Count Me in the "Reader" Column

The AP is reporting a poll that found that a quarter of US adults read no books in the last year.

The survey reveals a nation whose book readers, on the whole, can hardly be called ravenous. The typical person claimed to have read four books in the last year -- half read more and half read fewer. Excluding those who hadn't read any, the usual number read was seven.

That's not good. In an era in which we worry about our nation falling behind others economically, this slide away from knowledge and culture can only hurt us.

I am a reader. It is an activity that has given me joy, comfort, knowledge, and peace for almost 40 years now. (Assuming I date the start of my reading to around First Grade.) And I am probably ravenous reader. I probably average about one book each week.

It works for me.

The Costs of Education

We're just about to head back into the school year here in Delaware. I know some other folks around the nation are already into their 2007/2008 school year. Two timely headlines caught my eyes yesterday. Here are two facts to bear in mind about the re-start of school.

The News Journal ran a story yesterday (Teachers spend out of pocket on kids) on the costs borne by teachers as they prepare for the first day of school.

Teachers nationally spend an average of $475 of their own money on classroom supplies and materials each year, according to a study prepared by Quality Education Data Inc. for the last school year.

Meanwhile, the Marketing to Moms Coalition has released a report (Back to School 2007 [WORD]) that found that parents are also slapping down some cash at this time of the year.

"School Age Moms" (mothers with children aged 7-12) will spend nearly $450.00 on average on Back to School 2007. School Age Moms with two children between 7 and 12 will spend nearly $600.00.

As a parent of school-age kids, and as the spouse of a teacher (and friend to other teachers and parents), I can attest to the truth of each of these reports.

LabraCockerSpeagledors!

My brother Matt and his family have adopted a cute puppy. This is a photo of Lynn, Shelby and Grace with their new pet. Matt is off to the left with his camera.

The puppy is a mix of Lab, Cocker Spaniel, and Beagle; a Labracockerspeagledor.

Our neighbor's son brought his family and their dog, who is busy with nine (yes, nine) puppies, for a visit to Lewes this past week-end. Each of my girls had a friend over on Friday evening when we discovered a yard full of puppies next door. Immediately there was a yard filled with girls cuddling puppies.

We were sorely tempted, but ours is not the sort of life into which one should bring a young puppy. Karen and I both commute 45 minutes in different directions, the girls have school, and their evenings are filled all week long. We are not set up to properly raise a puppy. They are damn cute, though.

So we called around. My brother Matt and his wife Lynn had been toying with the idea of a dog . They've been spending some vacation time down in Bethany. When Karen called to suggest a puppy, they were immediately interested.

We set up a family visit to the puppy yard. Matt and Lynn and their girls came up Sunday along with my folks. Another brother, Bob, was in town as well. He and his wife Karen are experienced dog-raisers. So they came along with their two sons. At last we had more people than puppies.

It didn't take long for Lynn to find the puppy that fit her; Grace and Shelby agreed and the deal was done.

We stayed around a bit longer to allow Todd (the puppies' human) to share some basic puppy info with Matt. E-mail addresses were exchanged.

Some tears of farewell were shed, but they were shed by the humans. The puppies were all too tuckered out. They lay down in the grass where-ever they happened to be playing and went right to sleep.

Seagull + Apple Core

"Mine!"



"Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine!"



"Just which part of 'Mine!' did you not understand, pal?"

Sometimes Jon Stewart Isn't Funny

Last night on the Daily Show, Jon Stewart interviewed author Stephen Hayes who has just published a biography of Vice President Dick Cheney and is an admirer of the Vice President. He makes an argument that Mr. Cheney is a straight-shooter and the kind of honest leader America needs more of. (I don't know how to avoid this awkward sentence ending)

Jon Stewart, as most folks know, is not an admirer of the Vice President. For most of the interview, he maintained his usual act of the polite, but sarcastic skeptic. Towards the end, though, when he asked why Cheney and the Bush team as a whole insists on attacking and denigrating those who question their war, rather than engaging in open and honest debate, Stewart drops his act and speaks from the heart.

"...stop making the rest of us feel like idiots when we question their strategy in the war on terror..."

"They've seemingly gone out of their way to belittle people..."

"They keep saying that we don't understand the nature of this war. And critics keep saying 'we understand the nature of it; you've been doing it wrong.'"

"I think there is a real feeling in this country that your patriotism has been questioned by people in very high-level positions. Not fringe people."

By this point Stewart is simply speaking as himself. At the end, he makes an attempt to return to his usual persona and goes out of his way to thank Hayes for his appearance.

Media Matters has more on this interview. There were several issues involved and they have more details on some of the personal attacks that Jon Stewart has faced.

But to me, this is one of those wonderful moments when John Stewart drops his clown act (which I like) and speaks with devastating honesty. He did it when he nailed Crossfire back in 2004.

I realize that the Daily Show satire is informative and affective, but I'd like to see him speak this way more often.

Wave-Jumping

Sunday afternoon, I took Christina down to Bethany to have some beach-time with her cousin Shelby. Christina and Shelby are about the same age and have become good friends. They particularly enjoy wave jumping.

It was a beautiful, blue-sky beach day.

I enjoyed the time chatting with my brother Matt and his wife Lynn (along with my folks) and had the opportunity to take more photos of their angelic youngest child Grace.

Sometimes You Just Want to Get Away From It All

The federal government's General Services Administration is selling Fourteen Foot Bank Lighthouse and I think it would be nice if someone bought it and let me stay there when I want to.

Sure, I could buy it for myself, but I have enough trouble with the upkeep on my land-based house.

Fourteen Foot Bank Lighthouse is in the Delaware Bay about three miles off Bowers Beach. Somewhere out here.

It was built in 1876 and lacks modern everything. But it is damn cute.

The current bid stands at $40,000. Bidding closes on August 17. C'mon people...

When I first saw this, I sent an e-mail (half-serious) to an old friend who works in State Parks suggesting that the State buy this as a part of our Parks system. I was not surprised to learn that the folks over there gave this property serious thought, but have decided to pass. That probably makes sense; the maintenance challenges and the difficulty of making it "visitable" outweigh the coolness factor.

Of course, if someone does make the opportunity available, I'd love to spend a day and a night out there.

Wouldn't that be neat?

Saturday Evening, Early August, Bethany Beach

Saturday evening, we walked out onto the beach north of Bethany, just at sunset. There was a large puddle forming.

The puddle was formed by waves breaking over a build-up of sand at the front of the beach and washing back down towards the dunes. The kids were charmed.

Here's Some Good Advice

The zenhabits blog has a post up this morning that includes some good, simple advice on staying happy. In Five Great Ways to Achieve Happiness Through Serving Others, guest blogger Stephen Smith of HD BizBlog 1.2 writes about lessons he learned working in the service industries. He writes that he found something truly rewarding in serving others:

I remember going home after many 12- to 16-hour days, having served hundreds of people their meals and watched them dance and celebrate a special day with family and friends. At these times I felt tired, of course, but also invigorated and gratified by the display of human connection.

From his experiences he offers five ideas to consider as a way to increase our level of service to others and thereby increase our own happiness:

1. Show respect and courtesy.
2. Listen more than you speak.
3. Give genuine praise.
4. Keep your promises.
5. Practice forgiveness.

These seem very simple, and they are, but they are often lost in the rush of our busy days. It might be worth taking a moment to consider trying each of these as we make our way to and from work, deal with issues at the office, and struggle with the challenges of being good spouses, partners and parents.

Why I Read Jasper Fforde

Here's how Jasper Fforde begins his latest Thursday Next novel, First Among Sequels:

The dangerously high level of the stupidity surplus was once again the lead story in The Owl that morning. The reason for the crisis was clear: Prime Minister Redmond van de Poste and his ruling Commonsense Party had been discharging their duties with a reckless degree of responsibility that bordered on inspired sagacity. Instead of drifting from one crisis to the next and appeasing the nation with a steady stream of knee-jerk legislation and headline-grabbing but arguably pointless initiatives, they had been resolutely building a raft of considered long-term plans that concentrated on unity, fairness and tolerance. It was a state of affairs deplored by Mr. Alfredo Traficcone, leader of the opposition Prevailing Wind Party, who wanted to lead the nation back onto the safer grounds of uninformed stupidity.

I am not ashamed to declare that I like absurdity. And Mr. Fforde offers inspired silliness in all of his novels that I have read so far. I plan to read more.