Saturday, April 25, 2009

Homeland Insecurity

Initially, I thought of posting just about the ongoing "controversy" surrounding U.S Dept. of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. I thought up the cutesy title in about two seconds, then started to realize that it meant a lot more to me today than just a few humorous comments about the distraction du jour.

It's been an unsettled last couple of days. I've been annoyed by several things. My girlfriend Leslie, who I talk to every day, seems restless and uneasy as well. It might have something to do with the early spate of warm weather here in GJ and in Pittsburgh, where it got up to 88 today and will be about the same through the weekend. Perfect hockey weather in the Burgh.

We are getting a respite in Grand Junction, with rain in the forecast just in time for my son's Senior Prom later today. This spring has been a nasty one for respiratory irritation, possibly secondary to seasonal allergies that really haven't affected me here as badly as they did back east, that is until this year.

What is not helping with this is the place where I work. I develop a nice hacking cough there after about three hours in my work area, especially if there is a lot of foot traffic. I think that this stirs up more airborne particulates from the carpet, which by anyone's recollection hasn't been cleaned in a couple of years.

I did my part, and took this up with my boss and the Employee Health office. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, the sniffles are creeping in on me even in the house at 2:30 in the morning. I may have to resort to giving Claritin a try for the first time.

Last night after work I told Evan I'd take him wherever he'd like for dinner, and he said he wanted sushi. I'm not a fan personally, but Suehiro on Main Street delivers good food and decent service for a good price, and has stuff I like as well.

It was a very good meal, even if the ambiance was a little more challenging than usual. Seems that last night was the re-scheduled Bret Michaels concert at the Mesa Theater, across Main Street from the restaurant. Along the streets and in the restaurant were a generational cross-section of 80's hair metal fans, along with some of the younger generation attracted to the singer by his dating show on VH1, Rock of Love. As for me, any mention of Poison, Warrant, or Whitesnake and I'm changing the channel or running in the opposite direction. Luckily, my kid likes Bay Area hip-hop and The Clash. To each his own...

My son is very thoughtful and articulate, even if we disagree on more than a few things. It's going to be an interesting time watching him graduate in a couple of weeks. I have some family coming out, and it will be nice, but I feel that his mother should be here. She took better care of herself than I ever have, and loved that boy so much. She, her parents, and others that played a large role in his life will be watching from Heaven, of that I'm sure.

With this rite of passage comes a transition period in my life as well. I committed myself primarily to my son after I left the 9-1-1 center last year. My work at the hospital has occasionally proven to be a challenge to that commitment, and it's now time to re-evaluate and prepare for the next phase of my life. That's not a comforting thought, as I am a lot of times driven by ego, and the ego craves certainty. I'll just leave off with something I read on Facebook that describes a part of my situation:
"The reason that ego and love are not compatible comes down to this: you cannot take your ego into the unknown, where love wants to lead. If you follow love, your life will become uncertain, and the ego craves certainty."
Oh yeah, almost forgot...

Those Republicans, especially those locally, should take comfort from the fact that they now have someone that they might comfortably refer to as "Janet from another planet'.

To her credit, Ms. Napolitano is making some sense at times, particularly about the
Real ID fiasco.

The Obama administration properly dismissed the Republican 'indignation' as just posturing.

I don't fault Ms. Napolitano for her staff's eagerness to get out a report before it could be vetted from a political standpoint. As Governor of Arizona, Ms. Napolitano probably didn't see that many left-wing extremists, but had to work with someone who might just pass muster for inclusion into that report of hers; the Sheriff of Maricopa County.

Have a great weekend.

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