2004-12-06 - 7:54 a.m.
If only in my dreams...
Thank you all for the birthday wishes. *ahem* Now you may start the Christmas frenzy. We got the tree on Saturday - we checked out Home Despot, but all their trees were puny and too short, so we went back to the Odenton Fire Department where we have bought trees for most of the past seven years, and bought the first one we looked at, since it was perfect. We're lucky that way. And man, do I love me a good 7' Frasier Fir. It's now decorated with a very retro assortment of ornaments and multi-coloured lights, and I have the creche up, and I even had the cute idea of hanging a star ornament over it. Now I just have to have a drinks party so that y'all can come over and see it. I can wear a cocktail dress and a little hostess apron - it'll be cute. I'm thinking Saturday the 18th. We'll see. Speaking of Christmas, you should maybe check this site out - they seem legit (I've had positive reviews about them from several sources), and if you have a bit of Xtra Xmas cash, you could make someone far away very happy. It's no fun to be away from home this time of year, and being away from home and covered in sand is even less fun. Just think about it, that's all I ask. I'm full of the Christmas spirit (well, full of *something*, anyway) these days - I actually bought two toys for the "Toys for Tots" drive at work. Mind you, I got "Bratz" dolls (I am reliably informed that they are *the* thing this year), so the Tots' parents aren't going to be too happy with me, but still. It's a small enough thing - if they have a toy drive where you work or shop, buy something nice (even nice stuff isn't really expensive, and come on, *how* much are you spending this year? I got the dolls for $10 each - and that's really only two SBux venti mocha lattes with eggnog, and I'll shut up now) and toss it in the box. If you're nice, and buy something cool (not the last little jumping dog toy on clearance at KB Toys, but you know, a Barbie or something), you'll make some kid very, very happy. It doesn't have to be an X-Box, just something a kid would want to play with. It's just a nice thing to to - who doesn't like doing nice things? Don't answer that. Oh, and of course, I don't do anything nice - I have a reputation to uphold, you know? *ahem* A friend of mine is getting a little ticked off at all the people with the magnetic "Support our Troops" yellow ribbons on their cars since she discovered that they're selling them at Michael's and other stores, and no actual money is going to the troops. She got quite intense about it. I said "They *are* supporting the troops - they get a warm fuzzy feeling every time they see a ribbon, and that's their support." I believe she snorted at me. I have a hard time with the ribbons because there are so *many* of them now - I saw a teal one for ovarian cancer the other day. Of course, being evil, I was soon singing "Tie a teal ribbon 'round the ovary/It's been three long years..." There's more, but I think I prefer not to get death threats in my guestbook by publishing them here. If you really want to know, I'll sing them on request. Anyway - ribbons. How do *you* support the troops? I have an easy out - I work at Walter Reed, and the studies and treatment we do benefits soldiers and veterans. But would I be supportive if I wasn't working here? I'd like to think I would, and not just by slapping a $1 yellow ribbon magnet on my car (I actually don't have one - it would clash with the "live fast, die pretty" sticker). There is, in my mind, a difference between supporting a war (I don't) and supporting the troops who have been dispatched to fight it. You don't hear much on the news about the particular ways this war is fought on a day-to-day level, but you do hear the acronym IED thrown around rather casually - I think the acronym allows the casualness, because these things aren't casual - (I)mprovised (E)xplosive (D)evices are the same things the combatants in Northern Ireland have used for years - the same devices that neccessitated the removal of all the trash (rubbish) cans (bins) in the London Underground stations, and filled my childhood with bomb scares (had one at school once, and there were often delays for commuters that could last several hours). The same things used in Beirut, the former Yugoslavia, Albania, Afghanistan... I don't write about it much, but there are people I see every day missing limbs as a result of the destructive power of these devices. Whether they agreed with the President's war or not (and most of them agree, at least that's what I hear from their conversations), they went over there, and they got hurt. Because of the nature of the fight, there are more women in combat conditions than ever before, and more troops in support positions that would not normally be at the same level of risk as the front line troops, but *every* soldier over there is at risk. Winding this rather lengthy and boring diatribe up, don't you think they deserve something nice for Christmas?
Dorsal - Ventral
Funnier than me: James Lileks disclaimer!
all words copyright Laura Mellin 2000-2005
Diarist.net!
Designed by Gen
|