This Is American I-Dull! -by Susan Vagnoni Murphy

I admit it, used to watch American Idol. I didn't see the first season except for the part where .the girl sang, and then the curly-head boy sang, and then I thought, "the girl won," Then I changed the channel. Later on I found out that "the girl", named Kelly Clarkson, won. No big deal.

My boys and I watched the next 3 seasons and I am ashamed to say I was a bit slow on the uptake. A pattern began to emerge. The best singers did not win. The gutsiest performances were not rewarded. America sucked as voters. What's new about that, Bush got in twice, didn't he?

Like lemmings we followed the show for a few years, voting and getting disappointed. We finally threw in the towel when Adam Lambert lost to the insipid Chris Allen. I can't even go there.

Now I find I am always bored with A.I. once they are past the audition weeks where at least you can see some inspired freaks put on a good show. No I am not talking about the judges panel (Paula Abdul where are you!). In fact, Steven Tyler is the best thing on the show this year.

During the current season, like a rubbernecker at a traffic accident-I simply click on A.I. for a few moments to see who has promise and therefore will not win. I am not disappointed. I spotted James Durbin as interesting and different. I knew that would kill any chances he had. It did.

So why does this show not work? Why do the best singers get voted off? My theory is that people are voting for some ideal person who does not exist. They vote for what they can understand at the simplest level. This is the only thing that explains Scotty McCreary still being in the running. Everything he sings sounds the same. He waves the flag; he spouts home and family and proclaims his fear of any contact with Lady GaGa. Family values absconded by right wing conservatism. How's that been working out for Arnold Schwarzenegger lately?

After having been involved in the arts most of my life I want to shout "If you strive to be a cookie-cutter person made out of cream cheese you might want to look for other employment!" Artistic pursuit is not about sameness, fitting in or even perfection in many cases. The arts -music, visual, theatrical- celebrate uniqueness and embrace a different point of view. Being true to yourself should not cause the fear it does in America today.

So I bid A.I. a long-coming farewell. I think I'll see what's on The Voice this week.

Who pooped in the pool? : RV trip continued

Before we get any further I need to explain the Bubba reference from my previous blog - Bubba and the gang : RV trip continued.

My son Alex bought a little Flip camera to film short videos to chronicle our big trip. He wanted to spice it up by calling it "The Durfey's Vacation to South Dakota." Durfey being a name we made up years ago as a name for all the dazed families that wander around the Wal-Marts and the K-Marts of the world looking for a mile-long list of school supplies.

In South Dakota, the Durfey's would represent any less-than-intelligent folk often seen on shows like Hee Haw, the Beverly Hillbillies or King of the Hill. Our cast would go like this:

Mike - Bubba Durfey - patriarch of the Durfey family

Lisa - Little Lisa Loo Li Loo Li Loo Durfey Jones- Bubba's wife

Kevin - Bubba Junior

Alex - Bubba Junior

Nick - Bubba Junior

And me - Becky Sue Bell Jessie Jo Mae Bob Jones Durfey - undetermined relationship

(The cat and the dogs would play themselves)

Camping in Rapid City started off rocky as some poor child got run over by a golf cart on the campgrounds. It wasn't fatal but it put all of us parents on high alert. We eventually make our way over to the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast where a cook as old as the hills themselves makes what I can only call pancake art. If you are a young camper he would make you a perfect Spongebob, or butterfly, or whatever you wished out of pancake batter. I was jealous.

Later that day Lisa and I decide it is high time we got our butts in the pool so we join our boys in the swim area and spot a tempting hot tub. We make a bee-line to it and that turns out to be the best decision we make all vacation. We are soaking only about 15 minutes when we notice the pool the looking kind of empty. What we witness next was a scene eerily similar to the candy bar in the pool scene from Caddyshack. (It seems this whole vacation will be a reliving of every film moment Chevy Chase has ever had.) The difference for us is that it is not a candy bar we are looking at. Someone informs us the pool is closed.

It is now the evening of the 4th of July and we want to see some fireworks. Boy do we get our wish! Stay tuned for part 4: Fireworks or just fire? : RV tip continued

Bubba and the gang: RV trip continued

Our first night on the road and at about 2:30 or 3:00 am we pull over to sleep in a rest stop parking lot. This is my first experience with this. My sleeping spot happens to be right by the door and the parking lot light is shining right onto my face. No worries, I'll sleep, the cars constantly pulling in and out and all the slamming doors won't keep me awake. No sir-ee. I'll be out like a light as soon as that dog gets off my bed. I can sleep on this hard little cushion with the one inadequate blanket I brought to keep out the cold. Sure, I can sleep. Yes I can. You betcha.

What? It's 9:00 am?

We're ready to go. Okay, so I am pumped for the trip. Who needs sleep anyway? I should have realized that the innocent idea I had of an easy RV vacation was gone as quickly the digital camera my son left at the restaurant breakfast table this morning.

After the quick stop at Wall Drug where my son and his friend bought real Samurai swords (a warning to parents - not everything at a tourist trap is a fake as it looks) we drove on to Rapid City skipping the Badlands until our trip home, since we had to get to a rental car place before it closed.

We eventually find our first KOA Kampground which is nice and pretty much right in Rapid City. We are very close to a race track and that plays heavily in our second night here. After a bit of maneuvering to get the RV in the right spot so both the water and sewer connections will reach, we start to unpack. The kids race over to the pool as the parents walk dogs, haul folding chairs, test the AC, find the supplies we need to eat and drink, sweep out dog hair, get the mysterious blue tablet in the toilet, etc, etc, etc. We're camping now.

My sister-in-law, niece and her daughter drive up and after we visit for a while we follow them to a spot in the hills where the locals go to watch the 3rd of July fireworks. That is, if it weren't so foggy up in the hills that you could see the fireworks. Nevertheless we have a great time talking and get back to camp tired enough to actually sleep.

Stay tuned for our next adventure called "Everybody out of the Water" or "Who pooped in the Pool?"

Chevy Chase has nothing on us

Put together 3 adults, 3 children, 3 dogs (of the large breeds) and one cat in a 30 foot RV and let them drive from the Twin Cities in Minnesota out to camp in the Black Hills of South Dakota and what do you get? You get plot for a reality TV series for which Mark Burnett would pay good money. The story line includes fires, poop, golf cart accidents, lost personal items, no cell phone reception, a total melt down and my personal favorite, projectile vomiting.

As I start this I should say that all parties involved are still great friends and we all know each other A LOT better than we used to. Let's begin.

After work on Thursday, July 2nd I get the call that my friends have secured the RV a day early and would we like to leave that evening. Why not? I have most of my packing done. The kids are anxious to get going and we'll get out to S. Dak. in time for the July 3rd fireworks at Mount Rushmore. Let the good times roll.

We have going for us: Mike, our professional driver who is a veteran of driving semi trucks cross-country. He vows to do all of the driving. Sweet!

What we have against us: Three adults who have never camped in a big RV before...and everything else.

Sleeping arrangements: Mike and Lisa in the back room, Alex and Kevin in the loft, Nick I on the fold outs in the main area and dogs and cat wherever they damn well please. This should work.

The RV toilet: I never understood the word "throne" being used to describe a toilet until I had to use the potty in the RV. With very little room to maneuver one is expected to climb up on this toilet which must be mounted about 3 feet off the floor. Add another 2 feet for the actual bowl height and consider that I am only 5'3" tall. I felt like a contestant on one of those Japanese game shows every time nature called. Not to mention there was virtually no place to put your feet down once you were up there. Okay, I can live with it.

The dogs: I love all three of these dogs but I am currently not returning any of their phone calls. Here are some things to remember when vacationing with dogs.

1. Water bowls spill a lot when you are driving.

2. Nervous dogs shed a lot when you are driving.

3. Some nervous dogs drool a lot when they are resting on your leg for comfort.

4. Dogs who have just been walked have very dirty feet when they re-enter the RV.

5. Dogs with dirty feet love to jump up on your bed.

6. Calm dogs shed a lot.

7. Dogs like to escape after being cooped up in a RV for a long time.

I guess that's enough for our first lesson on the RV vacation. Stay tuned.

Horcruxes versus hormones

NOTE: Spoilers in here for those who have not read the book or have yet to see the movie.

What is going on with David Yates? My 13 year old son and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on the second evening of its opening. Our hopes were high from the exciting previews we saw, and then… eh!

The only word I can use to describe my feelings for the new Harry Potter film is ambivalence. For what was one of the most emotional and revealing books of the series I was left wanting much more from the film. Yes it was fun to see the old gang at Hogwarts yucking it up again. Most of the scenic elements we have grown to admire were there, but some were altered for no reason like the pensive that now looks like a modern day bathroom sink and the Quiddich pitch witch looks like a strong wind hit it and knocked off all the siding.

These minor alterations don’t really affect the story, however, what was David Yates thinking when he left out the biography of Tom Riddle? Almost every piece of exposition from the book that explained his ascent into evil and the birth of the Horcruxes was left out of the film. Instead we got to see an overabundance of Hermione pining for Ron, Lavender pining for Ron, Ron infatuated with Slughorn, Harry and Ginny infatuated with each other and most of the girls in Hogwarts along with Professor Slughorn desperate for Harry. Funny yes, essential to the plotline, not so much.

The movie did get one scene spot on and that was Dumbledore and Harry in the immensely creepy cave with the underground lake searching for one of the horcruxes. That type of imagery and attention to the plotline of the book should have been in more of the film. Mr. Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves didn’t even let us see the Tom Riddle’s family home or the bloody betrayals of the Gaunt family.

I was also sad to see no hint of Dumbledore’s funeral which was a poignant ending to the book and left anyone with a heart a bit misty-eyed. I kept waiting for the merpeople, Hagrid's brother and the centaurs. I can only assume production costs removed them from the storyboard only to be replaced by lit wands held in the air reminiscent of the ending to any kick-ass rock concert.

The last scene in the movie shows a bird flying off and unless you read the book it is very hard to tell that this is Fawkes, Dumbledore’s faithful, mystical phoenix. I needed binoculars to get the full effect. I can only hope there is some back-tracking in the next two films to get the plotline back on track. Those of you who follow the wands will know what I’m talking about.

A Mother’s Day letter to a great man

I don’t know how many millions of small and large decisions have to be made in just the proper order and carried out in just the right way to save a life. It is a miracle and I have been blessed to witness it. We are supposed to write letters to our mothers when Mother’s Day draws near however, this is a letter FROM a mother. A very, very grateful mother. I write it in an open forum to express to as many people as I can how very humbled and appreciative I am for having Alex with me today.

It has been one year and 5 months since I sat in PICU, looking at my beautiful son, lying in a bed, unconscious, with most his hair shaved off, tubes down his throat, coming from his hands, his heart, his arms, monitors on every side and a shunt sticking out of a hole cut in his skull to drain fluid from his brain. I still tear up as I write this.

When the vein burst in Alex’s head and we rushed him to the nearest hospital, they put us in an examining room. No doctor came in. Alex had no sight in one eye and was in and out of consciousness. His pain was unfathomable and they could not even get a temperature because he was panting, shaking and sweating so badly. Besides a couple of nurses, the only one who made it into the room was a guy with a computer and a credit card machine to collect my $100 emergency room co-pay. After an hour I was beside myself and told them we were leaving. A nurse took pity and found a doctor. Then, and this is the only cliché that fits, all hell broke loose.

Al was whisked off to a CAT scan followed by a trip to the Red Room a staging area used for severe cases to be prepped for transfer to the nearest trauma center. At one point I counted seventeen people working on my son. I couldn’t even see him on the table through all the bodies. The look on everyone’s faces was between desperation and pity.

After the ambulance ride to hospital #2, the gurney Alex was on was ripped away from me and the next thing I knew he was given an operation to relieve the pressure on his brain. He remained unconscious when I saw him again. The next day Dr. Nagib came over from his hospital to consult on the case.

What can I say about you doctor Nagib.

Maybe I should just repeat the words I heard over and over from surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists and many others, “If it was my child, he is the only surgeon I would let touch them.” You were understanding and very clear on the severity of the situation. We decided to move Alex to hospitals #3 and 4. It was the best decision I have ever made in my life.

I am grateful to everyone who prayed for, and worked so hard to save Alex, but I have a special place in my heart for you Dr. Nagib. Through each surgery that different teams performed you were so clear and calm as you informed us of each hurdle Alex had to face. A few people had told me you did not have the best bedside manner. I beg to differ. The day you performed the surgery to remove the dead vein tissue it was an excruciating wait. After hours of surgery passed I could see from the information screen that Alex was in post-op and my heart was in my throat. You came into the waiting room with the biggest and brightest smile on your face. That was all the bedside manner I needed. You saved my son.

I suspect this seems like a long time to wait to say how eternally grateful I am, but the feelings have been so deep that no words seemed enough. All I can say is…Alex turns 13 in May. Thank you.

Secret identities

I am always curious about nicknames. Those identities you've gained through the years that only people who know you well can truly understand.

For example: one of the kid's at my son Nick's childcare is called "Stink". I assume the worse.

Over the years, I have had the luxury of having more personalities than Sybil. Quite a few of theses characters were paired with friends who also assumed false names just for the fun of it. Here are a few of the aliases I have gone by:

• TIGER (given to me by my father and my first and favorite name)
• TOOTS PICKLE (from my cousins - when we were kids we all gave each other fruit and vegetable names. This is ironic because my son Nick is currently known as Nicky Pickle)
• SUE-EEEE! (from my brother who thought it was fun to torture me with a pig call name. I've tried to block this name from my memory but my psyche has permanent damage)
• SUSABELLE (from my dear friend Patti's mom during our college days. I am still called by this name by the entire Richard family)
• BECKY SUE BELLE JESSIE JO MAE BOB (again college, again with my friend Patti who was known as Patti-Poo-Pie-Poo-Poo-Pie-Poo)
• Part of a fictitious girl band called SLEEZE AND THE WRYTHETTES (also college, also with Patti and with Barb. I was one of the Wrythettes)
• MAMA ONI (with my now departed sweet friend Chris who was Papa Oni. This family was based on the Farkels of Laugh In fame. Papa and I had many, many children)
• BETTY (counterpart to Bill who is my friend Steve. We met doing summer stock theater)
• BEA (counterpart to Howard who is my charming friend Tommy. We met at college and were reunited touring in children's theater)
• KATE (for Katherine Hepburn - during my serious acting days)
• DAGO CHICK (part of a four person national acting tour that included Spence, Jewfish and Macho Chick - a.k.a Jeff, Bob and Maria)
• LA-QUICHE-A (part of a current duo with my crazy bud Lisa who is Om-Letta)
• And of course - SB (given to me by dear Joanne, the original SB)

If I have forgotten anyone of my names, please feel free to send them to me or to one of my personalities listed above. :)

Junior High Sucks

I dedicate this blog to my son, Alex, who this very day spent over 6 1/2 hours in one of the roughest, most judgemental, confusing, challenging and altogether frustrating places on earth - Junior High School.

It has been a while since I have written about the SB code of ethics and nothing displays those ethics better than our advice to our children on surviving junior high. Now we don't sugar coat much here in SB-land. No matter how you slice it...no matter how prepared you think you are for it...no matter if it is a 2-year or 3-year stint...the plain and simple fact is...

Junior High Sucks.

I may have mentioned in a previous blog the terror I experienced going from a small, Catholic grade school to a large, public junior high. Talk about being thrown to the wolves! I went from wearing uniforms and attending church every morning to wearing anything I wanted and being allowed to pick some of my own classes - hey wait, I guess it wasn't all bad.

The worst part of JH is how it seems to hit at the time of your life when you are most insecure and your hormones are making all the decisions for you. It is also time when you are expected to make the all-important decision on your school social grouping. You know: jock, nerd, invisible, druggie, brain, slut, etc. Being an SB my whole life I was a bit rebellious of this plot to be labeled. I discovered that a good sense of self deprecating humor allowed me to mingle amongst all the tribes without really joining any.

When my son started JH last fall I told him it is a time in your life you just sort of endure. Like hitting puberty - it is inevitable. My son has already managed to get in a fight and punch a bully, break his leg, discover acne, get sent to an after school study class to catch up on algebra and meet a girl. Not bad for his first year. I learned the other day that the main activity on the long bus ride to school was comparing the amount of armpit hair each kid had acquired. I guess some of the girls are in the lead. Ahhhh progress.

So for those of us who have made it through junior high relatively unscathed I want to applaud you. And for those who are in the throes of learning to shower in groups and stand endlessly staring at each other at school dances - I feel your pain.

A Good Chick Flick can do the Trick

WARNING:

The following blog is meant for women only (and possibly a few of my very close gay men friends).

There was some sort of harmonic convergence tonight as I discovered that more than one of my dear friends of the female persuasion was able to have a reduced testosterone environment for a few hours and release a few antsy hormones by watching a chick flick.

Chick flicks (CFs) are one of the few places women can let their eggs hang out. Crying is almost mandatory as is laughing like a banshee. Food of the non-dieting variety is a must and no one leaves without having shared one extremely personal story with their fellow chick flick viewer.

Tonight we indulged in the classic CF - "Steel Magnolia's". I have personally watched this movie at least 20 times and never fail sobbing like 2 year old each time I see it. My dear friend Lisa, who had somehow made it this far in life having never see it, was almost comatose by the end. Mission Accomplished.

Another CF that is in the same emotional league as Magnolias is "The Joy Luck Club". Kleenex brand tissues owes much of their success as a product to multiple screenings of this tear-jerker.


For the uninitiated I will share some of my other CF favorites. Not all are meant to make you cry uncontrollably. Some are just so romantic you get utterly depressed for not finding anything like that in real life. Again, Mission Accomplished.

• Pride and Prejudice - Keira Knightly version
• Return to Me
• Hope Floats
• Shall We Dance
• While You Were Sleeping
• Fried Green Tomatoes
• Dirty Dancing
• Murphy's Romance
• Moonstruck
• Chocolat
• Under the Tuscan Sun
• Something to Talk About]
• Beauty Shop
• Where the Heart Is
• French Kiss
• Like Water from Chocolate]
• Twilight
• Quigley Down Under
• Crossing Delancy
• Parenthood

So, all you woman and SBs out there, if you have a night where you can truly let the estrogen run wild I'd suggest going to my list here and sitting down to watch one of these with a close friend or two. Poor some wine, have something salty and the tissues are on me.

Qwest for a working computer ...or why I still love my pen and paper

My cousin Paul is giving my butt a kick to start writing again so I am on a borrowed computer until I can get my laptop working properly. I think I'd better recap since my absence has been due to technical difficulties. Here's what happened:

• Nov. 2008 - My old computer dies from sheer exhaustion on election night and Barack Obama becomes President. It was worth the sacrifice.
  
• Dec. 2009 - who cares. It's the holiday season and I would rather visit face-to face instead of face to Facebook. I am broke anyway so computer issue will have to wait till next year.
  
• Jan. 2009 - Good friend at work has her husband put together a hard drive for me powered by something called Ubutu. I didn't speak the language.
• Feb. 2009 - get a used Gateway laptop from work that has been wiped so clean I have yet to soil it. I buy Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007. Load that and call Qwest to get a modem. Yes folks I decide to spring for the wireless and loose my dial up. (Moment of silence).


• Mar. 2009 - After much downloading and hours talking to people in India with names like Jennifer and Mitch my modem still will not work properly. I whine - it does no good.
  
• Yesterday - My second visit from a Qwest service technician and we discover that none of the drivers for sound, video or the Ethernet are anywhere to be found on the laptop. Solution: download them. Problem: can't access internet to download. Solution: go out and buy a 4 gig jump drive to download drivers from another computer. Problem: When I try to unzip them on my laptop it cannot "create C:Cabs" and aborts the unzip process.
• Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

(Go to your happy place SB.)

Now I never said I was a computer guru but I have Googled C:Cabs and found that nothing of much use turns up. I also added a new WinZip in hopes I could fool it into unzipping the files but no such luck.

My bedroom is strewn with so much non-working hardware and software I am thinking of dating a guy from the Geek Squad just to give us both some satisfaction.

Anyway, Now you know why I haven't written for a while.

She's baaaaaack!

So sorry about my immensely, obnoxious, long absence but life is funny that way. My computer died on election night. (From joy and ecstasy I presume). I am still getting hooked up again, but wanted everyone to know I am still kicking even if I am not typing. My son, Alex however is hobbling. He broke both bones in his right leg in school last week doing a drama, jumping exercise that just happened to be on a throw rug that moved. Ahhhhhhh! It is our crisis du jour.

I'll write something substantial next time but for now it is just good to be back.

Vote and Be Counted!

Today's the day. I have already visited the polls and I have never felt better about the vote I cast. Get out there. Be heard and be the change we need!

The value of a vote

I hope by now the gravity of this election and the vote you will cast in November is very clear to everyone out there. We are all paying for the hubris and unbridled greed of the last eight years. This includes the those who voted twice for false words and tricks as opposed to substance, and those of us who didn't, but also didn't get involved enough to change the outcome (especially after the first "W" term).

For the past few years I have been saying we need something akin to the French Revolution to get these 'let them eat cake' phonies out of power. It takes "we" the people to stand together to fight the type of injustice we've witnessed. I am so heartened to see the amazing number of people - who have very little to cash spare - donating to the Obama campaign out of the sheer desire for change. It is when you have little and you still give that you speak the loudest.

One comment for the "undecideds" out there. Good God, what are you waiting to hear? That a magical fairy president will make it all go away with no taxes and a wave of the flag? Think again. Yes, you have every right to make up your mind, but I can't think of an election in recent times where there has been so much out there to digest on both candidates. If you are truly that conflicted - and I can't believe I am saying this - don't vote. It is so important that we have informed and committed voters rather than those that just show up and check a random box. Too much is at risk.

Resources for Voters:

By the way, if you want to read a powerful article on the real life and times of John McCain see Rollingstone's October 16th post by Tim Dickinson, "Make Believe Maverick" at:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain

Oh yes, don't forget that this election is also in the hands of the electronic voting machines, ballot counters and the ability of folks to get to the polls, get in and have their vote count. There is already a despicable effort to make this more difficult for voters in lower income neighborhoods. A great resource you can download to learn what to do about voter fraud before you hit a snag on election day is the comic book style sine called "Steal Back Your Vote" by Greg Palast and Bobby Kennedy Jr. Get you copy at:

http://www.gregpalast.com/sbyv/

On the radio the other day I heard and elderly man who called in to say he voted early for Obama to avoid the long lines. He also said in a very choked up voice that after he cast his vote he got in his car and cried because he was so overcome and saddened by this campaign season and by what has happened to his America. I couldn't put it better myself.

Barack and Bruuuuuce!

Here's my all time favorite musician on YouTube speaking in Philadelphia about support for my favorite presidential candidate. Have a look and a listen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFnCc20E87g

Debate #2: The professor and the intern

Well folks I have to say the debate was much more than I hoped. No, I don't mean that Sarah Palin was marvelous. She wasn't. I am talking about Joe Biden being the example of what a competent debater and good leader should be. He had the facts, he answered the questions (without winking) and he addressed the falsehoods. I was very comforted. Sarah just made me want to slap a sash on her and vote her in as Miss Congeniality. No substance and all show.

Her calculated ploy at the beginning of the debate was shameless - to ask if she could call the Senator 'Joe' was such an obvious plan of the GOP to keep the word Senator out of the debate so she would "seem" to be on a more equal footing. It might have worked had she not sounded like a parrot that was hoping to get a V.P. Cracker if she repeater what her owners told her to.
"Squawk - environment!"
"Squawk - maverick!"
"Squawk - Palin want a cracker!"

The other annoying aspect was the folksy - down home approach of Gov. Palin. I come from a once factory filled, working class town in Wisconsin. We know what real folks are. We also know when folks are trying to manipulate us and divert our attention to non-essential things. Her responses were so sweet the other night that my poor cousin had to up his insulin shots just to make it through the 90 minutes. Too bad that under the McCain plan he won't be able to afford extra insulin.

Okay - no more jabs - here's the facts folks. You can find Governor Palin and likable as you want. Heck, I'd have a cup of coffee with her. But I don't want an intern doing a manager's job. Our country is facing some of the toughest times I've seen in my 50 years and I was around for the Vietnam debacle. Please don't vote for nice - vote for capable. Vote for informed and vote for a team that isn't connected to what has been a failure for the last 8 years.

Obama vs. McSame

I can't say that it was the most inspiring debate I've ever heard, but the debate really couldn't be inspiring. We need more than a cheerleader to run this country (or a demented cowboy like we have had for the last 8 years). We're in it too deep for the usual campaign rhetoric and touching stories - I wish someone had told Senator McCain.

I tried hard to listen to McCain's plan for our country but I could barely find one. Instead I found a nice old guy who seemed peeved and wouldn't even look Senator Obama in the eye. He spoke of how we need to do "something" and I never got much of a sense of what that something is. Instead I heard a lot of "he's wrong" and "he doesn't know" directed at Barack Obama. It is the usual school kid trick of trying to sound tough without anything to back it up. I think he learned that from his mentor George Bush the king of huff and puff.

I was also not impressed by the Christmas card list of people Senator McCain knows being brought up throughout the debate. Satyric example: "Back in aught 5 Henry Kissinger and I shared a salami sandwich near the reflecting pool while we discussed how much we love our country and how bad those foreigners are." So tell me, how is this going to solve the our policy issues and end the endless war? Where was the substance? How can you love something and not protect it? We're hurting out here. Hello!

I appreciate Senator Obama looking the America people in the eye and giving us details. I want a leader who will lay it out there for discussion and not pretend to have answers. Sure it is easier to criticize a plan that is out in the open than no plan at all - which is the safe road McCain plays. If he doesn't tell them what he wants to do, they can say it is wrong.

We need to elect a leader in the White House who is willing to put the guns and the threats down for a while and attempt diplomatic discussions. I seem to remember that working pretty well for leaders in the past (current incumbent not included).

Senator McCain is a nice man - so go have a beer with him but for heaven sake, don't' vote for nice, vote for capable and prepared.

P.S. On that note, I cannot wait to hear Senator Biden and Governor Barbie in the next debate.

Hiding under the "Bush"

Like most American's out there I have to leave for work soon. Except maybe for the poor folks at Lehman's who lost their jobs.
I am going to continue this blog later when I have more time. Right now I have a though for the day...

Where the hell is George Bush in all this mess?

The only people I see answering questions about the economy are Barack Obama and McCain. Where is the man who has let this country go down the toilet for the last 8 years while he played cowboy in the wrong country fighting an oil-driven war. Boy, that strategy has done the American people well, hasn't it? As we see our tax dollars go to bailing out AIG and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, any retirement we may have had be in jeopardy and nothing being saved for our seniors and our children. Nice job keeping and eye on the American economy Georgie.

I find it laughable and scary that anyone would even think of voting in another republican candidate with the chaos they have left in their wake from 8 years of their leadership. People don't change over night. Political parties don't change over night. John McCain will not change over night. And don't get me started on Sarah Palin. We need new leadership. Please don't throw away your vote this year by hoping the republicans got it. A boss would not let an employee mess up for 8 years and keep him or her on the job. Teachers will not let a student fail for 8 years before stepping in. Let's be responsible voters and think about what really matters in the future.

Look at the headlines and see if what has been in office is working for you.

The GOP is 'Palin' in comparison

Thank goodness the RNC has left Saint Paul and, I kid you not, there has been a chill in the air here ever since they came. It's like the Dementors were in town.

I have been watching the hype over the Republican running mate choice and I think I need to clear a few things up.

1.) Let's not say what a "Maverick" and bold GOP idea it was to have a woman for a running mate in a presidential election. I believe DEMs Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro covered that ground at least 24 years ago.

2.) Let's not say Palin will capture the women's vote. We are voting on issues not hormones. As a woman voter I am insulted that anyone would think I would vote for someone just because of their gender. It is patronizing.

3.) Let's not try to usurp the name Party of Change without giving any examples of change. The RNC was big on insults and small on issues. I can tell where Barack Obama wants lead the country by the specfics in his speech but not McCain. He spoke a lot about what needed to happen but not his method of making it happen.

Let's here more about details and less about pony tails.

Let's get POLITICAL

I have had it. I have kept my tongue as long as an SB possibly can and enough is enough. What is going on with some people out there?

If we have the slightest chance of losing an election (an honestly - how could we if our eyes are open) to "one issue politics" again I am going postal. I am sad to see my Catholic paper plastering pictures of Sarah Palin all over it as if she is Mother Theresa. Holy cow! And I mean that. I am sure she is a fine woman in her own right but don't look at her as the sacred icon of anti-abortion. Abortion, although something I do not personally favor, is not the main issue plaguing our country.

So her 17 year old daughter is going to keep her baby. Great. Mom and dad make a good buck. She has health care and a stable home. Lots of support. Not a hard choice to make.

And while republican supporters say "Oh it makes Sarah Palin so human. It's just family matters and we should leave them alone." Human... uhuh. Why are republicans human when they err and democrats are called family values hating, flag burning, god-forsaken communists when they err. Can you imagine the grand old party field day if that has been Chelsea Clinton or Senator Obabma's daughter? I guess it only matters when it isn't a GOP family.

When did we become this country of people thinking you are only American IF you believe in my personal religion and all of the beliefs that go with it? I have a feeling that those folks who left England and decided to break away from their motherland did not do it because they wanted things to be exactly the same as the Queen felt they should be. (no offense Mum).

I also think that the Native Americans who inhabited this land long before the white settlers came had their own beliefs and own religions, which, according to our U.S. Constitution, they should be allowed to keep. Even our pledge says One Nation Under God but doesn't say Under the God of the right-wing Christians. Why then do people think everyone must believe only what they believe and not vote for what is best for all. ME the people not we the people. Geez!

This is only blog one on this topic. This country is in a mess. And YES - I LOVE MY COUNTRY. I AM PRIVILEGED TO BE HERE. MY FAMILY FOUGHT FOR IT AND IMMIGRATED HERE AND IT IS THE BEST PLACE TO BE. Got it? But it is not doing well right now. People are hungrier than ever. Having a home is an impossible dream for most of us. Health care is astronomical or unattainable. Seniors are struggling to survive. Children are going to be left with a humongous debt and a filthy environment. Now if none of those things bother you or effect you, by all means, vote to keep the status quo. You are fortunate to live in that bubble of yours. But if you are like the MAJORITY of us wondering how - with our full time jobs - we are going to pay for gas and school and food - then speak up! I want to hear from you. I believe we can do better.

The NRA - National Rummage Addicts

One outing that I enjoyed recently was five hours of garage sale stalking with my friends Lisa, Mike and Kevin. We circled the location of our prey in the paper. We entered our destinations in the GPS. We salivated at the thought of what might be in someones musty old garage or strewn about their back yard and we started the engine, sporting a a full tank of gas. The hunt was on!

Whether it was a garage sale, yard sale, rummage sale or estate sale - we were up for the challenge. First up to bag their game was Lisa who found a lovely, blue, floor-length satin dress that would only fit a SIZE 4 like her. She even slipped it on OVER her clothes! The only thing I would dare try on in public is a purse.

I was up next, cornering a sturdy, wood television table in a light wood that matched my living room. I had been seeking just such a table for months to replace the leaning tower that was currently holding up our TV set. I even managed to get the price reduced. SCORE!

Mike was slow out of the gate but rallied quickly by corralling a fine set of saw horses. He then regretted letting the vice slip by him that he spotted earlier in the day. It would have gone well with the horses.

Kevin, the youngest of our team did the best. Hiding in the "Free Boxes" he nabbed a Timberwolves jersey and a set of walkie-talkies.

All in all our safari into the neighborhoods and their mysterious alley-ways was fun and exhausting. We are putting together another expedition in the near future. Let me know of any special treasures you've found on your travel through the junkyard jungle.