Every time

I always get a little choked up watching the inauguration and the swearing in of the new president. Particularly years, like this year, where the outgoing and incoming presidents are of different political parties.

I watch, I shake my head, my eyes fill a bit with tears. "Look at us!" I shout in my head. No violence led to this moment. The people voted. The people did this. Every time.

Honest I didn't

I had no intention of falling of the face of the earth the past few days. I have lots to talk about and lots of pictures that need to be downloaded. I'm just not feeling it you know? Take this recent exchange between myself and the Saint:

Fannie: "You seem kinda down, bad day at work?"

Saint: sigh "No, I looked at my 401K. It's down ..."

Fannie: interrupting "NOOOOOO! What have I told you about looking at your accounts! Stop it right now!"

Saint: sigh "I know, I just can't help it."

Fannie: "Well knock it off; you'll give yourself heart failure and THEN where will we be?"

Yes, my compassion runneth over. I'm not a huge market watcher. I have long term investment strategies and don't focus much day to day, month to month or even quarter to quarter. But after yesterday even I peeked at a few things. People? It is not pretty.

For us, these are paper losses. We aren't living off of investment income, nor are we in the position of having to sell any stocks or bonds. But our parents? Are. My grandmother? Is. So I hope to hell Congress fixes this soon. Or I think many of those politicking jackasses fine folks just may find themselves out of a job come election time. I'm just sayin'.

Friday

The Saint and I head out to Princeton on the Prairie this afternoon for Parents Weekend. We'll do a surprise inspection visit the dorm and take Precious Oldest and friends to dinner.

Tomorrow we'll tailgate and attend the football game. I baked brownies and made macaroni salad last night to take with us. My pre-planning ended up sucking because the kitchen sink backed up big time and now I have piles of dirty dishes that it appears will have to be washed in the utility sink in the laundry room. Blech.

Before we leave I'll record the Presidential debate that may or may not take place depending on whether they:

A. Stay in Washington and, oh I don't know, do the jobs WE are fucking PAYING them to do.

OR

B. Decide not to waste the millions of dollars WE have already spent securing the location for the debate and carry on.

Who me? Fed up with politics? Not at all, and I resent your thinking otherwise.

By The Numbers

For only the THIRD time in American history we will elect a U.S. Senator to the presidency come November.

Come November, for the FIRST time, we will have either the first African American president

OR

the first female vice president.

And come January? NO MATTER THE OUTCOME? There will be a peaceable changing of the guard. New leadership will move into the White house without guns, threats or bloodshed.

We all have a horse in the race. but at the end of the day, we are all Americans.

God Bless.

A letter to Sarah Palin

Dear Sarah Palin,

I listened to your speech last night and I say, “Good for you”. We can sit around wringing our hands saying McCain “shoulda, woulda, coulda picked insertnamehere”. But he didn’t, he picked you. And you said yes. So go for it.

By the way, duh, of course McCain picked you because you’re a girl. Do I think this means every woman in America is going to run out and vote for him because you have a vagina you’re a girl? Uh, NO! Nevertheless, you’re only the second woman to receive this country’s vice presidential nomination, so go out there and do us proud.

Oh, I know folks are saying you don’t have enough experience. I say pfft. I’m certain you can take the experience you gained as a mother, a mayor and a governor and apply it to a higher position. (I remember only too well being overlooked for jobs after seventeen years of “just” running the PTO running the Junior League leading Girl Scout troops raising a family. But I took everything I learned in those seventeen years and went out and got myself a by god career!)

And look at Hillary Clinton! When she was elected to the U.S. Senate by the people of New York she had never held public office of any kind. Furthermore, depending on how you count the votes, she ought to have the Democratic nomination for president.

But I warn you; if it were to be discovered that you’ve had an extra-marital affair allowed a young person in your administration to perform certain “favors” you have indeed pulled a Bree Van De Kamp, or any other such shameful behavior, you will be judged harshly.

You will be seen as having disgraced all women. No one, NO ONE will be more critical of your behavior than members of your own gender. I include myself in that last statement. Because if you have done things that personally repugnant? Then you should never have accepted the nomination.

But for now I choose ignore the rumors. I choose to evaluate you on your merits and not those of you family. I choose to be proud that no matter the outcome in November, this will be a historic election. No matter the outcome America will have a first. A first that has been a long time coming.

Best,
Fannie

P.S. You seem to have the hair thing really working for you. For the love of all that is holy will you please, PLEASE give Cindy McCain a few pointers?

Politically Incorrect

As an equal opportunity offender, I give you this.

Now go have yourselves a nice holiday weekend!

A good time was had by all

We had company this weekend. Sib #2, Sib # 5, my mother and a few of the children joined us for dinner Friday night. There is always a lot of this:

We do love a good meal, and will sit around the table for hours afterwards solving the problems of the world. The wine just helps the ideas flow. I headed back to the airport at 9:00 to pick up Sib #3 and her two kids. ("The Cousins", as we collectively call our children are 18, 16, 16, 14, 9, 9, and 6. It has been awhile since we've had babies, so we very excited about the twins!)

Saturday dawned, sunny and glorious. After breakfast we got in a few rounds of Don't Break the Ice, Memory and Hi Ho the Cherrio with Miss A. She is #3's youngest and quite a cutie!

After a lunch on the patio enjoying the BEST BBQ in the world (served up out of a gas station) we spent a fab afternoon enjoying the park.

Football, Frisbee, soccer, playground and ice cream on the way home. Does it get any better than that? As #5 had only been served two of the three food groups he finds lacking in New York (Kansas Beef, Bar-B-Que and Tex Mex) we headed out to a place near Sib #2's for dinner. #5 ordered a lot of food:

But did clean his plates:

After dinner we went to #2's for more world problem solving. #3 and #5 came back home with me and we were up until 2:00 a.m. arguing the finer points of the 2008 Presidential election. Thank God it was daylight savings time weekend and we got that extra hour of sleep!

I took everyone to the airport this afternoon to send them on their way(s). There were many, many tight hugs because it will be just be me, #2 and # 4 going to my parents for Thanksgiving this year. So now I'm a little sad, but damn, its good to get my house back!!