Not To Be Out-Blogged

My sister Monica started a blog.

A couple weeks ago, I told mom that I thought she (mom) should start one. I think it would be a great way for her to tell her prodigal kids (wait - if we're all here, and she's over there ... doesn't that make her the wayward one?) and friends of her daily goings-on in eastern Europe. I was waiting until I had a few more posts to have a coming-out... er, rather... blog-release announcement, but I shared the existence of my blog with mom in an effort to encourage her to create one for herself.

Although mom has yet to take my suggestion, she did share it with Monica, who engaged (hee hee, I'm so witty!) You can link to it from this page. So it seems that I, whose suggestion of "Speckle" as the name for the family dog was unanimously turned down, whose fashion sense was regularly ridiculed (I was just before my time!), and whose propensity for seeking out - and developing an allergic reaction to - strange and exciting flora and fauna impacted more than one family vacation; I can proudly claim responsibility for starting a family craze. This makes the fourth, as I am also crediting myself for introducing the webcam, the concept of butt-stamping, and the use of the word "meh".

All of that background was written as an explanation of this pledge: I intend to start posting more. My competitive fires are stoked and my literary creativity is incited.

...And I think mom should start a blog.

A Score + A Decade + 5

circa 1996:

Happy anniversary, mom & dad!

Thirty-five years ... very impressive!

Here's the rundown from my persepective. Granted, I wasn't around for the first several years, so I have only family lore to go by.

Cost of engagment ring: 2 prize-winning Berkshire pigs
Children: 4 +2 in-law +1 in-waiting +1 future perspective
Grandchildren: 1.5
Countries lived in: 8
Countries evacuated from: 1
Continents visited: 5
Pets owned: 5 dogs, 2 cats, 2 turtles, 3 birds, 1 hamster, kaboodle of fish


chillin' in 1987

Happy Birthday, America!

My first post...

Happy birthday, America!
You know, its pretty easy to be patriotic when you're an American living abroad. You have the chance to honor what's right about the nation, instead of getting so garbled up in debating its shortcomings. My favorite Independence Day celebration ever was 1995 in Cairo, Egypt. The school opened up to anyone with an American passport, and everyone kinda spent the day in general celebration. Marines and missionaries, teachers and businessmen, enjoyed music, swimming, food, drink... and a good time was had by all. For that little while, Americans from all different backgrounds, brought to this foreign land by a myriad of callings, socialized and celebrated and played together for no other reason than because they hailed from the same great country - a country worth celebrating.

Cheers... to the land of the free and the home of the brave...