The Wonderful Surprise

Hi all.

One of the good things about going to Ft. Lauderdale but not going to GA is that I get to stay in hotels that are not in the UUA system.  My friend M. (who convinced me that going to Ft. Lauderdale would be a good thing) got us a room at the Hilton Ft. Lauderdale Beach Resort………on the north side of the beach…..374 suites (studio/1 bdrm/2 bdrm/3 bdrm)…….spa…..the ocean……and no GA. I think I lucked out on this deal.

So for all of you who will be in Ft. Lauderdale for GA, I’ll see you there. But while you’re in Plenary, I’ll be in the ocean. yipee!!!!!  

I Love Amtrak……….

…..even when I can’t stand them.

…..even when the train arrives 4 1/2 hours late into St. Louis.

…..even when said train arrives in Chicago almost 7 hours late.

…..even when said train beats the 3:00 St. Louis-Chicago train by only 20 minutes.

…..even when I arrive in Chicago with just enough time to make my train to Boston.

This friends, has been the oddest trip I’ve had with Amtrak. And let me tell ya, I’ve had some real dozies. But this one ranks right at the top for weirdness/oddness. Which is why Amtrak will be getting a complaint call on Monday morning from me.

Anyway…Scott Wells over at boyinthebands.com has had a really good conversation going on about train travel. If you’re interested, take a look.

I’m in Boston until the 22nd, then I’ll be headed down to Ft. Lauderdale to not attend GA but hang out with all my friends. So I’ll post when I can.

Looking For Books

I decided to go on the Earlham bookstore site today so I could see if the booklist for my August intensive was up yet. It was.

They are:

 

Soul Tells A Story by Vinita Hampton Wright  (isbn- 0830832319)

Living Journal by Christian Koontz  (isbn- 1556123701)

Christian Imagination: The Practice of Faith in Literature and Writing by Leland Ryken  (isbn- 0877881235)

Storytelling: Imagination and Faith by William Bausch (isbn- 0896221997)

 

Does anyone have a copy of any of these books that they would be willing to lend me? (I would gladly pay postage for you to ship them)  The class lasts for 2 weeks (August 4-15) and I would like to get a jump on reading them before I get back to Indiana. Any and all books borrowed will be returned in good condition.

 

A Note From Across The Miles

Got an email from E. today. Her move to Philadelphia went well and she has fallen in love with the neighborhood that her house is in.

After doing her Quaker things this summer and also after her 2-week intensive in Richmond she will start her year-long CPE at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital.

I am so happy for her and yet at the same time feeling sad for myself. It’s going to be interesting being in Richmond without her there to bounce ideas and funny thoughts off of. She was the one person I knew “got” me in Richmond. I don’t know what it’s going to be like without her. Don’t get me wrong, I really am happy for her because she needed this move. I’m just going through a bout of self-pity.

Anyway…it was nice to hear from her and know that the move went well. And I do get to see her in August; so this bout of self-pity will only last another day or so.

Digital Camera Update

Hello all.

Just thought I would let you all know that I did buy a digital camera today. I got a Kodak EasyShare C713. 7 MP. 3x zoom.

Thank you to all of you who gave suggestions. They really did help.

A Question For Those Protesting the DNC Decision

In my former life I was in politics and political circles so I’m asking this out of genuine curiosity.

As I understand this, both Florida and Michigan had people on the Rules and Bylaws committee that helped make up the rules that were being appealed today, so nobody can say that the rules were not known.

The rule was that if a state moved up the date of its primary (to January) after the four states that were chosen to go in January were chosen, then that state was going to lose the right to have their delegation fully seated. The states that were chosen were NH, Iowa, NV and SC.  Michigan and Florida moved up their dates to January.

My question: why were Michigan and Florida surprised that the DNC was enforcing their rules? And why should the delegations have been seated at all?

Like I said, this is out of curiosity.