Naughty Sarah

Sarah Palin is wearing Naughty Monkey shoes.

At least she forwent the Quickie, the Nookie and the Bonk Her in favor of the Double Dare, but even so, talk about raising issues of judgment....

Presumably Naughty Moose hip waders were not available in her size.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "John, I understand that you are under a lot of stress, but really...."\\

The End of the Story, Epilogue

Then again, maybe Kathe and I do have a future together after all.

We'll see.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Only time will tell."\\

Is There a Way?

I have always said, "There is a way", but what if there isn't?

Perhaps I have put myself in a position from which there is no honorable way to move, no way to avoid a choice that breaks the heart of at least one person I would rather die than hurt.

But to choose death myself would only cause still more pain than any choice I can make. So what then?

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "I have no idea at all."\\

One Way or Another

I hadn't told my now-grown children about my relationship with R***** or about G****'s birth, not because I considered it a shameful matter but because I wanted to respect R*****'s privacy and because I thought explaining the matter might prove...complicated. Basically, I didn't want to get into it, and I didn't see any pressing reason to do it.

Now that Kathe and I are apparently parting ways, there is indeed a pressing reason.

The other day, one of my daughters called me from Texas and asked casually how we were doing. I felt I had little choice but to tell her all of it. I was sorry to dump it all on her that was, but there was, after all, a lot to tell, so I did.

I was encouraged by the fact that her first response to the information dump was to tell me that my first priority needed to be to be a good Daddy to Gideon. That is the response I would have wanted to hear from her, and I agree.

I also asked her to call her sister in Portland and ask her to call me. Instead, she called her sister and, without explaining why, urged her to visit Kathe, and she is in town now, and I'm very glad of that.

So, the girls know the story now, and the boys know most of it. Soon enough, everyone will know the whole story, and soon after they will all be sick of it, because while some of the story does not reflect well on me, I am not in the least ashamed of knowing R*****. Or G****.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Knowing what you should be ashamed of is half of a moral education."\\

UPDATE: At R*****'s request, I have deleted her name and our child's, since we will not be living together after all.

My Father is Very Sick

At Good Samaritan getting IV antibiotics for a resistant bladder infection, which turned into three antibiotics for a bladder and kidney infection, which is now, I think, three different and stronger antibiotics for an infection of his kidneys, heart and possibly other structures.

Dad has been plagued for months by a series of highly-resistant infections. They keep piling on new antibiotics, but meanwhile the bugs keep getting more resistant.

If you would like to do something in honor of the suffering of my father and others like him, please go right now and wash your hands.

I'm serious. Wash your hands now. Wash your hands several times a day, with soap and hot water, taking as long as it takes to sing one verse of your favorite song.

And not with antibacterial soap, either. Casual use of antibacterial substances is part of the problem.

Wash your hands, people. Wash surfaces that people touch frequently (like computer keyboards). Wash them, and wash them again when needed.

I am not being the least bit blasphemous or facetious when I implore you earnestly to for God's sake wash your hands.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "When was the last time you washed me, John?"\\

After the End of the Story

I have at last seen the e-mail headed "The End of the Story", and have also learned a couple of significant facts.

One is that the e-mail wasn't actually as bad as I had imagined. Quite reasonable under the circumstances, actually. Another is that Kathe did, in fact, send me a copy, and when she heard that I had complained of not getting it, she sent it again.

Finally, Kathe didn't actually send the e-mail to everyone on Earth, but only to those with whom she had excvhanged e-mails in the past. This last was a comfort to hear, because just before Kathe sent out the e-mail she asked me to provide her with a copy of my own Friends list on Hotmail.

The End of the Story

If you are someone who knows me personally, you have probably already seen an e-mail which Kathe apparently sent out to everyone she could reach who knew me. I haven't seen it myself yet, because Kathe didn't include me among the recipients and because those who have seen it have all sent me comments like, "I deleted it and put her on my Blocked Sender list" or "There was nothing in it you would benefit from seeing".

That last comment is probably right. Still, I'm only human, and I do wonder what was in it. So to anyone who has received an e-mail from Kathe titled "The End of the Story", I invite you to forward it to me, with or without your own comments.

And to Kathe I will say, I would never have done to you what you have now done to yourself.

And by the way: one day I hope you will be willing to hear me say what I say right now: I love you.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Life Goes On."\\

Happy Birthday

My father's birthday is not until the 4th of July. Today was not my niece Andrea's birthday, either. But hey, close enough, at least this year.

Kathe and I went out to Bellfountain. So did my brother Tom and his girls, Andrea and Linda. So did Casey, the girls' grandmother, my mother's sister Pat and my father's sister Ann, Ann's husband Wesley.

A fairly low-key event. Andrea got some presents (including a book about Batman, her favorite character, with a read-along tape I recorded for her), and so did Dad (including a book of allegedly brain-stimulating puzzles Kathe found at Browser's Books). We had wrap sandwiches, and pieces of a flag-themed cake.

Not much, just a family event. The big event was that someone's dentures got misplaced, I won't say whose.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Family is important, if only to one's own family."\\

Surviving A Disaster

Informative interview with Amanda Ripley, author of:
The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes—and Why

http://www.motherjones.com/interview/2008/06/five-ways-to-survive-disaster.html
Disaster survival tips:
1. Learn how to text message. Oftentimes, as in Katrina, text messages will go through when cell phone calls won't.

2. Expect smoke. If you're in an airplane, know how many rows are between you and the exits. If you're at home, know your way to the door without the lights on. Most fire deaths are due to smoke.

3. Get to know your neighbors. They may be your key to survival. The stronger your community is, the better equipped you will be to survive a disaster.

4. Practice. Many people who survived the WTC attacks knew where the staircases were because they did lots of fire drills. Children especially should know where to go in case of emergency, and walk that route until they are familiar with it.

5. Lose weight. Overweight people often are less able to move quickly in escape situations that call for speed.

Memorial Day

In the Oregon State University Daily Barometer for 29 May 2008, columnist Dan Fitzpatrick complains that "the mainstream media has [sic] been paying less...attention to American...wars in the Middle East", and proposes to "provide a brief dedication" to recent Medal of Honor recipients.

Unfortunately, Fitzpatrick is unable to follow through on his lofty goals, and instead uses American heroes as cheap props in a feeble attempt to dress up the abject failures of his beloved President Bush, talking wishfully about "the success of last year's troop surge".

Let me tell you about honoring the service of brave and capable Americans in war, without regard for the politics and personalities which sent them off to war.

When I was serving in the United States Navy, I was stationed at a medical center which had been in continuous use for over a hundred years. Although most of the base was modern and up-to-date, there were a few reminders of older times, most notably a military cemetery behind the enlisted men's quarters. I walked past that cemetery almost every day, and frequently paused to read the stones and contemplate their meaning: "Unknown USN...Unknown CSN...LCpl. R. Jones, USMC...Ens. M. Richards, CSN...."

The stones were identical, and no effort was made to separate the Union from the Confederate dead. This in spite of the fact that, no matter what the Confederate sailors' personal motivations might have been, the judgment of history is that the Confederacy was founded on "treason in defense of slavery".

But there's something more: the graves were dug (and filled) right in the midst of that terrible war, by Union sailors who were burying their own comrades -- and the men who had killed them.

That is what I call setting aside politics in order to honor the dead.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Rest in peace, one and all."\\

Library Books, 24 May 2008

Ex machina. Book 04, March to war / Brian K. Vaughan, writer ; Tony Harris, pencils ; Tom Feister, inks.
6/3/2008
*
A distant soil. Vol. IV, Coda / Colleen Doran.
6/3/2008
*
RG Veda. Vol. 10 / by Clamp.
6/3/2008
*
Rhode Island blues [sound recording] / by Fay Weldon.
6/3/2008
*
The 9/11 report : a graphic adaptation / by Sid Jacobsen and Ernie Colón ; [with a foreword by Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton].
6/3/2008
*
Torchwood, the complete first season [DVD] / British Broadcasting Corporation ; executive producers, Russell T. Davies, Julie Gardner ; producer, Richard Stokes ; written by Russell T. Davies ... [et al.] ; directed by Brian Kelly ... [et al.].
6/4/2008
*
World of warcraft : the art of the trading card game / forewords by Samwise Didier and Glenn Rane ; introduction by Jeremy Cranford.
6/4/2008
*
Superman vs. Hollywood : how fiendish producers, devious directors, and warring writers grounded an American icon / Jake Rossen.
6/4/2008
*
A book is born : 24 authors tell all / created by Nancy C. Cleary with co-authors Christine Louise Hohlbaum ... [et al.] ; illustrations by Kelley Cunningham ; editing by Kim Pearson.
6/4/2008
*
Boldly live as you've never lived before : (unauthorized and unexpected) life lessons from Star trek / Richard Raben and Hiyaguha Cohen.
6/5/2008
*
A woman's self-esteem : stories of struggle, stories of triumph / Nathaniel Branden.
6/5/2008
*
Sublime spaces & visionary worlds : built environments of vernacular artists / Leslie Umberger ; with contributions by Erika Doss ... [et al.].
6/6/2008
*
Your perfect right : assertiveness and equality in your life and relationships / Robert Alberti, Michael Emmons.
6/7/2008
*
Overstreet comic book price guide / Robert M. Overstreet.
6/11/2008
*
Batman. The long Halloween / writer, Jeph Loeb ; artist, Tim Sale ; colors, Gregory Wright ; created by Bob Kane.
6/18/2008
*
Antique bakery Vol. 3 / Fumi Yoshinaga.
6/18/2008
*
Imadoki! Nowadays. Vol. 01, Dandelion / Yû Watase.
6/18/2008
*
Maxwell Strangewell / story and art by the Fillbach Brothers.
6/18/2008
*
Perfect example / by John Porcellino.
6/18/2008
*
Scott Pilgrim. Vol. 04, Scott Pilgrim gets it together / [Bryan Lee O'Malley].
6/18/2008
*
Sorcerers & secretaries. Vol. 02 / by Amy Kim Ganter.
6/18/2008
*
Spent / Joe Matt.
6/18/2008
*
Bizarro comics / [writers, Jessica Abel ... [et al.].
6/20/2008
*
The rejection collection vol. 2 : the cream of the crap / edited by Matthew Diffee.
6/20/2008
*
All I need to know I learned from my cat (and then some) / Suzy Becker.
6/20/2008
*
Einstein simplified : cartoons on science / by Sidney Harris.
6/20/2008
*
Great lies to tell small kids / Andy Riley.
6/20/2008
*
Schulz's youth / by Charles M. Schulz ; foreword by Jerry Scott.
6/20/2008
*
Walt & Skeezix. 1923 & 1924 / by Frank O. King.
6/20/2008
*
The Bakers. "Do these toys belong somewhere?" / Kyle Baker.
6/20/2008

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Read 'em and weep."\\

McCain Video

Here's your straight-talking maverick, America: http://video.tagged.com/?v=GEtZlR3zp4c&ect=dxaxxuk&al=1

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Next question."\\

Junking the Tercel

Kathe and I have owned three Tercel station wagons over the years. Overall, they've been the most reliable vehicles we've owned since original-series Beetles became too expensive to maintain.

Our most recent Tercel, a 1984, recently started making funny noises, which turned out to be very extensive wear that would have required about $1,200 worth of work. We could probably buy two equivalent cars for that much money, so sentimental and frugal as we are, the Tercel will be junked.

It's parked in front of the house right now. We've already stripped it of small items like the ice scrapers and the jack. Monday or Tuesday, we will v-e-e-e-r-y carefully drive it down to B&R Auto Wrecking and be done with it.

We also saved the owner's manual -- anybody need one?

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Life goes on."\\

My Father is Better

Actually, his recovery has been so rapid that his care team aren't trying to set goals for him, they're just monitoring his progress and waiting to see how much he recovers and how fast.

Kathe and I went to Eugene for his care conference, and for his first time out of the facility since his arrival. We went out to a Red Robin (more my parents' sort of place than mine, but not bad), hoping to be joined by my cousin Jean and her husband, but they were delayed.

Afterward, we went back to Dad's room at Riverpark to wait for the others to arrive, but the night shift I worked the night before caught up to me, and Kathe persuaded me to leave for home. I slept in the car for most of the trip.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "So far, so good."\\

All Those Kids, What to Do?

The authorities are hard-pressed to know what to do with all the kids they carried away from the FLDS compound: where to house them, who should care for them, how to deal with culture shock.

Hey, guys, here's a thought: Why didn't you just leave the women and children in place and just run the menfolk out? Jail them or rent motel rooms or whatever, let the DA's people and the social workers interview everyone in good order, and decide in some reasonable period of time who can go home before the trials and who can't?

A lot less trouble and disruption than spiriting the kids away and scattering them on the winds, seems like. Probably less expensive, too.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity. And never attribute to individual stupidity what can be explained by institutional culture."\\

My Father is Very Sick

He had to go off the coumadin in order to have oral surgery, and while he was off it, a blood clot formed and he had a stroke.

He's improving rapidly, but is still going to be in "skilled nursing facility" in Eugene fo awhile.

It's a nice one....


//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Be brave."\\

365 New Superheroes -- Honest!

A couple of years ago, I grandly announced at a purpose-built blog that I was going to create 365 new superheroes over the course of a year.

Considering that time was I tossed off a dozen or more in a single letter composed in an idle afternoon, I thought I could keep to an average of one a day without a lot of trouble.

Well, quite possibly I could have, but I didn't. I posted in fits and spurts, and eventually stopped posting at all.

So, I'm starting over again, as of today, 8 May 2008. Go to my blog and see how I'm doing.

//The Magic Eight Ball says, "So far, so good."\\

Spring Planting

I helped plant flags at the Iraq Memorial at the Valley Library today.

Each red flag represents five dead Americans. Each white flag represents five dead Iraqis. Takes awhile to plant that many flags.

I don't know what the other people planting flags were thinking about as they carried out the task, but I kept flashing back to occasions when I have had to handle actual dead people.

So many flags....

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Remember the dead".\\

The Bush Memorial

News item sent to me by Kathe's son Jake, from his Flotsam web site: The Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco, filed paperwork at San Francisco City Hall April 25 to put an initiative on the November ballot. Leaders are optimistic that they'll collect at least 7,200 valid signatures to put the measure before voters. The measure would change thethe name of the Oceanside Wastewater Treatment Facility to the George W. Bush Sewage Plant on Jan. 20, 2009, inauguration day.

Well, all right, but no President of recent memory will ever have a more appropriate one than Ronald Reagan has in the Ben Linder Room at the University of Oregon.

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "Remember."\\

More Dead Gophers

The gophers are still coming back, must not have killed enough of them last time. More Giant Destroyer cartridges....

My father had a bad fall this morning (ahem, before I arrived to help him with his PT), so I got to practice my wound care, washing and bandaging a skin tear on his arm and washing the blood out of his shirt sleeve.

Whether you are frail or vigorous, at age 77 your skin is liable to be fragile and easily torn. They call them skin tears in the trade, and they are almost as feared as broken bones.

Oh, well. Hydrogen peroxide does a good job of cleaning both skin tears and stained cotton.