The media reports that Senate Republicans blocked a poposed windfall profit tax on the oil industry. The Bush administration and Republican Congress have had their way for eight years in protecting the oil industry while it continued to collect more and more profits. Sixty votes were needed to pass the bill and only fifty one voted for it. Senator Mary Landrieu, Louisiana was the only Democrat to oppose the bill and she has ties to the oil industry in her…
I came across a book George Plimpton wrote some time ago Mad Ducks and Bears which I read on our trip. It discusses football with a lot of time devoted to Alex Karras and John Gordy stories. I’d always admired Karras as a player. It turns out Karras had been selected in high school as All State four times during his playing in Indiana. What’s even more remarkable was he was selected each year in a different position in football:…
I’m listening to a book on tape during my commute from our home in Gig Harbor to our office in Seattle. The actor Kirk Douglas has written nine books in his retirement and this one was written at age 90 years. The book Let’s Face It, is, like his other books, enjoyable. One story I enjoyed was about his close friend, the late Bert Lancaster. The two were together at a dinner honoring Douglas. Lancaster noted that Douglas wasn’t eating…
I'm not a real fan of bullfighting because I can't get past the problem of the cruelty of the sport. However, ever since reading Ernest Hemmingway's 1932 book Death in the Afternoon I have been a huge fan of the courage, skill and art of the matador. My favorite quote from the book deals with timing and courage. Hemmingway writes about the concept of "Ver Llegar" or "to watch them come" which he describes as the ability to watch t…
We are home. We left London on a sunny afternoon. London is eight hours ahead of Seattle time so, we arrived on a overcast cold afternoon in Seattle, tired and jet lagged. I have piles of newspapers to thumb through (I’m afraid I might miss something important) lots of mail to read and accumulated bills to pay. There are also suitcases to unload and contents put away. Dirty clothes to be washed and unfinished business to be faced. Unfortunately, the computers…
Today is Sunday June 1st. This will be brief because on this French key board the A, W and M are all in different places then our key board so it is one finger typing for now. Our drive from Paris was pleasant with Alan who lives near here and speaks very good English. The hotel is a very old farm remodeled into a hotel outside of town. We ate in the hotel last night: The food is very good…
Today is Friday May 30th and we are in Paris staying in the wonderful George V hotel. Our suite has a narrow balcony area with a view of the Effile Tower and the city.. Last night we ate at the Le Cinq restaurant in this hotel which is worth visiting Paris for by itself. A modified menu in which each small course is accompanied by a wine and all of it delicious. Waiters dressed in tuxedo's with tails. The lobby…
We left Ravello on Monday morning and were driven across the mountains to Puglia and our hotel Masseria San Domenico. It was a three hour drive through grape, olive and wheat area. It was 93 degrees outside and was beautiful. Our driver had trouble finding the hotel – stopping in the middle of the road to check his map with lights flashing. He also drove between 95 and 100 mph on the autostrada so we kept and eye open the…
Sunday >May 25, 2008. We went to Mass this morning at the church in the square. It was 1st communion day and the steps were full of parents. Women dressed up and men in suits. Boys with a white monk robe and girls in white dresses. Each girl was given a large Easter Lilly. The priest gave the children a talk (too long) at the top of the stairs and led the children inside where the sat on each side…
The sun is out. The weather very warm and the view from the Hotel Caruso spectacular. Today is Saturday May 24th. We arrived by way of Seattle to London, short lay over and on to Rome.After a night at La Posta Vecchica on from Rome by car for a three plus hour drive to this hotel. The route across the mountains made Amalfi drive easy. Like Whatcom County's Chucknut a straight road. High up into the mountains along a windy road….
