PSoTD

"He always used to kid around about bringing things to school and hurting kids," she said at a gas station nearby where students and townspeople gathered.

It isn't acceptable to kid around about this.

American kids haven't gotten this message yet? If someone says they have a bomb, you tell an authority. If someone says they're hijacking a plane, you tell an authority.

If someone says they're going to bring something to school to hurt people, you tell an authority. There's no leeway in this. Too many times something happens, and too many times kids admit later that the attacker had said something in advance about what they were going to do. It doesn't matter what the statistics are, even if 99 out of 100 kids that make such threats do not follow up on it. There's no grace allowed for making such a threat. Tell an authority. It doesn't matter if the kid gets in trouble, it doesn't matter if the parents get pissed off. Make a threat, get in trouble. It's worth it to reduce the number of times a community has to see this kind of story in their schools.

When was the last time you played Go Fish?

Our six year old has the fever, and we play almost every day right now.

I would strongly recommend not staying at this place if you visit the Cayman Islands. The owner did not deal acceptably with us after he double booked the property for the same week in 2005. Can you imagine being in a party of 13, travelling to a foreign country, then finding out that your accomodations were filled with other people? It's really not fun.

We didn't get to stay there due to the double booking, and stayed at lesser accommodations without reimbursement. The location of Cayman Sands may be great, but the ownership and management is anything but.

It was to be a four family stay at this location, and when it fell apart, we ended up being split up into two locations. One, in the Carribean in the middle of summer, without central air conditioning. As it turns out, this was our last vacation with my Dad, which makes it that much more bitter to accept the incompetence of the owner of this place. And accept it we must, because the laws of Virginia and the laws of the Cayman Islands really prevented us from doing anything without risking considerably more money just to get back what should have been refunded to us. It's a shame, really, that people are allowed such dodges.

For everyone who posted a comment or sent an email of condolence about the passing of my Dad, I just want to say

Thank You.

Here, we are all passing vessels in a sea of words and ideas, and I'm comforted that so many take the time to pass along kind and hopeful words. It means a lot.

My dad passed away yesterday morning at the age of 70. He had a good life, in general, although suffered the past several months from liver cancer. A year ago we were planning a surprise 70th birthday party for him when doctors found the tumors, and he began a regimen of chemo and radiation to slow them down. We had a smaller, non-surprise party, but it was unfair that he didn't get to enjoy the event we way we were planning it. Life is unfair, and it reminds us of it when least expected.

A little more than a month ago I was again in Bakersfield, and he and I were still able to visit the 34th Street Car Wash for burgers. But cancer can be a series of plateaus and slippery slopes, and shortly after I left he started down the final decline.

I probably won't be posting much in the next week or so, once the details are determined for the funeral I'll be going out there again. The photo I posted previously is the view of my Dad's backyard, where he'd sit in the evening as the Bakersfield temperatures barely fell. Although he didn't move to Bakersfield until I was on my own, I have many great memories of that backyard - swimming there, first just me and my brothers, later on, our families with the kids in the pool. Sitting in the hot tub, drinking a beer on a hot night, or all of us playing cards in the morning at the table in back, laughing and hollering, or just two of us playing darts. That's how I remember my Dad best - playing. He liked games, he liked conversation, he liked telling jokes - he just liked playing.

It's a comforting way to remember my Dad, and also the easiest. I'm not a heaven and hell kind of guy, but much more focused on the way we spend our time while here on the planet. Making everyone around them smile a bit more and enjoy their time adds up over 70 years. I'm content to know that my Dad did just that.

My father-in-law and his wife are flying home today from visiting us.

I'm not too interested in flying today myself. I would if I really had too, but if I were in their position, in which their trip schedule could have happened any day this week, I think I would have preferred a different flight day.

My father-in-law bought their tickets through Priceline, and set his own bid. I wonder now if he picked a return date of September 11th because it was cheaper than any other day this week, because the marketplace is full of people like me, who just see flying on September 11th slightly riskier than any other day on the calendar, all other things being equal.