FROM 2-28 to OH THREE OH THREE TO MARCH FOURTH
2-28
My wonderful daughter, first born child, she of the ever-improving grade point average (I am so proud of her!) had a birthday last Friday. Yes, she somehow managed to turn 18. 18! My little girl, now 18 years old. Yikes! All those times before I had kids I would hear people speak of how the years just fly by ... never really quite grokking it, or grasping just what they meant. And now I have an 18 year old. Yes, the years do, indeed, whiz by!
I asked her how she managed to get to be 18 in so short a [perceived] period of time. "You got old, Dad," she replied. I guess wisdom and a knack for pithy comments come with being 18.
I pointed out to her that it seems like she was just born the other day, maybe even a month ago. It seems so recent, I said, that I wasn't even sure her brother had been born yet!
A Champagne Party was called for last Friday to celebrate this momentous event. My son (yes, he really has been born, and soon he will hit the 16 year old mark, another incredible-but-true fact) decided to down 5 glasses of Champagne. The effects were clear when looking at what he posted on his website before deciding to drift off to sleep, due certainly in part to the effects of the bubbly.
Neither of them reported a hangover the next day. So hats off to them for good behaviour, and may they never drink as much again. These are the things a father dreams of, prays for, and so forth.
OH THREE - OH THREE - OH THREE
March 3rd, 2003, was a special day: it was 03/03/03. I mentioned this to a friend, who immediately suggested it might be a good day to play the Lottery, the Numbers, or somehow use it in a bet or some sort. A day like this will occur again in a year, amonth, and a day. Of course, this year we also had a special January 2nd, when it was 01/02/03.
MARCH FOURTH
No other day of the year is also a homonym for a command!
So Much To Say, So Little Time
Knee improving; no longer on pain pills; nightly physical therapy exercises very painful but seem to be delivering the strength the doctor wants me to build up. Again, thanks to the many DeanLand readers who e-mailed for their kind and encouraging letters of sympathy, empathy, suggestions and support.
Six Feet Under: cheap "Bobby Is Dead" (Remember Dallas?!?!) type plot ply in first episode of the third season. Expected better from this show. Maybe it will improve. Or maybe it will be time to, er, bury this one.
Not My Reality: Am I among the minority of people out there . . . meaning those who don't watch, care about, or relate to any of the "reality" shows currently all the rage on TV? And what is it that qualifies these programs for the "reality" moniker? It seems to me these are either quasi talent shows, or some sort of bizarre game show. And what was so special or alluring to viewers that made them want to watch the Joe Not-Really-A-Millionaire show?
This "reality" splash will fade. Remember, just a moment or so ago in the world of TV there was Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Then came a bunch of knock-offs, including that nasty lady Brit insulting people for not knowing the answers to various, often inane, questions. Now they are all either gone, or relegated to daytime TV syndication.
North Korea: does this guy [1] actually envy Saddam? Buzzing and doing a zero-in on a US spy plane, well outside of the protected airspace - - - in some quarters this is called slapping the face to instigate a shoot-off. Maybe this is how the "inherited the job" leader of North Korea proposes to deal with the issues of famine and starvation: reduce the population via combat?! Are they really stupid enough to taunt a cowboy like the Shrub? Good thing they don't have massive resources of oil, or Shrubby would've already pressed the "go" button.
Kim Jong Il and Shrubby give rise to the concept of extending term limits to include the offspring of those in office.
[Macro error: Can't include picture "They Call It Oil Money" because Can't include picture "They Call It Oil Money" because the image tag in the shortcuts table is not well-formed.]
Bush the Stupid: 11 million people [2], worldwide, march in protest of a war; millions of Americans peacefully gather to say no to his dream of a legacy war . . . and this doofus (the one The Supremes put into office, despite the popular vote) likens it to a focus group, so he can explain away his choice to ignore the national and planet-wide expression of pursuit of peace not war! That's one hell of a focus group: 11 million people. Bush seems like a bigger idiot than the French at this point. And that takes some doing.
Doesn't this picture, with him holding that "Oil Money" dollar bill (or is that a leftover from the Enron contributions?), catch the true essence of Shrubby?