Sunday, September 28, 2008

Again, As Promised

Circumstances somewhat beyond my control have prevented me from doing this weeks ago, but Jim Treacher has been doing some excellent work defending Sarah Palin from the lies and smears of Obama's increasingly desperate and hateful minions.

And he is hilarious, god bless him. Even if you don't agree with us politically, he is still awesome.

Start here: http://jimtreacher.com/archives/2008_08.html

Continue through September: http://jimtreacher.com/archives/2008_08.html

Then bookmark him: http://jimtreacher.com/

Hopefully he will keep this going awhile.

Friday, September 26, 2008

As Promised

1. Our fence. It's not a big deal, but it's weird to see one's neighbor's yard and realize how small both of them really are.



2. A fallen tree just outside our neighborhood. It's kind of hard to get the perspective, but I'm 5'7" and if I were to stand next to the tree in its current state, it would be about 3 feet higher.


3. One of the many trees down in the next subdivision over.

4. Another tree in the same subdivision.


5. Just one long line of felled trees. Perspective is difficult again, but all of them lying down were taller than me.

6. This might give you some perspective on the size of the trees.


7. These trees were humongous and just torn up by their roots. I've never seen anything like it.


8. Bye bye fence.


9. Still marveling at how this humongous tree was just ripped up by the roots.


10. Not a particularly impressive amount of damage in this one, but I thought it was cool how the sod was torn up too.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

My mom wanted all my sisters to say something at the wake.  Here's what I said.

Grandpa has been compared to such notable talents as Grouch Marx and W.C. Fields.  He had a self-deprecating wit that made Rodney Dangerfield appear a pillar of dignity and self-respect.

But Grandpa was nothing if not original.  He had the style of the old vaudevillians he used to watch as a young man, but he was never behind the times.

One of my last conversations with him - the details of which are probably best left to myself - revealed what a truly amazing life he had.  Cruising the South Pacific in the Navy during WWII, a chiropractic career in Arizona, romance on an international level as he was prone to claim, and an intimate knowledge of Las Vegas.

I don't know that he expected to be the grandfather to nine granddaughters, probably never considering offspring of his to be capable of such an incredible feat.  But whenever the magnitude would overtake him as he watched the typical female antics, he'd shake his head in incredulity at my mom and finding no other words would say, "Gotta hunch, have a bunch" as if this explained everything perfectly.

And for him it did.  He was not judgmental.

Recently, however, he decided to take matters into his own hands.  

Where biology had failed, bribery would succeed.

He issued a family-wide proclamation declaring that the first girl to produce a (legitimate) male heir would receive $1,000.  Or more depending on the stock market.

And not entirely trusting our skills in this matter, went ahead and included his great-granddaughters in on the offer.

It's a cliche, but also a truth that Grandpa left us a lot to laugh about.  And that's no mean legacy.

I love you Grandpa, I'll miss you. And thanks for everything.

I wrote that in about 15 minutes, just a few hours before I had to deliver it.  I think it was pretty good considering.  At least people laughed in all the right places.

I'm still going to post the pictures of the hurricane damage, but it will probably be tomorrow or the next.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Quickie

Jeth and I and the girls drove back to Houston last night for family stuff.  The wake and funeral are Monday and Tuesday, but we needed to go back a little sooner and see if there was any damage to our house here (fence down, that's all). 

I've never seen hurricane strength winds or the aftereffects, so I was shocked by the huge trees that had been completely uprooted before crashing through living rooms.  There were piles of branches higher than me all along the roads of our neighborhood.  Fences were down, roofs were torn off, windows blown out, it was incredible.

I've taken pictures mostly of the tree damage, and will post them as soon as I get back.  North of Houston is still without power, but we drove up there to see a friend and the wind destruction is not quite as bad as in the south where we lived.

Further south is even worse, but we're definitely not venturing down there, at least for awhile.  I'd hate to see worse than our suburb and I know there is.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

First Your Money, Then Your Clothes...

I don't feel like writing much about it, but I'll get it over with.  My grandpa passed away last night.  He was funny and wonderful and I'll miss him something fierce.


Saturday, September 13, 2008

The Aftermath

Well, the aftermath is nasty, folks.  

I'm so mad at my family for not evacuating, I find myself fighting to not wish them as much discomfort as possible so they will not be so stupid the next time around.  I told them to come, I thought they would be coming, I went and drove all over New Town trying to find hotel rooms, since I had plenty of floorspace, but few actual beds (I was miraculously able to find one of those rooms you can rent at a weekly rate, which I went ahead and did). And I cleaned my house!!!  For anyone who knows me, they know how much that put me out.

But no family.  Two of our friends, being sane, came up with their two kids and stayed with us for a night.  They had a hotel room for the next night and this evening, but depending on the power situation in Houston, they may end up staying with us for another night or two.  And they are welcome for as long as they need, as is anyone else.

The main problem is the lack of power.  4.5 million people are without it and everyone I talked to is in the dark and heat and humidity, just thankful it wasn't any worse.

The main reason I made Jethro leave for Rita was because I didn't want to be stuck for weeks without AC.  I don't do well in this climate.  I can run around in freezing weather, but the heat just kills me.  I'm a white girl with a genetic history that is just screaming for peasant work in the frozen hinterlands of Eastern Europe.  Mmmmm..... potatoes......

And boy howdy do I digress.  

Everyone I talked to seems to be okay for now, but the damage is extensive.  Some had their windows blown in, some are flooded, my sister-in-law's fence blew over, and everyone is hot.

I'm thankful everyone is safe.   They are welcome to come up here, but I am not going back to Houston until the power is on.  I will help clean up then, if they still need it.

Personally, I'm exhausted from worrying and a headache I always seem to get whenever there is a low pressure system hovering in the Gulf, so I'll write more when I know more (if it's interesting).

Friday, September 12, 2008

y-IKE-s

There has been no mass exodus from Houston. The government seems to be concentrating on getting out people from the lowest lying areas. But Jethro and I are still housing people anyway.

This one makes me a little nervous. It seems to be heading right up the Houston ship channel which will be disastrous even if it's not a CAT 3 or 4. All I know is that I would have gone. I don't fancy living without electricity for 2 weeks or stockpiling groceries or anything else. And if it shifts to the north or east, at least I got a few days vacation out of it. I don't really care what the government says. Ultimately I'm responsible for myself and my family.

Anyway, say a prayer for Galveston/Houston tonight. I know I will.

Friday, September 05, 2008

I managed to catch both the major speeches at the Republican Convention, but I haven't been able to write about them because of the busyness.

First, I just wanted to say that I thought Sarah Palin's speech was electrifying. She is so bright and spunky and funny and awesome. And I know I'm diving head first into a fondue pot here, but I've never felt this way about a politician before. I guess I just don't feel like she's a politician. She's seems like more of a regular person who's had it with politicians. And I don't blame her, and I'm really excited to vote for her.

But it was John McCain who really did it for me. I know most of his speech was utilitarian and somewhat lackluster compared to his opponant's and even his running mate's. But at the end, when he talked about his love of our country and our how his many years of service have been in gratitude for our country, I actually teared up. No. More than teared up. And I've never done that before.

I watch all politicians with a very cynical eye. Even the ones I vote for. I defend their policies if I agree, and eviscerate them if I don't, but I don't care much about them as people. Why should I? They don't really care about me. Why should they? I've watched the political scene for far too long. I know the policies I want, I have a pretty good idea of most of the major players (I even knew about Sarah Palin, who wasn't) and while I have no real hope of seeing the policies I want enacted, I know who I have a slightly better chance of getting them from. I listen to their speeches, not to hear what they have to say, but to see how they're selling themselves to people who may not know exactly what they want. I watch to see if they fuck up and hope that the uninformed will see it as more than a gaffe or just a gaffe, depending on the candidate. It's all a game to me now. A game that I claim to love, but it's more of an addiction than anything else.

But McCain really gave me something to consider in his speech. It's been the theme of the Convention and I hadn't given it thought as much more than a slogan. Country First. But as I listened to him speak, I thought about it quite a bit. There is no one on this earth who is more qualified to speak to that theme.

Anyway, I will end before I lose all objectivity. But I'm pleased with my Republican choices in this election.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

A Moment For The History Books, Indeed



And the slightly longer version is even funnier because he's waxing so lyrical.



"Heart and soul, and the muscle, and bone and sinew?" Not original, perhaps, but definitely lyrical. I expected him to don a tutu break into song right up until he revealed that Barack's biological parents were interracial gay men pioneers of science.

But that's what you get when your feeeeelings to overtake your journalism.