sunny blizzard

~E~ A woman running by with her cell phone to her ear, trying to hold back the tears: "I need you at home! (someone) was in the garage with Logan and he cut his fingers off! They're taking him to the emergency room now!" As I walked into the birthing area of the hospital the first time I was in labor: Doctor: "Push! Push!" Wailing woman: "I can't! I CAN'T" Guy at a party walking past a drunk passed out woman: "She looks easy."

~E~ We were watching coverage of a recent Ironman competition on the local public access station. The announcer was some weird Howard Cosell wannabe, so he was kind of amusing and it was interesting watching the competitors. As people were crawling out of the water after the swimming portion, the guy is saying things like "Here comes a woman out of the water! Here is another woman coming out of the water! And this man has just come out of the water!" At one point a guy climbs onto shore and heads off to have his wetsuit taken off and we hear "And here is an African-American man coming out of the water! Reminds me of my friend Mohammed Ali!" Al and I looked at each other thinking, WHAT? Did he just really say that?? What year is this again?

~E~ Speaking of Japan, Al and I happened to catch a show on PBS last night about Samurai and swords. One of the main Samurai they interviewed was a woman whose father has been teaching her The Way of the Samurai. They also demonstrated how Samurai swords are crafted. Each sword takes six months and a lot of work from start to finish, some if it very delicate. I learned how the swords get their curve which was THE COOLEST! and if you ask me, I'll share the secret. I also learned how the swords get the lovely patterns on the blade of light/dark metal; before the final firing, the swordmaker 'paints' the blade with some sort of clay. When it comes through in one piece, as it does hopefully at least 2/3 of the time, that pattern is permanently set in the metal. In earlier times, they would test the strength of the blade on convicts. For example, if someone had stolen something, they'd test the sword by cutting off their arm. They preferred testing it on real live people as

My friend R (with two Ls) is going to Japan! How cool is that? I expect a postcard.

~E~ This article caught my eye. MADISON, Wis. -- Domestic violence claimed 46 Wisconsin lives in 2005, according to a new report from the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence.The study found that 40 people were killed through domestic violence and six perpetrators committed suicide.The year before, 28 people were slain through domestic violence.In 2005, shooting was the most common method of killing, followed by stabbing, beating and strangulation. Twenty-eight minor children were left orphaned because of the violence, the report said. Does that look odd to you at all? There is zero mention of gender in this article. I'm sure most, if not all, of the victims were women but it's almost as if the writer took great pains NOT to mention that. I think that's very strange and serves to minimize violence against women by men, which is a terrible and huge problem. I went to the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence's website, and the same wording is there . I&