Saturday, September 27, 2008

A Splendid Indian Summer Day

The Oregon Ducks shook off last week's embarrassing loss by rolling to a 63-14 victory over hapless Washington State, behind the relentless running of their tandem of talented backs, Jeremiah Johnson and LeGarrette Blount. The pair combined for 187 yards and six touchdowns against the overmatched Cougars, who coughed up two fumbles early which the Ducks converted into touchdowns on the way to a quick 21-0 lead. The Cougars managed one long drive, but the Ducks answered with one of their own and the outcome was never in doubt.

Upsets abounded in college football this week. Michigan upended Wisconsin, Alabama has jumped out to a surprise lead over number 2 Georgia, and number 4 Florida fell to Mississippi. On Thursday night lowly Oregon State held off a late rally to shock top ranked USC 27-21.

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Marie and I shopped for an apartment but didn't find anything. We had a lovely day though, lunch at McDonalds, a walk in the sunshine and a stroll through the Farmer's market. We got along and didn't frustrated with each other in a stressful situation. We got only one call on the car, from a lowballing weasel who tried to be rude and intimidating over the phone. "What's the least you'll take for it? Will you take $800?" This without ever seeing the car.

We'll just have to pray harder.

It was wonderful to walk down the street in the fall sunshine, walking hand in hand together as man and wife.

3 comments:

Gretchen said...

Dale, We are blogging again be sure you check out our blog!

Gretchen said...

Thanks for the comments on our blog and thanks for wearing socks today, you are so funny. I don't know how you remember such details of life!

Anonymous said...

SERIOUSLY---one lousy sentence....we beavs deserve better.........

This is the Way the Transformation Begins


"Some men see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say "Why not?"
George Bernard Shaw, Robert F. Kennedy


This is the way the transformation begins.
It begins in me.
It begins now.
It begins with small incremental changes and shifts in attitude
it begins with positive action
failing forward
and suddenly I start looking at the world and my place in it in a new way. I speak differently and dress differently and project a different energy, and the world opens up like a glorious pink azalea bush, eight feet tall and blooming like mad.


photo by Kajo123 from the website flickr.com

Good morning!

An engineer builds a bridge and every bolt and weld has to be exactly right; every measure has to be perfect, or the bridge collapses or fails to take its place. Fantastically detailed blueprints have to be laid out. Impact statements have to be filed, sediment has to be studied, years of effort, months of planning, and a man-made marvel rises in the sky. Park somewhere and take a good look at a bridge, and think of all the skill and knowledge and hard honest work it took to create it. Consider how a few thousand years ago we were living in caves.

It is not so with a dream. Some people are remarkable dreamers and dreams spring whole from them, or they can leap up from bed and pages of creative genius flow out of their pen, intricate and perfect. Most of us though are baby dreamers, new at it and tentative to the trust the power of what we wish for.

Start the dream! Whether you want to go to nursing school or college or learn to play the guitar, take a first step, now, even in the wrong direction. Don't wait for the blueprint to come to you, the environmental impact statement, the permits and the 200-page budget and legislative dream approval. Rough it out, sketch it on a napkin, tell a friend, and take action. Your dream begins the moment you step out in first moment of believing, and the result can touch a thousand souls. Listen to Jim Valvano: never give up, never surrender. Believe in the audacity of action and your fantastic potential for change and new opportunity.

The Hawthorne Bridge at sunrise, Portland Oregon. Photo by Joe Collver, from flickr.com
Genuine happiness and success start with an attitude of abundance

Make it a daily practice to begin your day with five minutes of thankfulness. You can even do it in your car on the way to work. Do it in your own way, whether it's thoughtful reflection or a prayer or singing out loud, but focus on your rich, amazing, abundant life.

Feeling grumpy or resentful or worried instead of thankful? Change direction! Consider the incredible gifts you have--mind, body, spirit, senses, your family, your friends, your clothes, your car, and the breakfast you enjoyed this morning. By the standards of 99% of the world, Americans are incredibly, amazingly rich. You truly have no idea how richly blessed you are until you start thinking about it. Even the heart that beats within you and the lungs that breathe your air are an intricate and amazing miracle.

Some of my favorite movies are ones that feature a once-defeated character waking up to an absolutely new day: "It's A Wonderful Life," the various versions of Dicken's "Christmas Carol" and "Groundhog Day." How exhilarating it is for George Bailey to wake up and realize his life isn't over, it's just beginning, and that today truly is a brand new day.


"It's a Wonderful Life"

"It's a Wonderful Life"
George returns home to everything he ever wanted.