Today I watched TK’s funeral and balled, of course. I also went to see Inglorious Basterds with some folks, which was pretty fun. Very interesting movie that led to lots of interesting debate. I didn’t get an interesting picture of any of that, but instead took one of a box I got in the mail a few days ago. I ordered some knitting supplies through KnitPicks for making socks, including these sock blockers. Love them!
There's a ball winder in there too.
I did not take a photograph today because I was simply too sad. I continue to feel incredible grief over the passing of Edward Kennedy. I find relief in the sight of his smile on Inauguration day this past January, that he got to be here for that. And I find myself in complete tears when I see the clips of him giving RFK’s eulogy, and all the eulogies he has given since then for the members of his family that left this Earth before him.
Besides this truly heartbreaking time in seeing such a great man pass, another good man passed as well. A colleague of mine lost his life while in the midst of a medical procedure. Someone that I used to work with quite a bit in the past, and who I took for granted and bitched about for no real good reason besides the fact that he worked in a different department. I’m am saddened by the loss of him as well.
Finally, I am saddened over the death of a bird. Yes, a bird! Yesterday morning, while walking into work with Mike, and heartbroken over Kennedy’s passing, I almost stepped on an old fat bird just sitting on the sidewalk. Stunned, I stopped and looked down. It was alive but seemed very old. As if I wasn’t already sad enough, tears streamed down my face as I worried about it getting squashed by the crowd of students that ride bikes and dashes on that same stretch of sidewalk to get to class. Mike, who also has a sensitive heart for animals, told me that he was going to move the bird over to the lawn. So he went to grab a towel from his office. On his way back out we saw the bird hop over to the lawn. Relieved at the sight, I calmed down and we went over to the UMC to grab a drink and a bagel. Sadly, on the way back from there, we noticed that the bird had died, and was resting on the lawn. I quietly cried, while Mike moved the bird and buried it under a tree and placed a little cross made of twigs on top of it’s grave. The bird was so symbolic of what we experienced yesterday, the circle of life. And while I mourn the loss of these two great men, and an old majestic bird, I am comforted by the news that a friend of mine went into labor tonight to give birth to her daughter.
there is no picture from today, but one I took several weeks ago on campus, that reminds me of heaven.
Today, a personal hero of mine died. There are no words to describe what he meant to me. And even though we knew this day was coming, when I woke up to the news I broke into tears. Everything about who he was as a person and as a senator is so ingrained in my heart, that his absence in this world will affect me forever. It’s no big secret that I am not only a very serious and proud Democrat, but that I have deep and thorough liberal ideology. I do not deny this, nor will I ever. It is as serious to me as is my religion, always has been, and always will be. It’s why I dedicated all those hours and years to getting a B.A. in Political Science. So to the say the least, I do not take this kind of thing lightly. It’s easy to understand why Edward Kennedy meant so much to me. He was the unwavering model of my ideology. He was a man who was not ashamed of his beliefs or his religion, which I happen to share with him. He was a man who put the weight of the world on his big strong shoulders. And he was a man that supported all of his family with love, commitment, and encouragement. He was not perfect, but that made him more endearing. He was human. And as an imperfect person, who could have packed it up and gone home, he committed himself even more so to his cause. I don’t have to reiterate his accomplishments or describe his life’s mission (to help those who needed help the most), but just say that I am who I am because of him. And I am better off in this life because of him. And so are you. Whether you sit right or left of center, you cannot deny, nor should you, the goodness of this person.
I am so tempted to lash out at all the nasty and despicable people who are trying to squash the health care reform bill right now. I am filled with intense anger that there are people in this country that will do whatever they can to manipulate honest Americans into fearing health care reform in an effort to protect the insurance industry that cares so much more about the bottom line than the health of Americans. Now more than ever I am appalled that anyone would dare tarnish such good deeds and desires with ugly and inaccurate labels. Maybe it is my Catholic background, much like Teddy’s, that wants to help those who need help. That wants to encourage life for everybody. Those terribly hypocritical right-wing social conservatives that work so hard to eradicate a woman’s right to choose will in the same breath look at 47 million people without health insurance and feel no unease. And why is that? It’s not about attitude or hard work or free markets. It’s about lining their own pockets and the pockets of their lobbyist friends from the insurance industry. Plain and simple.
But I digress. The point is that without a model like Teddy Kennedy to shine a light in my life, I would not be the person that I am today and for that I am forever grateful that he lived and forever grateful that he never gave up.
One of my favorite photos. At age 30, like me, with a full life ahead of him to make a difference.
Finally, my Obama/DNC poster/picture drama in a frame now hangs on the wall of my dining room. I couldn’t be more pleased with the finished product. It was worth all the effort. And this, my dear friends, will be the last post I make about it. I promise!
I stare at it whenever I'm eating dinner or cooking.
Alaska Gov. Palin’s Daughter, Boyfriend Break Up : NPR.
This is just SHOCKING. I thought they were going to last forever. I am so heartbroken over this. I blame the media. It’s the media’s fault. Too much pressure on them. We can only pray that they reconcile and get back together. After all, they really love each other and want to be together. In no way was their engagement staged or forced due to the election. That’s just silly!
Yeah, okay. That’s as far as I can go with this whole bit. Seriously, that campaign was by far the worst campaign I’ve seen in my lifetime. There was nothing about it that was authentic.
If you’ve seen my January 28th post titled “I Could Never Be President”, you are aware of my inability to buy a frame properly. I thought I had not measured properly, but realistically when I went to the craft store I was bombarded by frames 24″x36″ in size, so I got confused. I really needed a 24″x32″ one, but those my friend are hard to come by. So hard that I haven’t been able to find one, not that I’ve looked terribly hard. I brainstormed and figured out a way to fill that four inch gap. With other pictures of course! So I made a 24″x4″ digital spread with some of my pictures from that historic day. I’m still in awe that I got to be there. Here’s the almost final result. I just need some goo-be-gone to get rid of the price tag.
So I guess I can problem solve, just like one Barack H. Obama.
What a day! I took today off to enjoy the Inauguration. I got to watch it with Mike and his family, which was nice. I’m exhausted, and I can only imagine how the tired the Obamas are.
Today was a very happy day!
I had a great weekend with some nice surprises. When I was planning on hanging out all day on Saturday by myself, I got a phone call from my childhood friend Marci. She and a friend of hers, which is now a friend of mine, named Lisa were going for a nature walk near where I live. They were calling to see if I wanted to hang out afterwards. What a great treat!
So after their walk they came over and we hung out for awhile. We mostly dished about the DNC and told stories from our experiences. I told them all about how great it was to be at Obama’s speech, and they told me about all the other fun stuff they did during convention week. Lisa is a writer for Westword and so she got to write some interesting stories from that week. She wrote a really great blog about watching the speech in the streets of downtown Denver where it was being broadcast on the side of a building. Marci was up here just to experience it all and volunteer.
After having a chit and a chat we were starving, so we hit up Noodles for some good carb action. I, of course, didn’t stray away from my usual Wisconsin Macaroni and Cheese. It was divine. After dinner we meandered over to the mall so Lisa could pick up some Croc sandals and then we topped off the night with some Dairy Queen. It was so nice to hang out with some girls. And the best part was when Marci told me that she is moving to Denver! I am thrilled at this notion. Even though I’m not the best at staying in touch with my local friends this will give me one more opportunity to do so.
My dad was very proud of his youngest child.
And then there was Sunday. My sister Marissa received a great journalism scholarship and so my dad came up from Pueblo to attend. I got to go along as well. It was a fancy affair on campus with a fondue bar and even complimentary wine and beer. I was impressed. I’ve been to so many university catered events and this was by far the fanciest and the best. The J-School really went all out on this one. So Marissa received her scholarship toward the end of the event and she did great. They listed all of her accomplishments and activities. I recorded her receiving the scholarship certificate.
I was a little jealous through the whole evening because I am a J-School drop-out. I found Political Science more dazzling and I just didn’t have an extra year to spare on my education to get both degrees. I made my choice and I’m happy with it. As always my dad, sister, and I had a hilarious time. We also went a little bit overboard on election talk. We tend to get a little “us v. them” in our long diatribes. It probably isn’t fair of us, but that’s the beauty of America…we can talk about whatever we want.
Journalism School drop out stands left of Journalism School rock star.
After my dad left to go home, Marissa came over and I helped her work on her homework for Western Political Thought. Her assignment was to read Pericles’ Funeral Oration from ancient Greet times. His oration describes Athens’ democracy. At first glance it was hard to understand, so I decided to read it out loud for her in the form of a speech, because that’s what it was originally. When heard like that it makes much more sense. It is actually quite beautiful and it really reminded us of Senator Obama. It’s amazing how much we have stretched the meaning of democracy in the past eight years. As a country, we should get back to these roots.
I really had a great time helping her. I realized that my ability to comprehend and critically evaluate the text is far superior to what it was when I took that class the second semester of my freshman year. I even got out my book from that class (which I kept because I’m a dork) and started reading about Locke, and then about liberalism and social democracy. It was fascinating. And the most amazing part about this story is that I was doing this at midnight and not falling asleep. Can you tell it’s an election year?
“And tonight, we have an important message for those who question the patriotism of Americans who offer a better direction for our country. Before wrapping themselves in the flag and shutting their eyes and ears to the truth, they should remember what America is really all about. They should remember the great idea of freedom for which so many have given their lives. Our purpose now is to reclaim democracy itself. We are here to affirm that when Americans stand up and speak their minds and say America can do better, that is not a challenge to patriotism; it is the heart and soul of patriotism.” – John Kerry
Well put.
The Simple Sisters
