It Ain't No Sin To Be Glad You're Alive

Last week, my wife's mother was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in her intestinal tract. Surgery is Tuesday morning at nine o'clock. Prayers, thoughts, wishes, chants, vibes and everything that we may think can work would be appreciated.

I normally don't blog about personal issues but this one is is dear to my family and me.

My brother's city is on fire as is seemingly all of southern California. His school has been closed for the remainder of the week. The Murph has become a homeless or refuge shelter for thousands of residents of the city whose homes are within risk. While they're safe, it's imaginable that many of his colleagues' and students' homes are not.

I received a surprise visit this afternoon from two great former students. One is wanting to enter the teaching profession and is an amazing young scholar. Another is a marine who has already served two tours in Iraq and will be commissioned to Afghanistan in June. This young man told me that "most of Iraq" is safe and secure, that he felt safe walking down the street at night in many provinces of the nation. Then, he mentioned, there's Baghdad. He then wants to study environmental science at UCSB (go Gauchos). It was a fine day to be a teacher. Not every visit will go as well as these two but I wish they both knew just how proud I am of them.

My father is in the Washington, D.C. vicinity this week. As part of the League of Mayors in northern California, he is attending a conference held by the Department of Homeland Security. He can't tell me where he is because he didn't know where he would be as it is confidential. One never knows when terrorists would strike the mayor of a city of 45,000.

The Boston Red Sox surely have the wind at their backs. What a series. Mary should sleep well; by Wednesday, they're going to be tough against the Rockies. I'll be pulling for the AL. During the first inning of game six, I actually made my baby son scream in fear as I terrified him rooting that amazing grand slam that essentially determined the remainder of the series. He'll learn; he'll turn a year old during opening of next season and his aunt and uncle gave him an A's jersey. He'll look awesome in it.

$330 million daily in Iraq. We can't guarantee our children with adequate health care but we can build military bases in a foreign nation for the sake of locking down resources. This administration will Iran before this summer and possibly Syria by the same time. Democrats can't afford to look "weak" on defense and therefore will support the Bush Administration's actions in order to simply win the presidential election. Hillary will most likely receive the nod as a middle-of-the-road Democrat who won't likely create great change in the direction our nation is heading.

Three days away and my stomach's already in knots. The band played Backstreets last night in Chicago which nearly eliminates the chances they'll play it again in Oakland. However, the band debuted Thunder Road in the Girls In Their Summer Clothes slot and I'm not sure whether I'm thrilled or bummed. The latter is the current version of the former; Girls possesses such a vibrancy in its lyrics and outlook that I wouldn't mind hearing each song on a separate night. Chris, I hope you're ready for a rocking night.

Anyone want to buy a used car? My sister-in-law needs to sell a Hyundai and it would make a great commuter car. This is the official addition to the Craigslist posting.

A couple of school scares: one of my students arrived at last Friday's football game after having consumed two fifths of Vodka. He was arrested and is in detention, which will probably end his high school career at the school. If he's eighteen, it'll be even worse. Another student at another school in the district has been diagnosed with MRSA, the antibiotic-resistant strain of staph infection that is potentially fatal. I can only imagine if it reached our school. Another student who happened to be absent for the entire second half of last quarter conveniently told me late last week that he ended up in County for thirty days. I must have led an extremely sheltered life as a child. I can only imagine.

Check out Eric Alterman's Altercation page from today and you'll see that I am a prophet; One of Alterman's guest posters is beginning an attack on the truthiness of the scholarship of one Victor Davis Hanson. You read it here first, folks, remember you read it first here. :)