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In 1906 my wife’s grandmother, Helen Fowler Coombs and 9 of her friends vacationed on Long Beach Island in New Jersey. They called themselves the “Ten Timid Travelers.” These are a few of the photographs that record that vacation, and provide a glimpse into life on Long Beech Island that year!

Here are the scantily clad women on the beach!!

On the waters of Barnegat Bay!!

Here’s a photograph of the train station at Loveladies.

Of course if you have a train station, you need a train!! read more

Yes, it does seem like just yesterday, that we were sitting in William and Mary Hall listening to College President Taylor Reveley welcome the Class of 2013 to campus, yet yesterday he conferred the  the graduate’s  degrees and gave the closing remarks! Time flies! Yesterday’s graduation ceremony was like everything on this campus wonderful, Boy I hate to leave it! My wife tells me there is a Parent’s Alumni Association, but that we’re too poor to join!

Anyway security was pretty tight around campus yesterday as the Chancellor of the College is Robert Gates, former CIA Director and Secretary of Defense and the keynote speaker was Robert Mueller the second longest-serving Director of the FBI. Gates’ only job yesterday, was to introduce Mueller,  The highlight of his comments was saying that his attire was a sort of unique blending of medieval academic tradition and Lady Gaga. What do you think? read more

So last Saturday, while my wife was at an Antiques appraisal in Beverly, I dropped off the last few boxes of clothes and Christmas decorations of my mother’s at Goodwill. Now I can’t go to Goodwill without check out the used books. I took a quick look through the books and picked up The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry, an early Cotton Mather book, a couple of others look ok. Then I looked up at the sign that said Books 4 for $ 1.00 ok I have to look a little more closely now. After the second look I found three more hardback books. Monster by Frank Peretti, an interesting horror book that I think I’ve looked at in the past in the Bargain Books at Barnes and Noble, Jacksdaws by Ken Follett because I know my wife likes Ken Follett. Of course, I bring it home and the first thing my wife says is “Is there Sex in it? No one writes sex scenes better than Ken Follett” Soon she’s reading away. Me: “You found one?” K: “yes, page 242!”  The last book that I picked up was Stones into Schools:Promoting Peace with books, not bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea. Now I have seen Three Cups of Tea but never took the time to see what it was about – mistake.  The book is about Mortenson’s quest to build a school in Korphe, Pakistan. Three cups of tea refers to a Balti saying “The first cup of tea you share with us, you are a stranger. The second cup of tea, you are a friend. But with the third cup of tea, you become family – and for our family we are willing to do anything, even die”  I love it!   Stones into Schools picks up where the earlier book ends in 2003 and traces Mortenson and his non-profit Central Asia Institutes’ efforts to work in a whole new country, the northeast corner of Pakistan. read more

So According to Robert Reich:

“Raising the minimum wage from the current rate of $7.25 an hour to $9 should be a no-brainer,” Robert Reich says. The labor secretary during the Clinton administration argues, among other points, that putting more money in the pockets of the country’s lowest earners is not only fair, it would also help boost the economy.

“Fifteen million workers would get a pay raise, allowing them to buy more and thereby keeping others working,” Watch below as he explains it in a couple of minutes. Then go sign the petition! read more