New York

I've been in my hometown of Poughkeepsie, NY visiting with my family since Wednesday. We've come together to spend time with my Dad, who is fighting the end stages of cancer at age 66. This is the third battle on his journey with the disease. He is very weak now and is unable to get out of bed, eat or use the commode without our help. It is humbling to help my father with such basics. Today I spent doing housework, chores and errands to help my mom, in addition to assisting Dad. I am praying for him and am grateful to have this time to spend with him. Thank you to everyone who has offered prayers and kind words. They mean a great deal to us!

OKC

Last weekend was our last regular season rugby game. It was an away game against the Oklahoma City Crusaders. Steve and I road-tripped up to OKC on Saturday morning before the game. I got to start in this game for the first time ever! I played the whole first half, and got positive comments from Coach and from teammates, which was a first.

Unfortunately Steve tore a hamstring early on in the match and had to be replaced by another lock, so we didn't have a chance to play together for very long!

How cute is THIS guy?

Saturday night was for going out on the town and meeting up with some other players from our team. We didn't stay out too late, though, due to various aches and pains. We stayed at a Residence Inn near I-40 in OKC where a new gatehouse was under construction. Since breakfast was being served in a trailer, we decided to eat elsewhere. Later on Sunday we did some sightseeing around the OKC area. We visited Bricktown, a redeveloped warehouse district near downtown. Nearby was the Myriad Botanical Gardens and the Crystal Bridge Tropical Observatory, which appears to be straight out of a Logan's Run episode. Later we paid our respects at the Oklahoma City National Memorial, which was built on the site of the former Murrah Federal Building in the north end of downtown. The centerpiece of the Memorial is a tranquil reflection pool, flanked by rows of chairs representing each victim of the terrorist attack on the Federal Building. It is constructed within the site formerly occupied by the Murrah Building.

A New Member of the Family

Okay, so I admit I'm behind on blogging. Meet Cici, the newest addition to the household. She showed up as a stray sleeping on my back porch back in early February. Since then I've placed ads on Craigslist and Petfinder, but no one claimed her. The vet confirms she's basically healthy with a small heart murmur, so we've gradually begun to introduce her to Princess. It's a process, but is interesting to watch.

Don't Blame Me, I Didn't Elect Him

Seems like now that the American people own 80% of AIG, it' s fair to ask our elected leaders if they really understand how to run an insurance company, and if they really understood what was in the stimulus bill. If indeed the controversial bonuses are contractual obligations, the President's public statements are a mess. See the language below, written in closed session and signed into law by the President:

From page H1412 of the Final Stimulus Bill, “SEC. 111. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: “(iii) The prohibition required under clause (i) shall not be construed to prohibit any bonus payment required to be paid pursuant to a written employment contract executed on or before February 11, 2009, as such valid employment contracts are determined by the Secretary or the designee of the Secretary.” This amendment provides an exception for contractually obligated bonuses agreed on before Feb. 11, 2009, which exempts the very AIG bonuses Obama is condemning every single chance he gets. The amendment is in the final version and is law. The provision was inserted in conference committee by Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.), one of the biggest beneficiaries of political contributions from AIG. Another of the biggest recipients was the Obama campaign, which took about $100,000 from AIG, according to several published reports. All of this does start to look a bit like a smokescreen, doesn't it? The same guys who took campaign money from AIG appear to have added language protecting AIG executives - and now that it's public, the fake outrage is really laughable. All the while, the parties continue at the White House. Apparently our new President is unable to even communicate with partygoers without his now-famous teleprompter. Laughable.

The Prez said of AIG: "This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed," Obama told a group of small business owners. "I mean, how do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?"

Well Mr. President, they probably started by following the law you signed into effect.

And if (and it's still an if) the bonuses are contractually protected, the reality is that contracts are part of the basic rule of law. However odious and hateful the creeps who receive them are. If we want "revenge", attorneys general should go after AIG decision makers instead.

Health Care "Facts" White House Style

“The cost of health care now causes a bankruptcy in America every thirty seconds," Obama said at the opening of his White House forum on health care reform. The problem: That claim, based on a 2001 survey, is simply unsupportable. Click on the title for the full article.

Rest In Peace, Wendy Richard

British actress Wendy Richard passed away recently after another brave battle with cancer. Known to some Americans as "Miss Brahms" from Are You Being Served? Richard also played Pauline Fowler on EastEnders, my favorite series of all time. As an original character from the series dating back to 1987, those of us who have followed the show from the beginning thought of Pauline as almost an extended family member. Pauline and the love of her life, husband Arthur, are pictured here. Richard left EastEnders in 2006 over creative differences with writers regarding the proposed remarriage of Pauline. She will be dearly missed.

Annoying Things

1. Drivers who refuse to move out of the left lane, even though it is obvious to anyone that they are blocking traffic. There is an epidemic of this behavior in the D/FW area.
2. Lazy filling stations that don't replenish the receipt paper for "pay at the pump", bluffing that we won't bother to go inside. I go inside.
3. Waiting more than an hour past the scheduled time for a medical appointment.
4. The constant drumbeat of negative economic news from the media and from politicians. Don't they see they are making things WORSE with all the negative talk?
5. People who are in over their heads at work, and are too ignorant to realize it.

Care to add to my list? Comment and tell me what you think is annoying!!