Update Feb 13, 2010

Good morning MannCubs. It’s been 11 days since I last saw you and I miss you terribly. (Today is February 14, and I left Fort Wayne on February 3; 14-3 equals…anybody?...)

Let it slow, let it slow, let it slow…

In Washington DC, the newspapers, television stations and radio stations always have some thing to report, because this is our nation’s capitol and many new laws are created here. But there were no laws created in Washington this week because nobody could get to work! Last Friday and Saturday, over two feet of snow fell. On Sunday, it was clear and sunny, and people began to dig out their sidewalks and driveways, and then on Monday night another foot of snow came. Some places received TWO feet of snow. Very few cars have tires that are good enough to get around all that snow, so people just stayed at home because they could not go to work. Very few children were able to go to school this week in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and some other states. Incredible!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35330367/displaymode/1247/?beginSlide=1


On the other hand, snow can be super fun, too

Now, here is some fun to think about in the future. There are people around the world who REALLY know how to have fun in the snow. Check out the pictures that I found on the web. Wouldn’t it be fun to visit these places some day? It would be even more fun to get to make some sculptures. Let’s plan on it.

http://picasaweb.google.com/srinsinna/Breckenridge_13109#slideshow/5297883904665147538


Why are there so many people in Washington, DC?

When a law is created here, it impacts the rest of the United States, and even the rest of the world. That’s why a newspaper in Los Angeles, California, for example, employs reporters to live right here in Washington all the time, so that they can keep writing about things that Washington does that may affect Los Angeles as well as the state of California. The same is true for newspapers and television stations in places like Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Dallas, Texas; Miami, Florida; Indianapolis, Indiana; and even Fort Wayne, Indiana (there is a woman named Sylvia Smith who writes for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette newspaper; she works for a Fort Wayne company, but she has to live in Washington, DC.)

The same is true for newspapers around the world. If Congress creates a law about something that affects our army, navy or air force, for example, it can affect what our soldiers do in foreign countries. Those countries want to know what is going on in Washington, DC, so their newspapers and television stations have employees who live right here in the area so that they can report what is happening. Therefore, newspapers and television stations in cities like Cairo, Egypt; Tel Aviv, Israel; Moscow, Russia; Paris, France; Beijing, China, New Delhi, Indiana have employees who live right here in Washington DC. Amazing, huh?

Everybody wants to be Italian, including Cousin Rachel and Diana
Cousin Rachel, age 29(?) and cousin Diana age 27 (?), got on a plane last week and flew to Italy!


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They will come back to the United States next week on Thursday, February 17, 2010.

Question

They had to fly 4,816 miles to get to Italy, then they will have to fly 4,816 miles back to the United States next Thursday. After they get finished flying, how many miles will they have traveled? Free ice cream treat for everybody who gets the right answer when I get back to Fort Wayne.

Lydia, Peter, Micah: do the math on your own.

Gretchen and Colette: ask mom for some help.

Jonas: count your fingers…for a very loooong time.

John Michael: you don’t care about ice cream anyway.

There are a few people who want to be Hawaiian; the rest of us just settle for visiting.

Aunt Kiki got on a plane on February 4th to visit her mom, who lives in Hawaii, which is one of the fifty states that make up the United States of America—our country. Hawaii is VERY far away, out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. She had to fly 2,558 miles to get there, and on February 23, she will return and fly another 2,558 to get back to the United States.


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Question
How many total miles will she have flown? Same deal as the question on Italy.

It’s been a long week, time for some play time

Uncle Rob and I have had a long week of snow shoveling. True, Rob was excused from having to go to work because there was so much snow, but we both shoveled a lot of snow and we’re pretty tired. He’s running some errands this morning, but later today we’re going to run some errands together and have some fun.

One thing we’re going to do is visit cousin Rachel’s house. We will feed her cats and make sure that they are taken care of. I’ll take some pictures for you.

Signing off

I miss you all dearly. Keep loving God, obeying mom and praying for me.

Love, Dad.

My Martha Steward Salad

Sure beats prison food.

Kitty Cats!

Transformers: Hondas in Disguise

Cute Cubs

I'm catching up on posting some pictures taken a couple weeks ago.

Isn't anyone going to help me? Yoo hoo!

Thanks to: Crackerjack Reporter/Photographer David Jester of Goshen, Indiana for sending this into the MannCub Gazette.

Arlington Snow!

Today: preparation for next week’s meetings

Uncle Rob and I had talked about possibly going out to dinner tonight, but that seems unlikely now because of the snow. In the meantime, I’m going to prepare for some meetings I’ve scheduled with friends who work in the area.

I’m not sure if you all remember Mr. Blough, husband to Janet Blough, who used to be Janet Richie before she was married, and when she was mom’s friend at Concord High School in Goshen (where Grandpa and Grandma live now). Mr. and Mrs. Blough live here in Virginia and we are going to get together for dinner sometime soon, maybe next week. Mr. Blough has been very helpful and encouraging to me.

Also, I’m going to meet with some relatives of ours whom I don’t think you have ever met: Steve and Ruth Kinsely. Steve Kinsely is the son of my father’s mother’s brother. That’s probably pretty complicated for you, but he and his wife, Ruth, were very dear to me and our family when I was growing up and I’m looking forward to getting reacquainted in the next couple weeks. They have one son, Jonathan, who is about uncle Alan’s age. Jonathan works in New York state.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…but a little slower?

I love snow, but wow, it’s like God is dumping Mount Everest on our street. The snow started yesterday around 10:00 am and it won’t stop until around 10:00 pm tonight. That’s a day and a half of full time snowing! We’ll have a total of three feet of snow by the time it ends. If I could wave a magic wand, I have you call come here and we’d all go out for sledding. There are hills everywhere in Arlington; as you go further out into northern Virginia, it becomes more flat, but not as flat as northern Indiana, where we live in Fort Wayne.

Here are some pictures of the snow, and my room. I’ll get more pictures of the snow later today, hopefully.

Warm welcome: Uncle Rob, Aunt Kiki, Cousins Rachel and Diana

Rob, Kiki and Diana warmly welcomed me Wednesday night to a scrumptious dinner. (That means that it was not just delicious; it was more than delicious). Rob and Kiki have a grill on the back patio, which is protected by a roof. We had steak, chicken, steam carrots and broccoli, and then we talked over coffee in the living room.

We also enjoyed watching the cats play with each other. They have three cats: Remi (short for Rembrandt; where have you heard this name in history??), a 10 month old black cat; Lacy, a beautiful four year old female calico who endures Remi’s youthfulness; and Leo, a handsome 13 year old male “tappy” who seems to serve as the dignified godfather cat of the three. Mom told me you all say the Aristocats movie the other night; these cats have very distinct personalities, just like those Aristocats.

I don’t have pictures of the cats yet, but I’ll try take some soon.

Yesterday, Kiki got in a plane at Dulles Airport and flew thousands of miles to another state called Hawaii, which is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. She had to sit in a play for 14 hours!
It’s warm all the time in Hawaii, and never gets snow. She is visiting her mother and she will return to cold Washington in a few weeks.

On Monday, Rachel and Diana will get on a plane and fly to Italy, which is a country on in the southern part of Europe. That trip will last about 7 hours. Italy is not as cold as Fort Wayne or Washington DC, but it is not as warm as Hawaii either.

10 hours alone in a car with some strange woman; wait, wait, I can explain…

Hi Manncubs!

The past couple days have been very busy. First, I drove my car from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Arlington, Virginia. That was 566 miles long, which took me about 10 hours. Whew, I’m glad that was done. What was different about this ride, however, is that my new cell phone has a GPS. I can’t remember what “GPS” stands for, but it is a tool that helps you decide where you need to steer your car. So, as I’m driving down the road, the GPS will say, “in 2 miles, take a right on such-and-such street.” The GPS’s voice is a woman’s voice, but it’s a very computer-ish voice; I’m looking forward to the day when I can upload a sample of mom’s voice.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can imagine somebody quipping, “yeah, then she can give you directions on the road just like she gives you directions at home.” Not true. At least, not true in bad way. Mom embodies sweetness, and when circumstances call for issuing directions, it’s because this blockhead really needs them, and, like, really now. Otherwise, she is a source of non-manipulative encouragement. (Those are good words to learn—look them up in the dictionary).

If we were driving together from Fort Wayne to Washington and ended up in Richmond, she would deferentially reflect, “well, I guess we should do a U-turn.” If we continued, however, on course with running into the Atlantic Ocean, however, I could imagine her getting more animated.

This is not my exact phone, but it gives you an idea of what it looks like when I am running the GPS tool.