Sitting through most of the DNC's Rules Committee meeting today, I feel like I've had a baptism of fire. I must say I have a new sense of pride in my party for the democratic manner in which this controversy was handled. Florida and Michigan delegates will be seated at the August convention in Denver, but each will get only a half vote. After hearing all the circumstances that led to their being sanctioned, I agree it's a fair compromise.

I doubt that it would ever occur to the Republicans to settle matters in this manner, opting instead for a gentleman's agreement over cocktails, but that's only one of the differences that separate the two parties. Regardless of Harold Ickes' emotional threat at the end, I foresee Obama quickly garnering the Super-Delegate votes he needs to seal the nomination and the party coming together to support him with only a handful of Clinton die-hards protesting all the way to the convention.

Obama and his family resigned their membership today in the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. The description of the church he hopes to find sounds a lot like the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. He would make a great Episcopalian. Did you know that more of our presidents have been affiliated with the Episcopal Church than any other denomination?

I love it when I'm right! When Scott McClellan announced his resignation in April 2006, I remarked to Mike, "I can't wait to read his book about his time in this White House." I knew he had stories to tell.
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Bush's faithful 29% are busy discrediting and denying the critical memoir. Don't forget, though, that Scott McClellan was once one of those who discredited and denied . . . until he could discredit and deny no more.

We woke up to a puddle of water in the kitchen floor and a freezer on the fritz. I stored the meat in my neighbor's fridge and cooked all the veggies, cleaned out the rest of the refrigerator, changed the water filter, and now I'm trying to leave the door closed and let it start cooling again. I did everything the owner's manual said to do, but made an appointment for a repairman to come just in case it doesn't. Sears Repair said it would be June 5th before they could come, so I called a local repair shop, which gave me a Thursday the 29th date.

My feet are killing me. I've been on them all day and they're just not used to that. I didn't get to the gym this morning, so I'm feeling kinda stiff all over. My shows are back on, so I can get my political fix tonight. I'm looking forward to that.

Something else I'm looking forward to - Skip is coming tomorrow. Fooling with the refrigerator all day, I didn't get nearly as much housecleaning done as I'd hoped to, and if it was anybody but Skip, I'd worry about it, but he'll be okay with it just the way it is. And if he isn't I'll teach him how to do what my daddy used to say about me and my messes - "she waltzed right by it like it wasn't even there." (There's a country song in there somewhere.) Maybe we can sit down at the pool, drink wine, watch the sunset, and talk. That's the plan; hope it doesn't rain.

It suddenly occurred to me yesterday while I was in church that it was my oldest stepson's 45th birthday. The date on the bulletin sorta jumped out at me and grabbed my attention. After church, I attempted to call him and wish him a "Happy Birthday," and catch up on his life for the last few years, but got no answer at the number dialed for me by directory assistance. (I love how they do that when you're calling from a cell phone.) After I got home from lunch at Amerigo's, I tried again, but got an intercept message saying the number I called had been disconnected.
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Okay, I'll google him, I thought. Using "David Frederick" and "Huntsville AL" as the search words, I learned there is more than one person with that name in Huntsville. The number listed in White Pages is the disconnected number I'd called earlier. He and Patrick are still listed at the address I have, but with the telephone number not working, I'm wondering if the address is also no longer valid.
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From Google, I learned that David is a Democrat and has contributed to more than one Democratic candidate. I'd love to talk to him about this year's election. But the most interesting thing I learned from Google is that he and Patrick are breeding Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. And it was with this info that I found an email address, so I've sent him a birthday message that way. Let's hope it works. And David, if you ever google yourself, perhaps you will find this blog and learn that I spent a good amount of time on your 45th birthday thinking about you and wishing I could talk to you. I hope it was a happy day for you.
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I could have cut the search short by simply calling Carla or Randy, but I rarely ever talk to them either. I get queasy at the thought, and it's not them, it's me. They've always been open and gracious to the few overtures I've made toward them, but the betrayal that separated us still stands between us, making conversation awkward and uncomfortable. It was 23 years ago and still hurts like hell everytime I think about it.
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They don't blame me, I know, but I was the one who drew the line in the sand and said, "no more!" I was the one who so naively thought I could bring their dad to his senses by kicking him to the curb like a bag of garbage, and that we would be reconciled and all be one big happy family again, magical thinking to the max. I was the one who shut the door to him and his unfaithful ways. I was the one who made a public spectacle out of a private tragedy. I didn't want to lose him, but I did, and with the loss of the dad, the loss of the step-children was inevitable. It's still one of the unhappiest chapters in my life's story; I was the jilted one, but I feel guilty - co-dependent to the core, I know. It regularly haunts my dreams, but I have happy dreams about them, too. We had 10 years together as a family, and I have way more happy memories of those times than sad.
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Their dad died in 1995 of lung cancer. His third wife has remarried, I learned last year at the Plantersville reunion. Several others in his family have died. And life goes on. I just wish I didn't feel so alienated from those who are still living and could be a little more involved with them as "life goes on." What stops me? What is holding me back? It's a recurring theme in dreams, and I'm working on it.
Here's the last picture we had made together as a family in 1982 or '83. The birthday boy is in the back. Happy Birthday, David!

The Dream Group met again this morning with our paid facilitator. We went over the basics of confidential groups and laid the ground rules for our group. We plan to meet only once a month, which is not frequent enough to suit me, but it's better than nothing. Weekly meetings can be too demanding, as I found out when leading the CoDA group, but I was hoping we could meet every other week, at least. I'm not getting nearly as many dreams lately that I can remember long enough to record. I need to reset the TV so that it doesn't turn on automatically every morning; nothing kills a dream like the TV coming on. Okay, that's done; I reset it to come on every afternoon at 4:00 for Hardball.

I missed my favorite political shows yesterday, so I've kinda been in withdrawal this afternoon, not able to find any commentators that I know and trust. MSNBC doesn't cover politics 24/7 like Fox does, but the videos from yesterday's programs are online, so that has sustained me. I have watched Fox some, but their bias is more than I can tolerate in large doses. I was trying to find out about HRC's stupid remark about the RFK assassination. I discovered that she said a similar thing in March in a Time Magazine interview. How did I miss that? By not reading that issue, that's how. Keith Olbermann ended Friday's Countdown with one of his Special Comments. If you haven't seen it, go there and watch it. She finally articulated what I've suspected for some time, but didn't dare express. How many people are expecting Obama to be martyred? What is it with these folks from Arkansas? If something does happen to him, I think they should look there first.

The wedding I went to last night was for a couple in their sixties. Sweet. And there were some humorous moments, too. One was when we recited the Lord's Prayer. At St. Philip's we've used the contemporary version for the last couple of years, so the traditional version, which we used last night in deference to our guests, was a little rough. It sounded like we didn't know it. Some of our choir members got the giggles about that, me included. The other light moment came in the Post-communion prayer for the couple, which everybody was reading from the program. Our secretary failed to edit out the names of the previous couple for whom it was used, so when we got to that part everybody started giggling again. Rather than "bless Elizabeth and Bob," it said, "bless Jordan and Chase." The people who didn't have programs must have thought we were the silliest, most irreverent bunch of church people they ever encountered. Oh well, Jordan and Chase probably needed to be blessed again anyway. I'm sure it's not the first time the good Lord has heard giggling during prayers.

It's been a busy Friday. I went to the gym with Pam, then she and I and her mother had lunch at Buffalo's on Lakeland Dr. After lunch, I went to the nail salon, then came home and got ready for a wedding tonight at the church. Before leaving for the church, I went to my neighbor's to assist him with shot #6 of the 24 shot treatment he's taking. Then the wedding and reception took up the rest of my evening. Tomorrow I've got a Dream Workshop at 9:00 am, so I can't stay up tonight and blog. Maybe tomorrow I can catch up on all the things I haven't recorded.

Don't you just love those days when all 8 cylinders are operating smoothly? I've had that kind of day, and they happen so rarely that I have to stop and just be thankful. I wish I knew how to make them happen more often, but the secret eludes me.

After a perfectly gorgeous spring day, we've had rain move in ushered by plenty of fireworks. The thunder has Jay-Jay in panic mode and the forecast is for it to last throughout the evening. As long as he can sit, sometimes lie, directly under me, under my desk, he's fairly calm, but when I get up, he begins pacing. I'll try not to move around much. ("Keep me safe 'til the storm passes by," several renditions of this old Mosie Lister hymn on You-Tube, but I particularly like this one by Ben Speer.)

McCain finally dumped Pastor Hagee today, but not without taking another swipe at Obama in the process. No word on whether Rod Parsley is next. Parsley is the leader of something called the "Patriot Pastors," and he advocates, among several extreme measures, the criminal prosecution and imprisoning of adulterers. How does he square that with his support of McCain, who, by anybody's definition, was an adulterer when he cheated on his first wife with his current wife.

So McCain gladly accepts support from a guy who would put people like McCain in jail? Strange. He also appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show today, much to the dismay of some. He does not support a constitutional amendment protecting marriage, he said.

10 pm update: McCain has now rejected the Parsley endorsement, too.

Rick has posted pictures from his family's April vacation to New York on their new Flickr site. I'm adding the link on the sidebar of this blog. Their collection of 511 pictures has not been edited and includes professional and amateur photography. At some point, I plan to go through and tag my favorites, but not tonight.

Another Republican politician gets kudos from this liberal Democrat. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee has issued the following statement regarding the ad I wrote about yesterday which attacks Michelle Obama.

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After the Republican National Committee damaged our campaign with their infamous 'Call Me' ad -- which we immediately denounced -- we have strongly encouraged the national party and state parties to absolutely refrain from getting involved in negative personal campaigning, and we have asked the state party to remove their You Tube ad from their Web site. Republicans will be in much better shape if we spend our time focused on issues like reducing federal spending, lowering the cost of health care and creating a coherent energy policy.

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Thank you, Mr. Corker!

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Upstaging all the election news today is the story regarding Senator Ted Kennedy's diagnosis of a malignant brain tumor. Accolades for this very liberal Democrat have poured from both sides of the aisle. McCain said:

I have described Ted Kennedy as the last lion in the Senate, and I have held that view because he remains the single most effective member of the Senate.

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Senator Robert Byrd of WV, the only senator with more seniority than Kennedy, broke down and sobbed while trying to express his sadness, quite moving. Most everybody gives Kennedy credit for helping the disadvantaged in our country by serving as the Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

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Speaking of the disadvantaged, I was reminded of another Republican President's words today: Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Washington, D.C., 1953

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See, Rick, I can find things to admire in Republican politicians!

Different people find different jokes humorous. One that fell flat with almost everybody was the one Mike Huckabee told at Friday's NRA convention. To joke about a black presidential candidate being targeted for assassination showed extreme insensitivity and poor taste. To his credit, Huckabee realized the error of his ad libbing and issued an apology post haste. Some of the NRA's "good ole boys" thought an apology was not necessary and that pointing a gun at Obama was a good idea. I guess we know where the rumor originated about his not being sworn in even if elected. And people wonder why he didn't show up in Memphis on the 40th anniversary of MLK's assassination?

Tennessee Republi-cans have targeted Michelle Obama with a video being circulated on the internet which questions her patriotism. Yes, they use her words, but interspersed with Tennesseeans' proclaiming their pride in America, it looks really bad. Obama issued a warning today, "Lay off my wife!" and called the slur "really low class." I admire his courageous and noble defense of his wife.

How low can they go? Just recall the dirty tricks they employed in Harold Ford's last run for political office. It's this sort of blatant racism that gives the South the redneck reputation it has. I thought Mike Huckabee would help improve our image. He made such a brave defense of Obama's former pastor when all that flack hit the fan, but seems he's not fully recovered from his redneckism. I still like him, he's one of the more progressive and reasonable Republicans, but even he is subject to serious backsliding.

You're not going to believe this, but I filled up with gas in Grenada, set the cruise control on 58 mph, and when I got back home, the gas gauge is still on full! I know the tank is not full, but that's a 110 mile trip! I should go fill up again and see exactly how much I used. OK, I did (the nearest gas station is less than a mile from my house) and I used 3.735 gal which works out to be about 29.5 mpg. Pretty good for a little '01 Buick Regal, don't you think? Of course, I got passed by everything including an ancient Winnebago belching black smoke and an air-conditioned John Deere tractor!

I read somewhere that if everybody dropped their average highway speed to 55 MPH, this nation would use over 1 billion barrels less oil per year. If we did that voluntarily, how long do you think it would be before we would have a buyer's market rather than a seller's market? Think about it!

It will never catch on, I know. I had to get to 60 years old before I got concerned about my lead foot. As wasteful as it is, we're addicted to speed, aren't we?

I got a very happy little 3 year old reunited with his family today. Benji said he got excited when they pulled in at his house, he was so glad to be home. There are some gorgeous vacation photos on Benji's Flickr site. They brought me a cross pendant made of larimar, a wonderful blue Caribbean gem, which is only found in the Dominican Republic. I love it! Thanks, Y'all!

Friday was a busy day spent driving to Hattiesburg again, having lunch at Cracker Barrell, picking up the Pipster, and driving back home. He's such a sweetie. We had no trouble transferring him and his stuff from one grandmother to the other. When the DVD player's battery went dead, he got very unhappy, but the calm-down CD that Benji made for him works like a charm and has induced naps on both the car trips I've made with him. It's a strange collection including such disparate selections as "Amazing Grace," "Proud Mary," and "What's New Pussycat?" But, hey, it works so who am I to argue with success?

I haven't had much luck in getting him to eat anything but poptarts. Thank goodness, they pack them full of vitamins and nutrients. He did eat a couple of chicken fingers, but none of the french fries, none of the white rice, and this morning, for the first time ever at Gramma's house, he wouldn't eat his oatmeal. He's had a Rice Krispy Bar, an ice cream sandwich, and toast.

My dogs' barking always startles him, then he cries and climbs his Gramma like a monkey after a banana. I've tried to get him to make friends with them, but so far, he seems to like the cats better. I'll need Excedrin Back and Body tablets tonight, for sure. He's played with his trains, his Play-Doh, and the miscellaneous things in Gramma's toy box. I'll miss him after he goes back to Memphis. I'm meeting Benji in Grenada tomorrow, and maybe the rest of the family. We'll see.

Racism is so yesterday! Unfortunately, remnants of it are alive and well. It is dying out, though, and that encourages this old white lady who has lived long enough to see conditions and attitudes improve.

This just in from our Idiot in Chief:

"Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along,'' Bush said in an address to the Knesset today which drew repeated standing ovations for his commitment to stand by Israel against all enemies. "We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is - the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.''

Obama's response:

" It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel’s independence to launch a false political attack. It is time to turn the page on eight years of policies that have strengthened Iran and failed to secure America or our ally Israel," he says. "Instead of tough talk and no action, we need to do what Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan did and use all elements of American power - including tough, principled, and direct diplomacy - to pressure countries like Iran and Syria. George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the president's extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel."

It will be such a nice change to have an intelligent, diplomatic President Obama in the White House. Only 249 days, 13 hours, 15 minutes.

It's been cool and rainy all day here. I didn't go to the gym, but did go to lunch with the Water Lilies at A.J.'s. There were 10 of us, conversation was lively, food superb. We're through with Weds. night choir rehearsals until the fall, so I've had a fairly relaxing day.
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The highlights of tonight's television viewing have been the Edwards' endorsement of Obama and Keith Olbermann's Special Comment, even though I got an irate phone call after it from my Republican neighbor. Do I detect a swinging of the pendulum from 8 years of Democrats being unhappy to 8 years of Republicans being unhappy? Truth is, many Republicans have joined us unhappy Democrats in being unhappy with the Republican administration. Dubya's poll numbers remain at record lows, and that ain't all Democrats they're polling. This is one of the more conservative polls.

The Edwards' endorsement knocked Hillary's WV victory off the top story slot in the evening news shows. Even Mississippi's first district election got a good bit of national coverage. Bush did carry this state by 25% in 2000, so it's understandable that Republican strategists are in a panic. One of my favorite quotes of the day:

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Former NRCC Chairman Tom Davis, the Virginia Republican who is retiring this year, seems to have largely given up on his party’s chances. “This is the floor,” Davis said, stopping his foot on the concrete. “We’re underneath it.”

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Any of my Republican friends want to start the Mississippi chapter of Republicans for Obama?

Tonight's coverage of West Virginia's primary is not nearly as interesting to me as last week's coverage of Indiana and North Carolina. With 67% of the precincts reporting, 28% of the WV whites have voted for Obama, which surprises me. Based on pre-election chatter, I thought that number would be closer to zero. Edwards, who was still on the ballot there, got 7% of the vote.

Did you see where Pastor Hagee apologized for calling the Catholic Church the great whore? Excuse me if I sound cynical, but this apology has the ring of political expediency, doesn't it? According to some of the comments I saw on various sites, several of McCain's supporters were disappointed that he apologized. Still no apology for blaming Katrina on the gays and lesbians.

There is a close race for Mississippi's First District House seat between Travis Childers and Greg Davis, but since Steve Holland got beat, I haven't paid much attention to it. Childers seems to be winning, based on the partial count I've seen. Having a Democrat in that slot, which has been held by a Republican for years, will be great, I just hope it's not won with the questionable tactics exposed today. Whoever circulated that racist brochure just made the Democratic candidate look bad. (Or maybe it was put out by the Republicans to make the Democrats look bad... wouldn't be the first time.) Childers says he knew nothing about it, so I believe him. The Davis commercials tried to tie Childers to Obama and his former pastor. According to the NY Times:

Former Gov. William Winter, a Democrat, expressed shock at the current campaign. “I am appalled that this blatant appeal to racial prejudice is still being employed,” said Mr. Winter, who lost the 1967 governor’s race after his segregationist opponent circulated handbills showing blacks listening to one of his speeches. Mr. Winter went on to win the governor’s office 12 years later. “I had thought we had gotten past that,” Mr. Winter said. “That was a tactic that was used against me in the 1960s.”

I do wish Childers hadn't been ashamed to say he backs Obama, if he does indeed back Obama. He was endorsed on Obama's website until yesterday. Sounds kinda fishy to me.

Speaking of fish, have you read Paul's blog this week? It's not about fish. I think he needs to add binoculars and camera to his fishing gear, and let us know what other rare, exotic birds he spots.

One of the best parts of my Mother's Day was talking to my Tampa folks, all four of them. As infrequently as we talk, it was an extraordinary treat. I got some new pictures of Clay and Cooper with more being promised. Clay, shown here with the dogs, will be 14 next month! Cooper, in the second picture, is 11. I tried to persuade them that they're old enough to fly without their parents to visit their grandmother. I don't think they bought it. They don't get out of school until the first week in June.

It felt good to get back into my week-day routine, going to the gym with Pam and Jean, then lunch afterwards with them at Primo's. I even got a good nap after I came back home.

.The best news from the Obama campaign is that he has passed Clinton in the super-delegate count. Last time I looked it was 277 for him, 273 for her. I wish she would bow out gracefully while "gracefully" is still an option. Her staying in when she can't win is doing more damage than good. Maybe not, but that's the way it looks to me. I loved the cover on the Time magazine I got today.

I am so tired! And I feel so old. I took Pip to church this morning, but got there too late to sing in the choir. He did well in the nursery. Their having a Thomas the Tank Engine table with track and train helped a whole lot. We ate at Sicily's after church, but he wasn't interested in anything to eat but Saltines and ice cream. On the way to Hattiesburg, I played the calm-down CD that Benji sent and he napped most of the way.

We met his other grandparents at Cracker Barrell and enjoyed a short front porch rocking chair visit with them. Pip had "borrowed" 3 cars from the toy shelves inside, so his grandmothers had to conspire to slip them back to their rightful owner without his noticing. I was surprised by how easily he walked out the front door with them without paying. I elected to let him do that rather than to endure another meltdown. (I knew we weren't leaving the premises with them.) We'd had screaming at Sicily's and it wasn't pretty. I was also surprised by how easily I took them back inside without his noticing while his Mimi distracted him, but he had played with them for a good 30 minutes.

Benji and Karen left early this morning for Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. It's an island a little SE of Cuba, for those of you who, like me, aren't sure where the Dominican Republic is. I hope they enjoy a wonderful week of vacation and don't worry about Pip! He's getting the best of care from his grandparents. I just hope this grandparent gets rested before picking him up again on Friday. I was too tired today even to make pictures, and that rarely happens when my grandchildren are around. I did post the rest of the pictures of Pip on my Flickr site. The past two days have worn me slap out!

While Pip is going through the old box of leftover toys, I'll take a few minutes to tell you about my day. I left here around 9:00 headed to Grenada to meet Benji and Pip. We met at McAllister's at 11:00, had lunch, and made the transfer of Pip from Da-Da to Gramma with surprisingly few tears. By the time we got on 55-South, he had quit crying. Benji had turned on a Thomas the Tank Engine movie for him to watch, so that helped.

On that movie soundtrack are some tones that sound just like my cell phone. I thought I was getting a call, so I began searching frantically for my purse while trying to keep my car in the right lane. When we got to the rest stop right outside Grenada, I pulled over to complete the search and concluded that the purse had been left behind in the restaurant. Luckily, a woman was there with her dog and gladly loaned me her cell phone. I called the restaurant, they found the purse right where I left it hanging on the chair where we'd eaten, I turned around and within 1o minutes had retrieved the purse and everything was still in it! Was my guardian angel working overtime today, or what? And may blessings pour down abundantly on the sweet lady who loaned me her phone!

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Pip took about an hour-long nap on the way back to Jackson. I cruised at 65 mph all the way up there and back to conserve gas. Do y'all know how much of this expensive stuff we can save just by reducing our speed? I'm thinking of starting something like an "Operation Slowdown." Anybody else want to join? According to CNNmoney.com:

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If a car gets 28 mpg at 65 mph, driving it at 75 would drop that to 24 mpg. Fuel costs over 100 miles, for example - estimated at $3.25 a gallon - would increase by $1.93, or the cost of an additional 0.6 gallons of gas. That would be like paying 54 cents a gallon more for each of the 3.6 gallons used at 65 mph. That per-gallon price difference remains constant over any distance. In a typical family sedan, every 10 miles per hour you drive over 60 is like the price of gasoline going up about 54 cents a gallon.

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Here are a few of the pictures I've made so far. He's definitely got the Borden train gene. I've never seen one who didn't love 'em. Enjoy!

Imagine my surprise yesterday when two of my lunch companions, (emboldened by my tee-shirt?) identified themselves as Democrats! They're in Hillary's camp right now, but one is open to voting for Obama, if he's the nominee, the other prefers McCain to Obama. So many here are just not ready for an African-American as president. Hillary's racist statements about the "white vote" resonates with them. It may not be the hateful, cross-burning kind of racism, but it's racism, nonetheless.

The year is young. It won't take much to put McCain away. The MSM has given him a pass, so far, due to the high drama between the two Dems, but by the time they get through exposing his voting record and his gaffes in the news, will the attack ads even be necessary?

"It's not going to matter in Mississippi," my Republican friends all tell me. "There may be a few red states that turn blue, but it won't be in the South," they say.

What a shame! I hope they're wrong, and they may be, did you see what Don Cazayoux did in Louisiana's 6th district this week? The first Democrat to represent that district since 1974! I hope it's a harbinger of turnovers to come all over "Dixie."

Even Newt Gingrich thinks Republicans are headed for defeat. He should add one more act to his "Nine Acts of Real Change That Could Restore the GOP Brand" - quit dispensing and drinking the propaganda kool-aid at Fox News. Did you see that idiot Fred Barnes explaining what the term "working class" means? And they have the nerve to call Barack Obama elitist?

I just saw where Tupelo got hit with a tornado this morning, but with no injuries or deaths being reported, seems most of the damage was around the Barnes Crossing Shopping Mall. What about you, LaRue, and yours? Everybody ok? Any damage in P'ville? Brice's Crossroads? Let me know.

OBAMA PREVAILS!

After all the mud and slime and dirty tricks from Hillary and Rev. Wrong and Rush and Fox News, Obama still leads! Reminds me of that old Elton I'm-supporting-Hillary John song:

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I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah!

I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah!

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It was an exciting night. The TV in my bedroom was on all night, even tho I succumbed to sleep around 1:00 am. I did catch about 30 minutes of Dan Abrams' "After Hours" show, complete with the coolest jazz band, around 2:30 this morning.

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I almost felt sorry for Hillary, especially when I saw her husband's face in the background while she gave her "victory speech." Why couldn't she close the deal? Isn't that what they've been asking of Obama? Their integrity has been so compromised, I hope she is not Obama's choice for VP, but we'll just have to wait and see. More suspense. I love it.

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I had lunch with George yesterday at Walker's. He gave me an autographed copy of Robert McElvaine's Grand Theft Jesus. The first few pages are hilarious, can't wait to read the rest. Thanks, George!

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Lunch with the Water Lilies is at Blue Moon Cafe in Ridgeland today. I've never been there, so have no idea what to expect, will let you know later how it was. I'm planning to wear my pink Obama tee-shirt, since most of these ladies are Republicans and have ruled out any discussion of politics. I will offer them Obama bumper stickers, too, since I have extra. Hopefully, they don't black ball me, maybe I'll win a convert or two. Nobody ever accused me of being a troublemaker for nothing, right LaRue? Last week's lunch at Sakura Bana was great. I don't usually like Japanese cuisine, but the only thing left from that meal was most of my white rice.

It's Election Day in Indiana and North Carolina. I've sworn off TV until 6 pm, when I will OD on as many of the cable news shows as possible. It's like the slow climb up a roller coaster hill, the adrenaline pumps are full and ready to pump, but don't really kick in until we start downhill. Yes, I'm a junkie. Today's Gallup Poll shows Obama leading Clinton 50% to 45%. The experts predict a win for him in NC, for her in Ind., which really doesn't put us any closer to naming a nominee. What on earth will I do for excitement after the election?

This morning’s dream had me driving around an unfamiliar city being directed by a male passenger, not sure who. We seemed to have no particular destination in mind, but instead, were just driving for the pleasure of driving. Finally I noticed that ¾ of a full tank of gas had been used and I was tired of just wasting gas in this pointless endeavor.

In the next scene, or was it a second dream, I was in a place of business that included several different activities. There were crowded offices, one was a call center of some sort, all employees were wearing telephone headsets and were fielding calls from customers. There was a bowling alley with pinball machines along the wall. It, too, was crowded. The hallways connecting the different rooms were narrow. I seemed to be taking a walking tour of the place, looking at everything. In a break room, I saw a young and handsome Richard. He was approached by an employee of this place and she took off her glasses, shook her pinned up hair loose, and identified herself as a former lover named Betty. He pulled her close and kissed her. I was very jealous. After he left the break room, I approached him and confessed to feeling jealous about what I had witnessed. I was surprised by the emotional reaction I had had, and told him that. He was skeptical, disbelieving. He even joked with the people around us that he was being pursued by two of the most beautiful women in the place. I was embarrassed by his bragging, and I admitted to myself that I really didn’t want to resume a relationship with him, but I also didn’t want him to be involved with anyone else.

I had a rude awakening about 6:45 when my impatient husband couldn't wait any longer for me to wake up. He called me on my cell phone from downstairs telling me the power was off and he couldn't get the garage door up. Now what he wanted me to do about all that, he wouldn't say, so I drug myself out of bed, trudged out to the garage, found the step ladder, pulled the latch on the door opener motor, and screamed for him to "Get your ass out here and help me lift this door! Do I have to do every cotton-pickin' thing around here?" (I'm a real grouch in the early A.M.) Anything to get him out of the house and out of my hair. About five minutes after he left for Waffle House, the power came back on, so I got to enjoy my breakfast in peace and quiet. He stayed gone for a couple of hours, then went to Terry to visit his friend Ron. Except for the noisy wake-up call, I've had a very pleasant Saturday.
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I found out later that I had slept through a terrible thunder storm. Our electricity is never off for long because we're on the same grid as the Reservoir Patrol and 3 different fire stations, so we're always among the first to have power restored.

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Art's dogs and cats have decided I'm their new best friend. The dogs still won't walk past the median in our cul-de-sac, but all have been very affectionate with me. Even his old white cat Sirius purrs when I pet him now. Here's his menagerie in this order, Sophie, Paden, Burney, Sirius. Don't tell Art, but he may get these pictures next month for his birthday.

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Ascension Day Evensong came and went with good performances on most of the pieces, the anthems all sounded good, the psalms and responses could have been better, but considering that our priest is quite challenged in the "holding the pitch" department, we did pretty well. (If you heard the Pope chanting the Mass at Yankee Stadium, it sounded quite similar to the way our beloved padre does it.) At least the choir didn't outnumber the congregation tonight, last year it did. The Altar Guild hosted a cookout/picnic before the service which helped some, but not everybody who came to eat came to the service. Jean's son and daughter-in-law were here from Birmingham and they came.

I've volunteered to care for Art's dogs while he's gone all week-end playing golf. I don't expect to have trouble with Paden, his Pomeranian, but Sophie, the cocker-spaniel, doesn't like me, so if she goes out with me, I'll be surprised. She and Gus don't get along, at all, so I'll have to do his and mine separately.

I'm getting really weary with the squabbles in the Democratic party. The system we use to choose a candidate needs to be changed. We should be way ahead of McCain in the polls, but we're running practically even. Maybe some more of the super delegates will go ahead and declare and put a stop to this madness. It's the only way I can see to prevent the party from self-destructing.


Here's the cutest thing I've seen today. Benji had this picture of Pip on his site, so I lifted it. He's watching a motorcycle. A gear head in the making?