Give the drumline some!

We are and we will. Light posting for the next few days.

Off to Ohio to kick butt and take names

A girl I knew

There was a girl I knew growing up; she and I were classmates in 7th and 8th grade, but I went on to the Catholic high school and she went to the public high school. She wasn't gorgeous, but she was attractive enough. We didn't get along because she thought, as many kids do at that age, that she was above me on the social pecking order. Every once in a while she would remind me of my lowly place in the St. Mary's pecking order. I didn't care for that, but I figured one girl's opinion didn't matter very much and there were other girls who were nice to me. I also assumed, even then, that her occasional eagerness to put me in my place was a function of her own insecurity about her station. At that age, girls who are attractive enough don't wield the power that the truly gorgeous ones do, and they know it. And, perhaps, she was right about me, but after 40 years none of that matters any more.

We moved on with our lives, heading in different directions. I got the hell out of my hometown as soon as I could and found my life elsewhere. She stayed in my hometown and eventually got married to a guy who worked as a welder in one of the many factories in the area. I was surprised when she friended me on Facebook, but I accepted her request. I would get an occasional glimpse into her life; she and her husband reared two daughters and they seemed like a happy family. She and her husband liked to take vacations and had the wherewithal to do it, apparently. I'd see photos of them in Mexico, in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, like that. From what I could tell, they had made a nice life. I never met her husband, but he looked like a nice guy.

Her husband died over the weekend, apparently without warning. I'm guessing he had a heart attack, but I haven't figured out what happened. Her grief is palpable; in the note she posted on FB she wrote about the future she and her husband had planned and all the things they wanted to accomplish as the grew old together.

I don't know what the future brings. Mrs. D and I have reared our children and they are both getting ready to move on to new things in their lives. We talk about our future from time to time, but we're usually so enmeshed in the present that we don't necessarily spend as much time planning for that future as we might otherwise. While I think planning for the future is still a good idea, life has other plans. If you can spare a prayer for the girl I knew, I'd appreciate it.

Events remain in the saddle

Blogging will continue to be catch as catch can for the next day or two. All is well, but other responsibilities take precedence.

From what I can tell, nothing has changed anyway... every day we learn of a new, jaw - dropping scandal involving the Clintons, which we then ignore because her opponent is a boor. The historians will have a field day with this race, assuming we have historians in the future.

Meanwhile, I stick with my knitting.