The very dangerous, very tricky scenario currently taking place between Israel and the Hamas-led Gaza Strip, which has been anticipated for some time by many observers of the region, is one of the reasons why Hillary Clinton was chosen to be President-Elect Obama's incoming Secretary of State. (She'll almost certainly be confirmed for the role, of course.) She has been hawkish on Middle East issues and is a long-standing strong supporter of Israel. This gives President-Elect Obama a foreign-policy face that is seen as "tough" both at home and abroad, and it will therefore allow him to shift U.S. policy in a slightly more moderate direction on the Israeli/Palestinian issue.
This is to suggest that, given the continued necessity for U.S. support for Israel, only a "hawkish" individual, such as Hillary Clinton, can credibly introduce "dove-ish" elements into the mix of U.S. policy regarding the region while simultaneously avoiding mass outrage in Israeli political circles. (It's like a Democrat who proposes tax cuts, as President-Elect Obama is doing; it doesn't seem as nefarious to those who generally do not support tax cuts as a Republican would in proposing the same thing, and at the same time it appeases those who do support tax cuts.)
Hence, though we should not expect a massive shift in U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestinians, we should expect a more multi-layered, complex portfolio to take shape, probably by degrees and over a certain amount of time, as opposed to a more herky-jerky overnight shift.
This will also give Hillary Clinton--and, of course, her soon-to-be-boss--leverage to talk "tough" with Iran. After all, if U.S. policy shifts slightly and pragmatically regarding the Israeli/Palestinian scenario (again, while retaining its core element of general and genuine support for Israel), and if things cool off insofar as that issue is concerned, Iran might be caught a bit flat-footed in its very belligerent stance toward the West in general and the U.S. in particular.
Meanwhile, Vice President-Elect Biden is to visit the India/Pakistan region (and perhaps Afghanistan?) quite soon. This will most likely be a major focus of his part of the overall U.S. foreign policy portfolio. I wrote a lengthy piece on his knowledge regarding the region a month or a month-and-a-half ago, so I won't go into detail regarding it now. Please let it suffice to say that when he is focused on foreign policy, it will most likely be centered on that particular region.
Much of this is predicated on the Iraq and Afghanistan scenarios, of course. So the overall importance of those conflicts has not diminished--and won't diminish anytime soon.
Yet here's a warning for the president-elect, who I believe is right in what he seems to be setting-up regarding the aforementioned areas, at least as far as who his "point-people" (only some of whom I've mentioned in this posting) in those countries will be:
Sir, please do not think of Russia as an "outlier" regarding the aforementioned areas, and do not ignore the growing problem of Russia's penchant for cutting gas shipments to the growing group of generally U.S.-friendly countries in Eastern Europe...and increasingly our tried-and-true allies in Western Europe. The Kremlin most likely wants the U.S. to be hyper-focused on the area from Israel to India to the point where we downplay Russia's strategic moves as it builds leverage in and around Eastern Europe. In my view, U.S. policymakers must not take their eye off the ball in that region--or even downplay it--anytime soon. And that means the Obama Administration must also not take its eye off of Russia, either.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Important Radio Talk-Show News Bulletin: American Morons Think British Morons Are Crazy
I occasionally tune-in to politically-motivated talk radio shows in order to remind myself why I don't often tune-in to politically-motivated talk radio shows. Today was one of those days, and within minutes I was left shaking my head and laughing, but more out of disbelief than out of amusement. You see, talk radio rarely ceases to amaze me with its general cultural myopia and stupidity, even in a major metropolitan area such as the one in which I live.
Today, for instance, a local talk radio host tried to make the point that the U.S. should resist "becoming like Europe," or something along those lines, because, it seems, Europe is losing its collective mind and being overrun by left-wing lunatics, or some such thing. (ALL of it?)
The gentleman making that point is entitled to his opinion, of course. Yet leaving aside the debate as to whether or not his incredibly sweeping generalization has any grounding in fact, it quickly became apparent that, like a lot of people who make such statements, he had very little idea of what he was talking about.
I say this because the "source" he cited was an article about the apparent reluctance on the part of a certain percentage of contemporary British citizens to tell their children traditional fairy tales, and the article was taken from...The Daily Mail. He cited the article and its source in a serious manner. (Que massive amounts of laughter wafting across the Atlantic Ocean from our British brethren....)
The Daily Mail, you see, might be best described to Americans (or any non-Britons, for that matter) as one part USA Today, three parts The National Enquirer, two parts flag-waving hysteria, and one part toilet paper. Mash them all together (my apologies to the USA Today) and you have just about created the right mix for The Daily Mail.
I know about The Daily Mail because I lived in Britain for a few years. I am not suggesting that the talk-show host in question should have known about The Daily Mail prior to having read the article in a pre-show prep session. I am, however, saying that had he done his homework (and with the internet, such a homework assignment is very easily done these days), he would have understood that the people who read The Daily Mail in a serious manner are those for whom life has not worked out according to plan, so to speak. (The Sun is a similar British "newspaper"; its level of journalistic integrity is quickly ascertained by perusing its third page any day of the week, which will contain little more than a picture of a topless young woman.)
If you wish to quote major national British newspapers, please quote The Guardian, The Independent, The Telegraph, or The Times, the first two of which lean politically to the left and the last two of which lean politically to the right. They are serious newspapers. If, on the other hand, you quote The Daily Mail or The Sun in a serious manner, you will quickly look like an ingrate.
This, of course, hardly bothered the heavily-accented folks who called into the radio program in order to voice support for the article. I live in Minnesota, but I don't often come across people who sound as though they've just stepped off the set of the Cohen brother's film "Fargo." Yet that's how most of these folks sounded as they said things like, "...Yah, ya knooow, dat dere Enger-land is crazy dese days, yah knooow."
It's true that much of the world is crazy, and I know for a fact that some aspects of "Enger-land" are indeed crazy...just as some aspects of the U.S. are crazy. But my bet is that "dese here" callers don't really know a whole lot about England or anywhere else in Britain...or even much about their own country, for that matter. And I'm sure any attempt to make the more pedantic point that though Great Britain is technically a part of Europe, the rest of Europe is not technically a part of Great Britain would be met with quizzical expressions from many of these same folks.
And I didn't even have to read The Daily Mail, The Sun, or The National Enquirer to form that particular opinion.
Today, for instance, a local talk radio host tried to make the point that the U.S. should resist "becoming like Europe," or something along those lines, because, it seems, Europe is losing its collective mind and being overrun by left-wing lunatics, or some such thing. (ALL of it?)
The gentleman making that point is entitled to his opinion, of course. Yet leaving aside the debate as to whether or not his incredibly sweeping generalization has any grounding in fact, it quickly became apparent that, like a lot of people who make such statements, he had very little idea of what he was talking about.
I say this because the "source" he cited was an article about the apparent reluctance on the part of a certain percentage of contemporary British citizens to tell their children traditional fairy tales, and the article was taken from...The Daily Mail. He cited the article and its source in a serious manner. (Que massive amounts of laughter wafting across the Atlantic Ocean from our British brethren....)
The Daily Mail, you see, might be best described to Americans (or any non-Britons, for that matter) as one part USA Today, three parts The National Enquirer, two parts flag-waving hysteria, and one part toilet paper. Mash them all together (my apologies to the USA Today) and you have just about created the right mix for The Daily Mail.
I know about The Daily Mail because I lived in Britain for a few years. I am not suggesting that the talk-show host in question should have known about The Daily Mail prior to having read the article in a pre-show prep session. I am, however, saying that had he done his homework (and with the internet, such a homework assignment is very easily done these days), he would have understood that the people who read The Daily Mail in a serious manner are those for whom life has not worked out according to plan, so to speak. (The Sun is a similar British "newspaper"; its level of journalistic integrity is quickly ascertained by perusing its third page any day of the week, which will contain little more than a picture of a topless young woman.)
If you wish to quote major national British newspapers, please quote The Guardian, The Independent, The Telegraph, or The Times, the first two of which lean politically to the left and the last two of which lean politically to the right. They are serious newspapers. If, on the other hand, you quote The Daily Mail or The Sun in a serious manner, you will quickly look like an ingrate.
This, of course, hardly bothered the heavily-accented folks who called into the radio program in order to voice support for the article. I live in Minnesota, but I don't often come across people who sound as though they've just stepped off the set of the Cohen brother's film "Fargo." Yet that's how most of these folks sounded as they said things like, "...Yah, ya knooow, dat dere Enger-land is crazy dese days, yah knooow."
It's true that much of the world is crazy, and I know for a fact that some aspects of "Enger-land" are indeed crazy...just as some aspects of the U.S. are crazy. But my bet is that "dese here" callers don't really know a whole lot about England or anywhere else in Britain...or even much about their own country, for that matter. And I'm sure any attempt to make the more pedantic point that though Great Britain is technically a part of Europe, the rest of Europe is not technically a part of Great Britain would be met with quizzical expressions from many of these same folks.
And I didn't even have to read The Daily Mail, The Sun, or The National Enquirer to form that particular opinion.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Norm Sould Run Against Arnold In Order To Achieve A Unique Political Trifecta; Also, "Inauguration Day," In More Ways Than One
NOT-SO STORMIN' NORMAN
The endless 2008 Minnesota U.S. senate election may or may not be settled completely. One way or the other, the state's canvassing board declared Al Franken the winner yesterday.
Norm Coleman lost the 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election to former professional-wrestler Jesse Ventura. He has now apparently lost the 2008 Minnesota U.S. senate race to comedian Al Franken. (This occurred six years after the death of U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone a week or two prior to that senatorial election, and the rather off-putting public memorial service that followed a few days after the tragedy, which allowed Mr. Coleman to squeak out a win.)
Perhaps Mr. Coleman should now move to California and switch political parties (again), in order to lose badly in their next gubernatorial election to Arnold Schwarzenegger...?
NEW JOB ON INAUGURATION DAY
Last December, during a months-long stint as a long-term substitute teacher, I applied for a permanent teaching job at a local high school. Today I was informed that the job is mine. I was also informed that my first official day on the job will be January 20, 2009, which happens to be the day on which President-Elect Obama officially becomes President Obama. To be starting a new job the same day the next leader of my country starts his new job is something of an honor for me, particularly since I voted for him.
Hopefully, we'll both do well in our new jobs. We'll see.
The endless 2008 Minnesota U.S. senate election may or may not be settled completely. One way or the other, the state's canvassing board declared Al Franken the winner yesterday.
Norm Coleman lost the 1998 Minnesota gubernatorial election to former professional-wrestler Jesse Ventura. He has now apparently lost the 2008 Minnesota U.S. senate race to comedian Al Franken. (This occurred six years after the death of U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone a week or two prior to that senatorial election, and the rather off-putting public memorial service that followed a few days after the tragedy, which allowed Mr. Coleman to squeak out a win.)
Perhaps Mr. Coleman should now move to California and switch political parties (again), in order to lose badly in their next gubernatorial election to Arnold Schwarzenegger...?
NEW JOB ON INAUGURATION DAY
Last December, during a months-long stint as a long-term substitute teacher, I applied for a permanent teaching job at a local high school. Today I was informed that the job is mine. I was also informed that my first official day on the job will be January 20, 2009, which happens to be the day on which President-Elect Obama officially becomes President Obama. To be starting a new job the same day the next leader of my country starts his new job is something of an honor for me, particularly since I voted for him.
Hopefully, we'll both do well in our new jobs. We'll see.
Monday, January 5, 2009
A Somewhat Uninspiring Sunday
For me, the process of enjoying this past Sunday was more difficult than it otherwise might have been, for two reasons:
1.) On that day, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (who, among other things, is also a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, a former U.S. Energy Secretary, and a former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.) withdrew his name from the congressional cabinet confirmation process, and therefore will not be the next U.S. Commerce Secretary. He is most likely doing this under pressure from people close to President-Elect Obama, who believe that a grand jury investigation into whether an energy company made unlawful contributions to a political group affiliated with Governor Richardson could hamper their attempt to fill the various Obama Administration cabinet posts swiftly and with minimal levels of political damage.
I am a fan of Governor Richardson. I have followed his career for about fifteen years now, and have found him to be an impressive leader in both the domestic and foreign arenas. He's stumbled from time to time (as have all big-name politicians with resumes as lengthy as his), but he is pragmatic, energetic, smart, and tough, and I therefore hope that his name will be cleared with regards to any wrongdoing in this political affair. Whether or not he ends up serving in some future capacity in the Obama Administration (which both he and the president-elect have suggested could still happen sometime down the road), his career as a governor, an international hostage negotiator, and a diplomatic liaison will surely continue.
2.) Halfway through the fourth and final quarter of Sunday's NFC playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles, I thought that the two teams were evenly-matched, with the Vikings perhaps slightly outplaying the Eagles. (The score at that point, 16-14 in favor of the Eagles, would have attested to the closeness of the game.) But the Vikings made too many avoidable mistakes in the final eight-or-so minutes, which allowed the Eagles, who are always capable of turning their opponents mistakes into big plays, to win in front of a hostile Minnesota crowd by the score of 26-14. The Eagles kept their cool down the stretch, and therefore deserved the win. The Vikings are now officially finished playing until next autumn.
With the Minnesota Wild (professional ice hockey) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (professional basketball) having sub-par seasons to this point, I may have to shelve a lot of my sports enthusiasm until April, when the Minnesota Twins begin the 2009 baseball season. Well, I've always thought (and often said) that baseball is the greatest sport ever conceived, so I'm not very bothered by the fact that the Minnesota teams competing in other sports are inspiring little confidence at this point.
1.) On that day, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (who, among other things, is also a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, a former U.S. Energy Secretary, and a former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.) withdrew his name from the congressional cabinet confirmation process, and therefore will not be the next U.S. Commerce Secretary. He is most likely doing this under pressure from people close to President-Elect Obama, who believe that a grand jury investigation into whether an energy company made unlawful contributions to a political group affiliated with Governor Richardson could hamper their attempt to fill the various Obama Administration cabinet posts swiftly and with minimal levels of political damage.
I am a fan of Governor Richardson. I have followed his career for about fifteen years now, and have found him to be an impressive leader in both the domestic and foreign arenas. He's stumbled from time to time (as have all big-name politicians with resumes as lengthy as his), but he is pragmatic, energetic, smart, and tough, and I therefore hope that his name will be cleared with regards to any wrongdoing in this political affair. Whether or not he ends up serving in some future capacity in the Obama Administration (which both he and the president-elect have suggested could still happen sometime down the road), his career as a governor, an international hostage negotiator, and a diplomatic liaison will surely continue.
2.) Halfway through the fourth and final quarter of Sunday's NFC playoff game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles, I thought that the two teams were evenly-matched, with the Vikings perhaps slightly outplaying the Eagles. (The score at that point, 16-14 in favor of the Eagles, would have attested to the closeness of the game.) But the Vikings made too many avoidable mistakes in the final eight-or-so minutes, which allowed the Eagles, who are always capable of turning their opponents mistakes into big plays, to win in front of a hostile Minnesota crowd by the score of 26-14. The Eagles kept their cool down the stretch, and therefore deserved the win. The Vikings are now officially finished playing until next autumn.
With the Minnesota Wild (professional ice hockey) and the Minnesota Timberwolves (professional basketball) having sub-par seasons to this point, I may have to shelve a lot of my sports enthusiasm until April, when the Minnesota Twins begin the 2009 baseball season. Well, I've always thought (and often said) that baseball is the greatest sport ever conceived, so I'm not very bothered by the fact that the Minnesota teams competing in other sports are inspiring little confidence at this point.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Are You Ready For Some (Really Good) Football?... Here's My Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles Playoff Score Prediction
Conventional wisdom suggests that Philly, who are on one heck of a roll (as they say), will win today's NFC playoff game, despite the fact that it's being played in Minneapolis. In fact, the latest betting odds suggest that Philly will win by about three points.
Yet, for some reason, I wish to suggest otherwise. So, though I'm better at predicting political winners-and-losers than I am at predicting sports winners-and-losers, I predict that this will be a very closely-fought game, with Minnesota's running game and rushing defense combining to pull-off a victory. As far as the score is concerned, I'll go with...
Minnesota 20, Philadelphia 17.
This could (and probably should) be the most evenly-matched playoff game this weekend. Hold tight, sports fans.
Oh, and let's go, Vikes!
Yet, for some reason, I wish to suggest otherwise. So, though I'm better at predicting political winners-and-losers than I am at predicting sports winners-and-losers, I predict that this will be a very closely-fought game, with Minnesota's running game and rushing defense combining to pull-off a victory. As far as the score is concerned, I'll go with...
Minnesota 20, Philadelphia 17.
This could (and probably should) be the most evenly-matched playoff game this weekend. Hold tight, sports fans.
Oh, and let's go, Vikes!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
C'mon, Western World--Move Those Legs!
Why do we Americans--and Westerners throughout the world, for that matter--have a penchant for getting in our cars in order to travel, say, half a mile (or a mile) down the road? Nearly everywhere I go these days, I keep hearing people complain about the cost of living or the status of their health, or both. Well, if we wish to start the process of becoming sensible, less overweight, and at least slightly more healthy, I'd suggest that learning how to get from Point A to Point B without necessarily hopping in our cars is one area on which we can immediately concentrate.
I bring this up because we live near an indoor fitness center, which many local people use. (I exercise outside.) We also live in quite a safe neighborhood, so it seems sensible to me for local people to walk the mile or so to the fitness center and then begin the formal part of the exercise process. Yet a high percentage of our fellow locals hop in their cars, drive the tiny distance to the center, and idle for minutes as they line-up to enter the parking lot in the hopes of finding an often non-existent open parking spot. Why?
Similarly, I tend to walk or cycle to the local shops, which are located a half mile or so away and are often packed with frustrated locals who insist on driving to them, which is followed by an attempt to find an open parking spot, and inevitably results in them getting uptight and frustrated in the process. While doing this, they use up gas, which costs them money, and they don't really gain any time, either. Sure, they get to the shops quicker than I do, but by the time they've negotiated their way into an open parking space, I've caught up with them. (If I leave home at the same time as they do, I find that I also often enter the shops at the same time as they do.)
It's one thing, I suppose, if one is buying an item that requires a vehicle for transport from the store to home, or if one must travel several miles to the shops; obviously, these are good reasons to use a car or ride the bus. But it is quite another thing if someone drives almost no distance whatsoever to the shops, which is born of laziness and culturally-motivated habit, and in the process honks one's horn about a half dozen times because of the actions of "other drivers" who are trying to inhabit the same general space as everyone else. Pedestrians, on the other hand, have almost no such problems. Cyclists don't seem to have these problems, either--and they don't seem to get in the way of cars, despite the occasional grumblings from drivers (who are really upset about little more than not being able to find their "perfect parking space") suggesting that they do.
I don't want to hear any justifications based on weather, either. I live in Minnesota, where yesterday's high temperature was 10 Fahrenheit (approximately -12 Celcius). I went for my jog outside. Hence, I don't accept complaints from ostensibly "tough" Midwesterners who pride themselves on "surviving long, cold winters" but who nonetheless cannot stomach a little cold weather, and therefore "must" hop in their cars in order to visit the local shops. (I consider the very young and the elderly to be exceptions to this, due to their legitimate health needs, of course.)
I am not a perfect person, to be sure--I most certainly have my moments of ridiculousness. But I find increasingly that sensibility has largely gone out the window for the Average Joe and Josephine American (and it's happening at alarming rates in Europe, too), to be replaced with pseudo-conservative and pseudo-liberal stances that are each the products of cultural commodification over independent-minded, individual sensibility. That is to say, nearly everyone seems to be projecting one inauthentic, trademarked, mindless cultural/political stance or the other.
This is due, I believe, to our inability to view our affluence in historical context, and indeed to our general unwillingness to engage with history whatsoever, except in a cherry-picked manner. I humbly suggest that little, gradual alterations in our daily routines--such as actually walking and/or cycling places on a consistent basis--will help people in the developed world to gradually find our way back to a state of cultural semi-sanity, and might also help us to perhaps eventually find ways of working with one another to find solutions to our pressing problems, both at home and abroad. My suggestion is certainly anything but a cure-all for our societal ills, but it might serve as a small part of making a real start.
Or, we can all drive our cars a hundred yards to the local bar or coffee shop, and complain about "liberals" or "conservatives," and then get in our cars and go home again, frustrated at one another, and, if we're willing to admit it, at ourselves. I think the Western world is far too valuable for us to continue to behave like that.
I bring this up because we live near an indoor fitness center, which many local people use. (I exercise outside.) We also live in quite a safe neighborhood, so it seems sensible to me for local people to walk the mile or so to the fitness center and then begin the formal part of the exercise process. Yet a high percentage of our fellow locals hop in their cars, drive the tiny distance to the center, and idle for minutes as they line-up to enter the parking lot in the hopes of finding an often non-existent open parking spot. Why?
Similarly, I tend to walk or cycle to the local shops, which are located a half mile or so away and are often packed with frustrated locals who insist on driving to them, which is followed by an attempt to find an open parking spot, and inevitably results in them getting uptight and frustrated in the process. While doing this, they use up gas, which costs them money, and they don't really gain any time, either. Sure, they get to the shops quicker than I do, but by the time they've negotiated their way into an open parking space, I've caught up with them. (If I leave home at the same time as they do, I find that I also often enter the shops at the same time as they do.)
It's one thing, I suppose, if one is buying an item that requires a vehicle for transport from the store to home, or if one must travel several miles to the shops; obviously, these are good reasons to use a car or ride the bus. But it is quite another thing if someone drives almost no distance whatsoever to the shops, which is born of laziness and culturally-motivated habit, and in the process honks one's horn about a half dozen times because of the actions of "other drivers" who are trying to inhabit the same general space as everyone else. Pedestrians, on the other hand, have almost no such problems. Cyclists don't seem to have these problems, either--and they don't seem to get in the way of cars, despite the occasional grumblings from drivers (who are really upset about little more than not being able to find their "perfect parking space") suggesting that they do.
I don't want to hear any justifications based on weather, either. I live in Minnesota, where yesterday's high temperature was 10 Fahrenheit (approximately -12 Celcius). I went for my jog outside. Hence, I don't accept complaints from ostensibly "tough" Midwesterners who pride themselves on "surviving long, cold winters" but who nonetheless cannot stomach a little cold weather, and therefore "must" hop in their cars in order to visit the local shops. (I consider the very young and the elderly to be exceptions to this, due to their legitimate health needs, of course.)
I am not a perfect person, to be sure--I most certainly have my moments of ridiculousness. But I find increasingly that sensibility has largely gone out the window for the Average Joe and Josephine American (and it's happening at alarming rates in Europe, too), to be replaced with pseudo-conservative and pseudo-liberal stances that are each the products of cultural commodification over independent-minded, individual sensibility. That is to say, nearly everyone seems to be projecting one inauthentic, trademarked, mindless cultural/political stance or the other.
This is due, I believe, to our inability to view our affluence in historical context, and indeed to our general unwillingness to engage with history whatsoever, except in a cherry-picked manner. I humbly suggest that little, gradual alterations in our daily routines--such as actually walking and/or cycling places on a consistent basis--will help people in the developed world to gradually find our way back to a state of cultural semi-sanity, and might also help us to perhaps eventually find ways of working with one another to find solutions to our pressing problems, both at home and abroad. My suggestion is certainly anything but a cure-all for our societal ills, but it might serve as a small part of making a real start.
Or, we can all drive our cars a hundred yards to the local bar or coffee shop, and complain about "liberals" or "conservatives," and then get in our cars and go home again, frustrated at one another, and, if we're willing to admit it, at ourselves. I think the Western world is far too valuable for us to continue to behave like that.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Happy Birthday And Happy Anniversary
Two congratulatory messages are very much in order today. Here they are:
Happy birthday to my maternal grandfather, who turns eighty-seven years young (as they say) today. He is a World War II veteran who served in the South Pacific. After the war, he became a successful electrician. I'm very lucky to be able to say that I still have both him and my maternal grandmother around.
Happy anniversary to Mrs. Hasslington's mother and step-father, who have been married for a decade as of today. They live on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean from us, but at present, we're saving up money for a (hopefully extended) visit to England next summer. Such a future trip to our old stomping grounds is a nice thought on a cold winter day in Minnesota.
Happy birthday to my maternal grandfather, who turns eighty-seven years young (as they say) today. He is a World War II veteran who served in the South Pacific. After the war, he became a successful electrician. I'm very lucky to be able to say that I still have both him and my maternal grandmother around.
Happy anniversary to Mrs. Hasslington's mother and step-father, who have been married for a decade as of today. They live on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean from us, but at present, we're saving up money for a (hopefully extended) visit to England next summer. Such a future trip to our old stomping grounds is a nice thought on a cold winter day in Minnesota.
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