The Gook Kind of Clouds

The weather has cooled off and today these fluffy white clouds appeared in the sky over Annadel. It is the 23rd anniversary of the day the planes hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania (brought down there by a heroic but failed effort on the part of the passengers to foil the intended target, believed to be the White House or the Capitol). I don't think many people who were alive on that day ever will forget the total disbelief of watching it all unfold in real time on television. President Bush sat reading to a classroom full of kindergarteners and was whisked off to an 'undisclosed' bunker and all air traffic in the skies over the US was halted. 

Speaking of air traffic, I have been absent from my regular commenting as I have been absorbed by two blippers' travel stories.
Yesterday it was Munroist's tale of her trip to the North Pole via Reykyavik, Greenland and Svalbard  and the accompanying breathtaking pictures. Here is the beginning of that saga.

Today it was Blethers' nightmare tale of how British Airways ruined their scheduled trip to meet an Adriatic cruise ship. Just reading it raised my blood pressure and and confirmed our unspoken decision to never get on another airplane again. The stress of the ruined trip has now been replaced by the stress of trying to recoup their losses and recover their equanimity. Her stories of the kindness of strangers were the only bright spot in her bleak tale. Here is the beginning of her story should you want to send a little sympathy their way.

We couldn't bring ourselves to watch the Trump-Harris debate last night but I have been listening to some of the rehashing of them today. The consensus seems to be that Harris definitely won, not on policy issues but on her ability to get under Trump's skin and set off a few of his patented rambling stream of consciousness, just plain weird responses. these included blaming immigrants for eating the domestic pets of residents of Springfield Ohio (the mayor of that town says no such thing has ever happened there) and for Democrats killing babies after they are born, referring apparently to late term abortion or who knows what.

I don't think it will move the needle much, as I think the diehard Trumpers don't care what he says, but Kamala held her own, kept her cool, and got off some good shots.