no title can suffice

Well, I’m sure you’ve all heard the news about the terrorist attacks in London. Since we still don’t know who was behind it, I won’t deal with that. What I would like to say is how much respect I have for the British. They reacted so sensibly and efficiently to deal with the injured and confusion. And in a matter of hours they were back on their double-decker busses and going about their business. That’s the way to respond to terrorists: deal with the immediate problem and then keep life as normal as possible. It’s when we change our lives out of fear that they win.

Of course, some changes we can live with. For instance, tonight the movie Reign of Fire was supposed to air tonight. On the same evening as the London attacks, a movie in which the entire world, beginning with London, is decimated by dragons just didn’t seem appropriate. Now, personally, I like the movie and would have enjoyed it anyway, but I also understand why it is inappropriate at the moment.

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Okay, in the process of writing this, I’ve become horribly upset with our American news media. ABC threw together this one-hour program trying to cover the terrorist attacks and give us “new” information, when there really isn’t any new information to give yet because the investigators are still working on that. So it’s just like after 9/11; the news media just keeps finding new ways to say how terrible everything is and how little we actually know. Speculation does not help us right now. Shut up! Excuse me, I just had to get that out.

And Diane Sawyer really makes me mad. She was interviewing a man who had been on one of the subway trains that was hit and had managed to get some footage on his camera phone. The poor man was still shaken up and broken up and could barely speak through his tears, and she kept asking him questions. What is the point of that? The man has been through true and utter horror, and you badger him with questions about how terrible it was? Have you no shame? Have you no pity? People will still want to hear the story day and even weeks from now when the witnesses may be in better shape to share. Or, even better, you could show his footage and not make him deal with the pain of sharing his experience on international television.

I knew it, I just knew it. They found a way to turn this against the war in Iraq. They’ve decided, with no actual evidence, that this must have been perpetrated by Al Qaida, therefore proving that fighting them in Iraq hasn’t stopped them from attacking us here. Stupid leftist biased media. I’m going to stop ranting now before I really get myself worked up and offend anyone else.
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So I’ve been spending a lot of time at work lately. I suppose that’s the point of having a job. Today, though, there wasn’t much to do, so we ended up cleaning up our storage loft. An interesting thing about working at Hy-Vee is the inter-department rivalry. For instance, currently the salad bar is at war with the kitchen over a can opener. Seriously. There is only one good can opener, which was the property of the salad bar until the kitchen stole it. Now we have it back and have been forced to relabel it, with the help of Brad the janitor. The store is supposed to be ordering more, but who knows when they’ll get here. The Hy-Vee brand can openers, which we do have on the shelf, just don’t work at all. Personally, I find the whole situation hilarious, but my manager Deb seems to take these things very seriously.

Well, it’s crunch time for getting ready for the Arts Festival. Tomorrow afternoon we’ll head over to the park to set up the booth. For anyone intending to attend, here are my suggestions. Parking early in the morning should work off 6th street in the Boy or Girl Scout parking lots. It doesn’t cost much. Otherwise, park at the mall or WalMart and ride the shuttle bus. If entering the park from the northeast corner, you’ll be at the main gate. There is a paved road and an archway leading into the park. Following that road, there will eventually be another path leading off to the right. There is usually a booth selling sky chairs right by the fork. Anyway, turn right onto the grass and follow the row of booths under the trees. My mom’s booth will be on the right. It has a rounded top and wooden lattice panels. If you’ve seen her work before, it should be easy to recognize. Also, my mom will be near the front of the booth most of the time. The rest of us tend to hang out in the back when we’re not wandering the park ourselves.

Oh, and my car runs again, though not any better than it did before. We gave Beegee a new battery to limp through the summer, but fixing his other problems involves more money than we're willing to put into him.

-Kim

Days to Arts Festival: 2