As My Whimsy Takes Me...

THOUGHT NUMBER ONE:

I could take a month of Sundays.

Every so often, the Gods smile down upon me, and re-arrange my schedule so that I can not only see my wife in person and awake, but also a few days in a row that I can do what I want to do.

Today is one of those days. Tomorrow is another. It's what passes for a weekend when you work for Homeland Security.

Now, don't get me wrong; I don't just sit around, meander through cyberspace, and read the stack of books that gets added to and subtracted from on a regular basis. I also enjoy the various chores that comes from being a homeowner guy.

I like mowing the lawn, for example; it's an "order from chaos" thing.

You might not know this, but it takes a decent amount of time to replace all the pull handles in your average kitchen. And then, when that's done, you realize that now the various kitchen doorknobs don't match now. So, it's back to Menards.....

No matter how hot it gets outside, the water is ALWAYS cold when you wash your car.

THOUGHT NUMBER TWO:

And now that all the chores are finished for today (yes, I KNOW there is some laundry, but I've got to have something to do on Labor Day) I can sit and watch re-runs of the NFL on the NFL Network.

By the way; the Lions went 4-0 in preseason. I'm depressingly optimistic that maybe they won't suck quite as much as I'm used to.

THOUGHT NUMBER THREE:

By the way, I'm writing this on my new laptop. This really cool doohickey just off to the right side of the keyboard makes the wireless really fast. I may never go down to my office again.

THOUGHT NUMBER FOUR:

A young fellow appeared at my door yesterday, carrying what looked like a ton of literature, and wearing a candidates button. He asked me what I think is the most important thing to consider in the coming election.

My response: I'm tired of living in fear; I'm tired of living in a country that has been floating in a bubble of fear and paranoia since the early part of this decade. I'm tired of the world looking at my country as if we're unrepentant bullies. I'm tired just at looking at the tarnish that has overcome the shining beacon that was once my country. I want to be proud again, but for the right reasons; and those reasons are because my country is a leader in exploration, in invention, in compassionate care for our citizens, in diplomacy, in education.....

I didn't say all that to him. What I said was, "I'm tired of living in the barrel of the gun."

He smiled, handed me a ton of literature, and asked me to vote for his guy. I told him to come back after next week, because I haven't made up my mind yet.

AND FINALLY:

God, if you're listening, please give the gulf coast a break.