The Family Visit Revisited

Backing up a bit. While on the harbor cruise in San Diego we were treated to the sight of a Portugese Navy ship leaving port. What was special about this ship was that it was an actual sailing ship. Powered by the wind as in the days of old. It conjured the romance of the seas in an age mostly passed.

What I noticed almost immediately was that this Portugese ship was flying an American flag. I asked passengers nearby why that would be. They had no idea. I asked the captain of the tour boat why. He asked the question via the public address system. No one seemed to have an answer. Was it simply a goodwill gesture since they were in an American port? If you know the answer, please answer via a comment.

The drive back to Las Vegas somehow seemed shorter than the drive west. Upon arriving in Las Vegas we checked into Palms Place. Thanks to my slot play at the Palms the room, for three nights, was "complimentary".

It seems like the time flew by, but we did manage to do a few things while they were here.

Hoover dam (again)

Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay (again)

Palms Buffet (over and over and over and over again lol)

Lied Childrens Discovery Museum (again)

Lions at MGM (again)

Wildlife habitat at Flamingo (again)

Bellagio conservatory and fountains (again)

Nathan Burton Show at Flamingo (again for mom and I, the first time for David and my sister)

Eiffel Tower at Paris (again for me, a first for David. It must be noted that about 5 seconds after exiting on the observation deck David was ready to get his feet back on the ground)

I'm sure there was much more, but that's all I can recall at the moment.

Here's David with 2/3 of his body in Nevada and 1/3 of it in Arizona.

I had a fourth night reserved at Palms Place but David wanted to stay at Uncle Wayne's on the last night. It was just as well as it gave mom and my sister a chance to do some laundry and pack up the ton or so of stuff that had been purchased in the last week. While they were doing that, David and I played tennis and then hit the pool and hot tub.

It was a nice end to a wonderful week.

This makes my head hurt

Much like snakes and spiders, there are other things in this world that I have little to no use for. Religion comes to mind. I won't say that I struggle with the concept on a daily basis, but when I do stop and think about it a trip to the aspirin bottle can't be too far behind.

Some pastor in Florida dreamed up the International Burn a Koran Day. Predictably, all hell seems to be about to be unleashed.

Religious leaders warned that Muslims overseas would interpret extremists like Jones as reflecting mainstream American attitudes toward Muslims. In Afghanistan on Monday, protesters made a point of wrapping an effigy of Jones in an American flag before burning both the effigy and the flag.

From a LA Times article titled "Pastor takes a defiant stance"
by David Zucchino 9/8/10.

Let me get this straight. When a coordinated group of Muslim extremists hijack a handful of airplanes and fly them into buildings, we are not even supposed to entertain the tiniest thought that their actions might represent any of the values of 1.5 billion peace loving Muslims worldwide. When a pastor of a 50 member church gets a wild hair and decides to have a bonfire of the insanities, burkas worldwide get themselves in a bunch.

Can you have it both ways? Would that be hypocritical? Is there any hope?

Happy Birthday Dad