Spring Has Sprung in All Its Glory and It Is Making Me Feel Like Crap

Spring is a time of growth and rebirth. The world wakens from its winter slumber. Flowers, grasses, and trees burst into color and life. Spring is when we are made new.

And it is making me utterly miserable.

The pollen content of this spring air is as high as I can remember. I'm one of the Hay-Fever sufferers sneezing and hacking through this week.

I'm glad that spring is here. I love the new green and all the flowers. But I am tired of feeling like crap.

Third Golf Game of 2008

Andy and I walked on at Old Landing Golf Course, outside of Rehoboth Beach, this morning. The course was not too crowded, but there was a large group, several foursomes, just ahead of us. So we started on ten. That is an odd way to play that course. You usually finish with holes 17 and 18: a long, turning par-4 and a huge par-5 that ends across a pond. The eighth and ninth, on the other hand, are a straight par-4 a short par-3.

The course was in somewhat rough shape. The greens are in fine shape, if slow, but the fairways are a mess; fair in name only. It's still a fun course, with mature trees and natural topography. It is well worth the cost.

I played poorly and carded a 110. There were a few good drives and putts. I had a par or two. And I felt I was making some progress with my new driver. All in all, a good way to spend a morning.

"Getting to Know You....." (Sing with me)

The Cajun has pulled me into another of those games of blog-tag. This one with a "getting to know you theme." I've tagged others, and recently, so fair is fair....

Here are the rules:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

For the tagging part of this, I have decided to randomly pick bloggers from states and places I've lived or that interest me.

And the questions:

1. What was I doing 10 yrs ago?
   I was just starting my current job, trying to coordinate the use and sharing of geospatial data in the state of Delaware as a staffer at the Office of State Planning Coordination (now part of the Office of Management and Budget).
   
   
2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?
   
   • Empty the dishwasher.
   • Play 18 holes of golf.
   • Squire my daughter on a visit to her horse, Jazzy.
   • Take a nap.
   • Convince Karen and the girls to go out for dinner with me.
     
   
   
3. Snacks I enjoy:
   
   • Sun chips
   • Hummus
   • Almonds
   • grapes
     
     
4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
   
   • Purchase land that might otherwise be developed in my county.
   • Fund scholarships.
   • Walk across the US staying at really nice hotels and Bed-and-Breakfasts.
   • Play more golf.
     
     
5. Three of my bad habits:
   
   • Too much snacking
   • Too much web-surfing
   • Too much talking.
     
     
6. Five places I have lived: (in no order whatsoever…)
   
   • Bethesda, Maryland
   • Waterville, Maine
   • Germantown, Maryland
   • Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
   • Lewes, Delaware
     
     
7. Five jobs I have had: (in no order whatsoever…)
   
   • Busboy/Dishwasher
   • Drugstore clerk
   • Radio Announcer
   • Public Relations Specialist
   • Data Coordinator
     
     
8. Five bloggers that I wanna know more about:
   
   • Belle, from Bethesda, Maryland.
   • Stellita, from Waterville, Maine (A Colby student! I wonder if she's hip to the Gravity Monument?).
   • Kerry, a mom out in Olathe, Kansas.
     
   • A Writer in the Mountains in Vermont.
   • Kevin, who chucked it all to go live on St. Thomas.

So. Tag, you're it.

New Traffic Pattern

new traffic pattern
Originally uploaded by mmahaffie

We have new stop signs at the intersection outside our office in Dover. We had had stop signs one way, but there were loads of accidents at this intersection. So they (whoever they are) have added stops signs on the cross-street.

It's remarkable how much a small change seems to freshen the streetscape.

Sometimes I Just Want to Take a Walk

I was walking in downtown Dover this week, headed up to 33 West for a Caesar salad, and I found myself wanting to keep on walking west. For long, long time. When I was younger I used to get these urges to take up travel as a lifestyle.

At different times I have wanted to live on a coastal schooner, I have wanted to ride a bike across the nation, and I have wanted to drive around the outside of the US. Generally I have thought that I should make my living writing about the experience or taking lots of pictures.

That feeling came back as I walked into a stiff cool wind on Monday. The walking warmed me and I thought, "I could do this all day." I had a brief daydream of walking by easy stages across the country, carrying a small backpack, my camera, and a laptop. I could blog about it and post lots of pictures, supporting myself with discrete, tasteful ads and maybe a paypal tip-jar.

I could work my way along back roads and through small towns. I could plan my trip to match the seasons, visiting south in the winter and north in the summer. I'd maybe camp-out sometimes, but I'd take full advantage of motels and hot showers. (I'm not that young anymore.) I would simply walk across the country, visiting places.

It was just a daydream. I'm happy in my life as a dedicated husband and dad, a state worker, and a long-term Lewes-ite. But sometimes it is fund to think about being completely different; to think about taking a long walk.

In the Memetime, Here's a Six Five-Word Memoir

Elbert has tagged me for another one of those blog-memes where you play along and then tag it forward. In this case, the task is to post a six-word memoir (you've heard of these, right?), link back to the person who tagged you, and then tag five more.

I hesitated, but then I realized that I've had a five-word memoir posted as part of my Blogger Profile for a while now:

Remarkably self-absorbed. Since 1962.

I'm not sure I can do better than that.

So, who to tag? Why not a few other Delawareans...

• Arlene, a minister Along the Way
  
• A Geek Chick with Sticks
• Ron, who Retired in Delaware
• Uncle Fred, who sells Southern Delaware Homes
• Wendy, who posts her Ramblings
  

There you go. Who can do four words?

It's a Lovely City

white and red
Originally uploaded by mmahaffie

I work in Dover, Delaware, which is a beautiful place, particularly in the spring. The City manages many flower-beds around the downtown. This time of year features tulips.

These are at the intersection of Loockerman Street, State Street, and Kings Highway. They decorate a memorial with flagpole.

I wonder who in city government got this started? Who keeps it going? Whoever it is, I thank them all. I love a lunch of walking around on a sunny day with my camera and collecting images.

I'm not the only one. Dave Wolanski has been finding lovely shots around town lately too.

New Jersey's Best Editorial Cartoonist Draws in Delaware

I was pleased to see a positive profile of the cartoonist Rob Tornoe in the Wilmington News Journal today. Mr. Tornoe draws for a New Jersey political web site (politicker.com) but was raised partly in Delaware and lives in Newark. He may draw New Jersey, but he's one of ours. And, I am a fan. His RSS feed has been a part of the "art" category in my Google Reader set-up for a while now.

The profile, 'Equal opportunity offender', traces the 30-year old's young career and his slow migration into the center of the political spectrum, where he has developed a skill at skewering politicians on the left and right with a balanced, if jaundiced, eye.

The News Journal includes Mr. Tornoe's take on the Obama-Can't-Bowl flap, for example. I am a left-leaning cynic, so this cartoon's critical look at GW Bush's war and tactics, and the foolishness of the press, appeals to me. But I note that the cartoon also pokes fun, if gently, at Mr. Obama himself.

I grew up politically on the cartoons of the great editorialists like Oliphant. Theirs was a form of encapsulated commentary that included humor and an understanding of the absurdity of life and politics. Mr. Tornoe is a part of a new generation that is carrying that tradition forward but adding new tricks and twists.

It is good to see. And fun to read.

Purple Prose Enlivens a Tale of the Emerald Diamond

I've been checking through old newspapers at the Library of Congress' Chronicling America site. I'm searching for references to my various forebears; it is a low-return fishing expedition, but great fun.

For example, a search for references to any Mahaffies in California in newspapers from around the turn of the 20th Century has turned up several sports-page notes about a baseball umpire named Mahaffy. I doubt that he is a direct relative, though he may be a very distant cousin. What's great about this, though, is the prose in which I find him.

Here are two paragraphs from Page 42 of the September 30, 1906, edition of the San Francisco Call. William J. Slattery writes about a game between the Portland Beavers and the San Francisco Seals (in first and second in the standings at the time).

Neither team played anything that looked like high art. Errors happened frequently and did a deal of damage. Neither pitcher was there any too strong and and both of them delayed the game as much as possible by indulging in a series of senseless winding ups and warming ups between the rounds.

Maybe it was because of the banishment of Cousin Park Wilson that San Francisco did not perform according to the tips of the wise brigade. Cousin Park assayed to engage in an oratorial contest with Umpire Mahaffy in the eighth spasm and before he realized that the worst was yet to come, the indicator man had already made a mysterious high sign and given Park notice to skidoo. He also informed the leader of the Seals that his pay envelope will be shy five dollars when the next day of reckoning with Cal Ewing is at hand.

The Seals were not doing well in their season series with the Beavers in 1906. The Beavers won this game, 3 to 1, moving to a record of 98-47 and a won/lost percentage of .697. The cellar-dwelling Fresno team, by contrast, was at .335 percent at 51-101.

Morning, Noon and Evening

I had limited time to wander around the French Quarter when I was in New Orleans this week. But I did get out for quick walks first thing, at noon and in the evening. On each walk, I took a shot of the St. Louis Cathedral from the Mississippi levee across Jackson Square.

At around 7:48 a.m., Tuesday, things were quiet along Decatur Street. A street-cleaner machine had been along recently and left parts of the street glistening wet. There were just a few people wandering past. Those of us who were out were focused on beignet with cafe-o-lait.

At 12:54 p.m., the road was dry and there were more people and cars around. Though not too many. New Orleans is somewhat quieter than I remember it from a few pre-Katrina visits. There's not much damage in the French Quarter or in the main business district, but if you know what you are looking for you can see some. What struck me most was the fact that the bustle of the city was reduced by about one third.

At about 6:15 p.m., things were quieting down again. The streets around Jackson Square were emptying even as Bourbon Street, two blocks beyond the Cathedral, was starting to fill up. Decatur Street was wet again. The shadows were creeping across the square.

Up on Bourbon Street, I was struck by a sign offering a balcony for rent for special events like Mardi Gras. And there are quiet streets just a few blocks away, where you find pocket gardens and peaceful courtyards.

New Orleans is worth a visit. Folks there will tell you that tourists and business travelers are a key part of their recovery. The French Quarter is still fascinating and beautiful. The food is great. And the music and culture have not died out.