Mardi Gras and Katrina

Mardi Gras and Katrina
Mike and I went to his step-dad's book signing in Slidell. Here are some links if you'd like to check it out. I just started reading his book yesterday. Mike and I are going to go to Acapulco with them in April, maybe. Can't wait!http://a1204.g.akamai.net/7/1204/1401/06011610011/images.barnesandnoble.com/images/10630000/10638325.jpg

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=0595378625&itm=12

The big Endymion Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans was cancelled, or Re-Scheduled (should I say) so we went to Chalmette instead. We went to see his late-grandmother's house and apartment complex there. I didn't realize that she lived right next to Murphy Oil. It was horrible. I can't even describe how awful...every single house was destroyed. You'd see the occasional FEMA trailor set up in a yard. Just being there was depressing, I couldn't imagine living there. We took pictures (I'll post them in my facebook album later). We both got light-headed...maybe from contamination, maybe from emotional effect...who knows? Then we needed alcohol, lots of it, so we headed to New Orleans and went to Margaritaville. Yum. Bourbon St. was nothing like it usually is. You could actually WALK rather than letting the human waves carry you. It was still loud and obnoxious, though. We ducked off and into an Irish Pub on some side street. There was a couple singing some Irish Folk songs. That got boring so we went back and went to Tropical Isle...Tropical Itch's are Delicious! It was pretty cool going back, but I really do hate New Orleans this time of year still.

Atheism

I was bitter yesterday until I met with the Unitarian Branches group that I'm in. Our topic was atheism and who did and didn't believe in God in our group. It felt like I was the only one who did. I told them about my dream about reading the Bible in Latin and being pointed to the book of Titus and some planned to read it. I also told about my experience with the falling star when I asked for proof that Dan's soul still existed (Two days before he died, we had a conversation about falling stars, he had asked me if I saw one that had just fallen, I said I had NEVER seen one and always missed them, then as soon as I was questioning the existence of God and wondering what happened to the essence of Dan, bam, falling star). That was my miracle that has kept me believing, among a few other things. I'm going to start volunteering at CAAWS with Kimberly on Thursday (check out www.caaws.org) I'm excited!

We are writers...

It's funny...something that I just realized: When a person writes a novel, they are giving a piece of themselves to the world. They choose to do it for whatever reason, but they do it and we read their works and we know who they are. We want to know more about them, maybe and we read about their lives, somehow we feel like we know them... Myspace gives us this awesome chance to have an online blog. I notice that a whole lot of people don't use theirs and it's sad in a way. Sometimes you end up on some far off person's space reading their blog and you know that person...what they thought at that moment. I also think about how short life is. I think about people that I've loved who are either dead or were swallowed by the world. I wonder what they thought when they thought it. I go through anything that I wrote about our time together to hold on to a moment with them. The point is that when we write in our blogs, we are sharing ourselves and our words and thoughts will be there for those people who cared about us and could even intrigue and teach something to a complete stranger.

Love is and isn't...

"Love, Love, Love--all the wretched cant of it, masking egotism, lust, masochism, fantasy under a mythology of sentimental postures, a welter of self induced miseries and joys, blinding and masking the essential personalities in the frozen gestures of courtship, in the kissing and the dating and the desire, the compliments and the quarrels which vivify its barrenness." --Germaine Greer

I am in love. Not in love like I thought being in love was, but in LOVE. I know this is the person I will stay with as long as God allows and I am so happy with that. Everything that has ever been lacking in all of those other attempts at love...either they were too selfish, too immature, too closed-minded, too reckless, too conservative, not compassionate enough, too this or not enough of that...Mike is none of these things. In my mind, he is everything I've always looked for. His is kind, intelligent, open-minded, ambitious, strong-emotionally, mentally, and physically. He loves animals and he is kind to my family. I never for an instant lose faith in his devotion to me. I am just as devoted to him. We are not perfect people. We argue, we are grumpy, we have our bitter moments...but I am content in knowing I will spend my life with him and I can trust him to always be there and vice versa.

I can't begin to describe this feeling to someone who's never experienced it. If someone would have described it to me before, I wouldn't have been able to fathom it. This is that thing that Isa told me about old couples...I remember, and I understand now.

Am I that riff-raff living on the edge of society or what?

Cindy Sheehan was at the church I attend today. Her story brought tears to my eyes. Afterwards I hugged her and told her how sorry I was for the loss of her son (killed in Iraq two years ago). She had a polite, dismissive "Thank you"...reminded me of John Kerry when I told him he had his work cut out for him during the election...all dismissive; coldly polite. John Edwards was genuine. I guess different people handle their celebrity status differently. I shook the pastor's hand after church, he was also coldly dismissive, yet polite. This is a man whose class I sat through for four weeks, who I cried in front of when asked to share my story...I went to find the RE Director to introduce myself to her since I'm teaching for her for the next three Sundays...Dismissive. What the hell is up? During the service I was all set to come home and to promote what a great church I went to, how I admired the way Ms. Sheehan channeled her grief, how I wanted to be a part of all of that...but now, I feel horrible...alone...noone ever wants to go to church with me except Mike and he's working today. I remember as a child going to those awful Pentecostle and Southern Baptist services with my Arkansas Grandmother and how much a part of those church families I felt. I miss that feeling. I'm even in a church group, but the meetings are distanced and structured...I don't feel any type of connection with any of these people. If I feel this way at the Unitarian Church, where in the world am I supposed to fit in at?

You know you grew up in the 80's if...

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word "SIKE."

2. You can sing the rap to the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and can do the "Carlton."

3. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy.

4. Two words: Hammer Pants.

5. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.

6. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.

7. You wore stone washed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.

8. L.A.Gear....need I say more?

9. You remember reading "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" and all the Ramona Quimby books.

10. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF."

11. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (Some of us...head-to-toe).

12. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.

13. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.

14. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes (and probably in neon colors, too).

15. After you saw "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?

16. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up."

17. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.

18. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and slide.

19. You have played with a Skip-It.

20. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.

21. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.

22. "Don't worry, be happy."

23. You wore, like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks.

24. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still do).

25. You remember boom boxes.

26. You remember Alf, the li'l furry brown alien from Melmac.

27. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool.

28. You know all the words to Bon Jovi's "SHOT THROUGH THE HEART."

29. (You just sang those words to yourself.)

30. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird. Oh yeah............it will never be that good again

31. Homemade Levi shorts... (The shorter the better.)

32. You remember when mullets were cool!

33. You had a mullet!

34. You still sing "We are the World."

35. You tight rolled your jeans.

36. You owned a banana clip.

37. You remember "Where's the Beef?

38. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?"

39. You had big hair and you knew how to use it.

40. You wanted to be a 'Goonie'

You're still singing "Shot through the Heart" in your head, aren't you!!!

PASS THIS ON TO ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS WHO GREW UP IN THE 80s!!

ROCK ON!!