Friday, January 1 – New Year’s Day
Monday, January 18 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Monday, February 15 – President’s Day
Monday, May 31 – Memorial Day
Sunday, July 4 – Independence Day
Monday, September 6 – Labor Day
Monday, October 11 – Columbus Day
Thursday, November 11 – Veterans Day
Thursday, November 25 – Thanksgiving
Saturday, December 25 – Christmas
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
A Season of Giving
By Brandon Milster
Attorney
Every Friday I take another look at the following week’s calendar and always seem to realize how busy the next week will be just as the current one ends. The world just never seems to slow down, whether you’re in school, working, raising children, or any combination of the three. There is always another deadline to meet, another place to be, or something else that must be done. The holiday season is absolutely no different. Everyone is busy shopping, traveling to the homes of loved ones, or preparing for a meal. However, no matter how busy everyone becomes during the holidays, we must always remember that there are others that have it much worse.
This weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer for a battered and homeless women and children charitable event. On Saturday, I woke up at 6:30 in the morning (yep…6:30 a.m. on a Saturday – what was I thinking) to go serve food and help underprivileged children get to see Santa Claus. It was truly a unique and fantastic experience. Most of us remember growing up and receiving at least a few exciting presents on Christmas. Do you remember the excitement – the anticipation? Do you remember playing with your new toys all day long and probably falling asleep with them? Well, most of these women and children have none of that. There is nothing to look forward to; there is nothing to anticipate. There is just another day of struggling to feed their families and stay warm.
As we look all look ahead to another busy week, let us not forget those who have nothing to look forward to. In these economic times of hardship, let us not forget that you can always donate a little time or a toy that is no longer played with around your house. There are many ways that you can help someone else have a happier holiday season. So please look around your community and see if there is anything you can do; remember, it doesn’t take much to make someone else’s day a little brighter.
Attorney
Every Friday I take another look at the following week’s calendar and always seem to realize how busy the next week will be just as the current one ends. The world just never seems to slow down, whether you’re in school, working, raising children, or any combination of the three. There is always another deadline to meet, another place to be, or something else that must be done. The holiday season is absolutely no different. Everyone is busy shopping, traveling to the homes of loved ones, or preparing for a meal. However, no matter how busy everyone becomes during the holidays, we must always remember that there are others that have it much worse.
This weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer for a battered and homeless women and children charitable event. On Saturday, I woke up at 6:30 in the morning (yep…6:30 a.m. on a Saturday – what was I thinking) to go serve food and help underprivileged children get to see Santa Claus. It was truly a unique and fantastic experience. Most of us remember growing up and receiving at least a few exciting presents on Christmas. Do you remember the excitement – the anticipation? Do you remember playing with your new toys all day long and probably falling asleep with them? Well, most of these women and children have none of that. There is nothing to look forward to; there is nothing to anticipate. There is just another day of struggling to feed their families and stay warm.
As we look all look ahead to another busy week, let us not forget those who have nothing to look forward to. In these economic times of hardship, let us not forget that you can always donate a little time or a toy that is no longer played with around your house. There are many ways that you can help someone else have a happier holiday season. So please look around your community and see if there is anything you can do; remember, it doesn’t take much to make someone else’s day a little brighter.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
A Private Trip to the White House
By Kristen Halliden
Attorney
This past weekend my family and I had the privilege of being given a private tour of the White House. Since there was little to do on the 10 hour drive to DC I daydreamed about what we would be seeing. The Oval Office? The West Wing? The Salahis? I hoped against hope that we would run into one of the movers and shakers and maybe even, gasp! Obama himself. I fantasized about spending hours in the White House, soaking up all that history and learning all the little ins and outs of politics in our country’s capital.
But, alas, it was not to be. After only five hours of sleep, we were up and tramping through a cold, rainy morning to get from our hotel to the White House. The weather was so bad that we stopped tramping and hailed a taxi to get us to the southeastern visitor’s entrance. After we poured out of the taxi, my heart sank: the line to get in to the White House was already up the block. Whatever happened to our private tour? Where did all these other people come from? I thought we were going to be the only ones there!
But, as luck would have it, our “tourguide”, Lt. Cmdr. Jessica Hudson was able to badge her way, with us in tow, to the front of the line. A nice perk for Jessica as she works as a Social Aide in the White House and President Obama is the second president she has served under.
The first thing you see after passing through security (no cameras, no strollers, no bags and no umbrellas!) is a hallway with photographs of the current first family. These were candid photos, some we’ve seen in the news and some we haven’t. I especially liked the photo of Barack and Michelle in an elevator, with a bunch of Secret Service Agents and Michelle wearing Barack’s tuxedo jacket. A picture you might see in anyone’s photo album after a black tie affair or a wedding. I loved it – the photographer sees them as “normal” and so does the viewer.
The rest of the tour basically covered the first floor of the Central Wing of the White House. The security guards turned us away from the West Wing (although we didn’t try too hard) and, for some reason, Secret Service Agents would not let us up the stairs to see the Lincoln Bedroom. So we got to see the Diplomats’ Room, the China Room, the State Dining Room, the Red Room, the Green Room (not the same as Letterman’s Green Room) and all of the historic portraits and knick knacks.
The private tour that I thought would last all morning lasted about 35 minutes. But we did get some interesting tidbits. We saw the portrait of George Washington that Dolly Madison saved when the White House burned down. We learned that Truman (or maybe it was Eisenhower) had the golden eagle on the United States seal changed so that it was looking over the olive branch and not the arrows so that the world would know that the United States was entering a new era of peace. We also learned that the hall where the White House "party-crashers" photo was taken is a lot smaller than it appears on T.V.
While the tour was short and not what I expected, I wouldn’t change a thing. I was able to show my children where the President of the United States works and plays and we were able to see an integral piece of American history that is constantly changing and evolving. When you see the White House and know that it is a "working" house and what it stands for, it really does make you proud to be an American.
Attorney
This past weekend my family and I had the privilege of being given a private tour of the White House. Since there was little to do on the 10 hour drive to DC I daydreamed about what we would be seeing. The Oval Office? The West Wing? The Salahis? I hoped against hope that we would run into one of the movers and shakers and maybe even, gasp! Obama himself. I fantasized about spending hours in the White House, soaking up all that history and learning all the little ins and outs of politics in our country’s capital.
But, alas, it was not to be. After only five hours of sleep, we were up and tramping through a cold, rainy morning to get from our hotel to the White House. The weather was so bad that we stopped tramping and hailed a taxi to get us to the southeastern visitor’s entrance. After we poured out of the taxi, my heart sank: the line to get in to the White House was already up the block. Whatever happened to our private tour? Where did all these other people come from? I thought we were going to be the only ones there!
But, as luck would have it, our “tourguide”, Lt. Cmdr. Jessica Hudson was able to badge her way, with us in tow, to the front of the line. A nice perk for Jessica as she works as a Social Aide in the White House and President Obama is the second president she has served under.
The first thing you see after passing through security (no cameras, no strollers, no bags and no umbrellas!) is a hallway with photographs of the current first family. These were candid photos, some we’ve seen in the news and some we haven’t. I especially liked the photo of Barack and Michelle in an elevator, with a bunch of Secret Service Agents and Michelle wearing Barack’s tuxedo jacket. A picture you might see in anyone’s photo album after a black tie affair or a wedding. I loved it – the photographer sees them as “normal” and so does the viewer.
The rest of the tour basically covered the first floor of the Central Wing of the White House. The security guards turned us away from the West Wing (although we didn’t try too hard) and, for some reason, Secret Service Agents would not let us up the stairs to see the Lincoln Bedroom. So we got to see the Diplomats’ Room, the China Room, the State Dining Room, the Red Room, the Green Room (not the same as Letterman’s Green Room) and all of the historic portraits and knick knacks.
The private tour that I thought would last all morning lasted about 35 minutes. But we did get some interesting tidbits. We saw the portrait of George Washington that Dolly Madison saved when the White House burned down. We learned that Truman (or maybe it was Eisenhower) had the golden eagle on the United States seal changed so that it was looking over the olive branch and not the arrows so that the world would know that the United States was entering a new era of peace. We also learned that the hall where the White House "party-crashers" photo was taken is a lot smaller than it appears on T.V.
While the tour was short and not what I expected, I wouldn’t change a thing. I was able to show my children where the President of the United States works and plays and we were able to see an integral piece of American history that is constantly changing and evolving. When you see the White House and know that it is a "working" house and what it stands for, it really does make you proud to be an American.
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