Reflections

I have been thinking about this post since last week, and it is a collection of some random items.

First, it wasn't until Thursday that I realized that Darwin and Lincoln were born on the very same day. Not just the same month and day, but month, day, and year. At the same time, I can't quite draw any parallels or great meaning from it. I also found it interesting that I did not hear anyone else mention this odd fact.

Second, it is spring in Louisiana! I get up pretty early to get ready and then drive to work. It used to be dark almost all the way to work, but now, it is almost light when I leave the house. That also means I get to see what is along side the highway. The trees are beginning to leaf out. There are some which I would have referred to "red bud" trees, not unlike the maples in New England, and others are turning green at the tips. Part of my journey is over bridges at the end of Lake Pontchartrain, and more is on bridges over marshes and swamps. There are not a lot of exits in the middle part of the trip, but there are lots of trees. When I first visited Baton Rouge it was just after Gustav and Ike, it seemed that many of the trees were stripped of their leaves. It will be interesting to see how they come back.

Third, I realized this morning that this is the first time in my life that I have commuted on an Interstate. In Arizona, I took the bus to and from work. For my first job in Connecticut, it was all city streets. The next job was a commute on the Merritt Parkway to Wilton, and the job after that was on both the Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkway to Hamden, including a trip through Connecticut's one and only tunnel. Then it was back to city streets. When I lived in Wisconsin, it was also city streets.

Fourth, it is Mardi Gras time! Parades are going in earnest every night in New Orleans. For those who want to know the date into the future, here is a link, and here is the list of dates:

• February 16, 2010
• March 8, 2011
• February 21, 2012
• February 12, 2013
• March 4, 2014
• February 17, 2015
• February 9, 2016
• February 28, 2017
• February 13, 2018
• March 5, 2019
• February 25, 2020
• February 16, 2021

See you here??