I'm writing stories for the kids in the rising generation.  They won't sit with me underneath a sycamore tree in the heat of the afternoon, listening to my tales.  In fact, I'm not sure that my tales will be edifying to them.

Ok, I should note right away: she doesn't like to be called Emma.  Her second name is Claire.  So, we'll be calling her "Claire".

Claire called me today.  She didn't have much time to talk.  She was on her way to organize local Democrats who hoped to unseat a Republican for County Commissioner.  This was the first time that Claire had called me in quite a long time.  I usually have to call Claire.  I was amazed that she found my phone-number.  Her address book is about two inches thick.  Hundreds of people wait for her letters, just because whe never writes back.

She can't do email.  She has an idea that if an arrow on the screen points to an icon, that's good enough.

A few people have asked me to explain how pleasurable it has been to defy the odds of my having been (not so far) in jail.  Good Karma?  Prayers from friends and relatives?

As my life-expectancy dwindles, my view of the past expands.  I have written other memoirs to relatives, but here is the DailyKos version.  I was an obedient child, and a good citizen, in the family memoir.

Not!

Oh, and by the way:  I don't care what my prognosis is, I'm still having fun.  If you can't enjoy a nice sandwich, you've missed the point.

Biopsy Wednesday.  Further details this weekend, after Friday appointment with an oncologist.  Persistent rumors that I was on the Grassy Knoll are untrue.  I was only fifteen at the time.

Life and death - so few breaths separate the two.  I was hoping to make it to the General Election.

We've all seen John F. Burns on television - his grizzled afro and beard an affront to well-coiffed newscasters everywhere.  He is one of the few reporters I have trusted in Iraq.  He seems to be taking leave of the scene, at least for now, and I rejoice that he has survived the chaos.

Even in the midst of war, certain bonds to normal life remain - such as the link between humans and cats.  

Mr. Burns tells an eloquent tale of how the link between cat and man nourished both, during a time of war.

A bit of indignation.  We're all indignant, right?

I'm still holding out for Psalm XXIII.

Anyway - I have quotes from "official" sources below the fold.

Frank Rich's Sunday column is (alas) behind the "firewall" at the New York Times website.  

http://select.nytimes.com/...

The column is quite long, and is entitled "Don't Laugh at Michael Chertoff."  So, keep a straight face.

Below the fold, a synopsis and a few quotes from the column.

http://www.nytimes.com/...

Doctor Elizabeth H. Blackburn is widely considered to be a leading contender for a Nobel Prize in Medicine.  

Dr. Blackburn, a winner of the 2006 Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, studies aging and biochemical changes in cells that are related to the diseases of old age

.

Her story of studying ageing - and its relationship to stress - is fascinating.  The ends of chromosomes fray, as we age, and she has been a leader in the field of studying telomeres - which are like the aglets of your shoelaces - and telomerase, which patches up the frayed ends.

My favorite columnist is Paul Krugman.  He dwells behind the "firewall" - but sometimes clever readers can offer non-protected links from other papers.

How quickly can an ecosystem be destroyed?  

Try six years.  Witness neglect and contempt by the Bush regime.  The article referenced beneath the fold says more than I can say.

The DoJ document dumps are slightly interesting.  The CIA document dumps promise to be more interesting.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

Follow the link, and below the fold, if you care to.  The link is going to be a fulcrum of history.  Apply levers with care.  

The reports, known collectively by historians and CIA officials as the "family jewels," were initially produced in response to a 1973 request by then-CIA Director James R. Schlesinger. Alarmed by press accounts of CIA involvement in Watergate under his predecessor, Schlesinger asked the agency's employees to inform him of all operations that were "outside" the agency's legal charter.

Tonight is the Blue Moon - the second Full Moon of May.  Go outside!  Make a wish!

Paul Krugman's op-ed piece in the NYTimes today is interesting.  It's behind the firewall, unfortunately.

http://select.nytimes.com/...

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