Summer is upon us, and it is nice to hear the birds chirping, the bees buzzing around the flower beds, and the sound of paving in the parking lot of the Columbian Home. You know it’s summer when you smell hot tar wafting through the air. The parking lot is taking a little longer to pave due to the earthquakes in Somalia, avalanches in Yellowstone National Park, and who could forget the bed bug infestation in Madagascar. At least that is what the paving crew told us. But very soon, you will be able to park your chariot in an area that doesn’t look like a land mine exploded every five feet.
Our new board members attended their first meeting in June and none of them ran screaming from the room. It looks like we have winners on the Board, and, most importantly, all the Board Members have the best interest of the Columbian Home and its Members at heart. Of course, that is a prerequisite for being on the Board. (Incidentally, the Board voted to keep our current slate of officers, so that means you’ll be reading crazy letters from me for the next 12 months.) If any active or social member has any questions or suggestions, please write them down in at least five languages, make 100 copies (because the Board loses a lot of stuff), have each copy notarized by a notary public in South Dakota, and then have them proofread by the Dali Lama or the Pope (your choice) and give them to Joe Brogan. Or you could just share your ideas with any one of the Board Members. We welcome comments and suggestions that will make the Columbian Home the happiest place on earth.
The First Lady and I have been absent from the Lehigh Valley for the past five days due to us visiting our daughter and son-in-law in St. Louis. We have not seen them in two and a half years (either it was due to the pandemic or because they are really good at hiding). It was so long that my daughter made me show her my drivers license to prove it was really me. Traveling by air isn’t easy anymore for those of us who are senior citizens. We waited in long lines at the airport, had to take our clothes off to go through security (ok, so I only had to remove my shoes and belt, but I’ve never been good at reading the fine print). My suggestion for summer travel is to avoid all that nonsense at the airport and visit the beautiful Columbian Home for dinner and then take a cold cocktail out on the deck to enjoy the view. It will calm your nerves, relieve tension, and TSA won’t say what they said to me: “Please, Sir, put your clothes back on. You’re scaring the other travelers.”
I hope you enjoy a wonderful summer. Stay healthy and safe.
As always, you will be remembered in my prayers.
Joe