Oliver is one today

The weather here in .Apex, North Carolina is perfect as we celebrate our grandson Oliver's first birthday.

We are renewing our acquaintance with Lily, who was three in July, and of course with Julie and Mark, and Jessica, who is beginning studies at Duke.

My thoughts on GOP convention

As conventions go, the recent GOP convention in Tampa was at least average in the party getting its message out, which basically amounted to Obama has failed and the team of Romney and Ryan will be successful in creating jobs.

Several speakers electrified the crowd with attacks on the Obama administration while  others, like Condoleezze Rice, sobered those attending and watching on television with a warning that the United States must lead in national affairs.   (Transcript can be found here TRANSCRIPT)  The Democrat spokesmen on TV were most upset with the stirring words of Ryan as he strongly attacked Obama while promising the Romney-Ryan team will bring prosperity.  They also took offense at the ridiculing of Obama by "make my day" Clint Eastwood.

Meanwhile, Louisiana and other Gulf states struggled to cope with Hurricane Isaac and its winds and floods

In other tragic weather news, an earthquake and tsunami has hit the Philippines.  The wife of one of my sons lives on an island which was subject to damage.  We have been unable at this time to communicate.

Christie calls for honesty from elected officials

If there is a criteria for keynote speaches, I will agree that Chris Christie remarks Tuesday night did not meet it.  His speech was more like a presidential candidate, calling on government officials to be honest and for all people to stand with him in facing the real problems and working to solve them.

At one point I began to think that Christie has been reading my blog.  How many times I have said that we need a Congress with the guts to tell people the truth about our problems and the sacrifices that will be necessary.  As recently as August 18 I was asking "Can voters accept truth?"  Christie was emphatic in his belief that voters will accept the truth if elected officials are honest with them.  Let's hope he is right.

We leave for North Carolina

Jen and I leave Wednesday for North Carolina, arriving around 9 p.m.  We will be on hand to help Oliver Roy celebrate his first birthday Friday, August 31.  It seems like yesterday we visited a the time of his birth. This will be my third trip to North Carolina since Mark and Julie got jobs there and re-located from the Washington D.C. area.  Jen and Josh were there last month helping Jessica move from Baton Rouge to Durham.  Jessica has begun classes at Duke Seminary.

I am looking forward to the visit but I dread the trip, especially changing planes at the Atlanta airport. Even worse is when take-off is delayed for weather or any other reason and you have to sit in the plane not knowing how long you will be required to wait.  As I have emphasized at the time of other trips, passengers should be allowed off the plane and to  wait in the lounge area.

Obama must disavow outlandish attacks

It is unfair to hold a candidate  directly responsible for every  unfair and outlandish remark made by a supporter, but the candidate must repudiate the remarks and the person making them.  In recent days Samuel L. Jackson and Ellen Barkin have made profanity-laced statements wishing that Tropical Storm Isaac would drown the delegates to the Republican convention in Tampa.

Barkin called for Isaac to "wash every pro-life, anti-education, anti-woman xenophobic gay-bashing, racist SOB right into the ocean." Obama would not use those exact words but the tone of his campaign is reflected in them.  Campaigns should be about what you have done to solve problems and  your plan to make things, such as the economy, better.  The Obama campaign, with only failures to run on, has resorted to calling everyone who does not agree Obama's philosophy to be a racist.  Recently, they have added anti-woman to their message.  The national media allows Obama to get by with this.

Was I psychic or psycho?

There I was blindfolded, holding hands with another boy and bumping into desks and walls while students giggled and laughed.  How did I get put in such a situation?  Maybe, I volunteered or maybe I was selected; I don't remember. Out seventh grade teacher, Mr. Trout, was trying to prove something and provide a break from the monotony of studies.

Most people have experienced a feeling that some one was staring at them, turned around and found it was true. Or they have stared at some one  and seen that individual finally look around.  I was blindfolded, an object was placed in full view, and my companion was to keep his eyes glued on that object.  He was not to lead me or steer me in any direction.

After stumbling around, embarrassed and convinced I would never see the object, something happened; I could plainly see the  paddle the teacher loved to wield, and I dashed toward it, supposedly proving  one person could transfer what he saw and concentrated on to another person.

I know this happened.  I tried this with my brothers and sisters but they were usually  too impatient, although I seem to remember it was successful once.

Hellfire sermon called for to warm cold church

My Sundays of wearing short sleeve shirts have ended; I'll have to go back to coat and tie.  I almost froze in church this morning, and I wasn't alone as people moved from pew to pew seeking a warmer place.  I told Tom Howe that if he was going to keep the church so cold he needed to preach hellfire sermons to bring some heat to the church.  Bill Compton said that some churches his group sang in had a pile of blankets for those who got uncomfortably cold.