Lake Hudson

This weekend, I kayaked in the most secluded place I’ve ever been. I’d been craving some solitude and I found it at a little-used state recreation area. I saw no evidence of anyone else for two of my three hours on the water! I had previously only been swimming there, so I had no idea how big the lake was.
As you can see from the map, there are several distinct areas of the lake, so rounding each bend brought new delight. The wildlife viewing was fantastic and the roar of the cicadas and whooping of water fowl underscored the serenity.
I can’t wait to see this place in the autumn.

More Evidence of Duality

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-A danger in your personal life is being around too many people who yell.
-A danger in your professional life is being around too many people who whisper.

Lawnmower Fire

It turns out that gas tank caps are very important . . .

Politics As Usual

"Show me that age and country where the rights and liberties of the people were placed on the sole chance of their rulers being good men, without a consequent loss of liberty! I say that the loss of that dearest privilege has ever followed, with absolute certainty, every such mad attempt." - Patrick Henry
“ . . .it would be a dangerous delusion were a confidence in the men of our choice to silence our fears . . . let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." - Thomas Jefferson
“ . . . democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.” - James Madison

Whew

Thank God, my mom’s kidneys are working again! We had quite a scare here. . .
Diabetes is awful! Her kidney disease can be thrown into full-blown kidney failure by nearly any illness, which is what happened. We’ve been holding our breath, hoping that the medically-induced kidney function would continue without the meds.
It seems to be working. HUGE sigh of relief . . .

Irony

The very strengths that people take most for granted in us sometimes end up being precisely what the same people most resent in us.

Happy Independence Day

I was lucky enough to visit Concord, Massachusetts on July 4th! This is the Minute Man statue, marking the location of the "shot heard 'round the world."