Farewell, Illya: Goodbye to a Feline Friend
My husband The Packhorse and I spent yesterday crying. Our Russian blue, Illya, developed kidney failure, and we had to euthanize him. He was six weeks short of his 20th birthday.Illya was my 40th...
View ArticleOf Kennedys and Kittens
I spent a good portion of last weekend crying.Teddy Kennedy’s death hit me hard, and I kept tearing up. I never met him or spoke to him, but I was in a room with him once. As part of my first job with...
View ArticleSafely Rest: A Military Wife’s Perspective on the Fort Hood Memorial...
Like many of us, I watched the Fort Hood memorial service. I did fine through Obama’s speech and the singing of "Amazing Grace and the Benediction. But when they fired the volleys and "Taps" was...
View ArticleELder Care Took Its Toll
I haven't been very active in the last year, and I apologize. It hasn't been because I've lost heart or energy for political issues, but merely that real life got int he way.As some of you know, In...
View ArticleJim Daly Throws Our Own Words Back At Us
My poor husband The Packhorse has had to put up with me ranting at the TV for the last few nights. The media has been all over CBS's decision to air the Tim Tebow anti-abortion ad. In case you've been...
View ArticleACTION ALERT: Race and Abortion: Thanks, GA Legislature
I live in Georgia. which means I frequently have to apologize for the actions and comments of my two Senators and my Congressman. Then there's my governor, Sonny Perdue, who seems to h ave been...
View ArticleWhen Irish Eyes Are Smiling
I love Saint Patrick's Day--except for the pinching bullshit. One of the little mysteries that confound me every St. Patrick's Day is the origins of of the annoying custom of pinching someone who isn't...
View ArticleBullying Can Kill: Bullying 101
In what has become an all too familiar story these days, another teenagerPhoebe Prince, has committed suicide after being bullied unmercifully for months. And this time, the perpetrators are facing...
View ArticleThe Face of the Bully: Heathers and Draco Malfoy
In my last diary, I revealed the fact that I was bullied when I was in seventh grade, and how a kind stranger told the principal of my Catholic girls’ school, who put a stop to it. What I didn’t tell...
View ArticleSaving the Bully From Himself
Last week, I wrote this diary on bullying. It made the Rec List, and most of the commenters were supportive and shared their own stories of dealing with bullying. There were threads that left me a...
View ArticleHappy Anniversary to the Pill
Fifty years ago on May 9, the FDA approved the oral contraceptive. That may not sound all that important to some of you, but to those who remember what it was like before the Pill was widely available,...
View ArticleTakin’ A Break—Be Back Soon
I’m going on hiatus for 2 to three weeks. Wish I could tellya we’re taking a fabulous vacation, but no such luck. Instead, I’m stepping away from the keyboard for a few weeks to deal with some medical...
View Article“ They Want to Institute Sharia Law” Starting in...
I’ve been in the doldrums creatively since I took a break in July for health reasons. I had a neck issue, a sinus infection and was facing root canal. That root canal caused a massive infection, one...
View ArticleNathan Deal Wanted to Put Rape Victims on Trial
There’s been a very effective ad accusing Nathan Deal, Republican candidate for governor, of wanting to put rape victims, instead of accused rapists, on trial, permitting rape victims to be...
View ArticleInappropriate Behavior Is In The Eye of The Beholder
I was expecting Republican criticism of the fact that people cheered and clapped at the Tucson memorial service. It wasn't properly upper class WASP behavior where any overt display of emotion beyond...
View ArticleWas THIS Rape Real Enough for you, Mr. Boehner?
Many years ago, I was a volunteer at a rape crisis center. We didn't have any professionals working there. The director was a tall, stately African American woman who resembled Michelle Obama...
View ArticleAbortion: Are We Losing Younger Voters?
I've been plowing through a book entitled American Grace: How Religion Unites and Divides Us by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell. It's an interesting read, although I find their optimism about...
View ArticleGA Legislator Wants to Create The Uterus Police to Investigate Miscarriages
They do this every session in the state legislature here in Georgia. Someone introduces a bill that would make abortion a criminal act. And, yes, this year is no exception. This year's legislation was...
View ArticleDKos Gave Me Back an Old Friend
The other night, I saw I had a new message. When I got there, I saw a nick that reminded me of the an old friend's SCA persona. But I didn't think it could be her. We hadn't spoken since 2001, and I've...
View ArticleToughest Job in the Navy? Sorta
There's an old saying the Navy that the toughest job in the service is being a sailor's wife. I don't entirely agree. I kinda think its tougher to work on a flight deck where you duck down under the...
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