Bouncing Around in My Brain

Spring is progressing nicely. There are a few daffodils and tulips still blooming, the forsythia is yellow, the white blossoms on the Bradford pear trees are flying, and the trees are turning green. If you hesitate on your walk to the mailbox, you turn a shade of yellow that is almost as bright as forsythia because the thick pollen covers everything.

Discounting a bit of a problem with transportation, we had a very nice Easter. Alisa, our daughter-in-law, invited us to lunch Easter Sunday. Her father and her grandmother are visiting for a few days. They are very pleasant company.


Mr. Fixit is having problems with his truck. I’m thankful that if it had to happen this was the time. The weather is warm, and he won’t have to freeze working on it outside. The radiator has developed a very impressive leak.

Levi, our 4-year-old grandson, has begun his baseball career. He’s playing on a church league tee ball team. They haven’t had a game yet, but he has been practicing. Watching 4-year-olds play “organized” sports is GREAT!

Sunday Cole, our soon-to-be 15-year-old grandson was talking about getting his learner’s permit this summer. It was only yesterday when he was playing tee ball. I wish I could slow Time down a bit.

Why does the press think it has the right to question celebrities about the most personal parts of their lives? I am appalled that the press and maybe the general public want to know about Tiger Woods’ marriage. How would the interviewer feel if anyone questioned him about his marriage? Frankly, it’s none of my business. He’s a golfer; I don’t think he ever pretended to be the epitome of rectitude. He’s not the Pope, he’s not a religious leader, and he’s not a politician touting family values. He hits a little ball with a stick, and he does it better than 99 percent of the world’s population. It’s none of my business if he’s a sleazy guy.

And speaking of moral rectitude--I have a bit of advice for the Pope (When I’m being presumptuous, I go all out. How could anything be more presumptuous than giving the Pope advice?). I think he should tell his representatives to tone down the rhetoric. I don’t think comparing the discomfort he is experiencing now regarding his lack of action dealing with the huge problem of the molestation of children by priests with the persecution of Jews is helpful if he is trying to gain the sympathy and understanding of the world. I was personally offended when another of his representatives said that he (the Pope) is being victimized by “petty gossip.” I fear that attitude could be one of the reasons that the church has not dealt with the problem. Child molestation is considered to be “petty gossip” by the church hierarchy. And if he feels is being victimized, he should compare the feelings of the children who suffered real physical and mental agony with his own embarrassment and discomfort because his own lack of action.

There is one more case of “open mouth, insert foot” in the news. It seems to me that Mr. Steele of the RNC would be better off if he said, “Mistakes have been made, but I will do my best to rectify the situation.” I really don’t understand why he seems to be saying that the criticism leveled at him now is because he’s black rather than his seeming carelessness with donated funds and his lack of oversight of fund raising venues.

I think it might be the time to just shut the hell up for both the Pope’s reps and Mr. Steele. But that’s just my opinion, and we all know what that’s worth, right?