HOW SAD

I just got home from work and got the news. How sad that Heath Ledger was found dead today.

Cold weather

I'm just trying to stay warm! I haven't been feeling the best the last couple of days and this cold weather isn't helping. At least it's Friday!

Assassination Vacation

I'm kind of a history buff. I love vacations that have a little bit of history thrown into the relaxation. Not every vacation, but it's nice every once in a while to visit a historic place or museum. Daryl's eyes rolled when I suggested that we should try to make it a point to visit all the presidential libraries. I'm not like Sarah Vowell, fixated on the assassinations of the presidents, but I do find some of the history she talks about fasinating, espescally when odd things happen. The truth is almost always more interesting than fiction.

One of the places that I have to get to is Washington DC. My friend Jeff had suggested that we go next summer. I would like to go, but I feel it would be more enjoyable for me if we would wait until the current occupant of the oval offices is back in Texas. I really wouldn't want to visit the White House unless I could protest outside of it against him.

Sarah brings up in the book that she is sort of amazed with the fact that no one has tried to assassinate President Bush. She and I both agree that it would be a great mistake. What a big mistake it would be to have him turn into a martyr. I think my Dad put it best as to why someone hasn't made that leap to harm him. " Even crazy people know that it would be a mistake to have Dick Cheney as president!" How true, things could always be worse.

On to my next Book:

3 of a kind

Every day I’m greeted by all the animals when I get home. It’s kind of cute to have them all come over in their own way and welcome me home. Sometimes Daryl half-jokingly rants about how HE’S the one who feeds them and cleans up after them and they all love me best. I didn’t know we were competing, but I’m happy because apparently I’m winning!

All the pets have their own rituals. Baby Kitty is a lap cat. She likes to be on you or next to you most of the time. She loves people and rarely ever hides when guest come over. She’s great around children too. She is our monitor when the water bowl is getting low. If it’s half full, or half empty, depending how you look at it, she lets us know by sitting in front of it until we fill it up to the top. I guess she is the glass is half empty type of cat? One time Daryl had this idea that he was going to train her to use the toilet. He found some crazy web site on the internet that gave instructions as to how to train the cat. The theory is that you move the litter box every few days a little closer to the toilet and then, eventually you place it on the toilet seat. After the cat gets use to using the box on the toilet, you remove the box. Supposably, the cat will use the toilet after that. I thought the whole idea was just gross. After all, who wants to go to use the toilet after the cat? And you just know they won’t flush! The whole thing came to a tragic end when we went on vacation. He was midway in the training process, the box was setting beside the toilet and she hadn’t had a problem with the box moving every other day. Sometime during our trip the water line on the back of the toilet broke. It filled up the litter box with water. Poor Baby Kitty, she was traumatized by the whole incident. She was waiting by the front door when we got home and started meowing at us to let us know what kind of hell she had been through. It took about two weeks to get her going again in the litter box, instead of squatting in one of the house plants.


Cole, our youngest cat, loves to run and play all the time. He is always jumping out from somewhere or hiding under something and grabbing your feet when you walk by. He loves to run at a full sprint from one floor to the next, up and down the stairs. Most often he chooses to do this in the middle of the night. He’s not as friendly when it comes to guests. He tends to hide until they go away. A couple of weeks ago, Cinder and Cole started playing together. They will play for about ten minutes every day. It’s cute watching them, watch the video.

Cinder our dog has really changed since our other dog died last year. She is a lot less hyper than she used to be. She still is a nervous wreck when it’s storming out side, but on a daily bases she has slowed down on her excessive barking. She is a little dog that thinks she’s a pit-bull. If left alone she will go upstairs to the bedroom and look out the windows and bark at everyone and everything that walks down the street. Even if they are 3 block away. It’s annoying! When not barking, her favorite pastime is sleeping. Most dogs get excited when you ask them if they want to go outside or play fetch. Cinder gets excited when you ask if she wants to go to bed. She loves her bed!

It’s kind of nice to have pets around. They always seem happy to have you home. That’s nice.

a couple of books read over the holiday

Most of my Christmas break was spent in bed trying to get over strep throat. I did manage to get a couple of short books read. “A Simple Path” has been sitting on my self for years. The book is about the life and work of Mother Teresa and her mission to serve the poorest of the poor. She embodies what I believe Christianity should be about. A simple message, Love one another as you love yourself.

From the sign on the wall of the children’s home in Calcutta:

ANYWAY

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered,

LOVE THEM ANYWAY

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives,

DO GOOD ANYWAY

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies,

SUCCEED ANYWAY

The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow,

DO GOOD ANYWAY

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable,

BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY

What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight,

BUILD ANYWAY

People really need help but may attack you if you help them,

HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth,

GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU’VE GOT ANYWAY



"Into the Wild” is the story of Christopher McCandless who gave away his money and possessions and went off into the wilderness to be by himself. I have always had a fantasy of taking off and leaving my life behind and starting over, creating a new life. My feelings have changed over the years and I am very content at where I am in my life. For one thing, I don’t think I could survive eight hours in the wilderness on my own! Most of these feelings came from the fact that I didn’t face up to who I was and dealing with being gay. I guess in the back of my mind, running away from the problem was easier than dealing with it. I took the daring path of venturing into the wild gay bar. I wouldn't recommend the bar to anyone else, but for me I was able to meet gay people and finally accept who I was. Later I realized that I wasn't hanging out in bars when I was a straight man, why was I hanging out in a bar because I was gay. It was a growing process and a necessary step that I had to take. I'm glad I faced my fears and didn't run away.

IMAX CLOSING

Will the closing of the IMAX even be missed in Cedar Rapids? I may have been at the IMAX a total of 7 times in the passed 7 years. I never ever seemed to be in the right spot in that theater. The regular box office films really didn't work for me. Everyone was just too big for my tastes. I felt like I was missing something because I found myself focusing on something in the background.

I'm sure that it would have been more successful in cedar rapids if it has some kind of bar attached to it. We're big on buffets too. As long as it's not too expensive. All they would have had to do was give you a free $5 slot play at any of the Casinos with every ticket and I bet they would have been filled to capacity every night!

Caucus tonight

Tonight two 43 year old caucus virgins will head to our precinct spots. We are anxious to vote for the candidates we would like to see as the next president of the United States! I’m caucusing for Obama and Daryl is backing Hillary.

My top issues:

. Ending the war in Iraq and mending the foreign policy blunders of the Bush years.
· Universal health care - There is no excuse that we don't have everyone covered.
· Environmental issues/ conservation, less dependence on oil.
· Gay, lesbian and Transgender rights.
· The Economy - Tax fairness, protecting the middle class.
· Education improvements and making it affordable for all.










Obama in Cedar Rapids 1-2-o7

The Clinton's in Cedar Rapids. 7-4-07