We’re heading southwest across Virginia, on our way to Uncle David’s wedding this weekend in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Currently we’re approaching Lexington, Virginia. Stay tuned for updates.
Update: Hello from the Holiday Inn Express in Dandridge, Tennessee. Pity the poor people who are doomed to hear me say all day tomorrow, “No, I’m not a brain surgeon, but I DID stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night”. To them, I apologize in advance.
There was something different about Katie when I got home from work today, but somehow I just can’t quite put my finger on it. Must be the necklace.
Colleen made the leap out of Elementary School today, advancing out of the 5th grade. She is our last to complete her Elementary years at Henderson, the school that is literally next door to us. We’ve been very lucky to have our kids start their educations at such a great school. Colleen was recognized with two awards; an Academic Award for earning a straight – A average in her whole 5th grade year, and the Principal’s Award for having the highest grade average in her class.
Congratulations Colleen! We are very proud of you.
A few months back, Katie had a school assignment that required her to submit a stage play to the Student 10-Minute Play Competition sponsored by the Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Katie has described her entry as ‘cobbled together’ from a couple of other pieces, and edited down to meet the time requirement. Her entry, Dream a Dream, was one of ten honorable mentions selected in the High School category from among a total of 595 entries.
Each of the honorable mention plays was performed in a reading by Arena Stage actors. I was there with the family video camera, and have finally got it online. So now, for the first time online…
Dream a Dream, by Katie Casey
A piece of historical trivia, and two headlines from out of the courtrooms have caught my eye today and restored, by just a little bit, some hope that America remains a place where reason can prevail and the Constitution matters.
The trivia, from Today in History in the Washington Post Express; On this day in 1776, “Virginia’s colonial legislature becomes the first to adopt a Bill of Rights.” This somehow strikes a chord with me when reading about these other headlines.
The court cases:
In which President George Bush is told by a Federal Appeals Court in Richmond that the Constitution does not allow the President to simply declare a civilian an ‘enemy combatant’ and then detain them indefinitely without criminal process.
Thank you court, for reminding the President he’s not King George.
Judges Rule Against U.S. On Detained ‘Combatant’
The Washington Post, 6/12/07
In which a man, who as a teenager performed oral sex on a consenting partner and was convicted of a felony for which he has already served two years of a ten year sentence, had his conviction overturned by Superior Court judge who ruled the punishment as unconstitutionally cruel and unusual.
Thank you judge, for pointing out the absurdity of this sentence and knocking it down.
Last minute appeal in teen sex case sparks outrage
CNN, 6/12/07
You can count on the fact that in each case, the President, and Georgia’s sex police, will fight back against these rulings. Who knows, they may win. But for now at least, reason, and the Constitution, have prevailed.
I’m still working on getting caught up on my book reports. I’m not sure why, but sharing some brief comments of some sort about what I’ve read here in my blog has become an important last step in my reading process. Maybe I just home to actually refer enough sales to Amazon to someday actually see some small check from them. But whatever… I digress.
Anyone who pays any attention to my reading list knows that I tend heavily to non-fiction. History, biography, and current events are my typical staples. I make a conscious effort to read more fiction, but to me, actual people and events usually capture my attention first. Truth can truly be stranger than fiction. But a good review in the Washington Post had put The Road by Cormac McCarthy on my list of books to look out for. And Oprah almost knocked it off. Not that I don’t imagine that Oprah and I could enjoy the same book. But I wouldn’t want to count myself among those who turn to her to tell me what to read. Thankfully, when I did pick up my copy, the Oprah sticker peeled off easily.
This is a very fast and dark read. It follows the wanderings of a father and his son, known only to the reader as ‘the man’ and ‘the boy’ as they wander through the horrors of a post apocalyptic America. They have only each other, and the few items and what foot they can scavenge. They use their tattered scraps of map to lead them towards the ocean, for which they hold some thin hope might be somehow nicer. But nice things are few and far between in the grim world they wander, and they daily have to consider the question if there is any reason left to go on.
I recommend the book highly to anyone. It’s not a happy book, but still one that’s hard to put down, like not being able to help looking when you drive past a car wreck, looking for something horrible and then regretting it if you actually see it. Everyone should take such a look at what things could be like if we allowed things to go so horribly wrong.
A bit of leftover trivia from our trip to Ireland, something that makes perfect sense, but a connection I had never made before.
While on the tour of the Guinness Brewery in Dublin, we learned that the Guinness Book of World Records was created by Guinness to be a reference for bartenders to use in settling arguments and bets.
I guess I just never made the connection between the name on the book that was so well known to me as a child, and the fine beverage I’ve learned to love as an adult.
Read More at Wikipedia
There was major progress in the decorating of the basement Manspace this weekend. Friend and neighbor TJ began the effort to add a nice wall-sized version of the Casey coat of arms to one of the walls, and I hung the Trompe-l’oeil door mural on the closet door. This photo was taken to show how it turned out, but ended up becoming something of a treasure hunt of all the crap, I mean cool stuff, I have on display down there.
I confess I was a bit skeptical. After having recently watched VH1’s failed attempt to reunite one of my favorite bands, The English Beat, I knew that the bill being called ‘The English Beat’ tonight at the Birchmere in Alexandria actually only included one original band member, lead singer Dave Wakeling. But I need not have worried. Although it would be great to see and hear the whole band together again, Dave and his band were perfectly capable of taking me on a nostalgic tour of my musical youth.
I first heard The English Beat in a movie theater, watching a midnight showing of the 1981 Concert movie Dance Craze. I remember the night, it was memorable both for the music it introduced me to, and for the fact it had us dancing in the theater aisles. Later, in 1982, I would see The Beat open for the Clash at the Hollywood Palladium, one of my best concert memories.
So tonight at the Birchmere, with an intimate and appreciative crowd of about 550, it was a joy to again hear The Beat. And my buddy TJ stepped up big time as an impromptu roadie. After doing Tears of A Clown, Dave told the audience that he’d broken a guitar string and that they were too cheap to have a roadie, so he asked if anyone in the audience could string a guitar. TJ raised his hand and got the job, earning Dave’s thanks and a dedication of Twist and Crawl to him for his efforts.
Here’s the set list…
Whine & Grine / Stand Down Margaret
Ackee 1-2-3
Hands Off She’s Mine
Best Friend
Doors of Your Heart
Tears of a Clown
I’ll Take You There
I Confess
Twist and Crawl
Sole Salvation
Rough Rider
Two Swords (Dave shared a good tale of his brick-throwing youth before this one)
Can’t Get Used to Losing You
Never You Done That
Tenderness
Ranking Full Stop
Mirror in the Bathroom
Click Click (noted as a point of pride as having been the fastest song in the movie Dance Craze)
Save It for Later
Encore – some appropriately picked encores…
End of the Party
Jackpot – I’m sorry to say that I’m on my way, I won’t be back for many a day, so Goodbye Everybody!
