Monday, September 20, 2010

Measuring the Height of a Mountain

Never measure the height of a mountain
until you have reached the top.
Then you will see how low it was.

~Dag Hammarskjold

Of Note: Today begins the three-day global summit to mark the 10 year anniversary of the creation of the Millennium Development Goals, otherwise known as MDGs. Presidents, prime ministers and kings representing 140 nations have gathered at the UN to assess how far we have come in meeting the goals and plan for the next five years. Prior to this summit, diplomats from 192 member states agreed on a 58 page document to be adopted by the leaders "which spells out specific actions to accelerate implementation of each of the eight MDGs in the next five years." Progress to date has been encouraging but spotty. While few believe that all the goals and objectives will be met by 2015 as originally set forth, the MDGs shout to the world that it is possible to eradicate poverty and its underlying causes because we have the capability and responsibility to do so, which represent paradigm shifting concepts. The United States took a back seat in the original effort but this past summer President Obama unveiled a Millennium Development Goals Plan. Most acknowledge that with the backing of the United States, success may be within reach. The late Dag Hammarskjold, former Secretary General of the UN, would have been proud.

Today's Weather Report: Cloudy with rain in the forecast. Chilly. Actually, with no heat in the house at the moment, my fingers are having difficulty typing. It's always this way in the early fall before the heat is turned on. With a wood boiler, it is not a matter of flipping a switch for a little heat. Once it's on, it's on until spring. That boiler gets to be like another family member during the winter and must be filled once or twice a day, each and every day. That's why we hold off turning it on until we must.