Army Wives

Watching this weeks Army Wives really reminded me of the recent local debates about the Sofa Super Store fire memorial. The city purchased the land to build a big memorial park and there was talk of some type of museum or something as well. Unfortunately, there's a fairly new firefighter's museum in North Charleston. The land cost over a million dollars. There is controversy in the community because some people think it's a waste of money. The firefighters have inadequate equipment (which is partially to blame for their deaths) and low pay and they should use the money to fund better equipment. I kind of agree with both sides. I think their should be some type of memorial. I mean, nine people died there. But on the other hand, the property is pretty large for a memorial. Plus, some of the families of the fallen nine feel like they need to use the money to improve the fire departments. If you think about it from a business standpoint, I wouldn't want to build a new business there. It just wouldn't seem right. So what else could the city do but put a memorial there??

It's about that time!!

Yeah! Vacation is here! We are leaving on Wednesday morning! Ricky is working this morning. He's "refreshing" today so he can work for me while I'm gone. This means that I am doing NOTHING! It's nice. I'm a bit bored though. (It's 6:06 am) We have to shoot the Fire anniversary show at 9am. (the anniversary is Wednesday)

I'll be spending my birthday at home with Wes. :) At least we won't be in the airport all day. I'm taking the day without pay. Wes and I will probably re-visit Patriots Point. We also want to buy a sweet grass basket before we move.

We've already begun packing for our move (I'm physically & mentally unable to procrastinate. I'll have an anxiety attack.) The office is almost packed up. About 80% of the kitchen is done. All that's left is the old plates, plastic cups and pots/pans. We have realized that we are unable to pull out the drawers in our new bedroom furniture, so now we have to unload every drawer in order to move them. I've already started doing that.
We haven't decided what we are going to do about the cars yet. Dad wants us to bring his boat back with us. We will either pull the car with the moving truck and I'll drive Wes's truck pulling the boat, or Wes will fly back and drive the truck & boat home. Either way, it'll be expensive and I'll be in a vehicle with Phoebe and the fish. Moving with fish is difficult. Last time, I drove my car with the big cooler in the back seat. The fish need oxygenated water, so we put an air stone in there. I had to leave my car running on the battery each time we stopped to keep the water oxygenated. We aren't going to keep our Oscar because it will be very difficult to move him. He can't be in the same tank with the other fish because he'll eat them. We are probably going to give him back to the fish store. When we move in, we are going to use the bigger tank and store the other one. We may get another one later.

Phoebe will also be in the car with me, along with her portable litterbox and a bowl of food and water. She wasn't too happy about being in the car for seven hours on our last move, but she survived. She rotated between the back window and my lap and for a few hours, then she slept on my shoulders between my neck and the seat. I couldn't move my back or she would fall. This means that I couldn't change the CD or reach the air. It was sweet though because her head was on my shoulder.

Pete has been taking a cake decorating class for the past two weeks for work. Here is a picture of his first cake. (They just celebrated their first anniversary.) He said while he was cleaning up, he dropped the lid of a box on it.

We got Whoopped!!!

Tomorrow is Pete's Birthday. Wes & I are taking them out to dinner tonight. Yesterday, we drove down to Wadmalaw Island. A tornado hit there last weekend and caused a big ruckus. Several miles of the main road was closed off because of the damage. Some of the large hardwoods that hang over the road were blown over and several houses were destroyed. This is where the Charleston Tea Plantation is. (December Post) We used Wes' press pass to get through, but the road crews were there with huge earth movers and had the road completely blocked. There were huge trees snapped splintered in half. We left and drove all the way to Mt. Pleasant because Wes wanted to eat at Jack's Cosmic Dogs. They are supposed to have the best hot dogs. Traffic was busy and it took forever to get there. We were both starving. We walked in and they had boxes and carts everywhere. The guy behind the counter said they were closed for painting and remodeling. The doors were wide open which was why we couldn't see the closed sign. Wes was dissappointed. We'll probably try again next week. We ended up at Mama Fu's!! :) On the way home, we got stuck in traffic again!




Three softball games on Sunday!! Yeah!!

PS: I'm almost to 100 Posts!!!

Learn Something New Everyday.....

You know how everyone has their favorite movie or TV show, one that you can watch over and over and never get tired of it. (For my mom, it's Star Trek) Since my surgery, I've been watching Alias over again (for the umpteenth time). Everytime I watch it, I learn something new. I'm nearly done with Season 2 and so far, I've found dozens more references to the number 47. I also realize there are several actors in Alias who appear in JJ Abram's other productions, other than the obvious ones (The pilot from Lost, etc). I'm sure no one cares, but it's interesting to me. I would love to one day work on a show like that (Lost, Alias, etc).

On a different subject, I have this book I've been reading off and on when I'm at the gym. It's called "This I Believe." It's a compilation of essays written in response to a NPR radio program of the same name. NPR asked people to write an essay about what they believe in, their life's "credo," only positive responses. This was done in 1951. They revisited the series and broadcast another program around 2000. People like Colin Powell, Carl Sandberg, Helen Keller, Jackie Robinson and other famous writers, civil rights activists, and political leaders responded, as well as ordinary citizens. The book is a compilation of new essays and some from the original program. Some of these essays are amazing. Some of them I don't understand. But one in particular stood out to me. It's written by Robert A. Heinlein, a writer and Navy war veteran. In his essay, he talks about his belief in the everyday, ordinary person. He says that "for every criminal, there are ten thousand honest, decent, kindly men. If it were not so, no child would live to grow up. Business could not go from day to day. Decency is not news. It is buried in the obituaries, but is a force stronger than crime."
I know I'm not that important in the world of television, but sitting behind the switcher everyday and listening to story after story of death, tragedy, and unspeakable crime, you have to compartmentalize your thoughts to get the job done. When all you hear is negative, reading things like this after a hard day of work is very emotional. I first read this essay back in June. It was the week of the sofa super store fire where 9 local firemen died. Everyone at work was emotionally exhausted and were all on edge. The stress of that week was unbelievable. Wes was working around the clock. No one could sleep. I can't even imagine what the local media in NY went through during and after 9-11. Even though most of us didn't know the 9 guys, we knew someone who did or we related to it in some other way or because the store was less than a mile away from our station. The fact that it could have happened anywhere and to anyone affected us, I think. I read this essay that week and I cried. I was on the treadmill, running and crying.
The fire was the day after Father's day. My birthday was the following Sunday. I was looking forward to NOT working that weekend. On Friday when I was driving home (late because the public memorial service was carried live) I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I texted Wes to tell him I was going home (He was working) and then called Mom. She knew about all that was going on and I told her I was really tired and was looking foward to not working. She nearly cried when she told me that she was only three hours away. I almost had a wreck!! It couldn't have come at a more perfect time. It was comforting that she was here. It was possibly the hottest weekend of the summer, but we had a great time and the stress just went away completely. It was the best birthday present ever.

The reason I'm writing this is because I am almost finished with the book and I think it is something that everyone should read. The website has a more in depth history of the NPR program as well as other essays. I was moved by this book and the essays in it, and I know that other people will be as well.

Okay, enough sob story, I'm going to the gym........ :)