Good morning GH. It is just past 4:00 a.m. in "The City." A current temperature of 55° will lead to an overnight low of 41°. We are supposed to be having light showers right now, but a quick look out the Weather Window tells me that the part of the forecast that included that prognostication is incorrect. Maybe later this morning the 60° prediction for showers will come to pass, but right now, zip, zero, nothing.

I heard the train pass by about two hours ago. It sounded long, and like the horn-happy engineer was at the throttle, but that is pure supposition on my part. I have not heard another train since, so I don't know what direction the last train was heading.

In other news, Mary and I made it to GR for my annual MRI. I don't have any results yet, and they may not be available for several weeks. However, no news is generally good news. If the radiologist in the MRI lab or one of the technicians had seen anything untoward, I am certain that I would have been on their "talk to" list right away. As usual, the nurses in the MRI lab had difficulty finding a vein into which to inject the dye for the contrasting view. I have been poked and prodded so many times over the last few years, that I took it in stride. Once the dye was in, I was done in another eight minutes. Since I got in early, I got out early.

I should mention that Mary and I stopped in the GR Downtown Market before going to the hospital. We had visited once before, about two years ago, while it was under construction, and it is now complete. A magnificent facility. Indoor gardens, test kitchens for food preparation and many different types of specialty food markets were in evidence. Since the market is situated in the midst of many different college and hospital campuses, the restaurants in the market were busy selling some very tasty looking foods. Cheeses, vegetables, meats, fish and pastries were all available. On Saturdays and during the summer months, there is also an outdoor farmer's market. GR is doing a great job of reinventing itself.

Not much is happening today. We plan to stay in bed and listen to the radio for few hours after the sun rises at 7:22 a.m. Then I will read more, play with the girls more, and Mary says that she will finish weaving in the ends of my afghan. It should be ready by Thanksgiving. We are still reading that book that we started about the founding fathers and their enlightened scientific approach to the governance of the fledgling country. It is entitled Gentlemen, Scientists, and Revolutionaries: The Founding Fathers in the Age of Enlightenment, by Tom Shachtman. We are liking it and learning.

We will get out to vote today, no hurry, and then it will be time to get back home, have dinner, and watch our favorite show on TV. That will be followed by the election coverage. No matter what your personal views, it is important to get out and vote. Shortly after the sun sets here at 5:32 p.m., the polls will close and we'll see what happened, both here in MI and around the country. Ciao.