I got up this morning after a so-so night of sleep. Too many diet colas and too much apnea.

The dreams were vivid though.

I did my best impression of K (i.e. animal caretaker), and then labored on my hairstyle of the day. I couldn’t decide between the bald drug rep look, or the bald wanna-be writer look, or the bald guy with a weight problem look, so I managed to put them all together into a low self-esteem medley, a celebration if you will, of baldness and off-the-rack clothing.

I met for coffee this AM with someone I have admired for a long time as she makes her living with the written word, my sister’s, sister-in-law Jane. She has always been very nice and receptive to my family and me over the years (since we too have been entangled in the web of the Irish Mafia of 8 many times). It is an intimidating and downright scary place where you are always the outsider.

She has gone through a lot of change and challenge in her life, and I was so pleased to see she is still the Jane that I remembered.

It got me to thinking that I have been blessed to know and be influenced by many, many strong, positive women over the years: K, my sis, Leeann, Andrea, Jane, Donna, Z, Verena, Hammy, Pam, Rhonda F, Lisa, Ann S., Yvonne… And men have put many of these women through an emotional Hell with more dick than decency.

Listening and talking to them is often more enjoyable to me than the constant one-upmanship and competitive dick-wagging conversation men get with their male amigos!

I know what a good thing I have in my life. There is nothing, NOTHING better than knowing someone is there to take care of you, to listen to you, to challenge you, to accept you, to support you, and to love you. The short-term means so little.

The men that have verbally and emotionally attacked some of these women will, in the years to come, figure out what they got to offer wasn’t that great to begin with and it’s steadily gettin’ worse. They will (barring innately substantial and catastrophic chronic mental illness or narcissistic sociopathic personality disorder–known also as “douche-bag disease”, prevalent in Scottsdale, San Diego and LA) go to their graves living out a lie, being full of regret, and for what? To see if the grass (read: vagina) is greener on the other side of the fence? Wow, that last sentence just sounds wrong, but you get where I’m going, right?

And by the way– NONE of the ladies in these situations are unattractive. Their ex’s just seem have attention spans only as long as their johnsons. It’s like their libidos have ADD.

I enjoy listening to these incredible women; talking to them and learning from them. Almost all of them are moms (THE most important job in the world), and none of them fit into the “Father Knows Best” or “Leave it to Beaver” model of the “typical American housewife”. They all stand up and call “bullshit” when they need to(not all though have my flair for colorful language and descriptive metaphor).

My sister is one of the best moms I’ve ever seen (biased? ‘F ya!). She’s brilliant, she’s supportive, she’s afraid of clowns (wait, how’d that get in there?), and she speaks Spanish fluently and has successfully navigated the Irish Web since day one. She is a great role model, and her boys reflect that. I just thought I’d say that. It’s my blog and I can say what I want.

So there is Monday morning. Time for me to go to another meeting.

Love you K!!

See you soon.

It is 12:22AM, Monday February 22, 2010.

I am laying on my bed, oddly I am not tired.

I am listening to a new audiobook: Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast”.

Three days ago was the birthday of Mary May, my mother. She would have been 71.

Three years ago today she passed away.

I thank her for everything.

What has happened to America?  More specifically, the government and its direction.

I have concerns that the American government is no longer a government of the people, by the people and for the people.  Folks, “the people” is US. Everything I hear is Republican or Democrat. I’ve read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and I cannot find any passage or mention that we are to be ruled by a political party. Where do these rich, white, old men (for the most part), get off deciding what is right for me–Democrat or Republican?  I have had it with all of them.  It’s the extremists on both sides that seem run these parties.  The most liberal or the most conservative entities are their mouthpieces.

The “right”, the Republican party–apparently these people are trying to tie themselves to the founding fathers.  It seems they have forgotten that our paradigm builders, these foundation layers of liberty, wanted a separation of church and state.  America is NOT a theocracy.  Many of the revolutionary figures never mentioned God or Jesus by name. They simply referred to a “supreme being”.  Modern conservatives seem to be forcing a religious agenda down our throats. This is how the Islamic countries run.  Do we want that?  The First Amendment provides for the freedom from religious prosecution, but does not provide for a government or political party to shove God and “religious rightness” down our throats.

The “right” has plenty of talking heads that play to the lowest common denominator; American’s who don’t want to think for themselves and take what these “pundits” say as the gospel truth.  Anyone, and I mean ANYONE who uses the likes of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin et. al. as their information source for ANYTHING should have their heads examined.  What happened to finding things out for yourself?  Seeking the truth for yourself?  This is not exclusive to the right-leaning, Republican or conservative movements.  There are plenty of liberals as well who are just as bad.  There are some real socialist leanings coming from the likes of Huffington, Ried, Matthews, Maddow and the majority of the entertainment industry.

Where does someone like Glenn Beck come off writing a book called “Common Sense based on the works of Thomas Paine”?  Paine wrote his original masterpiece anonymously, Mr. Beck.  Beck’s book titles seem to suggest he has the solution to everything.  You know what?  I think he and everyone on the far edges of the left and right are simply narcissists.  They prefer to instill fear and hate on their “news” and commentary programs, then they market their books and other junk to the gullible and weak-minded who buy it up, thereby making them rich.  Their luxury lifestyles come off the backs of the hard-working Americans they are trying to “enlighten”.  Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity all sell their books on their sites.  Limbaugh and Beck seem to be the worst offenders however, with items like doormats, mugs and the more.  Beck, a failed disc-jockey like Limbaugh and Hannity (the last two are also college drop-outs), uses the look and style of the American Revolution to market his wares.   Tap into our deepest felt beliefs.  Nice work.

Sorry to say folks, that during the American Revolution there were plenty of people in our unrecognized country that wanted nothing to do with any of it. There were loyalists and there were, of course, those wanting freedom from the British.  But, there were a fair share of people who wanted all government out of their lives, or they only felt compelled to follow the law of their state.  State’s rights were an ardent topic then, not just during the Civil War.  The beginnings of our country set up the inevitability that was the Civil War.  But that’s another posting.

I am in total belief that the best men and women for the top state and national political jobs will never run for the office.  They are not of sufficient want and greed to alleviate their low self-esteem to put themselves into such a playground.  Just listening to politicians speak is enough to make my skin crawl.  There is no truth.  There is no substance.  Everyone is addressed as “My Friend”.  I am sorry  Mr. Obama, Mr. Bush, Mr. McCain, Ms. Palin, Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Ried, none of you are my friend.  You are not worthy of that title.

Instead of doing what is right, they abuse their offices, create laws that have no purpose, and they surreptitiously slip in pork-barrel legislation to skim taxpayer’s money to their states, their districts.  It is a legal form of embezzlement and it makes me sick.

Listening to Pelosi, Feinstein, Ried, (and for my whole adult life) Kennedy and Boxer talk about how this country should be run frightens me to no end.  I fear they want to give away everything and provide everything for everybody, American or not.

Listening to Palin, Romney, Hayworth or McCain talk about how this country should be run frightens me to no end.  I fear they want to turn this country into a theocracy and that none of them ever read the Bill of Rights or studied the foundations our country was actually based upon.

My feelings, my thoughts and musings are not new.  These arguments have been made ever since the Congress was born in New York City Hall over 220 years ago.

Sound bites, photo ops, double speak, and back alley deals have been and always will be skeleton of politics. I won’t change it, and I doubt it ever will.  All I and anyone else can hope for is to live our lives with as little government involvement as possible, and hopefully when we pass on, we left our part of the world better than when we entered it.  My hope is I will vote for the best persons available for the positions, and that they will do the right thing when they are called to vote.

Here endeth my rant.

The weekend is over.

It is Sunday.

I’ve had a fire going in the fireplace since yesterday.  It helps coordinate the house with the grey and sub 60 degree temperatures outside.

K is on her way to Prescott for the night and most of tomorrow, so I am alone again.

I think I will turn off my cell phone, turn off the television, turn off the computer, open a bottle of wine, and sit in front of the fire and think what about the Hell is my plan for the rest of my life.  I may write too.

I’m thinking of taking the week off as well.  Maybe a week of just writing, not thinking about managed health care, selling a commodity, traveling, hotel rooms and public bathrooms, and room service alone.

Have you ever had those days where you just can’t get out of your mind?

It’s one of those days.

I recently had the great opportunity to listen to “John Adams”,  the award winning work of David McCullough. I have read his books “1776″ and “Truman”.  I first heard of him, sadly not nearly early enough in my life, as the narrator of Ken Burns’ “Civil War” series.

As a treat for me, I rented the HBO Series based on the Adams’ biography.  At the end of Disc Three is a documentary about David McCullough.  Truly an unexpected dessert in this philological epicurean delight.

Above is where this incredible artist creates his final product.  He calls it his world headquarters, not a shed.  The only electrical devices in there are a couple of lamps.  He uses an old Royal typewriter he bought second hand from a store in White Plains, NY (a place I just returned from this week).  I see it as perfection.

This is the exact set up I have dreamt of if I were to become a successful writer, and to see one of my favorite authors with the same is, well, mind blowing.

I would love to sit down with Mr. McCullough over dinner and a bottle of wine to hear but a few of his favorite stories of his research, his insights into the lives he has written about, and his overall take on American History-our history.

Mr. McCullough is one of our true national treasures.