Gratitude for Soundly Based Commentary

Labor Day is now past, cooler mornings are here, and the necessary tasks for the oncoming winter are being planned and executed. A little caulking here, checking windows and doors for leaks there, space heater maintenance in advance of necessity and filter replacement occupy the prudent home owner. This is a conditioned response to the onset of the inevitable. This advance preparation eases our departure from the lively growing season to the declining days of fall and then those three months of the dearth of winter.

With that dire threat knocking on the door, absent the joys of the preceding six months, what is there to lift our outlook to face the challenges? Actually, there is an abundance of distraction to raise our spirits and divert our attention from the wind and cold. So then, let us count our blessings and not fear the future.

Even though not as demanding, the upcoming two seasons will have much to challenge the physical man. In a rural setting, the last quarter mile of road finds access is guaranteed only by maintenance by the occupant of the property. Snow must be cleared, fallen limbs removed, and thus is access to the outside world assured. Once the leaves have fallen and the detritus swept aside we will enjoy the restoration of the marvelous view we have of the adjacent valley—and the road below. With the absence of the leaf cover, much will be revealed that needs attention. The hyper-active shop can finally be attended, cleaned, and generally reorganized without interruption from mundane daily activity. Soon, the light bulb in the well house will be activated to assure continuous service after the first freeze. It will be a time of smaller tasks with even greater importance.

Obviously, since we are married to the internet, we shall spend more time gathering information, digesting it and then sharing our opinions. As so many we know are returning to all levels of the education process, we also are prepared to enlarge our knowledge and share our thoughts as well. We observe that fall and that activity are a natural fit. In the run up to the November election, we anticipate much excitement will accompany the rise and fall of the various candidates and, hopefully, restore the progress of the nation. As I anticipate my 78th seasonal change, I truly believe that we face the most critical election our nation has ever had.

With that in mind, I shall make a personal recommendation of the Instapundit site and the small army of brilliant minds who inhabit it. My daily “favorites” list is arranged in order to start my day with that which I consider important. I lead off with Day-by-Day for grins and political observation. This is followed by The Drudge Report , the USGS Earthquake site—hey, I have a thing about tectonic plate movement, the Rasmussen Daily Tracking Poll to gauge changes in the national mood, and by force of habit, Knowledge is Power.

Then to prove my status as a creature of habit, I then check the weather, my email, my Stat Counter—just to see if you are awake yet—and then a dozen other blogs of interest. Scattered among them is an occasional visit to Huffington Post, Slate, and Daily Kos to measure the hysteria of the left. This process is interrupted by numerous trips to the coffee pot and personal recriminations concerning my sloth because it is now noon.

You will find the most frequently quoted blog is Glen Reynolds’s Instapundit. I find great comfort in the genius exposed there regarding current events. Victor Davis Hanson, Ed Driscoll, Roger Simon, and Mark Steyn are typical of the commentators who contribute to the website. They are joined by a host of others with equal intellect who grace those pages.

This particular post was inspired by a piece by Ed Driscoll who liberally quotes some of the other mentioned writers. To view a brilliant mind at work, I recommend clicking on the link and reading it.

For those who routinely follow Zion Beckons, we offer our heartfelt thanks. We promise, as the weather gets nippier, to provide an even greater supply of information to get your blood warmed up and moving. We also promise to remind you that as our government becomes less and less capable of managing their affairs that God is still in charge and his will, will prevail.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon