Sleeping With the Enemy

Kristy and I were just reading an article about flue vaccine. Seems the British don't have a problem. When they first got wind of a problem with Chiron, they started looking for other sources of vaccine. The US officials, however, relied on Chiron's assurances that everything was going to be just fine. Surprise! That is what happens when you are in too tight with corporate America. Or when your bread is buttered by the wrong people.

I am healthy. I haven't had a flu vaccine since 2000. I am not bragging about that; I used to get them at work at that was so easy that I haven't quite figured out the best way to get them now. But I really was going to get one this year. Still, I figure I will do okay without it, but there are several people close to me who really need them and cannot get them. I really resent the fact that this situation could have been avoided.

I also read that the government is thinking of getting flu vaccines from Canada. The same Canada who, two weeks ago, couldn't produce safe drugs. Interesting.

All goes back to the US having a healthcare system that is the envy of the rest of the western world. Pardon me. I am going to be laughing quite awhile over that one.

T*G*I*F*

I love my job, I really do, but I am so glad that it is Friday. I have been in charge of the office for virtually all of this week. It gets lonely. It also can be very frustrating as I sometimes come to a screeching halt in my work, not knowing what is expected or where the information which allows me to continue can be found. In addition, I am only here until 1:00 (noon today) and the mail does not come until after that. This means if I have outgoing mail I have to take it to the post office myself and I don't know what is coming in. When I am here alone all week we could feasibily go all week without mail. Didn't happen, but it could. I have waited around when I know the mailman is in the area.

I have to back up files soon so that makes things wind down. All my programs have to be closed before I can do that.

I am going to go see my parents this afternoon. Jana and I will go up as soon as I get off work and will come back tomorrow morning after visiting with Daddy. We may stop in Abilene on the way home and do a little antiquing. There's a surprise.

I continue to not watch the debates, but I understand the healthcare system in the US is the envy of the rest of the world! Could have fooled me. Guess that information probably came from that 45,000,000 uninsured (not to mention the additional millions underinsured and those who have just disappeared from the statistics.) I understand also that those aeronautical and software engineers who have lost their jobs due to outsourcing are encouraged to go to community college. Boy, it is so comforting to know that competent people are in charge. (One flew east, one flew west, etc.)

I wish the Red Sox would get off their Boston Butts and start playing ball. Houston is doing just fine, thank you.

Later.

Baseball Revisited

The league playoffs are set. Once again my Braves crapped out on me. Some things are so dependable. Still, I am not one to judge a whole season by the last few weeks. The Braves had a great season with a bad finish. The Royals had a bad season.

I don't know if there is any significance to this or not - I am not a numerology type person. But if I remember my order of preference correctly, my 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th teams made it to the next step. If that continues, it would mean the Cardinals playing the Yankees in the World Series, which is probably what most of the experts would expect. Unfortunately, it would also mean the Yankees would win.

Maybe it will switch now to odd numbers putting the Red Sox against the Astros in the World Series. But then if it switched back to even the Astros would win it all.

Why do the wild card teams do so well in the playoffs? Are they just loose - nothing to lose since they were kind of also-rans anyway? Or are they the teams which are peaking at the right time and really hitting their stride just as the post season begins? Or maybe a little bit of both.

Post season baseball is one of those bittersweet things for me: I really enjoy the playoffs unless the end result is two teams about whom I could not care less, but it also means there will be no more baseball until the Shockers start up in February or March when they play snow ball.

OOOOOOOKLAHOMA!

I had a niece who died in April of 1981 at the age of 9 1/2 years. That fall my mother, my sisters, and I decided that we should do something around the time of Lisa's birthday to help her mother, my sister Teresa (TC) make it through what was bound to be a difficult time. Lisa would have been 10 in November and that would be followed closely by the holidays.

Since we all like to shop and enjoy each other's company, we decided to go to Salina and go shopping. We have been taking an annual shopping trip ever since. We go to different cities and one time we were unable to work it in until January, but we always go and we always have a ball.

We just returned from our 24th trip, held this year in Oklahoma City. Everyone gathered in Wichita on Friday night and we left early Saturday morning. We reached our motel in Oklahoma City around 10:00 and were able to check in. We then piled in one vehicle and headed for Penn Square Mall.

The trips the last few years, although always great fun, have had a bit of a poignant flavor also. My mother is 81 years old and is nearly blind from macular degeneration. She mentioned this year that she thought this would probably be her last trip, but it seems to me she said that last year and maybe the year before also. She does an amazing job of keeping up with the rest of us but is frustrated because of her eyesight. It is also imperative that someone stays with her because she needs their eyes and she gets lost easily. But she is so much fun. It is hard to imagine the trips without her.

We all love to eat, so the dining out portion of the trip is pretty major. We are always torn between sticking with the tried and true, or being adventuresome. We usually end up doing both, and this year was no exception. We ate lunch at a place called Fire Mountain. It was a buffet and provided a good variety. We all overate. We ate dinner at Cracker Barrell. The table next to us had 4 adult and 6 children (I couldn't see them but Barbie estimated the oldest was 5). The kids ran wild and the adults made no attempt to curb them. I have a VERY low tolerance for that sort of thing so thought I might be over-reacting, but even the waitress complained about them when they were gone. I always worry when children are running around in a restaurant because 1) they can get hurt, and 2) if they don't learn appropriate behavior when they are young, when will they? Also, with them being so rowdy we couldn't really carry on any kind of a conversation at our table. When we were first seated I considered asking if we could be put somewhere else and totally regret that I did not.

It is hard to describe our shopping trip and to make other people understand why it is almost more special to us than the holidays themselves. Part of it is the fact that we girls all get along very well and we all have weird senses of humor. We invariably, at some point, laugh so hard we almost hurt ourselves (or our underwear). And although Mother now requires more of our attention and we have to be so considerate of her limitations, she is such a delight to have along. When she can no longer accompany us it just simply will not be the same.

They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. Well, our nieces and nephews started their own trip a few years ago. Their attendance is kind of sparse at times because they are so scattered and so busy, but they continue the tradition and enjoy doing it.

Next year will be our 25th trip. I don't think we'll go to Oklahoma again - it is too far to do every year. We do need to think of something special and hopefully something which can include everyone. But we had fun in Oklahoma.

Buy Me Some Peanuts & Cracker Jacks

I am a Kansas City Royals fan and a Kansas Democrat, so it can be assumed that my tolerance for suffering is pretty high. Consequently, my picks for the playoffs and World Series are as follows, in order of preference:

1. Atlanta Braves. I know, I know. They fold in the post-season. However, I have been a Braves fan since we got cable years ago and they were terrible. If I liked them when they couldn't win in the regular season, I can like them when they screw up in playoffs.

2. Boston Red Sox. Anybody who has been the foe of the Yankees for the better part of a century gets my vote. It would be fun to see them win it all if the Braves can't.

3. Minnesota Twins. See a trend here? A team who cannot win in playoffs, a team who has not won a World Series since 1918, and a team which was slated to be wiped off the face of the earth a few years ago. I like the Twins. I think they play really good baseball. They play outstanding defense which I like better than home runs, in spite of what Joe Morgan and Jon Miller say. Chicks like home runs my ass. Not this chick.

4. St. Louis Cardinals. When I am in a perfectly honest frame of mind I would have to admit that this is most likely the team which will win it all. They appear to be almost incapable of losing.

5. California Angels. I have nothing against. I just like the ones above them better. Actually, I was delighted to see them beat out the A's and the Rangers. Now those teams I don't like.

6. Houston Astros. I am inclined to put anything from Texas last, but the Astros had to compete with the Dodgers and the Yankees, so they came in third from last. I rooted for them against the Mets in 86, but I really find it difficult to cheer for them except when they are playing certain teams (Giants, Mets, Marlins, etc.)

7. LA Dodgers. Don't know why I put them so low. I think it is the fault of the media. They (the media) tend to act as though only teams in New York and LA (and only the Dodgers in LA) matter and people are only interested in them. So I am easily influenced, only negatively.

8. New York Yankees. This goes without saying. I have been an anti-Yankee fan since probably before I was born. I did root for them last year because those nasty Marlins beat the Cubs and I don't like Florida any better than Texas or New York, but of course they lost last year. Maybe I should root for them again this year.

Note: I only rooted for them in the World Series. I rooted for them to get beaten up to that point.

If I were a betting person, or if I had money to bet, I would have to back the Cardinals even though they are not my favorite team. I think they are just awesome. But then, other teams have been awesome and been beaten by lesser teams. Remember Oakland, LA, Dennis Eckersley and Kurt Gibson?

I do love baseball.