family

Ninety-one years ago today, Woodrow Wilson signed legislation designating the Grand Canyon as a national park.

I have been to the Grand Canyon many times, and each time the experience is a little different. Yes, I’ve had the Clark Griswold experience of taking five seconds to look at the view and then tell the kids, “Wow, isn’t that cool? Now let’s go get lunch.”

But I’ve also had the experiences of the solitude of taking in the awesome beauty and the totality of the size and grandeur of one of the true wonders of the world.

Happy Birthday Grand Canyon.

Just for kicks, here is the clip from the 1983 film Vacation.

It doesn’t matter where disaster strikes, it is always devastating. Particularly in a poor country like Haiti.

I have an indirect connection to Haiti. My aunt and uncle spent more than a year there on a service mission helping the poor and infirm, delivering wheelchairs and hope to a country that doesn’t have much hope.

They were deeply touched by their experience there and I’m sure my aunt, who has since passed on, is looking down and trying to offer comfort to those who are suffering. I know my uncle is pained by the images of destruction.

Pray for the people of Haiti.

Crazy.  Insane. Out of your mind. Death wish. Masochist.

Those were just a few of the things that people said to me when I told them I was taking all five of my kids (ages 15, 10, 7, 6 and 2) to Washington, D.C. for the weekend… by myself.

Because the write up on the trip is more than a 1,000 words, it’s in the Deep Thinking section of this blog. Read all about it here.

I received an email today from my brother-in-law that he had written to mark the 8^th anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks of 9/11 2001.  It is excellent.

Like most of you, I remember clearly where I was and what I was doing when news of the attacks was received on September 11, 2001.  Shortly after the first tower fell, I was driving my daughter to work, and I recall making the comment, ‘The world will never be the same.’   Through the ensuing years that prophetic statement is being realized…..in both positive and negative ways.

A particularly positive outcome was the surge in patriotism and expressions of faith that followed.   In many ways those positive effects continue to this day.  During the aftermath, it was common to hear people speak of faith and divine intervention.

These comments were often made in business settings, where in the past it would have been very unusual to hear such pronouncements.  The comments weren’t in reference to a particular religion or belief system,  but rather references to belief in a supreme being, with expressions of gratitude for his love, protection, comfort and care. 

Another positive of singular note was the selfless sacrifice of those on flight 93, who gave their lives that others might live.  The ultimate sacrifice and evidence of true friendship.  ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’  John 15:13

My employer in 2001, Marsh & McLennan, had 1,908 colleagues based in the twin towers of the World Trade Center.  Miraculously, only 295 perished on 9/11,  an additional 54 victims were vendors, consultants and insurance company reps who were meeting with Marsh colleagues at the time of the attack.  Among the victims were a few dear friends, along with numerous acquaintances and respected colleagues.  I was a frequent visitor to Manhattan during the years before and after the attacks, and I remember the many phone calls from friends and family members confirming that I wasn’t in New York that particular week.  For several days after the attacks there was a constant stream of phone calls and emails as we networked together, confirming who was and who was not in the WTC that morning.  There were stories of loss, and amazing stories of faith and protection.  One good friend was in the lobby waiting for an elevator, fortunately the first elevator was full and while he waited for another, the plane hit the building.  He remained in the area briefly and narrowly escaped when the building came down.   Multitudes of similar stories can be told.   In remembrance, I periodically wear a lapel pin with an image of the flag, the Marsh logo and the inscription, ‘Semper Unitas’ (Always Together), 9/11/2001.

While the image of Marsh has been tarnished in the post Spitzer era, the days following 9/11 were its finest hour.  The firm responded immediately, humanely and generously.   In the 2001 annual report, MMC recorded pre-tax charges of $126 million for costs related directly to 9/11, which were not covered by MMC’s insurance program.  The insurance funded charges were many multiples of the uninsured charges incurred.  A monument to those who were lost stands in the plaza adjacent to the Marsh world headquarters in mid-town Manhattan.  It was my privilege to attend the dedication on September 11, 2003.   Eight years have now past, yet feelings remain tender during this season of the year.

My purpose in writing is not to harrow up memories of tragedy or loss.  I write in remembrance and respect for those who are gone, and more importantly, as a reminder of the transient nature of our lives and relationships, and the importance of living fully in the moment and appreciating and cherishing our families, friends and colleagues.   

Semper Unitas

The President of the United States will address school children on Tuesday on the importance of taking responsibility for their own education, their own future and their own destiny.  If that’s indoctrination, give me more.

I have been a bit surprised by the reaction of some folks regarding Obama’s speech to kids.  Some have expressed some reservation about it, others have said they were contacting their children’s school about it, but the quote below from a Financial Times story was downright jaw-dropping over the top:

“As far as I am concerned, this is not civics education – it gives the appearance of creating a cult of personality,” said Steve Russell, a Republican senator from Oklahoma. “This is something you’d expect to see in North Korea or in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.”

 

“Cult of personality”?  Would this Republican say the same thing if it were Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush speaking the exact same words? Not a chance.  This is hypocrisy on parade.

And if you have any doubt, the full text of the speech is posted below. Read it for yourself, and then decide whether you would want your child to hear that message.  I know that I want my kids to hear it, and they will.

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama
Back to School Event

Arlington, Virginia
September 8, 2009
 

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today. 

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.   

Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.”

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year. 

Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.

I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn. 

I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox. 

I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve. 

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. 

And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. 

Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide. 

Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future. 

You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy. 

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country. 

Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in. 

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse. 

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right. 

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying. 

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future. 

That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America. 

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall. 

And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same. 

That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it. 

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things. 

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That’s OK.  Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, “I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” 

These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying. 

No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in. 

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals. 

And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. 

It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?  

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

I’ve been in Montana for a couple days, and for some reason I was surprised by the landscape.  Apparently, a more accurate visual representation of the state is “Legends of the Fall” and not “A River Runs Through It.”  I’ve never seen “Legends”, and I expected all mountains and pine trees. Instead, as I was landing in Billings, I realized it was a larger version of Snowflake, AZ.  It’s a prairie-like landscape with a smattering of trees.  This has been the most of what I’ve seen.  It’s still a beautiful state with very friendly people.

**

As an information-junkie – particularly access to my cell phone, blackberry and laptop wireless card, it is amazing how useless I feel if I lose service.  When it happened the first time in some remote portion of Montana I had a panic attack.  I know, it was absurd, and it only lasted a few moments, and then I was like “how pathetic is that?”  I know, it is.

**

I was in Chicago a couple days ago and had dinner with an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi.  One of the funniest and nicest guys I’ve ever met.  We ate at Shallots Bistro in Skokie and it was incredibly good food.  I had been pining for White Castle earlier in the day, and I didn’t get a chance to stop at one, so someone ordered Kobe beef sliders at the Bistro.  It’s the best Kosher food I’ve ever had.

**

Speaking of food, I was in New York earlier in the week and had some really awesome roasted, cinnamon-coated peanuts I bought from a street vendor.  It’s the small things in life.

**

School starts for the kids this week.  I’m not ready, because summer shouldn’t be ending so quickly, but I’m pretty sure that my wife is ready – particularly with my travel schedule lately.  I used to get so nervous the first day of school when I was in elementary school.  But I was never more nervous than going to the first day of school my freshman year of high school.  I had just spent the previous three years being home-schooled and I was really, really unsure how it was going to go.

I don’t have any memory of that first day of high school, other than knowing the day started with me being nervous, so it must have gone just fine.  And that’s the point – we make a big deal out of the first day of school, as we should, but in the end, unless it turns out to be a bad experience, we forget it.  And that’s the way it should be.

 The good news is that the staples have been removed from my stomach.  The bad news is that there is going to be a really visible scar for the rest of my life.

There was a real sense of freedom coming out of Dr. Casano’s office and realizing that the staples were gone.  I felt like I could move a little more freely, not worry about various twists, etc.  I was happy to be staple free.

*WARNING – GRAPHIC PHOTO BELOW – VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK *

So now that I’m staple free, I figured I’d share a picture of what the staples looked like. Now, some people are going to think that I went overboard on my graphic photo warning.  But, if I hadn’t done that, some unsuspecting reader would have gone straight to the picture and “eeewwwww…” and then I would have gotten a nasty email about how inappropriate it was to show that picture.

Well, I suppose it could be inappropriate, but for anyone who cares about science, biology, etc. it’s actually not a bad little lesson.

And, maybe you should show your teenager what bad driving can do to you.

GOP operative Sean Noble on mend after wreck

Tuesday, 07 July 2009 16:24 Paul Giblin

By Paul Giblin
The Arizona Guardian

Republican political strategist Sean Noble is recovering from injuries he sustained in an early morning car wreck Saturday.

Doctors removed Noble’s spleen during emergency surgery Saturday after he rolled his 2000 Infiniti I30 sedan two or three times south of Cordes Junction.

The former top aide to U.S. Rep. John Shadegg has been recovering at John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital in Phoenix and expects to be discharged Wednesday.

Noble said he is getting along fine without his spleen.

“I don’t miss it. I really didn’t have much of a relationship with it,” he told the Guardian in a telephone interview.

He has been able to work a bit from the hospital, but his conservative political blog “Noble Thinking” has been uncharacteristically inactive in recent days.

Noble was returning home after speaking about tolerance and acceptance at a Mormon youth camp near Prescott. He decided to make the late-night drive because his teen-age daughter Kinsey recently had spinal surgery and he wanted to be with her.

He remembers the incident clearly.

He was headed south on Interstate 17, driving at 75 mph, listening to Tom Petty on the radio. It’s important to note, he said, that despite his well-earned reputation of being a BlackBerry addict, he was not using the device at the time. He had just checked the time; it was 12:20 a.m.

“I was sipping a soda and singing ‘Free Falling,’” he said.

It had rained earlier and he came upon a patch of water on the highway that caused his car to hydroplane, he said. The Infiniti spun and slid toward the edge of the highway.

Noble saw dirt next to the pavement and knew things were going to end poorly.

“The first thing that went through my mind is, ‘You’ve got to kidding me. The last thing I need is to be stranded here at this time of night,” he said.

The tires caught on the dirt and the car rolled two or three times – or more precisely, 2½ or 3½ times – stopping on its roof. Noble found himself hanging upside down from his seatbelt. Every window was shattered.

He unbuckled himself and crawled out a window. He couldn’t find his cell phone, so he walked back to the highway and waited about 10 minutes for another motorist to drive by.

Noble said he didn’t realize he was badly injured, though later tests indicated that his spleen was damaged and that he had internal bleeding.

“I was totally mobile. I was sore. What I thought was that I had broken a few ribs,” he said. “I’m just glad someone stopped.”

A motorist named Patrick stopped, called 911 and allowed Noble to use his phone to contact his wife. Noble sat in the Good Samaritan’s car until rescue personnel arrived. After the rescue team showed up, Patrick drove off. Noble never got his full name.

Noble said he’s thankful for the first responders and the doctors who treated him. And he’s been overwhelmed by the number and kindness of well-wishers who have contacted him since the wreck.

“I wish I hadn’t put myself in that position, but I’m glad I survived,” he said.

Shadegg said he’s spoken to Noble since the crash and has teased him about his poor driving.

“You can tell him I said the conservative movement needs bright and talented people like him and he needs to stop risking it with these car accidents,” Shadegg said.

Noble worked on Shadegg’s staff for more than a decade, finishing as chief of staff. Currently, he’s serving as a campaign consultant for 2010 GOP candidate Jim Ward in Arizona’s 5th Congressional District race, and he’s working on a national campaign opposed to President Barack Obama’s healthcare initiative.

Well, if you hadn’t heard, I was in a car accident early Saturday morning, which is why I have been silent on the blog.  Here is a quick rundown of what happened.

I spent the day Friday with the youth from my church at their annual youth conference.  I had been one of the speakers to the group and then late Friday evening met with just the kids in my ward.  Because my daughter had recently gotten home from her spinal surgery, I decided to drive home Friday night and be there to help out with her, since my wife had been doing the caring pretty much solo.

At 12:20 a.m. Saturday (I know the time because I had just looked at the clock and figured out how long it would be before I was home) with rain falling, I hit a big patch of standing water on the left lane of southbound I-17 just a few miles south of Cordes Junction.  I hydroplaned, couldn’t correct the spin, went into a total spin, crossing the right lane and hitting the dirt on the right side of the road and going into a multiple roll.

The car came to rest on the roof with me dangling from my seatbealt.  I got the seatbelt unbuckled and crawled through the driver’s side window (which had busted out during the roll over.)  I was a little off the freeway and it took about 10 minutes for someone to finally stop.  All I know about the guy that stopped is that his name is Patrick and he was driving a rental.  I don’t know where he is from or anything else. But I am extremely grateful that he stopped, called 911, let me sit in his car while we waited for emergency response and let me use his phone so I could call my wife and tell her that I was ok, but it was going to be a long night.  Turned out to be longer than I had thought.

The emergency response was a crew from the town of Mayer. Real salt of the earth, and very good at what they do. I don’t remember my paramedic’s name, but his family has a place in Linden – and we talked about Show Low and hunting in the White Mountains as I was strapped to a backboard, immobilized by the neck brace, riding in an ambulance to John C. Lincoln Deer Valley.   I had a pretty sore “lower quadrant” (left lower ribs/abdominal area) but the pain subsided by the time we got to Phoenix.

Once at JCL Deer Valley, I got a CAT scan and the doctor told me that I had a lacerated spleen and they were going to transport me to a Trauma center (John C. Lincoln North Mountain) to have it taken care of.  So, I had the second ambulance ride of my life.

Sidebar:   So I was obviously a little shaken up right after the crash, but I didn’t have a scratch on me – literally, not a mark, which was a common notation the next few hours.  Also, for the record, I did not fall asleep – I was loudly singing “Free Falling” by Tom Petty which was being played on 96.9 FM (rich irony, I know) and had a half-finished soda the balance of which ended up on my sleeve.  Also, I was going the speed limit and I was NOT on an electronic device.  In fact, both my cell phone an d my blackberry were lost in the accident – I’m assuming thrown out into the desert during the rolling since they were both on my console. End sidebar

As I was rolled into the Trauma center, I could sense a real change in the way things were being handled.  There was real urgency in the air.  The rest of my clothes came off (except my dark socks, which really bothered me for some reason), I was being asked a dozen questions by a dozen different people, both arms and wrists were being poked, prodded and taped and then  I see someone standing off to the side who says something and everything goes quiet – it was like being in the presence of a general. He was the trauma surgeon, Dr. Sam Casano.  I ended any ambiguity in what was going on in my mind when he said, we’re going in to take out your spleen and fix anything else we find. He asked a couple questions, and then the background noise started again and then the memory stops.

***

“Hey Sean. How do you feel?” It was my wife – what a site for sore eyes!  I felt pretty good – a little groggy, but very comfortable, but as I tried to say something, I realized that I probably didn’t feel all that great.  I tried to swallow, but my mouth was so parched and I felt like I had a pencil stuck down my throat. Oh, it hurt!

But I was happy to see my wife.  She said that surgery was over and that everything went swimmingly. It was mid-morning and I realized for the first time that my life had just changed – pretty dramatically in the short term (trips canceled, meetings by phone rather than in person, etc.) and to some degree in the long term (I now carry a card which tells emergency folks that I don’t have a spleen).  But I was alive, already recovering and realizing that I was both blessed and lucky.

I have a wonderful wife – who drew the short straw when she agreed to marry me.  And with my recovering daughter, her life was already complicated enough before having to deal with an invalid husband.  I have kids who love me no matter what – which I need to take advantage of because it isn’t always going to be this way.

And I have a big bunch of absolutely wonderful friends. From the phone calls, notes, emails, facebook comments, card, flowers, visits, prayers, to conspiring with me to get a blackberry activated without my wife knowing (our secret is safe Jack and team) and the outpouring of help with Julie, the kids, the house, scouring the accident site for lost and important items – I feel like George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life” and it literally brings tears to my eyes.  

Thank you. To each of you. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the thoughtfulness, generosity and kindness.

So now I’m home, sporting a shining set of staples going about 7 inches up my stomach and less a spleen.  I know I need to take it easy, and I will (I can’t drive until next week, so I’m a prisoner anyway).  However, I have a LOT to catch up on with news and events and I’ve been doing a lot of thinking – so I’ll be back in blogging mode.

The first question is, how in the world is my having an accident considered news?  I don’t see it, but others apparently see it differently. Here and  here. And it was all started by Greg Patterson at espressopundit.  Paul Giblin at the Arizona Guardian actually called me, and his story was so detailed, I’ll post it next in its entirety.

I’ve been highly distracted the last couple days.  Just thought you should know.

So at dinner I ask my 7 yr-old daughter what she thinks it means to be tolerant.  My wife leans over and whispers something in her ear.  Daughter responds, “Taller than an ant.”  Now that’s funny.

I’m a Diamondbacks season ticket holder and I have yet to step foot in Chase Field this season.  There is something very wrong with this picture.  And there is a certain amount of irony to why I’ve been too busy and too out of town to do so.

Wal-Mart announced that it is joining with the Service Employees International Union in support of an employer mandate to provide health insurance coverage.  For one thing, doing anything with SEIU (I actually refer to it as SUIE – as in sooooweee! Like when you are calling the pigs since SEIU leadership is like a bunch of hogs at the trough of forced union dues) is a recipe for disaster.  Does Wal-Mart actually believe that SEIU won’t try to unionize them in exchange for supporting bad policy on health care?  Think again.  Sam Walton is turning in his grave.  Tevi Troy has a good take on it here.

There are a lot of flowers in our house as a result of my 15 yr-old daughter’s spinal surgery.  When they are a few days old, they really start to smell the opposite of what they are supposed to – but they’re still pretty, so I don’t want to throw them out yet.

Given the distractions, my daughter’s surgery and my schedule for the last week, I have paid zero attention to the Arizona budget fight between the Legislature and the Governor, so I don’t know what to think.