Author Archives: tbavendam

We had lots of help getting our tent set up. There were so many of us that people were out working the crowd – getting people to come over and do the Bean Poll and signing up on our email list. We had 26 people sign up. 8 was the biggest number to date. ThereContinue reading “Democrats were out in force in Robertson County”

Since the middle of June, I/we have been working hard on behalf of the Robertson County Democratic Party which has grown pretty inactive over the past 2 decades. Everyone has said that the Springfield (county seat) First Friday event is the most important event to be at. Tonight is our first, First Friday. We hadContinue reading “A Pause to Reflect”

It has been brutal weather here as in many places around the US. We have curtailed outdoor activities. There were 3 opportunities to protest this week in this area – Good Trouble protests in honor of John Lewis. There was 1 on Thursday, 11 AM-1PM or 5PM-7PM and the Annual John Lewis March in NashvilleContinue reading “Extreme Heat and Activism”

We left Nashville about 930 AM with plans to meet a friend from Pfizer days in Lexington KY for lunch at 1230 completely forgetting about the one hour time difference. Fortunately Daniela was able to move a meeting around so that she could do lunch at 130 instead. Then we drove to the wrong locationContinue reading “A wonderful 2 year anniversary celebration”

I got up at 5 AM to help set up a booth at the Greenbrier Car Show – Rumble in the Brier for the Robertson County Democratic Party at 6 AM. I was back home at 715 and we left for Nashville for the No Kings Protest at 815. A colleague from Nashville Tools forContinue reading “Moved to tears again – Nashville showed up big time for No Kings Protest”

On our last night in DC, Craig wanted to visit the Vietnam Memorial again and I thought it would be lovely to see all of the memorials on the Mall at night. As we approached the Vietnam Memorial, the Washington Monument look like a pearl. It was stunning. After visiting the wall and locating mostContinue reading “DC at night”

https://auanews.net/issues/articles/2025/june-2025/prevention-of-lower-urinary-tract-symptoms-research-consortium-update-for-sufu I sporadically keep up with “urology” news since retirement. AUA News is the easily accessible publication of the American Urological Association that comes out monthly. The Journal of Urology is their peer-review publication. More people read AUA News than the Journal of Urology. Illogical, damaging, fear-based decisions by my immediate leadership in the NIDDKContinue reading “Moved to Tears”

When friends host us, we (Craig) always try to help them out when we can with handyman tasks ( they are willing to trust us). In DC, my friend had a short list which included a 2 areas of possible roof leaks. Her duplex neighbor spotted one issue which was on the small roof thatContinue reading “It always turns into a bigger job”

I worked with Jenna Norton for 7 years during my time at the NIH. She was young, driven, and very intelligent woman with a true passion for public health. I am proud to say I was a mentor. She worked full-time, had 2 children and earned her Doctorate in Public Health. She had another childContinue reading “A truly brave woman”

We are so glad we attended. I think there were about 2000 in attendance but I have not seen anything official. Many of the attendees were on the sides where it was shady. The stage and acoustics were great and there were 2 screens for those in the back and sides to see the stageContinue reading “Unite for Veterans Rally”