A Note To The Granddaughters; It Appears No One Showed Up For President O'Bama In Berlin Yesterday

Active rigs: 187 (steady, but trending up)

WSJ Links

In Section D (Personal Journal), there is an article "If the World Were Run Like Airlines." I've seen this story before, printed somewhere else. It is only too accurate, unfortunately. And discount airlines are the worst among the lot. Otherwise not much there of interest except two stories on the NBA's 7th and final game of the season.

Absolutely nothing of interest in Section C (Money & Investing). Will Section B (Marketplace) be any better? Let's see. SandRidge gets a new CEO. Statoil makes an oil discovery offshore Newfoundland. Facebook will unveil video sharing today (and it did). Not a very exciting section, either.

Okay, the Front Section. I like this: the voter effort to oust Colorado's Senate president from office has cleared a key hurdle, sending a cautionary message to state lawmakers who support gun control. Unfortunately more people are going to lose their jobs this year in the energy sector: it looks like President O'Bama will stick another dagger in the coal industry later this summer. [Story in NY Times, also.] It appears no one showed up for the president's speech in Berlin yesterday; there were the usual 6,500 tourists and local Germans in the square, curious to see who that man was behind the 8-inch glass wall, and protected by hundreds of guns. But that was about it. Earlier, one prominent talk show host blamed the president's bad horrible speech on the sun.

Talk about things only getting worse: now they've found radioactive substances in a well holding groundwater near the Japanese Fukushima plant. I have no dog in that fight: a) I don't invest in nuclear energy; and, b) I don't plan on visiting Japan. The op-ed piece "How Adam Smith Revived America's Oil Patch" has a lot of story lines, none of which I have time to talk about, and even if I did (have time), I wouldn't (talk about it).  I would trouble too many readers. I guess there was an editorial in the WSJ earlier titled "Dabbling in Syria." Obviously it was mis-titled: it should have been called "Dithering over Syria." For the record, I have no interest in Syria; as one reader said, "let Allah sort it out." And another article on the Train Wreck: "ObamaCare Trail of Tears." Auditors say HHS isn't (even) close to being ready to launch in October. Cue up Connie Francis.

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A Note To The Granddaughters

Our younger granddaughter had a speaking part at the "Moving On" ceremony for fourth graders. Fourth graders at her school move on to middle school next year. This ceremony has become very, very popular. Diplomas were presented following musical interludes and several "thank you" speeches. I did not know it but in addition to its choir, string orchestra, and brass band, the school also has it's own "band': two guitarists; one lead singer (also the lead guitar, a female); one drummer; one keyboardist; and, three female backup singers.  If they stick together, they could be quite a group in four to five years.

Our older granddaughter had a speaking part at the ceremony.

This accompanied the slide show.

Sweet Caroline, Neil Diamond
I don't know if this is the "standard" for the moving on ceremony for this elementary school, but, if not, it should be. I am not a Bostonian, and I am not a fan of the Kennedy family, but the song brought tears to my eyes. I suppose mostly because it brought back memories of all the good times I've had with the granddaughters over the past five years. But it also brought back memories of holding a sweet young woman in my arms driving back and forth between Blacktail Dam and Williston during my last summer in North Dakota. I didn't know the back story to Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline back in 1969. I certainly do now, and that's another reason for the emotions I felt. It took me back to a "quieter" time -- and, if not necessarily quieter, certainly more civilized.