HO! HO! HO

WISHING ALL MUCH HAPPINESS

I AM SETTLED IN MY NEW APARTMENT AT DRURY PLACE
MY MAILING ADDRESS IS
H. A. FLANDERS
1000 SCHIPPEL #126
SALINA, KANSAS 67401

SCHOOL DAYS

HI ALL!

It is that time again

School days, school days
Dear old Golden Rule dayst,
'Reading and 'riting and 'rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hick'ry stick
You were my queen in calico
I was your bashful, barefoot beau
And you wrote on my slate, "I Love You So"
When we were a couple o' kids

How many of you know the tune? If you do not, you can hear it on google!
______________________________

I am still trying to find my way around the Ipad. I am reading Emma by Jane Austen. The old English is interessting. Philip said it was one of the books they had in College in English class.
I just finished PILLARS OF THE EARTH by KEN FOLLETT on my Kindle. I downloaded the no 2 of the series WORLD WITHOUT END. I got the audio book from the Kansas library. I am getting better with th Mp3 player. Perhaps the benefit of these digital toys is having to learn something new. There are advantages to both print book and the e book. The changes are inteesting.
______________________________


I recieved notice tht it is flu shot time again. I have not heard anthing about a shrotage of vaccine this year, so maybe we will stay ahead of it this year.

_______________________________

I guess that the big news here is that I have moved back into Drury Place. Philip plans to move to Manhatanwhich will but cown on his commute , which is certainly understandable. My mailing address now is
1000 Schippel Dr. Apt 126
Salina, Kansas 67401

The biggest problem with the move is that I have not been able to get my own computer up an running so I am using the community computers at Drury Place for the time being. I may need to replace my lap too -it is getting old! Arn't we all!!

___________________________________________
Sending the very best wishes to all

Alden Seniorgeek AKA HAPPYDOC

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

DOG DAY MEMORIES

• Lying in the porch swing, watching the clouds
• Napping on the floor(Sunday afternoon) with a small fan moving the air
• Sleeping under the stars to get the breeze at night
• Walking to the river to wade in the cool water
• The ding-ding-of the ice cream man's truck
• A chip of ice from the ice man's truck when he delivered ice
• Running through the sprinklers
• Hopping to quickly cross the hot street-barefooted
• BEST OF ALL an afternoon at the swimming pool

Then came air conditioning!!!

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Last week end we had a family gathering in Lawrence. Most of the clan was able to be there. We had a picnic at Clinton lake. It was really great to see and visit with everyone. Mary's spirit was with us. They also recognized my birthday - early-(90). We agree that we should not wait 7 years for the next gathering!! I was gifted a cover for my Ipad!

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I truly have a walking library with my Kindle and the Ipad. I am slowly leaning how to use the Ipad. I download a Barnes and Noble App for the ipad. When I was in Lawrence I of course had to go to the used book store and pick up some 2 dollar print books--these are especially useful for reading at night in bed!! Old habits die slowly.

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I hope that all is well with all of you.

HAF AKA HAPPY DOC

ADDENDUM

OnJune 18, Mary's ashes were scattered at
Latiude N 40 detgrees 26.323 minutes; Longitude W 105degrees 45.706 minutes

This translates to Near the continental divide and Trailridge Road in Rocky Mountain Natinal Park

It is fitting that she will always be a part of the mountains which held a special place in her heart. When we were able to travel Mary needed to get her "mountain fix" at least once a year!
One of the fond memories that we had was at about that location, one time there was someone playing a hammer dulcimer and in the high clear mountain air, the sound was "out of this world".
Alden Flanders

A LIGJT TURNED OFF

On Tuesday May 18 the light of my life went out. Mary died, but I like to think that a new star was added to the firmament. The warmth and glow of her life will continue. We were blessed for 67 years and are grateful for all of this time together.
sending best wishes and love to all Alden

February jPost

February is lovers month so it is appropriate that I send my love to all of you.
Hosp;ice of Salina where Mary is a patient provides a computer for public use so I am using it to make this positing while Mary is taking a nap. It is a nice service. Mary is doing about the same. I think that the tumor is ioa little larger but is is slow. She is eating well and resting well and is well taken care of. I spend part of every day with her and help feed her some of her meals. I am well settled in Phililp's apartment which is quite close to the Hosp;ice facility. There is some open land with trees and grass around the building and sometime we see deer in the meadow. They usually have coffee and cookies available so it is a very pleasant place.

I am enjoying my KINDLE and also thy mp3 audio book reader. On the Kindle I am rading THE LAST LECTURE. and on the Mp3 reader I am listening to Patrick Obrian's HMS SURPRISE one of the o Maturin series and the saga of the sailing ships I can download audio books in mp3 or wma format -free- from the Kansas State Library. Electronic books probably are the wave of the future. Richard told me that in 2009 Amazon sold more e-books than print books.

Well, I did not get this posted and it is now March 1. I will finish it and get it posted. I guess that There was too mch Olympics. There were some birds singing thismorning so there is hope for Spring and every one is more than ready for it.

Some of the new TV programs strting up sound as if they may be interessting.

I guess that the next chore is to get everything redy and get the income tax filed. The Congress can not get together on any legislation of; note. So what the future hold is ayones guess. If it was not so vital to everyone one would be tempted to just "thro the bums out" and start over!! We will make it some way!!!

I will quit and get this posted and will try to do better in the future but do not hold me to it

Hope this finds all well with you and yours

HAF AKA HAPPYDOC

2010

SENDING BEST WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR!!!!

2009 was a momentous year nationally, internationally and personally. I have been very lax in keeping the blog up and it does no good to use it as a communicating tool if one does not use it!! I have no excuses except that three have been several changes in our living situation. As noted in the last blog 6 month past Mary has had mor trouble. The end result is that she has been moved to hospice in Sept. She does not walk and has limited speech. She is well taken care of but it is difficult. Since Philip is in his apartment only part o f the time he suggested that I move in with him. Jane has her studio in Lawrence and so Philip spends most weekends in Lawrence. My mailing address is

1317 Faith Dr. Apt.#39

Salina, KS 67401

My phone # is the same 785 827 0628

I do have a cell phone # 785 342 0206---I am rather ignorant as to how to use it The wireless communication is changing the world however for example the sending pictures of the unrest in Iran etc. It will be difficult for evil doers to hide and that is good.

CLEOPATRA-MEHITABEL (CLEO) the cat went to live with grand-daughter Corey. I do not know if she will become more erudite living in the educational environment of Kansas University!! She will first have to get over the trauma of the move and come out from under the bed!! I am sure that she will in time.

I have been exploring audio books from the Kansas state Library. downloading book to an MP3 reader (free). The audio books and the e-books will revolutionize the publishing industry. I still enjoy my Kindle and am reading "INSIDE THE REVOLUTION" This is an inside look at Iran

Again, best wishes and I will try to do better in 2010!!

SENIORGEEK--AKA --HAPPYDOC

ONE HALF OVER OR ONE HALF TO GO

2009 is half over.  the world is in a turmoil in most any place that you want to look.  N Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Palestine, Israel, – There is always Sudan.

The economic collapse as affected so many people.

On a personal level, Mary has had to be hospitalized because of blocking of the bile duct.  The Gastroenterologist was able to insert a plastic stent into the bile duct and get it past the area of obstruction.  It was threaded through the lumen of the metal stent which had been inserted previously.  This relieved the pressure on the bile system of the liver and thus also helped the pressure into the pancreas.  The plastic stent can be removed and replaced as needed whereas the metal on she has can not be removed.  The tumor has increased in size.    They will continue to be watched.  Her blood chemistry and blood count has gradually returned to normal.  She is Puny and has been getting some physical therapy to try to get her strength built up.

Mary was in the new part of the ;hospital and it is very nice. they are almost to a paperless record keeping with computers everywhere. It will be interesting to see what develops with the so called medical reform.

Hope this finds everything goinG well with all of you—sending our very best wishes

       HAF  AKA  HAPPY DOC

SPRING2/SUMMER

School is about to be out, and Summer is beginning.  We have not had the bad storms here in Salina that have plagued some part of the country.  We are supposed to have temps into the 80’s this week.  I am trying out a new program for writing a blog.  It may make writing it easier and anyway it will give more variation in format etc.  It is worth trying to see how it works  it is “windows live writer”   Also, I am trying to learn how to use SKYPE  the audio, video, text communication program.  It has good quality of sound and also the video is good.  I noted that Oprah uses it in her program so I thought if it was good enough for her I might try it. 

Mary had a CAT scan this AM  to see how things are going.  We will find the results later in the week.

Cleo in her favorite pose—Cleo’s advice “just be –don’t do”

will close and post and see how this works.

HAF  AKA   HAPPYDOC

SPRINGTIME

Hi All
I have been egligent in keeping up with my blog. It is not April and sprinttime is beginning. However there have been storms around and snow in The West. Lynn in Denver had snow and rain at the same time. We have had a little rain we have had a little rain. The last of March we had the most snow that we have had all winter!! At least living as we do I do not have to shovel it. The flowering trees have bloomed and most of them have already lost the blooms. However, the redbuds are now coming out. Spring is welcome--nice to see all of the blooming plants in the stores and Nursery outlets. I may get a pansy plant just to have a bloom in the apartment.
We have had some short visits from family which were greatly appreciated. John and Gail cam dow from Rochester MN for couple of days. Gail got me on Facebook the social communication program. We have set up a Scrabble game and are playing long distance. Gail is ahead in points. My niece Carol is an avid facebooker. We also had a visit with our grand-daughter, Lisa with her husband Mike and two bows Taylor and Zakry. Taylor has his 2 degree black belt in Karate and is active in some other forms of mmartial arts Zack is into 4H and raising Rabbits. I am truly impressed with the school program that Mike and Lisa are in. Not all of the public schools are poor. They are using computers in the class rooms. Lisa has her class blogging and they have contact with a school in Gerany ane exchange blogs on the cultre and school program. Lisa is also connected with teachers in New Zealand.
I have hooked my laptop computer to my TV with is a 23 inch monitor. Also, I am in the process of getting wired with the tele-video program SKYPE. It also can be used just as a text or Instant messaging. At the present I am just at the beginning of the learning curve but will get there. I have not twitted yet! Have any of you!! Twitter appears to be a popular program.
Mary's test for Normotensive hydrocephalous turned out negative. which in a way is too bad as there is help with a shunt for that. We are continuing to continue on. Some days are better than others. We enjoy some of the programs that they have here at Drury Place. Saturday they had a really good program--a lady at the piano and she could really play and including all different genres of music. I need to play more just for fun. Our neighbor here has a Roland piano in his apartment and he enjoys playing it. I put my Technics piano out in the great room for a program some time back and have never brought it back. -- the space has been taken overe with computer stuff!
Hope that this finds all of you healthy and I am sure that you are following the happenings of the government etc. HANG IN THERE!! I will try to be more promt with my postings.
HAF AKA HAPPY DOC

BLOG

BLOG
title--RECESSION/DEPRESSION
It does not matter whether it is called a recession or a depression the economy is a
mess. Banks have failed, people have lost jobs, the savings and value of assets of
people have been depressed and some severely so. It will take a lot to get things
back on keel. The present situation is a downward spiral. We will survive and find
that we can get along very well with less as we found out in the GREAT DEPRESSION!
We have a new president and it appears that he is getting a good team of advisors
around him and this is the most imporstant thing as one man can not do it all.
We are approaching Springtime. I am ready! We have even had temperatures up to 70
degrees, It is supposed to be 65 today. I think everyone is looking forward to the
blossoming and change--it will raise peoples spirits.
I have been reading DEWEY the library cat. I have it on my kindle. I am still learning how to use the Kindle. There have been several best sellers about pets and animal

MARLEY AND ME and MERLE'S DOOR are a couple of recent books. I have checked
out MERLE'S DOOR from the library.
You will note that I have changed to layout of the blog. The new format is supposed to make it easier to add and move elements etc. It gives something new to play with anyway.
We are still rocking along. Mary is to have some tests this week.
Grandson Zach and Susan returned safely from Isreal. They were glad to get back to the USA.
We were honored a couple of weeks ago when Dien drove his wife and sisters from Dallas to Salina for a couple hour visit. It was good to see and visit with them.It is really an effort for them to make that trip and we felt honored. Dien and Hang -his wifr-live in Sacramento, Nogc lives in Calif, Ly lives in Dallas, Ha lives in Viet Nam and Hoa lives in Thailand. They had all gathered for Bich's funeral. The family is quite remarkable.
I will close this posting and hope that it finds all of you in good health and surviving the trials of the economy.
HAF AKA HAPPY DOC

2009

HI ALL!
2008is now in the past. and 2009 is the future. In about 2 weeks we will have a new president. The election was a historic time and it is good that there is seemingly a momentum of energy to make some needed changes in the governance of the country. President Obama will have to be a multitasker with so many things needing attention--wars, hot spots, economy, energy, unemployment, infrastructure, etc. There will be plenty for the commentators to talk and write about. We will get through all of this as we did with the depression and WW2. After all of the adjustments that we had to make then with everything from victory gardens, ration coupons, making your own soap and many other things. We then developed television, semiconductors, computers, jet engines, internet etc. In the future we will develop nano technology, solar power and other electric generation, hydrogen powered cars and things we have not thought about. An example of creative thinking; In the AMERICAN ASSISTANCE for CAMBODIA program in some of the rural school which do nLot have internet access for their solar powered computers they have developed a "motoman" program. A person and a motorbike (or oxcart) makes a round with a wifi on the back and picks up the saved messages and when he gets back to the base which has a connection the messages are uploaded and incoming ones are collected to be delivered the next day. This is a modern version of the PONY EXPRESSof olden times! www.cambodiaschools.com
On a personal note--We are still rocking along here at Drury Place. The last cat scan showed Mary's pancreatic tumors as being smaller. Grandson Zach and Susan have been in Israel visiting a friend during the between semester break. Bad timing but they should be home Jan 10 or 11. We hope that some solution can be found for the unrest in the middle east.

Le Pham Thi Bich

Many of the readers of this blog did not know Bich but I wish to recognize the extraordinary life of this lady. Bich died the last of December of a heart attack and kidney failure. 33 years ago she and her family entered and enriched our lives. Her life was not easy, (loss of her home, escape from Viet Nam, loss of some of her children, raising her family essentially as a single parent—(her husband was in “re-education camp” for about ten years before he could join her in America--). I can not imagine the anguish she must have felt, but never showed, at times. She was very brave, hard working and loving. We were honored to have known and loved her. The country has been enriched by her life and legacy. I am reminded of the Kansas Motto is appropriate, (in a different context), “TO THE STARS THROUGH DIFFICULTY”. Bich’s star is shining brightly!

We want to wish all a healthy and happy NEW YEAR! ALDEN AND MARY

politics 3

politics 3
Finally the politicing and the election is over and we are now on to the nitty gritty. As I have said, the people in the new administration are the key to how we will all come out of these trying times. So far, I am impressed with the team Obama has been getting for his advisors. The one question so far is that of Hillary—if she does take the Secretary of State. Politically it may be a good move but I am not sure that she would be the best person. I thought that Richardson, the govenor of New Mexico would be a good chhoice. But then, what do I know. The economic team just announced is very impressive. It is apparent that they all will be ready to hit the ground running Jan. 20 when Obama is sworn in as the new president. I hope that the bleeding in the investment markets has been slowed or stopped; everyone has had a fairly hard hit in the last couple of months. I switched everything over to bonds which should be of some help. Everyone however is skittish, but we will do ok in the long run. I was just thinking that in the “great depression” we went to the river and cut down and cut up trees to help with the heating of the house and the cooking. It is true that cutting wood warms you twice, once when you cut it and once when you burn it.
I have just finished reading thomas friedman’s book, “Hot, Flat and Crowded”. I read it on my Kindle which was fun and also helped me get familiar with the Kindle, it is going to be ok. It can do more than I know how to do as yet. He certainly makes some good points and emphasizes that we have to do some corrections now as far as energy usage, development and the saving of the planet. GREEN is good! I have the book “Dewey” the library cat, on the kindle and hope to read it with Mary.
The final paragraph of friedman’s book
we need to redefine green and rediscover America and in so doing rediscover ourselves and what it means to be Americans. We are all pilgrims again. We are sailing on the Mayflower anew. We hve not been to this shore before. If we fail to recognize that, we will indeed, become just one more endangered species. But if we rise to this challenge, and truly become the Re-generation—redefining green and rediscovering reviving and regenerating America—we, and the world, will not only survive but thrive in an age that is, hot, flat, and crowded.

At this time of Thanksgiving we are reminded to be grateful for what we have and to share.
Mary and I are rocking along here at Drury Place.

Hope that this finds all going well with all of you!
HAF AKA HAPPY DOC

POLITICS 2

Greetings All:
Politics is still the big thing and will continue until the election. The US is not the only place where there are changes being made. Pakistan has a new leader and Isreal also has a new Premier. The choice of Sarah Palin as the VP on the Republican ticket has created so much publicity that one would think that she is heading the ticket instead of McCain! The debates are coming upand the bail out of the debt will keep the pundits busy until the actual election in Nov. It is hard to conceive of the size of the debt we are talking about.

The following information rearding AIG is interesting.

The company's complex structure and aggressive approach reflects the determination of the man who built A.I.G., Maurice R. Greenberg, to create an global empire operating in complementary businesses. Not even the company’s annual reports to shareholders or its regulatory filings offer a chart of its complex corporate structure.

Though its name is American, the company is rooted in Asia. According to company lore, its founder, Cornelius Vander Starr, a World War I veteran, traveled to Asia with only 300 Japanese yen (less than $3 by today’s exchange rates) in his pocket and started the firm in Shanghai in 1919

Now they have increased the take to 700 Billion!! It will be some time before we have worked our way out of this. but at least I think that there will be some changes made and some improvement in the regulation and oversight of the financial sector so that the people running the banks etc get away without doing their job and then getting huge pay-outs when the company fails.
The first presidential debate is this Friday it should be interesting. I am surprised with Biden who I thought was a good choice for VP (and he probably is) but apparntly his mouth gets ahead of his feet at times and he has been making several gaffs,
I was pleased to see Bill Clinton on Larry King Live tonight and to learn about his "Clinton global initiative". apparantly a non gov. program to assist peoples and their problems--health etc--. His legagcy after out of office may be greater than what was when in office.
I made the jump and ordered a KINDLE e-book reader from Amazon. it may arrive tomorrow. So I will have a new toy!!
Mary and I are "hanging in there" here at Drury Place. I have had my 88 birthday this week so I guess that in itself is an accomplishment. We are pleased that our son Bill and wife Peggy will be here for a few days. Glad to get a visit once a year. They are living now in Fort Davis Tx. and have been busy getting their place set up.
(Sat. PM) I did not get this blog posted so will finish it and do so.
Bill, Peggy and the dogs arrived and they are camped at the KOA. They will leave Mon and go visit their kids in TX and LA. before returning to Fort Davis, TX. We are enjoying their visit here. We watched the Presidential debates last night. It seemed about a tie but neither really addressing the present finacial problems. We have been able to move a couple things along in the interest of thinning out stuff; In the process, I found the shoe-shine box which had been lost since we moved (2 years).
Bill and I have been playing with the Kindle. I got the Denver Post for 50 cents to try it out and have learned some other things about it. currently there are 170,000 books in the kindle format available.
I will get this posted. Thur. the VP candidates go at it--should be interesting.
Sending the best to all
HAF AKA SENIORGEEK

POLITICS

HI ALL
The democratic party will have their BIG party tonight in Denver. I think that Biden was a good choice for a running mate. Tomorrow we will know who McCain's VP choice will be. We have two weeks now of conventions and then 2 months of campaigning and will then have a new president selected! This is a very important time in the history of our country. Solving the energy problem is the crucial element for improvement of the whole situation. We need an APOLLO approach. There are so many areas of unrest around the world that I do not envy the next president. It would be good to know the major members of the cabinet before the election in Nov.
I have started to read another book by James Alexander Thom titled "Children of First Man". He writes in western/indian genre. His wife Dark Moon is of the Shawnee Indian tribe. I have been reading the Wagon West Series by Dana Fuller Ross. The library apparently does not have the last volume #24. I can get it used from Amazon for about 2 dollars, with about 3.50 for shipping. Costs more to ship than to buy--signs of the time.
Amazon has come out with an e-book reader which is enticing. It is called KINDLE and will hold about 600 books. The hang-up is the price at 350.00. It uses SPRINT wireless technology and a book can be downloaded in just a couple of minutes.
Last Sunday's Q andA with Brian Lamb was very interesting. Gregg Mortenson was the guest and he has established "Central Asian Institute" whose mission is to establish schools in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. The interview is available through podcast and the web page for CSI is---www.ikat.org--He has written a book titled "Three Cups of Tea" which has been on the best seller list. The library has a copy but there is a 3 month waiting time. There is an emphasis to educate the girls which is so important for the future of the countries. An example of this is Mary's "sister" thru "Women for Women" is 20 years old and does not know how to read or write--We have no concept of the problems facing parts of the world.
Hope that all is well in your part of the world!

HAF AKA HAPPYDOC

LAST HALF

JULY
We have passed the Summer solstice so the last half of the year 2008 is on it's way! We are heading for the "dog days". There is nothing to complain about here in Kanas--mostly--compared with much of the country. The town of Chapman was hit with a tornado with coniderable damage but the wheat crop is now in the bin and the crop was not lost like the corn farmers of Iowa with the extensive flooding. We need to use other cellulose material to produce Ethanol rather than corn, now. Also develop other sources of energy than oil or gas. I am interested to find out what. T. Boone Picken's plan will be? It will be posted on TV and from the teaser ad showing wind farms and solar collector I assume that these are the areas which he wants to emphasize. We do really need an APPOLO effort. Solving the energy problem is more important than putting a man on the moon. We are in an interesting time. Honda is planning to market a hydrogen powered car the last of this year or in 2009. It is quite a car, with a range of 350 mile on one fill up. They are also developing home hydrogen generators which will help take care of the lack of adequate infrastructure. Perhaps we are entering the post-hydrocarbon era. Research should be made on how to manage the atomic power plants residual material. There must be a good safe use for it instead of just burying it in a mountain.
I have just finished reading "Sign Talker" by James Alexander Thom--it is a historical novel of the Lewis and Clark expedition. It is particularly about the contribution to the effort by Chas. Droulliard. He was a half breed Shawnee Indian hunter and interpreter who joined the expedition. The group would never have made it to the Pacific and back without his contribution. I had never heard of him--much is made of Sacajawea--but Drooulliard's contribution was more crucial.
We are still hanging in here at Drury Place. There is some turnover in the residents with new people coming in and some leaving because of change in health status, need of more care etc. It was a good time for us to make the move with less to take care of etc. We do no cooking and few dishes, still do personal laundry. We spend more time reading. Mary's stent is still working.
The Political races are coming around to the last turn and the conventions are on the horizon but are really of not much use except to spend money and to try to whip up enthusiasm. The most important thing is who else is going to be on the team. The president is only as good as the information and the advise that is filtered into him. I hope we have knowledge in this area before the election. Regardless, we have lived through depressions, wars, scarcities before.
Hope that all is well with all of you and sending wishes for happiness.

HAF***AKA***HAPPY DOC

ELECTION

We finally know who the cadidates for presidet will be. The democrats have at least created a lot of excitement and this will be an important course changing election in November—whichever way it turns out. I think that there will be a much larger turnout than usual to vote and that is a good thing. We will probably be tired of all of the “noise” before it is all settled. The early elections of the nation—the late 1700’s and early 1800’s—with Jefferson, Adams, Burr, Hamilton, Marshall, etc—between the republican and federalist parties of the day became rather rough and we survived. The important thing is to vote—you can not bitch if you do not vote!
SIGNS OF THE TIMES! One of the residents’ grandsons was visiting here and was driving one of the new SMART cars. It was interesting to see one of them. It is a very small 2 passenger car with good gas mileage. Richard said that he has seen a number of them on the road in Europe. We will probably be seeing more of them –or other developments –spurred by the high cost of gas. The Smart car has developed almost a cult following with discussions etc on the internet. Richard was here visiting for a few days and he took us for a drive toward Ellsworth to see the wind farm which has been developed in Ellsworth and Lincoln Counties. It really is interesting to see the wind electric generators. In a way we are going back to the 1930’s before the days of the REA and some farmers then had windmill generators with storage batteries for their own electical system. At least it was some better than a kerosene lamp. An article in the local paper today reports that a rural homeowner has a permit to set up his own wind generator and will reduce the amount of power he takes from the grid and if he has excess will be able to sell it back to the power company.
General Motors is betting all of their nickels on the new VOLT electric car.
As a plus, on our trip to see the wind-farm we drove through Ellsworth. Rich’s car has “On Star” navigation, so we told it to direct us to our old home—216 Colo. Ave—and it did! It is hard to envision the database to be able to bring up the address in ELLSWORTH, KANSAS. It was a pleasusre to see the old home place and it has been modernized and has a 2 car garage etc. The front porch has been improved to be a concrete slab but the swing (more modern) is still hanging in its old place ---memories!
We have had a very active spring storm season, with tornadoes, thunderstorms and hail. In Salina we have been very lucky; we did go to the basement one evening for a little while because of a tornado sighted just west of town. One wonders what the hurricane season has in store! Mother Nature seems to be restlesss!
I will close this posting and send the very best wishes to all of you.

HAF AKA HAPPY DOC

SPRING

Title: SPRING IS BUSTING OUT ALL OVER

I think that is the lyrics in “Oklahoma”, anyway the jonquils, tulips, forcythia and the bradford pear trees are all blooming. So, Mother Earth is awakening from the Winter “blahs”! I know that some people like the stark black and white but I prefer the color.

A Spring Haiku:

Spring blooms bursting forth,

Mother Earth decorates her hair—

The hearts of all soar!

How about the Election Run Up!! At least it has made some jokes and has been some different entertainment. We do not go into a deadly rampage as the islamists do with the publishing of a cartoon! Visiting with a friend in McAllen, TX this week; he stated that in Mexico they are designing a portable ladder that will enable people to climb over the border fence—probably the contract will go to China—isn’t free enterprise great!

The Spring break of the schools was an opportunity for us to have some visits from family. Lynn and grands Kirsten and Karl from Colorado and John and Gail from MN. paid us a short visit. It is great to have a visit in person rather than just the telephone’

A web address that you might enjoy abd get some laughs (the music of the soul).—

www.wackywits.com

One of the jokes

Passing by the primate area one day, a zoo attendant happens to notice a chimpanzee sitting on a rock with an open book in either hand, looking first at one and then at the other. Upon closer examination, he identifies the books: the Bible, and Darwin's "Origin of Species".

Curious, he asks the chimp, "What's with the books?"

The chimp replies, "I'm trying to decide whether I'm my brother's keeper, or my keeper's brother."

Mary’s bile duct stent stopped up—we knew that it was only good for about 3 months. It has been replaced with a bigger, better model and she is doing fairly well now—not jaundiced.

There have been no more postings from “baghdad burning” blog since Oct when the family escaped to
Syria. However Sainab Salbi who is the founder and ceo of Women for Women program has posted notes on her recent visit to Iraq which is very distressing as far as the day to day lives of the civilian population is concerned. You can read these notes at the following address.

http://wfwnotesfromthefield.wordpress.com/

My reading has been mostly fluff and “escapism”, which I guess balances the news reports and the political noise. I have been reading—slowly—“god is not great” byChristopheer hitchins and just checked out (because of the authors name)“Blue Grit” by LAURA FLANDERS. The sub-title is True democrats take back politics from politicians.

Hope that this finds all going well with all of you!

HAF AKA HAPPY DOC

and the winner is

AND THE WINNER IS……..

The reppublicans have essentiially decided on their candidate for president and the democrats are in the battle to the finish. They may go to the convention and the super delegates. We may get tired of all the “blather” but aren’t we glad that we can do it!!. The new primary format does give the populace a chance to put in some input but the process should be changed so that it does not take so long and also some mechanism to be less expensive. Some of the money could be better spent. It appears that Obama has made great strides but the Clinton’s are very strong opponents. (I do not know where hilary gets her 35 years experience, unless she was co-president with Bill!) At least, we do not bomb and shoot our opponents as they did in Pakistan.

On c-span 2 today there was an interview with the writer who helped Benazir Bhutto write her book “reconciliation”, which has recently been published—in fact—just before she was killed. This was in the “afterwords” segment this week end on book tv. It is very interesting and is available on the internet as a podcast. The interviewer was Akbar Ahmed who is of pakistani desent and author of many articles and books on islam.

I have been negligent in posting to this blog and in fact had thought some of not continuing. We have been busy with health problems etc. mary was finally checked at the cyberknife facility in Wichita but she is not a candidate for that type of radiation.

I want to take this chance to wish all of you the very best wishes for 2008—and we will get through the elections!

HAF AKA HAPPY DOC

wonderland

WINTER WONDERLAND

It is almost winter but it does not seem to be like a “wonderland’! We have had an ice storm followed by a 9 inch snow. This has resulted in a devastation of many trees but most disrupting has been many people without power. There have been downed power lines and transformers knocked out for a week or more. The outages have been spotty and here at Drury Place we lost the use of the elevator, but all other electricity has been functioning. Everyone is helpful and supportive. Perhaps a “small” disaster once n a while is good to be reminded of the intrinsic goodness of people. However, wars and fanaticism with man’s inhumanity to man must be eliminated. It will happen in time. Education is the major key. One effort I that direction is the OLPC—One laptop per child program.

http://laptopgiving.org/en/index.php

One learning child. One connected child. One laptop at a time.

The mission of One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is to empower the children of developing countries to learn by providing one connected laptop to every school-age child. In order to accomplish our goal, we need people who believe in what we’re doing and want to help make education for the world’s children a priority, not a privilege.

Since November 12th, OLPC has been offering a limited-time Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. During Give One Get One, you can donate the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in recognition of your contribution. Thanks to a growing interest in the program, we have extended Give One Get One through the end of the year. You may also donate laptops via our Simply Give and Give Many options. Through the increasing public interest in OLPC, we hope to give many more children the opportunity to grow, explore, learn and express themselves.

The XO laptop is designed to be indestructible.

The last couple of months have been somewhat hectic. I have had a cataract removed from my right eye. Mary has had a problem with jaundice due to restriction of her common bile duct by the pancreatic tumor. A plastic stent was inserted with endoscopic technique to remove the blockage, at least temporarily. We are looking into Cyberknife treatment.

In this Christmas Season, Cleo joins us in wishing all of you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!