Last night, my baby brother (age 24) was attacked while he was delivering pizzas. He said he walked past a weird looking man and then heard some rustling a moment before a baseball bat connected with his skull just below his ear. The people in the apartment for whom the pizza was destined heard the crack of that first hit and opened their door. As the men (there were 2 of them) proceeded to hit him several more times in the shoulder and head and knee, the apartment's residents phoned 911 and police arrived.
I guess my brother should thank God that he has a hard head. First, it made a loud enough crack to alert help and second, after a cat scan showed no permanent damage, we know it was hard enough to protect him. I thank God he is, or at least will be, okay. Praise You, Lord!
He says he will continue to deliver pizzas because it pays very well. I know I would not be able to do it.
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Monday, March 21, 2005
You peed on chartreuse!
When you have a 3-year-old, you have to be very creative. You have to make her believe that she wants to do something, or she won't do it.
When Rebecca started delaying her trips to the bathroom until she'd begun to leak EVERY SINGLE TIME, and we were going through 5 or 6 pairs of panties a day, we had to invent a way to get her to go of her own free will. So was born the Race to See What You'd Pee On. Her father said, "Can you beat me to the potty? I'm going to get there first." When the novelty wore off it became, "Becca, I am going to call out numbers and see how fast you can pee!" And when that grew old, "I'll call out colors. See what color you're on when you pee.... Blue! Red! Purple! Chartreuse! .... You peed on chartreuse!" Later versions involved types of dogs, Winnie-the-Pooh characters, colors in foreign languages, DragonTales characters, etc.
"You peed on Tigger!"
"You peed on amarillo!"
"You peed on turquoise!"
And Rebecca began to develop favorites. If it was colors, she wanted to pee on chartreuse. If it was Pooh characters, she wanted it to be Lumpy (the heffalump from the newest movie). And sometimes we have to guess correctly and time that character for the instant after we hear the toilet lid hit the tank.
She really likes the color chartreuse. So one day she said she just wanted us to call that color. So... "Chartreuse! Chartreuse! Chartreuse! ...." until she peed and then, "You peed on chartreuse! Yea!" We were having a race just like this one. She requested an all-chartreuse dash to the potty. She took off towards the bathroom and my husband was screaming out "Chartreuse!" over and over. We heard the lid hit the tank and the following explosion of urine like the sound of Niagara Falls and then, "But I wanted to pee on Orange!"
When Rebecca started delaying her trips to the bathroom until she'd begun to leak EVERY SINGLE TIME, and we were going through 5 or 6 pairs of panties a day, we had to invent a way to get her to go of her own free will. So was born the Race to See What You'd Pee On. Her father said, "Can you beat me to the potty? I'm going to get there first." When the novelty wore off it became, "Becca, I am going to call out numbers and see how fast you can pee!" And when that grew old, "I'll call out colors. See what color you're on when you pee.... Blue! Red! Purple! Chartreuse! .... You peed on chartreuse!" Later versions involved types of dogs, Winnie-the-Pooh characters, colors in foreign languages, DragonTales characters, etc.
"You peed on Tigger!"
"You peed on amarillo!"
"You peed on turquoise!"
And Rebecca began to develop favorites. If it was colors, she wanted to pee on chartreuse. If it was Pooh characters, she wanted it to be Lumpy (the heffalump from the newest movie). And sometimes we have to guess correctly and time that character for the instant after we hear the toilet lid hit the tank.
She really likes the color chartreuse. So one day she said she just wanted us to call that color. So... "Chartreuse! Chartreuse! Chartreuse! ...." until she peed and then, "You peed on chartreuse! Yea!" We were having a race just like this one. She requested an all-chartreuse dash to the potty. She took off towards the bathroom and my husband was screaming out "Chartreuse!" over and over. We heard the lid hit the tank and the following explosion of urine like the sound of Niagara Falls and then, "But I wanted to pee on Orange!"
Why Does This Make CNN.com?
I do not understand why CNN would waste time on stuff like this.
A turtle in Indiana was the only pet to survive a horrendous fire that destroyed a pet shop and 8 other businesses. And now the owner says the face of Satan can be seen in the turtle's shell.
What kind of *?%#! is that? I can't even believe that a reporter gave this the time of day. There's even a picture of what looks like a perfectly normal turtle shell to me.
"The marking on the shell was like the devil wanted us to know he was down there," Bryan Dora said." (that's the store owner)
Give me a break!
A turtle in Indiana was the only pet to survive a horrendous fire that destroyed a pet shop and 8 other businesses. And now the owner says the face of Satan can be seen in the turtle's shell.
What kind of *?%#! is that? I can't even believe that a reporter gave this the time of day. There's even a picture of what looks like a perfectly normal turtle shell to me.
"The marking on the shell was like the devil wanted us to know he was down there," Bryan Dora said." (that's the store owner)
Give me a break!
Monday, March 14, 2005
McKenzie Mattingly
In January 2004, an undercover officer shot and killed a man during a drug buy (a sting operation) that went wrong. The officer was white; the deceased was black. There was incredible outrage that a race-inspired murder had been committed. The white officer was put on trial for murder and fired from the (Louisville) Jefferson County police force. He was later acquitted.
I was not there; I do not know what happened. I was not on the jury who acquitted him. But 12 people - 12 average people, pulled from their everyday lives and consulted on the matter - decided the officer was innocent of any wrongdoing. So, I can only conclude that the facts point to that conclusion.
So, a dedicated officer lost his job and had his picture plastered over the media and had his name slandered. After the acquittal, the police chief refused to give him back his job. I personally don't think that he could have returned to the force and been effective at the job after all the conflict. It would have been so hard to do, but he deserved that opportunity because our legal system declared he'd done nothing wrong. So, he pursued that job and that right. And today, he gave it up. Today, McKenzie Mattingly settled his case: he was reinstated, immediately resigned (as required by the settlement) and will receive $60K back pay.
Good for you, McKenzie!
McKenzie Mattingly "is now pursueing other types of business ventures" according to TheLouisvilleChannel.com. In fact, I got a letter in the mail from his lawn care service asking if I want him to trim my bushes or aerate my lawn. I wouldn't have even recognized the name, but my neighbor pointed it out.
I wonder if he enjoys lawn care as much as undercover police work.
I was not there; I do not know what happened. I was not on the jury who acquitted him. But 12 people - 12 average people, pulled from their everyday lives and consulted on the matter - decided the officer was innocent of any wrongdoing. So, I can only conclude that the facts point to that conclusion.
So, a dedicated officer lost his job and had his picture plastered over the media and had his name slandered. After the acquittal, the police chief refused to give him back his job. I personally don't think that he could have returned to the force and been effective at the job after all the conflict. It would have been so hard to do, but he deserved that opportunity because our legal system declared he'd done nothing wrong. So, he pursued that job and that right. And today, he gave it up. Today, McKenzie Mattingly settled his case: he was reinstated, immediately resigned (as required by the settlement) and will receive $60K back pay.
Good for you, McKenzie!
McKenzie Mattingly "is now pursueing other types of business ventures" according to TheLouisvilleChannel.com. In fact, I got a letter in the mail from his lawn care service asking if I want him to trim my bushes or aerate my lawn. I wouldn't have even recognized the name, but my neighbor pointed it out.
I wonder if he enjoys lawn care as much as undercover police work.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
A Funny Joke
Rebecca (age 3 years and 6 months) told a really funny joke this week. She tells jokes a lot and we have to pretend to be tickled by them because she tries really hard and is only 3. Then she came up with this one.
Rebecca: Knock, knock.
Dan: Who's there?
Rebecca: Choolah [She takes great pleasure in making up words, using them, and then informing us of their meaning.]
Dan: Choolah who?
Rebecca: [A pause as she stumbles over some sounds and clearly doesn't have a final line prepared] Uh, well,.... Give me a water buffalo and I will let you sleep!
We looked at each other and absolutely cracked up. It was just so 'out there' that it was truly funny. She was so excited that we were treated to the same joke over and over and over. And at that point, we were back to faking it.
Rebecca: Knock, knock.
Dan: Who's there?
Rebecca: Choolah [She takes great pleasure in making up words, using them, and then informing us of their meaning.]
Dan: Choolah who?
Rebecca: [A pause as she stumbles over some sounds and clearly doesn't have a final line prepared] Uh, well,.... Give me a water buffalo and I will let you sleep!
We looked at each other and absolutely cracked up. It was just so 'out there' that it was truly funny. She was so excited that we were treated to the same joke over and over and over. And at that point, we were back to faking it.
Friday, March 04, 2005
My Evening of Trial
A few nights ago, I had an evening that ..., well, I don't really know how to describe it except to describe it:
My husband was putting our infant to bed, and I was assigned the three-year-old's bedtime management. She has been a handful for the last 2 weeks - a reaction to her father being out of town for 4 days at a dermatology conference in New Orleans. (As she called it, "the country of New Orleans.") There are a few required steps to this routine such as using the toilet, putting on jammies, brushing teeth and bedtime snacking.
She was, of course, very agreeable to the bedtime snacking part. And only that part.
I herded her into the bathroom to go the potty, and she was convinced over only minor struggles to sit and pee. At that point, I discovered that she had not arrived in time and needed new panties to replace the wet ones. I was a bit upset (this has been happening a lot) and gave her a lecture about how disappointed I was and how I knew that she could get to the bathroom on time and how big girls know how to use the potty.... I guess this whole thing ticked her off. When I got back with the new undies, she was standing IN THE TOILET which, of course, hadn't been flushed. And giggling at me when I just gaped at her for a moment.
In the process of getting her out and trying to dry off her feet with the hand towel - the first thing in reach - she kicked me with a pee-covered foot. [At this point, I began to chant out loud to myself, "I will not hit you. I will not hit you."] So I told her she was going to bed right then without any more bedtime snack. I believe I carried her up the stairs to the bathroom to brush her teeth while she verbally protested.
I pretty much had to pry open her mouth and brush her teeth myself. She did not enjoy this, and I'm sure it was not a very effective cleaning. Then I was putting her into her pajamas when she bit me. Several times, although she was doing that whole watching me as she did it to see my reaction and not really biting whole-heartedly.
I promptly picked her up and carried her to her room, dropped her on the bed and told her goodnight while closing the door. In her only wise move of the night, she never came out.
My husband was putting our infant to bed, and I was assigned the three-year-old's bedtime management. She has been a handful for the last 2 weeks - a reaction to her father being out of town for 4 days at a dermatology conference in New Orleans. (As she called it, "the country of New Orleans.") There are a few required steps to this routine such as using the toilet, putting on jammies, brushing teeth and bedtime snacking.
She was, of course, very agreeable to the bedtime snacking part. And only that part.
I herded her into the bathroom to go the potty, and she was convinced over only minor struggles to sit and pee. At that point, I discovered that she had not arrived in time and needed new panties to replace the wet ones. I was a bit upset (this has been happening a lot) and gave her a lecture about how disappointed I was and how I knew that she could get to the bathroom on time and how big girls know how to use the potty.... I guess this whole thing ticked her off. When I got back with the new undies, she was standing IN THE TOILET which, of course, hadn't been flushed. And giggling at me when I just gaped at her for a moment.
In the process of getting her out and trying to dry off her feet with the hand towel - the first thing in reach - she kicked me with a pee-covered foot. [At this point, I began to chant out loud to myself, "I will not hit you. I will not hit you."] So I told her she was going to bed right then without any more bedtime snack. I believe I carried her up the stairs to the bathroom to brush her teeth while she verbally protested.
I pretty much had to pry open her mouth and brush her teeth myself. She did not enjoy this, and I'm sure it was not a very effective cleaning. Then I was putting her into her pajamas when she bit me. Several times, although she was doing that whole watching me as she did it to see my reaction and not really biting whole-heartedly.
I promptly picked her up and carried her to her room, dropped her on the bed and told her goodnight while closing the door. In her only wise move of the night, she never came out.
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