Time flies

It's already Thursday.  Didn't we just begin the week?  The problem with extended weekends is that the weeks get really short, flying by almost with the blink of an eye.  

Moreover, the problem with summer and nice weather and longer days is that it all goes by much too fast.

Somehow, that doesn't make sense.  Why is longer shorter anyway?

Longer is shorter when we're having too much fun, and in my life,  too much fun comes in both work and play.  I love to be able to work----outside, that is.  And, the play over the past few weeks has been pretty fun too.

More will come in both categories with a local horse show this weekend and the Down Under guests arriving early next week. 

Before both of those events,however, our family excitement turns to young Jacob, my grandnephew from Plummer.  He's flying to Florida today.

Just in case you had not heard, Florida does have more going on than the Casey Anthony trial. 

There's a Space Shuttle launch tomorrow---the last one ever.  Jacob and his mom get to be there to watch this historic happening, provided no thunderstorms mess up the plans. 

I talked to Jacob very briefly last weekend.  He appeared as matter-of-fact and upbeat as any 9-year-old I've ever seen.  Usually, Jacob's kinda quiet----not when talking about his Space Camp adventure, though.  

His excitement for the experience was palpable, for sure. 

It will be interesting to see where our space program is by the time Jacob grows up, goes to college and decides what he wants to do with his life.

Neal Armstrong walked on the moon the year I graduated from college 42 years ago. I still remember standing in Bert and Esther Lines' living room on that July afternoon and hearing tough ol' Bert, the Cady and Pier mechanic,  utter, "God bless him" after Armstrong's moon walk. 

We paid a lot of attention to space travel during that time.

Maybe there will be another burst of advancement in Outer Space exploration, and maybe tomorrow's launch will launch a desire within Jacob to be a full participant in those additional steps for mankind that leave their mark on history.

In the pathetically ironic category, it seems that Casey Anthony's story will probably trump the space shuttle launch tomorrow. 

Time will fly. There will be a new  lurid tale, bringing some oddball from obscurity to a household name and a potential book deal The 24-hour news stations will pounce,  clinging steadfastly to every detail of its base degrees in hopes of taking them through the rest of their summer programming.  

The Space Shuttle will fly one last time, but then many viewers will turn their channels once again to stay in tune with the sensational, the grotesque or the disgusting aspects of society.

Seems ridiculous but it's also reality.  And, reality TV has done well for the deep pockets.  

In the midst of all this insanity, however, good things do happen every day. They just don't always make news headlines. 

Good people continue to plug away in their individual grinds, attempting to make the world a better place.

In so doing, others benefit from the long-haul march where one day at a time, steps for the betterment of this Earth and its inhabitants still occur.

Once more, time has flown by this morning while I've been typing at this keyboard, and that means I'd better take my own steps outside to make my garden and yard a better place.

Happy Thursday.

P.S.  Jacob's mom Laura is maintaining a blog about this wonderful experience.  To learn more, you can visit this link:  http://cdarezshuttlelaunch.blogspot.com/