The grass is always greener...

...on the other side of the fence.

When I took this photo at Mt. Vernon last April, I didn't really think about the metaphor I was capturing at the time. I just thought it was adorable how this sheep -- who had a variety of grass available to him on his side of the fence -- was willing to stick his head through the fence to get to the blades that looked most succulent, juicy, and, well, downright tasty.

Having eaten grass (I was a weird kid, what can I say?), I probably woudn't have made the same choice. Then again, my grass eating days are long-over, and I don't think grass was all that tasty to begin with. If it had been the difference between a chocolate sundae and spinach, you guys know how I would have gone.

But the sheep does bring up a good point -- as good as any that a sheep can, I suppose. All my life, I've been looking for "more." More money, a different career, a new city to live in. That's why I've been working so much overtime at my current job and writing a novel when I get home. Like the sheep, I've got my feet firmly planted on the ground in my current situation, but, inch by inch, pieces of me are heading in a new direction. It'll take some risks and some time, but I have confidence that every part of me -- from tip to tail -- will someday be on the other side of that fence. I'm just terrified that as soon as that happens, I'll want to get back...

West Wing, part 2

I put the photos that I took back in March in a Photostory. Here's the final result...

On JonBenet...

If the stories that John Karr are telling are true, I'm truly happy for the Ramsey family. They've suffered the tremendous tragedy of having to bury a child (at the holidays, no less), and they've lived under the shadow of suspicion for years. The fact that investigators were able to tell Patsy shortly before her death that an arrest was imminent must've have given her some joy in her final days.

However, I'm pretty sure that he's making it all up. Reading his statements, there's enough room for doubt that it looks to me like he's actually just looking for a way back from Thailand and possibly a diversion from whatever charges he was facing there.

Watching the CNN clip, he clearly says he loved her and that she died accidentally; however, when pushed for the details, he retreated into the world of "no comment." It's possible that he was there (though I doubt that too), but what's clear is that he doesn't -- at least according to CNN -- say "I killed her." He may have loved her, but in the days and months following the murder, we all fell in love with her little face. Could that have been what he meant? When asked if he was an innocent man, he says "no," but what is he not innocent about? The Jonbenet case or the charges that propelled him to run to Thailand?

The most compelling evidence that he may not be telling the truth lies with the ex wife. This guy doesn't really seem like the type to invoke loyalties in his ex, so what motive would she have in saying that he was in Alabama with her if it weren't true? I think he's a guy looking for a little attention who used his obsession with the case to learn details that weren't available to the general public. From those details, it wouldn't be terribly hard to come up wtih a plausible story.

Only time and a fair jury trial will reveal the truth or lies in this case. Here's hoping that Karr gets his opportunity to tell his side of the story: the whole truth and nothing more.

The Macaca has hit the fan...

I've been following this George Allen/monkeyMohawk story for a few days now on Wonkette, and, I'm super-disappointed in the senator. Sure, he's exhibited racist tendancies for years, but this is a man who is 2 years away from a hard-core run at his party's nomination for the BIG JOB. Where the hell were his Josh and Toby types to go, "um, yeah, not such a good idea to call the man by a racist term and THEN push the issue by implying that the man was new to America." For the record, he was born and raised in the USA (Ironically enough, Fairfax, Virginia).

The good news is, is that this exactly the type of thing is what Jim Webb needed to get some national press and to boost his challenge into high gear. Send the man a dollar, and see the grassroots grow.

With the latest foul-up from the Political Realm in mind, I now present my top 10 ways to not run for political office in 2006:

10) Referring to a person of color as a monkey. (George Allen)

9) Trying to cover up those remarks by claiming that you were really referring to them as a "shit-head." (yeah, that's so much better).

8) Hiring Mel Gibson for any sort of PR (fine, it hasn't happened yet...but it could!)

7) Saying ANYTHING "off the record" or "anonymously". (Michael Steele)

6) Turning your name into a stupid-ass pun (Joementum, anyone?)

5) Laying the smack-down on the Capitol Hill Police (I'm Cynthia McKinney, bitch!)

4) Having a voting record that says you voted for the war in Iraq

3) Referring to a person of non-color as a "plain vanilla man" (alls fair in love and Eleanor Holmes Norton)

2) Screwing your intern, killing her, and dumping her in a park. (Sorry, that was a flashback to 2002. Nowadays, that sort of stuff is apparently "acceptable.")

1) Being Katheryn Harris

With OUR Marriage

This was on Craigslist earlier today...

As it really was not mine or yours, it was OUR marriage. Only you did not want to take responsibility for your end of the deal. It was all up to me. And after 15 years, I had had enough. And all of your worst fears came to life. That I would trade you in on someone younger and more vibrant. And I did. And she is awesome. But only after trying for so hard and so long to convince you that YOU were still young and vibrant. But you never trusted me. Why? I don't really know. I did my best, day in and day out, to be there for you. To forgive YOU for YOUR past. I never ever mentioned those things. My fear now is that the 'others' in this situation will soon lose your trust, because you can't come to grips with happened to you all those years ago, that did not involve any of us. You let go of the wheel long ago, and even now, when we are not a couple, I am still trying to clean up the mess. Funny thing is, I am the one who lost trust in you, as well. You stopped telling me things. Stopped letting me help you. Stopped letting me love you. You could never just hold my hand. Never just take my hand as if to say, "it's just you and me, and we can do it!". Never. It was always me. But you never believed me. And so I stopped believing you. And then it all went to shit. After I realized I was a fool. Such a fool. And then my friend died, and I realized that life is just too damn short to waste. That the best thing to do was to take my chance at happiness. I had given you everything. And now, in this public forumn, for all to see and none to see, I am letting go of you. Fifteen years. Not wasted, but I wonder how long it will take for you to pull it together and admit it. If you ever can. Yes, she is younger. She is only that. No more, no less beautiful than you. Just younger. But smarter. WE talk. WE hold hands. WE trust. WE make mistakes. WE forgive. WE move on. I believe in her. She believes in me. WE are doing it. WE are happy. I hope you can be too.

This is really sad to me. I don't know the people involved or the what happened, but I'm strangely and sadly intrigued. Here is a person who loved deeply, and realized that his girl, maybe his wife, just didn't (or couldn't). The fact that he chose to do it in public seems, at first, to be a little cruel. However, if you read carefully, you'll notice that he doesn't give out any identifying details. This could be any husband in DC and any wife. As a result, it is no more than a vent expressed in the anonymous world of the Internet. That shows that not only did he love his former wife, he continues to respect her. That's class.

Friend, if you see this and recognize your post, best of luck in your new relationship. Though you've already, clearly, changed each others' worlds, you've also changed mine. Thanks.

Myracle

Q100 Atlanta is interviewing that woman in Florida who crashed her car and gave birth on her own earlier this week. If you haven't heard the story, she was driving to the hospital and had a huge contraction. As a result, she crashed the car in a canal, breaking her leg.

So there she was, hanging out of the car for 2 and a half hours waiting for someone, anyone, to find her. As she was hanging out of the car, not able to crawl back in or out, the baby drops out on to the floor. She couldn't touch her baby until she hit the hospital, and all she could do for her child was swat mosquitos away and "kick her gently" with her broken leg when she stopped crying.

The truly crazy part of this whole thing came when the EMTs found her and called her father. Her dad shows up, sees she's ok, and starts to leave to meet her at the hospital. That's when the EMT goes, "Don't you want to hold your granddaughter?" HIS WHAT?

According to the woman, she kept meaning to tell her family (she's 21, but still lives at home), but she kept putting it off. She was kind of evasive about what her plan was when she was discharged from the hospital, but thanks to the fates, her secret baby is a national news story. Lovely....

Listening to her, she definitely sounded sort of spacey (but that could have been the meds), but come on. How do you have a pregnancy and a baby and "forget" to tell people about it? She was heading to the hospital, so it wasn't like she was planning on doing something drastic, but a baby is not a kitten that you find on the side of the road and take home to mom!! Freakin insane...

Last Night

Last night, I had dinner with a couple of old friends from high school and their significant others. One was married, the other was divorced (but he had his girlfriend with him).

I was definitely nervous as I drove to VA and sat at the bar (I was early, as usual). I hadn't seen these folks in 10 years!! What if they were completely different?? What if I was completely different?? What if their memories of me were the bad ones??

Needless to say, it totally wasn't anything to worry about. Dave's wife was so cute, and both the boys have gone so far in the last ten years. I'm so happy for both of them.

John did say something interesting as we sat at the table (Lebanese Taverna, East Falls Church, YUM!): "Up to half an hour ago, Lindsay was 16." He was right. Up to a few days ago, Dave, John, and the rest of my high school class has remained 17 in my mind.

Since 17 was an awkward time for most of us (I knew there was a reason that acne was a good thing), I'm totally feeling better about the reunion now.