It's all a matter of perspective

Yesterday being the fourth of July, there were some human interest-type stories on the Today Show dealing with the revolution. One of them reminded me of a little funny that happened the first time I went to London.

I had a day completely on my own, which was great. I bought a pass to one of those open-on-the-top tour buses and rode around the city, getting off and on at various places that I wanted to visit. On one pass through the city, I passed by a row house with a little blue sign on it that said that Benedict Arnold had lived there. (Research tells me the address is 62 Gloucester Place, Marylebone.) There was a line on the sign that I was certain I had misread it, so I took another trip around the city to come up to it again. Sure enough. Included on the sign was a description of Benedict Arnold as "American Patriot." :-)

I wonder what the reasoning behind this is. To be sure, Benedict Arnold was a patriotic American revolutionary at the beginning of the war. As a general, he successfully lead his troops against the British at Saratoga and Quebec. Maybe they were just focusing on his early career.

Or maybe they are using the term "patriot" to refer to the fact that his patriotism changed to a different type later on, when he offered to hand over West Point to the British for £20,300 and a brigadier's commission. Had his co-conspirator not been found and hanged, the plot would have succeeded and it's likely the revolution would have failed. Arnold did continue to fight in the war, on the side of the British. This would make him a patriot to the British cause and an American by virtue of where he was born and lived.

For those who may not know, the term "Benedict Arnold" in the US is equavalent to the term "traitor." Calling someone a "Benedict Arnold" is exactly the same as calling them a "Quisling." Can you imagine how people would react if Quisling was referred to as a "Norwegian Patriot" somewhere in Germany?

I just think the sign is humorous. It is one of those instances where just a little research might have done some good, though. Maybe "American revolutionary" would have worked better.

BTW, the Today Show segment was about the great-great-great grandson of Benedict Arnold.

Moving day

I thought I'd start a new blog and maybe actually update it occasionally instead of the Wordpress one I created and ignored. Silly, I guess to start it now since I'll be going into the hospital in a few days, but maybe it'll give me something to think about doing when I get home again.

Not So Blue After All

There is an image that those of us who live on the "left coast" of the US are more liberal than the rest -- or at least the center -- of the country. Today the Washington State Supreme Court proved that the image is not necessarily the way things are.

In 1998 Washington state passed its own version of the "Defense of Marriage Act," the only point of which was to prevent gay and lesbian couples from making a legal commitment to each other. Nineteen couples brought suit against the state legislature, saying that they were being discriminated against by being forbidden the legal right to marry whomever they choose, a right which heterosexual couples enjoy. The decision of the court was made public today.
In the majority decision, Justice Barbara Madsen wrote that the state's marriage law was enacted to "promote procreation and to encourage stable families." That's all that marriage is for? Then why is it legal for me to be married to Jim? I'd had a tubal ligation before he and I got married, so no procreation was possible and the only family we have that can be stable is the two of us.

The most amazing quote I've read so far is the following:

"The basic decision came down to the fact that the Supreme Court felt that by limiting marriage to opposite sex, they sustained the ability to procreate," said Gary Randall, president of the Faith & Freedom Network in Bellevue. "

Excuse me? If the court had ruled that same-sex couples could marry, how would that in any way impact the ability to procreate, either by any individual or by society as a whole? I do believe that ranks with the very top stupid statements of all time.

Another quote from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Attorneys for the state and King County -- as well as a group of state lawmakers and religious leaders opposing same-sex marriage -- argued that the question of who can marry should be left to the Legislature.
They said lawmakers had a rational reason for limiting marriage to people of the opposite sex: Only those couples are biologically capable of having children, and keeping them together is generally best for those children.

So then only couples who are biologically capable of having children should be allowed to marry. That is what they're saying. Forget requiring a Wasserman test before getting a marriage license. If this is the criterion for being allowed to get married, they should require a fertility test.

I really think that those who support the rights of everyone to get married to whomever they wish ought to propose such a bill in the state legislature, just to show how stupid the whole thing is.

Hmmmm. I think I may need to write to my state representatives.

Sometimes I Just Have to Talk About It

I don't usually post about my experience of grief. It's depressing for other people to read and I hate it when people feel sorry for me. I'm also very conscious of seeming to be Ms. Grief Expert. From early on, I thought about the Beatles song "She Said, She Said":

She said I know what it's like to be dead
I know what it is to be sad
And she's making me feel like I've never been born

I always felt sorry for Lennon and wasn't too thrilled with Peter Fonda (about whom the song is said to have been written), for making John feel that way. Now I find that I may be in Peter's shoes.

The fact is, though, missing Nicki is a part of my life every day and I've accepted that it is. Most of the time talking about it doesn't do much good and only brings stuff to the fore that would be better off left in the background. Still, every once in a while there's things that I need to say.

I had a conversation the other day in which I mentioned using other things to "fill the void" left in my life when Nicki died. I've been thinking of that phrase and, more specifically, of the void itself. There was a rather strange thing that happened in the first weeks and months after she died. Everybody has seen the cartoons where the bad critter is chasing the good critter and the good critter gets a cannon and shoots at the bad critter. The cannon ball goes right through the baddie's body, leaving a hole, but it doesn't kill the baddie and in the next shot, the baddie is all back together again. That's what losing Nicki felt like, except for the getting back together again. Having a physical hole in the middle of my body. Or, like Oz said to Willow on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, " I miss you. Like, every second. Almost like I lost an arm, or worse, a torso." Yeah. That says it.

Nicki died in December, so even in southern California where we lived at the time, it was pretty chilly outside. When I would go out, it was like I could feel the cold wind blowing right through that hole in my torso. My mind told me it was impossible to experience that, but that's how it felt. I guess over the years, it has eased a bit. The wound is not so raw any more, but the hole is still there, gaping and obvious. I keep trying to cram it with other stuff, just to keep the wind from blowing through, shoving wadded up newspaper into the corners because nothing is truly Nicki-shaped and I have to make do. Whatever I use is a poor substitute, but I will take whatever I can get and I might get just a bit testy when I feel that it's threatened.

I really hope I haven't made anyone feel like they've never been born. Not my intention.

Practicalities and Symbolism

Most of my extended family is politically very different than I am. The vast majority are in Kansas and Nebraska and they are exactly what makes the red states red: highly conservative, solidly Republican and oh, so very moral. They're nothing like us heathens who left the middle of the country for the opium dens of California. Well, they're not really bad people. They just have what I consider to be a very warped view of the world.

The most recent thing I got from my cousin Jeanne was telling about Red Fridays -- a plan to get people to wear something red on Fridays to show support for the troops. The idea isn't bad, necessarily, but I think it's as pointless as tying yellow ribbons around every tree you come across. It makes the person who's doing it feel like they've done something, but it does absolutely nothing for the people who need it. The most annoying part of the email, though, was the claim that the "liberal media" ignores anyone who supports military personnel and that "Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red." Excuse me? Someone is going to determine what I think by what they happen to see or not see me wear on a given day of the week?

Also included in the email was the following: "The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is...We need your support and your prayers." I would be the last person to call anyone else a liar without proof, so I will say that the second thing a soldier is likely to say is "We need lots and lots of stuff." There are tons of places on the internet that can help to facilitate supporting military personnel in a very real and practical way. AnySoldier.com has emails from people in the Middle East, listing the things they would love to have, some of which is as basic as toothbrushes. For those who want to help but don't have the time to do the shopping and packing and posting, there's TreatAnySoldier.com, which has pre-assembled packages of the most requested items. Then there's BooksForSoldiers.com, which I've only just found. Looks very good.

I wrote to my cousin, thanking her for telling me about the wearing-red-on-Friday thing, and also listed the sites above, saying that maybe doing something practical might be a little more useful than some symbolic gesture. I also told her that, while I detest the Commander in Chief, I do support the young men and women who are in a terrible circumstance over there.

I wonder if I'll get a response.

Life has its compensations

I've spent the last four days with another migraine. This is getting tedious, especially since I can't get any more Imitrex until July. I've been surviving on aspirin, which doesn't do very much.

Before the migraine hit, we had signed up to do another one of our Designed Dinners things. Their June menu was pretty good. We chose:

• Adobo Rubbed Sirloin Steak -- Full of flavor with garlic and a mildly spicy South American inspired adobo rub


• Asian Inspired Pork Loin Chops -- The sultry flavors of soya, orange, ginger, special seasonings and black tea come together for a great marinade


• Calzone Creation Station® -- Fresh dough, Designed Dinners signature basil pesto, herbed marinara and an array of fillings to choose from to build 4 custom calzones


• Chicken Wellington -- Breast of chicken, button mushrooms & swiss cheese baked in puff pastry


• Grilled Moroccan Style Breast of Chicken -- Ready for the BBQ with the robust flavors of red wine, coriander & cumin


• Grilled Tiger Shrimp -- With fresh rosemary & garlic


• Honey Ham Steak -- Glazed with molasses and rum


• Jumbo Meatballs in Sweet & Sour Sauce -- With pineapple & mixed peppers


• Mahi Mahi Fillet -- with pine nuts, lemon, herbs & chives


• Mojito Marinated Chicken Wings -- Mildly spicy, bursting with bright citrus flavor


• Savory Polish Style Smoked Sausage -- Premium skinless sausage with Designed Dinners signature beer braised onion compote


• The Ultimate Jalapeño Bacon Cheddar Burger -- Lean ground chuck mixed with herbs, garlic, aged cheddar cheese and minced jalapeño bacon

(We get two meals out of each one, so that makes 24 meals. I usually make three a week, which means this will last for 8 weeks.)

I wasn't sure how things were going to go this morning. The migraine was gone, but I always have a day or two of being really weak when they're over. We got to the place and got started. By the time we'd finished putting together two meals, I was ready to pass out. I know it was air-conditioned in the building, but I was drenched in sweat, the whole room was spinning and I had a horrible pain going across my back. I get that pain a lot when I'm feeling weak. So I found myself a stool to sit on and Jim went ahead and kept putting things together. He was so serious as he measured out the ingredients and made sure he had everything right. The chicken Wellington may not be the prettiest that anyone has ever seen, but I know it'll be edible and he did the very best he could. I was quite impressed with the way he dealt with the dough for the calzones.

At one point, I was sitting in a back room that was cooler and had real chairs instead of stools. Without being able to watch the goings-on, I found myself waxing philosphical (to borrow a phrase ;)). I'll admit I was feeling sorry for myself a bit, bemoaning the migraines and the Crohn's disease and all the other shit. I sorta felt like Job, with the gods picking me at random to mess with and make my life a hell. Then I thought about Jim and realized that, if the gods really had decided to mess with me, they at least gave me Jim so that I could bear it. I thought about a trade. Would I agree to lose Jim if it would mean that I was completely healthy? No. As long as he'll hang around, helping me to deal with it, I'll deal with it. Nothing in the world would be worth losing my guy.

So, we're home, we have 24 main dishes in the freezer, Jim's watching the World Poker Tour that he recorded while we were out. It's supposed to get over 80 degrees today and warmer each day through Tuesday. For those of you who are feeling that this is nothing, remember that we have no air conditioning. We have open windows, fans and shades to try to keep from ending up as little puddles on the carpet.

A Man of Grace and Conviction

When I saw on the news that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had been killed, before I could even decide how I felt about it, I saw an interview with Michael Berg. Michael is the father of Nicholas Berg, the young contractor who was beheaded on a live internet feed, very probably by al-Zarqawi himself. It would be perfectly understandable for him to have jumped for joy at the news of the death of the man who had murdered his son so brutally, but he didn't. He said that it was a tragedy and that he felt for the al-Zarqawi's family who would be grieving just as the Berg family had been grieving.

I found an article that gave a little more of what Berg said.

"I think al-Zarqawi's death is a double tragedy," Michael Berg told The Associated Press after learning a U.S. airstrike had killed the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. "His death will incite a new wave of revenge. George Bush and al-Zarqawi are two men who believe in revenge."...

Michael Berg, a pacifist who is running for Delaware's lone House seat on the Green Party ticket, said al-Zarqawi's death is likely to foster anti-American resentment among al-Qaida members who feel they have nothing left to lose.

Berg said the blame for most deaths in Iraq should be placed on President Bush, who he said is "more of a terrorist than Zarqawi."

"Zarqawi felt my son's breath on his hand as held the knife against his throat. Zarqawi had to look in his eyes when he did it," Berg added, pausing to collect himself. "George Bush sits there glassy-eyed in his office with pieces of paper and condemns people to death. That to me is a real terrorist."
Berg: No Good in Al-Zarqawi's Death

I am deeply humbled by this man. I, too, am a pacifist from as far back as I had any knowledge of war, but I'm not sure I could have the grace to apply it to the person who murdered my child with his own hands. It's things like this that remind me of how much I still need to learn.