Kelly stands before the “impenetrable” fence protecting humans from the precipice of the Cliffs of Moher in western Ireland. This photo was taken during our recent ten-day road trip around the Republic. Ireland is one of the truly beautiful places in the world, and the people are supremely generous and accommodating. Of course, it’s not [...]
I experienced an interesting situation last Friday night, even though I didn’t realize it until the next day. Something happened that made me question both the quality of airport security and the humanity of a fellow citizen. Yesterday was Kelly’s and my 29th wedding anniversary. I was due home this weekend for the Jaguar-Bills game [...]
I view my current job at the Pentagon with a certain sense of awe. As one walks around this building each day, one sees (and becomes) one of a few thousand people who routinely perform their jobs without thinking they’re anything special. But one can’t help feeling a sense of pride and privilege working here, [...]
A pair of sisters in Salt Lake City are angry about the high price of gas. No, not because Mom and Dad won’t take them anywhere. They’re angry because Mom decided to cut back on expenses, and one of the first things she eliminated was their cable TV service. The girls took their complaints to [...]
While reading this American Thinker column lamenting the quality of today’s English writing, I was reminded of something I saw this weekend while driving up to New York. I was pretty shocked at first, thinking what I saw might have been an aberration. But I was wrong. If you travel along the length of New [...]
I always get this sinking feeling when I pull the last tissue out of a box, especially those square-shaped high ones. When a tissue sticks out of the top of the box, waiting for you to come along and pull it out for that sudden urge to blow or sneeze, you never really know or [...]
This is a note to anyone in my family or The Beautiful Spouse’s family who wandered in here (or, as in the case of The Beautiful Spouse, was instructed to come here) seeking any photographs I took at the wedding of The Beautiful Spouse’s baby sister this weekend. They are not here. Hell, my hosting [...]
Two rules of the road which, if you adhere to them, would make your life and mine much easier. 1. Use your goddam signal. Yes, I know you’re a lost tourist who decided to drive down here rather then take a cruise ship. Or you’re a local who believes that you don’t need to signal [...]
An online travel article I read a while back offered some suggestions to help make summer air travel easier. The list included some painfully obvious suggestions, even to the casual flyer, such as not making hijacking or terrorism jokes, or keeping your obnoxious child quiet and strapped into a seat while in the air. I [...]
Five years ago today, my brother Tom passed away after a battle with cancer. I find it difficult to fathom that he’s now been gone five years. The reminder of his loss and the recent passing of our Mom in April drags me into a reality that people sometimes don’t want to face. My mother [...]
The price of gasoline isn’t going to fall anytime soon, and with the summer close to full swing, the possibility of increases might be a good bet. I long since gave up even thinking much about gas prices. I’m in a unique situation: I’m working in a part of Florida where the price of a [...]
I’m a great believer in privacy. My concern about the day-to-day surveillance we often unknowingly submit to in public grows a bit more every day. As someone who’s worked for the government in different capacities for many years, I must acknowledge that the use of surveillance techniques are very effective, especially for the military and [...]
Today is the observance of Memorial Day and I can think of no better tribute to the fallen than these two links. On Friday, Jeff Emanuel, himself an Iraq special ops veteran, posted a moving piece on the American Spectator’s site relating the stories of four young men who died in battle during the current [...]
Time for a story, boys and girls. Are you all sitting comfortably in a circle? Good. Back in December, I spent a few days in New York and Jacksonville, and made the return trip back to Key West on Christmas night. I parked my truck in one of the remote lots at Fort Lauderdale airport [...]
My mother, Mary Dougherty, passed away in the early morning hours of Palm Sunday, April 1, 2007. I’ve been trying to complete this for three weeks now, but it’s been difficult to write more than a few lines without breaking down. Plus, it is not easy writing about a remarkable woman who lived a completely [...]
If you’re tired of hearing about what a violent nation the United States is compared to the rest of the “civilized” world, have a gander at this sordid tale of murder and mayhem. If I ever get stupid enough to have an affair with a Belgian woman, remind me never to piss her off. Especially [...]
A month is far too long for this site to go idle, and when I noted the significant drop in visits in my states the other day, I thought it was time to get back to work here. I mentioned some months ago that the loss of my job would mean some changes, and that [...]
I mentioned in the top entry that I would relate the story of my first trip home last weekend. This is an interesting story only because of how much I managed to squeeze into such a short time. The big problem with getting out of here on a weekend is the incredible hassle involved getting [...]
I know you’re out there. I see that you’re still visiting. The stat numbers are still pretty encouraging. Maybe I’m kidding myself; perhaps if i were to filter out all the referral spam sites from my logs, I’d discover no one is visiting. Well, we’ll just keep a good thought, won’t we? So, what’s new [...]
Today is the beginning of my last week at my current job. On Friday, I will spend the day “checking out,” and will end over twenty years of continuous employment at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville. During that period, I served two years on active duty with the Navy, seven years in the Naval Reserves, [...]