Facebook - May 1st thru the 7th

MAY 1ST

Not to decide is to decide.

I'm 12 ft into digging a 2ft deep/30 foot long drainage trench w/ no shade in sight. Anyone want to come over and help? For gosh sake's I'm a fat guy - I'll have a heart attack any second

"When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." - C.S. Lewis

The [BP] oil spill in the Gulf is horrendous, & the enviornment will suffer needlessly. But to those who claim this is *the* reason to abandon drilling: unless you live w/out a car, plastics, lawn mower, etc - YOU NEED OIL. We can continue to delude ourselves that letting other countries pump oil for us is somehow saving Mother Earth (?!), but its not. Plus all the economic & security reasons . . .

Just finished watching "Victory of the Daleks", ep. 3 of this season of Dr. Who. It features Winston Churchill, a devilish Dalek plan, and Spitfires (!) in a dogfight around the moon LOL. Grand. Good to see the new team jettison Davie's obsession w/ stamping out the Dalek race; this ep. made it clear the Daleks are back & here to stay.

Rented a movie but Lisa's already asleep & I'm pooped from digging. I might call it a night. Got a lot done in the yard (but not everything) the kids went to Home Depot for the monthly project w/ Grandma J, Lu went to a swim party, & we set up the sandbox & pool. Tonight Smiley's the only kid home. We've enjoyed the heck out of our 'quality' time w/ him. Life is good. It'd be better with $, but it's good all the same.

MAY 2ND

Helen Wagner, the actress who's played Nancy Huges on 'As the World Turns' since 1956! has passed away. She was 91. RIP.

I'm trying hard not to be the snarky pre-2009 Danny, but the populace isn't making it easy. Before work I waited in a 7 person line at a convenience store. Along comes an elderly woman, who cut in front of 4 of us with her Hoveround. She shot us a glare and *announced* that she is elderly & hence will assume that spot. Hey, lady, why does it matter to you how long you wait in line? You've already got a seat.

MAY 3RD

Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them. - Reagan

‎"What people say behind your back is your standing in the community." - Edgar Watson Howe

Unions in Greece are threatening to strike rather than agree to curtail gov't spending. BTW, I skimmed an article in yesterday's NYT claiming that part of the problem is that Greek citizens hide much of their income from the tax man, presumably leading to a short change of gov't funds. Of course, if taxes were fair there would be less societal acceptance of the cheating. Or not.

On this day in 1791 Poland established Europe's first national constitution - only the second such document in the world (after our own). Konstytucja Trzeciego Maja

LuLu just called from school asking for her inhaler. I know people from my school days are rolling their eyes and remembering me as a hypocondriac (sic), but things change. I've missed two days of work in 12 yrs, & while I'll keep the kids home to go see a concert or a ballgame, I'll be damned if they'll stay home for any illness that isn't fatal. But her asthma/allergies are becoming an issue . .BTW, her inhaler was in her backpack, right where I"d put it. She just hadn't seen me put it there.

‎"This'll be OK. I'll just do the thresome tonight, then break up with her. Bit ungentlemanly that, but then it's a threesome. Not exactly Romeo & Juliet, innit?"

The [Modjeska) youth theatre group has folded. YaYa audtioned for them a few years ago, and we have fond memories of several of their productions. Ugh. Dangit.

MAY 4TH

This morning's [tongue in cheek] status update from a FB friend & local cop: "I met a 14-year-old girl on the Internet. She was clever, funny, flirty and sexy, so I suggested we meet up. She turned out to be an undercover detective. How cool is that at her age?!"

lU had trouble breathing when she woke up & so they were late for school. The secretary gave them detention when I dropped them off, which set YaYa off in tears. Whatever. My kids have served more detention than all the members of the Breakfast Club put together. I consider it almost a badge of honor at that school - if you avoid it altogether you are,IMO, a meek and servile tool of the Man.

I'm done w/ the ditch for today, or more precisely the 10 ft part of it that runs in the narrow gap between my shed & the neighbors fence. Good news there - the neighbor came out and said his fence was encroaching on my lot by 14", and asked me to help him move it this weekend. So, if I don't finish by then, I'll have a lot more elbow rm to dig .

P--s on you AI for running overtime AGAIN and cutting off the end of Glee. Buy a g'damn watch already.

RIP Ernie Harwell

MAY 5TH

You know how I know Glee is a great show? Because every Wednesday morning I wake up to take the kids to school, think of the show I watched 12 hrs before, and break into a huge grin.

Cinco De Mayo is so different in this neighborhood. Back on Mitchell Street it was parties & fireworks & guys stalling traffic by driving around w/ huge Mexican flags hanging out of their cars and leaning on their horns. Here, there's not a whisper. I much prefer it, of course, but we did do one half-a*s but well intentioned nod to the event: the family enjoyed the take home Taco buffet from Taco Bell. BTW, if you think "going to Taco Bell had nothing to do with Cinco De Mayo", nuh-uh. Lisa pimped the idea all day as a cheap way to feed the family and discuss the holiday, and I finally caved. Not so cheap either, when feeding 6 people.

MAY 6TH

*spoilers* I finally got around to watching this weeks Lost. THREE principal characters killed off in a single episode - what other show would have the ba**s to do that? The death of the Kwon's was moving, as was Jack's last speech with Locke in the hosp.It was good to see Sayid shake off the 'fugue' - and wonderful to hear Jack named, however unofficially, as Jacob's successor. Wow.

Grim Reaper by Steve Alten will be released 10-10-10 *AND* will feature Bridgett, a friend of mine, as a character (two characters, actually) Leigh Nelson and Bridgett Deem. Her family Doug, Parker, and Autumn will be characters as well. You can pre-order copies now from Barnes and Noble!

MAY 7TH

Borders enters the E-Reader fray with the Kobo, priced $90 less than B&N's Nook.

[on the retirement of local newscaster Mike Miller] Danny Trivia: In 2005 I was late for a flight to DC and hurried down the aisle of a packed plane. I whacked Miller in the head with my carry-on as I passed him. He was clearly annoyed. Later when he saw me at an invite only GOP dinner he did an actual, classic double-take. That was the first and last time I've seen that action outside of a cartoon.

Where war and woe and wonder/Have been known frequently/And by turns bliss and despair/Have changed places suddenly