Rugby today

If anyone will be near Danbury, Connecticut, this afternoon, the fields at the Mill Ridge Primary School will become rugby pitches for today. In the meantime, I will share some photos from the tournament last week in Lido Beach.




Time with Marc and me regularly includes hearing one of us say, "look at him!" After all, looking is free! :)

















The above photo is of Eric. He's a member of our team, and he's an all-around nice guy. Aside from that, he did something that really made me admire him. For more, go here.


Bug, the dog of one of the players


Bug and the boys playing between matches









For the full set of photos, go here.

Mother's Day

This article reminds me of a bit of family history. Why? Because my Dad didn't like any of the "Hallmark Holidays," those events that were driven mostly by American corporate greed and sold to us as obligations to people we love (Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc.). My Dad wished his mother a happy mother's day on his birthday every year. He felt that that had some meaning, while the "official" day was artificial.

But he always observed the official Mother's Day when it came to my Mom. I never questioned why. I guess I figured he was going along with me and my brothers. Little did I know that there was a family secret lurking there. I don't know if I ever shared this story on here, and now seems a fitting time.

My parents' anniversary was August 28th. I knew it by heart.

When my Dad died, in the middle of the night, the way such things often happen, I rushed over to be at my Mom's side. I was with my brothers and some other family members, and we were trying to comfort my Mom, as she had just lost the love of her life and was truly devastated.

We were talking about all of the wonderful years. Among other things, we talked about their nearly 43 years of marriage. "Next month," my Mom said. Now, this was April, and you will recall that I said they were married in August. So I, figuring Mom was overwrought and a bit lost, said, "well, not next month, Mom, but soon." And she repeated that the following month would mark 43 years.

Now, someone with a bit more diplomatic sense would have shut up, but I guess I lacked that. Besides, this was getting weird and baffling. Mom couldn't have been that confused. As it happens, she wasn't confused at all.

I said, "Mom, it's April. Your anniversary is August 28th." She shook her head, no. "May 26th."

May 26th? What?

A little background: my Dad was from a relatively well-off family. Not wealthy, but really living the American dream. My grandfather had come over on a boat from Europe, worked his butt off, and they were living a very nice life. My Mom, on the other hand, was from a poor family. They were living in tenement housing on the lower east side of Manhattan. Her father also worked his butt off, but they didn't have much.

My Mom and Dad met and fell in love. My Dad's parents did not approve. They had another girl in mind. Someone from the right kind of family. But my Dad had no intention of going along. He loved my Mom, and nothing was going to stop them. Little did I know the lengths they'd gone to in order to make sure they wouldn't be stopped.

What I learned on that terrible day 10 years ago is that my parents had eloped. I also learned that it had remained a secret for 43 years. "Don't tell Nan," my Mom said. Nan was my paternal grandmother. She had the misfortune of outliving my Dad, and my Mom said there was no point in her knowing. It would just upset her more. That probably was right, so I kept it to myself.

After my Mom died, when I went through her papers, I found both Ketubahs (the Ketubah is the Jewish marriage license). Apparently, if my Dad had been pushed into a corner by my grandparents, he was going to tell them it was too late. They already were married.

This also explained a couple of things. As my Mom asked me that morning, "Didn't you ever wonder why Dad always gave me such nice Mother's Day gifts?" Hmmm.

It also clicked with something else. When I was graduated from college, the day was May 26th. I remember my Mom saying something about May 26th being a great day or words to that effect. When I asked what she meant by that, she changed the subject. I finally had the explanation!

This was one of the most romantic stories I had heard. They had eloped but kept it secret for all those years, making sure that nothing would stand in the way of their love!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom! I miss you!

More rugby photos

Tomorrow, we have a rugby tournament (so I'll have photos to share next week). And tonight, I am going to be a judge at LIGALY's Out Idol competition. Marc normally goes, too, but he has a business function tonight. So I am flying solo.

Before I go, I have time for a quick post, so I will share more rugby photos from last week...








A handsome spectator












That can't be comfy!




This guy was huge. Way over six feet and had to be 250 pounds or more (and he was quite solid).

If you want to see all of the photos, the full set is here. Enjoy!

For once, W is right

This is a fiscally irresponsible political stunt, and it should be vetoed by the President. When we bought our first house and this one, we kept our financing within what we could reasonably afford.

During the heyday of the no-money-down loans, the interest-only loans, the no-income-verification loans and the rest of the mortgage scams of a few years ago, plenty of us recognized that they were greed-inspired foolishness. So now that mortgage companies are going under and people in much bigger houses than they could truly afford are losing those houses, the rest of us should bail them out with our taxes? No, I don't think so!

I live within my means. If you bit off more than you could chew, that's not for me to fix. We are big supporters of charity and assistance to those in need, but I'm not for rewarding people who were stupid, short-sighted and greedy.

If you make $40,000 a year, then no, you never should have bought a $750,000 house. Can't afford the payments now? Too bad! That's not my problem. The foreclosure goes forward, and, since you have no equity in the thing, you move on. That's life. Don't expect the rest of us to fix your mess!

Time for more rugby photos

Well, the last post attracted an interesting commenter, but now I think it's time for lighter stuff. So, without further adieu, here are some photos from the latest match...





























Okay, we'll stop there for today. More to come!

Republicans and other crazies

If anyone has any doubt about what a McCain win would mean for the country, just read this. Mr. McCain says that "Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. 'would serve as the model for my own nominees, if that responsibility falls to me.'" I do love the code people like this use. He doesn't want activist judges. He doesn't want judges who legislate.

In other words, judges like the ones who ruled, in Brown v. Board of Education, that separate black and white schools were unconstitutional, or the judges who ruled in Loving v. Virginia that laws against blacks and whites marrying were unconstitutional, or those horrific activist judges who, just a few years ago in Lawrence v. Texas, ruled that it was unconstitutional for Texas to outlaw consensual sodomy.

Yes, in the view of people like Mr. McCain, we should have waited until the legislatures got around to deciding on their own, "why, yes, we have been trampling minority rights for all these years. We should stop that." Sorry, but the legislature is just one branch of the government. The judicial branch has always been there to right injustices and guard against tyranny of the majority. It's part of what has made the American republic so great.

Now, on to more immediate issues:

HEY, BURMESE* GOVERNMENT, ARE YOU COMPLETELY FUCKING NUTS???

(*Yeah, I know it's not Burma now, it's Myanmar. So would that be Myanmarese? Anyhow...)

The United States Navy is standing by to rush relief in. The US has pledged millions of dollars of aid, but you don't want to let us in?

Yes, I know W is an asshole. Yes, he and his people have said mean things about you. The club that can't stand W is a big one, but let us help your people! (The word from W-land is that they're even lifting sanctions that were put in place because of that repressive regime in order to allow aid to flow more freely.)

I was just reading an article in a Chinese publication that one of the ships standing by to go there is the USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship that carries 23 helicopters, three landing craft, and a contingent of 1,800 marines who can quickly bring a lot of manpower to rescue efforts. The military has a long history of using their muscle for rescue and recovery efforts. They know how to do these things!

The US government has pledged $3 million in aid, and, if history is any guide, that number will increase with time and pressure from the US populace, as we see more reports of the scope of the disaster. Aid organizations, including one we've supported over the years called Americares are gearing up, as is the UN, the International Red Cross and agencies from other countries.

But no one can move things like this country, so let us! Is the junta in Myanmar so frightened that they can't even let help for their own people get to them? Do they really think the US military is going to decide to attack as long as they're there?

Yes, I know, the war in Iraq. And yes, I know our government screwed up the New Orleans response right here in our own country. True but irrelevant. We're trying to send help. Let us! Your people are dying!

More from last week's rugby

There was more rugby yesterday, but those photos aren't ready to be shared yesterday. Not to worry! We still have some left from last week. But first, I have this one as a teaser from yesterday...



Hard to look at, isn't he? :) Okay, back to last week's photos...



















Click on any of those for a larger version. If you want to see the full set from last week, go here.