Misc.

-Today, June 9th, is our 18th anniversary. Those 18 years went by like a flash. 6 moves. 3 daughters. Said goodbye to Julie’s dad, then my mom and dad. Julie beat cancer. Back into radio and then retirement. Wrote a book. And a million other things. "The days are long, the years are short" is so true. Happy anniversary, Julie. May the Lord give us 18 more.

I was trying to find a new place to take Julie for dinner tonight. Preferably with a water view. Found a few options, but they’re closed because it’s Monday. Why do all the restaurants close on the same day? If I had a restaurant, and I didn’t want to be open every day, I think I’d close Tuesday or Wednesday to take advantage of the Monday crowd looking for a place to eat.

-German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was in the United States last week. When I heard Friedrich Merz was visiting, I thought of this guy.

Fred Mertz. Ethel’s husband. Lucy and Ricky’s neighbor. I assume they’re not related.

-We took a day trip to Tangier Island, VA last week. Julie’s mom had never been, and has been wanted to…so we made it happen. We took the Steven Thomas out of Crisfield.

Tangier is an island about one mile wide, three miles long, in the Chesapeake Bay. Settled in 1686. About 300 people still live on the island. Most are waterman, the hardworking people who harvest the crabs and oysters we enjoy. There are no cars on the island. People use golf carts and bicycles. No cell service. A doctor flies his plane in twice a week to provide medical care. They have a school and a couple restaurants. They also have their own dialect, a wonderful almost Cajun-like accent. Mail and groceries are brought in from Crisfield via boat.

Life is different there. Quieter. Slower. Not perfect but it seems much more peaceful and orderly than the mainland. Great day trip if you like that kind of thing. The mayor told me a new documentary called Born Here, Stay Here is finished and is on the film festival circuit now. It will soon be available and he said it’s very good. The producer lived on the island 6 years while making it.

Here’s a pic of Julie’s mom, Julie, me, and Mayor James Eskridge. Everybody calls him Ooker, and he’s a gem. He listens to The Bridge on his boat every morning. Once a CNN crew was out on the water with him and the reporter marveled that he came out there alone very day. He said, “Oh no, Bill and Denise are with me.” :)

-James Madison wrote, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary". He argued we need the U.S. Constitution because humans are not perfect and are susceptible to self-interest and the abuse of power.

I think that’s a good argument for reading the Bible too.

Have a great week!