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Back to gerritt.net CHRISTMAS IS COMING November 23, 2005. 4:45 PM A quick rant: Stop complaining about Christmas. Yes, retailers start to prepare for Christmas in October, the radio stations start playing holiday music well before Thanksgiving, and some people have even started decorating their homes this week. So knowing all this, why does everyone always get all scrooged out at the first sign of red Starbucks cups and Christmas lights? I am breaking this trend. For me, it could be Christmas all year. I don't care how warm it is, how many elves are still unemployed, or how much Halloween candy is left on the clearance shelves. Christmas is a great time to celebrate with your friends and family, and it should not be treated as a burden. There are far too many awful things going on in our world right now, so if you're planning to whine about how busy and tough the holidays are, try to refocus that energy on something really bad. And try to have a happy holiday season, despite the fact that it starts so early and causes many people to storm out of the mall in an angry tantrum. There's more to Christmas than shopping and santa. Happy Thanksgiving! -G * Email Gerritt GOOD AND BAD November 15, 2005. 8:40 PM Let's start off with a re-cap of this weekend. The weather was great here in DC, so I spent a good part of the daylight hours outside each day. On Friday Melanie and I took a quick trip up to Harper's Ferry, WV, home of Civil War history, antique shops, and lots of trains, all nestled in a picturesque valley carved by the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. Saturday was yet another irresistable day, and it being my Dad's birthday, I took him out hiking at nearby Great Falls National Park. And then Sunday rolled in with just a hint of a mackeral sky, perfect weather for sailing around in Baltimore. Could it get any better? Tragic news struck home with me today. If you've been following the horrible story of the 18-year old boy from Lititz, PA, who shot and killed his girlfriend's parents after an argument, they have been found after a high-speed chase that ended with his car smashed into a tree in Indiana. Both he and his 14-year old girlfriend were not hurt, and he is now in custody and headed back to Pennsylvania for trial. As I read Pastor Bob's blog from yesterday, it really hit me hard to read that the boy, David Ludwig, is the nephew of my pastor from back home, the same pastor who married my Dad and his wife just a few years ago, who gave me my first communion, and who taught part of my confirmation class. He and his wife are friends of my family through the church, and are wonderful and talented people. I realize it is a far-off connection, but close enough to home to make me stop and reflect on why, how, and what caused such a tragedy? Something must be wrong with their nephew; the suffering that Pastor Ludwig and his family are going through right now must be unbearable. I pray that they can pull through okay. -G * Email Gerritt CRITICS OF MY CRIB November 7, 2005. 7:55 PM My marina is the news again! This time, a one-page article appeared in the November 7 issue of Newsweek that describes liveaboards and how interesting it is that people live on boats. It goes on, like every article I've seen about liveaboards, to say that all liveaboards buy a boat to save money, as an affordable alternative to buying or renting in the city. It also says that we're all "eye-sores" and that we frequently throw all of our beer bottles overboard. I'm here to tell you this: marinas are a beautiful addition to any city, and there is NO ONE who respects the environment more than the liveaboards I know. As for the implication that we all move here because it is more affordable, most of us put more money into our boats than we've ever paid in rent or mortgages, and yes, we still pay taxes too. A similar feeling was written into the article from the April 18 Washington Post. It seems you just can't understand it without living it. A liveaboard isn't just a cheap home, and it isn't an excuse to avoid property taxes (which we pay to the marina through our monthly fees). It is an adventure and a conversation starter, a house and a hangout, its fun, neighborly, and friendly. I met more people here in my first day than I did in my entire year in Rockville. And it doesn't cost much less than my big, cozy apartment did. I hope anyone reading these articles realizes that the problems they point out only apply to a very small fraction of those of us choosing to live on boats. In other news, an update from last week's article about the man who was rescued off his sailboat near Boston says that Canadian officials found his abandoned boat unharmed. -G * Email Gerritt |