Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids. Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy. Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Victory
The Sad Sack Slapjacks won this past weekend, bumping me up to 1-1 on the year. Final tally: 134.50 to 115.40
Monday, September 17, 2012
That was a heck of a storm
Our power just came back on. I had walked the kids home from school, not realizing there was a storm coming until it was too late. I hustled those kids hard and we made it home in record time, literally setting foot on the front porch just as the wind picked up enough to blow down a nearby tree limb and dump rain and hail in great gushes. The power was out within a minute or two of that, then our street flooded and so did Oklahoma, which is still a lake around Whitnall Ave. Jeez.
re: Smiley - he was fine. took a nap actually
150 years on
Today is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, where more than 2100 Union soldiers lost their lives ending Lee's invasion of Maryland. It was more or less a tactical draw (though Lee fled the field) largely because McClellan failed to commit a full 3rd of his forces and would not pursue a retreating enemy (costing him his job). However, it was and remains a significant strategic victory for the Union, allowing Lincoln the means to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and preventing England and France from recognizing the Confederacy. To those who lost their lives on that day near Sharpsburg, thank you. RIP.
Bad News at Work
Crappy news at part-time job today. I'm taking a different shift at FT job, the better to secure long-term employment (I hope). I submitted a new availability schedule at PT, but the GM rejected it out of hand, saying my value to the store was in working X and Y hours and that's that. Well, actually she said a lot of nice things too, but the crux of it is I'm SOL and will be reduced to 'seasonal'. Somehow, by attempting to better myself I've wound up MINUS an income. Grand. Just f'ing grand.
Well, if history holds I'll sleep in the AM til noon or 1, live out my day, crash for an hour in primetime and then head into work. But that was then. Now? Now I have grey hair where I didn't know grey hair could grow. So I'm unsure how to proceed yet.
Benghazi - My Thoughts
The Libyan government, responding to the White House's claim that the embassy attack was merely a protest against an anti-Muslim film, not against a planned assault against the U.S. says Obama's stance is QUOTE 'completely unfounded and preposterous'.
They state that is was an Al-Qaeda attack, *NOT* a protest. Intelligence reports from the region warned of the likelihood of an attack days before it happened, the 'protesters' were armed with RPG's, U.S. uniforms, and detailed info about the location of American safe houses, and it occurred on 9/11. Meanwhile, a coordinated assault on a NATO base where Prince Harry is stationed happened on the same day.
Quit the B.S, and have your lapdogs at CNN drop the smokescreen. We got stung, and stung badly, because the Obama policy of disengagement has emboldened what was once an enemy reduced to hiding in the shadows. PERIOD.
And please, someone with a respect for the Constitution stop the full court press against this filmmaker. His work didn't inspire violence, *a culture of intolerance and bloodshed did that*.
I do not go around murdering people and rioting when Christians are mocked by as*holes like Bill Maher, or when sacrilegious crap like Dan Brown's entire body of work is on the NY Times Bestseller list. But it's the filmmakers fault when these 'protesters' murder and loot in their religion's name?
Pathetic. Hypocritical. And Pathetic.
Smiley impersonates Mr. Monk
Smiley and I went for a good long walk the other night (~ 3 miles) and he chatted non-stop. While he didn't notice anything amiss, an alarming amount of his conversation centers on worry and anxiety.
Some topics he chose to discuss:
What causes a heart attack?
Would you (meaning me, Dad) survive getting shot?
We live on a street that is too busy and has too much traffic. It is unsafe.
[explaining why he would not walk on the park side of the street]The park is spooky at night.
[as we passed people eating dinner at a sidewalk cafe] They shouldn't do that. I would never eat outside. They could be shot!
If you couldn't pay your bills but you still had a job, and we had to move, where would we live?
Why don't we have a panic room in the house? (!!!!)
Sometimes I think maybe someone with a sword will break into the house and kill us. But probably not. The doors are pretty thick.
[when told that if someone with a sword broke in, they'd still have to get past me before he'd have to worry about it] Yeah, you are strong. But I think you would lose if he had a sword.
Why don't we have a panic room? (again)
[when passing across the street from a shop with a flat roof] Do you think if someone was on the roof and they shot at us, they could hit us from here?Even if they did, it would probably not kill us.
[when asked why the heck he's so obsessed with the idea of being shot/shot at, he looked incredulous and said:] 'Cause we live in a bad neighborhood!
[when told that we, in fact, do not live in a bad neighborhood but in a rather safe one, he shrugged] Bad things happen everywhere
People are always dying. I do not want you to die. I am only seven and I do not want to lose my Dad. If you died I would be very upset, but I would plan your funeral. I would have lots and LOTS of candles around your coffin. But I would blow them all out before we left because candles can cause a fire and that would be bad.
I think I will be a good driver when I am older. [by this he means safe; God willing he will be]
[this next quote was actually from a week or two before, at a McDonald's playland] I do not like Ginger playing in that tunnel. Look, the screws [nuts] do not look tight all the way. If Ginger was in that tunnel, and some other kid came in the tunnel, and another kid jumped too much, it could fall and she could be trapped!
When I told him he worries too much and should just concentrate on the here and now, he looked confused.
Smiley: I don't worry too much
Me: You worry all the time.
Smiley: No I don't.
Me: Smiley, you worry so much you don't know what it's like not to worry. If I could take it out of your head, it would feel like a bowling ball was lifted out of your brain.
Sigh. Truly he is my son. :(
Some topics he chose to discuss:
What causes a heart attack?
Would you (meaning me, Dad) survive getting shot?
We live on a street that is too busy and has too much traffic. It is unsafe.
[explaining why he would not walk on the park side of the street]The park is spooky at night.
[as we passed people eating dinner at a sidewalk cafe] They shouldn't do that. I would never eat outside. They could be shot!
If you couldn't pay your bills but you still had a job, and we had to move, where would we live?
Why don't we have a panic room in the house? (!!!!)
Sometimes I think maybe someone with a sword will break into the house and kill us. But probably not. The doors are pretty thick.
[when told that if someone with a sword broke in, they'd still have to get past me before he'd have to worry about it] Yeah, you are strong. But I think you would lose if he had a sword.
Why don't we have a panic room? (again)
[when passing across the street from a shop with a flat roof] Do you think if someone was on the roof and they shot at us, they could hit us from here?Even if they did, it would probably not kill us.
[when asked why the heck he's so obsessed with the idea of being shot/shot at, he looked incredulous and said:] 'Cause we live in a bad neighborhood!
[when told that we, in fact, do not live in a bad neighborhood but in a rather safe one, he shrugged] Bad things happen everywhere
People are always dying. I do not want you to die. I am only seven and I do not want to lose my Dad. If you died I would be very upset, but I would plan your funeral. I would have lots and LOTS of candles around your coffin. But I would blow them all out before we left because candles can cause a fire and that would be bad.
I think I will be a good driver when I am older. [by this he means safe; God willing he will be]
[this next quote was actually from a week or two before, at a McDonald's playland] I do not like Ginger playing in that tunnel. Look, the screws [nuts] do not look tight all the way. If Ginger was in that tunnel, and some other kid came in the tunnel, and another kid jumped too much, it could fall and she could be trapped!
When I told him he worries too much and should just concentrate on the here and now, he looked confused.
Smiley: I don't worry too much
Me: You worry all the time.
Smiley: No I don't.
Me: Smiley, you worry so much you don't know what it's like not to worry. If I could take it out of your head, it would feel like a bowling ball was lifted out of your brain.
Sigh. Truly he is my son. :(
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Quote
"Men always want to *die* for something. For someone. I can see the appeal. You do it once and it's done. No more worrying, not knowing, about tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. I know you all think it sounds brae, but I'll tell you something even braver. To struggle and fight for the ones you love today. And then do it all over again the next day. Every day. For your whole life. It's not as romantic, I admit. But it takes a lot of courage to live for someone, too."
- Victor Lavalle
A Quote from a Friend
We had political saints: respected, honored, inspiring, and [best] of all safely dead and frozen in history. -- Fred Bryan
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