Monday, February 14, 2011

Once upon a Valentine's Day...

My sweet hubby came home today and apologized for not bringing me chocolates.  He had an excellent reason -- See's Candy was knee deep in men buying last minute candies, and had a line out the door -- and he knew that I prefer quality over quantity anyway.  Plus, he usually picks a box of my favorites only (NO NUTS!) and that takes time.  Then of course, he'd already given me the chocolate that he bought earlier for V-Day... evidently I'm not the only one who has a hard time holding on to gifts.  I noticed he didn't apologize for not bringing flowers.  Actually, we laughed together about that. 

Once upon a Valentine's Day, back when we were first married, my husband brought me flowers...

"Oh, sweetheart!" I said, "They're beautiful!"  And they were.  I don't remember all of what was in the bouquet, but I know there were a few daisies, and some absolutely gorgeous tiger lilies that were about to open.  I love flowers... they're beautiful. 

I put them in a vase in the middle of the table.  The next morning, the first tiger lily opened.  It was beautiful!  It was also... fragrant.  After eating breakfast with it, my eyes started watering and I started sneezing.  I decided the bouquet would look beautiful on the counter over by the sink.  I moved it. 

Doing the dishes that morning, I realized that I spend a lot of time in the kitchen -- and my nose was now running, and the sneezes were getting worse.  I decided the flowers would look better in the living room.  I moved them. 

During lessons, I kept sneezing.  My eyes were now watering and my makeup was toast.  I tried to explain to my students that it was allergies, but they still looked at me a bit skeptically.  I decided that the flowers would look very nice in the library.  I moved them. 

That afternoon, I started working on the computer in the library.  I soon realized that my nose was itching again and knew I had to move them.  But where?  I HAD to display them somewhere.  "The bedroom!" I thought.  They would look lovely in there, and Neil would be sure to notice them.  After I moved them, though, I started thinking about what a night breathing flower dust would do to me... and I knew I couldn't put them in there.  The bathroom?  No...

"Hi, honey!" said Neil when he came home.  I don't think he noticed right away that the flowers were gone from the table.  But he did eventually notice the flowers, prominently displayed in the laundry room on the washing machine. 

"Um... Neil," I said, "I LOVE the flowers... and they are so pretty... and you were very thoughtful to get them for me... thank you... but please never get me flowers again!" 

And he didn't.  :-)  At least not fragrant ones.  He's such a nice husband...

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Review of "Lies the Government Told You"

I am wading into politics a bit here, I know, but I couldn't resist on this book.  It was quite an interesting read.

When I started reading this book, I had no idea who Judge Andrew Napolitano was, or what the book was about.  Quite frankly, I rather figured that it was probably a book on conspiracy theories.  To my surprise (and pleasure), it is a well-researched work on specific  ways the United States government has deceived its citizens and lists the ways the government infringes on citizens’ individual liberties.  While the book is up to date and deals with modern issues, Napolitano also deals with historical lies, outlining ways that multiple presidents, including Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Wilson, lied to the people to accomplish their various goals.   
Refreshingly, Judge Napolitano is neither Republican nor Democrat, and he scathingly denounces members of both parties with equal vigor.  Neither does he stick to a particular party’s official line.  This is particularly evident in his treatment of Sonia Sotomyer’s confirmation process. 
Napolitano’s point that the government regularly lies to the people is not disputed from any quarter.  Indeed, people seem to accept as normal the fact that the government lies with impunity.  “[An] FBI agent tells the cultural guru Martha Sterwart, in an informal conversation in the presence of others, that she is not the target of a federal criminal probe, and she replies that she did not sell a certain stock on a certain day.  They both lied, but she went to jail and the FBI agent kept his job.” 
If you’re looking for an easy read, this is probably not it.  I did not find the book dry, as many of the other reviewers did, but Napolitano does refer to and cite many legal cases in making each of his points.  In addition, if you believe that political parties have all the answers, this book will not be your cup of tea.  But if you’re a little cynical and disillusioned with politicians in general – and enjoy reading about history – this book might be a welcome addition to your library. 
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255