The first fleet week that I can ever remember was during our country's bicentenial celebration. I remember it vividly because the impressive US Naval fleet took center stage for the first time in our State's history, and showed off its amazing power and technology.

The ship I remember the most, and not only because of its impressive size, was the beautiful ship below - The aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67). It was just a few years old when it sailed down the mighty Hudson along with its sister ships, but its newness was not what captured my heart. What swept me off my feet was seeing the the tender message written across it's platform, "I [heart] NY" by a formation of sailors standing at attention. Now that's impressive! They didn't even know us and yet they loved us. That message was displayed every time they visited NY for an official celebration. The picture below was from its Fleet Week visit in July of 1999.

So why am I telling you landlubbers about this ship? 2 reasons: It was decommissioned 2 months ago and will not be returning to NYC; as a result, my love affair with this impressive vessel is forced to be over. [sniff, sniff]

I now must find a new love. So to fill my hearts void, and see how lucky I could get [figuratively, I'm not that easy!] I went in search of a new love this past weekend. Yes folks, I trolled the piers for a bit of wanderlush. But more about that tomorrow. For today, enjoy the view!

Side conversation: Hey blog daddy, what happens to ships when they're decommissioned? And do crusty old sailors suffer the same fate? Inquiring minds want to know.

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Are you wishing you could have been in Times Square ringing in the New Year? Well now you can celebrate New Year's any time you like, by visiting the Times Square New Year's Eve Virtual site (best when viewed with a hi-speed connection). You will be in the thick of the celebration on the corner of 44th St. and Broadway, while being surrounded by visitors from all over the globe (New Yorkers know to stay at home), including some of New York's finest (NY Police Officers). Simply bring your own champagne and enjoy!

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Okay, now that youÂ’ve made a commitment to have a financially sound and spiritually blissful holiday, hereÂ’s some ideas on how to do it or get others to join and/or support you in your efforts.

What do you buy a man or woman who has everything? Why a heifer of course! Or a Llama if you prefer. For such truly blessed individuals (like most of my family members), consider a donation to their favorite charity or volunteering in their name. You can also give a gift where you pay lifeÂ’s blessings forward and simply let the recipient know. Many charitable organizations will let you give a donation in someoneÂ’s memory or in honor a living loved one. Some will even go so far as letting the honored individual know directly how much they appreciated the donation and what it will mean to their organization.

This year I will be pooling the money from all the gifts I would have bought for my mom, my sisters & their husbands and buying something Udderly original: a heifer from heifer.org. I could have bought an animal for each member but I really wanted to buy a milking cow and change the lives of little children in a small indonesian village that was nearly wiped out by a typhoon recently. Heifer.org is an organization I trust (I did my due diligence 4 yrs ago) and have loved and support their work since I discovered them. I started with a flock of chicks ($20) and moved on to goats and last year it was a sheep. My goal of one day buying a heifer is finally here. What this organization does is not only give individuals the tools with which to farm, you money is providing them with the initial knowledge and seed money to enable their community to thrive, by requiring them to use part of their profits to also pay it forward. In doing so you donÂ’t help just one person, you help an entire community create a self-sustaining economic safety net that expands ever wider. Go ahead, I dare you to buy a heifer in someoneÂ’s name. Just imagine the look on their face when they get the card announcing the gift and thanking them for the gift of the heifer. Priceless!
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Here are some tips that I received a while back which I wrote down in my journal and I keep going back to every year as a reminder of where I can go if I let myself get carried away by the holiday shopping spirit. IÂ’m sharing this in the hopes that it might help someone to think differently about the holidays. My other motivating factor comes from working at an investment back and seeing how people many people file for personal bankrupcy in March and April from not being able to pay their christmas shopping bills.
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