Update

I'm back in San Diego.  Sixty-eight degrees, 83% humidity and a lovely cool breeze coming through my window.  I'm keeping my shades open to amass as much "coolness" as I can before the sun breaks through.  Yesterday I took a walk to the Famosa Slough.  The clouds were heavy until about 9am.  Then, all of a sudden, there was a complete transformation and immediately, I felt the heat.  So this morning, I may be ahead of the game by letting all the cool breezes in.  We'll see.

The past three months on the East Coast was very enjoyable and very, very busy.  Starting on early April with a trip from New York to South Carolina to attend my eldest grandson's Marine Boot Camp graduation and culminating in June, with the next eldest grandson's graduation from Beacon High School, his party and an enjoyable East Coast family gathering the next day. Actually the last day of my visit was spend driving golf balls at the Fishkill Golf and Driving Range with my 16 year old grandson and almost 16 year old granddaughter.  We quit after two buckets because of the heat (97 degrees with very high humidity).  Even the teenagers were "wiped out."

One weekend, my daughters treated me to a facial at Buttermilk Spa in Milton NY.  The pool area has floor to ceiling windows that open out so you get the feeling of being outside....very relaxing.  After a healthy gourmet lunch by the pool, we sat on chaise lounge type chairs and just enjoyed the ambiance and lovely views.

From seeing a deer just walking across the lawns around 9:30am to being able to climb Mount Beacon and to seeing Bob the Cicada, it was an interesting visit.  It is not uncommon for deer to run through the suburban neighborhoods early in the morning, but at 9:30am?  The photo below was taken by my eldest daughter in La Grange.  Great....as I was editing, I deleted two photos of the tree, not noticing the deer and wondering why she had taken a picture of the tree.   Too bad, they might have been great photos if I had a little more patience in examining them more closely.

With three daughters and the families in a 20 mile radius, I spread out my visits staying two to three weeks with each.  This enabled me to immerse myself in their everyday lives.  I was able to spend time with each child from the youngest (10 months) to the eldest (18).   I was so busy I didn't get to contact my friends until half-way through my stay.  Everyone was very gracious in making the time to see me.  I''ll most likely have more to write about this trip, but that's all for now.  Have a very "Blessed" day.

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Return to San Diego

 On Saturday evening, I returned to San Diego on JetBlue.  Thankfully, the flight wasn't full and the seat next to mine was empty, so I had a more comfortable ride.  I have not been a fan of JetBlue since I received, in my opinion, an insulting response to an email I sent them several years ago.  This time, I used their airline solely because the fare was the cheapest I could find.  This time though, the staff was exemplary, and in my opinion, more mature.

Yesterday, when I went out outside, I found that I was dressed too warmly.  Checking the Weather Channel made me realize that I wasn't in New York anymore.  The temperature was a sunny 71 degrees.  Wahoo!!!  Please keep in mind that I was grateful for the mild winter I experienced in New York this year.

As usual, my stays in New York are busy and fun-filled.  I enjoyed visiting with my daughters and their families.  The grandchildren are taller than me, that is, except the eleven year old (who's almost there) and of course, the one year old.  Time seems to go faster on the East Coast, with busy families who generously include me in their daily comings and goings, and meeting with long-time friends.  And, it was a great experience displaying my photography at the Poughkeepsie Barnes and Noble store.

I was fortunate to be able to visit the 911 Museum at the new World Trade Center, which I'll write about soon.  Unfortunately, I haven't reconciled the feelings I had as I walked around that "hallowed" ground.

The day before I flew to San Diego, I joined my daughters and the eleven year old granddaughter in walking along Canal Street in lower New York City checking out the vendors, and then, into SOHO (a trendy and expensive downtown shopping area).  

The old buildings were very interesting.  I always enjoy walking around the New York City viewing the mixture of very old and very new buildings. In this area, many old buildings were shrouded with fire escapes (certainly a necessary life saving addition.)    The photograph on the right shows a different and unexpected type of fire escape, which I think is reminiscent of New Orleans.

                                                                            

We enjoyed our lunch at Fanelli's on Prince Street.  I usually don't order a spaghetti dish for lunch, but the linguini with Pesto ($12.00) was delicious.  This building has housed a small restaurant since 1847 with the Fanelli's taking it over in 1922.  I attempted to photograph the front doors, which were very interesting.
 
After lunch my daughters and granddaughter were interested in seeing the new World Trade Center.  So we walked there.  The picture to the left depicts how tall the building is compared to the older ones in the surrounding neighborhood.  So ended our visit to lower (or downtown) New York City.

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20th Anniversary of the World Wide Web

On August 6, 1991 the World Wide Web (www.) was made available to the public on the Internet. A full account of this information is found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web. Twenty years later, many of us practically live on the Internet, either before or with their morning coffee or late into the night. It has become a valuable tool for keeping in contact with our friends and researching every conceivable need for information. Because of the public access to the Internet, world wide news travels in seconds, probably faster.

I am a ardent believer in keeping the Internet free of Government involvement. Good intentions in the guise of protecting us can also restrict us.

On September 11, 2001, I worked in a building on 53rd Street near Park Avenue in New York City. My daughter worked 500 paces from the South Tower at the World Trade Center. My children on the West Coast thought I still worked at the World Trade Center on that day. (Actually, I had changed jobs and moved to the midtown area.) After the planes hit those towers, it didn't take long for us to lose phone service. Therefore, I could not phone my East or West Coast children to tell them that my daughter and I were alive.

Later in the morning, I thought of the Internet. I had never used the computer at work for personal reasons. But, that day I sent e-mails to my San Diego friends. asking them to phone my family in San Diego and Los Angeles. When the first plane hit the North Tower, my friends in San Diego were only getting up for work. I didn't know that they never went to work that day. I sent e-mails to my West Coast children, guessing at their work e-mail addresses, telling them that their sister and mother were OK. I gave them our locations, where we would be that evening in case there was another attack, and phone numbers to possibly reach us. New York City was in "lockdown" and we weren't going anywhere. If we didn't have this unfettered public access, my children would have continued wondering if we were alive. Because my son received my e-mail in Los Angeles, he was able to call me. I can't explain how he could get a call in yet I couldn't get a call out. Just suffice it to say, he spoke with me and his sister.

So, while there is good and bad on the Internet, we must preserve our freedom to this access. With all the social networking available on Facebook and Twitter, we contact friends, some of us with vital information and others with every thought that crosses their minds. They are free to do that.

We cannot wake up some morning and find that our Twitter and Facebook, much less Internet access has been taken away because of a real or perceived crisis. If "the powers that be" are concerned about hackers, they should be working on improving software security to preserve freedom for all, not restraining all. I believe we should appreciate what we have and keep the Internet public.

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