Look, ma! No cavities!

Had my 6-month checkup at the dentist (shudder) and everything was just fine. Whew. I hate going to the dentist.

Today I am working on a paper but may have to run to UniTown to sign a form for a student. There's good and bad to that; time and gas to go 120+ miles, but the chance to pick up Youngest Daughter's inhaler, which I forgot to bring home yesterday.

Yay! for the SCOTUS ruling on the school cases although it's a bit narrower opinion than I would have liked.

Yay! for the immigration bill failing.

Boo! for our local politicians, who are among the nation's worst, and who have been stunningly stupid this week.

Welcome to the circus

Son's driving test was scheduled for today at 9 a.m. We had engaged a driving school for him, and it was working out really well--they would come pick him up from the condo or work, take him for a 90-minute lesson, and bring him back. As part of the package, they would also drive him to the test and allow him to use their car.

After the brake light/truck debacle of his first attempt, we figured this was a way of making sure he had a working vehicle and a leisurely, calm testing situation.

Suurrrrrrrrrrrre.

He left this morning at 8 for his appointment. At 9:30 I got a call from him. Just as the examiner was coming to his car to start the exam the car decided not to start. Deader than a doornail. The instructor from the school was frantically calling the office to get a replacement car, but no one was answering the phone. So Son called me and asked me to bring his car to the test site by 10 a.m.; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to take the test today.

I got directions off Google maps, woke up Youngest Daughter so she could help me out if I got lost, and ran to his car. We had just gotten it back from the shop last night--emergency brake cable fixed, inspected, the whole nine yards. I hopped in, turned it on, and it was deja vu all over again. The brake light was on!

I debated taking the truck for about two nanoseconds. Son would have just flipped if I had done that, so I figured I'd go with Son's car anyway on the hope that the light would magically go out if I just tapped on the dashboard enough or the sun was at just the right angle to make the light invisible (lol), and started for the test site. Called the instructor to tell her the car wouldn't be usable for the test but that I was coming. She said she had finally gotten someone at her office and a replacement car was on its way.

Poor Son was shaken, demoralized, and wondering if he was ever meant to get his license. The replacement car showed up at 9:59, thank God, and he was off a few minutes later with the examiner. I paced around in the heat worrying and praying until I saw the car coming down the street. I was a good block away, so I was watching for his face when he got out to see his expression. He didn't look happy, and my heart just sank. But when I got closer, I saw the school instructors shaking his hand so I knew he had passed.

The poor guy was so wrung out by this time that he didn't want to drive his car home. We will have to take it back to the shop today, but at least now he has his license and can get around on his own. Whew. It's been a saga.

A conversation that didn't go quite as planned

Youngest Daughter to me: I am 17. Does that scare you?
Me to Youngest Daughter: Sure. I'm terrified.
Youngest Daughter to me: Next year I will be 18. Doesn't that scare you more?
Me to Youngest Daughter: Nah. I'll be glad. Because that means I can kick you out to live on your own. (EVIL GRIN)
Youngest Daughter to me: I hate you.


Bwahahahahahhaa

Happy birthday, Youngest Daughter!


Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday, Youngest Daughter,
Happy birthday to you

May you live long with us
May you live long with us
May you live long,may you live long,
May you live long with us

Niech nam zyje sto lat
Niech nam zyje sto lat
Niech nam zyje sto lat Youngest Daughter
Happy birthday to you!


Sto lat, sto lat, niech zyje zyje nam.
Sto lat, sto lat, niech zyje zyje nam.
Jeszcze raz, jeszcze raz, niech zyje, zyje nam.
Niech zyje nam!

Necessary but unsettling

This past weekend we attended the burial of our friend's dad. Spouse's dad died 24 years ago this past May, and these friends were there to help us deal with the work of closing out a life. We were moving into our house at the time, I was very pregnant with Eldest Daughter, and the death was unexpected. Friend's dad died a couple months ago in Virginia, after a long battle with Alzheimer's. He was a brilliant engineer, and we got a kick out of talking to him (or rather, listening to him) over the many years we visited our friend at their family's house on the beach. So we were glad to be able to pay our respects and support our friend and his family, returning that long-ago favor in a small way. The ceremony was very nice, and it was a lovely day. We reconnected with some old acquaintances too, which was also nice.

Life's reality is that we (usually) bury our parents. When Spouse's mother died unexpectedly in the late 70's the family was completely and utterly unprepared. No burial plot, no idea what kind of ceremony she wanted, no will...and in the midst of the worst blizzard in the history of the city. She couldn't even be buried until mid-February, because the snow was 10 feet high and the ground was frozen solid. I remember we had an hour's notice that the cemetery officials were finally going to bury her, and we were frantically rounding up family members to get there for a grave-side service. Ten years later, when Spouse's dad died, we at least had a burial plot and it wasn't snowing--although it was Memorial Day weekend and we waited as long as we could for Spouse's sister to get a flight from California (she made it just before the graveside service). No will, though, which seems to be the norm for his family (he has lost his parents, an uncle, a brother, and a sister--none of whom had wills).

We learned from those experiences and have wills, have talked about what we want when we are gone, although we don't yet have a burial plot. Spouse said he wants to be cremated and his ashes thrown into the river. Anyway, my parents have also made wills and talked to me about what they want, and today they took me to see burial plots in the town where they live. Sigh. I know it's necessary, and prudent, and appreciate that they don't want me to have to deal with these decisions, but it sure is uncomfortable. Mom wants the plot closest to the road so if anyone visits they won't have far to walk. She knows that there's not likely to be visitors--people don't make the trek to cemeteries like they used to. I haven't been to my grandparents' graves since they were buried there; I don't even know if I could find them. Granted, they are in another state, but I've been back to that area several times and even lived close by for a while, and I never even thought of going to visit their graves.

I think one reason we don't go is we don't think of our loved ones as being there, in the ground. We know they are in heaven and what's in the ground is just the remains of a shell that housed their spirits. It doesn't mean we don't think of them; I think of my grandparents a lot, and often tell the kids stories about them. I miss them still.

While I think it's a good idea to get the plots, it's not a happy thing. Of course, we are hoping for the Rapture, which means it would be money wasted, but are being good and prudent stewards in the meantime.

Monday, Monday

Today I am trying to get some actual work done for a change. Random stuff while I take a lunch break:

• Looks like the SCOTUS rulings on the school cases will come out on Thursday.
• Youngest Daughter's birthday is tomorrow, so I need to buy the fixings for dinner and birthday cake today. I guess I will do that on the way over to the auto mechanic (fixing Son's brakes).
• I found an old Cat Stevens CD while cleaning out the buffet last month. I love Morning has broken.
• It's a hot one today. Thank God for AC!
• Since I have to drive the truck to The City Too Very Far Away next month, and then to Williamsburg VA two weeks later, I have decided to rent a car for the Otakon convention in Baltimore. That's a lot of miles in one month; last year, I drove about 3000 miles in July. I'd like to have a little more than one month between oil changes ;-)
• I hope this immigration bill gets killed. It's an awful piece of legislation.
  

He won! He won!

I really enjoyed listening to Paul Potts in Britain's Got Talent, and I am glad he won. Can't wait for the CD!

A SCOTUS decision I'll be watching

From http://www.abanet.org/publiced/preview/briefs/dec06.shtml#05915
Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education et al.
Docket No. 05-915

Questions Presented


1. Should Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003) and Regents of Universitv of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 268 (1978) and Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 244 (2003) be overturned and/or misapplied by the Respondent, the Jefferson County Board of Education to use race as the sole factor to assign students to the regular (nontraditional) schools in the Jefferson County Public Schools?

2. Whether the race-conscious Student Assignment Plan with mechanical and inflexible quota systems of not less than 15% nor greater than 50% of African American students without individually or holistic review of any student, meets the Fourteenth Amendment requirement of the use of race which is a compelling interest narrowly tailored with strict scrutiny.

3. Did the District Court abuse and/or exceed its remedial judicial authority in maintaining desegregative attractiveness in the Public Schools of Jefferson County, Kentucky?

This case is interesting to me because we experienced a similar situation when our children were elementary-school age. The plaintiff in this case is a mother whose four-year-old son was denied entry to his neighborhood school and forced to take a 90 minute bus ride to a school across town--because of racial balancing quotas. Similar quotas are in effect at HomeCity public schools, only in reverse: students are not eligible for the magnet school lottery if students of their race are needed to meet quotas in their neighborhood schools. The HomeCity Board of Education, however, didn't TELL parents of the eligibility criteria, and just threw out lottery requests of the affected students without any notification. When this practice was exposed there was a huge outcry, as one would expect, and the middle class of all races left the city in even greater numbers than before. Neighborhoods like mine, where police and firefighters and city workers of all races lived, were decimated as anyone who could leave decamped for the suburbs. Their replacements were not, shall we say, assets to the neighborhood. We now hear gunfire and police sirens quite often. Twice the street has been locked down because of domestic hostage situations. The school system obviously has not recovered and has gotten much worse--if that is even possible.

Because of this racial balance nonsense, our children would have been forced to attend a jail-like school where the 4th grade teacher was a convicted sex offender (how he got hired to teach in an elementary school is another disgraceful scandal). Our response was to tighten our already tight belts and send them to Christian school. It was a significant sacrifice of money and time but infinitely worth it. Of course, because of the hefty tuition costs and our single salary we have been unable to afford to move--but that day is coming now that two of our three are out of college and I've got a full time job.

Quotas? Denying a child entry to a school because of the color of his skin? Didn't Brown vs. The Board of Education explicitly say that was wrong? A similar case is pending against the Seattle BOE. One wonders if we will ever be mature enough to see beyond skin color. After the Duke debacle, where the whole case focused on punishing the defendants for their race and class and not on determining whether or not a crime had actually occurred (and if these defendants were responsible), it doesn't seem to me like we've come too far. We still judge people for the color of their skin and our perception of the size of their bank account. We have the hubris to think we can determine the optimal mixture model for a school's demographics, without regard for the individual needs of the students themselves. What four year old should be on a bus for three hours every day? Where is the common sense that says quotas don't trump a child's safety and well-being?

No wonder homeschooling and private/parochial schools are so attractive. Who wants the state to dictate where our children should be educated? It's bad enough the government tells us how and what they should (or should not) be taught.

Whenever I am frustrated at our financial situation, I see something like this case and remember why we are where we are. Then I'm thankful, once again, for the choice we made.

Just watched Casino Royale

and Son, Youngest Daughter, and I have a few comments:

• The beginning looks like an iPod commercial. That's not a good thing.
  
• Does Daniel Craig stick tissue under his upper lip? The pout was very Gloria-Swanson-like.
• MI6 uses GOOGLE? What is that, Google Spy?
• Where are the cool gadgets? Defibrillators are not cool gadgets. Cell phones are not cool gadgets.
• Anyone who uses an inhaler as often as LeChiffre did would never leave it behind on the table.
• People need to speak up. I spent most of the movie thinking the girl's name was Vespa.
  
• James Bond never says he loves the girl. Cardinal James Bond rules are broken all throughout this movie.
• Sean Connery's pre-eminence as the ideal Bond is in no danger from this newest imposter.

Sorry Eldest Daughter, we give this movie a thumbs-down.

Kaboom!

Lots of thunderbooming and rain today. I had two meetings on campus, and of course I left the umbrellas home. I got a little wet walking to the truck but not too badly. Then I looked out the patio doors and saw we forgot to put the charcoal and the lighter away after Sunday's cookout. Drat.

Youngest Daughter's swelling is going down; now if only she would eat more. Her stomach has been bothering her a lot, which we think was primarily from the pain medicine. I got her some pears and made mashed potatoes today.

Yesterday was a weird day. YD woke me up at 4 a.m. complaining that her stomach hurt. Then Kitty Son had a seizure at 6:30, probably a result of the stress of traveling to HomeCity and back and the vet visit. It wasn't a real bad seizure, thank God. He stayed close by me all day after that, poor thing.

We gave Spouse a new watch for Father's Day and apparently he thinks it's too expensive because he is driving me nuts trying to get his old one fixed. No, I don't have the receipt. No, I don't know which credit card I used when I bought it. Argh! It was not that great a watch! Let it go!

I got my dad an external hard drive, and went over there yesterday to set it up for him. He has more computer problems than anyone I know. The last problem was a faulty power supply, and he originally thought it was the hard drive so he was frantic about losing his files. This external drive is 250Gb so I think that will hold a lot of sermons.

Happy Father's Day!

To my dad, and my Spouse, and my uncle, and my brothers, my brothers-in-law, and my kids' Dziadzi. Thanks for all the fantastic work you do. You enrich our lives immeasurably.

From Letters from the Desert blog:

From Letters from the Desert blog:

Soldiers

I recently attended a showing of "Spiderman 3" here at LSA Anaconda. We have a large auditorioum we use for movies as well as memorial services and other large gatherings. As is the custom back in the States, we stood and snapped to attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was going as planned until about three-quarters of the way through the National Anthem the music stopped.

Now, what would happen if this occurred with 1,000 18-22 year-olds back in the States? I imagine there would be hoots, catcalls, laughter, a few rude comments, and everyone would sit down and call for a movie. Of course, that is, if they had stood for the National Anthem in the first place.

Here, the 1,000 Soldiers continued to stand at attention, eyes fixed forward.

The music started again. The Soldiers continued to quietly stand at attention. And again, at the same point, the music stopped. What would you expect to happen? Even here I would imagine laughter as everyone sat down and expected the movie to start.

Here, you could have heard a pin drop. Every Soldier stood at attention. Suddenly there was a lone voice, then a dozen, and quickly the room was filled with the voices of a thousand Soldiers<

And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,

o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

It was the most inspiring moment I have had here in Iraq. I wanted you to know what kind of Soldiers are serving you here.

Whew, that's over!

Kitty Mama weighs 11 lbs. 6 oz. Kitty Son weighs 12 lbs. 8 oz. Both are in good health, got their shots, and are glad to be back home. Kitty Mama needs her teeth cleaned, to the tune of $340 (summer salary, hurry up!). Kitty Son had his blood drawn for a routine CBC. The vet said she wouldn't bother doing a liver function test on him, it's always high anyway because of his liver shunt. He has gained 2 lbs since his last visit. She said he is the only cat she knows who has gained weight on the low protein food. I told her he gets an occasional donut piece and loves honey nut Cheerios, but those are rare treats.

Youngest Daughter is still sleeping. No throwing up for a whole day! Hopefully today she will eat something solid. I told her she looks a bit like Richard Nixon and she wasn't pleased, lol.

Random news stuff

California seems to be dominating this morning's news:

• UC Riverside canceled finals and graduation after someone sent threatening letters and a homemade firebomb was found on campus.
  
• Arnold Schwarzeneggar suggested that anyone who needs to learn English could do it faster by immersion (well, duh), and critics are saying he doesn't know anything about immigration issues...right...
• Angelina Jolie, who starred in a movie about a reporter, banned reporters from the movie premiere where she was supposedly collecting money for Reporters Without Borders. She blames an overprotective lawyer.
  
• A bandit who smells like dirt knocked over three banks.
• A suspect was found in the baseball bat murder case.
  

I've been following the space station computer story, and the disconnect between what NASA officials are saying and what the headlines say is amazing. I watched a briefing where the steps and options were clearly laid out, the available stores of oxygen and options for generating more were explained--and still the headlines read as if de-manning the space station was imminent. If you just scan headlines, you'd think ISS was going to fall out of the sky tomorrow. The stories themselves are reasonable; why can't they write an accurate headline?

On a totally unrelated subject, the kitties Mama and Son have a vet appointment this morning. This should be fun (NOT).

Finally, some smallest measure of justice

Mike Nifong, the DA in the Duke no-rape case, has apologized for the pain he has caused the families of Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans. Now I am waiting for the scores of academics, at Duke and across the country, who publicly judged these young men guilty (by and large because they were white, middle class athletes), to apologize as well.

I'm not going to hold my breath.

As the mother of a white, middle class male, I am disconcertingly aware of the scorn and, sometimes, downright vitriol heaped on white males by many of my colleagues in academia. God forbid the white male should also, like my son, be blond and blue-eyed. You'd think that particular combination was responsible for all the Evil in the World, to hear some spew about it. Oh, and for SURE don't let that boy be an athlete. The only worse thing, to hear some talk, would be to be a soldier.

I am also disconcertingly aware that it only takes one vicious female's lie to plunge an entire family into a nightmare like this, having experienced something similar within my own circle. That experience made the Duke case even more painful to watch, and the various cries of condemnation from academics even more egregious.

It's human nature not to want to advertise mistakes. The reporter who leaves out an important fact never publishes a correction or retraction on page 1; if corrections show up, they are in tiny font and buried in the back of the paper. Likewise, petition signers and flyer posters and professors spewing to reporters, to classes, or in blogs won't stand up and have the tiny shred of decency Mike Nifong finally exhibited and say "We were wrong, and we are sorry. We have learned from this mistake."

Because they aren't, and they haven't.

Toothies update and things I wish I had money for

Poor Youngest Daughter threw up this morning at 5 a.m. She is still sleeping, but I think I will wake her up soon. She can start saline rinses today and eat something a little more substantial than the applesauce she upchucked.

I got the kitchen floor mopped. Which leads to the second subject for today: things I wish I had money for.

• A new kitchen floor
• New kitchen cabinets
• Heck, a new kitchen!
• Central air
• A second bathroom, or at least a half bath
• New front entry and screen doors
• A new mattress and box springs (oh, my aching back!)
  

Ah well, maybe some day.

The other thing I wish I had money for, so I could take Son fishing (I love taking Son fishing but we never seem to get to do that):

Spouse called and someone at work has one of these for sale. It would be so cool to get this for Son! I told Spouse "I have a trailer hitch! We could get it!" Unfortunately, while the asking price is reasonable, it's still out of our reach. I could just imagine Son's face if we bought him a boat...I smile just thinking about it. I've been blessed with a fantastic Son, the best in the universe, he SO deserves this.

Post-toothies

Youngest Daughter is now less wise, having lost all four wisdom teeth to the dentist's hammer this morning. She had a rough time of it; she was upset by the IV insertion, woke up at some time during the surgery, and was having some wheezing. She cried for a solid hour after the procedure was done, partly a side effect from the IV sedation but also partly because she was scared by the IV and her breathing problems. I got her home and called Spouse to ask him to pick up her pain medications. He got here in record time and took off for the pharmacy. It took him a while to come back, because the pharmacist was busy--and while he was waiting, YD's pain medication wore off. Poor thing was in a lot of pain!

She is sleeping now, with a cold pack on her face which I move from side to side about every 20 minutes or so. Looks like the bleeding has mostly stopped, thank goodness. Spouse and I have been sitting here close by her all day (sometimes dozing off ourselves--neither one of us got much sleep last night, thanks to Kitty Son who spent most of the night meowing and prowling around the house). Thankfully, it's a nice day weather-wise, and it's very comfortable in the house.

Tomorrow she can start doing the saline rinses and eat solid food. So far all she's had is water and apple juice. Maybe later tonight I can persuade her to have some pudding or apple sauce, or even some ice cream. I splurged on some Haagen-Dazs coffee ice cream for her, that might tempt the tiny tummy.

It'll be another long night, as we need to make sure she gets her pain medicine every four hours around the clock. I took advantage of the 20-minute blocks of time between ice pack moves to clean the tub and mop the bathroom floor. Tomorrow I will do the kitchen floor, and get some dusting done in my room (hopefully some throwing-out too). That's assuming poor Princess doesn't need some special attention.

Stupid wisdom teeth. Good riddance!

Back in HomeCity

and the weather is quite nice. No need for the bedroom-window AC and the fans make things very comfortable. We brought the kitties with us, because they have to go to the vet Saturday. The trip was a bit traumatic for Kitty Son, who meowed and hissed his way west. Kitty Mama, who made the trip in the cat carrier, protested a bit but then just curled up and slept the rest of the way. I made some cool discoveries about the truck--the front seats have pockets in the back, and the back seats fold up! That gave us plenty of room for kitties and litter boxes and things.

Youngest Daughter weathered her allergy shots well. I took her to the mall bookstore afterwards to get some reading material for this weekend. She is NPO (nothing by mouth) after 6 a.m. tomorrow morning, and then we leave for the dentist's office and wisdom teeth removal at 10:30. We got her some applesauce, pudding, and soup so she should be pretty well set for the next couple of days.

I was so tired out from all the running around today that I zonked out on the sofa for about an hour this afternoon. I hate that, because afterwards I always feel all sleepy and sluggish. Gack.

Other than the faculty meeting today, I got nothing done work-wise. Hopefully I can get some writing done tomorrow after I bring YD home. I'm figuring she will sleep most of the day, or at least I hope she will. I hate wisdom teeth removals. I've been through my own, Spouse's, and now all three kids'. Hopefully she won't have any reactions to the pain medicine, like Eldest Daughter did. We shall see.

This is just scary

Another reason why I don't go on rollercoasters (picture and caption from www.foxnews.com)




Caption: June 9: Passengers on a roller coaster at Springs & Crystal Falls amusement park hang upside down in Hot Springs, Ark. A dozen riders spent half an hour hanging upside down 150 feet above the ground after a power outage shut down the attraction. Spectators cheered when the riders were brought to the ground from the highest point of a loop on the X-Coaster, but one passenger threw up after reaching safety.

Okay, a real post

My truck is already due for its first service call. It passed 3500 miles yesterday. Not surprising, given that I drive all over creation, back and forth between HomeCity and UniTown a couple times a week. During the school year, I made the 14-mile roundtrip between the condo and the uni twice a day, so I was putting at least 30 miles a day on it.

Who decided that 12,000 miles per year was "normal" usage? I don't think I ever drove less than 20,000 miles per year, and usually it's about 25,000. I don't normally drive my own vehicle on vacation trips, but this year I want to limit the amount of money I spend in the summer so I will be driving the truck to Baltimore and Williamsburg in July, returning from Virginia by way of Philadelphia. Lots of mileage.

I am still waffling over keeping the condo or not keeping the condo. The lease doesn't run out until December, so I have time, but I've been wrestling with this forever, it seems. The good thing about being here is that I am not on the road two hours a day. I teach until 8:00 at least two nights a week, and in the fall quarter that's four nights a week. Departmental meetings are usually at 11 a.m. and sometimes earlier, which means I am spending 10-12 hours a day on campus. Add the two hour drive time and basically what I'm doing is going home just to sleep. The bad thing about being here is that the money I could be using to either pay down debt or save for a house in this area is going for rent and utilities. Of course, if I gave up the condo I would have higher gasoline bills so I wouldn't be able to save everything that I spend now on rent, heat, and electricity. I could still stay with my parents a couple nights a week, but four nights in a row is too much like moving in. The other issue is that Youngest Daughter has been establishing herself here in skating lessons, voice lessons, and courses she is taking at my uni. She doesn't want to live out of a suitcase again, like we did the first year, and I don't blame her.

Sigh. Everyone tells me to keep it--Spouse thinks it's the best compromise, given that the house in HomeCity is paid off and he is a number of years from retirement--but I feel like I'm pouring money down the drain that we could use elsewhere.

Another sigh, Father's Day is Sunday and of course I have no idea what to get for either my dad or my spouse. Ack.

All right, all right, I'll blog!

Eldest Daughter is complaining again that I haven't blogged. So here is a blog entry just for you, ED!

Award Saturday

Youngest Daughter got a scholarship from the music school she attends, and the award ceremony was today. We went shopping last night to buy a dress for the occasion, and she picked out a beautiful crisp brown-on-white halter dress. It matches her orange-to-olive Indian shawl perfectly. She also found a three-tiered gold necklace with amber and light green stones that picked up the tones in the shawl. She looked really pretty!

The ceremony was held in a 20's era music hall with very steep steps to the upper seating. We were about 12-14 rows up but I could still get a decent video of the event on my digital camera. Poor baby, when she was walking down the stairs to get to the waiting area in front of the stage before her award was called, she slipped on the rug and slid down half a dozen steps before she regained her footing. She scraped her right shin but her pride hurts worse than the scrape. I don't think too many people were watching, they were focusing on the stage--and she was coming down the right center stairs. At least she wasn't badly hurt, wasn't bleeding, and didn't have any problem on or off the stage.

The place was incredibly crowded, so we left right after her award and went in search of some lunch. She had alfredo, her favorite, and is home now and bandaged up, none the worse for wear.

A huge storm went through the area last night and cooled things off quite a bit so it is very pleasant today. Yesterday was like a sauna. Several towns lost power, but ours was okay. The basement in HomeCity House didn't flood, which is a good thing.

I wish I had saved some of those cookies.....

Random Friday Stuff

• Eldest Daughter will "rawr" at me if I don't blog about her soon. So here! I blogged about you!
• I yanked stuff out of the attic Wednesday while it was still cool enough to stand being up there. We have bags and bags and bags of stuffed animals. I bet we could stock a small store!
• I found ED's rocking horse in the attic. Uncle Dan's dad made it for her. I guess when we take her BF's car hood to the City Too Very Far Away we can also take the horsey for her.
• Today we are driving to the City Halfway Between, where I will hand Son off to Spouse for the weekend. Son and his friends are going to the beach for a cookout tomorrow. Spouse will have to drive here tomorrow afternoon for Youngest Daughter's vocal scholarship award ceremony, then we will have to meet in the City Halfway Between again on Sunday to return Son.
• Son had better pass his driving test at the end of this month.
  
• Boss e-mailed me to ask if I could make the meeting of the GIS steering committee next Thursday. When the committee chairman sent the request around, I indicated that I couldn't attend Wednesday or Thursday. Wednesday is YD's shot day, and Thursday she gets her wisdom teeth out. So of course he picks 10 a.m. Thursday for the meeting. Boss can't make it either, so that means no one from our department can go. I feel really bad about turning Boss down, but there's no way I can go. If they'd scheduled it for Thursday afternoon I could possibly have swung it, but not Thursday morning. Argh.
  
• I made cookies for Son to take with him to the cookout. I am tempted to eat them...
  

Another momentous time in history

June 7, 1967 and the IDF enters Jerusalem for the first time. Listen here:

Transcript and translation:
Colonel Motta Gur [on loudspeaker]: All company commanders, we're sitting right now on the ridge and we're seeing the Old City. Shortly we're going to go in to the Old City of Jerusalem, that all generations have dreamed about. We will be the first to enter the Old City. Eitan's tanks will advance on the left and will enter the Lion's Gate. The final rendezvous will be on the open square above.

The open square of the Temple Mount.

Sound of applause by the soldiers.

IDF Radio Reporter Yossi Ronen: We are now walking on one of the main streets of Jerusalem towards the Old City. The head of the force is about to enter the Old City.

Gunfire.

Yossi Ronen: There is still shooting from all directions; we're advancing towards the entrance of the Old City.

Sound of gunfire and soldiers' footsteps.

Yelling of commands to soldiers.

More soldiers' footsteps.

Yossi Ronen:The soldiers are keeping a distance of approximately 5 meters between them. It's still dangerous to walk around here; there is still sniper shooting here and there.

Gunfire.

Yossi Ronen:We're all told to stop; we're advancing towards the mountainside; on our left is the Mount of Olives; we're now in the Old City opposite the Russian church. I'm right now lowering my head; we're running next to the mountainside. We can see the stone walls. They're still shooting at us. The Israeli tanks are at the entrance to the Old City, and ahead we go, through the Lion's Gate. I'm with the first unit to break through into the Old City. There is a Jordanian bus next to me, totally burnt; it is very hot here. We're about to enter the Old City itself. We're standing below the Lion's Gate, the Gate is about to come crashing down, probably because of the previous shelling. Soldiers are taking cover next to the palm trees; I'm also staying close to one of the trees. We're getting further and further into the City.

Gunfire.

Colonel Motta Gur announces on the army wireless: The Temple Mount is in our hands! I repeat, the Temple Mount is in our hands! All forces, stop firing! This is the David Operations Room. All forces, stop firing! I repeat, all forces, stop firing! Over.

Commander eight-nine here, is this Motta (Gur) talking? Over.

Inaudible response on the army wireless by Motta Gur.

General Uzi Narkiss: Motta, there isn't anybody like you. You're next to the Mosque of Omar.

Yossi Ronen: I'm driving fast through the Lion's Gate all the way inside the Old City.

Command on the army wireless: Search the area, make sure to enter every single house, but do not touch anything. Especially in holy places.

Lt.- Col. Uzi Eilam blows the Shofar. Soldiers are singing 'Jerusalem of Gold'.

General Uzi Narkiss: Tell me, where is the Western Wall? How do we get there?

Yossi Ronen: I'm walking right now down the steps towards the Western Wall. I'm not a religious man, I never have been, but this is the Western Wall and I'm touching the stones of the Western Wall.

Soldiers: [reciting the 'Shehechianu' blessing]: Baruch ata Hashem, elokeinu melech haolam, she-hechianu ve-kiemanu ve-hegianu la-zman ha-zeh. Translation: Blessed art Thou Lord God King of the Universe who has sustained us and kept us and has brought us to this day.

Rabbi Shlomo Goren: Baruch ata Hashem, menachem tsion u-voneh Yerushalayim. Translation: Blessed are thou, who comforts Zion and bulids Jerusalem

Soldiers: Amen!

Soldiers sing 'Hatikva' [The Israeli National Anthem] next to the Western Wall.

Rabbi Goren: We're now going to recite the prayer for the fallen soldiers of this war against all of the enemies of Israel:

Soldiers weeping.

Rabbi Goren sounds the shofar.

Rabbi Goren: El male rahamim, shohen ba-meromim. Hamtse menuha nahona al kanfei hashina, be-maalot kedoshim, giborim ve-tehorim, kezohar harakiya meirim u-mazhirim. Ve-nishmot halalei tsava hagana le-yisrael, she-naflu be-maaraha zot, neged oievei yisrael, ve-shnaflu al kedushat Hashem ha-am ve-ha'arets, ve-shichrur Beit Hamikdash, Har Habayit, Hakotel ha-ma'aravi veyerushalayim ir ha-elokim. Be-gan eden tehe menuhatam. Lahen ba'al ha-rahamim, yastirem beseter knafav le-olamim. Ve-yitsror be-tsror ha-hayim et nishmatam adoshem hu nahlatam, ve-yanuhu be-shalom al mishkavam [soldiers weeping loud]ve-ya'amdu le-goralam le-kets ha-yamim ve-nomar amen!

Translation: Merciful God in heaven, may the heroes and the pure, be under thy Divine wings, among the holy and the pure who shine bright as the sky, and the souls of soldiers of the Israeli army who fell in this war against the enemies of Israel, who fell for their loyalty to God and the land of Israel, who fell for the liberation of the Temple, the Temple Mount, the Western Wall and Jerusalem the city of the Lord. May their place of rest be in paradise. Merciful One, O keep their souls forever alive under Thy protective wings. The Lord being their heritage, may they rest in peace, for they shalt rest and stand up for their allotted portion at the end of the days, and let us say, Amen.

Soldiers are weeping. Rabbi Goren sounds the shofar. Sound of gunfire in the background.

Rabbi Goren: Le-shana HA-ZOT be-Yerushalayim ha-b'nuya, be-yerushalayim ha-atika!Translation: This year in a rebuilt Jerusalem! In the Jerusalem of old!

The historic radio broadcast of the liberation of the Temple Mount and the Western Wall was researched, transcribed and translated by Yitschak Horneman / Quality Translations, Jerusalem.

Happy birthday to Dan!

Have a great day and a marvelous year!

D-Day prayer

I heard this prayer for the first time today. It made me verklempt.

My Fellow Americans:

Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our Allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest — until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

And for us at home — fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas, whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them — help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

Many people have urged that I call the nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.

Give us strength, too — strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.

And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade. Let not the keeness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment — let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace — a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

Thy will be done, Almighty God.

Amen.

Franklin D. Roosevelt - June 6, 1944

Last days for lollygagging

I allowed myself one week to recuperate from this year, and the week is almost over. I did work yesterday, from 9 to 2, though, so it wasn't a full seven days off. Tomorrow we will go to HomeCity for the weekend (big craft show in my old home town, yay!), returning to UniTown Sunday night, and then Monday morning I need to get started in earnest on the tasks I have planned for this summer.

It's unseasonably warm here so I am grateful for the air conditioning in the condo. The house doesn't have central air, but we do have two window units that Son and I will install this weekend (I need to get a third, so each bedroom will have one). I hope to clean out the attic as well, even if I only empty it of all the boxes and stuffed animals that have lived up there for the better part of two decades. I will have to move Youngest Daughter out of her bedroom while I do that, as the dust will surely trigger an asthma attack.

So that's the plan, work on Work Stuff during the week and clean up (and out) the house on weekends. June is a momentous month for Youngest Daughter--award ceremony the 9th, wisdom teeth out on the 14th, birthday on the 26th. We are going on three trips this summer: a weekend in Baltimore and a week in Williamsburg in July, a weekend in Philadelphia in August. Then it will be back to school again, as Son leaves for graduate school, YD enrolls in a couple courses at my uni, and I face the teaching-four-evenings-in-a-row stint for fall quarter. Yeccch.

I finally read my data mining class evaluations from last winter. They were pretty good! I smiled at the ones that said they learned more from this course than any others they had taken, and that they felt like "real data miners." Good. That was my goal! I have some ideas for next year's classes, but I am not going to explore those until August. I need to make some serious headway on tenure-worthy work this summer, and it's too easy to fritter time away tweaking already successful courses.

Hmmm YD is finding ants...or rather, they are finding her....stay tuned.