Circle of Life

Spring is the time of year for new beginnings.  Trees and flowers come into bloom and many animals have their babies.  Yesterday while walking around the pond in our backyard my daughter and I noticed a baby fish struggling in the water.  Looking closer I saw it was wrapped in seaweed and without rescue was going to die.  Without thinking I knelt down and reached out and grabbed the fish.  I unwrapped it from the seaweed and released it back into the pond.  It happily swam away.  It felt good saving a life and it made my daughter very happy.  That feel good glow didn't last long.  While driving home from work this evening a bird took off from the side of the road and flew directly into my windshield.  To say it died on impact would be an understatement.  It more like exploded on impact.  After running the wipers and mourning the poor bird for a minute I tried to remember how good it felt the day before when I saved the fish.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Twin Cities

I was able to visit Minneapolis, MN last week for a two day work event.  I had never been in Minneapolis let alone Minnesota so I was anxious to experience it.  The flight there was smooth but I don't think Minnesota knew that winter was over.  It was in the 30's and rainy both days I was there.  I did see some late April snow as well but no accumulation.  The work was fine but the highlight of the trip was the sky walk.  Every building in downtown Minneapolis is connected but over street, indoor walkways.  There are lots of stores and restaurants throughout the sky walk and I was told it actually extends 15 miles.  Even Minneapolis makes Charlotte seem small.  I wish the weather was nicer and I had more time to explore but I found it to be a pretty cool place.  The winters must be absolutely brutal but a lot of people live there and the economy is strong.  Not a city for me but some place I hope to visit again.

Until tomorrow,
Dave

Oscar Part II

It is hard to believe that it has been two weeks since I did a post.  I  need to change that.  I will try to do a new post each night this week.  A couple months ago I did a review of Dallas Buyers Club and talked about my goal of reviewing all of the movies that were nominated for best picture.  Well last night I watched American Hustle.  It was a great movie with a great cast.  The highlights were the performances of Amy Adams and Christian Bale.  Adams has long been one of my favorites because she is so versatile.  She was so believable in this role as a con artists.  Bale was great too and showed a side I've never seen before.  Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence we excellent in supporting roles.  I won't go into the plot as I think you should see the movie but it will keep your interest and the script was very well written.  If I had to vote between Dallas Buyers Club and American Hustle I would go with Dallas as it was a more powerful film.  Both were excellent and I look forward to my next review.

Until tomorrow, (I promise)

Dave