Veteran’s Day

American Flag and Cross in Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

Today is Veteran’s Day here in America. Like my fellow vet Ken Thomas, I’m never sure how to respond when people thank me for my service.

So here’s an idea: if you feel the need to thank me and the millions of other veterans for their service, the best way to thank us is to find a way to serve yourself. You don’t have to join the military, of course: there are many, many other ways to serve.

Read books to young kids at a school. Work on a project to improve your neighborhood. Visit with the elderly and make them feel welcome. Coach a youth sports team. Contribute your time and energy to a good cause – one right in your own backyard. Everyone can offer something.

Heroes aren’t found only on the battlefield: they are all around us. Every day. Become one in your community.

It’s the best way to honor service.

Where I’ve worked: Sing-A-Song Recording Studios

The year was 1985. I had worked at my very first job for only weeks and already I was angling for the next one (sound familiar?). One day during my off time at Carowinds I wandered into one of its arcades to play video games (Commando, Paperboy, and Karate Champ were favorites). There was a new store at the end of this barn-like arcade building, full of bright spotlights, new carpeting, and three glass booths that resembled changing rooms. Curious and out of quarters for the moment, I wandered over and struck up a conversation with the owner.
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Right Here, Right Now

I’ll always associate this song with the Revolutions of the late 1980s.

Right Here, Right Now [YouTube]
Jesus Jones

A woman on the radio talked about revolution
when it’s already passed her by
Bob Dylan didn’t have this to sing about you
you know it feels good to be alive

I was alive and I waited, waited
I was alive and I waited for this
Right here, right now
there is no other place I want to be
Right here, right now
watching the world wake up from history
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Raleigh’s untamed greenway: Walnut Creek Trail

Walnut Creek Greenway

The beautiful morning and the promise of a sunny afternoon in the mid 70s got us itching to go for another family bike ride. After considering a trip out to Durham’s American Tobacco Trail greenway, we opted instead to explore one greenway we’d never tried before, Southeast Raleigh’s Walnut Creek Trail.

Our goal was to start at the easternmost point possible and go as far west as we could. Worthdale Community Center seemed to be the trail’s official starting point but after reviewing the maps I decided the 8/10ths of a mile from there through the surrounding neighborhood to the paved greenway was not worth riding. I know what homes and sidewalks look like: I wans the trail!

We thus drove to the end of Little John Road and parked at its dead end. The residents of the house next to us gave us long looks through the storm door, making me think that they didn’t see many greenway users parking here. Though I felt the neighborhood was completely safe I decided that parking on the narrow neighborhood street was being too disruptive to the neighborhood. Next time I’ll look for a lot at one of the nearby community centers.
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Sitter night

Up until last night it had been a long time since I’d been a babysitter. We and our neighbors worked out an arrangement where we would take turns babysitting each others’ kids after they’d gone to bed. They stayed at our home while Kelly and I did our ARRRRR! Line Pub Crawl and it was our turn to reciprocate.

I showed up at 8 and had to settle their son once early in the evening, but after that I watched football and edited video on my laptop, all the while within wireless range of my home network. It beats the heck out of hiring a babysitter!

Plane crash

Phantom_Electric

Travis got a beginner’s RC plane for his birthday and yesterday we decided to fly it for the first time. The family (plus dog) piled into the minivan and headed for Horseshoe Farm Park.

Horseshoe is the perfect place to fly an RC plane: a large, open, grassy field with few people around. I tied up the dog to the barn and the kids played nearby while Kelly assembled the plane. We warned the kids that this could end in disaster because it was the first time we flew and they seemed okay with it. We followed all the pre-flight checks, though the wind was a bit stronger than we anticipated. Ignoring this, Kelly hand-launched the plane into the wind as I cranked up the throttle.
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Former Garner mayor Don Rohrbaugh dies

Former Garner mayor Don Rohrbaugh died yesterday after a long bout with leukemia. He was 80.

Don was our neighbor for the five years we lived in Garner. He was kind enough to welcome us to the town the very day we moved in. He also talked me into serving on a town committee, so in a way he got me started with municipal politics.

More than that, though, he was just a genuinely nice guy. Condolences to his family.

Here’s his obituary from the Bryan-Lee Funeral Home:
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Grading Obama’s first quarter

Obama at Dover AFB

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of Obama’s election. Obama was selling change and the people were willing to buy it. So how do I grade Obama for his first quarter performance? Let’s take a look:

The economy: still eeking along. It hasn’t cratered as feared and it may even be on the upswing again but things don’t bounce back as quickly as they crash. He’s probably doing as best as can be expected: B-
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