Wednesday Morning

Arrived early as I normally do each morning. The drive is actually relatively pleasant given the traffic is quite light at 6:30 a.m. when I leave the house and staying in routine, I stopped at Starbucks for a coffee and quick glance at the New York Times on my way out the door. I only actually purchase the paper on Friday and Saturday and occasionally on Sunday if I can find it. There use to be a wonderful spot at the intersection of Piedmont and Peachtree called "Joe Mugg's", which carried all the major papers on a Sunday morning. We used to go there after Mass, get a coffee and pastry and sit and read the Sunday papers. It's a shame that a city like Atlanta doesn't have a decent newspaper. The Atlanta Journal Constitution is quite small town for a metro area approaching six million in population. You would think we could get attract a paper with some weight, but I guess newspapers in general are rapidly disappearing across the nation and given we only have two remaining national papers (USA Today and The Wall Street Journal), it isn't surprising that no one wants to invest in anything other than internet driven solutions. Still, I long for the comfort of a newspaper with a decent editorial section.

School is in full drive now and both Joe and Ellie are up to their usual tricks; i.e.: not wanting to keep up with their homework and class assignments. I don't know if I have the energy for middle school given how much work they are piling on Joe. Poor kid is absolutely lost at the moment and if we can't get him organized I fear he will have a very depressing year. Ellie is less absorbed at the moment, but remembering how 4th grade went for Joe I imagine it will get more intense as the year rolls on.

Weather is still quite humid although the heat has come down a few degrees over the past two weeks. Still, it is quite uncomfortable at the mid-day and will probably remain so for another month or so. I expect it to start getting cooler towards the later part of October if last year is any guide.

I'll post again soon on the political landscape.....just too tired after yesterday to rant and rave about my favorite idiot in the White House. Boy, I've come a long way in the past few years! (A long way to the left that is.........)

Have a great day folks and enjoy a photo of Kate, Joe and Ellie with the Brooks during their visit to Scotland. The Brooks were our neighbors in the Netherlands and Simon, Elizabeth, Emma, James and Timmy are all lovely folks. They live in this absolutely lovely slice of heaven that was dropped into Scotland. Our best wishes to them as always.