FamGuyToday by Aunty Fox

from Carol, in Florence this time. Surprise, she's having a good time, as I also, can't complain. Had a great visit from my best buddy, Scott, today, as we sat on the deck and talked about life. Last night was dinner at Ted and Kari's, as Nate told us about the challenges at his new job. Life is good, but kinda different, at this point. Been many times when I was the one that was gone, but this time, I am home, and trying to deal with daily life, on a day to day basis, as I miss Carol. Different, but not all bad, as I view life from an altered perspective.

except for the view in the rear view mirror, as the wind blows my hair, feeling like a kid, then I see this gray haired old man looking back at me. Kinda hard to accept, but I guess I'll get used to it. Reality is a tough concept to deal with, but if it slaps you in the face often enough, you are forced to face it. Not easy, though....

and I needed a project. Voila! This will help her get to the potty, and/or the sink. The 1.0 version took a while, BUT, now that I have the design figured out, really enjoy the time in the shop. Looking for another project, since I got the tools and woodworking experience. Ideas, anyone?

or new exercise machine? Have been looking for a recumbent, or as Carol calls them, an 'old man's bike', for a long time, and finally found a good deal on Craig's list. I love to ride a bike, for exercise and just to get out, but have always paid for it with a sore back. Ever since I first rode a recumbent I thought that would be the answer, SO, we'll see. Have put a lot of miles on it since yesterday and I can feel it in my legs, but that's sorta the point. Am gonna gradually try to build up to where I can do some serious mileage. That's the plan, anyway.

to see how FAUXNews addresses Obama's interview in Rolling Stone magazine, where he calls 'em out on being a propaganda arm of the Repub party. Really obvious, everything he says, and I can't wait to see how these clowns refute it. Should be interesting.

said Interior Sec Ken Salazar, as he shut down the scandal-plagued Minerals Management Service, an agency that was in charge of collecting revenue from the oil and gas industry. Since the Bush admin took over, and slashed the number of auditors, the agency has been embroiled in sex and drug charges, as well as over 40 external audits after the foxes were put in charge of the henhouse. It was the perfect office for the Bushies, whose entire existence was to enrich the oil companies, to manipulate the amount of royalties paid by them and their buddies as they pushed the price of oil from under $17 to over $147/bbl. However, most of the guilty parties were allowed to retire, with huge pensions, and escape criminal charges as they were allowed to plea bargain with the Bush/Cheney crowd. The office that takes in revenue, 2nd only to the IRS, has been totally revamped and actually has watchdogs keeping track of the big oil companies. What a concept!

Obama is finally taking off the gloves and confronting his biggest enemy. He was quoted yesterday, saying FOXNews is 'clearly biased', and just another arm of the Repub party. He compared it to William Randolph Hearst's newspaper empire that preached his political views. Nothing new here, but it is nice to see him finally confronting the propagandists who claim to a 'news' agency. Fair and Balanced? Gotta be the funniest slogan, EVER.

the educational system in the US is broken. After many years of, 'No Child Left Behind', that dumbed down the whole system, and set the bar so low a slug could barely crawl under it, we have dropped from #1, to about #25. The teachers have to spend all their time with the lowest common denominator, so they can get funded. This is the future of our country, and all you gotta do is talk with a teacher to see how it was screwed up. Thanks again, George, for bringing the country down to your level. Race to the Top is at least addressing the problem and funding it. About time....

quarterbacking, here, as the Broncos lost another one. Losing is one thing, but all the chances they blew, 'in the red zone' was really sickening. Wonder boy, Josh McDaniels had a problem with 3 of the Bronc's best players, (seems they wouldn't bow down, low enough, to him) so he just shipped 'em out. Fullback Payton Hillis rushed for approx 150 yds yesterday, about the same number of receiving yds Brandon Marshall had, while tight end Tony Sheffler had another great game. Woulda been nice to have any ONE of them as the Donkeys couldn't score from inside the five a BUNCH of times. Looks like it's gonna be a long year, BUT, no surprise as I watched the 'boy genius' wreck our offense before the season even started.

and really like it. 'A Walk in the Woods', by Bill Bryson. Thanks again, Laura. Sort of a Dan Hiasson way of looking at the world, but instead of Florida, he's hiking the Appalachian Trail. Not many books make me laugh out loud, but this one does, in between all the stories of suffering and deprivation, as our heroes trudge up and down hills, in bear and hillbilly country. I thought I could, maybe, do something like this, BUT, have decided reading about it is about as close as I'm gonna get. Got a long way to go, but so far I'm really enjoying the journey.

and it sorta doesn't seem real, but it is. Has always seemed so far away, but here we are. I took Carol to the airport this morning, for the first leg of her trip to Italy, WITHOUT me. She's gonna meet her friend Terri, in Philly, then they're off to Frankfurt, then Venice and they'll finish up in Sorrento 10 days later. They've talked about going to Rome, together, since they were little girls, and FOOLISHLY, I went along with it, cuz it always seemed so far in the future. This first day isn't so bad, so far, cuz we got the final match of the Fed-Ex Cup, the Rockies are playing the Giants and the Broncos are at home against the Colts, but I have a feeling it's gonna feel real different around here pretty soon. Oh well, at least Bailey's still here.

between the Dem and Repub candidates for Colorado governor, John Hickenlooper (D), said he agreed with legalizing medical marijuana, since the voters approved it, and it could be regulated and taxed. Dan Maes (R), disagreed, and added, 'Why don't we just prostitute our teenage daughters and tax that, too?" Finally, a progressive idea from the Repubs, whose entire strategy has been to merely say NO to anything that could help the people, therefore the Dems. Get those young girls off their butts and have 'em stop texting while becoming useful members of society. Way to go, Dan! And to think, I, like most of the state, thought you were just another Repub wingnut, like all the others that always bitch, but never put forth any specifics about how they'd help the economy that THEY wrecked. Finally, an idea....

can be boiled to one basic premise. Deficits are terrible, so let's make them worse, by cutting taxes. They rail about out of control spending, but only make one concrete suggestion as to where to cut. The TARP program, which, if it were totally gutted, would make less then one half of one per cent dif in the budget, while the Bush tax cuts for the rich (top 2%), if renewed would add hundreds of billions. The GOP rules out cuts for seniors, veterans and our troops, which leaves Soc Sec, Medicare, defense, the main culprits of the deficit, untouched. Looks like their main war is against arithmetic, but nothing new, there. They just hope people listen to their rhetoric and forget about HOW we got into this mess. Eight years of THEM in charge.

by Pearl S. Buck. Sorta glad I read it, but am not gonna read the the next book in the series, 'Sons', that follows the sons of Wang Lung. The story chronicles the life of a Chinese peasant, who, through (very) hard work and determination, builds a small dynasty for himself and his family, through the constant acquisition of more land, (hence, The Good Earth). BUT, he is not a likeable character, and although you get to know a lot about the Chinese culture, during the first half of the 20th century, it was hard for me to remain interested cuz he had so many flaws it was hard for me to care about him or his family. His loyal wife suffered through drought, floods, locusts and an army invasion with him , but he dumped her and moved his favorite prostitute into their home, as soon as he could afford it, although he allowed his wife Oo-lan to stay and do all the work. He gradually gained financial success, but was never happy once he quit working the land. Bottom line, I struggled t...

that pesky recession is finally officially over, as of June, '09. I was kinda worried that it was gonna be serious, but obviously we dodged a major bullet. Seems the Bush crowd didn't really wreck the economy with $147//bbl oil, 'oops, bad info' war, financial rule changes to allow 'liar loans' to whoever wanted them, and basically pissing off the whole world with their 'torture is OK, but only if nothing wlse works' mentality. Whew, was pretty close there, for awhile, when it looked like unemployment was gonna be a problem, with more people walking away from their mortgages every month when they found themselves under water and sinking deeper. Maybe the Fed should lower the interest rate? Never mind, Bush already shot all the bullets out of that gun and it's officially at zero. The real news? Now we can officially enter 'double dip' territory in the near future. WWII officially got us out of 'The Great Depression #1', but I don...

if 'the fix' was ever on, for a college football game, all you had to do was watch the last quarter of the Texas-Texas Tech football game yeterday, as the Longhorns were awrded the game, over the Red Raiders. The officials continually changed the outcome on the field with their ridiculous calls. Woulda been sick if I was a true Red Raider fan like my buddy, Dave Rankin, who lives for the football team he used to play for. Didn't make it to the first down marker? No problem, we'll spot it where you need it. Got stopped short on fourth down? No problem, we'll call taunting on the tackler for raising his fist as he gets up. Sickening display of crooked officiating.

on the political scene was a pleasant surprise this morning, as I surfed the channels. Came across "Meet the Press", where Colin Powell was being interviewed by David Gregory. What a change! A respectful, relevant interviewer and an intelligent, well-informed, experienced diplomat who just happens to a retired military Republican. Why can't we get someone like him to vote for, instead of the polarizing whack jobs who grab all the headlines?

I realize how much I love Sarah Palin and the Tea Party. Sorta like Ralph Nader allowed the Repubs to win in 2000 and 2004, by splitting the Dems, in a very tight election, the same thing could happen in 2010 and 2012. The whack jobs on the far right will split the vote and allow the moderate middle to keep them out. Thank you, Sarah and Tea Party, for keeping our country out of the clutches of the right wing nut jobs. You could be a total disaster, if allowed into power.

and I can't stand it, says Michelle Obama, in the FOXNews headlines about the French first lady's book. BUT, if you actually read the article, the author, and both first ladies deny that it was ever said. Doesn't matter to the FOXNews crowd. They found an obscure quote and ran with it, knowing it was false. Made a great headline for them, though, and most of their crowd doesn't look past soundbites. Typical sleazy 'journalism' by the crew that slithers out from under rocks to post their 'news'.

as I messed up my back, and ankle, playing golf today. The bad news? It HURTS! The good news? Is a good excuse for pain killers. That's why they were invented, man...

about education in Texas, where 'book larnin' ain't that important', is that even though the state passed minimum academic standards for student athletes, the schools found a way around the rules. For example, a player had to have passing grades to play on Friday night, SO, the schools would include a class on 'Football' where the jock got 100%, but that wasn't enough. They then initiated a program, called the SIP, or School Improvement Plan, where just showing up for any class counted as 'participation' which counted for 50% of the grade. Still wasn't enough, as student athletes didn't even show up for classes. In a landmark court case it was decided that even if you didn't show up for a class, the lowest SIP score you could get was 50%, which enabled the athletes to meet the minimum standards. The 'high standards' of education obviously permeated the entire system, which explains how Texas, even with the huge amount of oil money...

really jumped out at me, as I read, 'Friday Night Lights'. (Those of you who know me, realize I can't stand GW Bush, and this book just confirmed all my suspicions, and reinforced them) Actually, more than that, but the first was how the First Nat'l Bank of Midland, went belly up, in the largest bank disaster of it's kind, in the US, up to that time. One of the main players? George H W Bush, who later took down the entire Savings and Loan industry in the United States, as he and his buddies, including his son Neil, (who personally looted Silverado Savings and Loan, in Denver, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars), made a killing, and decided it could be done on a much larger scale, if they only changed a few rules. Was a LOT of money at the time, until W made it look like chump change, as he wrecked our whole economy. One thing you gotta admit, the Bush boys didn't play for small stakes. They f****d us, BIG time. Another, amazing look into the future, ...

and am amazed by the feelings that linger. As I said, there's a reason H. G. Bissinger won a Pulitzer for his in-depth dissection of a Texas town's obsession with it's high school football program. They live and breathe it, not only cuz there's not much else to do, but there's a passion, there, that transcends everyday life and elevates it's players and disciples to a bigger than life stage. A toughness and oneness of spirit that makes it a highlight of the participant's lives. A goal to aspire to, with memories to last a life time. I was a high school athlete, who will be remembered for a last second shot that won the Big Ten Championship, but the stage wasn't comparable. The author, even ten years later, is still afraid to return, with threats to his life a common occurence, although the main characters all agree he did an honest portrayal as he updated their stories ten years later. He was trusted, and got to know the players, coaches and townspeople ...

I should explain how/where/when I got my view of Texans. After a couple years of college, I moved to Dallas to take a break and make some money. Had kinda long hair, for Texas, and worked at Varo Industries, where the main products were searchlights and night scopes for Viet Nam. Had to deal with redneck supervisors and cops who were high school dropouts and saw how the people didn't give a crap about the killing and maiming in Nam, as long as they got a paycheck. During my storm chasing, however, have met and worked with many great people, but have also reinforced my stereotypes in many ways. How anyone could live in Houston, with the heat, humidity, traffic and refinery polluted air is beyond reason. Just one man's opinion....

am really enjoying 'Friday Night Lights', though it isn't what I expected. True, it's about Texas football, but it's more about Texas lifestyle and politics, esp around Odessa and Midland, home of the Bush clan. It's got some nice insights, starting with the myth of Ronald Reagan, the Repub hero. They consider him a saint, with great family values, but he never went to church, and his family hated him. They think he's a war hero, but the closest he came to war was the movies. AND, they cite him as a cost-cutter, but he tripled the national debt during his tenure. They overlook the Alzheimer's that was so obvious while he was still in office, cuz it didn't really change him much. After reading the book, you can better understand the Texas mentality that makes them think they are some kinda genius/heroes cuz they reside on a hot, barren wasteland that happens to have oil under it. Some great insights into the boom/bust Texas oil economy, and the huckst...

and it is really fun right now. The Rocks swept the Padres, then the Reds, now Arizona with a walk-off homer by Jason Giambi. These guys are fun to watch. The Bronc's lost today, but was a great game. Good Sunday afternoon.

but this guy negotiating an oil deal for the Taliban looks kinda familiar.

as we got to spend time w/Nate, Laura and Piper, including a picnic in the park, on Friday, then met w/Ted and Kari at the Festival Italiano in the "Little Italy' part of Denver. Did some wine and food tasting and was amazed at how many people show up for the annual event. Then, heard lots of noise coming from the high school football field and walked over to see the two Broomfield schools in their yearly rivalry. Bmfd Legacy beat Bmfd Eagles in a close one 23-21 in front of a PACKED stadium. The bad news was CU getting their butts kicked by Cal, 52-7. The Buffs really stunk it up. Broncos at Jacksonville in a few minutes. Good weekend, with more than a hint of fall in the air. Really enjoying 'Friday Night Lights' which is WAY different than I thought it would be. He won a Pulitzer for a reason. Thanks Laura.

at Oracle. Just a few weeks short of ten years (counting BEA Systems, bought out by Sun, bought out by Oracle) in the business, he's taking a 6 month sabbatical to clear his head and work with Jen and Jesse in their flight simulator business, which has really taken off. Good of Oracle to let him go, as they offered him a promotion and raise to stay, and good to know the job is still there if he wants to go back in a few months. Fun to see the cousins, graduates of School of Mines, working together in a business situation. Check it out at www.rjsim.com . Good luck, kids...

yesterday, that we saw the rookie from Cuba, who just defected, and got a $30 million contract. Chapman, was throwing heat, at 100-105 mph, that is unheard of, in MLB. The baseball looked like a golf ball in his hand. You WILL hear more from this rookie. Pretty cool when you see it in person.

and about a mile up the coast, in very similar village, is Atrani. Check out this video of a flood there, yesterday. Starts out a little slow, where the beach looks just like Marina Grande in Amalfi, then around 1:40 to 2:00 it gets pretty unbelievable. The flooded town square looks just like the one in Amalfi where we had wine in the evening and Kari broke her ankle. For some stupid reason the link won't load, but if you google 'atrani flood', or Daveslandslideblog, you will see an amazing video.

So far 169 homes confirmed burned, and lots of these are in the 'over a million dollar' range. Nine houses of firefighers have also burned, while they fought to save others. Thought they had a handle on it, but here comes the wind picking up this afternon and supposed to be near 5o mph tonight with single digit humidity. Doesn't look good.

you think you've seen it all, but at the Rockies game, this afternoon, got a good view of something pretty unusual in sports. After 2 innings, we were down 5-0 and it didn't look too good. BUT, by the 8th it was all tied up, when the coach put in a pinch runner for Jason Giambi. I was watching the Reds pitcher who was watching the runner on first, and wow!, there goes the guy from 3rd, stealing home, with the winning run. The pitcher didn't even throw. Didn't realize anything 'til it was over. The Rocks won 6-5, by stealing home. Not a squeeze bunt, but a straight steal. The crowd went wild. Pretty cool to see in person. Found out later that the (fast) rookie on third (Chris Nelson) misread the sign by the coach. 'Twas s'posed to be a squeeze bunt, but the rookie left a little soon. Whoa....

Top 10 small metro destinations for college students (population 250,000 and 1 million residents): 1. Boulder 2. Ann Arbor, Mich. 3. Bridgeport, Conn. 4. Trenton-Ewing, N.J. 5. Gainsville, Fla. 6. Madison, Wis. 7. Durham, N.C. 8. Santa Cruz, Calif. 9. Honolulu 10. Fort Collins Source: American Institute for Economic Research The American Institute for Economic Researched on Wednesday named Boulder the best small city for college students in its 2010-2011 College Destinations guide. This is the second straight year Boulder has been No. 1 among cities with 250,000 to 1 million residents. The institute analyzed 222 metropolitan areas based on 12 criteria, including student concentration, diversity, research capacity, cost of living and arts and leisure. While Boulder ranked high in all categories, it was the city's professional opportunities that put Boulder on top, said Kerry Lynch, senior fellow at the research institute. "The per capita income in Boulder was very high," L...

blogging and dealing with the rightwing Cons over the years. It's NEVER their fault. Although W and the Repubs had the reins for 8 years, took oil to $147/bbl, started a trillion dollar war, on oops, bad info, changed the rules of the banking world to benefit their big money pals and paid 'em all off with hundreds of billions before they slithered out of town. NOT OUR FAULT! It's that damn Carter/Clinton/Barney Frank. Why do I do this? Cuz it drives me crazy to see the headlines out there that the Dems shoulda waved a magic wand and fixed it all by now, and the sheep believe it. I gotta do this to keep from exploding, SO, excuse me if my attempt at sanity bothers you, but it works for me.

that Obama's approval #'s are 45%. The real news? That's DOUBLE Bush's numbers, when he slithered out of town. How quickly they forget..

the Dems probably deserve to have their butts kicked out of office this fall. They have turned out to be a huge disappointment after promising hope and change. They've wasted time and energy trying to get bi-partisan legislation passed, against a bunch of jerks that would come out against motherhood and apple pie if it had the Dems name on it. The Dems have let the constant drumbeat of FOXNews, 'It's Obama's economy now', permeate the mainstream. They haven't screamed from the rooftops, "Bush and the Repubs wrecked us and it's gonna take MANY years to fix what took many years to wreck'. The American people have proven repeatedly (look at the 2004 election) that they don't have clue when it gets beyond 15 second sound bites. The Repub mantra of, "Look at how much he's spending!", should be met with, "WHY do you think he has to spend so much? It's because unprecedented damage requires an unprecedented response." There...

We sure need them Repubs back in power to fix the unemployment problem, (that they caused from 2000-2008.)

After seeing the massive disruption his book signing tour was causing, cuz he tried to justify his unholy alliance with W and the war in Iraq, Tony Blair cancelled the rest of his tour before he made it to London. Not fair to burden the police, was his reasoning. Can't wait 'til Bush has his book signing at the local "Borders'. Hope I get a chance to wing a shoe at him and become a national hero like the dude in Iraq.

on 60 Minutes last night, that told about the estimated $60 Billion fraud in Medicare payments. It has surpassed drug trafficking in FL as it much easier and more profitable. Many stories of storefronts that have no staff or customers, but bill millions per month to the gov't, who pays without question. Just buy a list, at about $10/name, with their medical records, and start billing. The criminal they interviewed did $20 million his first year, and it was EASY. As soon as there is any suspicion, which usually takes years, they just change names and start over. They interviewed oldsters who actually looked at what Medicare had paid on their behalf and who had continually tried to tell the gov't that, "Hey, I didn't get 3 artificial limbs and an electric wheelchair!" One woman wrote nearly continuosly for SIX YEARS, and no one listened to her. Part of the Health Care Reform bill, ($350 million to stop abuse) that the Repubs (with their high dollar lobbyists) are f...

that has a bunch of smoke blowing into us. Lotta houses already burned and looks like it's getting worse. Called the 4-Mile Fire, cuz it started in 4-Mile Canyon. Right off Sugarloaf Rd, where I built a house for Russ Sager, after his house burned. Beautiful area that is a really tough place to fight a fire. After a wet spring, lotta grass/fuel to burn this time of year, and a nasty wind. This could be a bad one...

but not sure if I like it. 'Friday Night Lights', from Laura, is a book, that was made into a movie, that became a TV series, about high school football in Odessa, Texas. But, it's not just football, and has a lot of small town desperation to it. Sounds like a TERRIBLE place to live, with the flat ground, hot weather and boom and bust oil economy where high school football is the highlight of their lives. Not only for the players, but the entire town. Am not that far into it, and will definitely stay with it, but it has kind of a 'downer' feel to it. Will let you know...

that I've had before, that I don't know what to do with. How is it, that some of us, can look at the same info, and come up with such different conclusions? Con vs lib. What's going on here? It's not strictly a matter of IQ, (though the top 10 income/education states are all blue, bottom 10 all red), or income, or environment or any other easily recognizable stimulus. What makes us think like we do? It is, over the years, approx a 50/50 split. Why? I would say, off the top of my head, that it is a matter of naivety. Those on the right, are basically good people, that don't realize there is an element out there (Bush/Cheney types), that will prey upon that weakness. Which means the other side, has that dark part within them, that makes them more aware of the evil out there. That is my first theorem. Got a better idea? That's where my head is now. Let me know what you think, if you dare. We ARE different, at a basic level that is not easily recognizable, but I hav...

that may surprise some people. Have NEVER been a registered Democrat. Was a Repub until 2004, when I saw what a mess W was making of things, and became an 'Independent'. The only bad news is that I can't vote in primaries, but it's not that big o' deal. Oh, and also, I get a whole lotta calls and attention around election time, as I am part of the all important swing vote. If I was a Democrat, I would be way disappointed in Obama. He's just proving the old adage that they're pretty much 'all the same'. What? Who am I kidding. At his WORST, he is SO much better than Bush and the Repubs. 'Scuse me, had a brain fart, there....

had their 2nd football game of the year, last night, against arch-rival, (and #1 in 4A State rankings), Monarch Coyotes. And beat them 42-19. Seems we have the fastest kid in 4A, running back kicks and punts. Should be fun this year, as we can just walk over to the Friday Night Lights. Go Eagles. AND, CU beat CSU to get a good start on their season. Can't believe it's already football time.....

book signing, Tony Blair, who had a charismatic, meteoric political career in Britain, before he hooked up with Bush, and got thrown out of office, on his butt, got a glimpse of his 'admiring public'. DUBLIN — Anti-war protesters hurled shoes and eggs at Tony Blair on Saturday as he arrived for the first public signing of his fast-selling memoir, 'A Journey', where he tries to explain his support for the invasion of Iraq by the US. According to Sky News, protesters also shouted "Hey hey Tony hey, how many kids have you killed today?", "Arrest the butcher!" and branded Blair a "war criminal" as he arrived at the shop. Sorta lets you know why W's handlers haven't let him release his book, reportedly written in crayon, until after the November elections.

HBO right now. Can't repeat many of his jokes, but liked the one about how he liked Clinton better than Bush. 'It's better to f**k an intern, than f**k the country.' My kinda guy...

Met Kari for lunch, at her school in Coal Creek Canyon, as we brought up 'Noodles' fare. First time I ever had it and it was good (Beef Stroganoff). Talked with her students and fellow teachers and they LOVE her. Why not? Then, continued up the canyon (it was 47 degrees) and got to Nate and Laura's just as the chocolate chip cookies were coming out of the oven, and Piper was waking up from her nap. I LOVE being a grampa, and today was special. The aspen leaves are turning and fall is in the air. Life is good....

I thought I had food poisoning, but, looking back on it, with Carol's help, I think I passed a gall stone. With the help of Google, and hindsight, I'm pretty sure that my 8 hour ordeal, when I talked w/God, and was making a deal to just go ahead and die, if it could only end, was the passing of a gallstone. Will probably never be totally sure, but the pain and suffering finally ended, which is the good news. The bad news? It may happen again, and my prayers may be answered, SO, in case they are, adios, my friends...

'The Lion', last night, the latest book by my favorite author, Nelson Demille. Really like his 'smart ass' style, and the way he weaves a high voltage, fast moving, intelligent story together. It helps that we just returned from New York City and that's where the story took place, among the same spots in Central Park, Times Square, Battery Park, Ground Zero, etc, that we had just visited. The only problem is, after his upscale, unique writing, other authors seem kinda tame and lacking in style, BUT, now that 'Lost' is over, and I'm done w/'The Lion', I can move on to the books that Laura gave me. Will start w/'Friday Night Lights' which comes highly cecommended, then on to Pearl Buck, and 'The Good Earth' series. Will let you know....

and I'm gonna really miss it. Saw the final, (#125), episode of 'Lost', this afternoon. Amazing TV series that will never be duplicated. Can't begin to explain it, and we have been discussing it for the last half hour, over cocktails on the deck. Can't wait to talk with the kids and share thoughts and questions. Probably not for everyone, BUT, if you have some time to escape into an altermate reality, with classic 'good vs evil', it's like nothing I've ever seen. If you read the Stephen King, 'Dark Tower' series, that is about as close as it gets. The same kinda feeling after it's over. A huge letdown, after being on a long, mind-bending, adventurous ride. Not many rides like this. Am really gonna miss it, and can't imagine anything like it, ever again. The writers deserve whatever accolades they get. Just can't imagine anyone having an imagination like that. It took 6 years to develop, and I'm sure they 'went with the flo...