Who's responsible?

I watched the news tonight, and felt bad for the many people in the northwest suburbs who were hit hard by this past weekend's storm. Many of their basements took on water, and their loss, in some cases, were pretty substantial. But I also listened to them ask for help in a town meeting; wondering when assistance would come from FEMA or the government to help them repair their homes. It made me wonder, who's responsible?

How have we gotten here, that when tragedy happens, as it often does, that we don't know how to help each other and ourselves anymore; instead, we look for a bailout. I know that may sound harsh, but I don't know what else to call it. Since when is it the governments responsibility to financially help us when our homes are hit by flood, tornado, hail, or other tragedy strikes? How have we gotten here?

I remember growing up, and if a flood would hit like this in our neighborhood, we would all come together to help each other out, and we would make repairs as we had the money to make them. I thought that was the normal way of doing things. When has it become anyone's responsibility, besides mine and our insurance company, to make the necessary repairs to anything damaged, least of all the government?

This all just seems rather odd to me. It's like we don't know how to take care of ourselves anymore. Does this strike anyone else as odd? I'm just saying.

One minutes makes all the difference

I've heard it all my life, but probably never sensed it like I did yesterday. Standing in between these two walls, with the time right before the bombing, and the time right after engraved on those copper walls freezes that one moment, 9:02, for it seems like forever; well, for us it was 2 1/2 hours. Ever lived a minute for 2 1/2 hours?

It gave me a new perspective on the fact that one minute can

make a world of difference. Pictures say things like nothing else can, so I've posted some pics that were especially moving for us.

A Day to remember about a day to forget

We spent the morning at the National Memorial in Oklahoma City where the bombing took place in 1995. Can't believe it's been 15 years. From the reflecting pool to the chairs, it an experience that I can't begin to describe here. I'll post some pics tomorrow, and let them speak for us.

It's incredible to stand between those two walls, one with a 9:01 on it, and the other with a 9:03 on it, and stand in that moment, 9:02, for as long as you can. You get lost in the scene, reading people's names on chairs, set up in rows, representing those that were killed from all 9 floors. It's an emotion I'm not sure I've experienced in a while. It's somber, with hardly anyone talking once you enter that land between the walls, where today I lived one minute for 3 hours. 9:02.

After spending 3 hours there, not even noticing that it was 98 degrees at 10:30 in the morning, we headed to Leo's Barbecue. It's located at 38th and Lincoln Ave., and let me tell you, that was some eats. We split a 1/2 pound brisket plate, with beans, macaroni salad, cole slaw, and we finished it with their classic strawberry/banana cake; to die for. I know some don't think there is barbecue outside of Kansas City, just like we think there isn't pizza outside Chicago; but let me tell you, there is some great barbecue on Oklahoma City. Check it out.

Tomorrow we head for Dallas, and Terry begins to prep for her seminar. I'm planning on attending in the evenings with her, and spending some time by the pool with a book. Look for pics from today on tomorrow's posting.

Chicago to Dallas, and back again

Well, we started another trip to Dallas for Terry's Mary Kay convention, and I thought it would be fun to eat at some out of the way places, and visit some places we've yet to see.

It all started today at Rock Cafe in Stroud, OK. You can check out Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives for more about this place, but apparently the owner and the restaurant were some design incentives for the Pixar movie, Cars. They have a signed poster in there from the producers from the movie. It's on old route 66 in Stroud, and just like in the movie with the new highway being built near the town, Terry commented that this place looks like it was dying. Well the town might be, but the restaurant wasn't.

Fried pickle wedges, alligator burger, and jagerschnitzel with spaegnel (never figured out what that was) were just some of the foods on our plates for this lunch. Sorry, no pics. We also had deep friend apples ala mode. Good stuff. Tomorrow we're going to the Oklahoma Citybombing memorial in , and Leo's Barbeque for lunch (another recommended stop from DDD). I'll let you know how lunch goes tomorrow, but as far as the Rock Cafe goes, Terry and I give it two thumbs up. Exit 179 off of 44 in Oklahoma, around 40 miles NE of OKC. Worth the stop; at least once in this life.

An honest response to a broken city.

A harsh reaction from a city that is tired of losing. I'm not a Cav's fan, but here's hoping it spills over to our beloved Browns!

Cavaliers: Open Letter to Fans from Cavaliers Majority Owner Dan Gilbert

Not sure why a majority owner should be this bitter when they are the ones responsible for creating the climate and system in which the players and their lawyers operate. It is the nature of the beast, so Dan, as bad as I feel for Cleveland tonight, it's difficult for us to feel terribly sorry for any of you.

I'm over it!

I'm over it! I don't care where Labron plays; don't care how much money Wade and Bosh make; don't care if they are all in Miami; I just don't care.

I'm over it. I'm over it because I don't like pro basketball; easy. I'm over it because I'm tired of what gets attention in our country. I'm over it because no one cares how they spend it, just where they play. I'm over it because they are all full of themselves; come on, an hour to announce where you'll be playing basketball next year. The sad thing, is that might have higher ratings then the world cup. I'm over it, even as I type listening to Wade talk about how emotional it was to walk away from Chicago, saying "you know, that's my home."

So I'm over it. Only 20 days til training camps open for the NFL.