That Sunday Thing

So the other "first" I was holding out until today to tell you about was that the past four days marks the first time I had let Child #1 out "on his own". He attended an academic conference at an upscale hotel and returned to us today safe, sound, and tired. I'm very proud of him and all his great accomplishments.

One of my Sunday rituals--and it is one of the banes of my weekend existence--is that I read through the Parade magazine. It's almost like a wreck at the roadside, you know it'll make you sick but you just can't look away. Those "What Americans Make" weeks are the worst for me. But today they ran a feature on what Americans' Top 32 Bucket List items should be. I've already completed 26 of those, so I'm stoked. I won't be ticking off all that list though. I cannot imagine ever choosing to witness a lawn tractor race.

And after all my driving the other day, pent up mania kept me from sleep, and I found myself watching a disturbing program on the Fox Business channel called "Follow the Money". And while I do often worry that I am just a shill for MSNBC, blindly taking their anchors' views as my own, I have to say that what I witnessed on that show really seemed to me to be much more insidious than even I had figured on. Geez, they were even hatin' on Elmo! (What sort of animal is he, by the way?) I'll have to watch more to have a complete view, but from first blush it really does seem that the "Jolly Roger" over at Fox is as determined to drive an agenda as the recent Rolling Stone article said him to be. Remember the days when anchors used to just read the news and leave the opinion to those quirky three-minute statements from the local station manager? Ah seventies, you weren't so stupid after all.

Now to the polls: So it was a 50-50 tie between "long life" and "winning lottery ticket" for those of you who chose what you would most want. No one went with "killer physique" nor my personal favorite, "fame and reverence". By the way, you know a "long" life isn't necessarily a happy one or one without pain. I'm just saying...

And everyone voting was correct that I have never waited tables. While I find that to be a laudable ability, I have a proprietary discomfort with serving food on demand to people I do not know well. (Unless it's a soup kitchen or some other charity, of course.) Eating is so personal, I feel the need to make another connection with a person before launching into the gastronomy realm. Same principle with religious solicitation. If it's that special to you, don't you think you should conduct your business in a way unlike the Dominoes guy and the replacement window people?

And good luck with your summer of eating and drinking, my friend. I'll be all sporty and gardeny--hey, we have a short growing season up here but a perpetual drinking one.

Try the new polls on for size. (I'll even give you an extra week to play along.) I'm gonna go make 'em up for you fresh, right now!