Like most men (and a few women, too, I might add) I have had a long-standing love affair with the automobile. That is why I was so excited to see the Times-Union’s contest to pick the coolest American-made car ever. 

Lamar Thames

Not that there is any doubt about which car will win, is there? I mean, who wouldn’t vote for the 1957 Chevy Bel Air as the coolest car ever made anywhere? Its sleek lines and impeccably shaped fins seemed to perfectly capture the imagination of a young nation of automobile-lovers who were just starting to purchase vehicles because of how they looked, not how they ran.

I know because I was one of those who bought on looks rather than on performance. That is why, too, that my love-affair with the automobile could be better described as unrequited love.

I made careful choices but like many other parts of my life, I could never get it just right when buying a car. Take the first one I ever bought, for instance. It was 1964 and I was two years into a four-year enlistment in Uncle Sam’s military, stationed at Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala.
I had saved a few bucks with an account at the base credit union and wanted to buy my first car.
A buddy of mine knew a guy who had a car for sale and I went to check it out. Well, it was a convertible, late 1950s model Chevy. I fell in love and agreed to buy the car on the spot (without even taking it to a mechanic to see if it was a sound investment. I know; it was a dumb move, but like I said, I fell in love with that car with its sleek lines and unusual fins.)

Photo by Douglas Wilkinson from www.Chevrolet-Archives.com

I know you are probably thinking that I was pretty smart to make my first car a 1957 Chevy Bel Air, right? If you were thinking that, you would be wrong. I chose a 1958 Chevy instead. Like I said, I always seemed to be a little off in my decision making back then. Besides, the ‘58 was cheaper than the ‘57, even back then.

Oh, the ‘58 was nice looking, too, but you didn’t see it in the Times-Union’s lineup of America’s coolest cars made in America, did you? And you won’t either. Primarily because I don’t think it was a very good car.
Mine developed a carburetor leak, never ran exactly right and left me stranded around 2 a.m. on a lonely stretch of highway southeast of Tallahassee once. I abandoned it and because I was wearing my uniform I was able to hitch a ride into Tampa, where I caught a bus to my parents house in Plant City.
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BY LUCY MORGAN AND MARY ELLEN KLAS HERALD/TIMES TALLAHASSEE BUREAU

TALLAHASSEE – Dangling the promise of millions for the state’s dwindling budget, a group of mostly unidentified oil and gas companies are bankrolling a last-minute fight to bring offshore drilling to Florida’s coastline.

Florida Energy Associates, a corporation formed in December by Daytona Beach lawyer Doug Daniels, has hired at least 20 of the state’s most prominent lobbyists to push bills through the legislature in the final week of session. Most of the lobbyists were hired in the last 10 days but the proposal has been planned for months.

The measure, slated for votes in the House and Senate this week, would give the governor and Cabinet authority to approve oil and gas exploration 3 to 10 miles off the Florida coast.

Click here for more of the story.

Many of the state’s editorial writers and columnists have expressed despair at the possibility the Legislature will OK drilling for oil a short distance from Florida’s shorelines, including Derek Dunn-Rankin of the Charlotte Sun.

Here is what he said:

It does seem ironic that the Florida Legislature should propose drilling for oil 3 miles off our beaches while the nation is celebrating Earth Day. If there is a prize for lobbyists, the equivalent of a moviemaker’s Oscar, it should go to the band of professional persuaders who managed to craft the bill and sneak it past the normal hearing and debate process at a time when both the House and Senate are tied in knots over unprecedented budget challenges. Lobbyists and legislators moved in secrecy and managed to keep both reporters and members of the Legislature itself ignorant of their grand plan. A radical departure, the bill passed out of committee 12 hours after first being made public. It was disappointing that local Rep. Paige Kreegel was one of the disciplined majority that voted the bill out before organized opposition could coalesce.

Liberal or conservative, the reaction of the state’s editorial pages were articulately angry, shocked and indignant.

Click here to read more.

Submitted by Annette:

I’ve learned…. That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person. 

I’ve learned…. That when you’re in love, it shows. 

I’ve learned…. That just one person saying to me, ‘You’ve made my day!’ makes my day.  

I’ve learned…. That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world. 

I’ve learned…. That being kind is more important than being right.

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SUBMITTED BY GREG:

Blue Fridays  
 
Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing blue every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the ’silent majority’ We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or overbearing. 
 
Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our tr oops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts now — and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that .. every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar, will wear something blue. By word of mouth, press, TV — let’s make theUnited States on every Friday a sea of blue much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, coworkers, friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in BLUE and it will let our troops know the once ’silent’ majority is on their side more than ever, ce rtainly more than the media lets on.

We need your support and your prayers. Let’s get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example, and wear something blue every Friday. 

When 2nd Lt James Cathey’s body arrived at the Reno Airport , Marines climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the flag over his casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac. 
 
During the arrival of another Marine’s casket last year at Denver International Airport , Major Steve Beck described the scene as so powerful: ‘See the people in the windows? They sat right there in the plane, watching those Marines. You gotta wonder what’s going through their minds, knowing that they’re on the plane that brought him home,’ he said. ‘They will remember being on that plane for the rest of their lives. They’re going to remember bringing that Marine home.. And they should.’ 

The night before the burial of her husband’s body, Katherine Cathey refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and played songs that reminded her of ‘Cat,’ and one of the Marines asked if she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. ‘I think it would be kind of nice if you kept doing it,’ she said. ‘I think that’s what he would have wanted.’ 

 By Stephen Sawchuck, Education Week

The nation’s oft-criticized systems for evaluating the quality of its educator workforce are poised to receive increased scrutiny, thanks to an Obama administration plan to require school districts to disclose how many teachers perform well or poorly.

Although nearly every state requires districts to evaluate teachers, the instruments are typically designed locally. And as both policy experts and some union leaders attest, they are frequently of poor quality, not based on standards of good teaching, and incapable of rendering fine-grained, fair judgments about teacher performance.

Policy experts widely view the U.S. Department of Education initiative, which is part of the implementation of the federal economic-stimulus package’s aid to education, as an attempt to collect baseline data on teacher evaluations and to promote an overhaul of those systems.

Click here to continue reading.

By JAMES SWANSON, MFS Chief Investment Strategist

I have been keeping an eye on the recent equity rallies, and I want to tell investors that I think they should remain a little bit cautious at this time. History is replete with liquidity-driven rallies within recessions that ultimately fail. I want to see the beginning of a long-term secular, sustainable bull market, and I do not have all the confirming signs of that right now.

We need to figure out if we are simply witnessing a short-term bear market rally or the beginning of a long-term bull market.

Let’s look to history for some patterns 
The deeper the initial drop in stocks, the bigger the bounce. History shows that stock rallies are fairly frequent in the middle of a recession. It also shows that they often get smacked down. Right now, we are experiencing the biggest Read the rest of this entry »

Lamar Thames

Well, I am back from a two-week “vacation.” I know, you are thinking, “How can a guy who is retired go on vacation?”

I used to think the same thing about other retirees. Now I know. Going on vacation when you are retired is taking your wife or significant other out of town on a trip that you really can’t afford but you do it anyway.

Getting out of town accomplishes two things. It means you don’t have to do any yard work and it means you don’t have to do any house work. So, from that standpoint, retiree vacations are extra special.

We didn’t do anything really extravagant but it seems like even small trips can add up when you are trying to watch your pennies. We spent two days at a bed and breakfast in St. Augustine before heading south and taking two of the Orlando grandchildren to the Universal theme park. I am hoping to turn both of those activities into travel articles on a companion web site that I am developing. I’ll let you know what the address is when it is up and running.

Universal Theme Park, Orlando

Part of the two weeks was also spent hosting all six of our grandchildren at our house on Easter weekend, coloring Easter eggs, doing the egg-hunt thing and going to church on Easter Sunday. I am firmly convinced that God gave us grandchildren as a reward for the trials and tribulations of raising our own children. (Not that mine were bad, but raising children is just different from raising grandchildren. Grandchildren are like eating cake, while your own children are sometimes like broccoli. As Jim Varney would say, “Know whut ah mean, Vern?”

After Easter, we were back home and all alone for two days before my wife headed to Lakeland and the state science fair competition along with two other curriculum specialists from Clay County and 14 students who were competing in the fair. I took advantage of the time alone to visit my sister in Lutz (just north of Tampa) and then my uncle in Tarpon Springs. Read the rest of this entry »

Please help ban fox hunting. This madness must be stopped! 

Signed, Peter Cottontail!