Fallen Leaves

I have had no takers on my offer to sell freshly-fallen leaves to any and all. So now I am giving them away. Just drop by and take all the leaves you want.

I saw this video and think you all might be moved by it.

Thanksgiving this year has lost a bit of its joy for us because of the death of Amy Greenstadt's mother. Amy is Sean's friend who planned on joining him to share Thanksgiving with us in Michigan. Her mother Inez died unexpectedly last Thursday evening as Sean and Amy prepared to fly from Oregon to Michigan. Our sympathy and prayers are with Amy in this difficult time. The guest book is here for those who wish to send their condolences.

Great Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend visit from Grandson Paul, taking a break from conquering Queens University in Charlotte. We fished Sunday but had no luck. A couple of strikes but no fish in the boat. He fished 'till dark on the dock using night crawlers. They got nibbled by little guys but again he had no luck.

The Red Hot Fire Sale on Saturday for the Mill Spring Volunteer Fire Department was a roaring success. The day raised right at $3,000 to put toward the purchase of "Jaws of Life" rescue tools. A full set of these tools costs about $25,000. So far the department has raised about $17,000 through fund raisers and with a $12,000 grant from the Polk County Community Foundation. The fire sale was the brainchild of Carolyn Cobb, president of the Lake Adger Garden Club. A nice side benefit was seeing the people from the larger community meeting and talking with folks from the Lake Adger community. Jamie Davidson, another Lake Adger neighbor who heads the fire department auxiliary, handled the organizational details.

A Lost Friend

I just learned of the loss of a dear friend and mentor. Morris W. Rosenberg died in September at the age of 87.
Morrie was The Associated Press chief of bureau for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean when I joined the bureau in 1966 as an eager young reporter still rough around the edges. Years later we were reunited when Morrie became a member of the Advisory Council to the Latin American Journalism Program I was managing at Florida International University. Morrie was a man of gentle good humor and great integrity who made a profound mark on my life. You can read a little about this good man here.
What makes me sad is that Morrie and Lucie were living in Chapel Hill, NC, less than 250 miles away and I did not know it. I had lost touch with him while winding down my time at FIU and relocating in North Carolina and thought he still lived in Washington, DC.

Happier Note

On a lighter scale, Grandson Paul had taken the weekend off from his studies at Queens University of Charlotte to spend time with us. We'll fish, eat well, talk about Hemingway and just enjoy his company.

Fishing in the Freezer

Even though the temperature was below freezing -- 27 degrees -- I had to get a few casts in this morning. Result: Numb fingers and one bass. A little bass, but a bass nevetheless. About half a pound. Hit a silver weedless spoon in about three feet of water. Not the muskie I was looking for but a fish is a fish. I returned her to the lake to grow into a record.
The water temperature was 57 degrees.

Leaf Update

Because I have had no takers on my offer to sell leaves to the leaf-deprived of this world I will have to handle them some other way. So I have ordered a leaf mulcher which, if all goes as advertised, will provide plenty of cover for all of our plants and flower beds. It may also be fun to chop up all those weeds. A man cannot have too many tools.

Our fire department's "Red Hot Fire Sale" made our local paper again. The story was written by The One Whose Voice Must Be Obeyed.

Journalism professor murdered

There have been about 50 college professors murdered in Guatemala in the past two years. The latest taught in the school of communication sciences. You can read the story at Journalism professor murdered in Guatemala .

Guatemala has been a very violent place as long as I have known it. My first trip to Guatemala City was in 1968. The U.S. ambassador had been assassinated in one of the first acts of terrorism against an American ambassador in modern time. Helga Ruge, the wife of the embassy consul who was there at the time, has written about those days in AmericanDiplomacy.org. It is a good read. She talks about the assassination on Page 2. I had good contacts in Guatemala City in those days and heard of the killing very quickly. A fortunate Pan American flight got me from Mexico City to Guatemala City in time to be the first foreign correspondent on the scene. I had never heard the story about the reporter calling Ambassador Mein's wife but if it is true I suspect it was Alfonzo Anzueto, a very agressive, accurate reporter who worked as an AP stringer. Alfonso died in 2000 so I can't verify that suspicion. If he did call the residence he would have done so because someone at the embassy told him the ambassador had gone home for lunch.