I am not a political expert, and I am certainly not an expert on war. And there are thousands of people out there who are far better equipped than me to speak on the heroic events that occurred in Pakistan a few weeks ago. But with the Internet as a sounding-off board for anybody and everybody, the stupidity of some is highlighted during times like these. I believe that if you truly do not understand something, or are misinformed about something, then you probably shouldn't speak about it. It would not be fair of me as a teacher, coach, and casual blogger to amplify any polarizing views about a topic like this. The magnitude of September 11th and the consequent murder of its architect cannot be understated, and the majority of the world knows this. But I have two small opinions that I keep coming back to about the Soldiers and the President, and I'd like to finally type them out. Nothing too intense, and definitely not anything that I consider polarizing. And if in some twisted way these opinions offend anyone, well...I can't help you.
Opinion #1: Team 6 is beyond skilled and beyond talented. I am so thankful that these human beings made the career choices that they made. Believe me, I am also thankful for those that took their smarts to great colleges and universities to become life-saving doctors. But, these soldiers probably could have gone that route too. Instead, they became death-defying Navy Seals who ended the life of a man who wanted September 11th catastrophes to occur on our soil on a daily basis. If by some chance you're a Navy Seal, or anybody else that truly defends our country, thank you so much. In American Society, it sometimes appears like we only stop to think about your bravery during newscasts or before sporting events. You deserve so much more appreciation than that. But the truth is, you make us feel free and safe every single day, and that's an incredible feeling to have.
Opinion #2: Many people feel that the timing of this mission was purposely lined up to spark Obama's re-election campaign next year. If this is what gets Obama re-elected next year, that's fine with me. This man just approved arguably the most risky, yet successful military operation in modern American military history. That has to count for something. Let's argue about health care some other time.
Monday, May 16, 2011
THE SAD TALE OF THE STICKY CHIPMUNK
Hi Everyone,
I have come to realize that blogging is a higher priority for me in the dead of winter than it is right now. The days are shorter, it's colder, it's not Christmas, it's not spring. It's like weather purgatory. To be quite honest, now I'm just plain antsy-waiting for summer. I try to force the summer to begin. I'll roll my windows down and pretend like I'm not cold. I'll listen to hip-hop music which I normally don't do until it's hot outside for some reason. And then we get teased by a gorgeous day only to have the next three days be uncomfortably cold. It's like Mother Nature's saying "ah, ah, ah, New England. Don't even THINK about going to the beach yet." And God forbid I go golfing. But come to think of it, even if the weather was consistently nice at this point, I've been way too busy to set aside some time to whack some balls around.
If I'm not at track practice, I'm busy finishing up my Master's degree. These two things will finish up fairly soon, so then I can dedicate more time to my yard. Still not a lot of time to golf, though. I think I need one 80 degree Saturday with a great cookout. Then I will coronate the Summer of 2011.
But back to my yard-so many chipmunk holes! They make it hard to have a really nice yard. It's such a dilemma for me. Do I exterminate them and leave thousands of dead chipmunks underground? Heck no! They are too damn cute. I can't stay mad at them! It's like a sick-cycle relationship where your girlfriend is ridiculously hot but keeps pissing you off. But then she cries and says she's sorry and you forgive her, stay with her, and continue to let her be hot. I want to kill all the chipmunks, but then I'll have a peaceful moment with one of them where we both just stop in our tracks, smile at each other, put aside our differences "this is so us", realize we both have homes on this plot of land, and move on.
I had my most emotional chipmunk experience last summer when I was cleaning my garage with the door open. We had a small mouse problem and I had a few of those sticky-tray-mouse-traps in the corners of the garage. As I was cleaning the garage fridge, I heard a faint shuffling-type sound. I looked up and saw a chipmunk completely stuck in the sticky tray! He was desperately trying to escape the tray but he was literally pulling his skin off the bone in the process. It was so bad that If I yanked the poor thing off of the tray his legs would have ripped off. He stared at me with a look of clinging-to-life desperation, begging for help. I didn't know how to save him. I tried to comfort him with my words, but that was going nowhere. He continued to yank himself uncontrollably and equally unsuccessfully. Finally, I transported the tray to the back yard. I had to "unsticky" the sticky tray. So, I sprayed my garden hose forcefully on the tray. The chipmunk understood the plan. Whenever I sprayed, he pulled. Now, of course, little Alvin is completely soaked, yet still stuck on the ultra-sticky tray. I'm telling you, this thing was like Gorilla Glue sticky. I couldn't get the kid free from the literal death grip of the tray. His little leg bones were completely exposed at this point. I had to put him out of his misery. I placed him in the woods to let the circle of life take its natural course. I'm like the anti-David Seville. That guy literally adopted chipmunks and here I am drowning one on a mouse trap like some sick pre-death ritual! I struggled with this decision for days but then I realized that my yard is infested with thousands of theses little cuties. If only one of them perished because of me, that's not such a bad ratio. R.I.P. Alvin.
I have come to realize that blogging is a higher priority for me in the dead of winter than it is right now. The days are shorter, it's colder, it's not Christmas, it's not spring. It's like weather purgatory. To be quite honest, now I'm just plain antsy-waiting for summer. I try to force the summer to begin. I'll roll my windows down and pretend like I'm not cold. I'll listen to hip-hop music which I normally don't do until it's hot outside for some reason. And then we get teased by a gorgeous day only to have the next three days be uncomfortably cold. It's like Mother Nature's saying "ah, ah, ah, New England. Don't even THINK about going to the beach yet." And God forbid I go golfing. But come to think of it, even if the weather was consistently nice at this point, I've been way too busy to set aside some time to whack some balls around.
If I'm not at track practice, I'm busy finishing up my Master's degree. These two things will finish up fairly soon, so then I can dedicate more time to my yard. Still not a lot of time to golf, though. I think I need one 80 degree Saturday with a great cookout. Then I will coronate the Summer of 2011.
But back to my yard-so many chipmunk holes! They make it hard to have a really nice yard. It's such a dilemma for me. Do I exterminate them and leave thousands of dead chipmunks underground? Heck no! They are too damn cute. I can't stay mad at them! It's like a sick-cycle relationship where your girlfriend is ridiculously hot but keeps pissing you off. But then she cries and says she's sorry and you forgive her, stay with her, and continue to let her be hot. I want to kill all the chipmunks, but then I'll have a peaceful moment with one of them where we both just stop in our tracks, smile at each other, put aside our differences "this is so us", realize we both have homes on this plot of land, and move on.
I had my most emotional chipmunk experience last summer when I was cleaning my garage with the door open. We had a small mouse problem and I had a few of those sticky-tray-mouse-traps in the corners of the garage. As I was cleaning the garage fridge, I heard a faint shuffling-type sound. I looked up and saw a chipmunk completely stuck in the sticky tray! He was desperately trying to escape the tray but he was literally pulling his skin off the bone in the process. It was so bad that If I yanked the poor thing off of the tray his legs would have ripped off. He stared at me with a look of clinging-to-life desperation, begging for help. I didn't know how to save him. I tried to comfort him with my words, but that was going nowhere. He continued to yank himself uncontrollably and equally unsuccessfully. Finally, I transported the tray to the back yard. I had to "unsticky" the sticky tray. So, I sprayed my garden hose forcefully on the tray. The chipmunk understood the plan. Whenever I sprayed, he pulled. Now, of course, little Alvin is completely soaked, yet still stuck on the ultra-sticky tray. I'm telling you, this thing was like Gorilla Glue sticky. I couldn't get the kid free from the literal death grip of the tray. His little leg bones were completely exposed at this point. I had to put him out of his misery. I placed him in the woods to let the circle of life take its natural course. I'm like the anti-David Seville. That guy literally adopted chipmunks and here I am drowning one on a mouse trap like some sick pre-death ritual! I struggled with this decision for days but then I realized that my yard is infested with thousands of theses little cuties. If only one of them perished because of me, that's not such a bad ratio. R.I.P. Alvin.
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