In all, not a bad role model

There's a line from the book, Gone with the Wind, that I don't believe made it to the film. It inspires me, even as I mangle it. Grandma Tarleton compliments Scarlett's courage and pragmatism, saying (something like) "you take your fences clean, like a good hunter."

I try to do that. I'm in a ditch, a rut. Nothing large nor small is going my way these days. When the big goes bad, it's easy to let the small things really weigh me down. Whether it's the waste of time/money on my hair, or the way my teeth keep falling out of my head, or how today, as the mattress delivery man was carrying away my old bedding he managed to completely decimate the ceiling fan.

His first comment wasn't "oops" or "sorry," it was to say, "that can't be fixed." While I thought that was odd, I ruefully responded that this "free delivery/haul away" was going to be expensive for me. He is coming over Sunday with a new ceiling fan, which he will install for free in the hope that I won't report the incident to his bosses. We shall see what he brings over, and whether he can install it it without shorting out the electricity in Cook County.

Oh, and I didn't take how thick the fabulous new mattress is into consideration when I bought it. Of my six sets of sheets, only one has pockets deep enough to accommodate the new bed. Oh, good! Linens is just what I want to spend money on these days!

And the art director I'm stuck in double harness with is still letting her marital problems compromise her day-to-day performance and productivity, even though her husband has been either having an affair or not* for at least 10 months now! A baby could have been conceived and delivered -- an entire new human being could have joined us in this world -- in the amount of time she has spent sniffling and staring into space.

All of this keeps going on against a backdrop of illness and affairs of the heart in my own life. It seems unfair and a little tiring that the little shit keeps pummeling me as I wrestle with the BIG ISSUES.

But I'm trying to keep my sense of humor and my sense of proportion. The first has always been a strength. The second? Um … not so much. But I'm trying! And I ask myself, "WWSD?" What would Scarlett do? She'd take this fence clean, like a good hunter. And so I grasp the reins tightly, lean forward in the saddle, and just try to keep going.

*I have avoided sharing the observation that it's true of every adult isn't it? Aren't we all -- from Queen Elizabeth or Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband to the woman who makes my sandwich at the Bread Factory -- either having an extramarital affair, or not?

Worse than waking up with a hangover!

Dozed off on the sofa last night (perhaps it was my happy visit to the beer cart at work yesterday afternoon) and stumbled off to bed after midnight. Got up the morning and saw the remnants of last night's dinner …

An empty Chips Ahoy box and a ton of crumbs!

Experiencing a high degree of self loathing just now.

Rodents, rot, and a nation's shame

Every time I turn around it seems someone else has lost his job over the Walter Reed flap. Good!

After 6 years, I never expect to agree with anyone in Bush 43's Cabinet. But Defense Secretary Gates rocks. Once the problems at Walter Reed came to his attention, he started making changes. And, unlike the way predecessor Rumsfeld handled heartbreaks such as Abu Gharib and Gitmo (first ignore it, then blame low-ranking officers), Gates has been demanding accountability from those in power.

It recently came to light (courtesy of the Washington Post) that Walter Reed Army Hospital has been infested by mold, mice and rot. Those wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq were being treated as though they were a burden, forgotten by their country. It's horrible.

What bothers me most is that this President and his administration, claim that their #1 priority is the "War on Terror." That non-binding resolutions "undermine the troops." What hypocrisy!

These soldiers volunteered to come between us and danger. They go where they are sent and they serve with courage. Those who come back wounded deserve the best we can give them. I refuse to believe that's mold, mice and rot.

There are those who say Gates should have known this was going at Walter Reed. I don't disagree with that. But once indisputable evidence came to his attention, he acted. And acted swiftly. He deserves a lot of credit for that.