Bono Natale

Our good friend Pat Beckerdite made the big time today!

John McCaslin's Inside the Beltway column for the Washington Times quoted a letter Pat sent.

Mailbag
The bulk of this week's mail addressed Inside the Beltway's item about the Oyster Bilingual School in Northwest posting a sign that said "Holiday Tree Sale" in English and "Venta de Arboles de Navidad" in Spanish — only saying "Christmas" in Spanish, in other words.
"This country has become way too [politically correct] in my opinion," writes Patrick Beckerdite of Des Moines, Iowa. "If someone wants to wish another person 'Merry Christmas,' or have a 'Christmas' pageant at school, we shouldn't feel like we need to make any apology for it.".....

Great Job Pat and Congratulations!

By the way Pat.......Froehliche Weihnachten!

I believe that's German for Merry Christmas. Pat and my wife, Chris, are the only two people I know who will correct that if I'm wrong.

PS: I hope I spelled the headlined Italian Merry Christmas correct too

Kudos

For the second time our friend, Pat Beckerdite, has made The Washington Times/Inside the Beltway column...

From the mountains to the prairies, readers of Inside the Beltway this Fourth of July write about their experiences while paying homage to the monuments, memorials and museums in the nation's capital.

Patrick Beckerdite, a property manager in Des Moines, Iowa, writes: "My wife and I lived in Harrisonburg, Va., for eight years in the 1990s, and we became tour guides for friends and relatives who visited from the Midwest. We took many tours of the White House — during the day, candlelit on December evenings, and those tours when they opened the grounds to the public twice a year.

"We got to know the U.S. Capitol ... and loved to dine on Senate bean soup. The Archives, the Smithsonian, Old Town, Arlington Cemetery ... all the monuments became our 'haunts.' There are two things we haven't done yet: eat at the Old Ebbitt Grill and tour the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, so we are going to have to come back soon.

"Thanks for the nice reminder of our wonderful years near Washington, which remains one of our most favorite cities to this day. You are fortunate to be able to call it home. Happy Fourth of July."

Kongratuliere mein freund and the scientific community is united in that fact.