pipes flow freely this day and all future days!Posted 03-29-2010 at 07:04 AM by dansdrive
-
Tuesday March 30, 2010 at its 35.6 degrees. In fact the temperature is projected to climb right through Saturday reaching a 'Gore-ic' level of 80 degrees. Upstate NY at 80 degrees on April 3! No way! Popping Forsythia bushes!
This has always been a neat time of the year, the anticipation of spring and than summer. Sometimes the two seasons seem to merge into each other but that's OK. This is the time everything around us in nature is reborn. Given a fresh start to green up and grow. To replenish natures color pallet of vibrant and brilliant colors and shades, that please our eyes! Where the gardeners try their tested and true growing methods while always on the look out for that new seed to try and grow, or the golfer that tries out that new Christmas driver that will add 50, 75, or 100 yards to their stroke! Or the fisherman who watched Babe Winkleman or Bass Masters and are ready to hit the streams, lakes, and ponds! Or the hikers who want to get out and hit the trails and see nature in its full glory!
Ah yes spring! What a wonderful time of the year to start anew by learning a new hobby, reading a book, finding new friends, restarting old and lost friendships yet again! Follow nature and become renewed in body and soul!
Quote of the day from Thomas Jefferson:
"Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits."
Happy Tuesday and may your pursuits be meaningful and attainable!Posted 03-30-2010 at 07:11 AM by dansdrive
-
Wednesday March 31, 2010 and its 36.0 degrees out. Cloudy and overcast.....trying to dry out from all the rain yesterday! Its the last day of March and tomorrow is the one day a year its cool to be a fool! Sweet!
Speaking of sweet its also time to get the Easter candy, the chocolate bunnies, lambs, crosses, and whatever else they make chocolate! Time for the Reese's peanut butter eggs.......dang they are so good! And can't forget the jelly beans! How sweet it is, this time of the year!
Its also a good time to take stock in all we do have and to give thanks, as lord knows we are bombarded by the media on all the things we don't have. Simple things like health, happiness, relationships, food, and shelter are things we so take for granted. Take the time to thank whomever you need to thank for those simple things that make you happy! Because without the simple things out of the way how could we ever solve the real tough things that enter our lives?
Quote of the day from Thomas Jefferson in 1781:
“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
Happy Wednesday and don't forget the Easter candy for the Easter baskets!Posted 03-31-2010 at 06:03 AM by dansdrive
-
Thursday April 1, 2010 and its 65 degrees in route to about 89 degrees today. The sun is out and its warm already! In fact, the weatherman on the local TV said there is no end in site to this heatwave! That is just...........April Fools!
Actually its 39.9 degrees out and the sun is warming up the day to 70 degrees! So not that far off and maybe mother nature is playing an April fools trick on us! ...and we like that kind of trick indeed!
Quote of the day from Samuel Adams in 1790:
“ Let divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors to renovate the age by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity… and leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system.”
Happy Thursday and may peace and the virtue of forgiveness shower upon you like a soft spring rain.Posted 04-01-2010 at 08:06 AM by dansdrive
-
Friday April 2, 2010 and its 57.0 degrees out and sunny! Sunny! Sun with a eeeeeeee sound on the end, sounds alright by me! With a projected high of 80 degrees! Jumpin catfish in farmers Fred's pond! No way! That is summer temps I tell you.
The end of the work week and today's temperature surely means its 'Good Friday'. Also a special day for the Christian faith in anticipation to the risen Lord on Easter Sunday. Time to reflect back on the suffering of one man so many that followed could have their sins forgiven. In the face or death was able to forgive those that caused death as they did not know what they were doing.
Quote of the day from the Bible, Matthew 27:46;
"And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
Good Friday to all and may your weekend be filled with the blessings of peace, forgiveness, and enlightenment.Posted 04-02-2010 at 07:36 AM by dansdrive
-
Tuesday April 6, 2010 and its 50.0 degrees outside and raining. The string of spring weather days have been holding on! As I look out into this weeks forecast I see a projected high of 76 today and 81 tomorrow and say, no way, early April in upstate NY and mid 70's to low 80's! The plants, trees and grass are saying so, color has slowly begun to come back to the gray hill sides. There are yellows, blues, and whites in full boom!
Speaking of full bloom or full blue bloom, the DUKE Blue devils won the Mens National Championship. Was a great game could have gone either way and did go back and forth throughout the game. Carolina blue of last years winner darkened to Duke blue this year! Maybe next year the color will be red for N.C. State! Have a three year sweep of the Mens Basketball National Championships in tobacco country .
Quote of the day from Samuel Adams:
"If taxes are laid upon us without our having a legal representation where they are laid, we are reduced from the character of free subjects to the state of tributary slaves."
Ole Samuel was on to something here but could he have foreseen what our Republic has become?
Happy Tuesday and may the promise of spring grow within you the rest of your days!Posted 04-06-2010 at 07:22 AM by dansdrive
-
Wednesday March 7, 2010 and its 66.0 degrees out. One word WOW! In route to 78 degrees. The heat wave is cresting tomorrow and temps drop back down to seasonable levels. But the ride was fantastic! As they say what goes up must come down.
Speaking of the rise and fall, I got to thinking about what happened to the America I grew up in thirty years ago?
It was far from perfect but was closer to it than it is today. We learned through example, memorization, and testing. Those that didn't learn that way failed. It was that simple. Children that caused trouble were removed from the classroom but there were very very few. Respect played a role in keeping the trouble makers at bay I suppose. There was more respect for our teachers, principles, and adults in general back than. Family values IMHO played a key role in why there was more respect back than. Sure we had teachers we did not like, they were usually always the tough ones that made us work the hardest. We seem to remember those the most. Funny how that works. Growing up we knew if we did not go to college we would either go in the armed services or work in a factory. Most of all our parents were tradesmen, factory workers, or police / fireman. We survived growing up without 911 we just dialed '0' for Operator or had the local Police number by our old rotary black phones. We had chores growing up such as tilling the garden, cutting the grass, white washing the stones that lined the flower gardens when they would dull up. Then we were able to go play with our friends and relatives. Never worried about being abducted. Played in our neighborhood. Never had to worry about gangs or what we were wearing. Sure there was always the neighborhood bully and most of the time they bullied and sometimes they got the horns of a bigger bull if you know what I mean.
We played seasonal sandlot sports, like football in the fall, baseball in the summer, and basketball in the spring & summer. We played wiffle ball with taped up wiffle balls. The batter stood in front of brick wall with a boxed strike zone in chalk or tape. Never sprayed painted graffiti on anything as we played were we lived and no one wanted to see graffiti on their walls. In retrospect I think there was more arguing on balls and strikes than there were actual pitches thrown but we learned life lessons about negotiation and compromise you just can't do today in front of a game station.
We also knew that if we graduated from high school there would be some type of job for us. From a ditch digger, if we did not graduate as our parents would so ingrain into our heads to a factory workers in the shoe factory, or pants factory, or dress factory, or the local machine shop, or we even had a Topp's Bubble gun factory. It suffices to say the kids that had their fathers working at the bubble gum factory were 'Tops' in the neighborhood.
But all the above factories are long gone, some are gutted shells of their once bee hives or activities, or they have had communities built over the top of them, or they have been converted into rent-a-centers, or the likes. So as the factories have gone so has the dreams and aspirations of the generations that used those factory jobs to catapult them into factory owners and workers. How many businesses were eventually run by the kids that started in the mail room or the press operator or the bundle buys? Maybe when America lost the shoe industry it truly lose its 'soul'.
Well closing up the box full of memories of America of old and placing it back on the shelf for a time when it can be shared with grand kids so they know as we learned growing up that America is a different place with each passing generation.
Quote of the day Thomas Jefferson:
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
Its not only about those willing not to work its about not having anything to work for.....
Happy Wednesday and bring out your box of memories and share them with a friend or relative before they are gone forever. This generation needs to know America has not always been like this!Posted 04-07-2010 at 07:33 AM by dansdrive
-
Friday April 9, 2010 and its 39.9 degrees. Back to normal temps today! Partly sunny. Rest of the weekends forecast about the same with chance of snow flurries/showers, oh my!
But its Friday the start of the weekend, the end of the work week. Time to dust off that smile that has been stored away all week. Time to store away the weeks trials and tribulations for the weekends promise! Time to do something, anything, that's different, unique, fulfilling, memorable, and hopefully cherished.
In fact with the approach of Tax day its a great time to set in motion a plan to save more of your income for the rainy days that are approaching.
Quote of the day by Thomas Jefferson in 1820:
"I hope a tax will be preferred [to a loan which threatens to saddle us with a perpetual debt], because it will awaken the attention of the people and make reformation and economy the principle of the next election. The frequent recurrence of this chastening operation can alone restrain the propensity of governments to enlarge expense beyond income."
1820 folks! Could of fit in 2009 that will reflect in the coming elections.
Happy Friday and may your weekends realities approach your hopes and dreams my friends!Posted 04-09-2010 at 08:38 AM by dansdrive
-
Monday April 12, 2010 and its 37.9 degrees and the grass is glazed over with frost. A touch of winter has returned. Projected high today is near 60 degrees so it won't last.
Speaking of not lasting, that was the weekend. It flew by like a UFO about the time one gets the camera out to film it! It was a wonderful weekend. Did not get to travel but did attend a dinner party with friends and family last night. What a wonderful time was had by all. All includes a week old baby and an 89 year women. The week old baby tended to sleep right through all the talk and laughing. While the 89 year old could keep up with the best of us. Chronologically she is 89 but everything else about her is more like a person in their 60's. Needless to say she had lot to say about the old days both here in the US and in Italy. She also had the unique ability to listen intently before she spoke. Her secret to long life is walking everyday and not eating meat. At least I have one out of two going for me! But the party was a wonderful way to top off a great weekend. In fact some of us men even got to watch the ending of the Masters and the tear of joy from Mr. Mickelson's eye as he embraced his loving wife and children. How fitting and proper given all the press and attention paid to the Master's player that practiced the inverse of marriage and family. Good guys do finish first sometimes!
Quote of the day from James Wilson in 1792:
"The most important consequence of marriage is, that the husband and the wife become in law only one person... Upon this principle of union, almost all the other legal consequences of marriage depend. This principle, sublime and refined, deserves to be viewed and examined on every side."
Who is James Wilson you may ask, well he was a founding father and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence as well as a player in drafting the Constitution.
Happy Monday and may your week be like gold to a gold miner well worth the journey into it!Posted 04-12-2010 at 07:16 AM by dansdrive
-
Tuesday April 13, 2010 and its 39.0 degrees on the outside. No Jack Frost nipping at my labs paws this morning! High today to be 56 and partly cloudy. I am hoping the dark hours are the cloudy part!
Attended a high school baseball game yesterday. The sun was out but the wind was cool, in fact cool enough to need my heavy winter coat. The game was good, competition was keen and the score got lopsided by the end. But after three strikes and several balls, hits, and runs the game ended. And as always at the end the two sides lined up and shook hands and to me this is as an important to the sporting event as the event itself. The event teaches competition and strategy while the shaking of hands (at any age), teaches sportsmanship and winning with humility and losing with class. The other nice feature of baseball games in upstate NY is they are FREE! Always had to pay $5 per game in NC! Chalk one up for High School Baseball in upstate NY!
Quote of the day by Benjamin Franklin in 1758:
"He that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing."
252 years later and it still holds true and 12 trillion in debt is a lot of sorrowing to come!
Happy Tuesday.Posted 04-13-2010 at 05:58 AM by dansdrive
-
Wednesday April 14, 2010 and its 39.0 degrees out. Window scrapping weather. But the sun is out and the expected high to be 63 degrees. Will take that like Mrs Smith's Apple pies! Good till they are gone!
Speaking of good and gone. All the factory jobs this country once had where raw materials came in the back door and finished goods, from shoes to refrigerators came out the front door. Where a high school diploma or less allowed you to receipt, process, and inspect those goods. Where hard work, company education, experience and determination allowed one to grow with the company. The growth was not overnight but was attainable. Some even made it into management and executive management. These companies forged the middle class of America. They supported their communities that they operated in. Today most are hollowed out shells or been long torn down and hold not the promise of a better tomorrow or the resurgence of America's middle class or maybe better yet said, America's economic might. For those of us that grew up in the factory dominated economy we say thanks and will never forget the American workers ingenuity, determination, and sacrifices to keep America working! When made in America rung true.
Quote of the day by James Madison:
" If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare... they may appoint teachers in every state... The powers of Congress would subvert the very foundation, the very nature of the limited government established by the people of America."
Fast forward to 2010 and 'BINGO'.
Happy Wednesday and may your energy and ingenuity go toward getting America manufacturing again!Posted 04-14-2010 at 07:32 AM by dansdrive
-
Thursday April 15 2010 and its 44.1 degrees. April showers shall come-ith later today and tomorrow. Fitting end I suppose to tax day.
A little tax history from our friends at timeanddate.com
"Income tax was first introduced in the United States of America in 1861. A rate of three percent was levied on incomes above $800 per year and the resulting revenue was used to help fund the American Civil War effort. However, income tax was seen as unconstitutional and the law was repealed in 1872. The idea of a tax on personal income, at a rate of two percent, was reintroduced in the Revenue Act of 1894, but the legal status of this kind of tax was still unclear. In 1913, the "Sixteenth Amendment" to the Constitution of the United States was ratified. This cleared the way for the modern income tax system in the USA."
So for 22 years in the late 1800 there was no personal income tax and the union survived. Government functioned and life went on......could we last now with even one year of no income tax? We are surviving with only 50% of individuals paying personal income tax. Just think how well off we would be if everyone paid their 'Fair' share of income tax.
Quote of the day from Thomas Jefferson in 1784:
"Taxes should be proportioned to what may be annually spared by the individual. "
This was spoken long before personal income tax was even suggested, as noted above but was to the point and 'Fair' and as such did not exempt anyone from paying taxes just their 'Fair' share based on what they could afford. How have we gotten so far off track from this simple principle?
Happy Thursday and may all your days be 'fair' and sunny if not externally than within your heart.Posted 04-15-2010 at 06:31 AM by dansdrive
-
Friday April 16, 2010. Its 46.0 degrees out in route to 64 degrees and afternoon rains. Much cooler temps roll in over the weekend, in fact some snow flurries are forecast-ed. YIKES!
Speaking of yikes how about the Iceland volcano. Shows how something in one part of the world directly affects another part and "particle"!
Well another weekend is upon us. Sneaked up on us like a big cat on the hunt. Quietly, methodically, and ready to pounce on us like its five o'clock somewhere! But I know I am ready for it. As Joe from Family Guy says, "BRING IT ON!!!". Being the forecast is for rain and cooler temps I won't be exploring upstate NY. Maybe will just follow the lead of this weekends temps and just chill.
Quote of the day from George Washington:
"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force;
like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master.
Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."
Happy Friday and may your weekend enjoyment be twice that of the hours within the weekend!Posted 04-16-2010 at 06:39 AM by dansdrive
-
Monday April 19, 2010 and its 39.9 degrees out with a lite frost. But this week we get the two 'W''s. One for the week Wearing on and the other for Warming up! As an added bonus it will also be sunny. Weather to run say a Marathon and speaking of Marathon how about the town named Marathon, New York, it is exactly the place I checked out this past weekend.
Marathon New York a quaint little town along interstate highway 81 and US Route 11. The first settlers came to Marathon in 1794 but knew the place as the town of Harrison. But in 1828 they changed the name to Marathon as New York already had a Harrison New York. Go figure! But the town sets in the tract of land they called the Central New York Military Tract. This was land set aside for soldiers that fought in the Revolutionary wars. The US Congress guaranteed solders 100 acres of land for their service. Pretty nice deal but got better. New York was not signing up the soldiers at the rate and pace of the other colonies so the NY Legislature added an incentive. Each New York volunteer got an additional 500 acres within central New York. Rather sweet deal but back to the story or shall I say, the Marathon.
Its still a pretty small town in fact per the 2000 Census it only had 2,189 people! A little river runs through it called the Tioughnioga River which brought the early settlers via canoe. Its early industries were the Marathon Grist and Flouring Mills, and a couple of saw mills. As there were plenty of trees to cut down and homes and businesses to build. They even had a Tannery. A very self sufficient town as most were or they did not survive. The town also has three churches that were all built in the 1800's. Going back into time and imagining what Marathon looked like in the 1800's is not that hard with the churches still in tact.
So if you like small towns, Marathon is one to add to your list of must sees. If your traveling on Route 81 its easy on and off the highway and can be seen in a matter of minutes and feel free to stop and sit a spell in the local diner to get a real feeling for Marathon New York.
Quote of day from Alexander Hamilton in June 1788:
"As riches increase and accumulate in few hands, as luxury prevails in society, virtue will be in a greater degree considered as only a graceful appendage of wealth, and the tendency of things will be to depart from the republican standard. This is the real disposition of human nature; it is what neither the honorable member nor myself can correct. It is a common misfortunate that awaits our State constitution, as well as all others. "
How could he have seen the future so clearly in 1788?
Happy Monday and may your barriers be small and your accomplishments be large my friends!Posted 04-19-2010 at 07:18 AM by dansdrive
