bierkergaard

IF all goes according to plan, THEN I will be in Taos, New Mexico in 24 hours. Sleeping in a bed at an artsy Bed and Breakfast. I am a big Travelocity user. Put in the dates, check flights, select flight, check lodging, get lodging, check cars, get a car. Pull out credit card and pay for it all. Easy to plan. Oh those easy IFs, they haunt us. After I get back from Taos, I have 2.5 days back here in Molumbia, then I head to Philly to fly to the Philippines for my best friend's wedding. We started out playing ping-pong together at Millersville University over three decades ago. Since then we have been whopped around by the paddles of Providence, us ping-pong balls. I suppose my road has been harder, but who really can tell that in the end. Providence is a term used in Christian theology that speaks of God' s ultimate control over everything for His purposes. It differs from God's ethical will as expressed in the Ten Commandments which is known. Providence is instead u...

* My illustrious Craft Beer Christmas Tree. Could only work in a mid-brow neighborhood! A few years ago when going through the most recent shipwreck in my life (I have had a few) I wanted to swim away from the wreckage. To get the flock out my circumstances. Returning to my previous townhouse felt like defeat writ large. I was a second away from buying a townhome in Lancaster City for $185K. I could live in the city rather than the beat-up 'burbs where my current townhouse is situated. I'd be cosmopolitan, sort-of (as cosmopolitan as Lancaster can be). And, about a 100K poorer. As I looked at the contract from the real estate agent, I had an epiphany of sorts. Besides the upgrades in locale, appliances, and accouterments, my present townhouse and the townhouse to-be were essentially the same functionally. I liked the idea of living in the city but also worried that it would be easier to spend money wining and dining. I'd be a short walk-away from a lot of opportuniti...