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At the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, as the delegates were leaving, a woman asked Dr. Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got – a Republic or a Monarchy?” His response: “A Republic, if you can keep it.”  Benjamin Franklin and those delegates had spent months crafting a carefully balanced government, based on…

Wow, it’s been a long time since I wrote a  blog post.  It’s not that nothing’s been happening, but I often find myself without the time or energy to write after dealing with the silly stuff that life throws at us. I’m now on my long break from work, so I’ve got some time to…

I’m back in Delaware.  I had a terrific visit with my daughter and her little family.  (see the last post).  The drive home from Huntsville took a little longer than it should have.  For starters, my car was covered with ice,  It took a while to get it scraped off (should have been a warning). …

I’ve been at my daughter’s place in Huntsville, AL for the last few days.  It’s about a 13 hour car ride to get here – one can do it in a day.  I was able to meet my newest grandchild, the four-week-old Anna, as well as reestablish my relationship with her older sister, Mary. The…

It’s Sunday and there’s nothing to do.  We had 24″ of snow yesterday.  Guess I’d better get out the shovel and go to work.  The work took just a little longer than I thought that it would.  When the snow is over your knees, you aren’t going to push it anywhere.  You’ve got to pick…

Wow, no posts for a week.  I’m at that point in my shift rotation at work where I just finished working 6 shifts in 7 days.  I can’t post from work (and I probably shouldn’t anyway) and I haven’t had that much time at home. I’m just a little fuzzy-headed today.  I worked the night…

I am back at home after a completely uneventful return trip (the best kind).  United had a really nice 777 that took me from Rio to Sao Paulo and then to Dulles, where I took a shuttle flight (25 min) to Philadelphia.  I left Volta Redonda at about 4 pm on Thursday and arrived at…

Many of the traffic lights in this area have been replaced recently.  They are now rectangular boxes, with a big digital count down of how long it is before the light changes to the right of the light.  A cool idea, as long as you ignore the obvious drag racing implications….  You know how long…

Cidade do Aço – city of steel.  Another name for Volta Redonda (translated wiki link), the Brazilian city where we live (occasionally).  The city is anchored by the largest steel plant in Latin America, Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN). CSN is the economic engine of the city.  The jobs that it provides and the other money…

Have you ever had something really crappy happen to you?  I’m not talking run-of-the-mill crappy like a broken shoestring or a parking ticket, but really stop-you-in-your-tracks crappy.  Last week, my wonderful daughter, Melody, had my second grandchild.  This was definitely not crappy.  She’s home from the hospital now (link) and doing fine.  Sometimes it’s good…