This week's comments: in Denver, a noted historical passing; in Hong Kong, a WW II icon passed; a western Chinook; health care; beyond cyber security; reading, nonfiction; finally, the Bush twins to the Obama daughters.

Buffalo Bill Cody. This frontier legend passed away peacefully at the home of his sister in downtown Denver on January 10, 1917, drawing a final curtain on a never-to-be repeated era in American history. Of course, then came the controversy: where to bury the legend? Denver or his name-sake city, Cody, Wyoming. On a clear day, the view from Cody's tomb atop Lookout Mountain is spectacular. Here is the Wikipedia link to Bill's burial controversy.

Claire Hollingsworth. Ms. Hollingsworth, who passed away in Hong Kong, was 105 years old. On 28 August 1939, it was her phone call to Britain's Daily Telegraph from the Polish - German border that alerted the world to the German forces massed on the border.  On 1 September 1939, German forces attacked Poland and WW II in Europe began. It was often said the Hollingsworth could claim to have had the "news scoop" of the 20th century.

Chinook. AKA "snow eating" wind, from Native Americans. Strong winds from the west are heated as they flow down-slope, raising the temperature and melting some/all of the snow on the ground. Last week my roof and solar panels were cleared in 4-5 hours and, because the Chinook winds were  so very dry, there was no runoff in the roof downspouts or gutters.

Health care. In a recent opinion piece, Danielle Allen notes that even a majority of Republicans are among those who believe that the Declaration of Independence's open ended list of unalienable rights ("...among these are....") includes affordable health care (AHC). The devil, of course, is in the details. In one off-the-cuff statement at his first press conference, President-Elect Trump took the drug industry to task for unreasonable pricing -- big pharma's stock prices took an immediate hit.
     In the USAF, there was a "remove and replace" system for more major air frame components. The "replacement" was always a new or improved item. Congress, now led by the Republican party, does not seem to have yet crafted a replacement AHC system.

GPS. Looking for that new, favorably-reviewed restaurant? Dana Goward, head of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation, notes that the US does not have a reliable alternative, that our GPS is our “single point of failure for critical infrastructure.” While Russia, China, even Iran have developed "terrestrial systems to back up their GPS and similar satellite systems," we have not.

Reading, nonfiction. Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America's National Parks. A final note, I finished Mark Woods' story of traveling to some well remembered and totally new NPS sites. His last two chapters poignantly relate December's year-ending trip to experience a last sunrise and sunset to Haleakalā, a dormant volcano in Maui, Hawaii, 10,600 feet above sea level, one of the quietest places he visited. He had begun with a sunrise on Cadillac Mountain in Maine and ended over a continent and 3,000 + miles of ocean to the west.

Sage advice to Sasha and Malia. In this world where advice swirls in the social media, often savagely, it is heartening to read the letter written by President George Bush's twin daughters, Jenna and Barbra, to President Obama's young daughters. A letter that could only have been written by one set of "First Children" to another. Well worth reading. In part, Jenna and Barbara, looking Sasha and Malia's future, said,

Explore your passions. Learn who you are. Make mistakes—you are allowed to. Continue to surround yourself with loyal friends who know you, adore you and will fiercely protect you. Those who judge you don’t love you, and their voices shouldn’t hold weight. Rather, it’s your own hearts that matter.

Thank you for reading. Enjoy inauguration week.