A Fine Day For A Road Trip

7:34

It's 39 degrees and the sun has just peaked through the clouds off to the east, on its slow move to the south.  It always amazes me, the difference between a sunrise in June, over Long Point Pavilion, to that in December, over Wells Bay.  I really paid no attention to this journey until we retired here a few years ago and I got to watch it move slightly each morning.  It also shows how unobservant I have been for much of my life, especially of the natural world.  I guess other  things were on my mind!

We did two things of note yesterday, go to the movies  at 4:00 (half price pop corn and drinks), and watch the debate.  Other than that, we did a bit of organizing, Evie went shopping, and I met her at the theater.  The movie, ARGO, starring Ben Afflect has gotten great reviews but for some reason, neither of us was taken with it. It's based on an actual incident, the freeing of six Americans from the Canadian consul's home in Tereran, back during the hostage crisis.  The build up to the actual escape seemed uninteresting, even boring.  When they actually left the home, to start for the airport, the pace picked up, though the problems they faced seemed predictable, the evil Iranian authorities finding out at the same time what was happening, the state department calling off the mission, cancelling their plane tickets, making it necessary to reconfirm them at the last minute, as they were at the Swissair counter.  It is an amazing story, we just didn't buy it or were moved by it.

The debate was another matter; Obama finally asserted himself, confronting Romney on his pledges, his plans, and most likely won the debate if there is such a thing.  Romney was as good as last time, but because of Obama's mojo, he did not appear as convincing.  Romney was strongest when he explained the failed policies of Obama, his promises that have not been met.  Obama was strong on almost everything else, especially when he angrily denounced Romney for suggesting  that he and his people had politicized the Libyan affair.  Obama actually turned his back on him in disdain, a powerful move I felt. The audience, supposedly the undecided, ought not be allowed to vote.  They seemed disinterested in the debate when the cameras showed them and I thought their questions were fairly mundane and predictable.  If you don't know who to vote for at this point, you have not been paying attention.  It's scary to think these people may decide the election, perhaps on a sound bite.Next Monday we see how the tie will be settled.

We are off in an hour for a road trip, first to Cooks Forest State Park, where we hope to go on a couple hour hike, then on to State College, home of Penn State, to enjoy the campus and listen to one of my student's bands play tonight at a local bar.  It's hard to believe he is now thirty two years old, struggling to make it as a musician.  He was the captain of the football team, a student in my AP class, went to Notre Dame, got a good job in the financial world, and threw it all aside about six years ago to concentrate on his passion, the keyboards and music. As far as I knew, he never manifested any interest in music in high school.  One can never tell where a person's real passion lies, as schools often put too much emphasis on academics, ignoring the arts.  He's a great kid.