The Burrow

Brenda Starr was hosting again.  She let another survivor friend and me into the call before anyone else was admitted; she wanted to be sure that the two of us made the cut - the call was wildly over-subscribed. I don't recall that problem coming up when Sen. McSally spoke to us last week.  Is that a sign?  I hope so. The three of us unmuted and turned on our video and chatted.  It was wonderful to share how long our hair has grown, what colors the others had chosen, how the hairdresser was a scary place to be right now.  Then, in the 4th box on the screen, appeared the candidate.... tying his tie. He usually wears black, mostly a form fitting t-shirt.  The man isn't very tall, but he is very well proportioned to wear a tight tee.  I'm just sayin'........... Once the others started filtering in, I began to smile.  There were Patsy and Jerry Ru..... and Bridget's iPad and Philips ipad ... all titles I'd seen beneath their faces on the previous Star...

TBG and I are doing all that we can to insure that Mark Kelly replaces Martha McSally in the US Senate in January.  We planned to host an Afternoon With The Candidate in our home in April.  Sadly, that (and many other things) didn't happen.   And then, the campaign had the idea to host an on-line Astro-Hour.  Mark and his astronaut brother, Scott, Rusty Schweikert, and Karen Nyberg (whose husband just rode up to the ISS) talked about one another, about space, and about how wonderful Mark is. Then they took questions.  Eight of them were written in and read by the moderator.  And then there was FlapJilly.   The Finance Director wondered if I knew any children who might want to ask a question of an astronaut.  A kid asked a question on the first of these calls, and it was a big hit.  Did I know someone he could ask? Did I know someone?   I hung up, called Little Cuter and FlapJilly, explained the situation, and rec...

I love it when all the pieces of my life come together in one place.  I was there this morning and I'm still smiling. Mark Kelly, husband of Gabby Giffords and former NASA Shuttle Commander, is also an author. He's written the story of a space mouse named Meteor, who is tiny and unafraid and, in the end, saves the day. It's the perfect story for my favorite five and six year olds, especially the two who are obsessed with space.  I bought it and I brought it in to leave in the classroom. Of course, Ms. Levine let me read it to the class. Reading aloud from a picture book is a study in contortions. I leaned forward, but that blocked the students on my left.  I slid the book from my right hip to my left hip, but I couldn't keep track of the words.  I struggled, but the listeners didn't seem to notice.  They were absorbed in the story of the taunted mouse who solved a problem. Their smiles were as big as his by the end of the book. I admit that I, too...

We stood on the concrete where, as Emily said, her son, Gabe, lay for hours. We were surrounded by the media and the survivors and the sheriffs.  There were lots of sheriffs.  We made sure of that before we committed to attend. The sun was shining, the temperatures were in the 70's, we knew the players and the program and our roles.  Americans for Responsible Solutions held a press conference, and everybody came. Colonel Bill spent this morning scanning the crowd for miscreants; he and TBG crossed paths on their circuit at the back of the pack.  Carol made sure we had tissues and stiffened spines.  Pia went over the talking points. Roxanna and I sat on the swivel chairs outside the store; our achy hips weren't having any more standing than absolutely necessary.  I'd be speaking, but she'd be right beside me, holding the picture of Christina-as-flower-girl at her uncle's wedding. We were to stand close by the podium as Mark introduced us, five of us, e...

She looked gorgeous.  Her arm brace was off, her hair was styled, her smile was glowing.  Her husband held her hand and guided her through the throng.  My eyes were wet as I watched her swing her leg to walk, turn her head to see.  She's the living embodiment of everything that is wrong with our gun laws today.  She served in Congress with those she brushed by. How can they not be moved to act? She was a Republican before she was a Democrat.  She's a gun owner. She's damaged.  Those are all facts which should make her opinions somewhat more valuable than others.  Somebody should be paying attention. She wrote her own speech, which is much more eloquent than any words I could write, myself. Read it, and weep. Every word was articulated with care and effort.  Her mouth formed each syllable, her tongue got around each dipthong, and the work it took was obvious.  Mark Kelly, astronaut, Navy Commander, husband and friend, stood by he...

The woman is a force of nature.  Her persona grows and grows. She is present although she is absent. Gabrielle Giffords was elected to Congress by District #8 here in Southern Arizona and as far as we are concerned she's still our Representative.  When we needed her in Washington she interrupted her therapies and flew in to cast her vote.   No Democrat can declare until Gabby decides not to run in 2012: I am operating under the presumption that Gabby's going to be well enough to run," said Pima County Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Rogers. "I don't think she'll have to run a terribly vigorous campaign. If voters are convinced that she's mentally capable of doing the job, she can run a less vibrant campaign than she has in the past." (Arizona Star,11/13/11) I'm sure that last sentence infuriates the Congresswoman.  I'm sure she's grinding her teeth with those strong facial muscles which she's developed over months of grueling, pain...