As things return to "normal" I reflect on the many ways that things will never be the same. As you may know, I grew up in Norwalk CT, just a 45 minute train ride from midtown Manhattan. My twin brother lives in Brooklyn. We were back there visiting in June for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary and even went to the top of WTC tower 2 while in NY. I have had many ideas about what I would write here after the attacks. Daily I find myself thirsting for revenge one moment and the next wishing we could educate, rather than bomb people in the middle east. I feel as if we were so naive before all of this. Some say innocent, but we as a country can hardly call ourselves innocent. Of the many ideas I have half written and cast aside, I will say this. We have shown the world our best. Let's continue to do so in the face of the anthrax hysteria that threatens to engulf us. We must end our dependence on foreign oil, and not by drilling in Alaska. We get 30% of our oil from the middle east. I look around me when I drive to work and here are hundreds of full size pickups and SUVs with one or two passengers in them. Many of my coworkers drive full size pickups, what else would a REAL MAN drive? Come one, you may need a 3/4 ton truck for hauling things on occasion, but for commuting you could use a car that gets twice the mileage. Sure your wallet can afford to fill the tank with gas every week, but can your country? Do you want to see if this nation's leaders really care about us? Lets see them push for more fuels made from renewable resources. Use diesel? Go to Biodiesel.org and check out why we are really dependent on foreign oil. Remember, our president comes from a Texas OIL family. You may not like me sayin' that but it's the truth. We can only be held hostage by our desires as long as we are complacent.

As you may or may not know, I am a fire fighter. 09/11/01 held a special hurt for me. 344 of my union brothers were murdered. On November 18th the City of New York will join with the International Association of Fire Fighters and stage a memorial service in NYC. They expect that 50,000 uniformed fire fighters will attend to march. I think the actual number will be greater. I plan on attending and marching. It will be a breathtaking sight, no doubt, so many fire fighters in one place. A point commonly taught in training for terrorist response is that the 'first in' rescuers will probably become casualties. How many had that thought on their minds as they rushed into harm's way?

Winter is coming on fast...

Here in the Inland Northwest the days already feel too short and the nights are getting quite frosty. I have been rushing, between the rain showers we get so often in the fall, to get some things done around the yard. The summer seems so endless here and then suddenly the temp drops and reminds you that winter can happen real fast. Snow is common by the end of October (none yet though!) and last year we even had our first snow on the 1st of October. It stayed cold till March! I'm hoping this winter is a little bit milder. With the prospect of snow blanketing the mountain passes, Vic and I headed to Seattle to get in some visiting. We spent Saturday with Greg, and even got to ride his horse Bogey, an 1800 pound giant. It was really quite an experience as I had never ridden a horse. bogey is a beautiful animal, it was a wonder to see him gallop with Greg at the reins. All four hooves leave the ground! An 1800 pound pogo stick, at least that's how it feels to someone like me who can't hardly ride.