I have begun my Cessna CD-rom ground school for my private pilot's license. Once financial aid is established, I'll be able to begin the actual flying! In another week or two that should all be in order. I am getting really excited. My last few days at home have focused on all the details. Things are lining up nicely for the UVSC classes, and I should be able to enroll in the next couple of weeks. Fortunately, I have some time, since enrollment ends October 10. Whew!

I met my CFI (certified flight instructor) today, and he seems like a nice guy. We got to talk a little about what I already know. Fortunately it isn't entirely new. I know a lot of the basics, which makes for a great start. Also, the CD-rom is great help and ful of information.

I am off to Boston again tonight and London tomorrow. This will be my last trip for the month. Next month I am on reserve. :-( However, after next month I will only sit reserve every fourth month instead of every other month, like I do now. What a relieg and differance that will make. I love it.

Back from England...for a few days. On Saturday I head to Aruba and then back to London on Sunday.

When I landed in Vegas last night, I thought I was in another city, like back in London. It was a whopping 74 degrees with light rain showers. It had rained quite heavily in the afternoon and early evening hours. I couldn't believe it. Remember, Vegas gets measurable rain about 5 times a year. Nice, huh? In Seattle, they rust, in Vegas, we cook.

Last weekend Brian and Rene were in town. We met up with them on Sunday and went boating on lake Mead. Rene's brother Keith bought a boat a few weeks ago. It was a lot of fun, and the water temperature was about 76 degrees that day...nice and warm. We parked the boat a couple of times in different little coves and swam around. We wanted to stay in the water so much (avoiding the near 120 degree heat outside of the water) that we even ate our sandwhiches while bobbing up and down. The bottom side of the first half of my sandwhich was dipped several times in the water, but I got it down the second time. I didn't dip it once. We also enjoyed Gumbae (sp?) Smashes while floating. It was really nice and relaxing. The sunburn on my shoulders afterwards was another story...still recovering.

Things seems to be moving right along with my schooling. I have completed the final stages of the financial aid packet and have received academic advisement. Open enrollment begins at the end of the month, and it seems everything is on schedule. I hope to get my Cessna Ground School CD-Rom today or tomorrow, so I can get started on that. I can't wait!

Has anyone read my blog entry about "under God" in the pledge? If so, I would love to hear your response. I must've stirred the pot somewhere. Since I am back on the political band wagon, Beth and I have never kept it a secret that we are prochoice. Last night on the flight from Dallas to Vegas, this passenger next to me had a book titled "Prolife Answers to Prochoice Arguments." He must be one of those advocates of the "born and unborn" phrase many would like to add to the end of the pledge.

Beth and I went to Dale and Carter's last night for dinner. A hellatious storm rolled through Vegas on our way there, including a very powerful dust storm. Visibility was reduced to near zero at times, and the airport was closed for a while. Brian's wife Rene was flying from Reno to Las Vegas on Southwest and they got caught up in the storm. They ended up making an emergency landing at Nellis Air Force Base in North Las Vegas (the details behind this are very questionable). In the end all were fine, and Rene's sister Michelle drove out to the Base to pick Rene up. What an evening for her! Brian flew in later last night and was delayed about 40 minutes due to the storm.

Some sad news...while at Dale and Carter's last night, Brittany, their little Yorkshire Terrier had what we think was a stroke. It left her hind end paralyzed. She was breathing very laborously, and after holding her in their arms for a time, Dale and Carter decided it would be best to have her put down. The four of us drove over to the vet about 8pm or so, and watched Brittany quietly slip into eternal sleep. It was so very quick, and so very sad, but she lived 15 long, happy years. It was comforting for us all to be there when she died, and it was comforting to know she went without a lot of pain and discomfort.

After receiving several e-mails regarding the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, I feel compelled to share the following. Although I was born and raised Catholic, I am not the God fearing person many people seem to believe I am. So, for those who send me Christian fundamentalist e-mails expecting a sympathetic ear, think again.

Here is some history on the Pledge of Allegiance.

It was written in 1892 by a baptist minister named Francis Bellamy. He wrote the Pledge of Allegiance specifically for school children, hoping it would start a push to get an American flag in every classroom around the country. Before The Pledge was written, most schools didn't have flags in the classroom. Francis wanted to give the children a way to pay respect and homage to the flag everyday.

The male Christian group Knights of Columbus pushed Congress in 1954 to add the words "under God" and were succesful.

There were two other changes made to the Pledge. Francis added the word "to" to the phrase "the republic" shortly after he introduced the pledge. In 1924 the National Flag Conference, under the leadership of the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution, changed the original words "my flag" to "the flag of the United States of America." Francis opposed the change. He died in 1931. His granddaughter publicly opposed the addition of the words "under God", stating that her grandfather had become disillusioned by the church and left it in 1891 because he disliked the racial bigotry he found there.

Congress altered an important part of our history and heritage, and in doing so violated the Constitution by breaking "Separation of church and state" laws. Those laws are there to respect our freedom from religion as well as our freedom of religion. Both are very important rights.

There are some other proposed changes to The Pledge that would further erode the very thing the flag represents...Freedom. For example, prolife advocates would like to add the words "born and unborn" to the end of the pledge.

Food for thought...don't you think if Francis wanted the words "under God" in the pledge he would have put them there? After all, he was a God fearing man himself...

Beth and I had all our old neighbors from Dale and Carter's over for dinner last night, along with some of Beth's family. About 20 people showed up, so it made for quite a full house. We had a great time! None of them have been out to the house before so it was nice to finally show them our new home. I tried a new recipe my mom gave me for parmesan artichoke dip and I also made a childhood favorite of mine, Susan Davies' crab dip. Both were sucessful and well liked. I will unclude the recips for those in the next recipe update, probably in the next two weeks. We also BBQed hamburgers, hot dogs and bratwurst.

Beth and I watched the movie "The Others" last night. Eww, how creepy! All I knew was the movie dealt with some paranormal activity. Beth and I were expecting a "Sixth Sense" type twist, but of course we couldn't figure it out until they gave us all the clues in the end -- and what a twist it was. Be both liked the movie...I wouldn't rate it great, but something worth watching.

I head back to Boston tonight via Chicago on the red-eye. Then it's off to London tomorrow night. I will be back in Vegas on Thursday night.

Sorry I haven't written recently. I was in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Repuclic a few days ago and in London over the fourth. I just returned home today. It took me 22 hours to make my way from London to Las Vegas today. Hmmm...makes me wonder how long this will last. No...I really like the flying and the commute, although long, was not that bad. I slept most of the way. I will be home for the weekend. Hope to write more, soon. For now, it's bed time!