Last week I went to Philadelphia for a one-day workshop held by a vendor we use here at work. Flew out Tuesday morning, flew home Wednesday night.

Actually, it was in Malvern which is about 25 minutes outside of Philadelphia.

I managed to squeeze 2 hours into my Tuesday late afternoon/early evening to do some touristy stuff. I didn't spend much time in any one place since I wanted to cover as much ground as possible. My two main goals were to see the Liberty Bell and eat an authentic cheesesteak.

Mission accomplished; with some other stuff along the way as well.

See for yourself!



By the way, I can attest that it is NOT always sunny there. But it was 68 degrees so I guess it's a wash.

..and typically they're the "send this to five friends in the next five minutes and you'll be blessed" variety. But this one really moved me and I wanted to share it.

I'm not going soft, but sometimes I like these heartwarming stories, and this one truly is amazing.



In 1986, Dan Harrison (see picture above) was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University.

On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Dan approached it very carefully.

He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it.

As carefully and as gently as he could, Dan worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.

The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments.

Dan stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.

Dan never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Dan was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son.

As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Dan and his son Dan Jr. were standing.

The large bull elephant stared at Dan, lifted its front foot off the ground, and then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Dan couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant.

Dan summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Dan's legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.

So it looks like another one of my photos ((e:mrdeadlier,42530)) was harvested by Schmap. This time it's going to the Niagara Falls travel guide. Well it's short-listed at least.



Yeah, yeah.. I know. Schmap sucks, etc. Still -- for someone with little passion for photography in the first place, it's pretty cool.

Referring to Ralph Wilson being 89 years old and how he LOOKS 89 years old:

"Put it this way, I wouldn't buy green bananas if I were him." - Tom Baurle

XD

Honestly, I remember it being funnier when I first saw it in 2002 but maybe that's because now I know the punchline?

Since the girls are sleeping at my mom's house tonight, Chrissy and I got to have date night. (Two weeks in a row!)

We went to La Dolce Vida on Hertel. It's a nice little bistro-type place with very good eats. I started out with a tomato cheddar soup and had a great chicken parm (it's actually been quite some time since I had one -- used to get them all the time). The price was pretty reasonable and I highly recommend it; especially if you manage to get in before the dinner rush (as we did, around 5:45).

After some consideration, we decided to go see No Country for Old Men. It was either that or 27 Dresses -- I think we made the right choice.

First let me say I am a HUGE Coen Bros. fan. Raising Arizona, O Brother Whereart Thou, and Intolerable Cruelty are three of my top favorite movies. Funny stuff.

No Country for Old Men is not a funny movie, though. But it definitely has a Coen Bros. feel. They use mostly the same crew for each flick they put out, especially the cinematographer. And the off-beat one-scene characters that they use so frequently definitely measure up to the standards established by most, if not all, of their previous endeavours.

Javier Bardem does a great job as... well, basically the Terminator. And Josh Brolin's great as a crafty cowboy hick who gets in over his head pretty quickly.

I'm not going to officially recommend this movie though because it is somewhat nonconventional and genre-busting and I don't want anyone hating me after they see it. But I will say *I* personally enjoyed it and will be rooting for it later this month when the Oscars are held.

Now I wanna see There Will be Blood. I like Daniel Day Lewis and definitely P.T. Anderson (the movie Magnolia is freaking fantastic). And it seems like Best Picture is probably going to go to one of these two.

Chrissy and I used to cram in as many nominated films as we could before the Oscars but bambinos definitely altered our ability to do that now. But it is still a worthy trade-off, by far.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting with the Fahmers for almost an hour. It is amazing how many people have been touched by Jacob's life these past 25 days. They've been contacted from all over, as far away as Hawaii, with people wishing them well and doing their best to help support them during this time.

I am so inspired by the faith they've exercised throughout this situation. Jason has decided not to work during the time Jacob is here with them, and in doing so has had to rely on God to meet his family's needs. So far his faith hasn't been in vain; they've had a healthy supply of meals streaming through the door daily and none of their bills have gone unpaid.

If you haven't checked out Jacob's blog yet, I encourage you to do so. And if you feel so inclined, do whatever you can to help them along this path.

Chrissy and I are organizing a fundraiser for them on February 16th (yeah I know there's an (e:strip) gathering that night but I figured I would share the details anyway just in case anyone was interested):

Valentine Chocolate Splurge to Benefit Jacob Fahmer
Saturday February 16, 2008 6:30 - 9 pm
Grace Baptist Church
2525 Eggert Road
Tonawanda, NY 14150

A portion of the proceeds will benefit Children's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Hosted by friends of the Fahmer family

Anyone and everyone is welcome to attend, but if you know ahead of time that you and your family or friends are coming, please let us know. The contact information is below.

We will be serving chocolate as well as many other kinds of desserts, coffeee, teas, etc... If you would like to help in any way please contact Del and Chrissy Reid at: reid.chrissy_AT_gmail.com.

Earlier this week Chrissy brought the girls by to visit baby Jacob.

At one point Delaney sang him a little song.



Yeah, those "singing" genes... she definitely gets 'em from my wife's side of the family. :)

When you're in the Philadelphia airport's "A" terminal and you see the Japanese sushi place... Keep walking.

I am not exaggerating: this meal was worse than what they offer in the Walden Galleria food court.

When will I ever learn?

According to CNN, Paul didn't even get 1 vote in West Virginia. As a Ron Paul fanboy, even I find humor in that, lol.