Lazy day

I spent this morning into early afternoon(before I went to work) just lounging around. Actually I watched 4 episodes from season 2 of the x-files. This has always been my favorite and I just felt like lounging in the best way I could think of. I had my wife right by my side and my baby boy yapping most of the way through it. It didn't matter. It's that good. I went to work and on the way heard an excellent piece by Wayne shorter. Tomorrow morning I'm taking out Steph to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Can it get any better? She likes watching x-files with me, and that is indeed an added pleasure and bonus. Tony is Tony and Liam just aced his spelling test. If Norman Rockwell were still alive, he'd paint me a picture man! Sometimes with all the crap that goes on in the world it's nice to just sit and spin.

Post-notes on last entry

My last entry on Katrina was a little rushed and a bit too sappy I think. You see, I sat down and spent about an hour writing an emotional and not so political entry. When I went to save it, it disappeared. I was so ticked. I was actually drained from writing it, and instead of taking a break, I decided to write on. That is why I feel it was rushed. The original piece was more on an emotional standpoint rather than a "what should we do?" piece.
If anyone reads it besides my few readers, take it with a grain of salt. I still refuse to be political. I would never stop writing.

A Katrina thought and idea

I just got done viewing the photographic slide show off of MSNBC. Normally I enjoy these. Not today. These pictures put a sick feeling in the pit of my gut. These poor, frustrated people. I cannot begin to imagine what they must be going through. I can only feel their frustration through the lens of a photo-journalist. The devastation is so widespread along the Gulf Coast. The main area in New Orleans, but it is everywhere else in that region as well. It is overshadowed due to media sensationalism.
Everyone is pointing fingers. Normally, I am very opiniated and would be very happy to point it straight to the top. I can't. The blame lies with nature. No one in their wildest imagination could have predicted this devastation on scale. Recovery is not immediate. It takes time.
I have an idea on this subject of recovery for these so-called refugees. Imagine that...America now has refugees. WE NEED TO HELP. Not with one-time donations, or telethons...(These are wonderful and show the true heart of the nation, but we must do more).
I think the Nation should raise taxes. I wouldn't mind if $1 came out of my check every week to go straight to a recovery effort of rebuilding land and lives. Don't stop there, how about an added 5% onto sales tax to go directly to the federal Government to disperse how they see fit. I know this sounds kooky but I believe that we are a strong and moral people. I put my faith in this notion. If anyone complains that it's not their responsibility, they need a swift boot in the ass, and then a personal escort out of this great nation. it's nice to sit back and breathe a sigh of relief that it didn't happen to me, or "our gov't will handle it". We need to help out our brothers and sisters. We need to show the world that this nation is a nation of spirit, hope and dedication to all who reside.

Jokes have consequences

Liam and I have had a little ritual of putting things in each others shoes. Normally this is very funny to the giver and the receiver. Not quite so this morning. I came home from work this morning and saw his sneaks' laying by the door. I then went to the table and saw one of his many rubber frogs. Even at that wee hour my synapses were firing. AHAH! I grabbed the frog and crammed it all the way up into the toes of his shoes, so he wouldn't see it while putting it on. This game has become very serious and very tactical. I went up to bed smiling, while at the same time thinking, "I bet he'll be running late for the bus and can't get the frog out". NAH, I didn't cram it that far up. I was right on course.
It seems this morning that he was running late. Mom was outside very quietly asking "Oh Liam, please hurry up" through the door, while walking to the bus. My wife speaks so quietly you can even hear her through exterior steel doors. Do you see where I'm heading with this.
Still no sign of Liam. I heard he did emerge from the house somewhat frazzled and crying. The only word steph says she could make out was "DAD". Oh how cute, he misses his dad so much that he is crying. I'd like to end the story there with this cute and cuddly ending, but I must be accurate and honest. It's kind of like in the movies while someone lays dying and they can only utter one word in their last breath. It takes the rest of the film to figure out whodunit. I'll take the shocking ending out of this story. I was the villain.
If this will be turned into a blockbuster, I will add the happy ending. Our busdriver called Steph to let her know that when he got to school he was fine. She gave him some bubblegum and that seemed to do the trick. I have the feeling that this has not quite ended yet. My little guy is smart and swift. I will be on the lookout for things in my shoes before I put them on, and I can guarantee they will not be squishy frogs.

Down from the mountain

Well, we are officially down from the higher elevation. Technically we are still in the mountains, but not quite as high. The move went well. The kitchen is now completed and functional, not to mention beautiful. Liam's bus picks him up right at our driveway, and his bus driver is about as nice as nice can be.
The only frustrating part of this whole adventure was with our cable "provider". And I use this term even more loosely than my last entry about them. I'm not going to go into specifics, but I will say that the term "incompetent Buffoons" came up quite a bit in the last two weeks. I will save the story for a later entry. I can promise y'all this though, it will be a most interesting story.
It's nice to be settled in and getting back to normality(You know I'm using this term about as loosely as my cable "provider"). Steph's enjoying her new kitchen. Liam's enjoying his new street in which to ride his bike and use his new speedometer. Tony just loves attention, although he still has this blank stare when we first moved in, almost as if he relocated to a different planet. What can we expect from a 4-month old. He's still a little angel though. As for me, I'm just enjoying life. What else is there!