Random Firings of Frayed Nerves...

• Good news about the missing 15 year-old I wrote about last night. She was found, apparently in good shape, about 2:30 am and was put on a Greyhound bus to her father who picked her up this mornig. I know nothing more, other than the guy was ecstatic.
  
  
• Just moments ago, I caught the tail end of an interview on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer. Roger Rosenblatt talked about his novel, Beet. I've decided I need to read it; it sounds fascinating.
  
  
• Tomorrow I have a half-day session with association volunteers, followed by an early dinner, and then an all-day board meeting on Saturday. Oh what fun!
  
  
• I should have flown to Austin today to attend an event put on by an association to which I belong. I had registered, purchased a round-trip ticket, and told everyone I would be out of the office, but I couldn't force myself to do it. Too much to do in my office, too many demands on my time.
  
  
• My wife is insisting that we try to organize another neighborhood Ethnic Night Out soon,lest the concept fade away completely. We have a couple of new families in the neighborhood, neither of whom I have met, who have expressed an interest. They're both "ethnic" families, making it all the more interesting. One is either Indian or Pakistani, the other is Malaysian, I believe. OK, I'll ask them to pick the place!
  
  
• Some people might laugh at this, but the most expensive pair of shoes I've ever bought cost $125 and were casual, walking shoes. I have a "thing" against what I consider overpriced shoes. But after wearing this pair for a while, I've come to the conclusion that I've deluded myself all these years. My feet love them! So, my wife did a search on the Internet and found a place that sells the same shoes, in my size. I'm thinking, seriously, about buying 2 or 3 pair. They're just Rockport shoes, but they are the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn in my life!
  
  
• I'm still smarting over my assessment of what's happening politically...i.e, that John McCain is gaining ground fast and that his easier to swallow (for some people) positions may actually overcome the Democrats, no matter whch candidate goes to the top spot. I hope I'm wrong. But I'm afraid I'm not. And if we get another Republican administration, I've said I would leave the country. And I mean it. If only I can drag my wife along...

The World Can Change in the Blink of an Eye

A person's world can change in the blink of an eye. I just received an email, a forward, that informed me that the 14 year-old daughter of a guy I know from my job has disappeared in East Texas. The guy is from California. I don't know why his daughter was in East Texas, and it really doesn't matter. What matters is that she'e missing and has been for several days. Having no children, I can only imagine what it must be like for parents to deal with the disappearance of a child.

I've offered what help I can, via email, but that seems so utterly insufficient. For this guy, for anyone who loves the missing girl, everything on earth must seem to be inconsequential. The primaries, the weather in China, the situation with nuclear weapons in Korea...it must all become instantly irrelevant. And, just knowing of the situation, all these things become less important to me.

A geezer can feel so completely irrelevant when things like this are confronted. There's nothing consequential to be done. We sit and wait and wish. At least we can vote for the President; we can't vote for this girl's safety.

Microbusinesses

I have dozens of ideas for microbusinesses. I'm thinking of packaging the ideas and selling them. Do you know of any gullible enthusiastic people who might be motivated by someone else's ideas to get started in business, make money, and be perpetually well off from that point forward? If so, have them send me $15.95plus $3.75 shipping and handling and I'll send them some of my best microbusiness ideas. I'll even give you a commission if the buyers give me your name, address, telephone number, and date of birth during the purchase process.

Actually, I feel a little like I'm running a microbusiness. An unintentional microbusiness. If you like, you can actually buy my unintentional microbusiness. It comes complete with 10 desks, 10 telephone sets, a copier, and an office lease. First $999,000 takes it. Hurry. Offers are stacking up.

Edwards' Departure and Fears of a McCain Republican Victory

I'm still pissed off at the entire lot of them, Republicans and Democrats alike, but I was disappointed, nonetheless, that John Edwards dropped out of the race today. He's been forcing everyone to at least acknowledge the fundamental core beliefs upon which the Democrat Party ostensibly is based, so his decision to stop fighting is apt to have a profoundly negative impact on the content of campaign rhetoric, that is, the poor, disenfranchised, and thoroughly downtrodden won't likely be high on anyone's agenda.

But, at least he got Clinton and Obama to agree, as I undertand it, to ensure that they would put poverty on the top shelf, for everyone to see.

I'm facing the realities that, with John McCain's star rising, it's becoming more possible that people who would otherwise not have even considered voting Republican might actually think about it. His politics are not nearly as nastily right-wing as the other loonies, so some people who tend to have very moderately liberal views might (might, I say) be able to consider voting for him. Of course, if they want the war in Iraq to end and if they want even the possibility that someone will actually hold Bush accountable for his high crimes and misdemeanors,they won't support McCain...but I'm afraid many will. So, it scares me that McCain might be gaining ground. I'd rather the Republicans pick the Huckster or Romulus...decent people would certainly refrain from tainting their souls through voting for those demons.

But now, I'm faced with a choice: Clinton or Obama? As much as I hate it, it might come down to which of the two of them I think are most likely to overcome a McCain candidacy. And I don't know the answer to that.

I don't want to look at it that way. I really don't. But I'm too afraid of four more years of a Republican administration to have any other choice.

Catastrophe

At the office, we had an interesting staff meeting today. We bought tortas, from one of our favorite taquerias, for all the staff. My wife made her killer guacamole, with fresh jalapeños. We spent the lunch hour talking about upcoming projects, who needs to be aware of what, etc. And then we launched into the meat of the meeting: developing a crisis management plan.

I was impressed with the ideas that came out and the obvious depth of thought that some of our folks had given to the issue, the assignment for which was given about a month ago.

It's astonishing to realize how incrediby complex it would be to react to a catastrophe in our very small company. If a fire destroyed the entire office or if thieves stole our computers or if all our client websites when down simultaneously, we'd have a horrific problem to solve. Our conversations delved into many of the problems we might have to deal with and the kinds of things we need to do to enable us to immediately react to them. How would we set up a new office if ours were destroyed? What about our data? Even though we have backup tapes, etc., do we know exactly how to get them restored to new computers and who would do it? What would we do if we were off-site at the location of a soon-to-start conference and all meeting materials were destroyed in transit? What happens if we cannot reach our offices for several days due to storms, etc.?

All this stuff is frightening, but planning for how we'd react is the sort of thing that helps one sleep at night.

I'm not overwhelmed with my staff's response to my challenges to them to think about this, but I am impressed and appreciative. And I actually told them. That's not my style!

Peace Corps Pride

I have been watching a program on PBS tonight about Sargent Shriver and the Peace Corps. Extremely interesting. The thing that affected me most, though, was the fact that people who have served, and are serving, in the Peace Corps, are among the most impressive and impactful people on this planet. My niece served two years in the Peace Corps in Paraguay. God, I cannot believe how proud I am of her! And I am in awe of Sargent Shriver. John Kennedy and L.B.J., despite their personal flaws and foibles, were incredible leaders. Now, we have George Bush. Fuck! We need another Democrat, someone with a concience and a belief in humankind, so badly we can all taste it.

The Wrong Direction

The mad meteorologists are predicting a much warmer day tomorrow (Monday): 68 for a high, 54 for a low. Tuesday will bring another skid into the 30s, but the remainder of the week looks reasonably liveable, with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s and 40s. Not so bad overall...a moderate climate for the time-being.

I've decided I need to take mood-altering drugs and I'm looking for recommendations. I have been, of late, far too high-strung and too prone to explosive overreactions to things that, in the overall scheme of the universe, are utterly unimportant. Knowing full-well that the admonitions to "chill" or "don't let it bother you" or "it's not the end of the world" or "you're overreacting" don't have any merit in my own tiny little mind, I'm looking for practical advice.

What will keep me more mellow: 1) a swift slap to the head with a cast-iron skillet; 2) a stern admonition to "grow up;" 3) a dose of morphine; 4) a couple of triple shots of tequila; 5) a friendly reminder that I'm nothing special and should expect the same; or 6) a treatise from my long-dead mother, telling me to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you?"

I need something. I have been an asshole tonight. I deserve the cast-iron skillet and, perhaps, a bullet to the temple. I really do want to chill. But I'm heading in the opposite direction.