Ronaldus Magnus

In 1948 the liberal historian Richard Hoftsadter wrote in that Franklin Roosevelt's passing "left American liberalism demoralized and all but helpless." Conservatives mourn the passing of Ronald Wilson Reagan, but will never be demoralized and helpless because they have taken to heart the message Reagan always wanted to be his legacy, never more poignantly stated than in his last public message in 1994: America's best days are ahead.

Ronald Wilson Reagan's life gave truth to the platitude that just one person - possessed with vision, integrity, the courage of his convictions and an unshakeable sense of optimism - really can change the world.

Happy birthday, Ronald Reagan. Rest in Peace.

My son IS named after Ronaldus Magnus). Heather and I gave Gabriel Reagan Denis his name in honor of Ronald Reagan's humility, compassion and faithful ideals, something we endeavor to raise our children to embrace in their lives.

Heather called her Dad to see if the packet of pictures and other things we sent arrived. We have been taking pictures of Gabriel and printing them, and saving them to surprise our parents. The CD that contains Gabriel’s birth announcement had arrived, so Heather asked him to look it over to ensure that it works correctly. The word we got back a bit later is that it did. Papa J. planned to cover the kitchen counter with pictures of their new grandson and turn out the lights so that when Nana J. got home, she would have a surprise. Heather's parents haven’t met their grandson yet. Admittedly, I wish that Gabriel’s grandparents lived closer but since they don’t, I want to make it easy for them to see their grandson growing, in whatever means are available to them, and me.

My prediction for the Superbowl? The majority opinion is favoring the Patriots. I don’t like to tag along with popular opinion, but my feeling is, in this case, that the crowd is correct. The NFC is a weak conference compared to the AFC, and few question that. With that in mind, the Eagles are one of the best NFC teams in recent years. Put them up against the AFC's powerhouse Patriots, and I see the Eagles a little flat. Donovan McKnobJob is a weenie and he isn’t going to bear the pressure, with at least one interception, probably two. The Eagles will not fall on their faces, theoretically, though the Patriot defense will sack McNabb one time too many and his self-confidence will wither. The Superbowl will not be a blowout, and the Patriots will win the game by 3 points, as they have done in their last two bowl games, world champions winning by a field goal . That is my prediction.