It Takes a Graveyard to Raise a Child

My love for ghosts goes all the way back to when I began reading funny books during the sixties. The Harvey Comics title, Casper was one of my favorites. I have a 1972 Casper and Nightmare (Nightmare is the galloping ghost) in my comic collection today. I have always thought it would be cool to hang out with ghosts, and have fading and haunting as tools in my skill set. 

So- when I found out that Gaiman had written a book about a child who is raised by ghosts, I put it on my "gotta have it" list.

The Graveyard Book is a fun, surprising, and sometimes creepy story about a boy who manages, as a toddler, to escape from a murderer that kills the rest of his family. The small boy finds his way to a graveyard and is rescued by two adoptive ghost parents, the Owens, and a guardian named Silas. The Owens are a sweet and loving couple who were never able to have children during their lives. Silas is neither living or dead, and Gaiman never reveals more than that about him.

The boy, Nobody "Bod" Owens has a wonderful childhood filled with adventure, and receives his boyhood lessons from the Residents of the graveyard. He learns his letters and numbers by doing rubbings on the headstones with paper and crayons that Silas provides for him.

He of course, eventually seeks out the person who killed his family, the man Jack, and the reason for the murders is revealed. Gaiman gave the story a sweet and very real ending. Bod does what all children do when they grow up, and leaves home.

The Graveyard Book is well deserving of the 2009 Newbery Medal Award and will be loved by young readers and adults for many years to come.

Thank you for the gift of this book, Michael, I really love it!

We Were Supposed to Make the World a Better Place

Michael was able to score on two tickets for opening night of Watchmen last Friday. We had been looking forward to this movie (and dinner afterward in celebration of Michael's birthday) for months, so we were very excited about those two little tickets. 

I have to say, I went into the theater not expecting to love it. I knew the movie was two hours and forty-three minutes long, and the couple of reviews I had read online that week were not the best. The last comic book based film I had watched, The Spirit, had been a total buzz-kill, so I really kept the bar low on my expectations.

However- I did love it.

I never once looked at my watch. The film was a wonderful ride, and I even had to close my eyes a few times. There were a couple of uncomfortable scenes with violence against female characters (and a Munchkin) that were hard to watch, but the creators did keep the film true to the graphic novel. There have been a few scenes in my life that have been hard to watch, but there it is.

The characters were fun and interesting. I greatly enjoyed Rorshcach, Dan, Laurie, The Comedian, and Dr. Manhattan with his wonderful stimulus package. Even Adrian and his genetically engineered lynx, Bubastis, were very cool. The special effects were well done and I enjoyed reliving moments from the first twenty-five years of my life. It was good to see the Twin Towers in the NYC skyline again, and to remember that there was a time before they were removed from that skyline.

I will definitely be looking for this one to be released on DVD, as I know I'll be wanting to watch it again...and again. Watchmen is clearly one of those movies that you could see a dozen times, and pick up on something new each time through.

I have also seen Watchmen: Motion Comic DVD as well, and unless you're collecting Watchmen memorabilia, skip it. The DVD does a great job at bringing the comic panels to life, but the narration kills it. I did fall asleep during this one.

Oh yeah- Michael and I had our celebration dinner at the Olive Garden after the movie. We filled ourselves with Zuppa Toscana, salad, breadsticks, and wine. Happy Birthday, Michael!

 

Zombies and Brains

The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Warning for today, and forecasted another foot of snow for our area. 

Another foot of snow.

What better way to spend a stormy Sunday than reading a zombie book and watching four hours of 24 on dvd?

Thanks for the dvd, Neal.

"Zombie Haiku" was a birthday gift from Verge, and just as the title implies, it is a poetry journal written by a zombie, during his final days, in haiku format.

It's great having friends who are English teachers. They come up with the coolest books.

The "zombie" in this book records his journey from living as an average guy to being one of the flesh-hungry, smelly, decomposing undead. He finds "food" in his old neighborhood, a nursing home, a farmhouse, a mall, and finally an airport. It's in the airport that another guy, while running from the zombies, remembers the "head you're dead" rule and obtains the journal. 

Why are the farmhouses with cornfields always such a zombie magnet? 

Seriously?

One of my favorite entries in the book:

"The flies on my neck

are starting to irritate

the other dead guy"

The best part of this story- 

wait for it- 

is that the author, Ryan Mecum, is a youth pastor at a Presbyterian church in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Nicely done, Ryan.

Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!

New York City is filled with geeks and dogs this weekend. The Jacob Javitz Center has been host to the New York Comic Con, and the Westminster Dog Show is going into Madison Square Garden on Monday and Tuesday. Half of the lobby of our hotel was filled today with dogs, pet carriers and women in mink coats, and the other half was filled with guys carrying swords, comic books, and racks of Mountain Dew.

Quite a sight indeed.

When I arrived in the city this morning, the geek squad was already out in huge numbers (some in costume, all with an empty messenger bag on their shoulder) and headed down to the waterfront. There was no need to ask for directions to the event.

The convention center was filled with more geek stuff than I could absorb in one day, a far cry from the cons I've attended in New England. I did see a couple of familiar faces- Larry, from Larry's Comics, and Ralph, from Jetpack Comics. I met horror artist Basil Gogos and purchased one of his Frankenstein prints for him to sign. Michael introduced me to his friend Lee Weeks, a Marvel artist, and I had him sign my copy of Amazing Spider Man #580. 

While I was waiting for my turn to go through a box of bargain-priced toys, a young boy (12 or so) asked me if I was in line to look through the box. "Yes, I am", I replied. "Well", he asked, "Can I look through it with you?" I smiled and shook my head yes. I had the best time looking through that box, as this kid new every name of every action figure in there. Baby geeks are just so darn cute.

In addition to my few purchases, I have much pop culture chum to take back to New Hampshire.

After spending the day at the con, Michael and I went to the Tick Tock Diner (there was a dog in there too) for our Reuben sandwich fix, and took a night time stroll through Times Square. The city has put a set of funky lighted red stairs over the half-price Broadway ticket booth there, and we just had to go check them out. 

I think they're very cool and a nice addition to Times Square.

I'm sitting in my room on the 29th floor of the New Yorker Hotel. Directly outside my window is the Empire State Building. I can see planes flying by, and hear the horns of a million and one yellow taxis in the streets bellow. Manhattan is so very beautiful and busy at night- maybe I'll go back out later tonight and find some cheesecake. 

You've got to love a city that sells cheesecake and cannoli at 2:00am~ 

Comic Book Day

After finding Amazing Spiderman #583 in my drawer last week, I really wasn't expecting to find any of the Frank Frazetta's Moon Maid up for grabs at my comic book shop yesterday. 

Usually the high-demand titles are pretty thin in number by Thursday.

The wooden bin devoted to the new comics did indeed contain two copies, so I grabbed them both.

Score.

The cover art of this one-shot is just fun geeky goodness. The comic was rolled out with three different covers,  and I was lucky to get Cover A, done by Frazetta, as shown above.

The  story opens with the beautiful maiden, Ciena, strolling along on the moon, Kyra. She quickly runs into trouble, and is rescued by a centaur with a spear wearing some ugly costume jewelry. Once they're out of danger, he shares that he is the son of the Moon God, Orel. He takes her to the Temple of Orel, and then by reading the writings on the wall (literally) she discovers that she has been brought there to be sacrificed. Apparently her blood is the element that is needed to give life to Orel. 

Anyway, a  priestess called Lyanna, accompanied by a gang of bad-ass flying monkeys, show up to kick some centaur butt and save Ciena from the blood letting. 

This is exactly why I love flying monkeys.

The final panel of the comic reads, "The Equinox has come....and the rebirth has begun." 

There are only 56 days until the Vernal Equinox- but who's counting?

 

It's a New Day

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

As I take the sacred oath of the highest office in the land, I am humbled by the responsibility placed upon my shoulders, renewed by the courage and decency of the American people, and fortified by my faith in an awesome God.

We are in the midst of a season of trial. Our Nation is being tested, and our people know great uncertainty. Yet the story of America is one of renewal in the face of adversity, reconciliation in a time of discord, and we know that there is a purpose for everything under heaven.

On this Inauguration Day, we are reminded that we are heirs to over two centuries of American democracy, and that this legacy is not simply a birthright -- it is a glorious burden. Now it falls to us to come together as a people to carry it forward once more.

So in the words of President Abraham Lincoln, let us remember that: "The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 20, 2009, a National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation, and call upon all of our citizens to serve one another and the common purpose of remaking this Nation for our new century.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

2009: So Far, So Good

I was all set to go to a party at a friend's house last night, but because of various reasons (snowy/slippery roads, a long day at work, and my drinking buddy telling me earlier in the day that she wasn't going to the party) I decided to stay home and just chill for New Year's Eve. 

After hearing that I was going to be alone to ring in the New Year, Michael decided to go to work, ask his supervisor for the night off, pick up a bottle of champagne, and drive down to NH to make sure I had a glass of the bubbly as 2008 came to a close.

When I awoke this morning, I decided to go to the market and pick up some breakfast items, so I could make a tasty brunch to thank my friend for his kindness.

The first person I spoke to in 2009 was a women pushing a shopping cart in the produce section. She looked at me, smiled, and said, "Good morning.....and Happy New Year!"

 And this woman said it as if I was a favorite cousin who she hadn't seen in ten years.

I was taken back, but manage to get out a "And a Happy New Year to you as well."

After all the negative energy that I encountered in public during the holiday season- all the deep sighs, frowns, screaming children, yelling parents, and shopping cart bumper-car games at WalMart, I just couldn't believe that a person was being so very kind and wishing me a Happy New Year.

I'm very grateful that was my first encounter with another human being in 2009. So far, so good. 

I'm 1-0 with 364 to go.

  

2008: A Year in Review

The year started with Hillary shedding a tear for the press and saying, "This is very personal." On January 8th, she won the New Hampshire Primary, but she did not win in Tilton. Later that night, Barack called us at our return watching party to thank us for our perseverance and ask us to keep fighting. We did exactly that. 

On the 22nd of that month, Heath was found dead in his apartment at the young age of 28. The New York City medical examiner's office report read, "We have concluded that the manner of death is accident, resulting from the abuse of prescription medications." Accidents suck.

In February, I said goodbye to the Cult, and started a new job. Kerry got engaged to Mr. Right, Neal broke his ankle, Verge also got a new job, and Mike's friend dropped a tree on his house. I miss seeing those guys every day. They make me laugh. Hard.

I went to see 10,000 B.C. in March. Not bad.

I don't remember much happening in April.

In May, I saw Iron Man (my second favorite movie of the year) attended Free Comic Book Day at Larry's store, and watched Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian with Lindsay, Em, and Verge. The geek boys that sat in back of us that night were very funny. Em threw up.

The Obama campaign came back to the state in June, and we rallied the troops for the final stretch. Hillary and Barack had their event in Unity, but I chose to work that day. I got my name back that month as well. This time for keeps. I also drank lots of cold Mojitos. Lots.

In July I finally got to view, The Dark Knight. Wow- my favorite movie of the year. I hope they retire the Joker as an onscreen Batman villain. Who could top that performance? Seriously?

Lindsay also had a birthday party in July for her two beautiful babies, Darren and Abby. Later that evening, while sitting next to a fire, I fell over backwards in my lawn chair....slowly. And I do mean slowly. Dean was the one to offer a hand.

I had my heart broken in August. I lost my cousin Dale to cancer. It's still an open wound that is healing as time passes. Not a day goes by that I don't think about him. 

Michael taught me how to boogie board on the ocean in August, and took me dancing high above the waves on the pier at Old Orchard Beach. Tears of joy and tears of sadness. It gets blurred sometimes, doesn't it?

September was a great month for the Obama camp, as Sarah gave a huge shot in the arm to the campaign. I was hoping for Republican homes to canvass that month, and giggling at the SNL YouTube videos. Good stuff right there.

In October I watched my Em up on stage and hoped this would be the year she would win the crown. She was the prettiest girl there, and had the hottest evening gown ever. She's just so beautiful. 

John's band released their first CD, and Verge and I were witches at the merch table. Boo- Yes.

Election Day was November 4th, and I spent 14 hours that day getting our supporters to the polls, canvassing the neighborhoods, and was an accomplice to killing a raccoon or two. I spent that night home alone, watching the returns on t.v., and crying. My 18 months with the campaign had come to an end. Barack won. Straight up.

December brought a horrible ice storm, and left over 400,000 homes without power. Michael bought a kerosene heater up in Maine, and drove it down to my house so my pipes wouldn't freeze and burst. Colter came over and got a tree off my roof.  John cut up the tree that had fallen in the front yard. Soon we were warm again. 

Christmas was at Lindsay's house, and she made the best turkey dinner ever. Santa brought me a 1966 Batmobile, the Joker, pearls, a microwave, and wine. We had cheesecake for dessert on Christmas. 

Mmmm........cheesecake.

The Shortest Day

"And so...the Shortest Day came and the year died

And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world

Came people singing, dancing,

To drive the dark away.

They lighted candles in the winter trees;

They hung their homes with evergreen;

They burned beseeching fires all night long

To keep the year alive.

And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake

They shouted, revelling.

Through all the frosty ages you can hear them

Echoing behind us- listen!

All the long echoes, sing the same delight,

This Shortest Day,

As promise wakens in the sleeping land:

They carol, feast, give thanks,

And dearly love their friends,

And hope for peace.

And now so do we, here, now,

This year and every year."

Yes We Did

At 12:00 noon on January 20, 2009, Barack Obama will become the 44th President of the United States.

Shazam.

He promised us if we all worked everyday to spread his message of Hope, that Change would come to this country. He was right.

My experience with this campaign, the Primary and General Election GOTV staging areas, and Election Day 2008 are forever with me. 

I arrived at 4:45am to our staging area on Election Day. I was exhausted, excited, and yet ready to go. It had come down to the final few hours, and our country was about to elect its next leader.

Upon my arrival, my field organizer pulled me aside and asked me if I would be willing to be a jumper rather than a driver for the pre-dawn canvassing. She explained to me that there was a woman named Helen who was in her eighties and wanted to help distribute door hangers but only wanted to drive. I of course agreed and thought it was sweet and admirable she wanted to be a part of our movement.

Helen and I loaded up our materials, grabbed our turfs, checked our flashlights to make sure they were in working order, and wished the other teams good luck.  Team Obama was ready to roll.

Helen had a lead foot. I could have lived with that, but she also drove down the middle of the road. The punch line here is that even while sitting on a cat-print rocking chair cushion, Helen could barely see over the steering wheel.

So there we were, driving in the dark at light speed, in the middle of a windy back road, when suddenly I saw a family of raccoons ahead. I knew instantly it was not going to end well.

Sure enough, Helen never slowed down, not even a little, and we hit the biggest raccoon head on. I think some of the smaller ones went flying off the road as well. The sounds of the hit and the squealing were more that I could process at 5:10am. I could feel the pumpkin spice coffee start to come up into the back of my throat. 

"What was that?", Helen asked me. 

"You.... killed a raccoon. I think it was a mother. We sent some smaller ones airborne as well." I replied.

"Oh. What is the name of the first road we are looking for?"

I managed to stay in the car with her for an hour and get one of our turfs done. We drove on sidewalks and knocked over garbage cans- at least I hope they were garbage cans. I even received a goose-egg on my forehead when I leaned forward to get paperwork off of the floor....just as Helen decided to slam on the brakes. No kidding.

Finally- when I could take it no longer, I told her that we were going back to HQ and re-grouping. She wasn't pleased with my decision, but she complied.

I shared the experience with my field organizer and told her that I needed some time alone. I asked her to give me my own turf, explained I would canvass that area, go cast my vote at the polling station, and then return to pick up my team for the afternoon/evening canvassing.

The rest of the day went well, and I canvassed until 6:45pm before going back to our staging area, turning in the paperwork, and saying goodbye to everyone. I was toast. Burned toast.

I decided to go back to my house and watch the returns from my living room.  My inbox was filled with supportive emails from friends, and my cell phone was ringing with calls wondering how I was doing. My friends are fabulous.

 I will never forget when ABC News reported "Obama has taken New Hampshire." The tears started flowing down my cheeks and did so intermittently for the next 24 hours. I went to bed that night knowing that we had won New Hampshire and the country. I cried myself to sleep with tears of joy and hope.

The following day I received a congratulatory email from Kone' in West Africa. He wrote, "All my congratulations for the work you have done in New Hampshire for the victory of Barack Obama." 

He had watched the returns at the U.S. Embassy in Cote d' Ivoire, and wrote of the feelings there- "The joy was captured everything beautiful...the emotion was strong."

There was indeed dancing in the streets on November 4, 2008. Not only in Illinois, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania,  California, Florida, and New York, but all around the world. 

The Change that has arrived is for all of us~

GOTV

We've finally arrived at the Get Out the Vote phase of this campaign. It is a very exciting time for those of us who have been supporting Senator Obama since the spring of 2007. This is what we have been working towards and waiting for 20 months now.

Our GOTV staging area this time is a large, nine bedroom farmhouse that a kind soul was willing to share. Plenty of room for all of our out of state volunteers and campaign workers. 

This morning we have a bus arriving from Massachusetts with union labor members that want to come to NH and spend the weekend canvassing. My job will be to drive them to their turfs in groups of three or four, and then pick them up when they're done. I'm anxious to meet them and listen to their stories of why they got involved. 

Our goal is to completely saturate the state this weekend, and with the ground game we have in place, I think we just might do it.

On Monday, I will be doing data entry until 10:00pm, go home to get some rest and a shower (who will be able to sleep?) so I can return to our staging area for 5:00am. on Tuesday. My first assignment on Election Day is Lit Drop, and after that I'll be driving canvassers to their turfs, and voters to the polls.  

Once the polls close, I will be able to sit down, grab a glass of wine, and wait for the returns to come in. Our work will be done.

I've been with the campaign so long that I've been able to choose my jobs for GOTV. My days of phone banking, knocking on doors, and being yelled at by angry Republicans are over. The Pirate Queen commented that this was kinda like playing a video game and reaching the highest level. I can just have fun now, and enjoy these last few days with the campaign.

I love having geek friends.

A fellow supporter sent me a YouTube link this morning that is definitely worth sharing. My daughter recently remarked that she found it odd that McCain uses "my friends" so much in his speeches. Friends like that we don't need.

I'm Fired Up and Ready to Go~

Our Sense of Common Purpose

We are in the final days of this campaign. On Saturday morning, our campaign office received a busload of sixty college students from the Boston area.

I was amazed that these young adults would feel so strongly about Obama and his message, that they would give up a Saturday to come to New Hampshire and canvass in our communities.

When they walked through the door of our office, they were met by a loud round of applause from all of us. 

A moment that will always be with me.

The two students that I was responsible for had never canvassed before, but were very anxious to start their turf.  I gave them some suggestions- told them what has worked for me, dropped them off at Union Road, and wished them well.

One of the young adults is an exchange student from France. He's not even able to vote on November 4th.

This is a defining moment in our country's history~

 

Silly Silly Sarah

One of my well-meaning relatives gave me a gift subscription last spring to a conservative publication. 

That is clearly a story for another day...

Because of the gift, my name is on many Right Wing mailing lists, so my mail can be very entertaining at times. I recently received an envelope from Sarah Palin. I can't tell you how excited I was to open that mail piece, as I just could not imagine what her campaign would use as talking points.

A few quotes from that piece are:

" We Republicans reject the Democrats' fearful and pessimistic mentality. When we are able to get our message past the liberal mainstream media filter- directly to the voters- the vast majority of the American people agree with our confident, optimistic view of principled, conservative government and opportunity for all."

"But the Obama-Biden Democrats and their allies are set to raise over $1 billion to relentlessly flood America's airwaves with their negative and false attacks against our Republican candidates."

"We will make the tough decisions that will keep America strong as we face threats to our security from radical Islamic extremism, nuclear proliferation and tyrannical regimes.  But to do this, we must stop the Obama-Biden Democrats from taking control of our government."

"Please make sure we have the resources we need to get our commonsense, confident message out to the American people by joining the Republican National Committee with a contribution of $2,000, $1,000, or $500. today. Thank you."

I've got nothing to add to this post. I do, however, invite you to play the Palin as President game. Please know the door opens three times, and don't forget to click on the red phone.

Have fun~

The Name Game

Click here to view a fun YouTube video sent to me by a fellow supporter with the Obama campaign.

Was there ever a question that human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully?

Yeah...I guess that whole "harmony" thing is overrated, huh?

Two of My Favorite Things

Politics meets Comics.

 Sweet.

IDW released two comics, Presidential Material: Barack Obama, and Presidential Material: John McCain, last week. When I saw them in the wooden box at my comic book store, I purchased the last two sets. I'm so glad I did. I have to admit that I anticipated the comics being biased toward one candidate or the other, but I'm happy to report that was not the case. 

In my opinion, anyway.

The two biographies outline the candidates' lives, and how the arrived to the point of being nominees for President of the United States. I thought the Barack Obama comic did a great job portraying Barack's struggle as a child and young adult. Being born of a white mother from Kansas, and a black father from Kenya, he struggled to find himself. He knows what it is like to feel he doesn't fit- to be alienated, frustrated, and alone. In spite of all of that, he indeed found himself, and where he was comfortable, working with people who needed Hope the most rather than pursuing a corporate job.

The John McCain comic portrayed the horrific conditions he endured at the hands of the North Vietnamese for five years very well. I do respect Senator McCain for coming out of that hellish experience alive. Seriously.

However, his life as part of the Naval "Royal Family" has been very different than Barack's path. Senator McCain is out of touch with all of us Americans that have to get up everyday and go to work with concerns of utility bills, home repairs, property taxes, and rising food costs always in the back of our minds.

A friend of mine recently pointed out how many times Obama uses the word "we" during his speeches  compared to McCain. It is interesting once you start watching for it. The pronoun McCain favors is "I". 

There is no "I" in Team, or Change, or Hope~

 

 

Alaska is Shelter for The End Times?

And God punishes Jews who don't convert?

Now we know.

A Sprinkling of Republicans

While canvassing and phone banking during the primary season, the voters on the lists we worked off of were Democrats and Independents. I found them to be (for the most part) open minded and willing to discuss politics and world events. 

During this general election, the lists we are given have a "sprinkling of Republicans" in them. This might sound harmless- like chocolate jimmies thrown onto a hot fudge sundae, but it has made for some interesting exchanges on the campaign trail.

I have been told that Obama's campaign is financed by Middle East terrorist groups, I have been gestured and yelled at (which of course made me laugh) and yesterday I was told the Obama is a "Sleeper Muslim."

Sleeper Muslim?

That man also told me that he didn't agree with Obama's view on homosexuality, abortion, the war, and as he saw it, the only drawback to Palin is that she is a woman.

I'm proud to say that I hung with the conversation for about twenty minutes, and left his house just feeling plain sorry for the guy.

I'm considering following Michael Moore's lead and handing out panties and ramen noodles next Saturday as I canvass. Michael's new movie, Slacker Uprising, is his GOTV effort, and appears to be a good one. The 97 minute movie tours colleges in the swing states during the 2004 election, and can be downloaded on September 23rd. His website also states that the DVD will be available online, and in local stores on October 3rd. 

However you feel about Michael Moore and his politics, you have to respect his effort in getting young and new voters to the polls this year.

Did I mention Eddie Vedder is in this movie?

 

"Change We Need" Event with Barack Obama

There is a huge difference between things we want and things we need. I don't view change in the current path of our country as something that would be nice, but rather a shift that is vital to our health, safety, and well-being.

Our current healthcare system is broken, "No Child Left Behind" does not work, the home foreclosure rate is the highest it's been since the Great Depression, our young adults are dying in another country's civil war, the Arctic Circle has now officially become an island, and I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to heat my home this winter.

Barack Obama came back to our state on Friday. It was the first time that I had seen him since he became our Democratic Nominee for President. Even though nineteen months have passed since he declared that he was running for the White House, his presence and words continue to give me hope that our country can move in another direction. 

During his speech, he pointed out that while his opponent may have lobbyists and special interest groups behind him, he (Barack) has Us. He sure does. Even though he was late for his event (he got caught up at a political ad taping in Hopkinton) all 1,400 people at that rally danced, clapped, cheered, and waved signs until the Senator arrived. 

I was able to speak and connect with Barack again after his speech. He took my hands in his, and we exchanged words and smiles. 

He is a dad from Illinois- I'm a mom from New Hampshire. Both of us want things to be better for our children, our families, and everyone around us.

That's what this is all about~   

Stranger Than Fiction

Every family has its dysfunctions, and mine is no exception. Over the years our family has used humor to roll with the special times, and it has served all of us well.

One of the many interesting facets of our family is that my father is convinced that Satan has taken control of me and I'm going to spend eternity at some exclusive resort called "Lake of Fire".

Not sure where that is, but it sounds like a tropical place.

I've had a grand total of one conversation with him (at a family birthday party) over the past twelve months, and during that exchange we talked about the weather, my daughter's impressive vegetable garden, the yummy birthday cake, my beautiful grandbabies, and why my son was late for the party. We kept the conversation shallow and safe. 

It was good to see him and know that he is well.

While covering at the front desk last week at work, a Resident (I'll call him Joe) invited me to dinner. I wanted to laugh (again- finding humor in the special times) but I could see that this man, 15 years my senior, was serious. I thanked him for his offer, told him I was extremely flattered, and shared that it would be a conflict of interest if I went out with him. He argued the point, and told me that he was going to inquire with administration if that was indeed a written company policy. 

"Besides" he then said, "You are newly-single, Michelle, and need to go out and have some fun."

I wondered how he knew I've been living alone for the past two months. Only three people at work have that information, and they're people I've known for years and trust. I had to ask the question. 

"Joe, how do you know that I am newly-single?"

"Your Dad told me. I play basketball with him two nights a week, and he told me that you're available now."

As my children and close friends can tell you, I am very rarely rendered speechless. This, however was one of those occasions.

You just can't make this stuff up~

    

 

Goodbye, Dale

Do you remember the Horse shows, Ferris wheels, and cotton candy?

I do.

How lucky were we that our childhoods were filled with such wonderful memories?

Do you remember when we found each other again as adults?

I do.

What were the odds that we would end up working at the same retirement community?

Do you remember the company field days?

I do.

I think if we had just practiced four times instead of three, we would have won the three-legged race. 

Seriously.

Or- maybe if I had just run more and laughed less....

Okay, I'll take the blame for that one.

Do you remember our last embrace?

I will never forget it.

In that embrace there was no fear, pain, or disease.

We were just two kids, descendants of the same six-fingered man, hugging each other tightly and saying goodbye.

The goodbye came too soon, Dale.

I love you, my cousin, and I'll see ya~