Labor Day Weekend

Welcome to my three day weekend. I'm a patriot. I'm a proud American and a republican in the classic sense of the word. My monotheism makes it impossible for me to like in monarchies. Maybe it's because generations of my family members were seen as less then full citizens of the countries where they lived and most of those countries were ruled by monarchies. Or maybe the way some people adore their royalty seems to go against my religion. Feel free to debate me on this. I'd love for somebody to post a comment or two on my blog!

That said, I do belive in heroes and heroism. I've been thinking a lot about the people we root for when we watch TV. I like the unswerving characters of Jack Bauer in "24" and I like the abnoxious, self confident, and often right Dr. Gregory House in "House." Yup. Fox TV does fiction well. I like take charge characters who work for the common good, and not just their own self interests. You can debate me as to whether House fills that bill! Go ahead!

Middle East stuff:
News reports say that Israel says its troops will be out of Lebanon in a couple of weeks, just in time for the Jewish New Year. It appears that once again World War III has been averted. Praise to G-d. Those who've read earlier posts may well note that I was afraid that the Isaeli invasion of Lebanon would lead to a very bad war.

I still am not sure that anybody has followed up and asked about the whereabouts and safety of the Israeli soldier who was kidnapped by Hamas. The last I read Israel was looking into a deal that would have them trade 1,000 detainees in their prisons for the soldier. Yet, there's nothing written about the 20 year old soldier's status. Yes, he just turned 20 a few days ago. When I turned 20 I was worried about what outfit I would be wearing when I went out with my parents to celebrate my birthday.



Hurricane Katrina "Anniversary" My job is media relations and public relations.
I've been working with the American Red Cross to help them put out stories that few in the public know about, that is, unless they volunteer for the Red Cross. So many people work so hard to help others when a crisis hits. It's not just the big headline making stuff, but even the smaller "in the neighborhood stuff."
I know that I'll definately be taking some classes that the Red Cross offers. I'm inspired by the dozens of people I've met since "Katrina/Rita/Wilma" last year.

Schools back! Hooray! My husband's a subsitute teacher (that's to supplement our household income.) He still reviews movies for a prominent radio network--but the pay for that is, well, nothing to write about. The nice thing about the teaching stuff is that he seems to like it, and it could lead to a position with benefits. This will help us stash some cash away for the time when we both cannot bring in a pay check. The other nice thing is that he gets to show the best side of himself, the side that cares how well the kids are absorbing the stuff that he's trying to teach them. His "mensch-ness" comes out. I like that about him.


I do hope that you all check out www.redcross.org. The web site will be going through stylistic changes very soon. But, in the meantime, it's full of good information and inspiring stories written by volunteers about volunteers. And, you may see my name pop up in the credits from time to time.

Meantime.....
Be careful out there, this hurricane season!

Rita