yeah, yeah. i know. i said, "cornbread out."

and i meant it, but this is just too fucking stupid not to comment on.


ft. worth, texas.
nickname = cowtown.

any honest dallasite recognizes cowtown's superior cultural presence. from the world class museums, concert halls* and saloons to their (soon sadly to be defunct) newspaper, ft. worth seriously & easily out classes dallas.

so what's up with the ft worth independent school district closing down all 147 schools for a week?

oh, that's right. the swiiiine fluuuuuuuuu.
so...what's a fella to do??? 

hey, i know. let's send 80,000 kids home. home to single parent families and 2 parent working households. 3.18 children per family are suddenly WHERE? doing WHAT? for a WEEK?!! brilliant.

while you're at it, why not suggest they not be sent to day care. (parents, please try to forget you have a job. and NO SLEEPOVERS while the kiddos are on vacation!!)

while you, fwisd, do WHAT? sterilize the schools????? did you suddenly go fucking braindead? did a bit of kryptonite get stuck in your panties? did someone sneeze on you? did you forget to wash your grubby hands? sheesh. it's the freaking flu, dude! do the math. (it's not the plague.)


Kingsford goes to the beach - Watch more Funny Videos

can you believe the cat didn't slap the shit out of that pig?

while you're at it, please advise those 10s of 1,000s of families not to eat pork. give them all kfc coupons so they can contract their salmonella honestly.

and in the meantime, i'll be enjoying the ridiculously cheap pork chops and pork ribs from my grocer.

*[click on one of the pics in that link to see a monumentual stone carving. it's awesome. it's angelic. it's ft. worth at her best.] Read more!

4-22-09, brand new alzheimer's research reported

"Taking a new approach to the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease, a research team led by investigators at the Mayo Clinic campus in Florida has shown that druglike compounds can speed up destruction of the amyloid beta (A-beta) proteins that form plaque in the brains of patients with the disorder."

i think there really is hope for many of the rest of us...

-----------------

we took the alz residents back to richland college for a picnic lunch and concert yesterday. it was mostly awesome.

the only unawesome thing about the deal was mom being an asshole.

while waiting for the bus mom says:
"what the hell are we doing?"
"i'd rather go back to bed."
"what the hell are we doing sitting here?"
"this is stupid."

so i did the ignoring thing. when we got on the bus i mentioned what a beautiful day it was.
"harumph," says she.

ok. be that way...(she can be so exasperating)

we ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by the lake. [picture would not upload]*
it was 75-80 degrees with a nice breeze. i asked if she was enjoying the day. i asked if she was enjoying being out in the real world in such nice weather. she agreed it was very nice. she might have even smiled.

we went in to the concert hall where the music department of this small junior college was going to do their monthly performance. *

there was a jazz band.*

and a jazz choir.*

& another lab band...*

it was all really surprisingly good. better than good.

the choir was backed up by a drummer and an electric bass player.* they also did an a capella number providing their own percussion, etc.* (i have a video of that, but my internet connection is apparently too slow to let me upload it to a web album.)

both bands were good. the second one did a thelonius monk song* and a charlie parker tune.* pretty damn good stuff. especially for a bunch of kids. i'd give 'em all an A.
well, except for that one kid in blue jeans.* (dang nab it! those videos didn't upload, either.)

-----------------


leaving the performance hall, i asked mom if she enjoyed the concert.

"not one damn minute of it!"

i looked at her in astonishment. i was flabbergasted.
i gathered myself, and said, "then next time maybe you and i will just stay outside by the lake and skip the music."
and she agreed to that. almost cordially.

we walked back to the bus.* on that walk, i held my hand on her shoulder thinking about how lucky she is to have full time caregivers who are not so emotionally involved...

-----------------

"exasperating" is an understatement. sometimes she just flat-out pisses me off. the whole ride back, everyone else went on and on about how much and what they liked about the music. the old-timey-ness of it, the big band sound, the youngsters, it made them wanta dance!, etc.. the alz god had given them a momentary break from their ungodly stupor. it was an exhilarating experience for all of us and for different reasons.

...almost all of us. mom was all piss and vinegar again. "not one damn minute of it."...

-----------------

when we got back up to her room she astonished me again by having the wherewith all to apologize for being such an old grump. and we hugged.

meh.
i guess that's hope enough for me.

==================

* but i have little hope for this blog if i can't upload a video. much less a freakin' picture. i'll see y'all on the flip side. cornbread out.





Read more!

in remembrance of sam.

i never knew you all that well, but i sure as hell know some people who did. we miss you very much.

i will always remember you as the free spirit on the soccer field playin' in the dirt with that devil-may-care attitude.

peace to you and yours, sam. Read more!

call me easy if you must, but...

i think this is about the coolest thing since parmesan focaccia bread.

thanks, josephine. Read more!

2 related news stories for your inspection

FDA switch OKs hospice pain killer

Recession Stalls State-Financed Pre-Kindergarten, but...

if you read them, you may be wondering why in the cbh i consider them related?
because they both give me a renewed sense of hope in our gummit*.

*Molly Ivins-speak for government, just in case you don't know. Read more!

family is a strange beast, indeed

it's 6:59 a.m. tomorrow kiwi time.
do you know where your children are?
do you cherish them?

...the mom move went well yesterday.

well, except for the mom being such a bitch towards my sister. i don't know why she does that. and it disgusts me. the sister i'm referring to is the backbone of our family. the one who deserves the best, deserves and does the most.

don't get me wrong...the mad as a hornet thing i understand. i think it's a normal reaction to a change like this. especially for someone in her mental state.
but to take it out on that one person is bewildering to me. and it pisses me off.

anyway...we moved mom to a different room on a different floor in the same building. several of the aides went with her for the transition period. we did it for financial reasons. the new room is in a suite. (there are 3 rooms and a common sitting room in one apartment. omg! SUCH DEPRIVATION...)

- "why the hell did i have to move here?!"

- "because the pavement outside is kinda hard, mom. and there's no artificial air conditioning or heat other than whatever the weather man doles out. besides, they don't cook for you out there or bathe you. or treat you like the pampered queen you've become used to."

- "harrumph!" ((i can take care of myself!))

- "yes, ma'am." ((riiiight...))

too many funny/snarky stories to tell for now, but soon as i get the blogness back more fully into my system, i may relate a few in later posts.

bottom line:
mom is happy as a lark today.
ok...maybe not quite a lark, but she's at least as happy as a grackle can be.
and tomorrow will be even better.

mockingbird happy would be good. Read more!

dia mucho grande, mañana.

(please excuse the poor grammar...i'm just a white boy sayin' hello.)


moving mom in the a.m.
hope you've all been well. we're doing just fine. i'll check back in, in a few days time.

really. Read more!