So it was back to the family abode for the holidays. Fortunately the whole food sickness thing passed by the time I arrived home on T-day evening. I’d like to think I abetted this process by sticking to a steady diet of Nutri-grain bars and Gatorade. But anyway, here are some the highlights of the trip, as they come to mind:

1) Downloading clips from the "Brilliant" Guinness ads with Rob.

2) Carving the turkey with elegance and grace (not!) Diving into Dad’s impressive stuffing and Rob’s killer mashed potatoes. Screwing up the green beans — yes it is possible! Sitting down to a nice meal without incident. Seeing Jim, Ardith and the baby once again.

3) Driving up to Orange County, NY to see Orange County Choppers, where they film "American Chopper." It’s nice to see a popular TV show set in the "other OC" as there’s not much up there but woods, farmland, and some unruly upstate NY hessians …

4) Comparing notes on bands with Jim. I introduced him to Ocean Colour Scene, he showed me Muse and Snow Patrol.

5) Watching The Birdcage for the umpteenth time. A family favorite. Can one ever get their fill of Agador Spartacus?

6) Getting my third (!) car stereo installed, then realizing a quarter of the way back to MD that I had no CDs to play, spare Oasis and Rodney Dangerfield (?) Stopped at a Petro truck stop for some 3/$9.99 specials, rockin’ hits of the ’80s. Jammed out to the Hooters, the Bangles, the Outfield, and Men at Work for the remainder of the trip.

7) Meeting up with John in Gettysburg for dinner (he was coming home the same time as me, using a slightly different route) after skillfully navigating some of the most rural backroads in Pennsylvania, in the dark, no less. Thank you DeLorme. Saw some nice little farming communities in their X-mas regalia. Gotta love PA.

So it’s a day before Thanksgiving and I’m struggling with a bout of food poisoning. What a stroke of luck?! Those nasty symptoms from the last post have been stubbornly hanging about, and I believe I’ve traced the source — two convenience store hot dogs eaten in haste Sat. morning when I should have been downing a packet of E-Mergen-C with water. I’ve been laid up for five days now. Headed up to New Jersey in the morning for a turkey day dinner. Appetite questionable for tomorrow’s feast. Such perfect timing, sigh ….

Blech. Not sure how this came about. Feeling quite ill this weekend. Shivers, fever, and some other symptoms that have kept me in and out of the bathroom for the last two days.

Perhaps the forces of God, Bush voters, and/or the city of Washington (all of whom I’ve taken issue with as of late) have conspired against me.

Or perhaps, much more likely, the forces of Ozzy, the Resurrection, and the Pale Ale — all house beers at the Brewers Art in the Baltimore, where I spent much of Friday evening with co-worker Kevin. Really like this place, a haven for Belgian-style beers — perhaps my favorite B-more bar at this point. Eating fries with mayonnaise really brought back some fond memories.

So I’m sitting here watching the tube. The British House of Commons on C-SPAN. High quality bickering. While I don’t agree with all of Tony Blair’s decisions, I admire his ability to stand toe to toe with the barking dogs of the Commons and fire back instantaneously. It must be nice to have a leader who doesn’t need to be shielded from dissenting opinions, and who can argue his points even in a hostile environment. Speaking of which, they just switched to John McCain. Gotta go.

Just returned from a four-day weekend in New Jersey. Trying to relax. I’m presenting again on Tuesday to the managers so the weekend was not as relaxing as it could have been.

Actually, there has been quite a bit of stress negativity and or bothersome energy swirling about lately. Dumb-ass is still president. He and Mr. Blair did a reprise of the "I’m With Stupid" roadshow this week. Cheney’s heart is pattering like a free jazz drum line. The religious right believe they have a clear mandate, from themselves, from "god", and I fear that, yes, perhaps they do?!

My displeasure with Washington grows by the minute. Some good people are getting treated very badly in this city, and it’s making me furious. After a while, you stop chalking it up to "isolated incidents" and start seeing it through a clearer lens. A self-protective lens. The ones the other residents are already wearing. Yeah, yeah, this could be anywhere, but, uh no, strike that, "anywhere" is not like this. Look at the numbers. No, in fact, "anywhere" (else) is sounding pretty appealing at this point.

I already live as far away as possible. I just need drag the LC Madison building up to rural Maryland. Parcel it out onto tractor trailers with bungee cords and "Oversize Load" signs. Ah yes… a glimmering library at the top of a gently rolling hill, surrounded by farmland. Heheh. With pigs flying overhead. Ha!

On a positive note ….

Highlight of the trip — I got to see Lennon for just the third time this weekend. He loved the Sidekick. All those buttons and noises! I just have to remember that sometime in 2007 I have an appointment with "jjkvk". Wouldn’t miss it for the world!

And speaking of the rural northeast, I helped my parents look for a new house in the Poconos across the state line in Pennsylvania. The other highlight of the trip. At one point, we were on a local backroad and the tree branches were shining like crystal in the sun, as they were all coated with ice. They sagged under their own weight so they hung over the road like protective fingers. Amazing. 

For the last couple of weeks, I have been preparing my spiel for the LC managers and have neglected to post here. I had planned to come back with the post and the title “Idiots Rule” — those (self-proclaimed) idiots, of course, being the Boston Red Sox and their fan base, including my dad. I was relishing the opportunity to talk about baseball, the curse, 86 years and all that happy stuff.

Little did I know I’d be saying the words — idiots rule — so earnestly and in such a different context on this day after the presidential election.

What a sad day for this country when the so-called “Bush doctrine” gets a giant rubber-stamp of approval from the American public. I, for one, do not feel safer, more secure, or more protected from terrorism or any of the other evils in this world with this dimwit pulling the strings. Giant vote of no confidence for Dubya. Sorry. Why is it that the only person who could credibly articulate the case for the Iraq war was Tony Blair? Even if you buy into that logic, hearing Dubya stand there and do a “Uh yeah, what he said” is pretty damned embarrassing, considering we (he) set the whole ball in motion. Buy a vowel, George. Get a clue. Or no, rather don’t. Apparently the “American people” can’t relate to you that way.

I wonder if the UN needs a librarian.