Mondays Missives

• I saw the Barbara Walters interview with Patrick Swayze- very sad, a sick man who is not much longer for this world.



• One of my friends met him at an Arabian Horse show. His brush broke so he stuck his head around to the next stall to borrow one- it was occupied by Swayze, he said he was the coolest, most interesting person you would ever want to meet and they chatted for over an hour.



• Interestingly, I have another 6 degrees of separation connection with him: one of my best friends sister attended dance class at his moms studio.



• Recently a Texas death row inmate tore out his last good eye and ate it. What happened to the first one? Oh, I'm sorry- after he was arrested for cutting his family members hearts out he gouged the first one out in jail where he was then promptly found competent to stand trial.



• Something that has always colored my view of our legal system: in a town within 12 miles of where I grew up someone I knew personally was beaten by police with a club while a phonebook was placed against the side of his head (to lessen bruising- still hurt) in an attempt to get a confession for a burglary. I know for a fact that person was in another state when the crimes occurred.



• The weird thing and why it made such an impact on me is I know both the police and subjects involved- well.
  
  
• On a television show the other night a character checked a bodies toe tag in a morgue cooler and after he finished you can clearly see the dead dude pull his feet together to allow the others to zip up his body bag.


• The above picture reminded me of a memory of my time in Iraq since those guys are firing from Camp Falluja. When we would get attacked Falluja would fire onto our area and our artillery battery would fire onto theirs when they got attacked- the enemy would be too close to fire at the angle the guns needed so rounds would be fired the 13 miles or so in support of each other.
• There was a two week period where we got hit by rocket and mortar fire 2 times a day. A battery fired 36 rounds (which average 98 pounds each) into the area they were coming from after getting a good radar fix. Oddly, we didn't get hit for a long time after that morning.
• High explosives can be inspirational for both the givers and receivers.
• By the time my youngest is 18 someone under the age of 18 will have been living in my house for 31 years. Good grief, what was I thinking?
• In Bullhead City AZ an eternal flame memorial has been extinguished after the city received a 900.00 dollar bill for the gas to burn it for the first month.
• No one had the fortitude (or simple forethought) to ask, How much will this cost?
• Maybe they should run for Congress.