Pat Tillman

I have tried to reserve judgment on Pat Tillman. He was the football player who gave up millions of $$ to go fight in Afghanistan. He has been hailed as an unselfish hero and his death was initially described by the Bush PR machine as a patriotic tale of dying for your country. He believed in this war and died fighting for a cause that was important to him.

I've always felt that it was just another sad case of someone who believes what they're told with no critical thinking and actually votes against their self-interest (like poor folks who vote for Republicans).

His family has recently come out saying that the circumstances surrounding his death that were initially reported were flat-out lies. The family later learned that he was killed by "friendly fire" and they're pretty pissed about it. The family's attitude now has been widely reported.

Two Political Junkies now report that he wasn't a Bush supporter at all. He didn't believe in the war. He wanted to meet Naom Chomsky!! Please read the details. Very interesting.

While you're there read the post about that woman in Atlanta who was a hero for converting that serial murderer to Christianity. It ends up (according to HER in HER NEW BOOK) that it wasn't quite such a great example of "witnessing" for Christ.

Set Aside Some Time

Please checkout this website WARNING: it's mesmerizing!!

Limbo

Claymama mentioned in her blog that her dad is starting to see things which aren't there. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's frustrating. It's always kind of sad but I try to take a lighthearted look at it. I came walking through the living room a couple of days ago and he yells "look out!". I stop in my tracks. He tells me that he didn't want me to run into that bar that he's holding up between him and the TV. He wasn't even holding his hand up as though he was holding an imaginary bar. I told him not to worry that I would just limbo under it. So I limboed (sp?) under the "bar" and continued on my way.

k.d. lang

Wow! k.d. lang has really let herself go lately...wait...what's that? Antony Hegarty? Some singer? Antony and the Johnsons? Never heard of her... Antony's a guy?

Some funny pics I've seen lately

Car Wash

I pull into a do-it-yourself car wash place. As I'm getting out of my car I see this guy walking toward me. His hair is dirty and disheveled. He has an unkempt beard and dirty clothes. I think he's going to ask me for money. I'm preparing my answer but the guy walks into the bay to my right (where there is a car) and starts putting money in the coin slot.

I take my dollars to the coin changer and pass the bay to my left. There's a guy (maybe about 55 years old) standing there and he's telling two women how to wash his car. One woman is about his age and has the sprayer, the other looks like it could be his/her/their daughter and has the brush. He's not being terribly rude, but constantly telling them where to wash and how to wash. I kind of assume he's a John and they are prostitutes/escorts of some type. Either way, I kind of hope they were getting paid for this service.

I get my change and go back to my car. I'm washing my car and eventually I hear a guy saying "oh yeah! Wash that baby! That's how to do it!" I figure I was right about the prostitute thing and am a little surprised that they're doing it in such a public place. I stop my sprayer and realize it's the guy BY HIMSELF making these comments. I guess he took the DO IT YOURSELF concept to heart!

Vegan Tuna

So I miss Tuna Noodle Casserole. I can easily find vegan creamy portobello soup. Peas and noodles are a no-brainer. Of course the Tuna is a problem. Then I got excited when I heard of vegan tuna


However, after reading some of the reviews, I decided to take the suggestion of one of the reviewers and simply use some frozen-then-thawed-and-shredded-extra-firm-tofu with some mashed chickpeas.

I tried this over the weekend and (other than it not being salty enough) it worked well. I was told recently (by a carnivore) that if I'm a vegetarian eating "meat-like" meals, then I'm still lusting after animal flesh and that's a sin.

My response is "If eating Tofurky is wrong, then I don't want to be right!!"

Birthday

Yesterday was my father-in-law's 63rd and final birthday. He is eating very little, but is not in as much pain as when he first moved in with us. They have upped his Oxycontin so that he requires less pain meds for the spikes in pain he feels.

Clay Mama gets to add more to her plate next week when she returns to paralegal school. The feeling of being chained to the home is frustrating, but one that is certainly temporary. There is little I can do to relieve her of the stress since I work 2 part-time jobs in addtion to the full-time one.

Everytime I see someone smoking cigarettes, I wish they could come to our house and spend an hour visiting with my father-in-law. Peeing in a bottle, pooping in a bucket in your daughter's living room, with oxygen running 24/7 and coughing constantly when you're 60 certainly isn't as "cool" as pretending to be rebellious with a cigarette hanging out of your mouth as a 20-something.

No More Treatment

My father-in-law was discharged from the hospital to our house Wednesday evening. The collapsed lung was inoperable. The pain seems to have subsided (probably due to an increase in painkillers). He has decided to forgo any more radiation treatments on his lungs and instead have hospice care. He'll be eligible for more nursing visits, home health aides, etc. He admitted it was difficult to make a decision that nothing else can be done to save his life but he seems more comfortable.