Articles by mgedwards

Putting aside politics for a change

I read the news today that President Ford passed away.  My condolences to the Ford Family, especially his wife Betty.  The media seems to be working overtime to remind us that President Ford was the only unelected U.S. president and that his pardon of President Richard Nixon may have cost him the presidency in 1976, a debatable contention.  A couple weeks ago, the media turned South Dakota’s U.S. Senator Tim Johnson’s courageous fight to survive brain surgery into a balance of power struggle in the U.S. Senate.  What a shame. 
 
It’s a shame that the media always seems to find a political angle to every story, even when lives are at stake and deaths are involved.  President Ford, a Republican, deserves to be remembered as a U.S. President, without asterick or caveat, just as much as the other 42 men who served in the office.  Likewise, Senator Johnson, a Democrat, deserves the dignity to be left out of politics while he recovers from surgery.  No one should focus on the balance of power in the U.S. Senate and whether it will tip in favor of the Republicans or Democrats–Senator Johnson deserves a chance at full recovery.  Democrats should not be rooting for him to live in order to pass bills, and Republicans should not be wishing the worst to befall him.  The business of Congress can wait.  The media should focus less on making a political story out of human tragedy.  Matters of life and death should not be politicized.

Charlotte’s Web

From time to time, I walk up the stairs outside our home and have a look at the tattered remnant’s of Charlotte’s web.  If you recall, Charlotte was our pet spider, a beautiful golden orb weaver spider who lived near a lamp next to our house.  Golden orb weavers usually build webs in clusters, but Charlotte did not.  She built her web in a secluded location.  The three spiders that collectively built their webs in our front yard disappeared mysteriously earlier this year.  Only one spider survived the entire summer and fall.  That’s Charlotte, whom I named after the famous arachnid in the beloved children’s novel and blockbuster film. 
 
Charlotte was a special spider.  She withstood the hot summers, the balmy fall, and torrential pre-winter rains.  Even with the insect population dwindling by the day as the cool weather took them, Charlotte survived.  She must have lived at least five months, far longer than I’ve ever seen any spider survived.  One day in late November, Charlotte disappeared, leaving her empty web behind (pictured, taken on December 24).  I looked all over for her, hoping to find her, but she crawled away somewhere to rest in peace (I assume).  I still have not found her, but I left her web intact in case she decides to return. 
 
We had a special connection, Charlotte and I.  Whenever a branch, leaf, or other debris became entangled in her web, I extracted it so she could rebuild it.  I’m positive she understood and appreciated my help.  She was one smart, hearty, beautiful spider.  I, in turn, trusted her not to sink her fangs into me while I touched her web.  I reckon that golden orb weaver bites are both painful and poisonous, so it took mutual understanding for us to work together to clear her web of offending debris.  She couldn’t do it herself–she needed someone to help her.  At the same time, she helped me by doing her part to control the insect population in our backyard by catching and devouring them.  I enjoyed watching her fix her web.  She would crawl into a corner, ponder how to fix it, and then start working again like a carpenter on a bungee cord.  It was absolutely fascinating. 
 
And now, only the web remains.  It is cluttered and tattered, but I won’t remove the debris.  That would tear it even further, and I cannot repair.  I would rather leave as it was when Charlotte wandered away.  I still hope every day that she will come back to fix her web once again.

Changdeokgung and Beewon

Yesterday my family and I visited Changdeok Palace in Seoul.  We took my in-laws, who are in town visiting for a month, because we had not yet visited one of Seoul’s main tourist attractions.  It’s hard to believe that it took us almost two years to visit the palace, but I’m glad we did.  The day was cool but not too cold, and the pathways were muddy, but we had fun on Christmas Eve day venturing to see one of Korea’s main palaces.
 
Changdeokgung, or the East Palace, was built between 1405 and 1412 during the reign of King Taejong of the Joseon Dynasty.  Located just to the east of Gyeongbok Palace, former home of the late Joseon monarchs, Changdeokgung served as the main palace of the Joseon Dynasty until 1872, when the seat of government moved to Gyeongbok Palace.  Changdeokgung has been damaged and destroyed several times by the Japanese, French, Chinese, and Americans, although Changdeokgung’s literature only notes that it was destroyed in 1592 by the Japanese.  The palace is perhaps most famous for "Beewon," or "Secret Garden," a sanctuary for the Korean king/emperor that included a library, fish pond, and fishing house where the king/emperor could catch fish from the fish pond.  In 1997, the palace became a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.
 
For the shutterbugs:  I posted two new photo albums tonight.  One features photos from the Christmas season, including photos taken during our first snowfall, a Christmas concert, our son’s school’s Christmas production, and Christmas at home.  The second features photos from yesterday’s trip to Changdeok Palace.  Enjoy!
 
Blog Notes:  It completely slipped my mind that this blog is two years old!  On December 6, 2004, I started World Adventurers after MSN announced that it was offering a free blogging forum.  Happy birthday, World Adventurers.  217,000 hits later, it’s still going strong, although the author hasn’t had much time to write lately.  I’m hoping to use the holiday to make up for lost time.  Thanks for stopping by as faithfully as ever, Dear Reader.
 
"Girl in the Rain," November’s featured blogger, has cursed me by forcing me to join a game of "meme."  Because it would violate the unwritten meme code of ethics, I apparently can’t add any tags back to her blog, so you’ll have to hunt and peck in the archives for the link (hint: Visit the sparse November archives).  OK, Girl in the Rain!  I’ll give you a hard time at work tomorrow for clogging up the blogosphere and will take up the challenge you have lain at my virtual feet like a cyber-gauntlet: 
Name “Five Things You Don’t Know About Me,” and then tag five others. 
OK, I’m game.  Let me think about it, and I’ll write about this in the next couple of days.  The five tagged people will come from a list of people I’ve featured in the past.  Or, if you prefer, I can tag you, Dear Reader, if you volunteer.  That would be much better then spamming five of my good friends!