Struggling

And this is why. I went to New Orleans this last weekend to see my best friend, Brian. He is sick. It was good to see him, and I am glad that he got to meet baby George.

A few months ago, I wasn't so sure that he was going to make it this long. But he has. And he is as stubborn a cajun boy as you will find. I don't know if he can beat this monster, but I know that the monster has cowered, flinched, and gotten its fair share of abuse. If cancer had a tangible, sentient component, it would be crying. Chuck Norris wishes he was as tough as Brian. Brian's just that kind of guy.

But the cancer is stubborn, too, and it's getting stronger as Brian gets weaker and his weapons to fight are running out. I have no doubt that he will fight as long as he can. I hope he kicks the cancer's ass. If anyone can do it, he can.

Fight on, brother, fight on.

Two Things

1) Jack came back from the kennel with a hoarse bark. I always wondered if a dog could make himself hoarse from barking. Now I know the answer.

2) Figuring out how to teach history is not as easy as I thought. Right now I have way more ideas than I do plans (which is to say I have some plans but, boy, do I need more). Latin is much easier to plan for.* I guess I have some more looking to do.



*I wish there was a group of history teachers somewhere that exchanged best practices/lesson plans/ideas like they have for all my Latin text books. Yahoo hosts these groups for Latin and they always post materials and chat about how to teach difficult concepts. It's a great support group and it's text based. How much better can you get than that?

Potential Shenanigans?

According to the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, the Dominion Tower and the New Orleans Centre (with parking garage) are going to be taken by the state to use for offices. Some offices would be for the city if I am reading this article correctly.
Nagin didn't respond because he's in Panama.

I wonder if this is akin to TV stations advertising their own TV shows. That money has to come from somewhere. In this situation, is the state going to charge the city rent? Will it be fair value? Should the city own the building and charge the state rent? Someone needs to keep an eye on this because there is a great deal of potential scandal lying here.

Running

I was here but missed the running of the bulls. I just couldn't get up after a late late night of drinking. Years ago, I would have sucked it up and done it. I must be getting old. I think I will regret this decision for at least a year. What a perfect combination of insanity, running, drinking, and a city.

The reunion was fun, but certainly the day would have been better had I gotten hit with a wiffle ball bat by girls on roller skates as I ran through the French Quarter with beer and the Rolling Elvi.

Semi-Sorta Famousish

My blog gets mentioned at the Times-Picayune blog. Is that like a journalist interviewing another journalist? I hate when that happens.

Now if they would just proclaim Kermit the Frog the best JazzFest totem, replete with pictures and an interview, you could dip me in shit and put me on the mantle.*


*When George (who is doing great!) was in the NICU for that horrible week, the head doctor said something similar to us at one point. This was one of the only things that he said that made me laugh. Most everything else caused my mouth to drop open from shock.

The K-Word

According to this blog, there is a play called Katrina: The K Word. It started in New Jersey. Anybody want to host it in his/her neck of the woods?

Princess Sobsalot and Jungle Jim

I have a couple of ideas for children's books. I don't know where I come up with this stuff, but as I was feeding George this morning lightbulbs were popping all over the place.

The first book I had an idea for was about a princess who constantly cried. Her name is Princess Sobsalot. She is loosely based on a girl I know. The idea would be to have her go on adventure - to the park, to the mall, meet a boy, go to a ball, etc. - and learn a lesson about being nice to other people. These lessons would teach her that sobbing and being pushy didn't make her happy, but that interacting kindly and gently with others did. I have written, I think, the first installment already.

The second idea is definitely less well thought out. It is just an idea because it sounds funny to me. This would be a series of short books using the character Jungle Jim to introduce children to outside activities and animals. OK, so maybe I just want to have one book called "George and Jungle Jim." Like I said, this is not well thought out just yet.

I think these ideas need some work, but I also think they have some potential. And if a miracle happens and I get these ideas published, I may get that $1000 the real Princess Sobsalot owes me.