SLC

I am in Salt Lake City this week for work. --stay tuned--

The Waltons of Buffalo.

A few weekends ago I visited my family in Buffalo. We usually plan lots of family activites to fill the weekend. Somehow my sisters and mother were in charge of planning a fun family activity...so what did they come up with? Holiday wreath making! My brother and I were entirely skeptical at first, and my dad would not participate even though he made an appearance. But we went to the craft store and picked out our own special decorations (mine had musical instruments), and I have to admit everything was quite fun. These are some serious action shots.

Trip home.

Here is my sister Julie and niece Emily acting weird. Also a pic of all the finished products. Mine was one of the best, I must say. It's on the upper right.

Last weekend was great...lower 70's and sunny. I finally got the chance to take my fall drive to the mountains and to visit Culpeper and the environs I used to drive around. Marc went with me. Here we are hiking at Whiteoak Canyon. Most of the leaves had fallen, but when the wind blew some still came down like it was snowing. The car top was down all day and night long...might be the last of it.

I've posted pictures of this park before. I just found out recently that it's the longest 'step' type of fountain in the country. It has some European origins, but I forget now. Originally called Meridian Hill Park, it's now called Malcolm X Park. In the past it was the dividing line between a white community on one side and black on the other. People came together to enjoy the park.

On Sundays during the summer people from around the neighborhood would come together for really lively drum circles. Lots of people would dance.

Go Blue!

Team Blue scored some great victories this week, perhaps more than could have been realistically expected. I was hoping Dems would gain control of just one house, but it now appears both MT and VA have elected Dem Senators. Given the blatant rubber-stamping of the Republican Congress for the past six years, I think it is probably best that a balance of power always exists. Let's hope that Pelosi's words to create an honest Democratic Congress come true.

The major downside to the elections were the seven states that voted for marriage amendments. There's no excuse for writing fear and hatred into any constitution. Who has the right to tell their neighbor they can't have all the freedoms and opportunities they themself have? Extending rights to any minority only serves to strengthen society as a whole; it never detracts. The one surprising ray of light was AZ voting down their amendment. Let's hope this is a sign of positive change.

I hope the elections of the past six years inspire more people to vote. If a candidate wins by a few thousand votes, that's proof that your vote counts and that one person can make a difference. Hopefully people are interested enough to learn about the issues and aren't voting solely based on what their pastor, spouse, or parents tell them.

Finally, I must admit that I did not vote this year (I did in the primary). My mayoral candidate won 90% of the vote. Our token Representative and Senator have no vote in Congress, therefore there was really nothing for us to vote on. It's unbelievable that 600,000 Americans living in this country (on the doorsteps of the White House and Capitol) have no voting representation. Some are optimistic that this might change in the next two years. Here's an article saying that it might even be considered before the end of this year.