5 am saturday morning

Hello Dear Reader,
Not sleeping is not a good thing *_*
so here I am coffee and cigs......contemplating the mysteries of life.
fortunately, a cooling rain has had a calming effect.....it has been just too hot around here this summer. Well I guess it is just right for camping out. Our neighbor Lisa B has taken her 2 kids camping - perfect outdoor sleeping weather. Lisa received a new tent for Christmas. Very nice- she had it set up in the yard the other day to practice....it's a pretty blue color and looks big enough for 4. She has an air mattress.
In the meantime DH- Jeff B, is laying the foundation for a brick patio in their yard-with a bad knee...he will have surgery in September. These 2 are in their late 30's with 2 kids ages 11 & 9 .
Sheila H- ( Supervisor of Hospices, RN ) on the other side of us, had an emergency appendectomy last Tuesday. She is ok and took 2 weeks off from work. Her DH Thom is interested in trimming our tree- the branches are creeping over into his yard....Thom and Ron W, across the street spent a day trimming trees on both properties. Ron has a chain saw.
The "W's" , across the street, have a 31 year old son- father of 3 girls-Britanny Sarah and Emma- born last Sunday. Ron (jr) is on chemo therapy for Hodgkins disease for the next 5 months-prognosis is good.
Lisa and Jeff hosted the annual summer potluck last week. We all get to 'catch up' with the neighbors. DH and I started this with a holiday potluck about 8 years ago- we will host our 2nd one this winter. With everyone taking turns- we have not had to host since then. Actually last year was our turn- but the house was a disaster and I was not in the mood/ nor did I have the energy to host a dinner party. This year our date is set on Dec 10th and we have a pretty new kitchen. una nuova bella cucina.
Angel-face Sophia is staying with us for 2 nights while her parents do some needed home repairs. "A" & "M" will be hosting the little family reunion in September. "M" is making sure the boat is ready to take everyone out for a spin. Meanwhile little S did not want to go to sleep last night- she likes to be in her own bed. We did everything possible -
and she nodded off around 11:30..
Maybe you heard about the explosion at the chemical plant not far from where we live. This plant is on the road I take to get to Detroit Metro-airport. People were evacuated for 2 or 3 days- staying on cots in school gyms, etc. The officials are telling them they can return to their homes- but everyone is asking what do we do with this dust and crap all over our homes, yards, in the driveway- sitting atop the water in the pool, etc. Some, with small children are choosing to not go back, yet. This 'accident' is remakarbly similar to one in St Louis about a month ago. Same type of facility with not alot of people inside- no injuries or deaths- just HUGE fireballs and huge messes to clean up and lots of doubts about how safe it might be to breathe the air etc. I think it may have been good 'fire drills' for local agencies to prepare for any criminal attempts at disruption.
So - if I lived in Texas I would probably drive to Crawford and hang out with Cindy Sheehan who lost her son in Iraq last year. There will be an action in September in Washington DC - I know one person who will be there. Thousands will be showing up to let the gov't know they are not happy sending more and more young cannon fodder to Iraq. Dying is life- but here in this time and place we don't like to talk about our final exits. We don't teach our children that death is life. The current POTUS has declared that no photos of coffins coming home will be shown on the nightly news. Perhaps as more and more families are touched by the loss of a son or daughter, 'we' will someday wake up to the insanity of an eye for an eye ....in these days of orbiting NASA shuttles and incredible technology-
I don't understand the lack of communication that seems to result in big arms sales.....
& planes being flown into buildings and military bases erected in foreign lands while closing down national guard bases at home: oil/ energy companies making huge profits while the rest of us have to count our pennies. what exactly is going on ?
Some family and friends are talking about moving to Canada- some even thinking of emigrating. I don't know how that solves anything- but at least one will not be paying taxes to support a gov't that seems to be making all the wrong choices.
For most of us, it's not an option.
One route is to not support the large corporations who are funding this out of control administration. The "election" in 2000 was a coup d'etat- our country was delivered into the hands of a narcissitic group who truly believe they can do no wrong. In 2004, the voting rights of thousands were ignored and manipulated ...remember that over 57 million people did not want a 2nd term for this group. Well- it is all rather complex and simple at the same time. Please don't shop at Walmart- if you have noticed- whenever the polls come down on the Potus' popularity- oil prices go up- the mkt takes a fall. A crisis is created and 'somehow' the gov't steps in to "correct" it all and we can all fall on our knees and thank the Lord for our born again Christian leader who gets direct messages from God- not unlike those who proclaim Allah is telling them to destroy the infidel.
I continue to distract myself with June 16, 1904. Stephen and Poldy are drunk and on their way to 7 Eccles St, where Bloom will discover he left his house key in his other pants.
.. it is early morning June 17 1904 in Dublin. I take solace in the indestructiblity of these words and pages akin to visiting Tulum, Mexico or climbing the 400 year old bell tower in Siena.
Joyfully participating in the sufferings of the world.
btw- I love my new kitchen
~~enjoy your day.