At the Kitchen Sink

A Proper Post on Our Newest Family Member

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:06:00 +0000

Cyrus and Mom, less than an hour old

Here is a more complete update on my little post via Blackberry yesterday.

January 17 at 4:55pm (Boston time) 8 lb. 20.5 inch long Cyrus Allen Lamoureux was born in the Cambridge Birth Center. It was a very fast labor for a first birth; Sara and Jef were on their way to pick me up at the airport and then Sara decided she did not want to have the baby in the car so when I did land and taxied over she was in full push mode with Cyrus arriving barely 10 minutes later!

It was very beautiful and exciting and Cyrus is adapting to this plane with very little complaint. Sara is overjoyed at feeling better already (she can touch her toes!) even after her marathon performance (all natural birth although she admits that she was ready for the epidural several times). I'll be here for a while to help out but everyone is doing just fine.

Cyrus and Dad, less than an hour old

SARA

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 23:13:00 +0000

Just had a baby boy, Cyrus Allen. Big and healthy, 8 pounds

From a shortly underpriveleged blog member

mickeypamo@aol.com (mickey) — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +0000

Testing

One

Two

Three

Fore

Am I really back online?

Thanks, Bones

love,

mickey

Remembering Romelia

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:18:00 +0000

Sadly, I must report that Romelia Monterroso, a big part of our family for over a decade, died last night after years of precarious health. She was surrounded by her large family, including numerous grandchildren.

Originally from the mountains of Guatemala, Romelia never let on her true age so I cannot report it here; in fact, we realized she didn't exactly know when her real birthday was. We guess she was in her late 70s, maybe more? Anyway, there are many stories about this energetic, lively person that we all have to tell; and many in the family have experienced her humor and playfulness. She joined our family by walking in the door and going straight into the kitchen to do dishes--she didn't speak English and so there was no "interview"; she just walked in--and stayed. She imparted her love and care to Claire, Nathalie and Sara for many years, endured the shock and awe of another baby in the household with Robin's birth, and then went through divorce and remarriage with us and several years with Janek, Misia and Stef. Most recently she has been living with her daughter and raising several of her grandchildren as she raised our children.

If you have particular memories of Romelia, it would be lovely if you could post them (or email me and I will post for you.)

Post from Mickey regarding MFSO

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:57:00 +0000

Open Letter to President Obama from Founders of Military Families Speak Out

November 23, 2009

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama:

As you prepare to announce a new strategy for Afghanistan that could mean deploying tens of thousands more of our loved ones to fight a war with no foreseeable end, we call on you to terminate the military occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, bring our troops home now, and ensure they get the care they need when they return. We urge you to stop billions more from being misspent overseas to misuse young men and women and instead utilize those funds to help overcome the pressing domestic issues of our time; a growing population of veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, a fractured health care system, and a woeful economic climate all desperately demand your attention and action.

Our family is intimately connected to these issues. My husband, Charley Richardson is slowly but surely dying of an aggressive, metastatic cancer, and dealing regularly with the fractured and overstressed medical system. He also lost his job of twenty years at a state university last April as a result of recession-related budget cuts. And our son served one deployment in Iraq as a Marine and was sent to Afghanistan twice after he joined the private army of contractors that is so central to the war efforts in both Iraq and Afghanistan. We are acutely aware of how political will has been so wrongly misdirected toward military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan instead of achieving economic recovery and sorely needed healthcare reform at home.

We were fortunate. Our son returned to us in good physical health and we were able to hold him in our arms and not just keep him in our hearts. So many of our friends within the organization we co-founded, Military Families Speak Out, have not shared this outcome. Their loved ones returned in flag-draped coffins; or with life-altering physical wounds; or with the hidden, often deadly, psychological injuries of war.

We hope you will think again about the faces of the families that you saw when you were at Dover, and the faces that won’t be seen again, hidden in caskets and arriving under the cloak of darkness. We know you are concerned about the unfair burden that this war is placing on a relatively small portion of our population, and the burden that will continue for decades to come. Suicides in the Army have hit a record high. Our returned troops should be re-building their lives rather than seeing depression, violence, divorce and suicide tear those lives apart,. The bombs of these wars are indeed exploding at home.

The people of the United States don’t want these wars. Even without a draft, even as we deficit fund the wars, they don’t want them. Public opposition continues to grow, with 57 percent opposing the war in Afghanistan, according to a recent Associated Press poll. The latest CNN poll found that 49 percent of Americans favored reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan -- with 28 percent saying they should all be withdrawn immediately -- compared to less than 40 percent who want to send more. Imagine what the polls would tell us if the burden of the wars, financial and service, were actually shouldered and shared throughout our nation.

The American people want safety and security, as do the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. But we don’t believe these wars are helping to achieve these goals. The more we bring bombs and guns into Afghanistan, the more civilian casualties there are and the more our troops are seen as occupiers rather than liberators.

We put the same challenge before you now that we put in front of President Bush and in front of Senators and Members of Congress. Consider the options available to you as if the lives of your loved ones hang in the balance. Consider if it were your daughters being deployed, would you be so quick to stay, or escalate, the course?

Please do not be the one to dash our hope for an end to these wars; for the swift and safe return of our troops; and for a new foreign policy that truly respects the lives of our service members who volunteer to put themselves in harm’s way, as well as the lives of children, women and men of other countries who are caught in the crossfire.

Please continue to build hope in the world. Send no more troops. Bring our troops home now.

In Peace,
Charley Richardson and Nancy Lessin
Co-Founders, Military Families Speak Out
Charley@mfso.org
Nancy@mfso.org

Military Families Speak Out (www.mfso.org) is an organization of over 4,000 families with loved ones who serve or served in the military over the last eight years, and who are speaking out to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. MFSO was founded in November, 2002 and is the largest organization of military families speaking out against wars in the history of this country.

Snow in Fort Collins and Jeanne Goes OffRoad

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:48:00 +0000

Well, not in the fun sense. An early season snowstorm slammed into Fort Collins yesterday and broke the city's record for snow inches (do I sound like a wannabee weather reporter yet?) Over 21 inches of snow over a 24 hour period broke the previous record of 20 inches for the city. Jeanne was travelling to a teacher's conference and spun out. Luckily, Jeanne and companion are fine. Her mishap was featured in the Coloradoan.

"Stranded motorists Jacob Benson, left, and Jeanne Morgan, recover personal items from the Morgan's vehicle after sliding off an icy southbound roadway and into the center median of Interstate 25 just south of Harmony Road Thursday morning Oct. 29, 2009. The pair, both Physical Education teachers from Fort Collins, were en route to a P.E. convention in Colorado Springs. The pair loaded their belongings into a tow truck before getting a ride back to Fort Collins from Erich Howe of Scott's Towing and Auto Recovery. Howe was unable to free the vehicle from the snow before the Colorado State Patrol reopen one lane that was partially closed due to the accident."

Julie's moose

noreply@blogger.com (ike) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:56:00 +0000

Check out this moose my friend Julie shot recently in northern Maine.
1002 pounds!!

My Trip to Boston to see Jef and Sara

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 04:04:00 +0000

Picture of Lee in Afghanistan

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:08:00 +0000

From Ike:
Lee Morgan, at the tip of the spear of the 4,000 Marine surge into the poppy fields of Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan.

2/8 Battalion ...."America's Battallion"...historic Expeditionary Battalion that carves out and stabilizes the dangerous territory so others can occupy it, Golf Company, 2nd Platoon.

Lee is 4th from right in the back row - to see a larger version go here.

Lee's status 7/31

noreply@blogger.com (ike) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 23:47:00 +0000

Got a call from Lee a few mornings ago. He was on a battery powered satellite phone at his new position in Helmand.

He had only 10 minutes to talk so things were hurried.
I'll pass things on as best I can.

In June, as you know, he arrived at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan. This was the huge staging area with thousands of US and international forces.

On July 2 he was part of the 4,000 Marine invasion into Helmand. For several days he and his unit were based at a compound that was built by and used by the British Marines.

About 3 weeks ago his unit was inserted deeper into Southern Helmand very close to the Pakistan border. That is where he is now.

His remoteness of location means that the only supplies they recieve are air dropped by helicopter. For this reason he has not gotten any mail for several weeks because they generally do not air drop anything except absolute essentials. At times they have had to ration what they have because they ran low on water and food.

He says that he has been involved in fire fights with Taliban. "Making contact" as he put it.

He mentioned a few minor wounds incurred by some of the Marines but nothing serious.

He seemed to be very appreciative of the helicopter gunships that come in when needed and effectively neutralize the bad guys.

He's not sure when he'll be getting mail but he said tube socks that go over the calf are much in demand (he's had to spend time standing in canals apparently, bad on the feet)
Any canned goodies of candy, fruit, meat would be good.

Also, single dollar bills to give to the unit interpreter to go to villages to buy cold drinks or smokes.

Lindy and I just mailed off an 18 pound box full of socks and goodies and because of this writing I just realized I didnt put any dollar bills in it...stupid me.

Hope this info is helpful.

Ike

Caption?

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:50:00 +0000

Lindsay Continues to Monitor the NPR Story

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:42:00 +0000

Amazing black and whites from the field. Wish I could embed them here directly because they are part of the family's history. I'm still working on it.

To see the whole article go here.

Thanks to All

noreply@blogger.com (ike) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 01:52:00 +0000

Much thanks to all the clan for the communication/updates/donations...the Morgans of Maine are always appreciative.

Got a call from Lee 3 days ago...a satellite phone link from his position in Helmand.

He sounds AOK.

He loves letters and packages.

Ike

May We All Be Happy and Create the Causes for Future Happiness

karmapress@aol.com (mickey) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:01:00 +0000

Dear Family,

While I find War to be disgusting and barbaric, and, in this case in Iraq, it's all about the blood of our sons and daughters for a barrel of oil. Similarly, in Afghanistan, I suggest that it's all about the blood of our sons and daughters for a field of poppies.

Yet those like our Lee have not been made privy to this. They truly believe they are helping and noble. Their intentions are pure, and they have not been allowed to question Authority . . . just to worry about the Marine next to you. Eventually, years from now, they may come to realize the Truth.

However, Lee is extremely brave, physically powerful and possesses a rare intelligence. If one's intention is pure, and one is being ordered to kill, it is not as bad karmically . . . this advice came to my Chris from my Root Guru Ven, Geshela Lobsang Sopa before Chris left for the Marines in March 2004. Geshela then blessed Chris as I do every day for Lee peace, love to all, mickey

NPR Reporters Following Lee's Platoon

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:42:00 +0000

Lindsay brought this report to my attention; she says that Lee is in the "Golf Platoon".

The whole article, as well as the dramatic photographs, is a jolting bit of reality of what these guys are going through.

Update on Solar Charger for Lee

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:28:00 +0000

The Solio has been purchased and is on its way. Many, many thanks to all the contributors!

Google Maps

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:50:00 +0000

To put things in context... Amazing terrain; I believe the green swathes are mostly poppy fields!

Helmand operation begins

noreply@blogger.com (ike) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:37:00 +0000

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/01/AR2009070103202_pf.html

Father's Day

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:16:00 +0000

This year's Father's Day gathering was graced by spring-like weather and scrumptious lasagna and garlic bread. Sadly, this was Olivia's last day with us for the summer. She and her mom are moving to Portland, Oregon. Claire, as photographer, took on the task of portraitist and as usual caught some real beauties.

Solar Charger for Lee

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:15:00 +0000

After Ike's post about Lee (see just below) I was thinking about living without electricity in Afghanistan. Wow! But of course, the workaround is solar, and I assume there is plenty of sun out there.

This is the device I've come across in the past as the must have charger for all of our now "essential" devices--whether you're in the mountains of Afghanistan or riding out a disaster here at home--the Solio--and you can find out all about it here. The SolioMG, in my opinion, seems the most rugged, durable and powerful and costs about $170. If anyone knows of a better option, be sure to chime in.

Anyway, thought I might jimmy up (sorry, Jim, don't know where that came from) a new thing here on the Sink. I've patched in a "Donate" button on the sidebar that goes directly to a PayPal account to purchase the device for Lee. Very easy to use, but of course, if you think the whole thing is too cheeky for you, do your own thing.

Comments?

Update on Lee

noreply@blogger.com (ike) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 19:36:00 +0000

Hello all,
Lots of info about Lee's doings and whereabouts.

Back in May he was still at Camp LeJeune, NC and knew that he would be headed to Afghanistan toward the end of the month.

His inevitable departure date and time was not confirmed up until the last day or so. The twist in all this is that he was pretty sure that he and his unit would be flying into Bangor International Airport and then going on to Ireland-Germany-??

While I was all prepared to be at the airport at 3:00am to meet him I got a call from Lindy who had been in constant text message contact with him. At about 1:00am she informed me that she had lost contact with him. This could mean only one thing, he had left Carolina and headed straight over the Atlantic.

Long story short, his Mom and I were not able to see him off.

He headed straight to Germany and then on to a base in Kyrgyzstan where he stayed for several days.

At this point I figured the only communication we would have would be letters and packages.
Lo' and behold one afternoon I got a call from Lee and even though he was halfway around the world it sounded like he was next door...I was excited, to say the least. It was 2 in the morning there so he sounded a bit groggy but was good to hear his voice.

Apparently, upon arrival at the base in Kyrgyzstan all the troops are given a really great Care package with all kinds of goodies and a calling card with 100 minutes on it...very cool!!

This morning I got another call from Lee (again, sounded like he was right next door) to inform me he is in Afghanistan. Presently he is at a base comprised of US, Danish, British, Afghan troops.

I asked him if there were rivalries among the different nationalities and he said no. He said each group is interested in picking the brains of the others on military matters etc.

He said the British Army was a bunch of fat slobs but the British Royal Marines were sharp and tough as nails.

He will be there for days? weeks?

His eventual destination seems to be the frontier in southern Afghanistan near the confluence of the Pakistan/Iran/Afghan border.
Of course, time and location stuff is sensitive in the military. This is my best attempt at giving some generalities but keeping in mind they may be completely different from reality.

His unit has been designated an expeditionary unit because they will be the first Marines in that area and will be responsible for setting the stage for furture units.

I have listed his address below in hopes of people taking some time to send him letters and/or packages.

Sounds like books are a hot commodity and maybe some non-perishable food goodies (candy, etc).
He also will be in need of AA baterries. He has an iPod and I'm gonna send him an iGo so he can recharge it because there will be little to no electricity where he'll be.

For those of you who are more up on all the hand held iPods etc, if you can think of something else that might supplement his iPod that would be great.

Long update but that seems to be all for now,

Love to all,
Ike

P.S.
I wasnt aware but letters and packages to Lee are the same cost as mailing in the US

PFC Morgan, Lee R.
2/8 Golf Co. 2nd Plt
Uniti 73240 FPO
AE 09510-3240

The Math of 700 Billion Dollars (fun)

noreply@blogger.com (ike) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:51:00 +0000

Ike's Math and Science

SVWeekly.com

It doesn’t take much for a seemingly innocuous, rarely used phrase to become part of our modern lexicon. Repetition and usage creates familiarity, so eventually the original meaning and purpose of the phrase ends up as a nonchalant, ho-hum label, pretty much devoid of meaning.
Take the phrase “700 billion dollars”, as in “700 billion dollar bailout.” (Actually, $787 billion, but who's counting?) It has been used so much lately that Americans have become numbed to the magnitude of the actual amount.
When the mathematician in me keeps hearing about 700 billion this, or 700 billion that, it makes me want to look a bit more closely at what “700 billion dollars” really is. Time for a paper, pencil, and calculator experiment.
My precision calipers tell me that a dollar bill is about 1/250 of an inch. That means a stack of 250 dollar bills equals about one inch. That means if I stack all 700 billion dollars, one on top of the other, it will be 233,333,333 feet high. My trusty calculator then tells me that stack is actually about 44,000 miles high.
OK, that’s a fur piece, but how fur is it really? New York City and Los Angeles are about 3,000 miles apart. This means that my 700 billion dollar stack, if laid on the ground, would go from New York to LA and back to New York over 7 times. Now that’s a fur piece!
So how about the weight of all those bills? My precision weight scale tells me a single bill weighs about .033 ounces which means it takes about 30 dollar bills to make an ounce. My ever trusty calculator then tells me that you would need about 485 bills to make a pound.

It’s going to take a mighty big scale to weigh all those 700 billion dollars…actually I don’t think a scale that big exists…thank goodness for mathematics. After a few buttons pushed on my trusty calculator I find out that my 700 billion dollar bills weigh 1,443,298,969 pounds. In English, that is one billion, four hundred forty-three million, two hundred ninety-eight thousand, nine hundred sixty-nine pounds…whoa! I think I’ll stick with the Arabic numerals.
That’s a lot of poundage, but what does it really mean? The average weight of a person on earth is about 150 pounds (closer to 160 pounds around the holidays, but I digress). My calculations tell me that my stack of 700 billion dollars weighs about the same as 9,621,993 people. That would mean if you took all the people in Maine and put them on a weight scale you would have to do it 6 times before the total would add up to the weight of my stack of 700 billion dollars.
OK, all this measurement stuff is pretty boring. Let’s spend our 700 billion dollars. Good Luck.
Twenty years sounds like enough time to spend it, right? Not so fast, chummy. To spend 700 billion dollars in 20 years means you would have to spend 35 billion dollars a year. Not impressed?
OK, how about trying to spend $95,890,000 dollars a day for 20 years. Still not impressed? How about trying to spend $3,995,433 per hour for 20 years or how about $66,590 per minute for 20 years.
Yep, that means every minute, of every hour, of every day for 20 years you would have to spend over sixty-six thousand dollars to equal 700 billion dollars.
I have a new found respect for “700 billion dollars“.

Ike Morgan teaches high school math and science in Exeter, Maine.
He can be reached @ imorgan@tds.net

Some Simple Americana

noreply@blogger.com (ike) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:59:00 +0000

To all, Enjoy a few of this past year's picts that I took for the SVWeekly. No Pulitzers, but a lot of fun anyway.

Ike

Lovely Day

blueskynet@verizon.net (Bonnie) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 02:06:00 +0000

Miswording from mickey

karmapress@aol.com (mickey) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:26:00 +0000

The term above in Bonnie's caption (quoting me) that the march Chris was leading was a "meaningless exertion" was a mistake on my part. We had both recently read Styron's The Long March, and the gist of it for me was that the person who had commanded a 36-mile hike at a time when there was no war, was simply being cruel to his men, and hence the exertion was "meaningless".

Chris's 9-mile hike was in no sense meaningless, and he told me he was glad to do it, and especially proud to be leading it. Mea culpa mea culpa

love,

mickey