Chuck's Second Report
It’s been a month since my first and last post, September 11. Here is my first update covering the past month.
Health: Great! I’ve lost 20.1 pounds. Ava has been sick with a cold. We're joining a concierge medical plan (aka, "boutique medicine") with our Indian doctor, Dr. Nathan.
I’m hiking (instead of running) since my knee went bad about six months ago (it’s okay now). It’s been three years since I last hiked as my regular form of exercise. The trails I used back then have since overgrown with vegetation. To make them suitable for hiking, I’ve been clearing them of the overgrowth -- sawing and cutting and hauling away.
I continue to find it amazing that within a 30 minute walk – in a neighborhood located in one of the most populated cities of the world – I can find myself in a virtual wilderness in which I rarely see another human being.
House: The new flooring is a blessing and a curse. It’s like a new car where the owner obsesses over the most minor blemish. Ava selected a light blond carpet which looks great but which soaks in stains (especially coffee) and which corrodes from cat vomit.
Books: I’ve “read” (actually “listened to” via www.Audible.com) five books since my last post of 09/11/07: 1) American Prometheus, a biography of J.R. Oppenheimer – father of the atomic bomb, 2) Fountainhead by Ayn Rand; 3) MiddleMarch by George Elliot, 4) Walt Disney by Neil Gabler; and 5) Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (my hiking affords me much time to listen to books). All of these were terrific books but it’s the book about Walt Disney that most impressed me.
Disney wasn’t the avuncular character he portrayed on Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. He was often a despot to his employees, he was obnoxiously egotistical, and maniacally obsessive. Nevertheless, his vision and his willingness to take enormous risks was a trait I found heroic. He reminded me of Ayn Rand’s hero in the FountainHead, Howard Roark -- an idealist who never compromised his principles, suffered enormously, but emerged a success.
Currently I’m listening/reading to Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and The Last Days of the Incas by Kim Macquarrie – both wonderful and thought provoking books.
The hard-copy books I’m reading are Stanley Karnow’s, In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines; and a huge tome I’ve been laboring over for about six months, Basic Electricity by Van Valkenburgh, Nooger & Neville, Inc. The latter book will take me another three months to complete. When I’m done, I’ll understand electric circuits as they were fashioned in 1960 (when the book was written – before semiconductors and transistors).
Weather: Since my last post it rained. A full half inch. Glorious! It reminded me of the rain and thunder at Anthony and Lauren’s wedding. Recently it’s been cold and windy – typical October weather. Many neighbors have had their Halloween paraphernalia out for over a week. It’s remarkable how Halloween has gained importance over the years.
Nature: I saw a beautiful buck a couple of weeks ago. I used to see deer frequently but since the drought I’ve seen them rarely although I do see their footprints on my hiking trails. I see coyotes less frequently too, although I hear their eerie cries several times a week. Recently I saw a six foot gopher snake and two very large alligator lizards. The native flora is very, very dry. We're lucky to have escaped fires.
I’ve rekindled my interest in geology. The trails I’m now hiking display an interesting variety of geologic features: black slate, rounded pebbles, crumbling strata, and; most interestingly, fossils: clams and turret shells.
Dad: I received my first emails from Dad. His emails were in reply to my reviews of the episodes of Ken Burn’s documentary, The War. At first I was critical of this series but once I understood Burn’s "point of view" I formed a very positive opinion of this 14-hour documentary. Maybe it was not as good as his Civil War but, nevertheless, it was an inspired documentary. If you haven’t seen it, you should know that Burn’s POV is from the perspective of the octogenarian American veterans and the civilians that lived through it.
The documentary gave me a renewed appreciation of “peace.” Nothing in my life time, not even the Viet Nam War, had an impact anything close to that of the War on my father’s generation. Today, when a helicopter is blasted out of the sky killing a dozen American soldiers, it makes the front page. During the final years of WWII, a thousand Americans were killed – this when the population of our country was a third of what it is now.
(BTW: I'm planning to visit Dad for a couple of days in about two weeks.)
Anniversary: Ava and I recently celebrated our 35th Anniversary. To the 3rd generation of Milbourne’s who may be reading this, know this one truth: your spouse never changes.
I put a video of our marriage on YouTube. If you’d like to see it, it’s here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qJwlOdVhguw. If you view it, you may be wondering where our family was. Paul was in Germany, I’m not sure where Danny or Geneva were (they may have been there), and the Ryan’s were all there but out of sight in the back of the main room drinking and having a good time. (BTW: The video shows the last time I danced.)
Business: I’m enthusiastic about my business, http://www.45hoursonline.com/. I’m finding more ways to promote it and I’m optimistic about its future. Currently I’m engaged in a campaign to build links from the home pages of realty brokerages to my site. The quality and quantity of “backlinks”, I’ve learned, is the key to attaining visibility by Google and the other search engines. Ava’s side of the business, continuing education via correspondence, is slowing down due to the depression in the real estate economy but she is still doing well.
Pookie and MudPie: Mudpie continues to decimate the local fauna – birds and rats are her favorite fare. Pookie is enjoying life.
Sights and Sounds: I haven’t watched many movies during the past month. I did see one astounding documentary not once but twice: Little Rock Central: 50 Years Later produced by the gifted documentarian, Jon Alpert. It describes a momentous event in our Nation’s history which, after 50 years, has had little real-world impact.
Final Thought: I would much enjoy reading similar reports from all of you in the Milbourne Plus family.
-->Chuck Milbourne
Health: Great! I’ve lost 20.1 pounds. Ava has been sick with a cold. We're joining a concierge medical plan (aka, "boutique medicine") with our Indian doctor, Dr. Nathan.
I’m hiking (instead of running) since my knee went bad about six months ago (it’s okay now). It’s been three years since I last hiked as my regular form of exercise. The trails I used back then have since overgrown with vegetation. To make them suitable for hiking, I’ve been clearing them of the overgrowth -- sawing and cutting and hauling away.
I continue to find it amazing that within a 30 minute walk – in a neighborhood located in one of the most populated cities of the world – I can find myself in a virtual wilderness in which I rarely see another human being.
House: The new flooring is a blessing and a curse. It’s like a new car where the owner obsesses over the most minor blemish. Ava selected a light blond carpet which looks great but which soaks in stains (especially coffee) and which corrodes from cat vomit.
Books: I’ve “read” (actually “listened to” via www.Audible.com) five books since my last post of 09/11/07: 1) American Prometheus, a biography of J.R. Oppenheimer – father of the atomic bomb, 2) Fountainhead by Ayn Rand; 3) MiddleMarch by George Elliot, 4) Walt Disney by Neil Gabler; and 5) Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (my hiking affords me much time to listen to books). All of these were terrific books but it’s the book about Walt Disney that most impressed me.
Disney wasn’t the avuncular character he portrayed on Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. He was often a despot to his employees, he was obnoxiously egotistical, and maniacally obsessive. Nevertheless, his vision and his willingness to take enormous risks was a trait I found heroic. He reminded me of Ayn Rand’s hero in the FountainHead, Howard Roark -- an idealist who never compromised his principles, suffered enormously, but emerged a success.
Currently I’m listening/reading to Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and The Last Days of the Incas by Kim Macquarrie – both wonderful and thought provoking books.
The hard-copy books I’m reading are Stanley Karnow’s, In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines; and a huge tome I’ve been laboring over for about six months, Basic Electricity by Van Valkenburgh, Nooger & Neville, Inc. The latter book will take me another three months to complete. When I’m done, I’ll understand electric circuits as they were fashioned in 1960 (when the book was written – before semiconductors and transistors).
Weather: Since my last post it rained. A full half inch. Glorious! It reminded me of the rain and thunder at Anthony and Lauren’s wedding. Recently it’s been cold and windy – typical October weather. Many neighbors have had their Halloween paraphernalia out for over a week. It’s remarkable how Halloween has gained importance over the years.
Nature: I saw a beautiful buck a couple of weeks ago. I used to see deer frequently but since the drought I’ve seen them rarely although I do see their footprints on my hiking trails. I see coyotes less frequently too, although I hear their eerie cries several times a week. Recently I saw a six foot gopher snake and two very large alligator lizards. The native flora is very, very dry. We're lucky to have escaped fires.
I’ve rekindled my interest in geology. The trails I’m now hiking display an interesting variety of geologic features: black slate, rounded pebbles, crumbling strata, and; most interestingly, fossils: clams and turret shells.
Dad: I received my first emails from Dad. His emails were in reply to my reviews of the episodes of Ken Burn’s documentary, The War. At first I was critical of this series but once I understood Burn’s "point of view" I formed a very positive opinion of this 14-hour documentary. Maybe it was not as good as his Civil War but, nevertheless, it was an inspired documentary. If you haven’t seen it, you should know that Burn’s POV is from the perspective of the octogenarian American veterans and the civilians that lived through it.
The documentary gave me a renewed appreciation of “peace.” Nothing in my life time, not even the Viet Nam War, had an impact anything close to that of the War on my father’s generation. Today, when a helicopter is blasted out of the sky killing a dozen American soldiers, it makes the front page. During the final years of WWII, a thousand Americans were killed – this when the population of our country was a third of what it is now.
(BTW: I'm planning to visit Dad for a couple of days in about two weeks.)
Anniversary: Ava and I recently celebrated our 35th Anniversary. To the 3rd generation of Milbourne’s who may be reading this, know this one truth: your spouse never changes.
I put a video of our marriage on YouTube. If you’d like to see it, it’s here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qJwlOdVhguw. If you view it, you may be wondering where our family was. Paul was in Germany, I’m not sure where Danny or Geneva were (they may have been there), and the Ryan’s were all there but out of sight in the back of the main room drinking and having a good time. (BTW: The video shows the last time I danced.)
Business: I’m enthusiastic about my business, http://www.45hoursonline.com/. I’m finding more ways to promote it and I’m optimistic about its future. Currently I’m engaged in a campaign to build links from the home pages of realty brokerages to my site. The quality and quantity of “backlinks”, I’ve learned, is the key to attaining visibility by Google and the other search engines. Ava’s side of the business, continuing education via correspondence, is slowing down due to the depression in the real estate economy but she is still doing well.
Pookie and MudPie: Mudpie continues to decimate the local fauna – birds and rats are her favorite fare. Pookie is enjoying life.
Sights and Sounds: I haven’t watched many movies during the past month. I did see one astounding documentary not once but twice: Little Rock Central: 50 Years Later produced by the gifted documentarian, Jon Alpert. It describes a momentous event in our Nation’s history which, after 50 years, has had little real-world impact.
Final Thought: I would much enjoy reading similar reports from all of you in the Milbourne Plus family.
-->Chuck Milbourne
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