Naughty boy

Baby Dave during a less naughty time in his life


Dave the dog has been a sneaky, little terror lately.

It all started Saturday when he ate an entire package of imported chocolate-covered biscuits.

He then moved on to my very special, very designer Chanel sunglasses. They are ruined. I am devastated. That was on Sunday.

Yesterday I discovered a chewed up Hershey bar wrapper on his bed. There wasn't a morsel of chocolate left.

He's not dead...yet. But this dog must be suicidal!

My hypothesis is he's pissed Morgan's home. I'm not being mean, I just think Dave's used to being the male of the house and now he's competing with my husband for that title so he's acting out.

Stef and I were discussing it last night. He's never been this naughty before.

Any way, I came across this blog in my search for answers. It's more of a fix-it rather than an explain-it, but it made me chuckle.

Any suggestions?

xoxoL

Christmas wish fulfilled

Merry Christmas Eve!

Be warned...this is a long one.

Some of you already know that I got an early present yesterday in the form of a 6'4" soldier named Morgan!

This is how the trickery went down:

Stefanie, my room mate, called me at work about 4 p.m. and said she had something to show me so she was going to stop by the office. I told her to just call me when she got here.

About 10 minutes later she called and I made my way down stairs. She was outside sitting on a bench, alone. I approached and she got up and walked toward me, something cupped in her hand. I looked at it and saw that it was a digital camera. It was Morgan's digital camera.

Two seconds passed and I heard a voice behind me. I turned and immediately put both my hands to my face in disbelief. There he was, like he's been in my dreams for the past year.

He was still wearing his ACUs and looking as handsome as ever.

We embraced. He literally swept me off my feet then sat down with me on his lap on the cool bench. I stared at him for about a minute straight, still trying to comprehend his presence.

One regret I have is that I was not dressed appropriately for the occasion. I hate the pants I'm wearing in the pictures that were snapped. Severe high waters. I also didn't have on a lot of make-up because I was too lazy to apply all of it that morning.

Morgan said I looked beautiful, though, so I guess I should just be grateful for that.

Pictures are forthcoming. I just need to get them from Morgan's camera to this blog. Also, as luck would have it, when I exited the building to meet Stef I was walking and talking with one of the newspaper's photographers, Seth. He snapped some pictures as well. Being a professional photojournalist, perhaps there will be some really good ones in there. Or at least some I can tolerate.

xoxoL

Justice Rocks?

Army Times is reporting that a Georgia Judge ordered Kid Rock to complete 80 hours of community service for his role in an October brawl at a Waffle House in Atlanta.

Well, Kid, a.k.a. Robert James Richie, told Judge Alvin Wong he'd perform for U.S. troops overseas.

Nope.

According to Wong: "Giving him credit for something he would otherwise love to do...completely defeats the punitive purpose of performing community service."

Kid responded with this statement on his Web-site.

He also wrote: "I really take it as a slap in the face, and really have trouble thinking of a better way to “serve the community,” especially at Christmas time when it’s obviously the hardest time for soldiers to be away from their families and home (and I try not to think about it when I’m there, but it’s a little freaky being in the middle of a war zone!)."

Who do you think is right, here? I'm siding with Kid.

xoxoL

Where art thou Morgan?

In a nutshell, this is why the Army sucks.

Morgan and his team were laid over in a place called Mannas (or as I like to call it, man ass) for nine days before finally boarding a plane and flying to Bangor, ME. That's annoying enough as it is, but wait, there's more.

From Maine, the team flew to Fort Riley, KS. They got in late Saturday night. Yesterday my husband calls me and says his bags are still in Kyrzykstan. He needs his bags, or rather the equipment in them, so he can out-process from Riley before coming home.

Hmmm, you would think that after nine rotten days sitting around in Mannas the powers that be would have figured out a way to transport the team's bags from point A to point B before Christmas!

One more thing...my in-laws are stuck in Oregon. Their flight was canceled today due to inclement weather. They're now scheduled to fly into Atlanta on Christmas eve. Maybe Morgan will be with them.

Argh!

We win!

To the victors go the spoils! Namely, a catered lunch some time in the near future. Good work team newsroom.

Chanukkah FAIL!

So my office held this holiday decorating contest today and the newsroom totally kicked ass! The manufacturers of this sign? Not so much.

I'll post some more pictures of our winning holiday scene in the next post.

xoxoL

The reason I'm posting this is because the SNL actor mentions a little city in Upstate New York that is very near and dear to me...Schenectady. My Alma mater, Union College, is located here.

Now, though the skit does not bathe Schenectady in a positive light, I still get a thrill out of hearing the word spoken on the national stage.

Another example: This year's "Synecdoche, New York" directed by Charlie Kaufman also sparked interest in the city where Thomas Edison founded what would become the General Electric Company.

Sort of.

xoxoL

Thirsty phone

So my brand new LG QWERTY keyboard phone was either very thirsty or suicidal this morning because it decided to jump out of my bag and into a deep puddle of muddy water.

Seriously, I think I saw a tad pole swimming around in the flip screen. My mom said it could just be a new fancy feature of the phone, like a 3-D screen saver. Funny, but doubtful, mommy.

My dad suggested I put the phone in the toaster oven to dry it out and my father-in-law suggested I take the battery out and stick the sopping wet phone in a bag or jar of rice. Both very intriguing suggestions I must say and I would have tried them had I not freaked out, drove as fast as I could to the Verizon store and, to my chagrin, replaced the phone.

Needless to say, the situation was a huge pain in the ass and it was a costly one to boot as I didn't have insurance on the phone.

I do now.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone have any other suggestions for fixing a wet phone?

xoxoL

Almost home

Hi everyone. This is just a quick update on Morgan's home-bound progress.

Though I haven't spoken to him for a few days, he did send out an e-mail Tuesday saying he was in Kabul. Next stop is Mannas (seriously what it's called), then Fort Riley in Manhattan, Kan.!

(Note: this post has been updated because I mis-wrote before).

After five or so days of reintegration there he'll be on his way to Atlanta where I'll pick him up at the airport. Morgan estimates his journey home will finally end some time between the 22nd and the 25th. His mom, dad and sister fly in Dec. 22 so I was hoping he'd beat them here, but at this point I'll take what I can get.

This is super exciting news, obviously, so why am I so anxious? Is this normal?

xoxoL

Hooters

We posted this story on our Web -site recently and I thought it was funny.

The best part is the comment at the end of the story.

FAIL!

see more pwn and owned pictures

My brother, Ben, just shared this with me. It's now one of my new favs.

In other news, "Twilight" did well this weekend at the Box Office, sucking in a cool $70 mill in ticket sales. Not bad considering it cost $37 mill to make.

There now will most definitely be a sequel. Hopefully the special effects are better.

Don't get me wrong, I liked it, I just didn't love it.

What did you?

Happy Twilighting

Hi everyone. I'm sitting here at work trying my hardest not to run out of here to the nearest theater to see Twilight.

As most of you who have read this blog in the past month or so know, I'm obsessed with Stephenie Meyer's vampire series. I'm also a fan of this band from the Pacific Northwest, Band of Horses.

This morning I attempted to buy tickets to their New Years Eve show in Atlanta, but they had already sold out. I was pretty bummed.

At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, these two distractions-music and Twilight- have been my crutches these past few months. I've been able to bury myself in them and forget for whole minutes that Morgan's gone.

Anyway, just thought I'd write about how happy I am to have found these interests and now, in just a matter of weeks, I'll be able to share at least one of them with my husband.

In conclusion, I managed to find tickets to see Band of Horses on New Years in Atlanta online so M and I are going! It's going to be great. Bet you I cry at some point in the night.

Man it'll be good to have him back.

xoxoL

Goodbye Wojdakowski

I went to a pretty awesome change of command ceremony yesterday.

Fort Benning's commander, Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski, will retire Jan. 1, but as of about 10:30 a.m., Maj. Gen. Michael Barbero is the installation's 49th CG.

Here's the story I wrote.

Here's the story Mick Walsh, former Ledger military reporter, did on Wojdakowski.

Also, just because it's cute, here's a real life FURBY!

Man cured of AIDS

My brother, Ben, shared this with me this morning after admonishing me for never reading the paper.

Umm, Ben, I work at a newspaper, why would I read them? Dah.

My apologies, again, for being a bad blogger. Life is just busy right now. Hopefully, I'll be able to buckle down after the holidays and focus on just one beat here at the Ledger.

The countdown to Morgan's return to the U.S. of A is still underway. It's driving me a little insane. Why can't Dec. 20 just be here already?

Also-and I don't put this on the same level of importance as Morgan's homecoming- the countdown to the "Twilight" movie release is also underway. Though I won't be able to see it opening weekend (Nov. 21) because of work commitments, I am going to check it out the following weekend with fam and friends whilst in Boston. So excited!
:)

Boos, Booze and Boobs!

Sorry I haven't written in awhile. No excuse, really, just insanely busy with work.

Some good news to start off your/my Halloween weekend. It looks like Lily will have a Morgan Christmas after all! He's due home from Afghanistan around the 20th of December. Yippee!

Also, I came across a hilarious story about the Vietnamese Health Ministry wanting to ban small-chested women from riding motorbikes! The best line:

"When the media revealed the plan this week, it prompted disbelief and scorn among members of the public, who envisioned the police pulling over female drivers to measure their breasts."

Read the whole story here.

War hero dies at 86

When I found out Monday morning that Medal of Honor recipient and Columbus resident Col. (Ret.) Robert Nett passed away over the weekend I was initially more upset that I'd have to drop what I was working on and pursue this story.

That is until I started to pursue this story.

What a cool guy Col. Nett was!

He earned the nation's highest military award for valor on Dec. 14, 1944, for heroic actions during hand-to-hand fighting with Japanese soldiers at their heavily fortified stronghold on the west coast of Leyte near Cognon in the Philippines. Furthermore, he's the last of five Medal of Honor recipients who lived in Columbus.

It upsets me that I let my petty preoccupations overshadow my duty as a newspaper person and an American. So, I contacted as many family members and friends I could find and asked them about this hero.

Here's the story.

A side note: Don't ever say someone won the Medal of Honor. According to at least three people I spoke to for this story, two of which are retired colonels, one earns the Medal of Honor. They don't win it.

Check out the language here.

And Nett's full citation here.

xoxoL

We're angry

It was too much for us to hear Madonna promoting Sen. Barack Obama. I'm sorry but I don't compare Sen. John McCain to Hitler.

xoxoL

MADONNA!

OMG my sister, Emily, and I are just hours away from seeing Madonna and I can hardly contain myself.

So far my trip to Boston has been wonderful. Momma G and I had dinner together last night then saw "Nights in Rodanthe"(just OK). We then went back to the house, opened a bottle of wine and watched re-runs of House.

Benny, my bro, looks great and chances are he'll be making an appearance in C-Town for Halloween. Yay!

This morning Momma G and I went for a walk to view the foliage, which right now is spectacular. I'll post some pictures when I get home.

I'll let you know how Madonna is (umm...obviously she'll be amazing) and how annoyed a was at her political ranting (I hear she has a video segment that pairs Hitler with Sen. John McCain and Mother Teresa with Sen. Barack Obama.) Not really interested in hearing her views on that, but at least she'll look hot in the process, right?

Oh and by the way, my mom almost croaked last night when I told her I was still undecided on who I'm going to vote for in the presidential election. Because I've typically voted Republican and my husband's in the Army, does that automatically mean I should or will vote for McCain? Hmm.

Enjoy your Wednesday!

xoxoL

Vampires are ruling my life

Those of you who've had a conversation with me either in person or through e-mail over the past month or so know that my new obsession is with the "Twilight" series by Stephenie Myer.

After finishing book one in about 3 days I ripped through "New Moon" and "Eclipse" in record time (for me). "Breaking Dawn" wasn't as fabulous as the first three installments in my opinion, but still I managed to devour it in about a week (I paced myself because I didn't want it to end).

Just when the depression was starting to set in over the fact that the adventures of Edward and Bella were over for me (at least until the release of the movie) I came across a manuscript (on Stephenie Myer's site) called "Midnight Sun." It's basically the beginning of "Twilight" told in Edward's voice. OMG I just love it. The story behind this partial draft is that someone close to Meyer leaked a copy to the Internet. Tisk tisk.

She was pissed.

The sound track for the movie is also posted on Meyer's site. I don't know how pleased I am about it (ahem, Linkin Park?!) Well, here's the official track listing courtesy of www.stepheniemyer.com:

Muse — Supermassive Black Hole
Paramore — Decode
The Black Ghosts — Full Moon
Linkin Park — Leave Out All The Rest
MuteMath — Spotlight (Twilight Mix)
Perry Farrell — Go All The Way (Into The Twilight)
Collective Soul — Tremble For My Beloved
Paramore — I Caught Myself
Blue Foundation — Eyes On Fire
Rob Pattinson — Never Think
Iron & Wine — Flightless Bird, American Mouth
Carter Burwell — Bella's Lullaby

Maybe it's just because I've been listening non-stop to this group called Band of Horses, but I thought a couple of their tracks would have been perfect for the soundtrack. The music is sexy, sad and ethereal.

Anywho, 2008 is turning out to be a good year for immortals like the Cullens and Bill Compton. What's with the sudden obsession with vampires, though?

Also, I bet you can guess what I'm going to be for Halloween...

xoxoL

A moving message

I received an e-mail today from a friend and former co-worker of mine in response to the recent entry I posted regarding spouses sharing finances. It was just too beautiful not to share with you:

"I smiled when I read your article about sharing finances with your husband. Here's how my wife and I approach it. When we were married March 29, 1975, Pat was a Columbus schoolteacher making about as much as I did at the L-E. We immediately merged bank accounts. Our faith taught us that when we marry, we become one in every sense of the word. What I have belongs to her. What she has also belongs to me. We work together on how we use those resources. We won't always agree. When necessary, we work out a compromise. Just before our first child arrived, Pat chose to retire from teaching, making us a one-income-earning household. You bet -- living on an L-E salary that was far less than what you make now. We had to make tough choices on how to spend our greatly reduced income. Fewer movies, bowling nights, dates for supper; more focus on the needs of our third family member. Life got a bit more serious. But God stretched our dollars and enabled us to get through the tough financial times, with child no. 1, child no. 2 and child no. 3.

Marriage is a partnership. Just as life itself, there are good times; there are tough times; there are times you might wonder 'Why did I get into all of this?' But life is also a very special journey--an adventure every day; full of excitement as we face the unknown tomorrows. But we do it together. When times are good, we laugh and enjoy it together. When tragedy strikes, we pray, cry and hold on together. We grow together in our faith. We grow more mature together. We learn tough lessons together. And now, we grow old together. She becomes more beautiful every day. Her wisdom amazes. But it's from God. Why should I be so surprised?

Things got tough earlier this year when her heart started doing unexpected things. When the cardiologist told her if she didn't replace the mitral valve in her heart that she could expect to spend the rest of her life in a rocking chair, with her breathing becoming more and more difficult, we knew she had no choice. We prayed for God's wisdom and protection. As always, He didn't let us down. He protected her and guided her through the surgery and aftermath in a way that even amazed her physicians. I believe our faith and trust had a lot to do with it. We have since spent several days in a Panama City condo on the beach, five days in the Smoky Mountains in a very nice cabin and taken short out-of-town trips. Now you wouldn't know she had the surgery. She looks great and has a great prognosis for the future.

You will find -- especially after your husband is home for good, that a marriage is the best-possible partnership,when both partners are dedicated to making it work, are determined to build a strong relationship founded on genuine love and devotion, and both are willing to sacrifice to make the partner's life better and more fulfilling.

You will have disagreements as long as you are on this Earth in the flesh. You still have two brains. You probably grew up in different worlds and don't share the same upbringing. Sharing your thoughts and attitudes is crucial. Humans tend to deal better with things when they better understand the whats and whys of a spouse's position. Believe me, you CAN work through almost any difference of opinion. You need sticktoitness.Never, never, never give up on each other.

Grow together; learn together; discover truths together. Remember your commitment. Let your love grow daily. Do special things for your Honey. Let him know he's special and always will be. And life will be good, despite the struggles and tough times. We grow most in tough times.God bless you."

Thank you so much, Harry.

Take care everyone and have a safe, happy weekend.

Mom's are the best

My Mom's in town and I'm so happy!

The weather is perfect for a day trip to Callaway Gardens or Pine Mountain.

It's good to have someone who knows you so well enter the life you've built outside of the place you used to call home. What's better is she's proud of me.

Work has been tough lately. Lot's of murders, armed robberies, burglaries. It leaves little time for me to concentrate on stories out of Fort Benning. Well, unless they're crime related.

Have a fantastic Saturday everyone. If you're in the Columbus area pop on by for a visit.

xoxoL

When the accused becomes the victim

I worked on a story today about a man who was basically acquitted Tuesday of charges filed against him last October alleging he molested his 14-year-old adopted daughter. I say basically acquitted because the case made it to the grand jury and it got a no bill, meaning the jury tossed it out. So, I don't know if that's technically called an acquittal if it never made it to court.

Anyway, today I spoke with the man who was accused of this crime and he seems like a good, honest person. He and his wife, who was also arrested last October and charged with cruelty to children for allegedly failing to report the abuse to authorities, are trying to pick up the broken pieces of their lives. They were and still are devastated by the fact that the daughter they took into their home at the age of 4 1/2 could or would do such a thing.

You know what, though? The father said he still loves her and wants the best for his child. I don't have kids so I can't say how I would react in this situation, but I'm tempted to hate this young girl. What do you think?

She clearly has deep emotional issues she needs to deal with and according to her father she's getting help. Will she ever get better? What's to say she won't do this again once she's back in her home? Would she do it to a boyfriend/friend in the future? I don't know.

All I know is I wish their family the best and I hope they can begin to heal now that this chapter in their lives is closed.

Money and relationships

Some married couples adhere to the "what's mine is yours" method of handling their finances while others keep separate accounts and reimburse each other for shared expenses.

Morgan and I recently made the decision join our bank accounts so that we have access to each other's money.

Is it just me, or is this a scary move?

Giving someone access to my hard-earned, not to mention scarce, income is freaking me out. It's not because I think he's going to run off with it. There's really nothing to run off with. I guess I'm nervous because this change symbolizes we've reached a new point in our relationship. It's another step in the process of becoming partners.

I guess scared isn't the right word, then. Excited? Anxious?

How do you and your significant other handle finances? Any advice for a newbie?

xoxoL

Wedding. The sequel.

It's a bit early to be stressing this the way that I am right now, but plans for my second wedding are already getting confusing and frustrating.

Let me back up and explain a little first. Morgan and I were married in Feb. 2007 in Las Vegas. It was a fun, fast adventure, brought on by a rapidly-approaching deployment date.

Though I'm glad we made it official then, I want the real deal now. The dress, flowers, reception and honeymoon. Spring 2009 is pretty much monopolized by our friends Travis and Frank who are marrying their sweethearts, Magda and Lauren, in May and June.

I don't want to sweat through my gown so a summer 2009 wedding is off. Fall in New England is perfect. September is better than October because there's less rain. I chose the 19th for reasons of site availability. Well, it turns out the 19th is the second day of Rosh Hashana! (Yummy side note)

Those of you who know me know I'm not a religious person, but my aunt and uncle are. They would prefer I not have the wedding on the 19th, but there's not much I can do. Every other weekend in September is taken! All of this just to pick a date? I knew there was a reason I procrastinated doing this for so long.

Argh.

Walk this way

Though Morgan went through Ranger School a few years ago (in 2005 I believe), I still remember some of the funny and icky stories he brought home with him.

There's the one when he and some guys were marching through the forest at night, so sleep deprived they were like the living dead. Morgan said he stepped out of formation at some point, veered off the path and ended up waist-deep in a mud hole before he realized he was sleep walking. He had to call the guys to fish him out of the muck.

Then there were the Florida swamp stories. Alligators, venomous snakes, squishy, unstable ground, freezing cold water. Why would anyone ever want to do that? I find myself saying, almost daily, I could never be in the Army no matter how bad-ass I think I am.

Apparently, these chicks are pretty bad-ass too.

Would you ever subject yourself to this?

One more thing I'd like to draw to your attention about the Ranger Training Brigade (RTB) wife swamp walk story. This struck me as kind of odd and annoying:

Master Sgt. Jose Marengo said the Rangers enjoy watching the wives shoot, but the event serves another purpose — it gives the wive’s a greater understanding of their husbands’ jobs.

“Instructors are often out there 36 hours straight in those conditions,” he said. “Maybe their (wives) will be more understanding when an instructor stays up all night and he’s tired on Saturday when the wife is looking forward to a full day.”

Did they really organize this adventure so RTB wives would stop nagging their husbands? Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure these women know the hardships their men face and I would hope these guys appreciate the sacrifices their wives make every day so they can be out in the swamp for 36 hours training future Rangers. Everyone's pitching in there.

Am I wrong?

Redeployment

Infantrymen were once referred to as "Doughboys." See why below.


After a nice three-day weekend, I'm back to blogging.

Yesterday was wicked busy, but let me start first with what's going on tonight.

I'm covering a homecoming ceremony for about 80 soldiers with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion at about 10 p.m. on Fort Benning.

The Army calls these occasions "redeployments," which I just hate. It's confusing to readers. It makes it seem like they are going back overseas, doesn't it? No, they are coming home.

Anyway, here's something I wrote recently about the Family Readiness Group's (FRG) preparations for their loved one's homecoming.

Also, yesterday I checked out the first day of the Infantry Warfighting Conference held at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center. I got up close and personal with some RPGs, anti-tank weaponry, state of the art surveillance equipment and robots that make Johnny 5 look like a Rumba. Later that evening I had the privilege of interviewing the two recipients of the annual Doughboy award as well as past recipients, H. Ross Perot and Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley. Here's that story.

Learn more about the possible origins of the term Doughboy here.

Twitter madness

Twitter is a service that allows anyone with a cell phone to text up to the minute tid-bits of information from an event and post them online.

The Ledger recently asked a couple of local people headed to the DNC and RNC to twitter for us from there. It worked really well. I'm sure one day soon you'll see our court reporter, Alan Riquelmy, twittering updates from some murder trial. These are all very good uses of the service, in my opinion.

The following is an example of an event you'd probably NOT want to Twitter from.

Thanks, Jeff, for sharing this crazy, unfathomable, INconceivable story/blog post with me.

Argh.

Overrated?!

Someone has beef with Chipotle!

Sonn-dog and I will fight anyone who insults 'potle! (Just kidding...but it is good stuff).

How many of you have ever eaten there?

Deployment blues

Sorry for my absence from the blog. I have been trying to figure out a new schedule at work.

Here's some cheery news for you. National Suicide Prevention Week began began Sunday.

Did you know suicides among active-duty soldiers this year is on pace to surpass the record rate set in 2007.

Married in mid-air

Last weekend my cousin, Ashley, got married...

at Burning Man...

while skydiving.

She and her new husband look so happy. Send them some love!!!

xoxoL

To the Fallen Records

Hey home slices. My BFF Jess thought this would make some cool bloggage.

I'm going to contact the guy who started the company, Sean Gilfillan, next week for an interview. I'll let you know if it ends up in the paper. It could just be a super special LilyWrites exclusive! Yipee!

Anywho, I think the concept of creating a record label featuring solely military musicians is cool, but I guess the business isn't doing so hot.

What do you think about that concept? Remember, Johnny Cash and Elvis were both in the service.

Happy Friday!

xoxoL

Lookey lookey

The Dave is famous!

Thanks Andrea. Welcome to the blogosphere.

xoxoL

Sexual assault

As in civilian society, sexual assaults within the military run far more rampant than reports indicate.

That's because victims of sexual assault within the ranks are hesitant to come forward for fear the incident will appear on their records.

A 2004 investigation conducted by the Government Accountability Office found that 52 percent of service members who had been sexually assaulted over the preceding 12 months had not reported the assaults, according to a story in the Army Times. The report was released July 31.

What is Fort Benning doing to prevent and respond to reported sexual assaults? What is the post doing to encourage victims to report? Do company commanders receive special training on how to handle such incidences? I e-mailed post spokeswoman Elsie Jackson this morning to ask these questions.

Stay tuned.

xoxoL

Delicious

This is hilarious and I don't exactly know why.

Do me a favor and spend five minutes on The Onion. You'll feel much better.

xoxoL

Disappearing act

In third grade, my dad walked into my classroom with flowers for Valentine's day, threatening to sing to me in front of my peers. Geesh.

In middle school, he drove me to school one October dressed as a cow then proceeded to see me off with a kiss on the cheek and a wave of his udders. Mortifying.

My sophomore year in high school a man dressed in a gorilla suit interrupted my Spanish class with a birthday song and candy. Thanks again dad.

What else do these special father-daughter moments have in common besides the fact that they scarred me for life?

Well, they all made me want to want to disappear, of course. Too bad the technology wasn't there...yet.

Good news for those still struggling with embarrassing dads. The Army is developing materials that could render people and objects invisible, according to the Army Times.

Have a fab Thursday.

xoxoL

True hero

Harry and Helen Gray are the first individuals to donate to the National Infantry Foundation at the 5-star level

I got first dibs on this story about a WWII vet who recently gave $2.5 million to the National Infantry Foundation.

For those of you who don't know, the foundation is building a National Infantry Museum in Columbus. Expected to open March 20, 2009, the 185,000-square foot building will boast an IMAX theater, restaurant, classrooms and world class exhibits all in commemoration of the infantry soldier.

Blogress

Check it out y'all.

There's a link to my Moore/Galloway story on the LZ X-Ray Web site. Look toward the bottom of the page, to the right under "We Are Soldiers Still."

Yippee! That's what I call blogress.

xoxoL

(By the way, that's literally the first time I've ever typed, let alone said, ya'll).

Still Soldiers

The line outside the PX at Infantry Hall this morning for Moore and Galloway's book signing.


Twelve-year-old Maxwell Carlisle and his dad, Lt. Col. Tom Carlisle, ask Joe Galloway and retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore to sign their copy of "We Were Soldiers Once...And Young." The Carlisle's also purchased a copy of Galloway and Moore's new book, "We Are Soldiers Still" at Infantry Hall's PX.


Retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway sign copies of their new book, "We Are Soldiers Still" at Infantry Hall.



Retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway were at Fort Benning today to sign copies of their new book, "We Are Soldiers Still."

It's the sequel to the 1992 best seller, "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young," about the Nov. 1965 battles at Landing Zones X-Ray and Albany in the Ia Drang.

Here's the quick story I posted online when I got back from the signing.

We Are Soldiers Still

Hi and thanks for checking out my blog. Though some topics stray from the theme, mostly what you'll get here are military-related stories relayed either from my own experience as an Army wife and military reporter for the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer or various sources floating around the web, being whispered in my ear or popping up in my e-mail in box.

As I promised, here's the book tour information for "We Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam," by retired Gen. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway, authors of the 1992 bestseller, "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young." If you want, you can check out this interview done by Rick Journey from Fox News in Birmingham, Ala.

Remember, these dates are subject to change so make sure you confirm the appearance before you ride over there.

Book Tour Info (subject to change) ALABAMA & GEORGIA (Moore and Galloway):
August 19: 6pm Alabama Booksmith in Homewood (2626 19th Pl. S, Birmingham 35209)
August 20: 11am-130pm Maxwell Air Base (Squadron Officers School)
August 21: 7pm Books A Million, 2243 Tiger Towne Pkwy, Opelika
August 22: 11am-2pm Fort Rucker Aviation Museum lobby
August 25: 11am-130pm Fort Benning, GA., Infantry Hall (I'll be covering this one for the newspaper. Check out the story which I will post here Tuesday!)
August 26: 6pm-8pm Columbus GA City Library (I think I'm going to pop into this one too not for work, but to chill with the general and Joe.)

TEXAS TOUR (Galloway):
September 2: 7pm Borders Books, 19720 Preston Road, Dallas 75230
September 3: 11am-1pm Fort Hood at Main PX on Clear Creek Rd.
September 4: 7pm-9pm BookPeople, 603 N. Lamar, Austin 78704
September 5: 7pm Barnes and Noble, 18030 Highway 281N #140, San Antonio 78232
September 6: 1pm County Historical Museum, (behind the Fire Department half block off US Hwy 77) Refugio 78377

CALIFORNIA TOUR (Galloway):
September 9: Lecture and reception and book signing, Marines Memorial Club, 6pm (time tentative) San Francisco
September 11: 4 p.m. lecture, reception & book signing Miramar Marines Air Station
September 12: 4 p.m. lecture, reception & book signing Camp Pendleton Marine Base, Oceanside Calif.

CHICAGO TOUR (Moore and Galloway):
September 17: 5pm Reception/Signing at Pritzker Military Library downtown
September 18: 730pm Barnes & Noble, 55 Old Orchard Center, Skokie IL 60077
September 19: 7pm (time tentative) 1st Infantry Division Museum, Cantigny, 1 S. 151 Winfield Rd., Wheaton IL 60187

NORTHWEST TOUR (Galloway):
Sept. 20-21 book signings/events in Seattle
Sept. 22: Book signing Fort Lewis, Wash., main PX
Sept. 23-24: Portland lecture & book signing events.

WASHINGTON DC (Moore and Galloway):
November 5: luncheon & book signing 12 noon at Union League Club in Philadelphia, PA.
November 6: evening event & signing at Army-Navy City Club, McPherson Square, NW DC.
November 7: Ia Drang panel discussion at annual history conference of American Veterans Center in DC.
November 8/9: bookstore signings. Visit with and sign books for Ia Drang and 1st Cavalry Division veterans at 1st Cav hospitality room, Hilton Hotel Crystal City, in Arlington VA.

SPECIAL EVENT (Galloway):
November 13: Joe speaks at fund-raiser for U.S. Army Historical Museum in Carlisle, PA
November 14: Museum dedicates its outdoor Vietnam War exhibit centering on recreation of Landing Zone XRAY, Ia Drang Valley

We Were Soldiers Once...and Young

I'm about to give retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore a call to interview him about his new book.


Many of you have probably heard of "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young" either because you read the book or saw the movie starring Mel Gibson. Gibson played Moore in the movie, by the way.


Well, Moore and co-author Joe Galloway have penned a sequel called "We are Soldiers Still."


They'll be in Columbus promoting it on Fort Benning and in the city's main library.


In other Benning news, I covered two deployments last night. Read about them here.

RIP LeRoi

Jessie just called me from Boston with the bad news that LeRoi Moore, saxophonist for the Dave Matthews Band, died from complications due to injuries he sustained in an ATV accident in June.

After checking the band's site, I confirmed what she'd heard. Here it is:

LEROI MOORE 1961-2008
08/19/2008
We are deeply saddened that LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band, died unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon, August 19, 2008, at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles from sudden complications stemming from his June ATV accident on his farm near Charlottesville, Virginia. LeRoi had recently returned to his Los Angeles home to begin an intensive physical rehabilitation program.

Several things came rushing to my head as I struggled to process this news, especially in the wake of such an evil day. First snippets from the many times I've seen LeRoi in concert got me thinking about how I missed his presence when I saw the band in July.

Next I wondered if they'd play their final shows of the tour. Jess is flying to LA tomorrow to visit some friends and see one of their last performances this summer.

Finally, I let the possibility creep into my mind that this could be the end of DMB.

I didn't verbalize it at first, but once I knew Jess was on the same page, I almost cried at the thought of it.

That sounds silly, I know, but to understand the relationship I have with this band is to know me from the time I was 13 or 14 years old.

My point is, RIP Roi. You're already missed.

Give me a break

Even if it is the airline's policy, if you were working that counter would you make them pay?

Good lookin' out, Em. Thanks for sharing.

My lovely lady lumps

My body is literally covered in bruises and bumps from playing soccer FOUR DAYS AGO!

Does this mean I'm getting old?

In defense of my nagging injuries, all true athletes are damaged goods, even this one.

Watching the Olympics last night, I realized just how beat up everyone is.

I am by no means comparing my measly knee sprain, sustained while playing in a co-ed soccer game, to those injuries endured by Herculean Olympic athletes, but I am saying that shit happens to the best, and worst, of us and for some reason it makes me feel better (and less old) to be a hobbling 26-year-old.

So, the good news is I've only sprained my ACL. I'm out for the rest of the season but I'll be able to play in the fall. I'm going to start rehabbing myself over the weekend (after taking a few days off) by jumping on the bike and doing quad and calf-strengthening exercises.

Oh, yeah, and I have to wear a really annoying brace.

xoxoL

Irresponsible reffing

I think I messed up my knee playing in Sunday's soccer game.

Three times the same man pushed me down using very aggressive and illegal tactics and he didn't receive a yellow card from the ref until the third assault. Well, that's all my knee could take apparently because I went down and felt something pull.

The pain wasn't bad at the time, though, so I finished the game, got an assist then guest played for another team in need of players.

This morning I woke up in great pain. My ankle and knee are swollen, I have charlie horses on both quads and various cuts and bruises on my knees and elbows.

I understand there's a certain amount of risk involved in playing sports and I welcome that. I like aggressive play, but this guy was just dangerous and by "this guy" I mean the ref.

It is the ref's job to know the rules of the game, which he didn't, and make sure there's no illegal shenanigans like kicking, slide tackling, pushing, etc. (Yes, I said shenanigans)

I don't know where his head was, but it certainly wasn't on that field and now I'm paying for it.

I'm visiting doc in a box tomorrow to get a referral to someone who can tell me what's wrong. I'm afraid it's this.

So I'll keep you all updated.

xoxoL

Keeping in touch

Up until recently, contacting Morgan in Afghanistan has been surprisingly convenient. That changed Sunday when I failed to hear from him. Monday came and still no word. No e-mail, phone call, Facebook or Skype messages.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday came and went. Each day lasted an eternity. I couldn't concentrate at work, couldn't sleep, felt sick, felt weak.

Never allowing myself to fear the worst I told everyone who asked about Morgan that he must be out on a mission because I hadn't heard from him in awhile.

This morning a "937" number popped up on my phone. "Thank God," I thought. Tears streaming silently down my cheeks I told Morgan how worried I was and asked him to please try to let me know in advance when he'd be unreachable for days in a row. It's a request I don't know if I have the right to make. It's also one he doesn't have the right to grant. All the same, I felt reassured.

It's a good day. Happy Friday everyone.

xoxoL

Rakan's story

On a cold, January morning in 2005 a vehicle careens toward a pack of American soldiers in Iraq. Fearing for their lives, patrol members open fire.

When the smoke clears, the soldiers discover the suspicious car and innocent bodies inside are riddled with bullets. One victim, 12-year-old Rakan Hassan, has been shot in the spine. The boy's parents are killed in the attack.

It was a mistake. A terrible mistake and medics worked feverishly to save the child. He lived, but doctors determine he was paralyzed from the waist down.

In September 2005 a group of humanitarians, to include U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, flew Rakan to Boston to receive top medical care. He does and learns once again to walk.

But this story doesn't have a happy ending. How could it when you're talking about a child who's life has been shattered?

Read it here.

What do you think? Has anyone read "The Kite Runner" or "A Thousand Splendid Suns"? I highly recommend both.

Home Depot Heroes

Home Depot Honors Fallen Soldiers With Great Prices On Tools

This is tasteless and terrible, but also very funny.

Pre-TSD

You've heard of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but did you know there's something called pre traumatic stress disorder or Pre-TSD.

That's right. Check it out.

Musings on a Sunday at work

It's Sunday and I'm at work. Blarp.

There's little going on (knock on wood), but I did come across this column on The Onion's Web site.

My favorite line: "My Kate is truly one of the sweetest, fattest, smartest people I know. She's not only my enormous wife—she's my enormous best friend."

I hope to one day be Morgan's enormous best friend.

xoxoL

DMB

Happy Friday!!!

So Jessie Capp., sent this to me about a week ago and I just didn't listen to it until about 5 minutes ago. It's Stevie Nicks performing "Crash into me," by Dave Matthews.

For those who don't know me, I'm a ridiculously big DMB fan. Jess and I have been going to see them live since we were in middle school. The last show I went to was July 7 in Atlanta. Jess flew in from Boston. Dave played "Crash" and I might have cried.

So good to see you last month, Jess. Thanks for your many years from friendship and love.

In military news...I'm headed out to interview a man who's been in uniform for 50 years. He was in the Army then, upon his retirement, he became a JROTC instructor at a local high school. He's retiring this month. Should be a pretty cool profile.

Have a great weekend.

xoxoL

Army wife radio

Lately I've been tooling around the Army's official website, clicking on links and looking for story ideas.

Just a few minutes ago I came across "Army Wife Talk Radio.".

Though I've only listened to about 5 minutes of it, I've already deemed it boring, but then again I called "Denise Richards: It's Complicated" boring and now I can't stop watching it.

So, I'll give AWTR more time before I give the full report. I'm even thinking about doing a call-in.

Anyone have any suggestions for questions I should ask? Do you guys have questions you want answered?

From the Web site: "Army Wife Talk Radio is the internet talk radio program for Army wives, by Army wives. Come share your experiences with us. Our Life. Our Family. Our Soldier. JOIN US at 8pm EST on Monday nights for our LIVE show and LIVE CHAT in our chat room. Click on CHAT AVAILABLE to join in!"

The show airs live Mondays at 8 p.m. (You listen online, Mom).

xoxoL

Welcome girls!

My sister-in-law, Meredith, and her college friend, Meaghan, are in town for the Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC) at Fort Benning. I'm so happy I get to share Morgan's and my home with them. At least until they are assigned a room on post.

Dave the dog is happy too. He loves having a couple of more butts to sniff and legs to hump around the house.

Mer and Meaghan are 2008 West Point grads. I had the honor of being there to celebrate with them in May. These girls are bright, beautiful and funny, but they are also soldiers and I'm so proud of them.

Good luck! Hooah.

xoxoL

News from the Benning beat

I've been so super busy lately and the blog has suffered terribly. For that, I apologize.

There's lots happening over at Fort Benning from changes of command to groundbreakings to proposed PTSD trials.

Below are a couple of stories I've done recently.

Click here.

Click here.

Let me know what you think.

xoxoL

Too long...

It took some time, but I think I now know how to write this blog.

After a few buy-outs and some restructuring at the newspaper, my new role is that of military reporter.

It's a privilege to tell the stories of our men and women in uniform. I'd like to pass some of those on to you and also throw a few things your way from the various online publications and blogs I check out daily.

Here's one from MTV.com.

It's good to be back.

xoxoL

Bad apples

Neighbors just aren't what they used to be.

Long gone are the "welcome to the neighborhood" casseroles and summer block parties.

Folks just prefer to keep to themselves now I guess. Others just find their neighbors to be incredibly annoying. If you ever find yourself in the latter category do something about it!

Now you can humiliate your no good neighbor here.

The site allows you to find and post comments about good and bad neighbors by searching your desired area, add to the database by clicking on the map then rate and review and search for your dream neighborhood!

You can also offer ornery posters advice for how to handle a smelly, crotchety, messy or nosy neighbor.

Happy Friday!

xoxoL

Birthday shmirthday

Happy Birthday Daddy!

And happy Thursday to all you other schmos

Check out there ridiculously funny e-cards.

It's like the anti-Blue Mountain.

While you're at it, make a music video starring you here.

Searching for MIAs

"In our own minds we are doing what we would want to be done for ourselves," Eyster says. "I have seen guys break their backs for the idea that we are going to bring this little shred of evidence back home because he is a comrade-in-arms, he is a buddy."

This is from a story that ran first in a three day series in the Boston Globe about the Pentagon's ambitious search for the remains of tens of thousands of missing veterans from World War II. The quote is from Army Maj. Paul Eyster who in May led a team of soldiers - predominantly veterans from campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan - to Papua New Guinea to find the remains of two pilots, Marion R. McCown and Allan S. Harrison III, who's fighter planes went down there in 1944.

What an incredible story.

xoxoL

Murder map

My plan this morning was to check out the hometown coverage of last night's NBA Championship game on Boston.com. Instead, I read a story about the gang-related shooting of a 6-month-old baby in Mattapan, Ma.

That led me to the Globe's virtual crime map labeled "Homicides in Boston during 2008."

As a former cops reporter for the Ledger-Enquirer I think the murder map is a great resource for the online audience. Morbid as it may be, it's important for residents to be aware of what's going on in their city and where.

Within the McClatchy Company the Fresno Bee was the first newspaper to offer the map. The Ledger-Enquirer toyed with the idea of creating one for the Chattahoochee Valley (especially during last summer's spate of homicides) but the peeps in the ad department weren't too siked about selling advertisements for it.

Kudos to those newspapers that have pulled it together.

xoxoL

What kind of fruit would you be?

What was the weirdest interview question you've ever been asked?

When I was getting ready to enter the work force in 2004 I was told to be prepared to answer some pretty strange questions from prospective employers. For that reason I did actually stock up on stellar answers to what I consider ridiculous questions.

Try answering some for yourself (below) then read this article about strange interview questions.

1. What kind of fruit would you be?
2. What kind of animal would you be?
3. What "Seinfeld" character are you most like?
4. What color best describes your personality?


For the record I'd be a mango. Can you guess why?

xoxoL

White wedding

TGIF

My friend Coco* recently admitted she wore a white dress to a friend's wedding. Crazy I know!!!

In her defense she maintains her mother, who really does have impecable taste, told her it was OK.

Anywho, she has since seen the error of her way.

For those who don't know any better read this.

(Hint: white is NOT OK).

xoxoL

*Name has been changed to protect the innocent

Lily Billy

Happy thirsty Thursday.

Sometimes when I do TV I make weird faces that I don't mean to make.

It's just me talking and apparently sometimes I look like Billy Idol as my co-worker Joe Paull illustrates in this video.

Go Celts!

Oath of office

I told you I would post some pictures from Meredith's graduation. These aren't from the actual graduation, but I thought you'd like to see Morgan give her the oath of office. Very emotional. Well, at least it was for everyone except M1 and M2 since they have no souls and they never cry.

xoxoL

Merlot to go

The Georgia Senate recently passed legislation that allows restaurant patrons to take their unfinished bottles of wine home.

Everybody wins with the "Merlot to go" bill! Restaurants sell more bottles of wine. Servers take home bigger tips. Customers have a larger selection of wines to choose from then just those offered by the glass.

There are some stipulations. Georgia law states the unfinished bottle has to be corked or capped and secured in a sealed bag by a restaurant employee. Once on the road, the bottle has to be placed in the trunk or glove compartment of the vehicle.

I got an e-mail today from a company that actually sells wine doggy bags that meet state laws, including Georgia's.

You know, this wouldn't be a bad gift for your wine-loving friends.

xoxoL

Duty, honor, drunky

Happy Monday,

My sister-in-law, Meredith, graduated from West Point on Saturday! I was there with the husband and in-laws to witness the incredible parades, ceremonies, dinners and speeches. How lucky am I?

If you've never been to or seen the Military Academy I suggest you look it up online or make a pilgrimage for an Army vs. Navy game. It's really a special place.

I will post pictures from the weekend as soon as I have a moment.

In the mean time picture this. Me drinking 2.5 liters of beer Saturday night out of huge steins at a German restaurant over the course of about 2 hours. Hammered.

Pictures of that to come too.

xoxoL

Rules of the road

My brother Ben is always complaining about Boston drivers.

They're too slow, too fast, too distracted.

I've always told him that no matter what city he's in, there are bound to be terrible drivers.

Well, start gloating, Ben, because according to the Fourth Annual GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test many Mass-holes don't know the basic rules of the road.

In fact, the survey found that 33 million licensed Americans may be unfit for roads.

Georgia drivers ranked fifth behind New Jersey, Washington, DC., New York and of course Massachusetts. That's fifth WORST.

xoxoL

Feelin' hot hot hot

Remember that episode of "The Office" when Michael returns from his trip to Jamaica with Jan and he breaks out the steel drums and sings "Feelin' Hot Hot Hot" over and over again until a warehouse crew member runs over the drum set with a fork lift?

That was funny.

Anywho, I'm sorry about the hiatus. Morgan is home from Afghanistan on leave and we've been chillin'.

Have you guys seen this?

I can't believe Portland, Ore. isn't on that list. Haha Morgan. Guess all our family and friends are going to have to move to Columbus now!

xoxoL

The Tonya Tapes

Once upon a time, before she made Nancy Kerrigan scream, "Why me?" Tonya Harding was a respected figure skater.

Yes. She was a national champion, two-time Olympian and the first American female to land a triple axel in competition.

White trash across the county was so proud...that is until January 1994 when her then-husband, Jeff Gillooly, came up with the brilliant idea to pay someone to club big teeth Kerrigan in the knee.

As my brother, Ben, would say, she got merked.

Now, the banned skater and former professional boxer says she wants to set the record straight (read between the lines: She needs some money).

Hence, "The Tonya Tapes." In it she says Gillooly was the villain who masterminded the beating and that he raped and threatened her into lying about it to the FBI. Eek!

I don't know about you, but I'm so over Nancy, anyway. Let's bring Tonya back!

xoxoL

Spark it up

Local readers of this blog likely know by now that there was a fire at the newspaper early this morning. Here's the story.

What I really want to share are the online comments that accompany Larry Gierer's poignant tale. Keep in mind I have not altered the spelling, grammar or punctuation of these comments. Here they are:


*We I hope no one was hurt at the L-E or with the public safety, with that said if your reporters and senior editor would stop worshiping satan, smoking dope , crack and whatever nonsense they are doing maybe this would not have happened. Or maybe they were trying to have a juiji board experience with Karl Marx
Posted by:anon


*Good thing we have computers!!!!
Posted by: Mrs Hall


*What happened? Did someone tip over their bong?
Posted by:anon

*Accidents happen!! We should all just be greatful that no one was injured. I'm sure that everyone at L-E is working hard and doing their best to get the News to their customers as soon as possible.
Posted by: BK


*OOOH ! I SEE THE SPYS ARE WATCHING. JUST LIKE THE L-E, PRINT WHAT YOU WANT, DELETE WHAT YOU WANT. WHAT A CROCK OF C--P.
Posted by:anon


*Interesting...the fire did not start until 6:20 a.m. yet my paper is supposed to be delivered by 5:30 a.m.!
Posted by:anon

Sex...hehe

My friend, Stef, shared this story (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24585481/) with me.

To be honest, I feel really bad for that poor penguin.

Generation dumbass

Author Mark Bauerlein doesn't trust anyone under 30.

In his book, "The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future," Bauerlein explains that ours is a generation that has been robbed by the very technology that was supposed to make us more intelligent.

Though I want to vociferously reject Bauerlein's views, I confess that I agree with much of what he says.

This country's youth (and I'm proud to still be a part of that club) is way over- stimulated and over-medicated for that matter.

How many phone numbers do you have memorized? How much time do you spend reading? When was the last time you actually wrote a letter (e-mails don't count)?

What do you think about this Bauerlein know-it-all? Are we doomed?

Anywho, this should help restore your faith in the kids.

Stay tuned because in the next couple of days I'll be reporting on a local soon-to-be college freshman who's just 16 years old. It should be cool so I'll post it here.

CEO's rawk

You know what's better than a MILF? Clearly, a DILF.

You know what's better than that? A rich one.

The real reason I even acknowledged this Boston Globe article is because it mentions Berklee College of Music and my friend, Jessie, works there. That and it really is a brilliant fund-raising idea, as one old rocker says.

xoxoL

Give this woman the Nobel

Irena Sendler saved thousands of children from the Nazis by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto.

The Polish social worker died Monday at a Warsaw hospital. She was 98.

As this generation of heroes passes on, documenting their stories becomes that much more important.

xoxoL

Leave 'em alone

Realizing I've already posted about the plight of Oregon sea lions, I just had to share this.

I understand the need to preserve the population of salmon, but there really is no need to kill these guys? State agents were in the process of shipping them out for God's sake!

And how about the part that says this incident may be linked to the shooting of three elephant seals in central California? The thought of a homicidal maniac traveling around the west coast picking off innocent sea life is just weird, right?


xoxoL

She did it!

I'm so glad this study didn't come out when my siblings and I were growing up. Here's the story.

Basicamente (it is Cinco de Mayo after all) the article says first borns take more crap from parents. It only confirms what my older sister, Emily, believed all along. She had the curfews, the rules, the restrictions. She was responsible for setting an example the other children could follow so she may have actually had it harder then myself or baby brother Ben according to this story.

I'm a middle child so my shtick was the everybody hates me, I'm invisible, no one cares about me routine. It worked in my favor.

Ben was just off in his own world. Pretty much after my sister and I entered our teen my mom was like, "stick a fork in me." I don't blame her. We were bad.

Where were you in the sibling chain? Does the study personally ring true?

xoxoL

Virgin Mary

Not that kind of Virgin Mary.

About five years ago my home town was thrust into the spotlight because of this.

I was reminded of the local VM sighting when I read an article yesterday on aol.com.

My best friend Jessie, who lives in Boston, said she made a pilgrimage to Milton Hospital to see the miracle for herself. Her reaction:

"Yes! I went up there to check it out ... and guess what, I still can't see it even in that photo in that article!"

Some people just aren't believers. :)

xoxoL

Sea lion update

Happy Friday!

Tooling around on the Ledger's website this morning I encountered this. It's an update about the sea lion situation I blogged about a couple days ago.

Basically, they're having a pretty good day too! At least someone's making an effort to spare them.

xoxoL

Let's stay together

Today I covered a story on a recently released study conducted, in part, by Georgia Family Council that reveals our country's high rates of divorce and unmarried childbearing costs U.S. taxpayers about $112 billion annually.

Georgia taxpayers alone pay at least $1.46 billion each year to fund "costly social programs" such as antipoverty, criminal justice and school nutrition programs. The crux of the study is that marriage is both socially and econmically beneficial to society as it generates combined family capital thereby reducing the likelihood individuals will require state and federal assistance.

Read this for more on that.

Anywho, communities such as Columbus are developing programs to help curb divorce rates. Premarital counceling is one such method being advocated.

I suggested premarital counceling to my now husband prior to our 2007 nuptials. Morgan wasn't going for it. There's a stigma attached to any type of counseling making it difficult for most people, and in this case, couples to overcome. In short, counseling=something's wrong. But that's not necessarily the case. At least that wasn't why I suggested it.

What do you think?

xoxoL

Work it

Yesterday was marathon Monday in Beantown and though I wasn't there to cheer on the runners, my hometown pride was intact.

To most Bostonians M2 means a day off work. To some, it marks the culmination of months of dedicated training. Shout out to my girl Mary Flynn and this well known fellow.

This year, the glory went to a Kenyan man and an Ethiopian woman. Only one American, Nicholas A. Arciniaga, placed in the top ten. He was tenth, btw.


xoxoL

Club a sea lion

Slap, hap, happy Monday!

This is really bizarre.

My mother-in-law and I were discussing, wouldn't it be easier to cut back on fishing rather than resort to killing sea lions?

What's hilarious about this is there's a picture of a cute, wide-eyed, little sea lion poking his slick sea lion head out of the cool water accompanying the article.

xoxoL

Up sh*$ creek

Local watchdogs from Chattahoochee RiverWatch, have filed a letter of intent to sue the City of Columbus and Abney Grading and Paving Inc., for violating the federal Clean Water Act and the Georgia Water Quality Control Act.

Here's the premise: The city started rebuilding the dam on Ginger Creek in October. To do this, crews had to divert the flow of water so that they could get in there and construct a new dam. Hard rains and perhaps faulty diversion techniques have resulted in a buttload of mud and silt flowing from the construction site into the creek. That's according to RiverWatch Director Bill Edwards.

Basically, after it rains, Ginger Creek, Heath Lake, Lindsey Creek and the Chattahoochee River literally look like the chocolate river in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." I've seen it. It's actually really gross.

Additionally, workers have been pumping viscous mud and water from the site and releasing it downstream, Edwards claims.

City officials counter they've spent thousands to control the silt.

The point in all this is pollution sucks. And yes...silt and sediment are pollution.

Look for the story on our site.

Making sexy time

So, it turns out Marilyn Monroe has a sex tape too, putting her in the same company as class acts Pam and Tommy, Paris and Rick and Kid Rock and Scott Stapp. Ewww.

Is she performing oral on John F. Kennedy? J. Edgar Hoover seemed to think so. He even had prostitutes view the top secret silent, black-and-white film in an attempt to get the mystery man identified.

Too bad the tape won't hit YouTube anytime soon. The rich guy from Manhattan who bought it for $1.5 million wants to "protect Monroe's privacy."

What do you think about this?

Nice ass

I'm sorry, but I had to share this. The photo is courtesy of Morgan who, you may or may not know, is in Afghanistan.

In case you can't tell, that's a baby goat riding a donkey.

What other fun captions can you come up with?

xoxoL

Workin' for/on the weekend

This is cool.

Happy Friday everyone. This weekend is full of possibilities. Mainly, I'll be spending lots of money I don't really have. Tonight I'll probs go out to Caliente (3709 Gentian Blvd.) with Son-dogg. Nothing new there. Note to self: Don't get too drunk. See below for reasoning.

Augustan is coming over bright and early to lay sod in my front yard. Not a euphemism. BTW, bright and early=8:30 a.m. Dear God.

Later that morning, Son-dogg and I are headed to the Ikea store in Atlanta. ROAD TRIP BITCHES! So excited. Also looking forward to our pit stops at Trader Joe's and Chipotle. Not looking forward to assembling the love seat I plan to purchase at Ikea upon my return to C-town.

Sunday I'll be here working the cop beat until 5 p.m. Then it's off to my soccer match, which will be played at 6 p.m. at the Woodruff Farm Road Soccer Complex. Rumor has it they'll be some Acousti super fans on the sidelines. So come on down. Bring a picnic (or booze in a bag) and root hard for the girls in black. We haven't won one yet, but there's a first time for everything, right?

xoxoL