Memorial Bridge

Rumspringa

Those Wild, Wild Amish.

Rumspringa, a word in "Pennsylvania Dutch," loosely translated means “running around outside the bounds.” Amish teenagers are encouraged at some point by their elders to test the bounds of freedom and explore the trappings of the world outside the Amish culture. This means they can check out television, telephones, movies, crabs and beer and shiny stuff among other things.

It seems like quite a gamble. You’d think that once they experienced all the sex, drugs, and rock and roll, the teens would be happy to say goodbye to the Amish way. Not so. The Amish youth “come home” to the faith after Rumspringa at a rate of 80% to 90%.

Additional reading: Rumspringa by Tom Shachtman.

Dogs

CHASE

"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man."
~Mark Twain

“Histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends.”
~Alexander Pope

“The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.”
~Andy Rooney

PIMLICO!

Last Evening on the Mall

Stay within the lines...

The Finger

The Flag in High Places

Idol Chatter

Randy sez: You are the MAN!

Paula sez: It tugged at the strings of my heart. I want to have your baby!

Simon sez: Horrible, horrible, horrible! Horrible song, horrible rendition by you, and horrible I’m getting an enormous sum of money for saying horrible things.

A Raymie Miller Rhododendron

Mr. and Mrs. Colby Jacobs

Sunset on the Potomac

Observations

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Can this guy really be the terror everyone says he is? He looks like the yoga instructor at the local gym.

The Political Landscape

No matter which side of the political aisle you stand, this is funny:

Sunday Morning on the Yellow Breeches