What's in Dave's Head

Things have been pretty eventful since our idyllic weekend on the Eastern Shore in mid-November.  Donna's dad has been having some health issues and her mom fell and broke her knee cap.  My dad fell the week before Thanksgiving and is still recuperating from a broken vertebra just above his tailbone and a number of complications.  It's true what they say about getting old--it's not for sissies. I started to write that the declining health of our parents has tempered our excitement this holiday season.  And while on one level that is true, I think it has also intensified the already strong bonds we as a family share.  Our parents' injuries and illnesses--and the unspeakable recent violence visited on innocent children and their teachers in Connecticut--are powerful reminders of the importance of cherishing family, and expressing our love for one another, at every opportunity. To you, we wish you a Christmas season filled with love, peace and joy that lasts through th

Donna and I got back yesterday from a wonderful weekend on Maryland's Eastern Shore. About a month ago I had mentioned to Donna that there was a Master's swim meet at Washington College in Chestertown on Sunday, Nov. 11 and I was considering competing in it.  Chestertown has some pull on me.  It is where I went to college, and where I grew up in many ways.  Back in high school I was not somebody I am proud of today.  So my time at Washington College, and on the Eastern Shore, represents a turning point for me, as I suppose the college years are for many people. You have to understand something about the Eastern Shore.  It's like stepping into a time warp.  The pace is slow.  It is very relaxed.  The towns are small and old, and in between the towns are farms.   There is not much traffic.  It is called the Land of Pleasant Living, and for many people it truly is.  For me, it was a giant change from where I was raised, in Rockville, a busy suburb of Washington, DC. B

Frankenstorm--the superstorm created by the collision of Hurricane Sandy and a giant Nor'easter--pounded the Mid-Atlantic yesterday and early today. It was massive, stretching an incredible 1,000 miles, and fierce.  Its power resulted from record-setting low pressure. Thanks to weather-system computer models, round-the-clock news and the Internet, we were given lots of advance notice.  Landfall of the relatively small but strong hurricane had been predicted for somewhere between Ocean City, Maryland and New York.  Forecasters said the storm would settle in and churn for days, and electricity was expected to be out for days for millions of people along the East Coast. Donna and I spent Saturday preparing.  I had gone out Thursday evening to try to buy a generator but they had been snapped up.  Early Saturday morning I went to the local Lowe's and scored.  They had received a shipment of 200 and forklift operators were unloading palettes of them to the retail floor.  Eager--

Just a quick note to catch up after a busy bachelor week.  Donna went to Long Beach Island to be with Sue and her parents, leaving me to my own devices.  Monday : I played tennis with my friends Ron and Rand, then spent my one night home quietly. Tuesday : Went to an Orioles-Red Sox game with Kate, Eileen and Andrew.  It's so fun to go to a game at Camden Yards in August that matters.  And we got to watch the Os thump Boston 7-1 (sorry Anders). Wednesday : Drove up to LBI after work to surprise Donna for a quick overnight visit (I certainly surprised her!).  Left Thursday morning at 5:30 and got stuck in a terrible backup.  I-95 southbound was shut down for a fatal truck accident in Delaware and I didn't get to the office until 11:00am. Thursday : Kate and I went to Harris Crab House on Kent Island and had a great time.  Excellent crabs, beautiful bay view from the deck, spectacular sunset.  Kate crushed two Bud Light Limes (mercy!).  Even watched a couple watermen

Donna and I arrived at BWI around 11:30 Wednesday night.  We are so appreciativee of Kate, who took care of the house and plants for us while we were gone and tended to a water leak we discovered the day before we left.  She also took us to the airport Thursday at 5:15am and picked us up at midnight last night.  Kate--you will be richly rewarded... in Heaven! Here are more pictures from our trip to San Francisco and Napa...

Sandwiched around my Alcatraz Sharkfest swim, Donna and I visited San Francisco and the Napa and Sonoma valleys.   What an unbelievable and unforgettable experience. We arrived in San Francisco on Thursday morning and drove to our hotel, the Argonaut, in the Fisherman’s Wharf section of town, adjacent to Aquatics Park, where the swim ended.   The Wharf is really touristy, like a beach boardwalk—shops selling tee-shirts and souvenirs, bike rentals, chain restaurants and entertainment venues like wax museums.   And bajillions of tourists.   The sidewalks were packed from 9 in the morning to late at night.   But the location was excellent not only because of its proximity to the race but because we were close to so many things we wanted to see. On Friday, the day before my swim, we toured Alcatraz.   The watchtowers and ruins of buildings reminded me of the pictures I have seen of POW camps or Auschwitz.   The conditions looked sub-human.   The audio tour, featuring th

I survived Sharkfest !  I successfully swam the 1.5 miles from Alcatraz Island to Aquatic Park near Fisherman's Wharf this morning.   There were four of us from Central Maryland Y Masters and we all finished. After we checked in, got our timing chips and heard instructions from the race organizer, I and the other 900 swimmers(!) walked about half a mile to a dock where we boarded two large boats, which took us to the east side of the island.  There we jumped off in twos and swam a few hundred yards to the starting line and treaded while we awaited the starting whistle.  When the whistle finally sounded, there was a great deal of kicking, elbowing and thrashing because we were all right on top of each other.  I maneuvered around slower swimmers as best I could and wound my way to open patches so I could get on with the business of swimming. There were lots of kayaks and small boats patrolling to make sure we stayed on course as we headed to shore and kept other bay traffic awa

Yesterday was the Conroy-Harding family reunion , hosted by Tom and Kathleen. Friday night Tom and Kathleen and Pete and Judy hosted a dinner at Rustico’s in Stevensville, with Marie Anais, Larry and Patricia and Donna and me.   Dinner was at six, but Donna and I didn’t leave home till five and found that for some reason traffic was hellacious.   It took us two and a half hours for what is normally a 50-minute drive.   When we finally arrived, we were greeted like long-lost friends.   What a great evening—catching up, trading stories, laughing and drinking, oh, a few bottles of very good Cline Cashmere. Saturday, the traffic gods again were against us.   It took us more than two hours to get to Tom and Kathleen’s—and arrived with just enough time to unload our coolers of food and drinks and turn around and head out with Larry and Patricia to Baxter’s to pick up the crabs. Large, heavy and highly seasoned they were.   Because the weather was rainy, we used the newly rebuilt s

We picked a good week to be away .  Severe thunderstorms hit the East Coast Friday night, June 29, the night before we were heading to Long Beach Island in New Jersey for the week.  The storm left about a million and a half people without power, including us.  We didn't know how long we would be without power or just how violent and widespread the storm was.  I went out at about 6am Saturday to get coffee and ice.  Portions of our neighborhood looked like bombs had exploded--dozens of large trees were split or downed, driven onto cars, onto garages, into the street.  Branches and leaves were everywhere.  We were very fortunate that we had no damage.  Donna swept up the debris and leaves that littered our driveway so there wouldn't be signs that we were gone. Nearby businesses were without power so I drove down to the next town to our south, Burtonsville, and found a Dunkin' Donuts that was open--and with a very long line of customers who like me were without power,

The Douglasses and Swanekamps are at Loveladies, Long Beach Island, with Joan and Lou.  Jack got in Monday night from LA.  It's really special to have everyone together.  The weather has been outstanding and we've been having a great time--on the beach, great meals together, pork roll sandwiches at Neptune's, reading.  I'm reading one of the best novels I've read in a long, long time--The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen.  Yesterday was July 4th and we celebrated with what has become a series of traditions.  Watching Wimbledon, hot dogs for lunch, family pictures under the flag, tenderloin for dinner and then watching fireworks from the roof deck and singing of a patriotic song or two.  There is a 360 degree fireworks show, as Waretown across the bay, Harvey Cedars, Barnegat Light and other towns on the island all have displays, and a number of people put on pretty impressive amateur shows on the beach right behind us.  Here are some pictures, including of the ne