From the White House on May 15, 2007:

“In respect for their devotion to America, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved on May 11, 1950, as amended (64 Stat. 158), has requested the President to issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period on that day when the people of the United States might unite in prayer. The Congress, by Public Law 106-579, has also designated the minute beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time on that day as a time for all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance.”

Please take a moment today to remember what this day is about for Americans. It’s not about beaches, cook-outs or sleeping late. It’s about honoring those who have paid the ultimate price in service to our country.

My gratitude goes out to them, their families and their loved ones.

I went to the bookstore Friday evening and bought Al Gore’s latest book, “The Assault on Reason“. You’ll see it over on the right under “What I’m Reading Now”.

When I was returning from overseas last week I picked up the latest issue of Time Magazine at the airport newsstand, which had the former Vice-President (or as he likes to wryly introduce himself in the “An Inconvenient Truth” film, “I used to be the next President of the United States”) on the cover and discusses his new book (with a nice excerpt) and the question of whether he might run for President in the 2008 elections.

This country could do a hell of a lot worse. In fact, we currently are.

I also watched Mr Gore on Larry King earlier this week. His consistent answer when asked if he would run for President was “I have no plans to run for office” but I noticed that when Larry asked him if he would consider a cabinet post, his response was an unequivocal, “No, I have no interest in a cabinet post”. So, it does seem that the door might be open should Clinton, Obama or Edwards end up in a 3 way split of party support. Although I would be thrilled with any of the previously mentioned candidates, it would be a kick to see Mr. Gore finally get what was stolen from him 8 years ago.

If you’d like to join the “Draft Al Gore” movement, you can do so here, here or here.

“I’m a travelin’ man….”

Love that song by Ricky Nelson. And it looks like that will be my theme song for a while.

Friday afternoon at 2:28pm, I walked out the doors of the big government agency I had been working for over the past 2 1/2 years, having turned in my laptop, cell phone and ID badge. It felt a little strange.

We had been told 5 weeks ago that our department’s work had come to an end. It was no surprise; we had all been expecting it. The only slight surprise came when they told us that, rather than the Region folks coming in to finish the close-out of cases as we expected, they would be bringing some of us (28 to 32 approximately) back to do the close-out, which might last 3 months or could last until the end of the year. If we wanted a position we could apply, although by law the positions would be open to any who applied within the time frame. We could also apply to our Region office, or any Region office in the country, for what is basically a troubleshooting position that takes you anywhere in the Region, or country, if needed.

I was out of the country on personal travel when the local positions were posted. I applied online and via e-mail for one position; one supervisory position that would raise my salary by about 20%. When I returned I found that there had been over 1,100 applications for the (at most) 32 positions available. I thought that those odds almost certainly assured I would not be chosen for the single position I had applied for. In addition, I have reached the point where I am ready for a change from the day in and day out work in the office.

So, I decided to apply with my Region office for a position with them this past Tuesday and on my way home from work that afternoon I received a call from them telling me they wanted to pick me up ASAP. I informed them my release date would be Friday and they put all the paperwork into motion. By the time I left the office on Friday, I knew just about everything except where and when I would be going. Hopefully I’ll find that out later next week. My salary will increase by 10% instead of the 20% I would have gotten for the local position, but with per diem and other expensed items covered I will end up with a hefty raise. Most likely all of my travel will be in FL, GA, AL, MS, SC, NC and KY, but I could find myself elsewhere in the country if needed. Most assignments will be about 6-8 weeks in length, but could range from as little as 2 weeks to as much as 4 months. It’s hard to predict in this “business”.

Blog Girl and I are getting our minds and hearts wrapped around how this will change our lives. We’ve never really been away from each other for more than a week at one time in the decade we’ve been married, so this will be a different experience for us to work with. But it will also help us with the goals we’ve set over the next few years, so we have incentive to deal with it positively.

Oh, and that single local position I applied for that I didn’t think I would get because of the odds? Headquarters called me this morning at 8:30 and told me I had been selected. I was shocked and flattered, but I politely declined. Things change, and this is one of life’s transitions. Hopefully it will be a good one.