The Adventures of the Flat Cousins and their Uncle

Celebrating my Birthday

2011-12-25T14:33:00.001-08:00

With a swim in the French Broad River in Asheville, NC. Reminds me
that I've got lots of life left in me!

San Diego sun!

2011-11-13T13:55:00.001-08:00

A little visit to St Peter's

2011-11-03T14:48:00.001-07:00

A well-named restaurant!

2011-09-14T18:41:00.001-07:00

Granny prepares for the rain

2011-09-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

Liz on the beach

2011-09-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

Latourell Falls

2011-07-20T12:32:00.001-07:00

Columbia River Gorge from Vista House

2011-07-20T11:52:00.001-07:00

My beautiful lady

2011-07-17T18:15:00.001-07:00

Our resort in Oregon

2011-07-16T18:35:00.001-07:00

We hit up Chicago!

2011-06-21T16:19:00.001-07:00

2011-05-20T22:18:00.000-07:00

“[I’ll start with] the windows, then the floor,” said Annie, when asked what she wanted to do upon arriving at Mr. Warbuck’s house.

“You don’t have to do any cleaning while you’re here,” Gracie told her.

“I don’t?” Annie asked, surprised. “How am I gonna earn my keep?”

Like Annie, it seems there is something in each of us that says, “If I just work hard enough, I’ll earn my keep. I’ll earn love, I’ll earn grace, I’ll earn acceptance. We try desparately to please God.

But astonishingly, God calls us to put down our brooms and our window rags. He calls us to put down our BlackBerries and our cell phones. To take off our work shoes and put away our uniform. Throughout scripture, He calls us to rest. Beautifully, implicit in that call is a call to trust. When we rest, we cannot also be doing. We cannot also be saving ourselves. Rest forces us to rely on someone else to provide sustenance.

The God Who could demand a lifetime of labor from us for the kindness He shows, commands us to rest. There is nothing we can do to earn His love, nothing we can do to receive additional forgiveness or grace. And remarkably, that’s exactly how God planned it. He calls us to rest in Him as an act of surrender. To be close to Him and to trust. To lay down our dusting rags, and our BlackBerries, and whatever else we might use to earn our keep. And to rest.

I am my beloved's and she is mine

2011-03-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

This blog post is long overdue. Long.

On October 9, 2010, I posted this to my Facebook account: "Today seems almost too sacred to post to FB. But I want to share my great joy. Because today, I marry the love of my life, the beautiful Liz Forsythe!"

An unexpected adventure. That's the best I can describe this love. I wasn't looking for it. Wasn't expecting it. Hell--didn't think I was ready for it. And then I met her. Liz's curly hair caught my eye the first time I saw her. The second time we met, at a business dinner, my curiosity was piqued when she mentioned a love of hiking and backpacking. I asked her to dinner on a Friday evening not long afterward. When she told me she couldn't make Friday, because she had another date scheduled, but would take Saturday instead, I was hooked.

After six or seven dates, and about three months, I knew. And that's how it works, I think. You just know. Its a deep in the pit of your stomach, "I know." I wrote in my journal, "I’ve always heard that when you know, you know. And I know."

And so I asked her Mom and Dad for permission to marry their daughter. They said an enthusiastic yes.

On a warm June day, with the help of my friends Nathan Dickerson and Justin and Lauren Coppedge, I put a huge sign on the roof of my downtown St. Louis loft building that said, "Liz, marry me? -JFB"

Liz and I flew over the building in a helicopter later that day, while Nate did jumping jacks on the roof wearing a t-shirt he'd made that said "Say Yes!" Liz peered through the helicopter window, saw Nate, saw the sign, and said "Yes!" I slipped a diamond ring on her finger.

About four months later, in an autumn celebration on my parents farm, we were married. All of our 6 siblings (save Chandra, who didn't make it in from Colorado) were groomsmen and bridesmaids. And added to them were another 7 dear, dear friends, who stood in a semicircle around us, symbolizing their protection of us, their presence in our lives.

Our Dads led the wedding party and assembled guests in singing hymns together, and two of our aunts read from the Scripture.

Our pastor led the service, and after the exchange of vows and rings, we shared communion and washed one another's feet--our first act as a married couple. It was a way of saying publicly that we commit to care for eachother in messy, inconvenient ways.

Afterward, my feet were wet and my socks were long and hard to put back on, so I stood for the remainder of the ceremony with bare feet in the grass.

The wedding was full of Liz's creativity. As a friend said, her heart was visible everywhere. There were hundreds of cloth streamers hanging from the front porch, a hand-made chuppah, and wedding programs she sewed by hand.

We were joined by about 200 dear friends and family members from all across the country. And together through breaking bread, sharing toasts, and dancing in the freshly cut grass, we celebrated love, joy, and life kissed by God. It was a miracle day. Our wedding day.

Liz's quad monitor work station

2011-03-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

Pretty sure she could direct a war from here.

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Caught my eye. Snowstorm in St. Louis.

2011-03-14T07:24:00.000-07:00

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Winter at Barvel!

2011-03-05T16:05:00.000-08:00

Hello dear family!

We are all settled in nicely here at Barvel. There is 2.5 feet of snow on the ground. We arrived last night, so we all snowshoed in the quarter mile lane in the dark. Granny carried her backpack for about half the time, and Liz carried it for her the other half. I carried a backpack and pulled a tobaggon loaded with food.

Cousin Sarah, who is delightful and beautiful, joined us today. (She is pictured here.) She was quite sick yesterday.

Today we were joined by Uncle Nat and Sunny--together, we snowshoed on the ice out to the beaver dam and then to blueberry island. I fell in the ice by the island, much to Liz's amusement.

Later, Uncle Nat let me use his cross country skis while I went up to the kybo. Everyone watched as I expertly navigated the trees and the hillside...and fell completely flat on my face a number of times---arms straight out in front of me, buried to the armpits in snow.

This evening, we shoed down past the mill creek, and then back up the lane.

And right now, Sarah is making delicious chicken marsala...which is filling the cabin with a rich and delicious aroma. Granny is sitting knitting in the corner on the window seat, Liz is setting the table, and I am blogging.

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Granny Snowshoeing on Barvel Pond

2011-03-05T09:03:00.000-08:00

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One of my favorite places

2011-03-04T18:41:00.000-08:00

Fireplace at Barvel. With two of my favorite people, Liz and Granny.
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Granny shows us

2011-03-03T19:31:00.000-08:00

The famous Mrs. Tiggy Winkle, of Beatrix Potter fame.

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Liz and I stop in Indianapolis

2011-02-27T13:19:00.000-08:00

After a great visit with Kak, John, and flat cousins Caleb and Matthew.
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Quick Trip to DC

2011-02-24T13:43:00.000-08:00

I was shipped to DC for a quick 23 hour business trip, during which I saw lots of friends and did some work, too! Thought I'd list the itinerary below, just for fun.

*5:15 pm-- wheels down in DC
*5:30 to 7:15--teleconference with boss and 4 or 5 teammates
*7:30 to 9:30--happy hour with 5 friends
*9:30 to 10:30--dinner with two clients
*10:30 to 11:45--call boss and another co-worker. Catch up on email
*11:45 pm to 12:15 am--talk to Liz
-------
*6:30 am-- wake
*7:15-- depart for Pentagon
*7:30 to 12:00-- meeting in Pentagon
*12:00 to 1:00-- lunch with my dear old friend Emilie Duncan
*1:00 to 2:30-- call mom, call boss, catch up on email
*2:30-- find out flight to Pittsburgh has been delayed an hour, meaning I will miss connecting flight to St Louis. Call airline and reschedule for a flight through Charlotte
*2:35 to 2:45-- head to airport straightaway
*2:45-3:20-- get ticket, buy salad at Cosi, and go through new, enormously invasive enhanced TSA security protocol
*3:20-3:25-- telephone call with boss's boss
*3:25-- board airplane for departure.

Wheels up!
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View out the pentagon

2011-02-24T10:02:00.000-08:00

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Second Honeymoon

2011-02-13T14:33:00.000-08:00

On our second honeymoon, Liz and I had exactly 30 extra minutes on the drive from Yosemite to the San Fran airport. So we went to the San Franciso Ferry Marketplace and got fish tacos and prawn ceviche.

Squeezing every moment dry and loving it.

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We're on our second honeymoon

2011-02-13T12:32:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken at yosemite, where we went for our second honeymoon. The scenery feeds both of our souls.

Pictured here are Half Dome and El Capitan.

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Our Ride to the Hotel in San Fran

2011-02-08T23:42:00.000-08:00

Not bad. :-)
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Pop is a rockstar who plays the guitar

2011-01-30T09:49:00.001-08:00

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Lunch at Sqwires

2011-01-16T10:44:00.000-08:00

With Liz Block :-) and live music.

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Beautiful beautiful beautiful

2010-11-19T15:03:00.000-08:00

Beautiful sunset!
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President Bush

2010-11-16T09:25:00.000-08:00

"I don't miss much about Washington...but I do miss being Commander in Chief."
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Secretary Rice

2010-11-16T09:12:00.000-08:00

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The President

2010-11-15T18:39:00.000-08:00

Damn I miss him
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My buddy Nathan helps me move

2010-10-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

And eats a sandwich
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The Modern Man

2010-09-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

Snake in one hand. Mobile in the other.
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Lady Liberty (bottom left) stands tall over Lower Manhattan.

2010-09-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

Extraordinary. Nine years to the day after that small island was attacked.

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Grateful

2010-08-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

It can't last long. This time of peace and prosperity. The clouds on the horizon tell us something comes. It should not surprise us. A 13 trillion dollar debt; healthcare costs ballooning beyond what we can pay; and an economy that simply doesn't produce...anything, anymore. The good days will not always last.

Its funny to think that while I sit on my rooftop oasis, pool and lush plants nearby. Sun setting over the western edge. Things seem pretty great from up here.

Newspaper articles tell of far away troubles in not so very far away places. "In tent cities, no sign of 'all the money,'" the headline in the Washington Post calls out the crisis in Haiti, 8 months post-earthquake. Another warns, "In Iraq, a precarious time plagued by 'what ifs.'" Alongside the article runs the death toll of the war in Iraq. Three men this week, with an average age of 24, from towns with names like Palmyra, and Newark (Ohio, not Jersey), and Colorado Springs. Men not so very different from me, from hometowns not unlike mine.

No, the troubles aren't so very far away. And they won't stay away from here forever. Under my red and white beach towel, on my rooftop, by the turquoise pool, it is good for me to remember that. And be grateful. And soak up the goodness now. And prepare for times which may not be so good.

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Celebration Lunch

2010-08-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

On the cabin's deck. Barvel.
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The press upon which we are printing wedding invitations

2010-07-31T09:20:00.000-07:00

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The arch.

2010-07-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

630 feet high!

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The Forsythes

2010-07-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

With a Block
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Friends and wind and sun and baseball.

2010-06-28T19:02:00.000-07:00

These are good things.
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Aunt Kak

2010-06-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

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Alice the Dog

2010-06-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

Ever patient with my shinanigans, Alice wears my sunglasses

As blog readers know, mom and dad had a terrific brown dog named Alice. She died yesterday after suffering a severe heat stroke.

They've had her since about 2002, when she was given to them by my brother Dan and his wife Sarah. A young adult dog, she was a little rambunctious for their household. I recall her eating an entire closet full of Sarah's shoes. But she seemed to fit right in at Mom and Dad's. She quickly became a compadre to their dog Frisky. Who, at 10 or 11, was not very frisky at all, but was wise and gray. Alice provided a nice balance to that. She replaced a terrifically funny dog named Shadow whose life came to a tragic end in May 2001.

Alice moved in with Mom and Dad after I left for college. I didn't live with her until the spring of 2009, when I lived with Ma and Pa for about 6 months between jobs. In that half year, Alice taught me about obedience and hearing the master's voice.

~
Obedience
Alice and I ran together in the mornings when I lived at Mom and Dad's. We would trek up to the nearby diary farm and back. Because we ran to the dairy farm, we passed fields full of cows. With spindly legs. To Alice, they must have looked like steak on a stick.

Our first few runs together to the farm and back were hard. Alice pulled and jerked at her leash, trying desperately to fling off her collar and chase a steaksicle. I swatted her, reminded her we don't chase cows, and told her to heel. She didn't much appreciate the guidance.

On subsequent jogs, Alice needed more reminders that cows are not treats. Sometimes our runs could hardly be described as runs, unless chasing a brown dog intent on eating a cow counts as exercise.

But over time, I noticed I trailed behind her less. She did a better job running with me, not ahead of me, nose towards the cow pastures. And after several weeks of running together, Alice didn't need a leash at all. She would run next to me, or a little in front of me, but not in the pastures.

Not because she didn't want to run through the pasture and chase cows. Quite the opposite. But because she chose to obey. When we ran past the steaksicles, Alice would whine quietly, and drool. But she didn't dash for them anymore.

She chose to obey. Even when it was hard. Even when it probably didn't make sense. ("But they look so delicious!") And in doing so, she showed me in very real terms what it means to obey. It means not doing what I want to do, but listening to the One who knows. Its hard, and sometimes I'll whine. Or drool. And I'll be in good company.

Hearing the Master's Voice

Alice went to dog school when she was one. When I lived with her, she was 8. Naturally, she needed to brush up a little. So I borrowed a training collar from some friends, pulled out an incredibly old leash of Mom and Dad's and we got to work.

As blog readers know, an important skill for dogs is staying when told and coming when called. And so Alice and I worked on those skills. I would tell her to sit and stay. Then I'd walk 20 or 30 paces away, then turn around and face her. She'd watched me intently. Studying my face, waiting for me to call her name. Every muscle in her body tense, ready to launch herself. Almost quivering with excitement, but sitting still as told. Waiting to hear my voice.

"Come here, girl!" I'd shout. With a burst of energy, Alice would gallop toward me, often barreling past. She'd jump around at my feet and lick my hands to tell me how excited she was.

In her sitting still, being patient, and waiting, Alice taught me what it means, in real terms, to hear the master's voice. It means being still. Waiting. Not doing what I want to do all the time. Trusting. And then launching myself when called.

So thanks, Alice. For teaching me what it means to obey and hear the master's voice. I love you, Alice.

JFB

Alice runs on the ice on Mom and Dad's pond - spring 2009

2010-05-24T20:19:00.001-07:00

The awesome backpack Liz just gave me! like!

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2010-05-09T22:01:00.001-07:00

My buddies Tim and Erin Barley and their new son Valient. What a terrific name.

2010-05-09T21:57:00.001-07:00

The st louis skyline. My building is pretty much in the dead center--right downtown.

2010-05-09T16:28:00.001-07:00

Liz and her sister kathryn at mom and dads.

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2010-05-09T10:04:00.001-07:00

Lunch with EK... Saw the ring. Nice work ben!

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2010-05-04T20:36:00.001-07:00

The white house at night. America. Awesome.

2010-05-02T15:20:00.001-07:00

South beach.

2010-04-27T17:31:00.001-07:00

The field. The ball park. StL. Awesome.

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2010-04-02T08:17:00.001-07:00

Brittany pets the biggest dog. Ever.

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2010-04-01T11:51:00.001-07:00

Gen petraeus -commander of wars in iraq and afgh- talking to media in front of a military plane.

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2010-04-01T11:10:00.001-07:00

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Dad

2010-03-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Dad!

An open letter to my Dad, on the occasion of his birthday.

Dad,

To quote a simple country song: "I'm your buckaroo, Dad I want to be like you."

It's true. Dad, I do want to be like thee in many ways. Thee has terrific instincts. Thee has the right priorities. Thee's a man of integrity.

Thee believes in power of the Gospel to bring hope...and as part of that, thee has devoted thy life's work to uniting orphans with loving families. At the end of our days, many of us won't have much left. A stack of press releases, perhaps (for someone in my field). Court cases won. Legislation passed. But thy imprint will be thousands of orphans who have moms and dads who love them...and who have the chance to know a God who cares. Thanks for showing us through a lifetime of actions what true religion looks like: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress." (James 1:27a)

Thanks for being there, Dad. On the other end of the phone line every. time. I. call. At each key juncture of my life. Career decisions. Relationship advice. Life questions. There thee is. Present. Listening. Offering good advice.

Thanks, Dad. Thee's a good man. I'm so lucky--so very, very blessed--to come from good stock, to have thee as my dad.

I'll close by quoting the chorus of the aforementioned song by Rodney Atkins called Watching You. The song quotes a son talking to his dad, and it captures how I feel pretty accurately.

Click here to listen.

When I’m big I’ll still know what to do
Cause I’ve been watching you, dad ain’t that cool?
I’m your buckaroo, I want to be like you.
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are.
By then I’ll be strong as superman
We’ll be just alike, hey, won’t we dad
When I can do everything you do. ‘cause I’ve been watchin’ you.

(Watching You by Rodney Atkins)

Thanks, Dad. Happy birthday.

--Jonathan

2010-03-29T07:55:00.001-07:00

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2010-03-29T07:18:00.001-07:00

The library at the department of justice

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2010-03-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

Navy memorial-downtown dc

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2010-03-27T14:12:00.001-07:00

Nina and me. Friends for 6 years.

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2010-03-25T08:31:00.001-07:00

A march 20 swim in the barvel creek. Very refreshing. And cold. The lake is still frozen.

Beautiful Liz

2010-03-22T20:04:00.001-07:00

Beautiful Liz.

Together at the Botanical Gardens orchid exhibit.

2010-03-19T11:14:00.001-07:00

My old friend concord nh.

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2010-03-10T08:50:00.001-08:00

The booth uncle jonathan travels with.

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2010-03-08T13:24:00.001-08:00

Emerging by mark smith. 1981 downtown atlanta

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2010-03-08T13:22:00.001-08:00

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2010-03-08T13:18:00.001-08:00

Forsyth street in downtown atlanta.

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2010-02-14T13:21:00.001-08:00

Breathe deeply and appreciate the moment. Living in the moment could be the meaning of life.

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2010-02-03T05:53:00.001-08:00

My office building.

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2010-01-24T12:37:00.001-08:00

Angie on the piano.

2010-01-16T09:27:00.001-08:00

Dear tiger -and the rest of us- this is very good advice: `its what you do next that counts.`

2010-01-09T08:02:00.001-08:00

Accenture ad in the philly airport that says `we know what it takes to be a tiger: insight 30%, foresight 70%, hindsight 0%.` Uhhhhhh, Accenture, perhaps the hindsight could be bumped up a little at this point.

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2010-01-03T16:06:00.001-08:00

Beautiful white mountains of northern new hampshire on Christmas day.

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2010-01-03T14:24:00.001-08:00

Cousins Christmas caroling.

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2009-12-31T17:58:00.001-08:00

Niece abby on the horse i bought her.

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2009-12-24T19:58:00.001-08:00

Midnight carols at the first baptist church in newton ma with granny.

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2009-12-24T10:52:00.001-08:00

Christmas eve lunch with granny aunt abby and uncle jeff.

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2009-12-15T21:26:00.001-08:00

Road side lake where i stopped and swam this summer. Man that sounds great and warm right about now!

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2009-12-13T15:53:00.000-08:00

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2009-12-06T12:41:00.001-08:00

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2009-12-06T12:37:00.001-08:00

Folks on the highway.

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2009-12-03T10:24:00.001-08:00

Birthday boy reads Goodnight Moon.

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Mom, Granny and Mrs. Laura Bush

2009-11-29T21:48:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Laura Bush visited St. Louis last Tuesday to deliver remarks at the St. Louis Speakers Series (http://www.stlouisspeakersseries.org/). As she arrived into town, she took a few minutes to meet with Mom and Granny, which was very kind. They talked about woman's rights, the plight of Aung San Suu Kyi (Google her), and the Bush Library in Dallas. All in all, a wonderful chat and a very neat way to kick off the holiday season!

2009-11-28T09:25:00.001-08:00

Aunt Frankie and cousin CB!

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2009-11-24T16:14:00.001-08:00

Powell hall from the stage.

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Sally quinn, you hit some

2009-11-19T08:41:00.001-08:00

Sally quinn, you hit some nails right on the head re Gov Palin: www.tiny.cc/sally

2009-11-15T09:49:00.001-08:00

Danger!

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2009-11-15T09:03:00.001-08:00

River swimming.

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2009-11-09T05:35:00.001-08:00

Morning commute.

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2009-11-08T08:09:00.001-08:00

Bennington vermont

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2009-10-31T08:28:00.001-07:00

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silver placemats. turkey candleholders.

2009-10-30T22:17:00.001-07:00

About a year ago today, my good friend Jocelyn and I traveled from Erie, PA to Elko, NV on a business trip (campaign advance).

We drove from Erie to Cleveland, flew to Cincinnati, flew on to Salt Lake City, and drove to Elko.

I carried one of Jocelyn's bags throughout the 2,228 mile 24 hour trip. One of her heavy bags. Because she had 3 others, and I felt bad for her.

When we got to Elko, I asked her what was in it.

"Oh!" She said. "Two picture frames from India. Three candle holders in the shape of a turkey. Candles to match. And a set of silver placemats. I bought them a few weeks ago and have carried them with me ever since."

Right. Because everyone carries silver placemats with them. To Elko Nevada.

Loves it, Joc. Loves it.

2009-10-30T16:15:00.001-07:00

St louis sunset.

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2009-10-26T20:45:00.001-07:00

The jack o lantern that won the contest: a billy goat. Congrats nate!

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2009-10-24T23:29:00.001-07:00

My pumpkin.

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2009-10-24T23:26:00.001-07:00

My favorite pumpkin-a spiderweb

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2009-10-20T05:21:00.001-07:00

Mississippi sunrise.

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2009-10-11T14:47:00.001-07:00

Cessna 152

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2009-10-10T12:12:00.001-07:00

2009-10-10T12:08:00.001-07:00

My parking spot is well marked, thanks to ab and celeste!

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2009-10-08T17:06:00.001-07:00

A chunk of mizzou goal post from the 2003 victory over nebraska.

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2009-10-04T19:33:00.001-07:00

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