Once Upon a Time in January...

Current Status... I am very sleepy this afternoon, but I haven't written since the spine-tingling Inauguration, so I'll give it a go. I remember being excited about John Kennedy's inauguration, but not like this. How weary we all were! How ready for change! How relieved many of us are simply because we feel grounded again in principles we can live with. Already I feel like there's not a lot going on in the White House that we're not hearing about. How refreshing that is!

Lately I'm thinking... Another snow day seems to be coming tomorrow, so it looks like I'll get to stay home for my birthday. Maybe Stuart will build a fire and I'll wrap up in a blankey and read a book (while balancing my laptop and sending e-mails ;-)

This is really interesting... This winter I understand why so many people move to Florida. Of course, I don't care for Florida: It's flat and it's humid. But I like the idea of not having to deal with coats and colds and boots and heating bills and shoveling and skids and weak sunlight and long, dark periods when the ATVs get out on the pond ice and make it impossible to get a decent sleep, and so many layers you can't bend your arms to pick up the Terra chip on the floor of the car. And what about when your birthday is snowed out? No Defiance or Gran Torino or Slumdog Millionaire, nor even Indian food. On the other hand, it would be a great time to bake gluten-free chocolate chip cookies and make squash soup!

Currently reading... Still reading T.C. Boyle's World's End. It's long! The yarn covers about 300 years, and not in chronological order either. I can't keep track, except that it's probably significant that so many characters are named Walter or Wouter and are missing a foot. Intriguing, wot? Mostly, I like all the references to places in the Hudson Valley that I know.

The Soapbox... I read an article in the NYTimes defending us Boomer babes. Maybe we're not so self-absorbed and materialistic as we're reputed to be. Maybe we've produced some really smart, really good, really successful people. Maybe Mr. Obama will help make us a greatly prized generation. I remember that our high school principal made a big deal of the class of '66: We were the best so far. That's how I've felt ever since: We're the best yet, and we will leave a shiny trail of positive actions behind us. What do you think?