Happy Birthday, Li'l Nephew

Some funnies for the birthday boy (and his sisters too!):

Bath Time, and then some Polar Bear fun: Golf, Ice Climbing, Vending Machine, Hang Gliding and the one more with a couple of cool songs: Tiny Toons.

Enjoy!

"The Book Thief"

stole my heart.

I rarely buy a book. I don't have the money to spend on all the books I want to read and that's what libraries are for, right? Also, there aren't many books that I feel like I just have to have. I enjoy reading most books once and have no intention of reading them again. (The good news, however, is that my memory is so crummy, I can usually read a book several times and enjoy it each time). Now and then, a book stands out among the rest and insists that I possess it ("Peace Like A River" or "The Power Of One" to name a couple). It is certain that "The Book Thief" will join them, triumph over them. Even if I never read it again, I want to see it there on the bookshelf so that I can remember. I don't ever want to forget Liesel or Rudy or Max. Hans or Rosa or the mayor's wife. It was that kind of book.

To say that Markus Zusak's writing style in this novel is exquisite and unique doesn't really do it justice---there were passages that made me murmur aloud in utter satisfaction. To say that this story was devastating oversimplifies matters. To say that it evoked emotions like few books have done is a bit of an understatement. I'll describe what it's about by just saying this: Nazi Germany in the late 30's. Oh, the atrocities to humanity; the resilience of the human spirit.

Thanks, Markus Zusak, for writing this story. Thanks, Lisa, for recommending it. I can't think of anyone who shouldn't read it.

Right away.

Pick Me For That Jury

An attorney for the alleged kidnapper of those two boys---the one who was held for four years and the more recent victim---has apparently rejected a plea deal that was offered because, among other things, it included several consecutive life sentences (as well it should). The attorney is quoted as saying, "Let's see what 12 people can decide. Because I think we can do far better with a jury. You've heard one side of the story. That's it. At trial, both sides are going to come out."

Both sides?

You mean there's a side that could possibly, possibly justify kidnapping a young boy, depriving him of life as he knew it and forever changing life as it might have been? You mean there's a side that could possibly excuse and pardon the anguish and horror that the families involved suffered, not to mention the fear and terror of a boy stolen?

Excuse me if I find that side to be a non-weight-bearing side.

Just When You Think You've Heard It All

I've been following the story in the news about two guys who gave their 2- and 5-year-old nephews marijuana to smoke. There's a video showing them putting the cigs in the baby's mouth, making a joke about it, laughing. The guys have been arrested and now the uncle says something along these lines: "Well, they were gonna smoke anyway. It was inevitable, whether I gave it to them or someone else. Y'all are blowing it out of proportion." Excuse me?? These children are TWO and FIVE!! To say these young boys possibly don't stand a chance is likely the understatement of the year.

My Lips Are Sealed!

Remind me to never mention the boring, routine days again. If I ever do, zap me.

My dad is back in the hospital, admitted this time (not just an emergency room visit). Tonight will be his second night. Saturday he never got out of bed (this is HIGHLY unusual behavior), Sunday he came down with a fever, temperature of 104. He couldn't even get himself to the car; my brother and a friend who was visiting their home at the time had to get him in the car. Anyway, he has an infection that they can't pinpoint and they're running yet more scans. Nobody has told him much of anything--what's going on, how long he's supposed to be there, etc. etc. I guarantee you he's gonna hie himself right outta there by tomorrow. Enough of that already. We shall see.

And then today around 2:15 while on my way to the school to pick up my two youngest, I got a call from the school. My youngest was in the nurse's office with two broken teeth. His mouth connected with a girl's head in P.E. and his two front (NOT baby) teeth broke---one in half, one chipped. He was in pain, in shock, afraid of what it meant to have broken teeth, etc. The lady in the front office---bless her li'l heart---went back out to the track and actually found the other half of his one tooth. She promptly put it in milk, I rounded up my kids and we headed for the dentist's office. Two hours later the dentist's magical repairs were done and he looks as good as new. HOWEVER....we have to watch for infection, in the one tooth especially (that broke in half). The break was very near a nerve and if it gets infected, they'll have to do a root canal which will be very difficult apparently. The roots are not fully developed or some such thing---at any rate, infection = bad. For two weeks he has to be extremely careful (no basketball? no wrestling? no running around? Riiiiggghhhtt) and eat soft foods. Even after that, he needs to be careful. It should be interesting. I imagine I'll be a bit nervous about his mouth for awhile.

And the girl? Who knows. Apparently she turned around when he bumped (?) into her, said "oh, sorry" and skipped off to her class. ??? Doesn't her head hurt? How could my son break his teeth and her head not even hurt? Weirdest thing ever. Could be that she's got a whopper of a headache right now, though. I wonder if she'll remember where it came from.

So. Zip. Zip. No more talk of boring days.

Be Careful What You Wish For

So because we don't want too many days of boring routine, along comes today to stir things up a bit. To make a long story short, my dad had a strange day in that he suddenly found himself in his truck in the middle of his work day not sure of where he was, not sure of what he was doing, not sure of where he was going. He pulled off to the side of the road and retrieved a map to help guide him to the house where he'd been working earlier, a house he'd been to countless times. He has no recollection of calling my mom to wish her happy birthday during the morning (happy birthday, mom!), he has no recollection of calling his doctor to make an appointment this morning, an appointment which he missed while mapping his way back to his job site.

The lady of the house where he returned drove him to his doctor who then told him to go to the emergency room to make sure he hadn't suffered a TIA (similar to a mini stroke). Conclusion: all the blood work, CATscan, other various tests show no abnormalities. He was taken off a couple of medicines that he was finishing up as part of his prostrate cancer treatment. He has gotten little sleep lately (got up 12 times during the night last night), has been under some stress and probably hasn't eaten great or kept hydrated. So....perhaps it's a combination of all those things---meds, exhaustion, dehydration. Who knows. But knowing that big chunks of the day have completely disappeared from his radar screen has been frustrating for him. I can only imagine that it'd be a scary feeling.

Strangely, a very similar thing happened to my mother-in-law a month or so ago. Almost the exact thing, so it was a bit of deja vu when I was telling her about my dad. Scary stuff. A little strange. A little weird. Is this what growing older is like.....really?? Well, I'm gonna pick a different way. My way's gonna have much fewer health issues and is gonna be way more fun. By then my laundry should be done.

For Da Kids

Some more fun things to watch, perfect for a lazy Friday:

Ya gotta be quick

Ya gotta be sly

Polite can go TOO far

It's good to be prepared

Kindness can pay off

The Spring Bunny

You read right. That's what some yahoo in some town thought that the Easter Bunny should be called: the Spring Bunny. First it was the Christmas tree that came under attack and now it's the Easter Bunny. Here's the thing---if these symbols of religious holidays that are not part of your religion bother you, can't you just ignore them? Something else: the Christmas tree and the Easter Bunny aren't exactly religious symbols in that they don't symbolize anything in the Bible. Sure, they're part of the whole religious holiday but they aren't scripturally symbolic. The cross is a religious symbol but that's not part of any celebrating. Nobody decorates a cross---that would be, well, just wrong somehow. And nowhere that I've ever read does the Easter Bunny or Easter eggs ever get mentioned as part of any doctrine. I'm not huge on Christmas trees or Easter anyway (even though I believe in Jesus and God and the Bible and believe what's in it is important, even vital), but the fact that people enjoy decorating a Christmas tree and have fun hiding Easter eggs and summoning up the Easter bunny doesn't bother me. (Yes, I can see that since I'm not Jewish or Muslim or an atheist, etc., it obviously wouldn't bother me very much.) Still, it seems like maybe there are more important causes and issues to put one's energy into. Maybe hunger and poverty are a more worthy cause of outrage than the naming of a tree a CHRISTMAS tree; maybe child abuse and neglect are more important needs for resources than worrying about the EASTER bunny.

Am I wrong here? Tell me what I'm missing.