Pat and Vanna

If every cloud has a silver lining, does every old car have a gold one? Apparently!

The old blue car needed an expensive operation to cure its highway shakes. They knew they would have to go auto shopping this summer. But looking forward to car dealers about the way most of us also look forward to a root canal, they put it off until after their vacation.

That might have been a mistake, because then their late and unlamented white vehicle threw a temper tantrum (and a piston) when asked to accelerate uphill around a truck. The fix for that one would have been roughly the same amount as the resale value. That's exactly the news all of us want to hear when we're a whopping two hours into their much-needed two week vacation. (Must have been tempting to just turn around and go home instead of making a million adjustments so they could continue on and visit grandparents and The Mouse.)

So...whether they wanted to or not, they each had to shop for a reliable car when they returned home.

The result is the gold lining to their garage if not their bank balance.

Election Day and Three Moons

Gerald Ford is in the Mayo Clinic for tests. He is 93! That is seriously making me feel a little old since I remember him swinging a golf club while he was president.

The press loved it when his shots went astray (more frequently than he would have liked, I'm sure) and hit onlookers (who probably were not as thrilled as the press). Gee, doesn't that make you yearn for the good old days when politicians only had a club and golf ball, not a rifle and buckshot like Dick Cheney?

I'm positive that getting hit by a golf ball really hurts and I would hope that at least they saw it coming. But I think I'd rather take my chances on the golf course than anywhere near the VP when he has a gun in his hands. It's interesting that the two events got similar amounts of airtime. Of course, back then there was no War in Iraq (and Afghanistan) and maybe press fodder was scarce.

Anyway, think before you vote today!

Moving on to what I really wanted to blog about--the better part of getting a little older is that you get to be proud of your nieces and nephews!

We were so proud of Leelee when she donated money from her FFA lamb to the American Cancer Society last summer. It's only been this last year that so many friends have had cancer of one sort or another that it's a bit overwhelming and has revved up our support for cancer research--and here was our niece showing us the way all along.

This summer we have enjoyed watching the closing credits for the new show Three Moons over Milford because they show our nephew's name as production assistant. We know he worked really long hours, partly to do the best job he could and partly as a favor to a friend. Well done, JT.

You've both made us proud with your compassion and intelligence. (And yeah, now you've raised the bar and we expect even better things!)