Winter Pup

Chester in all his magnificent winter plumage. Damn that's one handsome dawg!

That's his favorite stick too...

Swinging Before School

Because the Booglet came bouncing in on the bed at the crack of dawn (actually, I think she beat the sun up) we had some spare time this morning before embarking in the car for school.

So we went swinging in the cool morning air. The sky was brilliant blue and sharp.

And she asked me:

"Daddy, you remember when I was a little baby?"

"Sure, Sugar Bear."

"And I was in Mommy's tummy growing?"

"Oh yes I do." I say, pushing her in her blue swing. We're watching her shadow which I told her was probably very happy it got to go swinging so early in the morning before school.

"I was there when you came out." I say, pushing her again. Sweetheart, I'll remember that day for the rest of my life. Your mother said she could look into my eyes and see my soul. I think because part of my soul went to join you.

"I'm a big girl now." She says.

"You sure are."

And then off we went, playing KC & The Sunshine Band's Boogie Man all the way to school.

Good Bye Barney

And thanks for keeping Mayberry safe.

Of Swimmin', Women, and the Mountain in Waiting

The Booglet and I went to our first swim lesson today at the Y. I had told her the pool was inside and it would be nice and warm. Her face lit up and she said, "Daddy, I like this pool." I had to laugh out loud at her enthusiasm. We played and splashed and kicked our legs for over an hour. Every now and then Daddy would swim down and back, showing her how it was done. The lifeguard was totally charmed by the little one, offering a seahorse and fish toy and a noodle float. She said she was a fast learner. We had so much fun, taking a warm shower and putting our warm dry clothes on before going home to lunch made by Mommy. The Sugar Bear then crashed out for a nap--Daddy laid on the couch on the deck and enjoyed the afternoon breeze. Now she can't wait for next Saturday. Me either...

My women. They wear me out and fill me with such love and warmth. I do so like being Daddy.

The pool was also a good bit of exercise for me. Looks like Zack, JLA and I are making our move for the only one of the seven summits we can reasonably tackle. Zack is already heading to Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin on a reconnaissance mission. Be careful Buddy.

I need to get moving with my preparations--stairmaster and squats. And some more swimming.

Euphemism

euphemism n. The act or an example of the substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered offensive.

Like "sectarian violence" instead of civil war...

Signs of Spring

Frogs, the return of purple martin (Progne subis) scouts, and the verbena blooming. Next comes azalea, then wisteria, then the gardenias.

The Zone

It comes without warning. You can't plan it--but you know very well when you're there. The Zone. It's how I've come to appreciate moments with the Booglet. They are impossible to predict--it may start with something as simple as playing with Play Dough--working together to give the lion a tail or putting a different color on the dolphin's fin.

It's a moment so special, when you realize the two of you are connected doing something you are both enjoying. The little one's face will be pursed in concentration, working alongside Daddy. Conversation flows easily, little soft hands and older, callused ones, intertwining, moving. Where do I stop and you start my precious Sugary Bear? Sometimes I feel like I've known you all my life, like you are a part of me that has always been here waiting to come out.

So Who Can Intercede (or Review) the Actions of the Executive Branch?

"In December, Congress passed and President Bush signed the Detainee Treatment Act, sometimes referred to as the Graham Amendment, which removed from the federal courts jurisdiction to hear challenges brought by Guantánamo detainees to their confinement and treatment." NY Times, February 22, 2006

Did I miss this? So will those guys just rot there? The Administration says they're still obtaining intelligence from these people...uhm...how different are things now than they were four years ago? How many of Al Qaeda's number 2 or number 3 guys have we polished off? Wouldn't that necessarily require a certain re-tooling of the ole organizational chart?

But I guess my real shock is that federal courts (let's face it--the home of conservatism lately) are excluded from reviewing any of the detainees' status (stati?). So I ask again, who is left to check the power of the Executive Branch? See, our Founding Fathers were all about the balance of power. Now, with a self-declared (by the Executive Branch)war with no end in sight, and ever-frantic calls from the White House for unfettered power, what has happened to checks and balances? Does anyone think that Congress, which has abdicated it's role with the passage of this legislation, is suddenly going to grow a backbone and stand up to this?

This has all the makings of a Constitutional crisis...

Reasons Why I Feel So Lucky

My wife told me the other day something the Booglet had said:

"I'm Daddy's Sugarbear."

When I was a Little Boy

I used to see horned toads (P. cornutum) in the woods around my house.

They're no longer around.

I researched them on the web and found that the species above was introduced into Florida around the turn of the century.

Where have they gone? The website said they've suffered loss of habitat.

Happy President's Day

Driving with the Judge

Two hours on the road at the crack of dawn to deliver a former judge to a hearing where I was to be essentially a potted plant.

I spoke anyway.

Come on weekend. Daddy's tired.

On Nights Like These

The moon skitters among the clouds, still generous after full. I think of Selene, the Greek goddess of the moon. Now there was a goddess; she wasn’t the skipping down the forest trail goddess. She would lift your wallet or run off with your best friend and leave you with the bar tab. Artemis would trick you with moonlight; Selene would turn you in on a trick gone bad. She was trouble. Nights can be calm and gentle. They can also be stormy and foreboding. In the immortal words of Van Morrison, “that just depends on wherever you’re at…”

I’m thinking this while walking Chester, the damn fine good one. Pup, I gotta tell ya, a boy couldn’t ask for a better dog. Large and handsome—a real badass as you’ve shown time and time again with the neighborhood dogs (is there any dog in the whole range, from Stinkville to Ethel and James Memorial Gardens, who would even bark at you? I think not Pup. I think not).

And I know times have changed. I remember when I could outrun you—you were an eager but undernourished little pup—grown up on the outside but still a pup. Then you could outrun me.

Now I’m pretty sure I could outrun you again Pup. And I know one day we’ll have to say good-bye. And it breaks my heart.

But it’s not tonight. And when the time comes Chester, don’t worry. I will be there.

Huh?

The Secretary of Transportation criticizes pop star cum Mummy Brittany Spears for driving with her baby on her lap and Vice President Cheney wings a fellow hunter? Who is in charge of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms? Is that person planning a press conference? What about the head of the NRA? Surely they support hunters being licensed and careful?

I wonder if Charlton Heston is too far gone to be wheeled out to comment...

Happy Valentines Day

And Daddy makes it back just in time for swing time, bumpy road, tubby time and evening stories.

Then you Mommy...

Travel Day

Down in the land of Mickey and Minnie but definitely not for fun.

Evening Prayer

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep

I hear those words coming from the Booglet's room. I am transported across time and space to my childhood bedroom.

If I should die before I wake,

It must be an old prayer. I can envision children reciting it to parents long since turned to dust.

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

What a perspective time gives. To a small child, with your whole life ahead, what is more terrifying than dying in your sleep? And as you grow older, does the thought of slipping silently under the waves of consciousness, never to rise again really sound so bad?

Amen

Monkey Bars

Sweetheart, I was driving home tonight (you were fast asleep), and I heard on the BBC of a new study that found that old people and children alike enjoy playgrounds...

Go figure...

25143 Itokawa

This image was captured by a Japanese space probe Hayabusa. Objects lacking a critical mass don't "go spherical," and so this asteroid looks like a space potato.

The asteroid, measuring no more than a few city blocks,(540 × 270 × 210 meters) was named after Hideo Itokawa, the father of rocket science in Japan. It was discovered in 1998 by NEAR. There is a chance this asteroid will strike the Earth within a million years.

Hayabusa used an ion drive (doesn't that sound so cool) and deposited on the asteroid the names of several thousands of individuals.

Calamity Jane

When I first met Calamity Jane she was wild as the wind. I saw her twirl into a party all smiles and long red hair. I was mesmerized. She didn't even know I existed.

They said she lived alone in the dunes, bathed in sea foam, used shark's teeth to shave her shapely legs, and porcupine quills to brush her long luxurious hair. Men fell under her spell like Odysseus with the sirens. They tore their clothes and plunged into the sea never to be seen or heard from again. I watched quietly, biding my time.

I ventured out onto her island cautiously at first, just here to snap a few pictures of the lovely beach, my sweet. Care to come along? My plot worked but I had to be careful; always, she was like a wild creature, willing to watch with interest but never get too close for fear of capture.

I fed her delicacies, lobsters caught from deep in the emerald waters, blue crabs we both captured splashing about in the grass flats, and blackened redfish pulled from its briny home and quickly thrown onto a sizzling fire. She responded and our relationship soon resembled a dream that smelled like patchouli and sounded like the Cowboy Junkies. Together we explored the wilds--she taught me how to spot a hummingbird from fifty feet, showed me the verdant back alleys of her wild home. We splashed naked in hidden lakes surrounded by shiny little fishes. We fell deeply in love.

Little by little I coaxed this nymph from the wild and into my life. At times she was jittery, anxious to stay close to the waves and misty woods. I slowly taught her how the warm blanket of domesticity was just as exciting as the cool afternoon breeze on your salty skin--just in a different way.

One day I asked her to come and stay with me. Forever. She looked at me with those big blue eyes and I knew we would be together. Now we've mapped the solar system, explored the reefs, and even soared among the clouds.



Somehow, in all this, a little wild cub sprung up. Now the expedition is complete. Now the Booglet gets to learn from her Mommy how the butterflies migrate through to warm tropical climes, gracing us with their confetti parade. Calamity teaches the little one secrets from her wild days, and the little one grows strong and independent and beautiful like her mother.

My girls. I am the luckiest man I know.

My wife, my companion, my soulmate. My crazy little nymph brought from the wild. I love you.

Clarification

Just so we're clear Mr. President. You weren't elected and didn't give an oath to protect the American people. You pledged to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States. There's a distinction to be made here because my daughter will be around long after you and I sir, and I'd really like her to have the same Constitutional protections I enjoy.

So please, get with the army of lawyers you have at your disposal, and ask how we can uphold this two hundred plus year old document in a fashion that will continue to bring people from all around the world to our great country to enjoy our blessed freedoms.

I'm a Trial Lawyer

My profession was mentioned in the Bible. It permeates popular culture through movies, television shows, and often the daily news. It's been much maligned, so much so that I have to explore this manufactured notion of "frivolous lawsuits" in voir dire just to try to weed out those people who won't give me a fair shake. I have always taken pride in my calling though, preferring to believe that actions can change stereotypes.

I represent individuals, not insurance companies or corporations. We are always outspent but never outworked.

My client is a painfully modest woman who was injured through the negligence of a big phone company. She didn't know anything about premises liability, the difference between a licensed invitee and an unlicensed invitee. She just knew she was hurt.

Trials are exhausting affairs. But if you love them, as I do, the exhaustion moves to something different, something wonderful. I was jittery as a nerve end and driving back to the office while the Booglet and her mother slept at night. I was turning on the lights in the morning and turning them off at night for a solid week. I lived off coffee and bananas. Of course, this blog suffered; like weeds growing in a neglected garden, spam ads popped up. My world focused only on the terrible events of January 3, 2000, the night my client struggled for her life.

Friday, at 11:00 am, the jury returned a verdict. My client prevailed.

Today the Booglet and I spent the whole day together. We went to the zoo, fed the giraffes, watched the gorillas, and basked in the sun. She knows Daddy's trial is over because now she can jump on me, now I'm in "play clothes," and now the pressure has dropped considerably. Even at her young age, she knows this.