Good Man, You

I'm really proud of Warren Buffett for giving 31 billion dollars to the Gates Foundation. When I first read the headline, I was flabbergasted by the idea of having an extra 31 billion dollars to donate. But then I learned that it constitutes 85% of his wealth. He'll still have billions (I think. Damn math. Where's my calculator?) left over, so I suppose it is extra money anyway. But that was really generous. Thank you, Mr. Buffett. I hope it does much good.

The 'Hood

My neighbor Roland recently bought a brand new Land-N-Sea cruiser. It's a cross between a 30 foot motor home and a catamaran. I know this because he has parked it outside his ramshackle house. He had to put it half-way on the side walk so it wouldn't block the street. I suppose that was considerate, at least to the cars. The boat is called a "Lil' Hobo," but he spent the other afternoon carefully removing the "b" and the "o." I suppose "Lil' Ho" does blend in better with the neighborhood.

Signs of Dependence

My vicodin instruction sheet told me to watch for signs of dependence. Apparently those signs include "feeling that you cannot live without this medicine." A most helpful example.

The Toe

I broke my big toe the other morning...Lily had "watered" the stairs. Luckily it didn't happen on 6/6/06 or else I might have become suspicious that she was the Omen child.

I really enjoyed the four hours I spent in the emergency room. Seriously. I knew it would take a while so I brought my book, and essentially viewed it as much needed quiet time. It was also really slow in the ER - aside from my toe, there was just one woman having a heart attack, so I didn't mind waiting patiently for my turn.

The hospital chaplain came to visit me. "So, are you The Toe?"
"Yes, I suppose I am"
He asked me how I was doing and if I needed to talk about it.
"You mean talk about my toe? Well, it hurts, but I think I'll make it through this"
"I'm sure you will."

Narration

Perhaps because they are so thrilled with the new things they can do – or because they want to make full use of their expanding verbal skills, 3 year olds tend to narrate their every move. They don’t just run, for example they do so while screaming, "I’m running!!!"

Lily and I were at a local pizza joint recently when she announced (loudly, holding her self front and back) that she had to go to the bathroom (really badly!). We entered one of the several stalls in the women’s bathroom and her narration began at full volume.

"Mom, I have to poop.....I’m going to push really hard......unnnnnnnnnnngh......unnnnnnnngh..... (her face turns bright red. I start to giggle, as do the several women in the adjoining stalls).
"It’s coming, mommy!!........Oh wow, I got a really big one out!!!....... Am I making you laugh, mommy?..... No, I’m not done, a got a lot more poop in me......I’m going to push really, really hard again......oh, I need to rest a little bit (big sigh)..... okay now I’m going to push again.....there’s another poop, mommy!......Why are you laughing, mommy?....Okay, I’m all done.....You can wipe my butt.