Miscellaneous Musings On A Monday Morning...

Summer has finally arrived at my tree house. Along with that, of course, comes lazy summer days and time to unwind. I had three days off this weekend, and by Sunday I was in full relaxation mode. That gives me time to ruminate on various events that have happened in the past few days, and I have come to the conclusion that I am a bit of a skeptic. I'm not one to follow along with the rest of the herd -- I come to my own conclusions about things, and sometimes my conclusions amaze even me because most people don't agree with the way I see things. Why don't I see what other people see? What am I missing? So here, in no particular order, are the conclusions that I reached after pondering some of the major events that have happened recently.

1. Abby Sunderland is not a hero. She's just a girl who attempted to seek attention by being the youngest person to sail solo around the world. Ironically, she gained even more attention by almost dying in the attempt. She underestimated the ocean and her own skills. To quote her, "...since when does age create gigantic waves and storms?" That comment indicates her level of immaturity. There are certain things one should not try to do battle with -- an oncoming bus at full speed, a train approaching a railway crossing, or an ocean with 30 foot waves. Usually you will lose. The ocean is a fierce place, even on a calm night. Things can hide underneath the ocean in the dark -- just ask Captain Edward Smith, the seasoned captain of the Titanic. When it comes to an argument with the sea, the sea almost always wins. Perhaps that is the lesson the young lady has learned. Oops, big waves, little boat. All Abby Sunderland has done is cost a lot of people a lot of money. And now she's asking for more. Thousands of people lost sleep worrying about her -- including me -- and the conversation everyone is having today would be a very different one if she had not been rescued. She needs to say thank you, and to go home and be a kid for a while.

2. I'm shocked and appalled -- to use my cousin's favorite expression -- at the lack of leadership in the cleanup of the Gulf oil spill. It has been nine weeks now. I think folks relied on BP to assist with the cleanup, but that is sort of like letting the fox guard the hen house, isn't it? It seems to me that more should have been done -- from day one -- in preventing a large portion of the oil from reaching the shorelines. It may have taken a Herculean effort, but at least something should have been attempted. A State of Emergency should have been declared as soon as that disaster happened. The beautiful Barataria Bay Estuary has now been choked -- drowned in oil. According to folks in the area, the environmental damage could have been prevented if decisive action had been taken as soon as the well blew out. Rome burned ... no one noticed. Today the President of the United States will do what he does best -- he will give a speech. His head will bob from side to side -- as if at some unseen audience behind the teleprompters -- and he will smile here and frown there. *sigh* The Gulf Oil spill is America's Chernobyl. Both were man-made disasters that will have repercussions for decades. It's heartbreaking.

3. I wish I understood soccer. The World Cup Soccer Match is the biggest sporting event in the world -- even bigger than the Olympics. And it's being held in South Africa, where my mother was born. I enjoy watching the coverage of the event, just to see some of the cities where my mother lived. The game looks very exciting, and I love hearing Phinnaeus's enthusiasm when he describes it to me. A total of 32 countries take part, competing over one month. There are two stages: the group stage and the knockout stage. That's about the stage where I get lost. Phinnaeus wants Germany to win, so that's who I want to win too. Why not?

So, those are just some of the idiotic things rustling around in my brain today, when I have nothing more important interesting to think about.

Have a fabulous day, everyone.