The soon to be decided presidential contest in the United States has recently revealed the contrast between the politics of “party first” as opposed to working across party lines to assist people in an emergency.  Although the devastation of Hurricane Sandy is unprecedented along our east coast it was refreshing to see President Obama a democrat and New Jersey Governor Christie a republican lay aside party dogma for just a little while to mutually focus on helping people.  Both were not only complimentary of each others efforts but also seemingly stunned by the suffering left in the wake of the monster storm.

I often wonder if our elected leaders have a clue how disenchanted the people who elected them are with the constant mud-slinging and name calling each side focuses at the other?  Our political system was constructed by our wise founding fathers to be a system of compromise.  It does not function if compromise does not occur.  When one group or the other decides that the best way to have political success is to simply stonewall and shut out the other party we have abysmal failure on a catastrophic scale.

With the decision as to who will be our President for the next four years to be decided in less than a week perhaps our leaders will at long last work together to solve the storm of the Republic’s history and actually discover they are heroes to us all.

Last month our family was privileged to tour London with our friends of over forty years Jeff and Margo.  We enjoyed many of the usual attractions such as Parliament and Buckingham Palace.  However one of the most enjoyable experiences was lunch and shopping at Covent Garden.

The first impression I had was the exuberance of the lunch partakers.  People were walking up and down steep steps eating an exotic dish that was bursting at its’ seams.  I thought this must be what we had come for but Margo led us to a wonderful Pie Shop and we subsequently indulged in delicious meat pies.  What made the truly magnificent pies even better was the pervasive air of theatre and art not as a diversion to be enjoyed sparingly but as an avocation and a reason for living.

We saw a silver statue that moved.  Now this may be primarily for the young but I am young at heart.  The joy by which the old man manifested his skill was something I could have watched all day.  Two men on unicycles juggled and rode in place and neither lost their pins or fell.

Our first night in London we saw a performance of Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace. What a great experience! The palpable joy the troupe put into their work was electrifying.  I have attended many plays including some on Broadway but I have never been a member of a more lively engaged audience.

Europe can and will get in your blood.  There is such an abundance of history and divergence of culture it presents a compelling novel that you can not wait to turn the next page.

Welcome to WordPress.com! This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.

Happy blogging!