2014 Outlook

Enough people are predicting good things for America in 2014 it is hard to not get caught up in the joy of optimistic expectations. It is also a good place to be: feeling good about yourself, those you love and those you don't even know from "shore to shining shore." It is too much to believe that all bad things will be righted, that hunger and disease will disappear from our beautiful country, and all will be right with our world. Nevertheless, I put myself among the optimists for 2014 and will do my small part to work for the best in our lives and the life of our country. It won't take a lot of effort on my part (or yours.) A simple random act of kindness from time to time, a little donation here and there to a worthy cause or a needy person. Uttering a kind word or better yet 'I love you' to the ones closest to you who feel good about themselves (and you) when they hear it from you.
It is my wish for all that 2014 will be one of the best years of our lives and we will all look back in 2015 and know it was. God Bless all of us and the USA!

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Widow and widower take a second chance on life.

A South African Remembers Mr. Mandela

A gentleman I met ten years ago in Cape Town, South Africa, sent along a copy of his remarks made at his Rotary Club in Cape Town and I consider them most worthy for sharing:

Hello All

It's nearly the end of the year and Denise and I wish you all a very blessed and also merry Christmas.

The last few days have certainly allowed us all to focus, one way or another, on the meaning of life, on the value which needs to be given to real values, on humility, generosity and also to focus on our society and our social conscience. This event, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela's death, has given us the opportunity to rethink the issues of showing empathy to our fellow beings, caring for those who need it, of showing us all the responsibilities to be faced – our responsibilities. And it has highlighted the job that needs still to be done most urgently to improve and uplift our South African society. May this occasion, sad as death is, also have a positive effect in creating a new vision in the minds of those who run this country and coerce them and in turn all of us to live and lead in a substantive and effective manner.

Thank you Mr Mandela for  once again reminding us about caring.

May you rest in peace, but your principles blossom.

Regards

Steven Boers

Cape Town Rotary Club 

/Architects Boers Associates 

(Complete blog here.)

Nelson Mandela

In January 2003, my late wife and I went to South Africa on the recommendation of our oldest son whose work had taken him there on several occasions. We flew from Atlanta to Johannesburg, checked into a hotel, went to a mall, bought a book of country maps, rented a car and drove all around beautiful SA for the next two months. One of the stops along our journey was a visit to

Robben Island Prison

Robben Island where Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned for more than 20 years.

Mandela's cell.

We walked in the stone quarry where he labored. We could only imagine what life must have been for him there and, like former President Bill Clinton, we remain amazed that Mandela came out of 27 years imprisonment with love and a desire for reconciliation of all South Africans in his heart.He said he lived on hate for the first eleven years and then slowly his mind changed his heart.
Mr. Mandela died last week at age 95. South Africa mourns him and will be a lesser place in his absence. The good he accomplished in his one term in the presidency has been squandered in recent years but his memory lives on and with effort South Africa can be again a leader on the continent and a land of fulfillment for all races and creeds.

May his soul rest in peace. 

A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year greeeting

Having crossed the 82^nd meridian of life I pause to wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to those living people who played a significant role in my vibrant, interesting and mostly pleasurable life, to wit: my brother and sisters; neighbors and boyhood friends in places I lived; teachers from first grade through high school and fellow students encountered along the way; folks I worked with prior to going in the service and those I hung with after work; men and women I was privileged to associate with during eight years of Air Force service, including those who trained me and advanced my career; the wonderful people over the next 50 years who I met in my work, college and graduate school, community, church, political and social life; my five children  

who made me and their late mother proud by turning out to be good people in their own lives and mating with a good husband and wives and making us proud grandparents; the many folks we came in contact with around the world, especiallyin China, Australia and South Africa; doctors and nurses who have helped keep me going all these years; the fine women and men who cared for my wife in her advanced and declining years; those neighbors and strangers who became fast friends and sustained me in many wonderful ways during those difficult years; and my new wife

and her family and the recently acquired friends and neighbors who continue to make my life worth living.

Merry Christmas one and all and Happy New Year!

Let's Move On

Some people just can’t or won’t let go. Fifty years ago a lone gunman, a misfit, shot and killed the President of the United States in Dallas, Texas. For most of November 2013 the news media has given coverage to the eternally suspicious conspiracy speculators among us that Lee Harvey Oswald was not acting alone when he killed President John F. Kennedy. That horrific act still sells papers and promotes television. It’s called titillating the masses. It is good and healthy for a nation to remember, but it is long past the time when we ought to have moved on. Thanksgiving will be next week and something else will lead on the front pages and evening news teasers.  Read and watch.

The Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum

Nothing invokes deep feelings like a visit to a museum honoring the fighting men and women who made up The Mighty Eighth Air Force during World War II. My wife, Joyce, and I visited the museum in Pooler, GA., at Exit 102 off I-95, a few miles north of Savannah. The Mighty Eighth was activated January 28, 1942, at Hunter Field in Savannah, and it would become the greatest air armada in history. It is estimated that more than 350,000 Americans served in the 8th AF during the war in Europe. Five thousand planes were processed through Hunter Field, including the City of Savannah, (on display in the museum) which flew 44 missions against the Germans.
I have been in the museum twice before. They constantly add memorabilia and research capabilities for the benefit of the public. Over "nine thousand books significant to the history of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, as well as original manuscripts, photographs, oral history interviews and personal accounts, artifacts and works of art" can be found here. Planes, clothing and equipment are also on view. The Memorial Gardens and Chapel of the Fallen Eagles, modeled on an English chapel, are a setting to reflect on the sacrifice of so many young American men.
The museum "tells the compelling story of ordinary people whose lives were transformed by extraordinary commitment, sacrifice and patriotism."
We took a few pictures, but it takes a visit to the museum to really appreciate this piece of American history and the courageous young men in their flying machines.

A hiding place in the attic of a French home for downed American air crew.

Celebrating victory in Europe, May 1945.

The City of Savannah, the 5,000 plane to join the 8th Air Force in England.

 

 

 

 

 

Did I mention the museum is staffed by volunteers and you can drop a contribution into a box to help keep the place going? You can also schedule a business, social or cultural event in the lobby - including a wedding reception if that is your wish. You may also support the museum and keep these great memories alive by visiting the web site and making a donation. It will make you feel good.

Inappropriate comments in advertising

Dear Ms. Washo

I preferred the "turkey cover" over the tattooed man. That said, I write about another subject: the inappropriateness of Frank Dunne, Jr.'s column in CH2, a magazine designed to acquaint readers with the many services and providers in the Hilton Head area.

Mr. Dunne labeled the national Common Core education standards "a stupid idea" simply because President Obama is a supporter.  He then called Common Core "a bunch of B.S." and said we know this because it is a "federal program." He later refers to the U.S., Department of Education as the "Department of Non-Education," and says its employees are "clowns."

Mr. Dunne is disrespectful to the President of the United States, dismissive of Common Core simply because it is a federal program and insulting to the many fine people who work for his, yours and my government. (Fair disclosure: I am a retired federal security director.)

It is immaterial that a column in support of Common Core was in space opposite Mr. Dunne's disrespectful and obnoxious comments.

I don't object to Mr. Dunne having such views, and some of his comments might be appropriate in a political column on the op-ed page of a newspaper, or some other place pandering to the extreme rightists in our beloved country, but they have no business in a magazine with the obvious goal of CH2.

Obviously, I cannot pick and chose what items flesh out this 120 page advertising medium but I can ignore it in the future and encourage others to do so.

World Champions - Boston Red Sox

I was still so excited this morning I put peanut butter and strawberry jam on my English muffin. The cause of my joy - the 6-1 victory in the 6th game of the 2013 World Series which made the 2013 Boston Red Sox champions of the baseball world. From last to first in one year. What a feat!

And David Ortiz is the man who led the Red Sox all year with his hitting, his enthusiasm and his belief in his teammates. Ortiz was voted the Most Valuable Player of the 2013 World Series.

I am going to add four numerals (2013) to add to my favorite Red Sox banner.

(Complete blog here.)

(Send comments: arch@archibald99.com.)

A couple of friends

A couple of friends dropped by Wednesday en-route from Florida to North Carolina. What makes this couple

so special is they are my two oldest friends in terms of years known. Don and Edna Sherrow were in Washington with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations when I arrived there in the spring of 1953. Don was in the USAF and serving as the Administrative Support in the Counter-Intelligence Division. Edna was a secretary in the Sabotage & Espionage Branch, which I joined as Administrative Support. Later Don and I each went to the OSI Special Agents training school and served several years conducting personnel, criminal and counter-intelligence investigations. I left the Air Force for civilian life and Don transferred into the Army where he was commissioned. He later worked as a Postal Inspector. Interestingly, their daughter and one of my sons, met and worked together in later years.
It was the first meeting of my wife, Joyce, and the Sherrows and they took to each other immediately. We don't see each other all that often, just the occasional service reunions and when passing through each other's living area, but the friendly ties and bonds formed years ago when we were all young and starry-eyed continue to this day.

I ate the whole thing

Having a wife whose birthday is the day after yours makes celebrating easy. Joyce and I went to Biltmore Estate in Asheville

for a three-day getaway (Oct.1-3). She had not been there before and seeing it was atop her bucket list. I visited about 40 years ago and my lasting memory was the Kiosk behind the mansion which offered delicious ice cream. It is long gone but new restaurants and an ice cream parlor were introduced sometime in the 80's. The ice cream is made from milk taken from the dairy herd on the premises and is some of the best I have ever eaten. This delicious sundae (creamery vanilla ice cream topped with strawberries, whipped cream and a cherry) was my choice and Joyce enjoyed a Root Beer float.

The mansion was built by George Vanderbilt, grandson of Commodore Vanderbilt, beginning in the 1890's. Today, the magnificently tended gardens are a tribute to his love of the out-of-doors, and the imagination of Frederick Olmsted, the journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer, who is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture. We learned of George's great generosity also to the Asheville community and people. The Episcopal Church in Biltmore Village outside the Estate grounds is an example of his many contributions.

(Send comments to: arch@archibald99.com)

(Complete blog here.)

The 15 minute telephone call

   After 34 years it is a remarkable diplomatic opening for the presidents of Iran and the United States to have a 15 minute telephone conversation. Even more remarkable for the President of Iran, Mr. Hassan Rouhani, to say he wanted to talk to the President of the United States, and for Mr. Obama to quickly place the call. The road ahead for relations between the two countries is long and will have some potholes in it, but it can be successfully navigated for the benefit of all.

   Two things to watch out for: One, the inclination to think it is sanctions against Iran that alone are responsible for this breakthrough. Iran has survived for 34 years and to deny or ignore good will on the part of President Rouhani does a disservice to him and the people of Iran. Two, Israel and Iran are at loggerheads over realistic fears about nuclear weapons. The United States is not going to leave Israel’s side but we cannot let this chance to improve relations in the area evaporate because of Israeli intransigence.

   It is to be hoped the 15 minute telephone conversation on September 27, 2013, will come to be recognized as a milestone in improved relations. 

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Frank Seabrook Hay, Jr., 1926-2013,R.I.P.

(Note: The following are remarks I planned to make at the celebration of Frank's life on Saturday, September 21, 2013, at Rodenberg Chapel, Franke at Seaside, Mt. Pleasant, SC. Speaking, however, was limited to three members of his large extended family.)

   It is a happy feeling to be back at Franke at Seaside among so many friends, even though the occasion is also a sad one.

   We come together to celebrate the life of our friend Frank Hay and at the same time extend to his beloved wife Frances and all the family members our condolences and love.

   I had been at Franke for over three years when Frank and Frances came to live here. I was a regular participant in “The Week That Was,” a discussion group dealing with current events, most of them political in nature. The weekly group attendance was 25 to 30 residents, male and female. The group was led in a most capable manner by Jeff Erickson, a volunteer coordinator, who is with us today.

   The group was essentially divided into two camps. There were conservatives and liberals. Each camp held views peculiar to their own persuasion. Some of the attendees spoke up frequently and wanted to share their opinion, and hopefully convert others. A number of attendees listened silently, sometimes smiling or nodding their heads one way or the other.

  Then one day a new face was in the crowd. It was Frank Hay. Initially, Frank was somewhat of an enigma.  He didn’t seem to have any of the prejudices that dominated the participants. He could not be said to be in one camp or another.

   After a few weeks I began to recognize Frank as a free-thinker. He formed his own opinions about important subjects instead of accepting what others were saying.

   It slowly dawned on me that Frank would have been right at home during the birthing years of our great country. He would have enjoyed the company of Washington, Jefferson and Franklin. He would have believed in the separation of church and state and the freedom of man to make his own choices in all matters.

   Like Galileo, Frank did not feel obliged to believe that the same God who endowed us with sense, reason and intellect had intended for us to fore-go their use.

   In 1790, George Washington urged congress to promote science and literature. He said that in every country knowledge is the surest basis of public happiness.

   Frank was like this. He came every week to The Week That Was armed with six or seven supporting documents in a folder with which to urge thought and discussion. His arguments were spoken with intelligence and moderation. He did not believe that speaking loudly made anyone’s argument any more persuasive.

   I sought out and enjoyed Frank’s company and that of Frances. They amazed many of us on several social occasions with elegant demonstrations of ball-room dancing. Frank’s skills on the dance floor made him the envy of more than one man here at Franke. Especially, when wives said, “See!”

   We served together on the Active Lifestyle Residents’ Council here at Franke and for a year Frank was our recording secretary. He carried out his duties with determination and skill and everyone benefited from his accurate rendition of what happened at the meetings.

   Frank came to my apartment one day and took away an idea of how to re-arrange his living space to make it more livable. He told me about this later and I felt good about it. Who doesn’t like a bit of praise now and then?

   We sat together and enjoyed dinner at the counter in the Bistro on many occasions and it was a pleasure to share our thoughts.

   My wife, Joyce, and I came to visit Frank in late August and enjoyed again his company and our discussion. He was his usual optimistic self and we left with joy in our hearts at how well he seemed to be getting along. Alas, that was only temporary and the Master of the Universe had other plans. I would like to think He will enjoy Frank, the free-thinker, for all eternity as much as we enjoyed him for the three years he was with us at Franke.

   Frank was my friend and I will miss him very much.

(Comment to: arch@archibald99.com) 
(Complete blog here.)

BMW engineering lacks common sense

This is a 2005 BMW 745Li Sedan. 
BMW enjoyed record sales in August 2013 and for the first time sold over a million vehicles during the first eight months of 2013. So they must be doing something right, right? Well it is not great engineering nor parts reliability coming out of Munich.
I have a front light that needs a bulb replacement and the local BMW service writer estimated it would cost about $400 because the front bumper has to be removed to replace a bulb. A bulb cost about $40 each. He suggested replacing matching bulbs "while we got the bumper off." Remove  a bumper to replace a light bulb. Who is the Fubar'd genius who came up with this one?

I bought this vehicle in a private sale about two years ago from the previous owner. To date, I have $5,200 in repairs on a BMW with less then 76,000 miles on it.
The driver's seat cushioning has become  problem and I am afraid to ask what a new seat would cost. (BMW has already replaced the front passenger seat cushion.)
I am under-impressed with German engineering.

Do we need a life?

I don’t know what this says about us (the wife and I) but last night we watched the concluding episode, number 102 of “Weeds,” the Showtime serial about an urban wife and mother, Nancy Botwin, who, when her husband dies prematurely, turns to selling marijuana to maintain the family’s comfortable lifestyle. The show ran eight seasons, 13 shows per season, for approximately 50 hours of TV. We watched it all commercial free from Netflix via Roku and we did all this watching over five or six weeks, usually four episodes a night. The same time it would take to watch a two hour movie.

   The series created by Los Angeles born Jenji Kohan was never boring. A great cast of captivating regular characters supplemented periodically with fresh faces introduced and hanging around for a few episodes all contributed humor and suspense. Many of the half-hour situations were seriously over the top but this made the series as addictive as its title.  One thing we especially enjoyed was watching the youthful actors playing the Botwin children age as the show went on over eight years. The basic cast was kept together throughout the run of the show.

   Some people, who have seen this series, or parts of it, may consider it nothing more than trashy fantasy and I don’t disagree with that assessment, but for adult laughs it is hard to beat.

   Only things is it worries me that we watched it all. We could be brain-dead. AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaH.

(Complete blog here.)

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