Another weekend has come and gone. That weekend went exactly as we had thought it would. Well, perhaps not quite “exactly.” We didn’t think the Patriots would lose to the Dolphins. But, on the good side, the Red Sox won two out of three against the Blue Jays and have tied for at least the wild card spot in the playoffs. It would take a total meltdown by Boston not to get into the playoffs. The Yankees won their final game at Yankee Stadium last night to stay alive, so the “magic number” remains at one. A Sox win tonight against Cleveland gets them in. And the mighty Florida Gators whomped bitter rival Tennessee.
It was a good weekend on the home front, too. With the exception of a couple, maybe three, more mowings and spreading the winter fertilizer late next month, we are coloring the outside activities done. Gator Wife and Gator Daughter finished taking care of all the gardens for this season. We have two vegetable gardens, a two-tier flower garden, a big circle garden, and gardens along all four sides of the house. I also did mow the yard so that’s a task I won’t worry about for at least another week. And, as I said, finishing up the lawn season is all that’s left. If you feel that fall is in the air, it is. Fall, autumn if you prefer, begins today.
GW took a big personal step Saturday. As you’ve read on many occasions, she has worked at a part time job since she retired from office work six years ago. Saturday she asked that her three eight-hour days be cut to five hours each. She says she’ll work this schedule for a while to get used to being home more, then either cut more hours or give it up all together. She was asked why she made the request and told them simply that she was tired, getting older, and it was approaching time to relax. I not only agree with her decision but also support it completely.
It will be interesting here at home to see how she takes spending all that time with me. Shucks, it’ll be interesting to see how I take spending all that time with her. We’re almost to the beginning of our 48th year together so I’ve got a little feeling it might work out. There’s no question I’ll do all I can to make life easy for her when that final retirement comes. She’s my rock. If it weren’t for GW when I had my little fun time a few years ago, GiM wouldn’t be here today.
Let’s get off the maudlin stuff. Seems to me this is the final week of Congress before it breaks for the election season. Since all the House seats and a third of the Senate seats are up for election, it is understandable why they take this time off. They need it to convince the voters of all good stuff they’ve accomplished. It will be a difficult task for the Democrats, so they’ll spend their time convincing the voters that President Bush prevented them from doing much.
There are a couple of major, really major, items Congress should attempt to resolve this week, but the trademark of the Democrats is not to do that. This country is in the midst of two crises, the financial meltdown and the lack of a viable energy plan. The financial one is in the middle of the blame game which never resolves issues. This is one time when both parties must come together to find a solution. I might be among those that believe bailout isn’t the answer. They very well could go into recess without taking any meaningful action of oil drilling, also. I think the falling price of oil is lulling Congress into believing that crisis is over. History tells us it isn’t, but who believes history?
We have stuff facing us here in Maine, too. The financially troubled Dirigo health plan is falling deeper and deeper into debt, more proof the state should bite the bullet and admit its social program doesn’t work. The state is also facing another vote on allowing gambling in Maine. A Las Vegas firm has taken over the promotion for a casino in Oxford County. And Scarborough voters will decide if Scarborough Downs can get slots when the Town votes in November.
We’re in for an interesting five weeks, and that hints of a busy blog period. It’ll all begin tomorrow.
GiM
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