I was watching Little Bear with the kids the other night and was again reminded of how funny John could be without trying. For those of you not familiar with this show, it's a show whose audience is preschool children. It's quite adorable and a nice quiet show about family and friendship. The episode we were watching was one we had watched with John about a year ago. Little Bear was having some friends over on a Sunday afternoon and they were given strict instructions by his mother to be quiet while playing because Father Bear wanted to relax and read the paper. John very seriously turned to me and made the following statement: "Father Bear is a real prick."

I couldn't stop laughing.

That wasn't the only time a cartoon got the best of my husband. The Christmas before he died we were watching Frosty the Snowman with Aidan. You all know the story. Snowman comes to life with a magic hat...blah, blah, blah. At the end of the cartoon, Frosty melted in the greenhouse and Santa came and brought him back with his magic. Then he reprimands the evil magician. Well, the evil magician backtalks Santa at first. John turned to me at the end of the story, again very seriously, and told me that it was completely unrealistic that the evil magician would ever speak that way to Santa Claus.

"Yes, John," I told him, "in a story about a snowman who comes to life, a rabbit that communicates with people and the fact there is even a Santa Claus in the story, the magician being rude to Santa is the unrealistic part."

He got mad at me.

Labels: Laughter

I just finished a book about one of the Lost Boys from the Sudan, What Is the What? (Thanks Lisa, for lending me this book). If I questioned the existence of God in the past, this book really did me in. What this young man endures, watching the genocide of his people, babies thrown down wells, people being burned alive in their homes, walking thousands of miles with little food and water to get away from the violence, watching children his own age die of starvation or being eaten by lions in the jungle.

Amazingly, President al-Bashir is still in power and after twenty years of subjecting the people of Southern Sudan to this treatment, he is doing the same in Darfur as the rest of the world does nothing to stop him.

I have a keen interest in post-colonial Africa. Each memoir, biography or fictionalized account of this area of the world I read never ceases to amaze me at the depth of man's inhumanity to man. Melville had nothing on this theme compared to Africa's recent history.

I have dreams of one day going to Africa and becoming a teacher or aide worker at one of the refugee camps. My children are too young right now and I hope and pray by the time they are old enough there will be no need for aide workers, but somehow I doubt it.

Labels: Life

It was a bittersweet weekend. On Friday, my husband's friends organized a benefit golf outing in his name. The proceeds all go to the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research. I love my husband's friends, and I love spending time with them. They are kind, considerate, good-hearted, and funny, much like John was. But it's also hard watching them live the lives John and I were supposed to live.

This was also our last good weekend a year ago. No longer can I say a year ago everything was wonderful; a year ago we were a complete family; a year ago we didn't know John was sick. This weekend I thought a lot about how a year ago our world was about to cave in around us.

Labels: Life

Labels: Life

While in Punta Cana we took advantage of one of the many excursions Club Med had to offer. We went to Manati Park with the kids. It was kind of a poor man's zoo. Since the Dominican Republic is such a poor country, that makes sense. There were a lot of birds and reptiles at this "zoo", but the main attractions were the shows. They had an Indian Show that was supposed to represent the ancient rituals of the original tribes from the Dominican Republic. The girl with dyed pink hair and the one with the tramp stamp kind of ruined the authenticity, though.

Then they had a dolphin and sea lion show. Throughout the whole thing I kept thinking, why am I never at one of the shows where the animal turns on the trainer. That would be so cool.

Come on. Think about it. Can you really blame these animals when they do turn on their trainers? What do you think is going through their heads? Gee, I really LOVE living in captivity performing all these stupid tricks for these stupid people. Thank God someone rescued me from the wide open ocean for this shit.

Then I started to think about our resort and how nice all the workers there were? What are they really thinking behind their smiles and their "bonjours", "holas" and "hellos"? Fucking rich-ass American, Canadian, European tourists...think they're better than me. I could kill you in your sleep and no one would ever find me.

Yes, this is the stuff that goes on in my head while having a nice day out with my kids at a a poor excuse for a zoo.

The highlight of the trip for the kids was the horse show. At the end, Aidan got to ride a pony. Don't even get me started on what I think was going on in that pony's head.

Labels: Children, Laughter, Life

My kids were a pain in the ass this week and got sent to bed early, so I was able to get caught up with all the important news events.

Star Jones and Al Reynolds are getting a divorce--is there anyone who didn't know he was gay, I mean besides Star Jones?

Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson have broken up again? Is he going to try to off himself again?

Mariah Carey got married--I give it 6 weeks.

Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi are getting married--my husband would have been so jealous (of Ellen, not Portia).

Britney Spears and Mel Gibson are on vacation together in Costa Rica--WTF?

Angelina Jolie is having twins. Does everyone in Hollywood have twins? Are twins the new black?

Labels: Laughter

There are just so many reasons why this is wrong.

(from the Daily Blabber on IVillage)

Labels: Laughter