Talent Alert!!! My son Fred and his band!!!!!

This is my son Fred's band, live at the Middle East!  This is an original that he wrote.  The band is fantastic (I know, biased, biased) and they put on an awesome show!  They have some of the best fans ever; they follow the band and are really supportive.  Fred is the singer; he is also a songwriter and plays electric and acoustic guitar.

Come on out to a show; it's always a treat to see his middle-aged fans (me and his dad) out past 11:30 pm.

Go Fred!  You guys are amazing!!!!

Epic Rain Delay Theatre - Here's How You Handle Boredom

Speaking of being able to handle boredom...check this rain delay out!  Awesome!

Boredom in da House!!!

I haven't been able to concentrate on politics much this week because it is school vacation week...that special time when parents' lives grind to a halt in an intensive week-long quest to keep their offspring from muttering the words, "I'm bored."

Since when is boredom so bad?  It's really a valuable skill, being able to handle boredom as an adult.  Hey, a lot of life is boring: work is often boring, marriage can having boring times, and those little moments that magazines wwere created to combat are especially boring.  Kids today, with their in-car DVD's, their brick-breaker games and ipods, their hand-held so-and-so's and their cell phones - can't understand or handle boredom at all.  I am great at handling boredom because I was raised in the "go outside and play; I'll see you at dinner" era.  Thank you Lord for that.

My son wants a television in his bedroom, and he is onl 11.  Now, my older sons referred to their bedrooms as the "jail cells" because there was noting fun to do there.  Why would I put fun things there, when that is where they were sent to be punished?  My 11 year old has almost given up, almost; he sees it's futile.  (Not only can I handle boredom, but I'm pretty good at sticking to my guns, too.  :-)

Back to politics soon, unless I find it boring.

Dog Poops on Field During Naturals Game

This is why I love dogs. And what "Mona," this beagle mix, leaves on the field reminds me of the Yankees.

Worldwide Devastation - Picture Al Queda with a Nuclear Warhead

Imagine, if you will... you are at work, and everyone suddenly gathers around the television in the conference room.  You grab your coffee and head in to join them, disturbed by the piercing warning sound coming from the television.  An anchor person comes on - the same anchor person who just yesterday was laughing about the weather - and in a tearful voice says, "We are about to be the victims of a nuclear attack, launched by ________.  We are launching a missile in a counterstrike, but the world is about to change forever. It is every man, woman and child for themselves.  God bless and keep you all...oh my God; it's really happening." 

The President is now taking on nuclear war, and I applaud him for this.  Too often his most ardent opponents are so blinded by this weird combination of distrust, fear, and often hate, that they cannot mention any single thing this man does right.  Make no mistake - I am not a fan, and I sincerely hope he is voted out come next Presidential election. I do, however, applaud his tackling nuclear arms and trying to get a substantive treaty on the table.  He has been criticized by conservative radio for the Adminisration's recent wording - in effect putting conditions on when we would - or more to the point, would NOT - strike back - and this is frightening to many.  They see him as too soft, too ready to apologize, too ready to back down first, in trust and a fatal naivete.  I agree.

But the President is putting a long-overdue spotlight on nuclear arms, in a summit here at home with 46 participating countries.  (Iran and North Korea - not there. Surprise! ) Although it is quite possible that nothing substantive will happen, this is meant to highlight the President's concern over loose nuclear material and the devastation to the world if it gets into the hands of terrorists.

Study the picture above for a moment.  Is anything that the President does to spotlight the dangers of , say, Al Queda, getting their hands on nuclar material, a waste of time?  I think not, and I support this summit, even if it is a baby step.

Tiger Returns to Golf

So, Tiger comes back and gets a warm reception from the crowd.  I have really divided feelings about that; on the one hand, the guy is a serial philanderer and jeopardized his whole family.  Is that my business?  No, but he kind of made it my business by being a public figure, and especially a public figure that openly touts family values.  On he other hand - wow, it was brave to come back.  I can only imagine how it felt walking to that first tee - in fact ONLY Tiger, with his amazing focus and mental "compartmentalizing" could have done that.  And then to have the best opening round of his Masters career... it must have felt like Heaven getting back on the course.

So - do I respect him?  No.  Do I respect what he's been able to do with a golf club and an open fareway or a putting green?  Yes.  And how do I feel about the women who are making money by selling the stories of their affairs with Tiger?  Well, it's a family blog so I won't say.  But two things do remain true: hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and if you have taken money for stripping or sex, it's probably a good bet that a family and their survival won't drag on your conscience too much.

Alert: a Supreme Court Justice is retiring, so this will be a good bellweather as to how liberal Obama will continue to be - will he pick someone very far left, or go for a moderate?  Judging by what he did with healthcare, I'd say far-left is a safe bet.  Also: I am reading John Adams, and it is very interesting when it is juxtaposed against our current government and Congress.  John Adams warned early and often about one individual having too much power.

Happy week-end!  We sold our house in 2 days, so things are looking bright!

Easter, Tattooed

Easter. Promises kept, scriptures fulfilled, and a faith truly begun, as it's young followers realized the truth - Jesus was, in fact, God's son.

There are many images of Easter, but here is mine for 2010.  I was in CVS with all the other moms, looking a the Easer baskets - the ones that are pre-made and shrink-wrapped (and always kind of sorry-looking) and also the rows of baskets, empty and waiting to be filled with colored straw, chocolate, and candy.

I am in the bittersweet phase of Easter baskets - no one believes in the big bunny anymore, but I can't give up the tradition.  So, as I stood in the aisle with the other moms, I noticed a young guy, about 19 or 20, staring at the bagged candy.  He was pale and thin, and covered with tattoos, but no parent alive could have been more intent on selecting the right candy to go in the small basket he held in one hand.  It was beautiful, this young father determined to make the right choice.  That, for me, was Easter.  Showing love any way we can, and to the best of our ability.  God bless him.

Happy Easter!

Moving ain't easy...

Moving is one of THE most stressful things in life, behind only death, divorce, and the new healthcare plan.  We are moving soon (if all the million seperate pieces of two deals continue to fit together just right), and my hands are raw from cleaning, my mind is weak and tired from making decisions, and my cholesterol is sky-rocketing from all the take-out we are eating - so that we don't mess the spotless kitchen up.

When you are moving, you need to make the house look as if no one actually resides there.  When you eat something, you must immediately wash your dish, or throw it away.  When you are undressing at night, you must not only toss your clothes in the hamper...they must also land there.  Halfway isn't good enough anymore.

You have to always worry about curb appeal, so no junk left on the porch anymore; I have seriously flipped out over a forgotten water bottle innocently left on our porch.  "Someone might see this!" I shrieked, to a bunch of surprised eleven year olds who were playing basketball (and dirtying up the street with their scuffmarks, no doubt).  My husband heard a half-hour lecture on the woes of my world when he lost his mind and put his briefcase by the door instead of jamming it in a closet the way I showed him to do.

And, the less tangible things  Soon, the walls will be bare, the windows without drapes, and just hooks and nails will remain; along with all the memories you have made here.

Change is good; right?  Right?

How?

Nancy Pelosi is being fawned over by mainstream media - I am thinking specifically of Diane Sawyer interview.  Is this how low we've sunk in our search for inspiring Americans?  The "walk through the peasants" by Pelosi was a bit much on bill passage day; it's big, and a game-changer for sure, but civil rights it ain't.

How has this happened?  President Obama was prepared to drop healthcare after the Scott Brown victory, until Pelosi urged him on.  A bill no one has read fully, rammed through for people who don't want it, spear-headed by a woman whose approval rating is now just slightly higher than unemployment.

Come on sweet November - the people will have their say.  I hope people never skip a trip to the polls again - this is what we get when we stay home; a country we don't recognize.  As VP Joe Biden would say to Americans:  "It's F---in' nuts!"

Back with a Healthcare Grudge

Hello!!

After launching my fledgling blog, I took som time off following the death of my beloved grandmother.  I spoke at her memorial, laughed and cried with family and friends, and reflected about this whole crazy life, as a death makes you do.  And I didn't want to communicate, but instead felt like it was a time to pull back.  Sometimes a good blogger works not on quantity of posts, I believe, but quality of posts, and makes sure that they do indeed have something relevant or interesting to say.

That said...what the heck s going on with healthcare?  This country will never truly be the same if this bill is rammed through.  Why is the President willing to be just a one-term President in order to see this through?  What is in this bill?

Justifying healthcare by saying that the "Cornhusker Kickback" and other shady deals ae no longer in the bill shows you just want a bad/dangerous bill this is.  The insurance industry may never come back if this happens.  And how many people does this industry employ?

Call, call, call your representatives, or drop an email.  At this point I think that all of them are crazy - at least the ones who support this bill.  Dennis Kuchinich - what are you doing?  The President used the office (as many have done) to bamboozle you and your wife, who is now going to try to make the world vegan in a pwer-teaming with Michelle Obama.  Lordy.

Rahm May Know Best

Interesting reports about friction between Rahm Emanuel and the Prez - apparently, Rahm is growing frustrated with Obama's resistance to move more to the right (at least a little) on certain issues, and also his insistence on the healthcare passage here in the infancy (is it toddlerhood, yet?) of his first term.

This has gained enough traction n some major press outlets (Washington Post, for example) that it is starting to be a distraction for the White House.  I have to give Emanuel kudos for trying to get through to the Prez - he sees the disaster in the making if Obama does not right his ship and listen to the will of the people and focus on jobs.  Also a tireless worker, he apparently has the gifts of foresight and is looking out for the President, altough the President probably doesn't see it as such.

You have to keep the peace at home, even - and especially - if home is the White House.  Listen to Rahm, Mr. President - or are you that far gone inside the hubris-filled healthcare bubble that you have created?  I hope not.