Monday, the 25th day of June, 2012.

Happy (belated) Fathers Day to all fathers or fathers-to-be out there… I found out the day before Fathers Day from my son-in-law, a father-to-be himself, that my oldest daughter, Clarissa, is expecting a boy. My second daughter, Valentina, did a sonogram on her and they saw the ‘evidence’… Talking about Valentina, she turned 28 years old this past Friday, June 22^nd. Happy Birthday, Tini!

…and the Miami Heat did it! They practically dismantled the Oklahoma Thunder (p.k.a. Seattle Supersonics) in five games… Although I was skeptical (thought that LeBron might deflate like last year) they played with heart, they played smart, and they had good coaching… Congrats to Miami! Additionally, the Yankees have the best record in baseball, have gone 16-5 in June and managed last night to disassemble the Mets ace who had not allowed a run in about almost 50 innings! By the way, I heard that the Miami Marlins had been sent down to Double A league, where they rightfully belong!

There are some news about our Phase I here in Hawks Bluff… The first one is that new construction is going up on Horseshoe Drive, on lot 222 (or may be 223?) right across the street from the Fergusons… We saw Peter Talbot this past Thursday here in the development (we were looking after an hours-old fawn we found in the middle of the road) and he talked to us regarding the new construction going up; Peter and Rachelle used to own the Heritage Homes dealership in town and now own a Timber Block dealership after Heritage went belly up… Second news is that, of the four houses for sale in Phase I, there is a contract already on one of them (the one right across the street from the old Suarez house in Forest View Drive); however, there seems to be a snag – pay attention: the agent representing the seller (who is the person I got this information from) has been told by the agent representing the buyer that the FHA would not accept/approve the appraisal of the house because - are you ready for this? - there is no POA, or HOA, or anybody else responsible for the maintenance of the roads in the development! Now, this is third-hand information; I trust my source (the agent representing the seller), but I know nothing about the original source (the agent representing the buyer). I will editorialize no further; let you swallow slowly; and leave you to ponder. In further news, several of us were talking with the selling agent mentioned above and she was asked about the current situation with the Real Estate market; she said: for homes under $100K the market is showing signs of life; it is not great (it isn’t even good) but there is life; for homes over $100K, the market is pretty much still as slow as before; and as for land, forget it, you cannot even give it away!

Going to Gainesville, FL this coming Wednesday to help Alex with her move to Alpharetta, GA; the weather may be conspiring to make my life a little bit more challenging since Debby, as in Tropical Storm Debby, has stalled over the Florida Peninsula, moving with a slow drift, and threatening with dumping water all over the place for the foreseeable future…UGH!

Now, the book of the week: “A Nation of Wusses” by Ed Rendell, ex-Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell addresses the political climate that has led to the demise of the original American Spirit that made this nation great: the spirit to take risks, the spirit to stand for what you believe. Be right or be wrong, but first and foremost, be genuine and real! Politicians, of all political persuasions, are letting polls – instead of their own conscience - dictate policy.

Last, but not least, food for thought:

“If you find an abandoned fawn (or any other wild animal), call me and I will come and get it; I then will take it to the appropriate re-habilitation and reintroduction center. Keeping it or taking it to any unlicensed/unauthorized place is illegal!

 - Kyle Walling – Regional Game Warden

So, stay playing by the rules, my friends…

Wednesday, the 13th day of June, 2012

My only sibling, my sister Ligia, turned sixty one this past Monday, June 11^th … She was the first born to my parents 16 months before I did, and has always been a good girl… She is the person I’ve known the longest, the human being with the closest DNA to mine, and my longest living friend. Happy Birthday!

And the Miami Heat did it to the Boston Celtics! I was somewhat less than confident about whether the Heat would prevail in this series or not… It took them seven games and dominated clearly in the last two games… Now they meet the Oklahoma Thunder in the NBA finals (Oklahoma? Are they sure? Since when do they have anything other than football in Sooner-land???) Although they already dropped game one, I will continue to root for the Heat with a healthy dose of skepticism…

Officially started the process of helping Alex move from Gainesville, FL to Alpharetta, GA… She came up this past week-end from FL to GA bringing some stuff and we met here at her apartment on Sunday. We hanged some shelving for her and also a ceiling fan; she assembled a shelving stand, a microwave oven cart and tested her new oven… We all had lunch and then hit the road in opposite directions…

I used to be an avid reader throughout all my life (in several occasions I read the dictionary – both Spanish and English - cover to cover). In recent years I developed Arterial Hypertension (a.k.a. high blood pressure) and the medication(s) to control it had drowsiness as one of their side effects; the drowsiness manifested at its worst when I would try to read – I could never again read more than two pages without falling asleep; so I gave it up. Several weeks ago, by chance I grabbed a book to review it and, after reading the prologue – much to my surprise – I was able to read on without falling asleep. So, books beware… I’m back! So, here is a new section: recommended book.

Recommended Book: “Trinity” by Leon Uris - Relates the story of several generations of Irish Catholics, their struggle to stay and survive in their homeland, the constant and fierce conflict with Irish Protestant, and their different views of the centuries-long British occupation of Ireland. Good entertainment and learning opportunity.

Now, food for thought:

“In the end, big government or small government is neither the question nor the answer. It is effective government that matters. And you can’t be effective if you are a wuss.”

 - Ed Rendell – Ex Governor of Pennsylvania

So, stay true to your principles, my friends…

Wednesday, the sixth day of the sixth month of 2012

To all my friends who inquired about my health, thank you for your concerns. Fortunately Jan, the girls and I are healthy and in no need of medical care. Last week’s commentary regarding Health Care was not a cry for help or a lament of wanting; it was only a dismal attempt to describe the characteristics of living where we live. The overall intent of my writings on the subject of living in ‘these here mountains’ is to point out the differences between this lifestyle and the urban/suburban lifestyle most of us were exposed to before moving here… This week I was going to write about transportation and decided against it… After writing a draft and reading it several times I realized that, except for the distances and the absence of taxi cabs, there are really no differences between here and any other place regarding one’s cars maintenance and repairs challenges. And no, I don’t need a car; I don’t need a mechanic. All my personal transportation needs are fulfilled (although the tires on the Jeep are getting close to the end of their usable life).

Twenty one years ago this past Sunday, June 3^rd, Leah came roaring into this world and the whole damn place has never been (and will never be) the same! She had planned on going out on Saturday night, wait until midnight, and then order drink, but her plans were changed a bit by a severe cold that kept her from most of her celebrations… Happy Birthday to the Pooh Bear!

The weather has stabilized a bit ‘round here, although this past Saturday morning it went down into the low forties; we had left some windows open before going to bed and I woke up in the middle of the night with certain discomfort, a discomfort that came from being freezing to death! Closed the windows, grabbed a blanket, and all was good again in Paradise…

Heat & Celtics series is going south, literally; the Celtics are up 3:2 after winning the last three games in a row in Boston… I somehow do not have the confidence in this heat team… At times they look less than competent and confident… In the fourth game (which they lost), they did a great job coming from behind (way behind) and tying the game and sending it to overtime… Ah, but those last 6 seconds of overtime were ugly…

Bunny rabbits! Up until last week our yard was teeming with rabbits; one evening I counted up to nine of them… They would come out at dawn and/or at dusk and will play and eat for a while; they ate a couple of our plants but not much else (I had said that if the rabbits attacked the garden, I would attack the rabbits). And then one morning Bella, our German shepherd, brought in a hind quarter of a rabbit. We searched and eventually found up to three rabbits dead in our yard some partially eaten and some not eaten at all; they seemed to have been killed during the night. I believe Mr. Wiley Coyote found our patch of plentiful rabbits and went on a killing rampage… Since then, we see in the yard only one ‘wabbit’ at a time…

Now, food for thought:

“Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.”

 - Dwight D. Eisenhower

So, pull and not push, my friends…