Dennis' News and Views

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks and I thought it was time to fill everyone in on what's been going on. Last weekend, I took my son Tom down to Salem to move him back into the dorm. It's amazing how fast time flies. Tom is entering his sophomore year. He will have a packed year starting with being editor of the school paper this fall and culminating in study abroad in Ireland this spring. We had an uneventful trip down with the car packed with his stuff. That afternoon we went over to visit a few of his friends at their house off campus. Jess and Allison do a great public service project...kitten foster care. They have signed up with a local shelter to take kittens from 6 to 10 weeks old. There job is to house train the cats and play with them so they get used to being around people. When they get to be 10 weeks old, they get moved to another house where they await adoption. This is quite a treat...always to have kittens but never to have to have cats!
We got Tom settled into his room the following day with minimal effort. A couple of his friends showed up (after we offered them free breakfast at the Sassy Onion), unloaded the car, unpacked and set up his room. Tom had requisitioned a couch last spring and hid it away in the newspaper office. We got that moved over and it was the crowning point for his dorm room. What a great school and friendly people.
That afternoon we took off back to Seattle to watch a Mariner's game. It's amazing that the crowds are as good as they are for a team that has done just about everything wrong this year. We left the game in the 9th inning with the Mariners behind. They tied it up and went on to win in the 11th inning. Since then, the team has been on a tear. I guess there is still hope for next year.
This past week had the Democratic Convention taking center stage. After watching the Olympics the previous 2 weeks it was hard to watch any more live programing. The conventions are filled with self-serving diatribes that don't seem to hold my attention for more than a few minutes at a time. I'm forced to remember that I had never heard of Barak Obama 4 years ago before he spoke at the convention. After that, his star rose on such a sharp projectory I thought it would poke the sky out. From what I watched this year, I didn't see anyone who rose to the top.
It's good to know that we are transitioning to winter at a rapid pace. The temp this morning was in the mid-40's. We should have frost any day now. Where is the best weather? I need to know.