Gawd Bless North Carolina

I don't even know where to begin on this one.

The headline reads, Woman, 86, out of jail.

What dangerous and dastardly deed did this 86 year old commit? What kind of menace is contained within her five foot, 98 pound frame?

She called 911 because a pizza parlour wouldn't deliver. Okay, she called 20 times in 38 minutes.

My RN spidey-sense says that she might be exhibiting signs of dementia. Perhaps she's experiencing confusion due to an adverse drug reaction. Or maybe she's just a scared, hungry, lonely old lady. Hey, if Bill Frist can make diagnoses from afar, then so can I.

In a civilized society, this little old lady would receive a medical evaluation immediately.

But in Good Ole North Carolin-ah, Granny gets a two night stay in jail.

Shame, shame, shame.

All dressed up 

Brilliant!!

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Rant

An open letter to the high roller driving the fancyBMW 5-series at the intersection of Leray and Arsenal street today:

Dude,
You are obviously an important man, and I'm sure you were making a VERY important call on your cell phone while maneuvering through one of Watertown's many tricky intersections.
I gotta know: If you can afford a $45,000 car .. why can't you fork over $10 for a damned hands-free adaptor for your cell phone?

Mother's Day 2005

I have had a lovely and perfect day. It began with my one request being honoured - a cup of coffee in bed, brought to me by my sweet husband. A simple request, to be sure, but a deeply meaningful one for someone whose husband is, more often than not, away on most holidays. One simple cup of coffee means more to me than any bauble or trinket or overpriced box of chocolate or piece of crap that Madison Avenue tries to guilt-trip America into buying for their Mammas.

I am acutely aware that this has not been such a beautiful day for many mothers in this country. Cindy Sheehan lost her son a little over a year ago. Spc. Casey Sheehan died on April 4, 2004, in Baghdad.

Cindy writes, "Reporting about Iraq is always trumped by such as child molesters, Martha Stewart, Terri Schiavo, Scott Peterson, the American Idol, or now, Runaway Brides!" Yeah, what she said.

When the United States first invaded Iraq, I kept telling myself, "keep your head down and your mouth shut when you're out and about in this military town." Two years on, there isn't enough sand in the world in which to bury my head. The pain and strain is omnipresent to those with eyes to see it and hearts to feel it. Sadly, tragically, pathetically .. it just isn't on the radar these days. A few days ago, I was buying some fabric remnants at Joann's Fabrics. Two ladies at the check-out asked me what I made with these fabrics. Here's how the conversation progressed:

Rose: I make quilts.
Big haired ladies: Oh, my niece makes quilts. She has a machine that cost over $3000.
Rose: *blink* *blink* That's a lot of money!
Big haired ladies: Yeah, she's really into it.
Checkout lady: Quilting is very addictive.
Big haired ladies: Yeah, but .. don't you get quilted out after a while? I mean, what do you do with all those quilts?
Rose: Well, right now I'm working on a Quilt of Valor to be sent to a wounded soldier at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Big haired ladies: *blink*
Rose: Umm .. the quilts are sent to a chaplain, who presents the quilt to a Purple Heart recipient ..
Big haired ladies: *vacuous expression*
WHOOOOOOSH .. the concept flew right over their heads

Might as well stick with the original head down, mouth shut plan. Maybe I should end the TV moratorium. Then, perhaps, I could become comfortably numb like the rest of America.

Another Georgia media storm.

So, the internet was righteously indignant when Kevin Francois received a ten day suspension from school after an incident with a cell phone, a call from his Mom (stationed in Iraq) and a violation of school policy. School officials were painted as unfeeling, unpatriotic bureaucrats for not allowing Kevin to take the call from his Mom. The blogosphere may have had a point - had Kevin been telling the whole truth. But the Muscogee County School District would like to clarify a few things. It seems that Kevin did not tell the teacher that he was talking to his mother, but instead used profanity to tell her that he would not get off the phone. He continued with this bellicose approach in the office, which resulted in an upgrade from a three-day suspension to one lasting ten days.
Now, we've been through one or two or twelve deployments at the house of the Miniature Rose. We're facing another one in a few short months. It never gets easier. I do understand that Mr. Francois is in a rough spot right now. It's tough on my seven-year old, too. But there is never any excuse for taking your anger out on everyone around you. I would never tolerate such defiant behaviour from my 2nd grader, let alone from someone who is nearly an adult.

A sad day

David H. Hackworth died Wednesday. Rest in peace.

Skewed priorities.

She once was lost, but now is found. It is was amazing to watch the whole "Runaway Bride" story unfold over the weekend. But, as Howard Kurtz points out in the Washington Post, there was nothing graceful about the story or the way in which it has been handled.

The sound and fury of the tale told by (and about) idiots has drowned out some other stories which I consider to be important.

Private Charles S. Cooper, Jr and Private Darren Deblanc died on April 29th, 2005, in Iraq.

Both men were members of Fort Drum's 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment.

Both men were already Purple Heart recipients for injuries sustained earlier in the deployment.

Both men were too young to buy a beer.

Chances are, no-one outside of their respective home towns and this military community will ever know their names.

fun with picasa .. montage of cherry blossoms