buckle-up

Surprises come in all forms. Sometimes it’s the uniqueness of the surprise while at other times, it’s the timing. An unexpected surprise is always a welcome distraction from the daily routines.  Just a few days ago Margo and I got to experience a very pleasant surprise and as for possible disruptions to our normal routines, well, we would just have to make do. No surprises here, as there really isn’t anything normal in this time of a global pandemic. It was a Thursday afternoon when we texted our good friends Brian and Jan Kenny. They live in Simi Valley, down in southern California. I cannot recall the exact text that was sent but I suspect it had something to do with the arrival of our low platform bed. Moments later they responded with how they would like to see what we had just installed and without a second thought I suggested they come on by to see for themselves. Within seconds, they said OK! Brian and Jan just love to fly and even though they had flown into Windsor...

Anyone care to guess who is in the hole? I am grateful to my sister Judy for finding and then emailing me this photo along with a couple of other photos that truly were a blast from the past. Given the nature of some of the other photos that accompanied this particular picture I can pretty much tell where it was taken and when. It was during an annual vacation the family took to Avoca Beach, on New South Wales’ central coast just north of Sydney and it had to be around 1958. I would like to say that my family should have always dug a hole for me, set me down in it and then came back for me later in the day just to make sure I didn’t get into any untoward mischief. The arrival of this photo was appropriate for the times. Living far from any beach and tucked up alongside mountains any opportunity to just leave the house and meander wherever, until we came across sand seems rather at odds with our circumstance. While the news about the global pandemic streams into our home each n...

This past weekend we made the trip down to Boulder, Colorado. It would be a stretch to call this essential travel, but Colorado has been gradually lifting restrictions that kept us locked down for so long, so yes, there are more cars on the road. Given how temperatures had started to head well north of 90 F, and the surrounding lakes beckoned, it wasn’t just the presence of many more cars on the road as it was the abundance of boats of all shapes and sizes. And of course, there were plenty of caravans, fifth-wheels and RVs pulling out of driveways following a longer than usual winter hibernation. It became quite a game for Margo and me to point out unusual cars as there were plenty of shiny toys to take in. Not clear whether there was a car show nearby but a mix of antique Fords, hot-rod Chevys and jaw-dropping exotica made for a fun drive down Colorado’s less frequented byroads. However, when we arrived in Boulder and looked up and down Boulder’s famous Pearl Street Mall, it was...

These are the worst of times. It is without reservation that Margo and I extend our condolences to all those suffering pain at these times. It would be a simple matter to skip over the hard parts and to make light of the suffering many of you have been put through, but even as I begin to write this post, it’s no longer a matter of making it through this global pandemic as it is weathering the breakdown of society. It’s impossible to ignore that for us living in the US, there is much soul-searching to be done and our passage will not be an easy one. And yet, as with any journey, Margo and I are confident that in a country as bountiful as the US, we will make it through and life will be a lot different to what it is today. Perhaps it was HPE CEO Antonio Neri who expressed it best when he wrote to his employees of how: “The events of the last week have been hard for me to process. I’m sure you’ve felt a lot of emotions like I have – anger, disbelief, sadness, grief and frustrati...

When I came across this picture and the story that accompanied it, I couldn’t help myself and used it this past week in numerous updates I provided my clients. The heading alone tells it all – Is this all you’ve got? The photo won a prize in an Australian publication even though it was taken in 2011 and looked back on the aftereffects of a cyclone that hit North Queensland. “Shut the bloody door, there’s a breeze!” was all that was said when the photographer entered through the front door. “Basically, most of the house was gone except the front steps,” said the photographer. “Laying back on his big old recline,” the photographer noted, “they all had beers and they’d partied all night. They had a generator which kept the fridge cold and they had plenty of meat for the dogs.” In times of crisis it’s always refreshing to see the beginnings of a fresh start and while these lads could laugh at the season, there was every confidence that they would be facing something new. And clearly...