Peace Out

Heading to DC for the weekend....baby's 1st Halloween, I promise to post pic's!

Hello Again

Sorry, sorry, sorry – I know I’ve been AWOL for much to long, the only excuse I can give is that annual enrollment has started at non-descript airlines and as I work in the Benefits group, we have been very busy

But now I am back! So much to talk about, where to start???

One of my good friends from grade school is expecting her 7^th child. She is a devout Catholic. She has 6 children already, all under the age of 10. With this child she is having complications and has been forced to stay in the hospital. This means the father has had to look after the children. Everyone is praising the father for doing this, except me. My thinking of this situation is, “you are the father, you are suppose to be looking after the children, you are not doing anything extraordinary here.” My friend does this all day when he is at work (the kids are home schooled). Besides, you wanted all those children (my friend’s husband is a super strict Catholic) you should look after them, see what my friend goes through all day long, everyday 24/7. Am I wrong in not being impressed? I kind of see this hospital stay as an act of God, as a way for Him to force rest for my friend, otherwise, when does she get a break?

Well we now know the worth of a Palestinian life to the State of Israel – 1 Israel for 1,000 Palestinians (as seen in the current prisoner exchange). That seems about right if one follows Israeli politics; kill 1,000 Palestinians to make room for a settlement for one Israeli family, and that too, on occupied Palestinian land. I wish Israel would stop saying they are for peace when its clear through their continued settlement expansion into Palestinian terroritory that they are not (seems almost more like ethnic cleansing).

Took baby to a pumpkin patch this past weekend – she was completely frightened. Who would have thought rows and rows of big orange balls would scare an 8^th month old so much?? She would not get down from either momma or daddy, clinging on for dear life. We will try again next year.

Airport Security

This bit (in red below) was in our daily electronic newsletter that all employee’s at non-descript airline get – I couldn’t agree more about the idea of making different security lanes for air passengers. I know, as a frequent traveler, I HATE getting behind someone in security who has never been on a plane or doesn’t know what to do, their pockets full of coins, wearing sneakers, a belt, having a laptop, you name it in slowing down the security line and they are doing it. Aye!

“Airport security would be cheaper and more effective if passengers were divided up according to risk, the head of the International Air Transport Association said. The aviation industry spends $4.7 billion a year on security in the aftermath of the attacks at the World Trade Center in New York 10 years ago, Tony Tyler, chief executive officer of the trade group, said today in Amsterdam. “We have not made it any more intelligent,” he said, speaking at an air security conference. “For the billions of dollars we spend, we could do a lot better.” The CEO called for an overhaul of airport security scanning and said airline passengers should be screened with their bags, without having to stop, remove clothing or unpack. IATA favors splitting passengers into three categories: “normal,” “enhanced,” and “known traveler,” based on customs and immigrations data and information about their travel arrangements such as the payment method. Based on the risk-assessment the passengers would be guided through different lanes, with limited scanning for “well- known” customers and more extensive security screening, including body scans and explosive trace detectors, for higher- risk passengers. “

In the shower today and thinking about the top five films guaranteed to make me cry:
1. Fried Green Tomatoes
2. Dumbo
3. I am Sam
4. Steel Magnolias
5. Schindler's List

Also, my heart goes out to Meredith Kercher’s family, I could care less about Amanda Knox, but poor Meredith is dead and that is the whole tragedy in this story, nothing else.