Adieu, New Orleans

This picture was taken by my husband last night. We were walking in the French Quarter between thunderstorms (very appropriate) and as we got to the end of Bourbon Street, where it meets Esplanade, we saw this. This is my OTHER favorite old building in New Orleans that has been for sale off and on since we arrived in December. It is totally empty, totally creepy, and totally wonderful. The light in the sky is a flash of lightning that happened to occur right as he took the photo...it looks like either the sun is rising or a UFO landing is imminent.

I am sad to be leaving here. I've grown used to New Orleans in so many ways--being able to walk to the store, to coffee shops, to just walk and be so entertained has been great. Where we are moving we'll have to drive to any shopping, and I won't like that as much. But mark my words, I'll be back. Often. And I'll check in on this old house, to be sure. It's fabulous. I really want it, but I can't have it. Such is life.

Until I reach my old Kentucky home...

It might get worse, too.

Economy has worst growth since 2002 - Yahoo! News

Now add in the real estate market crash that's going on. Then throw in outrageous gas prices.

When I compare prices at the super market to what they were a year ago, it's clear that inflation is here. Even at Wal-Mart, the prices have gone up 10%-15% compared to late last year's prices. Trouble is brewing:

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke doesn't believe the economy will slide into recession this year, nor do Bush administration officials. But ex Fed chief
Alan Greenspan has put the odds at one in three.

This feels a lot like the 1970s. My dad was out of a job for over a year. Gas was expensive, and so were a lot of other things. And the country was at war, or ending involvment in the war. Hm.

I think this sag in the economy will go on for the next five to ten years, regardless of what the stock market does. A crash in stock value wouldn't surprise me, but then again, it is its own entity. What stocks do are not necessarily an indication of the economy as a whole.

My personal indication things are not good are prices. WOW it costs a whole lot more to buy groceries than it did two years ago. WOW it costs a whole lot more to drive around. WOW this sucks.

Every report you see from the Fed will say "excluding food and gas." Well guess what Fed Reserve? I'm not that stupid. EVERYONE buys food and gas. Without those things you can't live or drive to work to make money to buy those things to live, and on and on. And if prices are high for the basics, there is less money floating around to buy other stuff, like new lawn chairs, a new TV, or a hot tub, beer, or whatever. NO ONE IS BUYING NEW STUFF. They can't afford it.

If gas prices remain high, the price of everything else will remain high. And I dare say Americans have suffered plenty already. I can't imagine that it might get worse, but it might.

Bobcats are just cats.

Woman unwittingly rescues injured bobcat - Yahoo! News

This story...is ridiculous! Check this quote from the vet:

Veterinarian Andy Duke said the women were "extremely lucky" that the bobcat, which had a broken paw, did not panic and injure them.

They were in "a lot of danger," Duke said.

Ok. An eleven-pound bobcat kitten that has been lying on the road, probably starving, is not going to put up a fight. An eleven-pound bobcat is the size of an average house cat, which any cat owner knows could be just as "potentially dangerous" as handling a bobcat, especially if the cat is hurt.

Then comes the psychic bobcat mind-meld from the rescuing lady:

Eldred believes the bobcat didn't harm them because it sensed they were trying to help.

It sensed? Oh dear. It was probably really HUNGRY because it couldn't hunt with a broken paw. Hunger will make any living thing weak and unable to move.

One of our cats just scratched my husband and drew blood. See? All cats are potentially dangerous.

Guns and Camping

Ashton Packs (Heat) for Camping Trip - TMZ.com

In a place like Malibu that is close to a large population center, there is an increased risk of nutjobs wandering by the campsite, so a gun would be useful. Have you ever seen stories about how scary and lawless Angeles National Forest is? It's totally creepy. So Ashton carrying is OK by me.

California is a beautiful state, and there are lots of better places to get away and enjoy nature. Not to dis Malibu, but...personally, I would have chosen someplace inconvenient to photogs if I was in Mr. Kutcher's shoes, maybe the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park outside of San Diego or Joshua Tree National Park or Sequoia National Forest.

I think that nobody would have known who he was or even bothered him and his friends if they had gone WAY out of town, all dirty and goofy like guys are wont to do when they get together for an outdoor outing. Then the gun would have been no big deal since they would have been WAY out in the wilderness.

Russia tests new ICBM

Russia test-launches new ICBM - Yahoo! News

I guess Russia felt threatened by the Gay Pride march and had to compensate for that by showing the world just how macho they are with their new missle. Me thinks they doth protest too much...how over the top.

Now I really can't get that damn song out of my head! I'll bet Putin has that song stuck in his head, too.

Songs stuck in your head.

This has happened to everyone at some time: the song stuck in your head that you wish wasn't there.

After reading the news story about the almost-Gay Pride parade in Moscow yesterday, guess what song was stuck in my head all day? That's right...

...the old national anthem of the Soviet Union. It's a catchy tune. I had to go find it on Wikipedia and listen to it. Amazingly, I remembered one part of it note for note. Now, it is stuck in my head--along with memories of Leonid Brezhnev's amazing eye brows.

Damn it.

People...*sigh*

So I'm walking my really old dog today outside of the condo building. A New Orleans Metro bus stop is mere steps from my door, and since the street cars are STILL not running, tourists are taking the bus uptown.

So this really clean-cut young couple step off of the bus and start wandering around toward the bad part of uptown a block away, instead of the nicer part of the Garden District and toward Commander's Palace. I began to get concerned for them when they had to stop and take a picture of an old Victorian home next door as the hubby/dude/guy fumbled around with the cheezy tourist map. As a former tourism professional, I HAD to step in...

"Hey," I quasi-yelled over the roar of St. Charles traffic. "The cemetery is that way."

They looked up and said, "That way?" and pointed.

"Yes, that way!"

Morons. But that's not all. THEN...

"Do you know where Brad and Angelina live?"

Do people really want to know that? Really? They need to get a life.

I answered that I wasn't sure, and that they were in Cannes, anyway. The lady smiled REALLY big, and said:

"I KNOW!"

People...*sigh*

NASA sucks.

Second astronaut fired in NASA love triangle - Yahoo! News

Well FINALLY...they fired the guy, too. About damn time! I would think both would have to be dismissed immediately once their affair was known. But did NASA do that? No. An astronaut has some serious job duties--all of which, if not performed with total concentration and professionalism, will result in death. Just another disappointment for me personally, as far as NASA is concerned. I am not a NASA fan anymore.

Since I am a taxpayer paying for all of this crappy NASA tomfoolery, I just have to vent here and say how really terrible NASA has become in the last decade. It's a freaking joke, and it's a tax money black hole. Its benefits do NOT outweigh its costs. There have been some bright spots...

Hubble Telescope? GOOD! Mars Rovers? GOOD!

But overall...

International space station? BAD! Shuttle program based on 30+ year-old technology and run by a stifling bureaucracy all dolled up by a giant public relations sham? BAD!

I'm tired of paying for this crap. Actually, I would bet that private companies would gladly take over unmanned space experiments, satellite maintenance (hey, Garmin/XM/Dish, et al, have a LOT to lose without satellites!) and telescopes-in-orbit.

NASA sucks. And frankly, Americans can't afford it. I say dump it.

Les Villes d'Louis

Apart from my years in the west, where I resided in the territories of old Mexico and Spain, I have grown up in, and been defined by the first western outposts of the French fur traders, namely the cities along the great Midwestern rivers which still bear French names.

Kansas City, my hometown, is from the French "Cansez," and was initially begun by the Chouteau family of fur traders and was known as "Chouteau's Landing." My current temporary home, New Orleans, is the French mother-ship city, spawning French exploration north along the Mississippi and its tributaries.

Beginning next weekend, my new home for the next few months will be Louisville, Kentucky. My husband was not opposed to living somewhere urban for the first time since I met him eleven years ago at Louisville Airport. His sister lives there, as does his very old grandmother. We thought it would be a good place to "jump-off" if we created a new business since the east coast is a day's drive or cheap flight away, and the Smoky Mountains are half a day away--as well as great canoeing just about anywhere. The scenery is much like my beloved Ozarks (also from the French "Aux Arcs"), the climate is a bit more temperate than Kansas City's, and it is much more stable than the hurricane-prone New Orleans-Gulf Coast rain forest climate.

Of course, actually having family there is very nice. And grandmother will be happy to have us around if she is able to comprehend that we actually moved closer to her...she doesn't remember things very well. And she gets stuck on topics. But she's 96 and in pretty good health, barring some arthritis.

So I return to my French trading post roots with this small detour in our bigger plans. Louisville is not a permanent relocation...it is just a good place to spend the summer for now.

Partying with friends...

I'm visiting friends in KC. I'm at a party right now, actually, having a great time. I haven't seen some of these folks in years. Ack! So I'm sort of a loser, blogging in the office while the party is going on, and everyone is laughing at me from across the room.

My friends are very generous. On Wednesday, one friend had a cocktail party for me and my husband on a moment's notice. Tonight, other friends cooked a great dinner, invited people over, bought lots of beverages, and their kindness is really a tribute to how lucky I have been in my life to have such incredible girlfriends. They are all incredible women, super-strong, very funny, and really smart. And of course, they are all beautiful.

I am lucky. No matter what happens in my life, the girls have been the best, and the brightest, friends anyone could have. They are all yelling now...some kind of party craziness. My friend Kim describes this as "super-sonic." Makes sense. I had better get back to the group.

When you get lemons...

make lemonade.


Will twister town get 'green' rebuild? - MSNBC.com

What a wonderful idea. Perhaps it's still too soon after the storm, but I think that at least making plans to move beyond the tragedy is emotionally healthy.

My really old dog.

My really old dog is 14. She's a big dog, too, so she's outlived most of her peers by three years, easily. Lately she hasn't been herself, though. She spent the night at the vet clinic after two previously restless nights wandering the bedroom and vomiting. I called this morning and I can come and take her home after 2 p.m., so she's rallied somehow. I fear that the vet will pull me aside and have a long chat with me about her "comfort." Sadly, I probably will not disagree with him.

My heart has been breaking thinking about all the what-ifs and what it might feel like to actually have to tell her good-bye. Everyone she ever met loved her immediately. She's wonderful. And she's had a wonderful life, more incredible than most dogs will ever know. Adopting her was the first grown-up commitment I ever made. I never knew her as a puppy; she was 11 months old when we hooked up, a cripple from a nasty front leg break that left her knee joint over-sized and disfigured. That never bothered her much until about four years ago...meaning she'd run off after deer or elk no matter how much we commanded her not to do so. Two or three times she jumped out of a moving truck (moving slowly enough for her to dare such an act) just to chase a squirrel.

But I have to face the truth about her age and general health. And it hurts terribly. I'll know more in a few hours. The last day has been really hard with her away and all the bad thoughts in my head; I can't wait to see her again, even if it is only for a few more weeks. Or less.

UPDATE: I went to pick up my dog...she literally RAN to me, dragging the vet down the hall. It was a full recovery...a complete freakin' miracle considering the condition she was in when I dropped her off. She's amazing. And I know I'm lucky that she pulled through this and I'm going to spoil her rotten, pet, scratch, and hug her every chance I get.

Billboard in Chicago Causes Furor

ABC News: 'Life's Short. Get a Divorce'

This billboard is...I don't know. Awful? I don't disagree with the message, but the photos send a completely different message that makes me uncomfortable.

I linked to a photo and readers' comments...they were more interesting than the actual news story (but there will be a link to that, too). In the comments and story, the men are more upset by this than women are, which I find surprising since they are the ones "upgrading to a newer model" in most divorce cases.

UPDATE: Maybe this is why the law firm feels the need to advertise...

Divorce rate falls to lowest level since 1970 - MSNBC.com

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Run for the Roses

Kentucky Derby - Wikipedia

The Kentucky Derby is here once more. This day, the first Saturday in May, changed my life forever. The event, the most famous horse race on the planet, steered a course in my life that could only be described as a hard right with tires squealing, gravel flying, and crazy music blaring from the wasted car-door speakers.

All of my friends in Kansas City had been invited to the Derby by a friend that had moved back home to Louisville. I was the only girl to RSVP, anxious to party down at the Derby to see if I could forget how really bad my love life and my professional life had become, if only for a weekend. I had just turned 30--1996 wasn't going very well up to that point. I thought that going to the Derby would be just the thing to cheer me up.

Kentucky Oaks race, which is held the Friday before the Derby, is a fun locals kind of day without the intense party scene in the infield. It was a hot, sticky day, and I drank several Mint Juleps (aacckk!) to stave off thirst. I threw in a few beers for good measure, too. We had seats in the stands, so bathrooms and betting windows were handy. I went to place a bet and found myself making out under the bleachers with a guy from Atlanta that was partying with our group. Not exactly romantic--just drunk nonsense. It didn't lead to anything more savory...I was so drunk I had to leave after the races and go to...uh...bed. To pass out.

So of course, Kentucky Derby Saturday was much more subdued for me. My friend Jeanne and I wandered everywhere in Churchill Downs, looking at people, hats, horses, and the insane parties in the "infield" of the race track, which reminded me of a Dead Show scene gone horribly wrong in a Southern Gothic kind of way. And that's were I watched the Derby itself. I recall being close to the fence as the undulating mass of horse flesh sped by in a thunderous roar. Grindstone was the winner that year.

The next day, Sunday, Jeanne took me to Mammoth Cave National Park. We talked about my job, my life, what I should do on the drive home. I resolved, after talking to her, that I would quit my job (at which I had only worked for 2 and half months, and it was a horrible mistake to have accepted it), and apply at Southwest Airlines. I liked to travel. I had to catch a plane on Monday at 6:30 a.m. to get home to KC, then I had to drive straight into work.

I saw him outside the terminal building as Jeanne was pulling into the parking lot at the airport. I thought he looked cute. Then he went in, and we parked, and I forgot about the cute guy since I had to get my boarding pass and a cup of free coffee, because damn...it was Monday morning at 5:45 after Kentucky Derby weekend and coffee was not optional. I said good-bye to Jeanne and got on the plane, a Southwest Airlines flight that stopped in St. Louis, Kansas City, and on into Las Vegas. As is customary on Southwest, you sit where you want. I had to sit by someone that was interesting so I could be fully awake when I got to work. Then, there he was...in the back past the wings. Yes, the cute guy from the terminal building. The seats next to him were empty. SWEET! So I started putting my things away in the overhead bin at that row and put the tray table down on the aisle seat for my coffee. As I spun to put a bag away, I sent the coffee flying everywhere. He laughed, I cringed, the stewardess handed me paper towels, and I cleaned up and soldiered on.

The cute guy was really funny and entertaining. He was visiting his sister for the Derby and going on to Las Vegas. We chatted the whole flight and exchanged phone numbers and addresses.

So every May when the Derby comes around, I remember how nuts that weekend was, and how its outcome was so unexpected. Oh yeah...I didn't apply for a job at Southwest Airlines. I ran off to Grand Canyon to live with the hot guy from the plane only a few months later, and so began my life in the outdoor and tourism industry.

We got married two years later.

Mistake or manslaughter?

Man dies of thirst during survival test - Yahoo! News

During the last season of my old life in Utah, the last year of tours and the camping gear store, this unfortunate tourist death occurred during a BOSS course. Needless to add, it shook everyone that owned an outfitting company, and we all sort of held our breath and thanked GOD that nobody died on our tours, because it was a realistic possibility. My husband, being an EMT, knew only too well how probable this scenario could be for any guiding company.

Which begs the question...what on earth does the BOSS course really do for you if you die of thirst? What, exactly, is the point of emergency water if the guide can't even recognize the symptoms of extreme dehydration and administer the water in a timely fashion?

And I'm sorry to say this, because I've met Josh Bernstein a couple of times and he is a nice enough guy, but he won't get anywhere blaming the victim. After all...didn't the victim HIRE BOSS because they were the experts in desert survival? I'm sure BOSS has great lawyers...maybe they should tell Josh not to comment.