This is a crucial vote, and I want to make sure my voice is heard. As citizens of this country, we have a duty to make our opinions known and take advantage of this great gift that often times is taken for granted. As I walked in to work today, one of the local papers headline was that voter registrations are at an all time high. Hopefully these high numbers will also convert to high numbers at polling stations across the state and across the nation. Regardless of what our political opinions are, we must become more involved with what is going on in our country.

So while I enjoy the warm sunshine and sand of the Carribean, I will also rest assured that my minute voice has been heard.

Granted this was nothing more than little kid clicking some buttons while he played on the computer, and he is too young to really have been impacted if he has stumbled upon some unsavory materials, but it makes you wonder how fast our next generations are going to be growing up and developing. Are we still giving them the chance to be kids, or is the rapid evolution of society making the young people of the world grow up too fast? Are we raising mini-adults or kids?

This past weekend I caught the poignant and refreshing coming of age comedy called Saint Ralph. Written and directed by Michael McGowan, Saint Ralph chronicles Ralph Walker's journey toward penintance and ultimately achieving the miracle of bringing his mother out of a deep coma. Set in the Canada of the mid 50s in the confines of Catholic schools of yesteryear, this picture allows you to become overcome with Ralph's all guts determination towards sainthood (by means of running and winning the 1954 Boston Marathon) and the relationships and hardships he encounters on his quest. You can pick this up at your local rental shop/online service and selected premium movie channels.

Nem heroi, nem vilao. Apenas un homen que acertava as vezes e se confundia outras, como todos, um homen de grandes sentimentos, grandes gestos e grandes equivocacoes, como tantos outros. Un homen, afinal. Um amigo.
- Maria Luiza de Alba

In my daily grind I am fortunate to stumble upon beautiful gems of writing that often remain undiscovered by the masses, hindered by a language barrier or just lost in an esoteric sea of academia, unfriendly and uninviting. Humbly, I put forth my translation, and apologize as it does not quite have the same verve and poignancy of the original language:

"Neither hero, nor villain. Just a man who was dead on sometimes and was off others, like all, a man of strong sentiments, grand gestures and considerable doubts, like so many others. A man, ultimately. A friend."

I headed out to the beach this past Monday, book, SPF 30 sunscreen and shades in tow. Upon finding the best spot for soaking up some sun, I cracked open my current read, Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter, written by Thomas Cahill, and stumbled upon the following extract from Constantine Cavafy's Ithaca: