There’s a Birthday in the Blogsphere

I started informally blogging in May of 2005. A year later I got more involved one of the first blogs I got addicted to was the Rusty Nut Telegraph written by Brico. Very shortly after finding him I found Tish and they found each other in person... finally. These two people have become near and dear to my heart.

With that said Brico’s birthday is today. It seems fitting he was born on Halloween. I have a friend at work that shares the same birthday and I swear there is something special about someone born on Halloween. These people seem to have a huge heart and awesome sense of humor.

So In honor of Brico’s Birthday I’m listing My Ten Favorite Brico Posts.

Favorite Brico HNT
Favorite Brico Photo
Favorite Celebrity / Gay photo
Favorite “Be Their Voice” a/k/a What really happened to Brico’s motorcycle
Favorite Redneck Moment
Favorite Tish Quote
Favorite Carving
Favorite Brico Tattoo
Favorite Brico Ten Things list: “Ten Things I've Been Known To Do On A Blind Date”
Favorite (only) Brico Meme.

You’re a good man Charlie Brown!

Happy Birthday!

What is the proper way to hold a knife when stabbing?

Here we have Google Boy and Shortie (not to be confused with Shorty) demonstrating two different angles to hold a knife when stabbing someone. Notice the tip of the blade in photo 1 and how the tip of the blade is reversed in photo 2.

At first I would have thought photo 2 is correct but the more we looked at it photo 1 seems correct.

Upon further discussion we have decided it depends on the damage to be inflicted. For numerous stab wounds photo 1 would be the proper blade angle. To really slice someone up photo 2 seems to be the proper blade angle.

How would you hold the blade?

Happy Halloween

end of the world

I still have to write about my Saturday night out clubbing and how I brought out heterosexual tendencies of a gay man with my tongue.

In the mean time enjoy this "end of the world" flash. It is unknown who created it but some found it so awesome they created a website for it.

Fan-Fucking-Tastic Friday

My life has been very stressful lately. I know with each thing that nothing will fix any of it within a day. So last Sunday I was hit with more crap from my ex. I refused to let it ruin our day at the orchard.

On top of that my attorney has turned out to be such a pessimist and she is causing a large amount of my stress. By mid week I think the stress and exhaustion just blew and I felt good for the first time in a long time. Yes you read that right I felt good. I decided to start looking for a new attorney but even better... I had some good tunes thanks to DJ Quicksilver, at WPGC, and my booty was shaking all the way home from work the past few days. Music and shakin yo booty is always a nice boost. More dancing to come Saturday when a group of us head downtown. I can't wait!

Today (Friday) my attorney called me and said she learned a lot this week. This meant she was wrong with her previous information but would never explicitly admit it. What she told me was Fucking Fabulous and I feel so validated in this path I have taken. I could feel the stress lifting off my shoulders.

My fan-fucking-tastic mood tended to resonate through the office. This was elevated when I shared what I found on Kathryn's blog. Scissor Sisters has a site to offer us regular people a chance to dance in the limelight. This caused hysterical laughter throughout the office.

On top of that my co-worker, Google Boy, took me to lunch. He has been dying for Thai and offered on Monday but I was so stressed I couldn't hardly eat. He knows I've been cutting back, to save money, and haven't gone out for lunch in quite sometime. He said he would keep the offer on the table and mentioned it again today. Three of us went for Thai and we had a blast and I even have leftovers for the weekend. WAHOO! Thanks for lunch Google Boy, you’re a Peach!

It may have been a rainy miserable looking today but for me it I couldn't have asked for a better day. I guess patience pays off.

The Fire House, the Pink Panties and the Pumpkins

Nicole has been in town from Chicago this week and so has her Dude. She stayed with Mini Red and I while he stayed at the fire house. Friday night Mini Red and I picked up Nicole from the metro and went to the fire house for a visit.

Mini Red got a, detailed, personal tour of the firehouse and couldn't have been happier.

We got home and Nicole and I started working on dinner. As the beef was browning I pulled out all that was needed for the Pink Panties**, which is the drink I recently discovered at the crab feast last month. I whipped up the first batch and poured Nicole and I each a glass. It tasted like we were drinking Sweet Tarts and it was so tart you couldn't taste the vodka. Two glasses each, the first batch was gone and we were feeling the alcohol. I still wanted more because it was so damn good so I whipped up another batch.

We put on "The Break Up" but my DVD player was having issues, which happens a little too often. So Nicole, Mini Red and I climbed into my bed to watch the DVD there. Between my exhaustion of the week and the alcohol I couldn't stay awake. Nicole was dozing too so we decided to try and watch the movie another time and she went to her room and I crashed while Mini Red continued to watch the movie. It's such a shame the second batch of Pink Panties went to waste.

The next morning I didn't feel so well but I had to get up for a 10:30 physical therapy appointment. So I took some Excedrin showered and got Mini Red up and was feeling better... At least for the time being.

We were planning to go to the Butlers Orchard to the Pumpkin Festival but I felt so exhausted and all I wanted to do was lay down. So we went home and I didn't get much rest because there's always so much to do. So as exhausted as I was I couldn't rest and as the day went on I felt worse and worse.

I got to bed early and was glad to wake up on Sunday feeling much better. I promised Mini Red we would go to the orchard after her religion classes. At the Orchard we went on a hay ride to the pumpkin patch and got ourselves a 35 lb pumpkin. Last year a grandpa with tattoos up his neck was hitting on me on the hay ride. This year I couldn't help but look around and realize my world as a single mom did not offer many opportunities for dates. The orchard was a family place not many single dudes there. We went through several mazes, down the hay slide, petting the animals, jumping in the moon bounce and eating caramel apples. Mini Red got one more treat when we went over to the punkin chunkin machine and she got to participate in shooting a pumpkin across a field.

As we left Mini Red asked if she could go down the slide one more time. I said, "Sure. Wait for me, I'm coming too!" It was the highest spot at the orchard and absolutely beautiful from up there. Next year I'm hitting the slide first.

**Pink Panties Recipe: In blender mix frozen pink lemonade mix, reuse lemonade container and fill half way with vodka, a big dollop of cool whip and ice as needed. Blend and enjoy.

You're too funny!

Trish and I were having a conversation, about something I can't remember, when I said, "You're too funny!"

This led Trish to say, "You know Red… how come I get the feeling that when you say "You're too funny" what you're really saying is "You're such an idiot"?

I just laughed and for the rest of the day whenever I could I would say, "Trish, you're too funny".

I got to thinking about this and realized I say this a lot and to a lot of people. Trish might be on to something because whenever I don't know what to say or my ADD kicks in and I'm not really listening I tend to say, "You're too funny" or "That's too funny".

I know for sure I have used this on bad past dates and but just realized that Trish is right. What I was really saying to those guys was, "You're such an idiot".

Whadda ya mean you haven't heard of Pissy Tuesdays

Law-Rah, from WonL, stumbled across Pissy Tuesdays. She's now giving them there just due in the blogging world and helping other express their Pissiness on Tuesdays.

I am honored to help push this trend forward with Pissy Red.

Odd boys are coming out of the woodwork today

My cell rings and I answered without looking… Oh Shit! It's Gingivitis Kiss and he tells me he's in town later this week and can we meet up. I said, "Oh… I'm not sure. I'll have to let you know". So we chit-chat about work and another call is coming in. I tell him I have to get this other call. Phew, saved!

When I answer I'm surprised to hear its Shorty! WTF!?!? I haven't talked to him in almost two years. The last time I saw him was after some emails about how he's been evaluating his life, thinking about me and something about settling down? So he joins me at an office Happy Hour and we leave and things happen and he says maybe we can see each other once a month. WTF?!?! I said, "No we've been down that road before. This was a mistake and never call me again." I guess this translates as, "Call me in two years" in boy speak? So today he calls to see how I am and thank me for the references I have given him now that he has started his own company. There was awkward chit-chat and he says he will call again soon. I'm not holding my breath.

I get off the phone and log into my email to find an email from The Brit! WTF?!?! Something about his new image and yadda yadda something about being punk. There's a photo attached and I'm nervous to look but I slowly scrolled down and over. The first thing I see is a t-shirt that says "CHICKS HATE ME!" I scrolled up a bit to see he has green hair. I nearly fell outta my chair I was laughing so hard.

For a chick that hasn't had a date in quite some time I find it interesting that I'm contacted by three of these duds, I mean dudes, in all of 10 minutes. Is there a full moon tonight?

The Ex 5-piece Knife Set with Unique Holder

This is awesome!

Click on photo

Where do you keep your marbles? Mine are in the freezer

Mini Red is notorious for being a pain to get up in the morning. The alarm doesn't work so I've had to get inventive.

I used to drop a cold wet washcloth on her face but she became immune to it. Then my friend's husband told me what his family did to get him out of bed. They kept marbles in the freezer. When he refused to get out of bed they put all the marbles in his bed. This works so well because they are freezing and follow wherever you move in the bed so your only choice is to get out of bed.

I have never had to go through with it with Mini Red because it scares her awake when I say I'm getting them.

MOOHAHAHAHA!

As I was stuck in traffic yesterday...

... I saw a "Jesus Loves Me" bumper sticker.

If a chick was dating, or married to, a dude named Jesύs it would completely change the meaning of the bumper sticker.

Hmmm?

The perfume MIGHT have been nice if the BO wasn't so bad.

I just ran down the hall to the ladies room. An older woman entered just before me. I got a whiff of her perfume and thought oh that's ni….OH What's that smell? BO! The perfume was quickly followed BO!

WTF?!?!

Seriously now, it takes all of maybe 5 minutes to hop in the shower and clean off your BO in the morning. I'm not talking shaving your pits, cooter or legs. I'm not even talking about washing you hair. But for heavens sake step into some warm water grab a bar of soap and clean your pits, cooter and ass before you leave home. It's the least you can do for people that have to be in your presence for more than 5 seconds.

I really should be in bed sleeping right now...

But I came across WanderingGirl’s most recent post and it made me laugh so loud I woke Mini Red.

Enjoy!

Oh what a fun time we had in the Downtown Friday night

It was my second Blogger Happy Hour and I went with the knowledge I would know a few bloggers from the last Happy Hour I attended. I took Mrs. M with me as my Wing Sista.

Mrs. M and I arrived and we were stopped just inside the door to check our IDs. I asked how we get upstairs but was told there was no upstairs only a downstairs. This confused me because I-66, The Social Chair, said they would be upstairs. Well I guess we’ll figure it out but first thing is first… I need a beer because it’s been a hallacious day to say the least. We went downstairs and scoped the peeps but I didn’t recognize anyone as a Blogger so we went back upstairs. As we looked around I saw people in a loft area upstairs oh and look there are stairs. Dude at the door was an idiot but then again maybe he wasn’t. Maybe, just maybe, he didn’t work there and he was checking IDs for shits and giggles??? Hmmm

So we head up the stairs and still no one looked familiar until Mrs. M noticed there was another room. Yeah I see Bloggers!

I saw Velvet first who made Halloween cookies for the event. She has had so much going on so it was nice to catch up in person. I love love love her new header with the sexy chick on the bike. If you read her blog you would know this came from a sex filled evening on a motorcycle. Yeah see now your thinking I need to check this out.

Velvet brought over I-66 since we had never met and I had to, of course, meet the Social Chair. It’s so funny when someone recognizes your blog we all make the same face. Next I met Just a Taste of Red and Hey Pretty. Just a Taste of Red and I both made the face as we said, “Ohhh I know your blog!” We talked about her kissing a soon-to-be priest and my old boyfriend who is the Great Grandson of a notorious serial killer. Yes I know I need to write that post.

Mrs. M and I decided to grab an open seat and get back out of the crowd so we could get a good look. We talked to so many people some I had met before and many I hadn’t. I’m sure Mrs. M’s head was just reeling at all these people and keeping them straight because I wanted to make sure she met everyone. We talked to so many like Neurotic in Ashburn, DC Sports Chick, ½ Asian Man and Throwing Hammers. Throwing Hammers did a post I loved titled A Day with Peyton Manning, which is a Must See if you haven’t been there. I finally got to meet E :), and we are all so sad she’s leaving for Australia soon. I hope everything works out with that T-Mobile crap and please don’t stop blogging. I was so happy to see JoeLogon who asked me if my day was going better, considering some of my recent posts. I told him the beers were helping after a day of mass lay-offs my company did. So the day was bittersweet and I’m grateful I was saved at least for now. Just as last time Joe’s a fun person to talk to.

Kassy arrived from Redhead in the City and she introduced me to Virgil Kent who inadvertently touched my boob. He offered me a drink after that and apologized but I felt honored since he had touched Velvet’s boob the previous weekend. Did this mean I was now accepted into the blogger world and all it took was a boob touch by VK?

WonL arrived and we introduced ourselves. She has this awesome energy and I’m now a fan of Pissy Tuesdays. She took all sorts of photos and I think I’m in one or two but at this point I had quite a few beers so I’m unsure. I excused myself to break the seal and met a chick while in line. I asked her if she was a Blogger and she isn’t but when I told her we were she was fascinated. I suggested she check out DC Blogs to catch up on the latest. She was so excited that when she came out we came face to face and she said “D-C-blogs dot com right? I can’t wait to check it out.” Another fan and possible future Blogger has now been created.

Things were winding down and the crowd was thinning. Home Improvement Ninja walked up and I said “I know you’re Home Improvement Ninja, how are you? I’m Life of Red.” I think he was just laughing at me as I told him about my curtain hanging saga and patching holes. Dude don’t be gone long from blogging we need you back.

One of the most common things I heard from people when my blog was mentioned was how everyone loved to hear about Mini Red who happened to be at her first Middle School Dance. A boy who is not well liked asked her to the dance. She told him, “No… But I will dance with you just as long as it’s not a slow dance.” I asked that she send me a text message once her Dad picked her up. Once I got her text I asked her if she slow danced and she had with her last boyfriend. I can’t wait to hear all about this when I get her back on Sunday.

Our time a The Bug Hunt was over, but wait… everyone should say Big Hunt while holding their tongue. Ok I digressed So everyone was moving on to another bar. Mrs. M and I got outside and we weren’t sure where everyone was going but we had already stayed way later than expected. We decided it was Tastee Diner time so that was our next stop.

We got to Tastee Diner at a reasonable time or rather just in time to pee… again. There was some confusion about where to seat us and who would serve us but we promised not to be a problem. Our waiter was the dude with the eye patch and he was awesome. He even picked up the last of the fries and took them away in the nick of time. If I had eaten one more I might have popped. I thought it was just me noticing that the fries were leaving a bit too soon but Mrs. M noted it too.

Mrs. M and I discussed our evening and just as I had suspected she had a great time too. She said she almost expected a bunch of bloggers/writers to be low key but this bunch definitely wasn’t. Everyone was so nice and welcoming and I think I might be able to twist Mrs. M’s arm and get her to join me again.

The Key Bridge

Thursday morning I had an appointment so afterwards I drove my old route to work. The thing I really miss about my old route is the Key Bridge, which connects Georgetown and Rosslyn.

The thing about the Key Bridge, which is not to be mistaken with Baltimore’s Key Bridge, is its beauty. Driving towards Rosslyn or Georgetown no matter what time of day or in any weather it’s a beautiful sight. Sitting in traffic on the Key Bridge bearable because as I sit there I can look up or down the river and enjoy the view.

I was sitting on the Key Bridge a few months after 9/11 when a plane flew over towards National Airport. This terrified me because National was shut down and there was a ban on any air traffic in the DC area. I immediately turned on the radio and was relieved to find out they lifted the ban on aircraft and opened the airport. Phew.

I miss walking over the bridge too. A good friend used to live in Rosslyn and we would walk over to Georgetown. I nearly ran back over it one evening when I left the party early. I ran because it was dark and chilly but the view was spectacular at night. Another time some friends and I took the Metro to Rosslyn, we separated and I showed a new friend the piece of the Berlin Wall, we walked over the Key Bridge, checked out the exorcist stairs and we all met up again. It was the beginning of a great day as well as a new relationship. The relationship fizzled but not for lack of an awesome first date that ended up lasting about twelve hours.

I had been over the Key Bridge several times when I was in High School. The Fall after graduation I bought a Jeep Wrangler. I will never forget driving around town with the Jeep’s top down and feeling the change in temperature in different areas. The city was so much warmer than the suburbs but what I found incredible that night was when I drove over this bridge. I looked up into the night sky illuminated by the bridge's classic street lights. The air was crisp and the sight was amazingly beautiful. I think this was when I first fell in love with the Key Bridge.

Dun, dun, dun-dun, dun-dun dun-dun… Zzzzzzzzzz

Friday Night Mini Red and I had the Sleepover with the Sharks. I knew our drive up would not be easy and it wasn’t. What would normally be a 45 minute drive took us two hours and I’m sure the rain didn’t help. When we reached Baltimore City Mini Red was pinging because we could see the Aquarium but we were stuck in traffic. At least we knew it was ok if we were late and this calmed her down a bit.

After parking and running through the rain we finally arrived. We were greeted and they took us to drop our belongings off before we went for a bite to eat. We had free time to roam the Aquarium before the 7pm Dolphin show where we had VIP seating right up front in the splash zone. This is where we met up with the “College Kids”. The “College Kids” consisted of three girls and two guys that came from PA.

Where we sat was a view Mini Red and I had never seen before. We were waiting for the show to start and people were mulling around trying to find a seat when right in front of us a little kid almost goes right into the water. I think all of us in the front row yelled, which froze the kid. The father came down saying, “Its ok he can swim. He was just following his sister.” I don’t care if he can swim I don’t think you want him in the dolphin tank. The show finally started and I don’t know if it was our seats or they stepped up the show but it was awesome. We got soaked and that was thanks to one of the trainers splashing us not the dolphins.

We all gathered after the show and we totaled eleven. The five “College Kids from PA, the teacher and her husband from Frederick, MD, the couple from Richmond and Mini Red and I. Our guide’s name is Al and he has been involved with the Aquarium since it opened in 1981.

We learned so much this weekend especially when Al took us all around the aquarium. We started in the areas none of the regular people are allowed. We went into a stairwell for employees only and learned that if a tank broke they had the system set so the water would go in a stairwell like the one we were in. This way the paying guest wouldn’t be bothered or may not even know if something semi disastrous happened. I’m curious about other engineering set ups they have since they seem to have thought of everything. We then saw the kitchen and learned of their daily routines and how they feed the fish. The sharks won’t eat frozen food so they have to get all their food fresh from local markets. We then broke up into two groups and went on the catwalk over the shark tank. This was so cool but due to countershading it made it difficult to see the sharks unless they came up to the top of the water.

Al then took us through the rest of the aquarium as it was closing and gave us a tour pointing out things we probably wouldn’t have noticed before. I loved the Giant Pacific Octopus. When we were at the Aquarium about a month ago the Octopus had laid eggs all over the glass. Females die shortly after laying their eggs, and males can only live for a few months after fertalizing them. So as Al said “There’s no safe sex for the octopus.” Mini Red and I were sad to hear about the last octopus passing, but the new one is large and thriving. I had a difficult time stepping away during our late night tour as two others and I got to witness the octopus stretching. That was so cool! The tentacles were all rolling around each other before she streched them out. Her head looks as if it has an extremely large nose (not sure of the technical terms), but it reminded me of a testicle... A really large testicle!

Everything Al talked about is listed at each tank but sometimes it is easy to miss. Another fascinating animal is The California Sheephead. They are female until they are 7 or 8 years old, when the ovaries become testes; they then function as males for the rest of their lives. How odd is that? As best I see it they are nature’s transsexuals.

After our tour we had a snack and got our stuff and set up our beds on the observation area. Al turned out the lights and went to his own area to sleep. Mini Red wanted to go up a level to watch the sharks but I was hesitant until she said the college kids had gone up there and I finally decided we could too. We sat with very little light and talked as Mini Red was running around like she was on a track. It wasn’t long before she was ready for bed. Oye that floor was so hard! My back kept cracking as it was adjusting and sleeping on your side was near impossible. I finally gave up and stayed on my back but I had to get past the teacher’s husband’s snoring. It was horrible! The cool part was every time I woke up there was this huge tank in front of me and something would swim by.

We got up about 7 got dressed and ate breakfast. We then toured the frog area that I had never seen before. Did you know the African bullfrog could eat a small kitten? We then got a hands-on demonstration with the horseshoe crabs before returning to the classroom for a game of Shark Jeopardy. This brought the end of our Immersion Tour and it was quite the experience.

Mini Red and I decided to put our stuff in the car and go back into the Aquarium. We hung out for another three hours. On our drive home we sang impromptu songs about our weekend and we were happy to be heading home for a well needed nap.

Your eating what?

When I went in to pick up Mini Red from her religion class today I bumped into my cousin. He and his daughter (my Goddaughter), who just turned 4, were waiting for his son to come out of class. I saw she had a piece of candy and I got down to her level and we had the funniest little conversation:

Red: Hey whatcha doing?
GD: I’m eating my boogers.
Red: Excuse me?
GD: I’m eating my boogers.
Red: Oh… well… that’s gross.

You could see she wanted a reaction from me but not sure what she was expecting. I couldn’t help but just laugh.

I NEED a Tea Pot Tim is my Homeboy T-Shirt!

With this week being so horrible I get into my car Thursday morning and I can't wait to turn on Hot 99.5. I know the Hot Morning Mess, especially Tea Pot Tim, will get my mind off things.

Earlier in the week they announce someone is leaving. It's one of five people, Mark, Kris, Ron, Tim or Spanglish. So the first thing I hear Thursday morning makes it sound like Kris is leaving but she isn't. At this point we know it isn't Mark and it isn't Kris and they take a commercial break. They polled the listeners earlier in the week and the majority believed it would be Spanglish.

To make a long story short… Tea Pot Tim is leaving to pursue his photography. In my mind I just think… NOOOOOOOO! This is just one more thing to add to my bad week. Tim has one more week before he leaves and they just got a large order in of the "Tea Pot Tim is my Homeboy" t-shirts and I want one... I NEED one!

I don't call into radio stations… Except there was the one time I called into Q107 and talked to Uncle/Doctor Johnny, whatever his name is/was. They wanted people to call in and tell who their favorite soap star was and why. Wow, this was 20 years ago! I was working in a coffee shop selling beans at the time. My co-worker called in and they put her on the air. I thought the premise was ridiculous but my co-worker talked me into calling and I was so boring they said thanks and hung up. I thought about it for a minute and called again… This time I used and accent and I didn't have to say much before they put me through to the DJ.

This was during the time of the radio commercial for the Mini Babybel Cheese where a woman with a Jewish like accent did the commercial. My friends and I loved these commercials and would imitate this accent. So they put me on the air and I tell them my name is Enid and my favorite soap star was Rachel on the Days of Our Lives who is Jewish and she represents so well.
This was my two minutes of fame I guess and I've never called a radio station again until Thursday. I tried quite a few times but no luck. Now I have to figure out how to get one of these shirts.

Hey! HOT 99.5!

This is Red!

Help a Sista out and throw me a shirt!

Pllleeeaaaassseee!

Enough Already!

It has been a Whopper of a Shit week. The bad news has just compounded and even brought me to almost toss the cookies. I'm an optimist except when it comes to me because we are our own worst critic, right? I do understand that although it has been a difficult week, and I just don’t want to deal with it anymore, I do have a great life and many would love to be in my shoes.

So when I got more upsetting news today I became upset over being upset and I just want it to stop because tomorrow is Sleepover with the Sharks and I refuse to let this awful week ruin that time with Mini Red.

I briefly mention this to a friend who in return said some really fabulous things to help bring things back to perspective. I do know it will get better and this is only temporary but he stated it in a different way that helped make all the difference in the world to me.

“It can all be so draining and you think it will never end, but again I am here to say it will. May not seem like it some days, but the light at the end of the tunnel is real and not the light of an oncoming train!”

Thanks Dude! Now how do I stop this mosquito bite, in-between my toes, from itching?

When will our children be safe?

I got a call from my friend Lovaa, in PA, yesterday. He had gone to help his Mother who was getting ready for an estate sale since his Grandmother had passed recently. His Mother wanted him and his wife to take anything they could prior to the sale. So Lovaa called his wife, who works at a children's hospital, and he was put on hold. He was on hold for a good while before someone finally picked up and told him she was really busy with the Amish children that were shot. This was the first he heard of the shooting and he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Lovaa's wife was the nurse in charge of triage on Monday. He got a few seconds to speak to her before she had to get back. They had brought in 6 of the children. He and I were discussing the situation and like the rest of the country we are in shock over these senseless events. He was prepared for her to get home late and to be upset. I asked him to give her a hug for me.

This morning I'm listening to Hot 99.5 and people are calling in. There really isn't much new information or any information at all. A fourth child died last night and people everywhere are upset. Kris from 99.5 said it best when she said, "People are just trying to make sense of this senseless act but they can't."

As I was listening to everyone calling in… Lovaa called me. I said, "I heard another one died" but what I didn't know until I got off the phone with him was a fifth child had died. The parents had them take her off the machines and medications. I don't know if this was done because she was that far gone or if it's just the way of the Amish. Lovaa told me about another girl who must have been trying to run away since she was shot in the hip, she will be ok. How ok can someone be, though, if they just saw their best friend shot in the head? When Lovaa said this I couldn't help but get chills and my eyes welled up.

These are children! What is this world coming to? I'm sure everyone has so many questions… I do. How could he shoot children when he has children of his own? So many of our questions can never be answered because those answers died with the cowardly bastard that did this.

I think about Mini Red and I feel so helpless. She goes off to school and I have to trust the system. The system that has to put metal detectors in high schools and separate the grades because children are involved with oral sex. WTF?!?!

I, for one, am at a loss over these events but I'm thankful for nurses like Lovaa's wife.

My co-worker summed it up when she said; "All you can do is pray over your children as you send them out the door."

What an exciting game! It was the All Time!

Brotha-Man was given extra tickets to tonight’s game and I was jumping at the chance to go.

I got Mini Red back early from her Dad’s and we met up with Brotha-Man and SIL and left early for some tailgating. Skins fans are a unique bunch check out these Redskin Monks that were nice enough to pose with Mini Red:

Brotha-Man had a tailgating party they wanted to stop at on their way in. Mini Red and I went back to the car for our jackets and to lighten our load. So by the time we got to the express elevators the line was amazingly long and the game would be starting any minute.

We chatted with the people in line and as we got closer to the front we noticed all sorts of people butting in line. Everyone started yelling at them and one of the butter-inners threatened to call Security. It was getting hostile and the butter-inner started cussing. I pulled Mini Red up so he could see her better and said “HEY! Watch your language! You not only butt in line but now you’re cussing in front of children?”

We got through security and Mini Red asked why I didn’t say anything about the people butting in. I explained there probably wasn’t much they could do about it but I’m a firm believer that what goes around comes around.

When we arrived in our seats the game was in full swing and the Jaguars were leading 3 – 0. We had been sitting for maybe five minutes when The Skins scored. WAHOO! The Jaguars soon came back and scored and were now leading 10-7. By the time the 3rd quarter was nearing the end The Skins had come back and were leading 20-17. The fourth quarter started and The Skins had the ball on the 17 yard line. A touchdown was imminent. They scored and the crowd went wild! Everyone was on their feet cheering.

We left early to miss crazy traffic and we were secure with The Skins lead of 27 -17. The traffic was easy and we drove straight to my parents place. I finally found the radio station playing the game but, evidently, I missed a lot. When I got to my parents I saw The Skins were leading 30 – 27 and the Jaguars had the ball. The Jaguars tied it up which took them to over time but that didn’t last long. Moss caught the pass and took off for a most beautiful touchdown to win the game.

What an exciting game! Thanks Brotha-Man