Need a wrap?

It's fund raiser time... check out the wrapping paper, candy, and other gifts that our PTA is selling. You don't have to live here - they'll ship it to you. If you use this link, Elizabeth will get credit.

So cool

I found this site tonight... Here's my favorite advertisement . It's so camp and yet so profound. I personally have a Dietzgen 1768-P and a K&E 4081-3 made from pure Ivorite. I even have the leather belt clip for this lifetime possession.

I'm one cool dude. What do you think?

PS

Elizabeth announced she is a Libertarian.

Your Vote Score: 55% Republican, 45% Democrat

You are truly an independent voter, and you don't fit well with either party. Maybe you should choose one issue to vote on - or look into third parties!

Should You Vote Republican or Democrat?

9/11

Which Bible Character are you?

You're God. Congratulations on, um... being God.
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Intuiting Civil Rights

A few months ago Elizabeth and I had a conversation about Denny's Restaurant. I don't really remember how the conversation started... but we ended up talking about the restaurant chain's legal troubles... remember when the Secret Service agents sued Denny's for discrimination? I was telling her about that and an experience that I myself had. Around the same time as, but slightly before the Secret Service incident I worked in a building that was just down the street from a Denny's. My best girl friend and I would often head down their for lunch. We were always able to zip in, get a cheap but decent lunch, zip out and be back at our desks within an hour.

One day we invited another friend to join us - she just happened to be black. When we went in we were led to a table in the very, very back of the restaurant in a section that was clearly labeled "Closed." In fact, we were the only people there. Occasionally the waitress would come over but she always found an excuse to leave before she took our order. Two hours later we left without lunch.

I guess this should have set off alarm bells for me - but the Secret Service agents hadn't been denied service yet so we wrote it off as a bad day for the wait staff. The really telling thing is that the next couple of times I went back with just my white friend we always got the same quick and efficient service we were accustom to. But once the Secret Service story hit the air waves, my girl friend and I looked at each with big, round eyes and mouths agape and we stopped going there for lunch.

So, Elizabeth sat quietly listening to all of this. I didn't tell her that I stopped eating at he restaurant. But after pondering this for a while she said in a very firm, determined, and slightly angry voice, "I have lot of friends that would be hurt by Denny's so I'm never eating there again." The thing that I find truly interesting is that every time we have passed a Denny's since the original proclamation she gets annoyed all over again and reminds me that she will never eat at that restaurant ever again. Not to test her, but I'd be curious what she would say if a non-mom adult suggested going to Denny's - would she be strong enough to stick to her values or would she be intimated into going to Denny's. But either way - she's been "protesting" against injustice for more than six months now.

Do you think non-violent protest is an innate / intuitive skill?

Thinking of you...

I've been working on a presentation for work. Today I spent some time surfing the net to find a cartoon or two for the presenation. This one has nothing what so ever to do with my presentation, but it really did make me miss my friend....

What else?

I'm giving up on the fantasy that my life might be without stress. I think there must be some secret comic rule that says, "Liz has to experience stress."

We're supposed to be on vacation. HA! Earlier this month I was in Jersey for a family reunion kinda thing. I enjoyed seeing my family - but it was pretty stressful due in large part to the simple logistics of coordinating a group that size. So, when Elizabeth's dad asked to visit with Elizabeth - the answer was pretty easy and pretty empathic... "NO!" Not that I didn't what them to see each other - it was just that it would have been too insane to drive the 45 minutes north to where he lives, pick him up, take him to whatever events, then drive the 45 minutes north to take him home, and 45 minutes back to the hotel. As a compromise I said I would bring Elizabeth back during our vacation to visit with just him. So, here we are… visiting with dad.

Last night after we took him home, Elizabeth and I were heading back to our hotel - the closest hotel is about 1/2 hour away from where he lives. It was storming - driving rain, thunder, lightening and overall just really nasty. We were on route 80. For those of you near DC - the part of route 80 that we were on makes the belt way look like a county road... This part of route 80 is four and / or five lanes in each direction but it's not too far from the PA boarder so it's kinda rural meaning few lights and a legal 65 MPH speed limit. But it's a also a major truck route from the west into New York City, so at any given time there are two dozen 18-wheelers going about 89 MPH.

We were zipping along. I was trying not to break the speed limit (in NJ all fines are doubled in the 65 MPH zones) without getting run over by an 18-wheeler. All of a sudden, my all of my break lights came on (the service breaks and parking break). This has happened to me before. This is not good. The sudden display of these lights indicates just one thing – I have not breaks. Trying not to hyperventilate I tap my brakes. The tap confirms my worst fear... no breaks.

By some sort of divine intervention I was able to coast to the shoulder and slow to a stop without killing anyone. AAA came, towed me to a Ford dealer near my hotel, and the kind tow truck driver took pity on us and dropped us off at our hotel even though it was against the rules. He just didn't think it was that safe to leave me and Elizabeth at the Ford dealer at 1:30 AM.

I'm ready to take Ford to task... they have left us stranded at the hotel. I have an extended warranty that should provide us with a free rental car - but the local Ford dealer said the contract isn't his problem. He also said he won't be able to even look at my car until Tuesday. I've gone ahead and rented a car - we can't live in a hotel for an undefined amount of time. Elizabeth starts school on Tuesday and besides... the Courtyard by Marriot where we're staying doesn't even have a restaurant.

I plan to go home so Elizabeth can start school. At some point we'll have to do something about my car. But I have to tell you - after losing my breaks five times in 14 months I'm more than a little scared to drive it. I've already called Ford's headquarters to see what they're going to do for me. They took my number and said they'd call me back within two business days. The upshot of all this - I'm taking recommendations for product liability lawyers.

Oh, but that's not all... We went out with Elizabeth’s dad again today after I got my rental car. When we came back to the hotel the door to our room had been left propped open (someone had used the dead bolt to keep the door from closing and locking.) I made the hotel staff go in and clear the room before I entered it myself. And the fact that I'm making this post means that I haven't identified missing valuables. But somehow it does seem like the perfect ending to the second day of our vacation. I'm almost afraid to leave the room at this point. What else will go wrong? Oh man... do you think the hotel is going to catch fire tomorrow?