Yeah, don't worry about it pal!

So I am walking through the store, and there is this guy- looks to be about 24 or 25.

He had an Adam Lambert hair cut. He wore the obscenely tight jeans that look God-awful and uncomfortable.

He had on mascara.

His lips were black and his fingernails were painted this blue that does not occur in nature.

He had a thick black studded leather belt that was over-sized and hanging slanted over his barely existing hip.

One might have imagined him to be getting ready to take the stage with his non- existent band.

His hands flailed in the air above his head when he spoke.

He wore a t-shirt with a pink triangle on it. It boldly proclaimed: Please do not assume that I am straight!!!

I may have made many assumptions about this guy. The one he was worried about was low on my list.

Conservatives are just plain wrong!

The linked story demonstrates a growing- but still weak- economy.  After only one year in office, the Obama administration and policies have demonstrated economic success.  After the worst and longest economic downturn since the great depression we have now seen 2 quarters of growth.

The most notable piece of the puzzle is that government spending has not kept pace with the rest of the country and has slowed economic growth.  Federal spending has increased but local governments have cut spending.

With a domestic spending freeze, expiration of the Bush tax breaks for the rich and even modest economic growth,  there is reason to be modestly optimistic  about whether or not we will be 'better off'  after four years.

That being said- Guantanamo, health care reform,  bringing home our troops-  these are the things on which liberals will base their continuing support for the president.

There is reason to be nervous that Obama's favorable numbers are lingering at low points that are equivalent to "W" high points  (excluding ridiculous post attack numbers).   Liberals actually consider whether or not someone does what they say they will do.  It would be so much easier if, like conservatives,  we based our support for the president on the letter behind his name.

How Can We Help Haiti

Catholic Relief Services is the single most direct was to give funds to for this tragedy.  They are highly reputable and have the highest percentage of contributions go directly to the relief effort.  The title bar is a link.  

Bailey likes the new camera!

or the new camera likes Bailey.

I'll do it Right This Time

When I began I had no doubt.
I set the pace, the world was mine.
I learned to think the world was colder
I wanted an ear and got a shoulder.
I did my best with each new test
I tried to do it right each time.

Year's go by and now there's doubt.
Too many times I’d tried and failed.
No one cared, promises broken.
I held my tongue when I should have spoken
Dreams were lost-unmeasured cost.
I didn't care to do it right this time.

I sometimes took the easy way.
Life and love that have been wasted
I took the prize, I grabbed my token.
I held my tongue when I should have spoken
Friends were lost- too great a cost
But now, I’ll do it right this time.

When I began I had no doubt.
I set the pace, the world was mine.
But through the years I just grew colder
I’ll take that big chip off my shoulder.
I'll do my best with each new test
And so, I’ll do it right this time.

I’ll do it right this time.
It’s all on the line
I’ll take that chance,
I’ll try again.
No more regrets as time goes by
I’ll give my all and let it fly.
I know … I’ll do it right this time.

Reuben

Reuben was a friend of mine…


At first glance he looked so weak,
Shaking with fear and future bleak.
Caged in, closed off, trembling, alone.
His pain so great, he’d sit and groan.

He was so weak he could barely stand.
In gentle love I gave my hand.
Slowly, closer, he checked me out.
Filled with fear and racked with doubt.

In time he would grow strong again,
And he would love me, my dear friend.
I held him close, embraced his pain.
I took him in from cold and rain.

He had known such pain and loss,
Neglected, starved and temper-tossed.
We fit together like hand in glove.
In my arms he knew true love.

He learned to sing along with me
He believed in happy endings he.
Our years together were filled with joy.
He learned to dance my happy boy.

His coat was thick when fully grown.
When he was good he got a bone.
The leash was his most favorite treat.
The joy of that could not be beat.

Then came the end as I knew it would.
He knew exactly where he stood.
I held him when at last he died.
Recalling his life, I laughed and cried.

in the dark of night

You speak to me in the dark of night.
Your soft voice quakes in pale light.
I'm stirred to wake its you I see.
But could we ever lovers be.

What's it like to be held so dear?
By one whose love I've grown to fear.
To risk it all to see love's gains
I wish to act but fear remains.

You speak to me in the dark of night.
Your soft voice quakes in pale light.
It was your touch stirred me to wake.
The dark of night begins to break.

And that embrace I'd long thought gone
Enfolds me now and greets the dawn.
Is this love this night attains
or something else when fear remains.

You speak to me in the dark of night.
Your soft voice quakes in pale light.
I'm stirred to wake its you I see.
But we could never lovers be.

Dreams

Within my grasp not long ago
A simpler time, nothing to show
Dreams may come , Dreams may grow.
Take the chance, let yourself go.

Alone at night, thoughts fill my head.
So many times, things left unsaid.
The night is dark, cold is the bed.
The coming dawn fills me with dread

People come and people go.
Too few really ever know,
Feelings that we never show.
Our passions set our hearts aglow.

Will things be clear In the light of day?
Unspoken feelings fade away.
We’ll play it safe and never stray
So we dream what we never say.

On this Cold Night...

There is a family on this cold night who is missing their mother who died this past weekend.

A husband missing his wife.  Children trying to figure out how life will go on.  Perhaps the oldest daughter is recognizing a fraction of the loneliness her father feels.

There is a family on this cold night trying to imagine what the future will look like while they gaze upon the ashes that were the family business.

There is a couple on this cold night greiving the loss of an unborn child.

There is a family on this cold night wondering how they will put food on their table.

And I sit here on this cold night with a full belly, staring at a fully decorated Christmas tree that looks a bit tired this late in the season, a dog resting with his head on my shoulder,  more comfortable than I probably deserve to be. 

Am I richly blessed?  Or does that feeling come from comparison to the others who feel more fully the cold and loneliness of this night?

I am richly blessed. 
And richly blessed is the family who grieves the loss of their mother and wife who loved them so much. 
And richly blessed is the family whose business was the center of a community for forty years. 
And richly blessed is the couple who grieves the loss of their unborn child.
And richly blessed is the family who knows hunger this night but can compare it to the feeling of being full.

I am richly blessed this cold night.  I feel the cold through them. 

I grieve with them.  I pray for them.  I give thanks for them.

What Did Bush Do For Us?

This article explains well what happens when the guy drving the bus is asleep at the wheel.  I am sure there are people who came out of the decade well off, and maybe even better off than they were ten years ago.  They would be a clear exception.

Now,  the bad guys will point out that the decade began and ended with Dems holding the White House.  That is the kind of misdirection they like.  But read the article linked here and remember who was in charge.

Christmas 2009!!  Excellent.