Holy Shit

I've gone and done it. I've sold our house and am moving to Westchester County. Leaving the proximity of my closest friends: Painful. Moving out of what was supposed to be mine and Kevin's dream house: Incredibly painful. Shortening my commute to work from 1 hour, 45 minutes to 20-25 minutes: Priceless.

Crazy weeks behind me and in front of me but am excited about the possibilities. Stay tuned. Maybe my move will help restore the outrage gene so that I get back to daily postings. Maybe that's what I'll do with the three plus hours I'll get back every day. That, and play with Tilly a bit more.

Tuesday Morning, The Pogues

Too many sad days
Too many Tuesday mornings
I thought of you today
I wished it was yesterday morning
I thought of you today
And I dreamt you were dressed in mourning

But I knew that you
With your heart beating
And your eyes shining
Would be dreaming of me
Lying with you
On a Tuesday morning

I fell through the window
And I found that I was still breathing
I thought of tomorrow
And the fear that you might leave me
I thought of tomorrow
And I wished it was Monday evening

But I knew that you
With your heart beating
And your eyes shining
Would be dreaming of me
Lying with you
On a Tuesday morning

Turn your face from me
I will cover myself with sorrow
Bring Hell down upon me
I will surrender my heart to sorrow
Bring Hell down upon me
And I will say goodbye tomorrow

But I know that you
With your heart beating
And your eyes shining
Would be dreaming of me
Lying with you
On a Tuesday morning

Why? Because.

I'd been thinking about the fact that the most recent Colorado school shooting story had died so quickly - it seemed that Columbine was in the news for weeks. I had missed Herbert's column Monday - I've included an excerpt - but thought I'd at least share these letters of outrage that ran in the Times today.

October 16 - from Bob Herbert, NYT "Why Aren't We Shocked?" (requires TimesSelect subscription)

"In the recent shootings at an Amish schoolhouse in rural Pennsylvania and a large public high school in Colorado, the killers went out of their way to separate the girls from the boys, and then deliberately attacked only the girls.

"Ten girls were shot and five killed at the Amish school. One girl was killed and a number of others were molested in the Colorado attack.

"In the widespread coverage that followed these crimes, very little was made of the fact that only girls were targeted. Imagine if a gunman had gone into a school, separated the kids up on the basis of race or religion, and then shot only the black kids. Or only the white kids. Or only the Jews.

"There would have been thunderous outrage. The country would have first recoiled in horror, and then mobilized in an effort to eradicate that kind of murderous bigotry. There would have been calls for action and reflection. And the attack would have been seen for what it really was: a hate crime.

"None of that occurred because these were just girls, and we have become so accustomed to living in a society saturated with misogyny that violence against females is more or less to be expected. Stories about the rape, murder and mutilation of women and girls are staples of the news, as familiar to us as weather forecasts. The startling aspect of the Pennsylvania attack was that this terrible thing happened at a school in Amish country, not that it happened to girls."

Sigh.

Plenty of Outrage to Go Around

Have to watch one of the best Jon Stewart riffs...ever. And not just because he goofs on Tony Snow's use of the word "outrageous."

As Time Goes By

Was in Orlando all last week at a conference for work. Came home Friday to sign a sales contract to sell my house -- to a builder named Eugene. It's all a little too surreal for me. Kevin and I were supposed to get old together in this house -- or at least decide together that we'd get old somewhere else. It's time for me to move but it will still be one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

Now That's Something to Support

Left later than usual for work today. Was on my merry way and I'm moving into a turn lane to turn left. The traffic light is red but the car in front of me is stopped in the middle of the turn lane - at least two car lengths away from the traffic light with no one in front of her. My first reflex was to honk the horn but as I got closer I saw she had one of those support ribbon magnets on the back of her car. Her cause? ADHD Awareness. Figured she was distracted enough.