October 2004

With all this talk of the lack of Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, I continue to find the logic of this war even more maddening. As VP candidate John Edwards points out, the ‘Axis of Evil’ that Bush loves to talk about is comprised of North Korea, Iran and Iraq. And of those three, we went to war with the ONE country that didn’t have Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Talk about maddening.

With the rustling of the leaves and the crispness of the autumn winds, I have found myself with an inner yearning to get in better touch with Mother Earth. Earl and I celebrated this feeling yesterday, at least a little bit, with a trip through the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, in the Finger Lakes of Upstate N.Y. We took a drive down the observation road, watching geese and ducks rest a bit in the wet areas before continuing their flight south. I guess Montezuma is a migratory service area of sorts, along that familiar Thruway in the sky that birds follow when they head south for the winter.

I’m always amazed with the precision birds use when they fly south. Their “V” formation is always in perfect alignment, each bird lining up with military-like precision. One wonders if their honking are orders from a command bird or more of a commraderie type of encouragement. “Just a little bit further, we’re almost there!” “Service Area – 2 miles”. “Tell Esther to flap a little bit harder!”

One of the odd things about the Montezuma Refuge is that the New York State Thruway passes through the upper 1/3 of it. So you have resting birds and whatnot, deer, various other animals and then snotty people with their SUVs breaking the speed limit and not giving a care to the beautiful world surrounding them. They’re too intent on their inboard DVD systems. Whatever.

After the trip through the refuge, we continued the trek into the Finger Lakes and did a small winery tour, stopping at three different wineries, tasting lots of wine and bringing home three cases to stock up the wine cooler for the impending holiday season.

Today Earl is making a delicious crockpot full of homemade chicken soup and I’m enjoying a cup of Echinacea tea. I need to give my immune system a little boost after this last bout with the common cold. I want it to be the last cold of the season. Let’s see if the tea and the zinc tablets help this year.

I took an amazing step in a decidely political direction and listened to a good share of the debates this evening. I usually don’t engage in that sort of thing, as I’m not that good of a debater myself, and I feel that I can get pretty much the same dialog by reading a transcript from various campaign speeches.

My first impression is that Mr. Bush has a really loose grip on the English language. He certainly made up his own words on several occasions. He has a stumbling manner that just makes me plain nervous. It undermines any confidence I have in a man that is suppose to be the leader of the “free” world.

My second impression is that I still think John Kerry will be a good or great, but not outstanding President. He’s not Bill Clinton, but he’s better than what we’ve got.

Listening to the debate has not changed my vote. I’m still voting for John Kerry.

I have been a little more political than usual in my discussions with various family members. When some mention that they are Bush supporters, I ask them how can they support a man that is trying to turn our constitution into a tool of segregation. You may not agree with gay marriage. You may be very well against gay marriage. And I’m o.k. with that. But I’m NOT o.k. with adding an amendment to the constitution – the only amendment that is taking away citizen’s rights rather than guaranteeing them. There was one other amendment that did that – and that was for prohibition. And we all know how that did! Yes, in my eyes, a vote for George Bush is a vote against the relationship that Earl and I share. It’s a vote for separation, it’s a vote for segregation, it’s a vote for division and it’s a vote for oppression. It’s a vote to guarantee that the United States of America will continue these turmulous times for another four years. It’s a vote for war, not for peace.

Please think hard and think very carefully when you vote on November 2.

I’ve been sick the past two days. Nothing major, mind you, but enough to make life a little intolerable. Major sniffles. Stuffiness. Fever. Achy.

The paranoid in me instantly thought it was something drastic like my sister had, but I think it’s turned out to be only a 48 hour bug or something. I wish my sister had it so easy.

Earl has been an absolute gem with his chicken soup service and making sure I was tucked in nicely when I hit the hay at 6 p.m. And the folks at work have sort of nursed me along as well. They’re good people.

It’s nice to be surrounded with kindness when you’re a little under the weather.

The beautiful weather today kicked my Earth connection into high gear or something. I’m still Mr. Domestic, cleaning and whatnot around the house. And now I’m working on my green thumb.

I haven’t had much of a green thumb over the years. This past summer’s vegetable garden showed much promise. The previous owners of the house had evidence of a beautiful garden when we moved in last year. A neat, organized fenced in area that was nothing short of a starter kit for me to continue the tradition. So, always one to take a cue and run with it, I completely ripped everything out and reclaimed the lawn and grew bucket tomatoes again. I’ve never had any luck with a garden but I can handle bucket tomatoes. Five gallon pail, lots of dirt, a few plants and we’re on our way to Italian sauce baby. The tomatoes came out pretty well, and I actually grew enough tomatoes to garnish not one but two salads this year!

So of course I decided that our house needs to be filled with plants. I went to Lowe’s, worked my way around the Christmas decorations (grrrrrrr) and found the plant section, with some beautiful plants that showed lots of promise. Since sunlight can be a premium during the winter months here in Upstate N.Y., I also bought a tall lamp with a “Grow Bulb” so that I can provide some artificial sunlight. I set up the indoor garden in the formal living room. Earl was so impressed, he asked that I do the same in the Great Room. So now I have a little project for the winter. Keep the plants alive!

I also did a tad bit of photography today. You can take a peek at my .Mac site. I had to give the Mac stuff a whirl, and let me tell you, it was a SNAP. Watch for more pictures soon.

It’s been a while since I’ve indulged in my vanity and posted pictures of myself. Here I am ready to hit the road last weekend…

And, Earl recently bought me a pair of Joe Boxer camo underwear. I thought I’d show them off. Enjoy!