Chicago Slaughter

My brother, Scott, and I had talked about going to see a Chicago Rush game before the arena league suspended its season.  The Chicago Slaughter is the other arena league team in the area.  Bears Great Steve McMichael is the head coach, Jim McMahon recently bought the team and signed Jarrett Payton.  So we picked up tickets to take Alex to the first game of the season.

It was a 7pm start, so there was no way Alex was going to make it through the entire game.  We figured on leaving at the half.  The first thing we noticed was that there were a lot of people there.  Not a sell out, but:

I took that before kickoff.  The stands filled in some more after that.

My camera phone decided to forget what the zoom function is for, so I don't have shots of Payton, McMahon or McMichael.  But so you know what you get for those $15 seats:

Nah.  You still can't tell.  It was really pretty close. 

The game was a bit weird in that the rules are clearly different and I don't have a handle on them yet.  For example, in the NFL, the offense is only allowed to have one person moving before the ball is snapped.  This game regularly had two receivers getting a running start.  "Out of bounds" means someone rammed you into the wall like a hockey player.  And game balls are going into the stands all the time.

Downside to that:  if the action is against the wall where you are seated, it is hard to see what is happening.

The big news is the Slaughter's first touchdown of the season was thrown by Jarrett Payton, the running back.  I like when a team shows some nerve.  Unfortunately, it didn't win them the game.  However.  $15 tickets, arena in the suburbs, $10 parking and McMichael/McMahon/Payton? 

I think we'll be doing that again.

Just a Geek, by Wil Wheaton

Book 8

If you really need me to tell you, Wil Wheaton is the actor that played Gordie LaChance in the movie Stand By Me and then Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Among other things. More recently, he has made his living as a writer and occasionally worked as an actor. The book Just a Geek is sortuva memoir of that evolution, as seen through his blog.

Wheaton takes his old blog entries and expands on them. Sometimes it is fleshing out a story, sometimes clarifying his meaning and sometimes calling Bullshit on himself. If you are looking for Star Trek gossip, there isn’t a whole lot. But if you enjoy his blog, the book is a nicely done companion piece.

Some Good News

I had a day at work.  I thought it was going to be terrible, but I actually left feeling better than I had when I arrived in the morning.  I love when that happens.

So I went over to the Park Center to walk on the track for a bit before a quick dinner at Noodles before heading over to the Library.  I zoned out while walking and suddenly it was 5pm.  I love when that happens.

I checked my e-mail while eating dinner and there was a note from my mother asking if I remembered to call our mechanic to make an appointment for an oil change.  Damn.  I also forgot to call Dr. Sakas for the results from Kiwi's asper recheck.  I checked the clock.  It's not too late!  I love when that happens.

The receptionist answered the phone and put me on hold to check the file.  In fact, they had called the house an hour before to let me know that the test came back negative.

"Negative?"  I was actually surprised, after eight months of medicine twice a day.  "You mean we can take her off the medicine?"  She went to check with the doctor.  Two more weeks, just to be sure.  Then we can drop the meds.

People, I could have cried.  I was so happy that I called my mother.  Here's what I got:

"So did you call Bill? (the mechanic)"

But then she offered to call him for me. 

For a minute there, all was right with the world.

About Tony Kornheiser

I've read several articles about Tony Kornheiser's suspension from his post at ESPN for making snarky comments about an outfit his colleague Hannah Storm was wearing on the air.  I like this one the best, from the New York Daily News, since it actually shows a picture of the outfit.  Here is the quote they cited:


"Hannah Storm in a horrifying, horrifying outfit today," Kornheiser said. "She's got on red go-go boots and a Catholic-school plaid skirt. … Way too short for somebody in her 40s or maybe early 50s by now. She's got on her typically very, very tight shirt. She looks like she has sausage casing wrapping around her upper body.


I know she's very good, and I'm not supposed to be critical of ESPN people, so I won't. But Hannah Storm, Come on now! Stop! What are you doing? She's what I would call a Holden Caulfield fantasy at this point."

So.  I checked out the picture and think that everything he said is true..except the "sausage casing" part.  That was entirely wrong.  I think Hannah Storm is out of her mind to wear such a thing on the air.  I am allowed to say that, because I am a private citizen talking about a public figure.  But here is the thing:

You don't say that stuff about a co-worker.  I don't want to go all HR on you, but seriously.  Kornheiser says snarky stuff about plenty of people, and perhaps plenty of co-workers.  He is practically paid for the snark.  And I absolutely believe that he would just as easily rip on a male colleague's wardrobe.  But those comments were entirely too personal to be tolerated in the workplace, let alone said on the air.

To Kornheiser's credit, he made what appears to be a sincere apology and seems to be accepting of his suspension.  But perhaps I am being optimistic.

The Poetry of John Milton, Lectures by John Rogers

The Poetry of John Milton is the second course I have gone through on Academic Earth. As I’ve said, I picked it because I have had Paradise Lost on my shelf for years and nearly half of the lectures were on that piece alone.


The instructor was Yale professor John Rogers, and I loved him. He called Milton “the greatest of all the English poets” more than once. He was like the New England Yankee version of a high school English teacher I had – Ted Belch for you District 225 kids. I couldn’t stand Mr. Belch at 14. He was so into the language and everything was dramatic and erotic and I thought he was insane. But listening to Rogers do the same thing made me want to go back to high school for a week to see if I could better appreciate Mr. Belch and Candide.

Well. Not Candide. Candide was lame.

The course begins with some earlier Milton works, including some political prose. If I hadn’t understood Milton through the lens of the Restoration, I would have missed a whole lot about Paradise Lost. This is why school is cool.

There is a lot of discussion of Milton’s politics, and education, and religion and family relations and how they relate to each of the published works. Rogers makes it all sound so personal.

I didn’t read each of the assignments the way the students were required to, and I am certainly not an English major, but I think I got a lot out of it. And I see that there is a course on the Old Testament, which seems to be where Rogers and Milton are driving me.

I love this web site.

What Would Brian Boitano Make?

People. On what planet am I living that I did not know that Brian Freakin’ Boitano has a cooking show on the Food Network?! It is actually called, “What Would Brian Boitano Make?”


This is a clip of him on the Today Show with Meredith Veira earlier this week. I actually saw him this morning with (Former Chicago Anchorman) Lester Holt, which was better because Lester had been sampling the local microbrews all morning.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Oh. And I really can’t believe I forgot to tell my brother about this. I gotta call him.

She Thinks She is So Smart

I went grocery shopping today.  I am one of those horrible, lazy people that leave the refridgerator door open the entire time I am unloading groceries.  You know what Kiwi does when the door is open?

She changes the temperature settings.

The Official Photo Album - Hawaii 2010

I am home; had a horrid trip back.  Haven't decided if that is worth writing about yet. 

These are the pictures, if anyone cares to see the whole thing.  They really look better in full screen.  Couldn't much be bothered to edit, so feel free to move along:

You Know You are a Grown Up When

On the morning of the last day of your vacation, you run out of sunscreen.  Then you go to the hotel gift shop and buy some more.

Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen, by Lili'uokalani

Book 7

I want you all to know that I wrote Her Majesty's name without looking; and spelled it correctly. 

I found this at a charming bookstore in Kona next to the place where I had a really great burger.  Don't remember the names, but they were right off the Queen's Highway.

The title is a misnomer.  This isn't a history of the country so much as a personal memoir of the end of Hawaii's monarchy - she was forced to abdicate in 1894.  It is a fine memoir in that the lady tells a compelling story, but it isn't a real history.  In fact, Lili'uokalani says herself that she cannot even reference her personal documents to write this book because they were confiscated by the provisional government when she was arrested and forced to abdicate.

Because I haven't read any hard history of Hawaii, and in my day, U.S. history barely made it out of the 19th century, I haven't a clue as to the relative truth of the Queen's point of view.  But apparently she wrote this piece as an appeal to the Good People of the United States to drop the idea of annexing Hawaii. 

What I found fascinating is that the Queen seemed to think this type of conquest behavior wasn't what America was all about:

"Is the American Republic of States to degenerate, and become a colonizer and a land-grabber?"

Ummmm....I was all ready to say, "Know thy enemy, Lady."  When I thought that perhaps she did know it, and these lines were disingenuous fawning and flattery.  If that was true, more power to her.

Except that she lost that war.

My Midwestern Gen-X perspective is that at least since Pearl Harbor, Hawaii has been positively embraced as the tropical paradise of the United States.  But recall that it has only been a state for 60 years or so.  There must be people here that have parents and grandparents that did not wish to become part of the Union.  It made me think of a couple of girls from Puerto Rico that lived on my floor at AU.  The last thing they wanted was Puerto Rican statehood.

Sometimes, I think we are a vain, presumptuous, conquering people.

Petroglyphs

I noticed my first day that practically on property there is a "petroglyph field".  The old "King's Trail" ran through here and when people camped out for the night, they carved stuff into the rocks.  They are dated back 500 years.  So first I head over to the King's Trail:

More climbing.

The hiking around was funny because there is a golf course on either side of the field and I kept wondering if there was a way over to the golf cart path so I wouldn't have to rock-climb all the way back.

Then I see the first petroglyph, which happens to be about the best shot I could get of the carvings.  The rules are very strict in trying to preserve them - stay on the trail, no rubbings, etc.  But there wasn't really anyone around to enforce it.

Then all of the carvings started to look the same - like crop circles carved in rock.  And then:

Those are the rock walls that the people camping here build to block the wind at night.  Looks like much harder work to me.

Then I found the exit to the golf course and got the heck outta there.

Neat Trick

I have been out of town and out of my usual routine for several days.  And now my skin is breaking out again.  It occurred to me that I haven't exfoliated in a week and I am always being scolded for my lazy exfoliating habits.

Yes.  I know exactly how ridiculous that sounds.  Stay with me.

I recalled that an aesthetician once told me that if I couldn't find a product I really liked, I should just take some sugar and blend it with my usual cleanser.  So I took two sugar packets from the cup by the hotel room coffee maker and tried it.

It worked just fine.  Of course, it is too early to tell if it is really going to do the trick, but it felt all right.  So there you go - emergency exfoliator.

Living Dead in Dallas, by Charlaine Harris

Book 6

This novel picks up with Sookie Stackhouse all lovey-dovey with Bill the vampire and staffed out by Eric the Sheriff to some vampires in Dallas for some telepathic sleuthing.  It also opens with the murder of LaFayette, who I really liked! 

Harris expands on her supernatural world by displaying the way that vampires travel and introducing some other supernatural creatures that are just mean.  She also lets Sookie grow up a bit, namely in getting it through her head that vampires drink blood and sometimes the urge to drink blood is so compelling that...oh, never mind.  There was a fight, Sookie pouted, they made up with a lot of sex.

Also.  Sookie does some work in tracking down LaFayette's killer.  It leads her to an actual...um...swinger's club?...in her very small hometown.

I.  Don't.  Believe it.

Sookie is a telepath that has to struggle every single day to block out the thoughts of other people.  She has only recently gotten any good at it.  And she never heard one stray thought from that rather large group of people about such.....parties?  Her whole life?  And working as a waitress in the local bar? 

Eh.

Anyway, the character of Eric is developing nicely and he is my new favorite guy.  Not that I am always rooting for him, but that I really want to hear about his history and motivation and stuff.  But I really have to read other stuff now.

Paradise Lost, by John Milton

Book 5

As I was saying, Paradise Lost has been on my shelf for-practically-ever and I picked it up when I saw Professor Roger's course on Milton's poetry on Academic Earth.  I have not quite finished the course yet, but I will have plenty to say about that, too.

The most famous line in the poem belongs to Satan:  "Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n".  And Satan makes some convincing arguments until he is just plain mean to my friend, Eve.  Poor Eve.

I am not a real feminist, mostly because the world has been pretty good to me and even the Old Boys' Club lets me play in the Clubhouse from time to time.  But my closet feminist self is the true and honest reason that I cannot embrace organized religion and it is from that perspective, (egged on by Professor Rogers) that I was attacking this piece.

Rogers says that Eve is "doctrinally wrong" in Paradise Lost, but that she asks some really good questions.  Although, it can be argued that asking any questions while you are living in Eden is by its nature doctrinally wrong. 

Eve is submissive to Adam, and apparently of her own free will.  But one of the great things that Milton does is in challenging the very concept of Free Will as it stands opposed to Predestination.  The old philosophical question - "If God knows it is going to happen, why doesn't he stop it?"  blahblahblah.

Skip to the part of the text that really hit me.  Eve wakes up one day and suggests to Adam that he go work in one part of the garden and she will work in another part of the garden.  Splitting up for the day so they can get some actual work done.  (Apparently Dude can't keep his eyes off her or something.)  Adam doesn't want to do that, saying that the bad guy is out there ready to be bad and they are safer together.  Eve's counterpoint (a great series of lines) is that if they have to live in fear of the Baddie, they can hardly call it Paradise.  It ends with:

"Frail is our happiness if this be so,

And Eden were no Eden thus exposed."

People, I about came out of my chair at that one.  Because while Eve was actually talking about fear of the Baddie, there is also truth to the fact that her de facto subservience to Adam was bugging her.   (You really get to that after she eats the apple.)  Professor Rogers noted that any person that is the low guy on the totem pole is going to wish/plan/plot/hope to become equal, or even superior to the other guy.  Which led me to the conclusion that Eden wasn't actually Paradise to Eve in the first place.  So why shouldn't she disobey the one stupid rule of the Guy that created the Order to the Universe that has made her inferior?

(waits for the bolt of lightning)

(waiting....)

(waiting...)

The old school theology says that God knew she was inferior because He knew she was going to eat the apple so he created the sexual hierarchy for that reason.  Sorry, but I don't buy that.

Anyway.  I think I am going to have to read Paradise Regained.

Persuasion, by Jane Austen

Book 4

I knew I wasn’t going to be able to read eight straight Sookie Stackhouse novels, so I needed some freebies from Amazon in order to do a Kindle-only vacation. I found several Jane Austen novels and decided to re-read Persuasion. This is Austen’s novel of “the one that got away”.


At age 19, Anne Elliott fell in love with a young naval officer. She turned down his marriage proposal on the advice of a family friend, Lady Russell, who was as close to a mother as she had. Neither Lady Russell, nor anyone else in Anne’s vain, foolish family thought he was good enough for her. In a “name and fortune” way.

Fast forward eight years. Anne remains unmarried and her father has spent the family into debt. Naval officer comes back, having made his fortune in the war or whatever. Drama ensues.

This novel isn’t nearly as fun as Pride and Prejudice, but I have far more sympathy for the heroes here. Anne is the only sensible person in her family – although she has a brother-in-law that is rather charming. And it is easy to see that Captain Wentworth is a good guy, even if you don’t know what in hell he is thinking for carrying on with the Musgrove sisters.

Confession: I saw the 1995 film before I actually read the book. And one thing the film does really well that might be a bit too subtle in the novel is expressing how Anne grows as a person throughout the course of events. She becomes a more attractive and independent creature outside of her un-relationship with Wentworth, such that one might be convinced even if he hadn’t come to his damn senses, she would have been just fine. I suppose that is why I like this one best.

The Papaya Obsession

My first visit to Hawaii was a business trip to Honolulu. It was in September..2003, I think. We flew in on Tuesday and met for a group breakfast before the meeting Wednesday morning.


I was standing at the buffet with my colleague, Stu, who looked at my rather lame breakfast plate and said, “Try the papaya.”

“No thanks,” I said. “I’m not a big fan. I’ll take some pineapple, though.”

“Have you been to Hawaii before?” he asked.

“No.”

“Then you’ve never tried papaya.”

I don’t remember if he actually put the fruit on my plate for me, but that is how it felt. So I went back to the table with him and tried it.

Melts in your mouth.

Stu explained that the shelf life of papaya is distressingly short, so it is near impossible to get “the peak of freshness” at home. Apparently, they don’t even bother to try and ship papaya from Hawaii to the Midwest, so the best we can do in Chicago is papaya from Mexico. And even that is too far away to get it at the exact right time.

So yeah. I am eating papaya every day. There is a charming market down the road that has bowls of cut fruit and I am absolutely loving it.

I hope they restock tomorrow.

And the Downside to Travelling Alone

I totally missed King Kamehameha's statue.  I drove right through the little town where it lives, all the way to the end of 270 at the Pololu Valley Lookout.  Interesting thing about this island is that is really is all desert...desert....desert....rainforest!

Eh.  This picture totally doesn't cut it.  But for about the 20th time on this trip I started down a little path, and said, "(groan) If I go down there, I will have to climb all the way back up."  This time, I went about half way down.

That is one of the famous black sand beaches.  Apparently, the prettiest, most famous, most photographed one was destroyed by lava.

Driving back, I actually saw a sign for the statue, and still couldn't find it.  Then I gave up.  Which ticks me off just a bit because I later read in my little guide book that there is a fabulous used book store about a block away.  

So, tonight being the horrible Hallmark Holiday, I am going to run to the little market for fruit and bread and cheese to have dinner in my room with Professor Rogers so as to see about finishing Paradise Lost .   Of course, after those last two lectures is Paradise Regained, but never mind that now.

The Volcanoes

I had a little moment this morning, heading down the state highway to Volcanoes National Park.  I realized that those clouds were not clouds.  And I was driving toward them.

I had another little moment when I stopped the car at the first Scenic Overlook.  This is where all the "steam vents" were.

That is steam.  Coming out of the ground.  I know everyone that has been to Yellowstone or wherever is laughing at me right now, but once I could feel the heat coming from that hole, I was all:  "I am standing on top of a live volcano."

Then I got to the real Overlook.  This isn't even the good picture from the good angle, but I imagine you get the idea.  I was all snappy-snappy with the pics because I wasn't even on the hiking trails yet and I thought this was the coolest thing I had ever seen in my entire life.

In fact, the actual words that came out of my mouth on a day that I planned to speak to absolutely no one were, "F*** Europe, Man (this is the best vacation ever)".

So I get to the better view and I can't even show you the pics because I neglected to pack the cable and have to e-mail myself every single shot until I get home, but then I hit the hiking trails and saw the lava lake.

You can't see in this shot, but I saw a dot of red at the bottom that was a person.  There were two people down at the bottom of the lava lake.  So I took the picture and said to myself, "I want to go to the bottom of the lava lake."  And then, right that second - I can't make this stuff up, Guys - my mother sent me an e-mail that said, "You get back in that car!"

( I had sent her the middle picture.)

I didn't see any actual lava, because you generally have to be in exactly the right spot after the sun goes down to see it, but I saw enough.

P.S. You know why I travel alone?  Because when I drive by a sign that says, "Southpoint 12 miles" (the turn off point to go to the "southernmost point of the United States") there is no one to make me take it.

I Took a Single Picture Today

Yeah, yeah.  It's fish in a pond.  Shut up.  I spent the day eating papaya and reading Jane Austen.

A Sort of Breakthrough

So.  I have some pretty serious body image issues.  I am carrying around too much weight right now, but even in college when I was a perfectly reasonable size and went to step class twice a week, I hated my body.  We blame my skinny, thoughtless father.

I've dropped a bit of weight since last summer and the self-loathing has eased up proportionately.  Today, I hadn't planned on doing much and I am seriously lacking in summer playclothes, so I put on a sleeveless dress.  I normally wear a short sleeved sweater with it. 

I skipped the sweater.  I wore a sleeveless dress.  All day long.  I haven't gone sleeveless in public since I was 12.

Yeah.  It's practically a deserted island in the Pacific where I literally do not know a soul.  Whatever.  I pushed my little boundaries and am triumphant.  And slightly sunburned.

First Impressions of the Big Island

Since I arrived after dark, and woke up at 5am, I didn't even see the place until I have been here for hours and hours.  But the first thing you see is the airport, right?

On the first business trip I ever took, I was having dinner with my boss, Ron, and a vendor named Robert.  Ron and Robert had a deal whenever they travelled together - Ron's job was to find the best place to eat and Robert's expense account paid for it.  So we were having a nice meal and got to talking about how we judge cities.  Ron, of course, judges them by the food.  Robert judges them by the view from his hotel window.  I said that I judge them by the airport.  And really, that is still true.

Kona airport's terminal - as in the place where you sit and read a book and wait for your plane - is open air.  As in pretty much outdoors.  My mother neglected to mention this. 

Driving up from the airport on the dark, dark road, I had just convinced myself that there was no danger of hitting a deer when I saw a sign that said "Donkeys Crossing".  So I thought, "Did that sign just say donkeys crossing?"  When I saw another caution sign with a picture that looked like a donkey.

It is pretty in a less-beachy-more-organic sort of way, which I like.  The "organic" being volcanic rock.  This is outside my window:

And this is the ocean view of the "ocean view room":

Here are my vacation goals:

1. 
   
   Eat papaya every single day.  At every meal if it can be arranged.
2. 
   
   Do not check the work e-mail more than once a day.
3. 
   
   Don't spend too damn much money.

I am definitely going to head toward the volcano sometime this week, and will consider some whale-watching something.  But omg, the sun is finally up and now I am just going outside.

The Universities, Too

I was just talking about how the State of Illinois has neglected to send the public libraries promised funds this year.  Now the Tribune is reporting that the state universities are saying the same thing:

""We have drawn down our available resources, and we are now counting on tuition dollars to keep our doors open for students beginning the new spring semester. Still, no amount of cutting and sacrifice can make up for the absence of hundreds of millions of dollars in State Appropriation payments," said the letter, which was sent to Gov. Pat Quinn and Comptroller Dan Hynes. "

The article goes on to talk about state vendors that aren't getting paid, either.

This isn't going to get fixed until someone neglects to plow the state highways.

Super Weekend

I was so busy this weekend that I don't even have goofy stories to tell about it.

My nephew, Alex's birthday was yesterday.  He seemed terribly bored with the gifts we brought him - the Spiderman blanket (even when I told him that it was a lucky blanket because I made it the day the Bears beat the Vikings), a game, a lovely copy of Ramona the Pest (even though it is a book about a little girl that goes to kindergarten).  Then he opened the Hasselbeck jersey I picked up for him in Seattle.  Loved it.  Loved the green color (yuck), loved that it said Seahawks.  Loved the postcard of the Seahawks stadium.  Now he won't shut up about Seattle.  He insists that he has been there before - when he was "one year old".

No, that was Lambeau Field, we told him.  That kid is a riot.

This morning, I went to a baby shower for some friends that are having twin girls.  I haven't seen Max and Susan since before I went back to school  I've missed them and am so jazzed for them and am very sorry that I am the only person that thought to give them a black onesie with skulls on it.  Seriously, I have never seen so much pink in my entire life.  I'll have to make a trip to Hot Topic.  On principle.

Of course, then I came home for the game.  It is never easy watching the Super Bowl when you are a house divided, (I do not understand my mother's infatuation with the Manning brothers.)  but I am thrilled for the Saints.

And now I must finish the Sunday night laundry and catch up on the latest election drama.  Republicans can't determine a winner and Democrats lose a candidate to scandal..we are off to a great start!

Save Illinois Libraries

(reprinted from Friends of the Glenview Library's Used Book Store site of Facebook)

The Director at the Library’s Used Book Store pointed me to this article in the TribLocal – the community section of the Chicago Tribune. In summary, it seems that the Illinois Library Systems have not received program funds promised by the State of Illinois that support services like interlibrary loans, job search assistance and homework help for students. The North Suburban Library System has had to take out a loan to keep the program going.


A campaign called “Save Illinois Libraries” was launched in October with a focus on reaching out to members of the Illinois General Assembly. You can read more about their efforts at:

http://www.saveillinoislibraries.com/

The State of Illinois Should be Ashamed

I'm not talking about the corruption, patronage and cronyisn.  I am talking about the apathy.

One year ago, our governor (a Democrat) was impeached and removed from office.  Because the month before, he was indicted for attempting to sell the seat in the Senate vacated by President Obama.

You all might remember that his predecessor (a Republican) is right this second serving time for abuse of office.

Yesterday was the primary election in the State of Illinois.  Our first opportunity to start turning this mess around.  The state budget deficit is among the worst in the country.  The sales tax in the City of Chicago is the highest in the nation.  We have a fill-in Senator and a fill-in governor - neither was elected to the office he holds.  And don't get me started on the fill-in County Board President (I think he was technically elected, but only because his father very kindly won the primary for him before he died).  If ever there were a time to show up, it was yesterday.



Our voter turnout? 

Wait for it.....

25%.

I know it is "just" a mid-term election.  But please consider:

We all do so much griping about how we don't like any of the candidates when we (theoretically) head to the polls in November.  But only 25% of us show up on the day of the primary?  And for a Democrat in Cook County-  Primary Day is Election Day.

Impeached governor?  I'm over it.  This turnout?  I am embarrassed.

Lost Groundhog Election

I was driving home from work to vote in the primary.  Somewhere on Willow Road, I was cut off by my mother.  She turned to head home and I figured that she had either voted that morning or wanted to let the dog out first. 

When I arrived at the polling center at 4:30, I found that I was only the 70th voter in my precinct.  Pretty pathetic.  So I asked the lady if my mother had been in yet.  The answer was no, and could I send her over?

Sure, I said.  She just cut me off on Willow Road and I am sure she just home went to go let the dog out.

When I arrived at home, I found her camped out on the couch watching the preliminary reports.  I ordered her out the door.  Told her that the lady was expecting her and I promised she'd go.

"Did you tell her that I cut you off on Willow Road?"
"No, I didn't...wait.  Yes, I did."

And now I have told the entire Internet. 

So she went.  She was voter #73 and there were three people behind her.  Still pretty pathetic.  You know what else is pathetic?  The news reports are more interested in the Pennsylvania Groundhog than in telling me any important thing at all.   Although one station was kind enough to mention that the Brookfield Zoo did not see his shadow, so Chicagoland is off the hook.

Now I am watching Lost and clicking Refresh on the County Clerk's page.  They are equally confusing.