Happy Halloween

My rock star and my sickie.

World Leaders

My 6th grade daughter, Jamie, was given an assignment that included the question "Who is a world leader that you admire and why?" Her teacher told her that if she did not know of any she could ask her parents who they admired and use that as an answer. Now there's a question for this age that really put me on the spot. World Leader, that I admire...................I could not think of a single one. Nor could Debby. To Jamie's credit she answered that there are no leaders that my parents admire at this time. Here's the best part, this was part of her Bible homework.

That said, sadly there is no one out there right now that I can say oh yeah he or she is a good one. I mean president ding-dong gets the boobie prize for that question, but are there any standouts in the world these days? Am I missing someone obvious?

Slap Your Co-Worker Day

Friday the 13th is the official Slap Your Irritating Co-workers Holiday

Do you have a co-worker who talks nonstop about nothing, working your last nerve with tedious and boring details that you don't give a damn about? Do you have a co-worker who ALWAYS screws up stuff creating MORE work for you? Do you have a co-worker who kisses so much booty; you can look in their mouth and see what your boss had for lunch? Do you have a co-worker who is SOOO obnoxious, when he/she enters a room, everyone else clears it? Well, on behalf of Ike Turner, I am so very very glad to officially announce that today is SLAP YOUR IRRITATING CO-WORKER DAY!

There are the rules you must follow:

* You can only slap one person per hour - no more.
* You can slap the same person again if they irritate you again in the same day.
* You are allowed to hold someone down as other co-workers take their turns slapping the irritant.
* No weapons are allowed...other than going upside somebody's head with a stapler or a hole-puncher.
* If questioned by a supervisor [or police, if the supervisor is the irritant], you are allowed to LIE, LIE, LIE! Now, study the rules, break out your list of folks that you want to slap the living day lights out of and get to slapping...and have a great day!

There was a time when I would really take advantage of this holiday, but now that I am in a better place professionally I do not feel the need to do so. Mostly! Happy Day!

Poignant Irony

One of the hardest parts of growing up for me was having divorced parents. Mom and Dad split up when I was six years old. Hard for a kid to take and definitely something that stays with you your whole life. Like most kids of divorced parents I longed for a reconciliation so that we would all be a family again but of course it was not to be. My folks always got along well when it came to me and my brother, Scott. They were a model for putting all the other crap aside and doing what is best for the children and for that I am grateful.

My graduation from high school and my wedding were one of the few times that Mom and Dad were in the same place together for any period of time. At my wedding I was hoping to have a photo taken of me and Debby with just my parents and no new spouses. Nothing personal against the steps, it was just the young boy in me longing to have a momento of me with just my parents. Mom did not feel comfortable doing so without her current husband and so it never happened. Too bad, but I understood why and continued to accept that they were no longer together.

Last night, because it is the beginning of Yom Kippor, we lit memorial candles for both Mom and Dad. On Yom Kippor my family has always lit a candle to remember those who are no longer with us. Breaking the fast at my grandmother's house would not be complete without a candle burning for my great-grandmother or my grandfather. It's just one of those traditions that you always remember your family observing and there is comfort in that. This is the first time we have lit a candle for my father who died late last year and I could not help realizing that the two candles burning side-by-side sadly reunite my parents in the hardest way possible for me.

The Only Reason to Ever Blog About Paris Hilton

I was watching House of Wax last night rooting for this to happen and then it did! I love it when a movie pays off the way I am betting.