Friday, August 29, 2003

Bush is a Four Letter Word

Jared the Evil Queen has put it all together and proven indisputably that our president is not the man to lead a country such as this.  Her proof appears here.  Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.  Women, too, I guess.  We need all the help we can get.

Eaten Alive but Feeling Okay About It For the Time Being

I’m getting nibbles.  It’s not that I’m trying to sell anything or looking for work or to hire somebody.  These are actual nibbles.  And since I dont’ do the icthycide thing, you know it’s not my rod and reel that are getting the attention - not even euphemistically.  What I have, rather, is a series of three little welts on the back of my right hand.  Wednesday morning it was one at the base of my thumb.  Thursday I awoke to find a new one a bit below the knuckle of my index finger.  And now today, it’s yet another one down on the side of the ball of my palm. 

(Aside, to those who have negative opinions on housepets: One thing I’m pretty certain of is that these didn’t come from a parasite that lives on our dog or cat.  The dog gets treated monthly and is very clean.  And I actually bathed the cat last night since she’s a fat lazy slob, and I saw absolutely no flea dirt or that sort of distastefulness.  Whatever it is, it ain’t the pets.)

All three are in a tidy straight line.  I’d think it was one bite, travelling around - but as I type up these notes (which I wrote on the bus) I see all three making a bug-bite exclamation point.  And they itch.  Or, more accurately, each of the itched when I discovered it.  In my wisdom and restraint I have attacked my itchy bites until I de-epidermized them.  Benefit: less itchy.  Drawback: a tad gruesome.  It amazes me that all the bites are in the same area, in a line, since I slept in different positions and totally under the covers.  But nature’s majesty knows no bounds, neither in the loftiest peak nor the smallest bloodsucking parasite.  Oops - lost my equanimity. 

Regaining equanimity: Tomorrow Kel and I return to Philo for two days and nights of quiet, clarity and relaxation, thanks to gracious and generous friends with a lovely warm cabin on 20 unfenced acres.  We’ll walk among the redwoods, visit the banks of the Navarro river; we’ll eat wholesome food and we’ll breathe air that the trees have just exhaled.  The dog will accompany us, which gives me great satisfaction - such a good dog deserves a hillside to romp on, off leash and laughing as dogs indeed do laugh. 

(Noted in my notebook: The bus just unexpectedly turned up Larkin at the Century Theater-and-25-cent-video-arcade (("Military: No Cover! Coming Soon: Summer Cummings!)) - something has apparently caught fire on O’Farrell and it’s caused us to make a route change due to the hook-n-ladders and pumpers in the middle of the street.  Hmm.  Those sound like, respectively, the performers and clientele of the Century.)

It’s been a bit of a grind of a week, as perhaps my posts suggest.  Lots of heavy stuff, long nights, full days.  I’m not complaining, but I’m ready to rejuvenate - but I still have one more full day to endure and I need that powerburst to lift me over this last set of hurdles.  My dream last night (in which I was criticized harshly for having stained and discolored teeth) for some reason still bothers me; I un-set my alarm somehow and woke up late, leaving me no time to do my yoga and clear my mind.  So instead I will recall a few nice things people have said to me in the past week or three:

* You’re such a nice deviation. (From the office manager of a non-profit where I volunteer, who stopped by to drop off some work for me to do.)

* You look fly today.  (From a coworker who is youthful and stylish.)

* We owe you so much - here, have some chocolate.  Really, have more.  (From boss and co-worker in a planning and strategy meeting.)

* 33 (from a stranger-cum-new friend who asked my age and was told to guess first.)

* You’re the first one who’s really listened to me.  I appreciate that.  (From a friend facing a big decision and getting a lot of advice that wasn’t too helpful.)

* You’re a life-saver!  (Accompanying a Starbunks gift certificate, given to me by the ED of a program we fund for doing my job, which is helping people fill out forms correctly so I don’t have to call them later and make them do it again.)

* Hmmm.  Nice apples.  (Context omitted due to modesty.)

That feels better.  I’ll see you all next week, and for all of you Aussie tennis players, Happy Laver Day.

Thursday, August 28, 2003

Moore or Less

For those of you who have been distracted by the crush of multifarous realities, Alabama state supreme court’s Chief Justice the hon. Roy Moore has a 2.5 ton statement to make.  Two years or so ago he caused to have erected a privately donated monument to the ten commandments in the rotunda of the State Supreme Court building.  His rationale was to recognize and pay homage to the basic judeo-christian moral framework upon which our society today has been crafted, as further described here.  Moore may be speaking for many Alabamians - he was popularly elected in a landslide, having already achieved some renown for his display of a carved wooden “ten commandments” plaque in his courtroom in a lower court.  The rotunda monument, however, was immediately criticized by liberals and libertarians, and the ACLU brought suit in federal court to have it removed.  That suit was ultimately successful and the 11th circuit USDC ordered the monument removed.  Judge Moore was suspended by the Alabama Board of Judicial Inquiry on August 25 for refusing to comply with that order.  He and his supporters are engaged in ongoing demonstrations, even as the monument was removed yesterday from the courthouse rotunda.

My extended rant on this subject continues below.