Shamrocketship

What Grief Sounds Like

This is a very moving piece by NPR's Melissa Block, on location in Dujuangyan, China earlier today.  It's hard enough to read it without being moved to tears, but I happened to hear the audio version on the radio this afternoon on the way home from work.  It was much longer, and Ms. Block's emotions clearly came through in her voice as she narrated. My reaction wasn't compatible with driving 70 mph on 195; I had to pull over until I could see again. 

There are no politics or races or languages or borders that change what grief sounds like.  And there's too much of it in the world today. 

Carpe Diem

Someone from my former project team died yesterday.  He worked with us for about a year, and one day in late August, he called in sick.  He called in the next day, too, and we figured he was just a little fed up, stressed out, and was going to take a five-day Labor Day weekend to chill out. 

But he didn't come back the following week.  Or any other week after that.  And here it is, eleven weeks later, and he died yesterday from pancreatic cancer.   

Eleven weeks. 

Forty-nine years old.  Wife, three kids. 

Eleven weeks.

Carpe Diem, people. 

Carpe Diem.   

Congo's Death Sentence Upheld

Very unfortunately, the judge did not spare Congo today, but upheld the original death sentence.  Congo has 60 days to live.

Here are pictures from the rally today in Princeton.

Here's a link to a Washington, DC Craigslist posting. There are many others out there from NJ, NY and PA.

Here's contact information for NJ Governor Jon Corzine, who does have the power to "pardon" Congo:

Office of the Governor PO Box 001 Trenton, NJ 08625
609- 292-6000
Email by going to his site: http://www.nj.gov/governor/govmail.html

It's been done before, for a dog with a much more dubious reputation.

And for Judge Annich?  A very deserved Effin' Eejit Award: 

Please Read -

It might take you a few minutes reading to get to the point in this post that counts for everything, but please - if you've got the time to be reading my blog, read that one instead.  And do what she asks.  She's the Queen of the Internetsweb, as far as I'm concerned, and there's a very big Mistake in the makings. 

Thanks muchly.

Help Wanted

My good friend Domnick (yes, that's the way it's spelled) is one of the most stubborn, hard-headed, opinionated, cranky old farts I have ever known, and I've known him for 35 years.  How we've remained friends in spite of his traits (or mine) is beyond me, but we are.  In fact, I'm probably closer to him than I am to most other people on the planet.  Just because I hardly ever write about him doesn't make him any less important to me.  I have no brothers, but he is mine nonetheless. 

I went to visit him tonight.  In the hospital.  Where he's been since July 27th, but I only found out today.  He's lost 40 or 50 pounds from that picture up in the link, can barely move his arms and legs, just re-learned walking about a week ago.  He can hardly talk and after he does for too long, starts to slur.  His eyes roll back in his head every thirty seconds or so, but he's happy because at least he can focus this week.   Three weeks ago, he was completely paralyzed.  This week, he's lifting one-pound weights with difficulty.  One pound.  As he said it, "A goddamned sandwich weighs more than that."   I tried really hard, but in the end found it impossible to end the visit without tears.  My stubborn, bull-headed, tough Italian friend is a royal mess. 

He has Guillain-Barre Syndrome.   Other than the Big C, I've never anything reduce someone so much in such a short period of time.   

Please send prayers, good karma, or whatever else you've got. 

They don't Makem like that anymore . . .

No, I don't mean to make jokes.  For the Banshee was surely howling up a storm yesterday.  RIP, Tommy.

(Picture by AlanStones.co.uk)

We are the stupidest species on Earth . . .

I saw this while I was at work today, and it made me cry.  

I want to think that most other people feel the same way I do, but I doubt it.  I get the feeling most people that see this will shrug and say "Must be a slow day at CNN. "

I haven't got any more words right now. 

Perspective, Righted

It never seems to fail.  When I'm starting to get a little too down about life, work, or whatever, and find myself moping or wishing things were better, something happens to shake me out of it.  Today it was this sight on the way home. (These are taken with my cellphone, poor quality, but you'll see if makes little difference.)

This was on NJ I-195 about 5:20 today.  From this distance, it looked like an ordinary car fire.

At about this point, I started to wonder if a plane had crashed at the Allaire commuter airport nearby. 

Around here, I could tell it wasn't the airport, that it was on the west-bound side of the highway, and I started to suspect it wasn't an ordinary car fire.

Definitely not ordinary.  The fire was spread across both lanes of the opposite side of the highway. 

This was right before I pulled parallel with it, and we were being shooed over to the right lane.  Even there, you could feel the heat, and there was debris all over the road.  My side of the road.   

When I got right next to it, I had the windows up and the a/c on high, and it was still uncomfortably hot.  And then I saw that there was definitely vehicular involvement. May even have been a plane after all.  There was metal all over the middle of the road, but you couldn't tell what it had been five minutes earlier.  No cops, first aid, or firemen were on the scene yet, and traffic on that side of the road was stopped dead - there was no way for them to go around.  Many people heading west were crossing over the median to turn around and head east, away from it.

But someone wasn't that lucky.  Someone didn't make it out of that, I'm sure.  Someone, or some ones, didn't make it home tonight. 

I did.  And my perspective on my problems has been put in its proper place once again.

Update:  It was a tanker.  And a fatality. 

 

Ssshhhh

One Day Blog Silence.  Dot Com.

When my words can't cut it

"We are sad today, and we will be sad for quite a while.

We are not moving on. We are embracing our mourning.

We are Virginia Tech.

We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly.

We are brave enough to bend to cry,

and sad enough to know we must laugh again.

We will prevail."

From Nikki Giovanni's speech at VT today.