Well, except for the part where my daughter spilled a glass of milk just before starting breakfast, stared at the spreading pool in some befuddled dismay, finally reacted to our urgings to MOP IT UP! by placing napkins, one...at...a...time.. to cover the spill, and then stormed off when we said that we weren't mad at her spilling, we were mad at her failure to figure out that maybe she should do something about it.
But I snapped up her English muffin and bacon, so that was okay.
I didn't follow the saga of Elizabeth Reynolds and Ann Coulter, for a couple of reasons. One is, my sanity won't let me read anything where Ann Coulter is the primary subject. I read a little bit about her quite some time ago, came to the conclusion that she was a crazy person, and haven't read anything about her since. Seeing Elizabeth Reynolds in the mix tilted me a little toward reading it, because I like her, and because I like her husband, though not as much since I found out about the four hundred dollar haircut. Its one thing knowing that he's phenomenally wealthy. Its another to have it shoved in my face. But the ER/AC thing made me think a little bit about the role of the Presidential Mate in political campaigns. We're coming to assume that of course the PM will join in at the campaign rallies, taking the lesser-needed locations while the candidate goes to the big-ticket areas, or possibly showing up with the candidate at the heavily covered ones. I recall reading somewhere that the role of the PM used to be to stand behind, gazing adoringly at him (always a him), but now its more likely that we'll expect the person to have a personality of their own. Not an agenda; thats not allowed till after they win, but a personality - winsome, bright, devoted. Not sure how good Bill's going to be in that role, but I gather his role in that campaign is going to be more of Schmoozer-in-Chief, anyway.
Since I'm still an unemployed vagrant (my wife says "kept man"), I think I'd like to take the time to do some more photography. Odd thing, though: I think I'll use my Canon AE-1 (which means: real film, and no 'take a hundred shots'). It feels more like photography. The digital camera feels like snapshots.
An article in today's New York times about the Massachusetts plan for universal health care got me to thinking a little bit, though without great impact. I think UHC is a good idea, because it scares the willies out of me to have the potential of being slammed by a surprise health care bill, and we're pretty well off. I cannot imagine what people who are at the bottom rungs of society feel. I would bet that they don't; they go day to day, doing the minimum that they can afford, and sometimes not even that, because they simply do not have the resources to do more. I do not know what the downsides of UHC are -- I'm sure they must exist -- but they'd have to be pretty phenomenal for me to think badly of the concept. I do not think UHC will ever happen with a business-oriented president. Note that I did not say Republican president, though they're pretty synonymous.
Speaking of doctors, I was thinking last night about a woman I write to on occasion who's a cardiologist out in LA. I have mentioned her in the past; I refer to her as a friend, but really she's more of an acquaintance. For quite some time, I used to write, wondering if I'd hear back, but now (and for some time) I just write because I feel like writing. I gave up on having her as a friend a couple of years ago; tough to do when she doesn't respond, as a rule, and, when she does, usually talks more about her life than anything I might have said. I was sorry about that, because she's bright and interesting -- just not interested in me. Made me wonder why I was trying to keep in touch, which is about when I effectively gave up on the 'friendship'. In a way, it was like writing a blog: I write for me, no one else. Hearing from people in response is a delight and a pleasure, and I cherish the people who respond, especially those who do it consistently. But I can't make that the reason for writing, because thats expecting more than most people can give. Including me: I realized with surprise that although I like hearing from people on this blog, I almost never go to theirs to see whats up with their lives. When that occurs to me, I go.
I saw in the Washington Post about a woman who said that she just could not see having a single master suite in her new house, what with her mother and daughter living there (the mother was elderly, the daughter, 11), and of course she could not expect guests to stay in a single room. So when the 5,400 square foot house was built, it had four master suites, each with a sitting area/changing area and private bath. Apparently, the taste for gihugic houses has not left us. I guess the boorish will always be here. Then again, would people think my house is gihugic? Not counting the outbuildings -- servants wing, helipad complex, chapel, greenhouse, and the tennis courts -- its: .five bedrooms, three baths, a living room, den, eat-in kitchen, dining room, storage room, and attached garage - about 2400 square feet. Is that huge?
And yes, I was kidding about the outbuildings.
In Executive Orders, the president says that when the Congress is reconstituted (most of them die when a plane crashes into the filled chambers), he should be sent people who do things: doctors, farmers, police, teachers. Not - explicitly not - lawyers. He says to pick the people who will come, do the job, and go home. Sounds good, but I doubt it would work. From what I gather, it takes literally years for a new federal representative to learn how to make things happen.
My wife and I went for a short bike ride. I didn't fall off.
More later, I think. We may be taking the offspring to the flicks, later on today.
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