My Bob Dylan Moment

The amazing thing about a 4 1/2 month old is that she actually thinks it is her momma singing when Bob Dylan is belting out Like a Rolling Stone.
I am going to try Bebel Gilberto next.

Giant Hail and Its Indelible Mark on My Psyche

I just closed windows and brought the dog in the house as the gigantic dark clouds loomed over my neighborhood. As I quickly turned off the electronic devices, I had a little flashback to my first experience watching The Wizard of Oz.
I was terrified, so scared that in one swoop, life could inevitably change. It was so close to the feeling that I had when first watching Ten Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, I was terrified that the gigantic octopus would rise up and snare me underwater, forever taking me away to some deep oceanic haze. Of course this fear was somewhat ridiculous as few octopi? ever resided in suburban above ground pools.This childhood fear continued when viewing David Bowie's movie, Labyrinth, but I won't even go there. I suppose all of this, as I sit here pounding the keys, has followed me my entire life...like I was always able to escape these little disasters and fears. I am afraid of the unknown, the uncertainty that life offers, and I think the more I love people and care, the fear grows. We are chased by our fears and perhaps that is what makes us human. As I look at this dark sky and some monster size hail, I just want to gather my loved ones and hide in some secret corner where we too can escape, safe from what can change or subtract.

Tim Russert, One of Buffalo's Finest

I am sitting her still stunned and saddened about Tim Russert's, moderator of Meet the Press, death. There is something special about Buffalo, and I have traveled many places in the world and found that this place is incredibly misunderstood. Tim Russert grew up from modest beginnings and made his mark on politics, journalism, and writing. He never forgot his home, and he embraced this place throughout his many successes. I am sad for his family as no one should ever lose someone so young and so suddenly. I am also sad for this community as our number one advocate has passed away.

Sick of the advertisements geared towards women...we are more than lip gloss, weight loss, and namebrands.

a poem.

Maybe Donna Reed Missed the Memo- K.P.C.

Sitting in rows during eleventh period English class I learned

The origin of Hysteria

We were learning Greek and Roman Mythology
Venus and Aphrodite, Athena too
Hestia, with her veil and those virgins,
Goddess of the hearth
That word hysteria
Came up somehow, though I doubt those goddesses really misbehaved
I hope they did though.
Hysteria, a condition thought caused by the womb
Like the witches from the Crucible
Those times when we are connected to the moon
Howling at the moon
Maybe when we are not even supposed to
Maybe it was all those goddesses, so hard to live up to
Standing in their robes, hair flowing, looking down on us mere mortals
Pawns sometimes to those women who seem untouchable
Like women on billboards or our shiny new Miss America’s
Towering over us once again
In those stiletto high heels
That often leave marks.

Question of the Week.

Hello.

On this Monday morning, I would like to pose a question. I have been thinking a lot about the upcoming presidential election, especially as I went to fill up my gas tank at $4.10 a gallon and read that another local soldier was killed. This election has already been sidetracked by various personal attacks, and in an effort to stick to the issues, I started to think about what issue was the most important to me. It is difficult to select just one, and as a teacher, I am destined to perhaps select education. It seems that education is one of the major issues, which connects to all of the other problems, that has not been discussed in detail. In my eyes, the system is not working, and it needs some revolutionary changes.

What is your definitive issue for the 2008 presidential election? What keeps you up at night or what do you feel impacts your life or the lives of others the most?

Feel free to post a reply. (Mike another shout out, perhaps? This means you may have to relinquish your Switzerland political status)