Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

It came to my attention recently on the evening news that cheap-ish gas from Mexico is not allowed to cross the border into this country. How's that again?! Like this: An American couple went and filled up their gas guzzler and its extra tank with less expensive gas on the other side of the border. On their way back north they were denied exit from Mexico with all that *cheap* gas in their truck.

Ok. They have rules. And here's my question: How come Mexican nationals, both legal and illegal, are welcomed into this country to work for the express purpose of exporting US $$$$$ into Mexico? Why is that allowed? Not only is there no repercussion whatsoever from this government, but they are tacitly, and maybe not so tacitly, encouraged by their own government in a ploy to foist off its own financial burden for its own citizens onto the responsibility of the US taxpayer.

Sooooo... Can somebody explain how this *good neighbor* policy works again?

Sign of the Times

Hate Crimes up in LA County

So, crime is up in LA. Oh, that's definitely headline-worthy. What, exactly, is a "hate crime" anyway? Is a hate crime something worse than a love crime? If anything, if there's really a difference, I think it would be the other way around. Having never been assaulted myself, I can't say for sure, but I'm thinking that being attacked by someone who loved me would be a whole lot more devastating that being attacked by someone who hated me. If I'm right about that, then it's really a good thing that *hate crimes* are up. Who thinks up these inanities, anyway?!

West Point Makes the Grade

Earlier this month The Princeton Review placed West Point in the Top Ten of all American colleges in the areas of "most accessible professors," "best classroom experience" (whatever that means), and "most to do on campus " (not that anyone actually has time to do it). Other accolades include: small class size (10-19 students), Honor Code system, great academic and athletic facilities, safe campus environment, and great career services.

A week or so later Forbes joined in, ranking West Point as the sixth best college and best public college in the nation, citing quality of education and achievement of students.

West Point: ". . . the finest. . .educational experience in America." Imagine that!

School Days

School starts today. It shouldn't matter to me, being that I have no one in school. But it matters a lot. Because I live in the Bermuda triangle between the high school and two elementary schools. Oh, and the bus barn. No matter which way I go when I leave my house, I have to pass a school. Not much of a problem during the summer, but when school starts... look out!

Trips have to be pre-arranged to the minute if I don't want to spend hours just trying to get out of the driveway. And once I am on the street...do I go this way and risk getting run over by a team of teen-age drivers in training for the Indianapolis 500...or do I go that way and risk running over a herd of oblivious pedestrians who have been taught that all traffic on the street will stop as soon as they step off the curb...? Decisions, decisions...

All summer long, traffic on our street has been disrupted by the Black Hole of Calcutta a few houses down from us. It has been growing by the day, filling up with *water* (?), overflowing into nearby yards and running down the street. Fortunately, we live upstream. . .

All summer long, the only fix provided by the city has been a traffic cone in the big middle, a challenge to every driver along this narrow obstacle course: orange cone on the edge of the hole, cars parked along both sides as far as the eye can see, and a bus coming down the middle.

On Friday, just a weekend away from school, a full crew finally showed up to dig up the street, plug up the leak, and fill up the hole...just in time for the wannabe race car drivers from the high school to have plenty of room to accelerate from 0 to 90 in two blocks, unimpeded.

Why now...?

A Day

CBT is officially over and the cadoodles are officially cadets. I am so proud of my boy. My only regret is that I didn't get to see it.

I checked the USMA website in hopes that there would be a live stream of the parade, but no such luck. Or maybe I am not tech-y enough to find it. That's a definite possibility. In any event, I will soon be back to haunting Plebe Net for pictures and videos from the families that were able to go, and *Where's Waldo?* should be in full swing again before long.

D called this morning, and just as we were about to hang up, the other phone started to ring. When I saw M's picture on the caller id I grabbed it right up~ Hello, hello, HELLO? No one was there! WAAAAAHH!!!! I immediately called him back, but no answer. So much for Verizon's good reception at West Point... But a little bit later I was checking gmail, and there was my boy!!! So, all is well in my empty-nested world.

After IM-ing with him for a bit, I am thinking that maybe it is just as well we didn't get to go. He was planning on hitting a couple of the many picnics/events he/we was/were invited to, and then taking a nap, a heretofore barely-contemplated luxury. And of course he will have "ESP" tomorrow: Evening Study Period (not, as I surmised, the well known sports channel ). Had we been there, he almost surely would have missed his nap, and I think he sorely needs one.

So... Happy Napping, M! It may be your last one for another while. The race is on!

The March Back

They're back, intact! The class of 2012, "For More Than Ourselves."

Today won the prize for the biggest surprise.

I was in MoreMart, on the phone in consult with C about which shoes to get BB3 for his birthday. After the shoe business was concluded, C asked me if we would hear from M today. We have been warned repeatedly that the cadoodles will be busy, busy, busy moving in, standing in line, and generally getting *squared away* for school to start on Thursday, so I told her we should not expect to hear anything until the weekend. And then I hung up.

And immediately the phone rang again. It was M!!!!! Back from Buckner, all in one piece and happy. Tired, exhausted, with a whole crop of new blisters which fortunately did not appear until the very end, but definitely happy. Proud. And accomplished.

When I got home I immediately signed in with Plebe Net to check for new Waldo sightings. "Where's Waldo" has slowed down to almost non-existent the last few weeks, due not to any lack of interest on my part, but rather to the fact that I have studiously inspected every picture on the internet and there are no more Waldos to be found. Now with the passing of the March Back and with the advent of A Day, I expect to be back on full-time duty with the Waldo hunters again soon. I have only had a glance through the new crop of pictures posted so far, and alas, no Waldo has been revealed, but the game is young, and there are many more pictures to come.

One remarkable thing I noticed, though: Among the 100's and 100's of cadoodles coming home to West Point, there are big smiles on many, many, many of the faces. What a striking difference from R Day, when there was only fear and apprehension on every face, including those of the parents and other spectators. What a wondrous change West Point has wrought. In *only* seven weeks of Beast Barracks, a bunch of mostly scared, uncertain new cadets was transformed into a band of confident survivors, and I stand, once again, in total admiration.

So 2008 CBT joins the legends of West Point, and now on to the next challenge.

That officer lady, back in that other reality of R Day, was right: They have what it takes.

Wedding Bell Blues

So. S and Gi are getting married. On a cruise. Well, woe is me.

Don't get me wrong. I imagine that a cruise is a wonderful thing. Not having ever been on one before, world traveler that I am, I really wouldn't know; I'm just going on reputation. But I am getting ready to find out for myself. My man and I are invited to come along on this five-day cruise, to ports/parts unknown. If we manage to survive the getting there.

First there is paperwork. Boarding passes must exactly match birth certificates must exactly match photo ID's. Oh, your first and middle name have been reversed ? Sorry, and it's too late to change. Homeland Security regulations, you understand. But for only $50 and a few seconds of our time, we can set it right. Huh? How is $50 going to change a terroristic heart? I suspect it's not really a security issue. More like another way for them to suck a little bit more $ out of the cruising public.

Then there is the issue of how you are going to get home. Car at the pier? Friends/family picking you up? Shuttle bus to nowhere (if so, name of bus company, # of bus route, exact time of pickup)? Taxi? Why do they care? What if the friend that is coming to pick us up calls to say his car broke down, how about us hopping on the bus? Will they let us on the bus without a letter from home saying it's ok? If they are so worried about it, I think I am going to change my plans from "car at the pier" to "you are giving me a ride."

And then proper *cruise attire.* Shorts, tank tops, no cut-offs, rubber-soled shoes, casual, casual, casual. And be ready to show off your beautiful evening wear. Well, which is it?

And your *dining assignment.* Formal dining room? Captain's table? Early seating? Late seating? Midnight buffet? Bistro? 24-hour pizza parlor? I DON'T KNOW!!! How many meals do we have to eat, anyway? If I am assigned to the early seating, do I still have to hit the midnight buffet? This is just too many choices and too much information, and waaaay toooo much food!

And don't forget~this one is really important~Be sure and set up your *sail & sign* account right away. This will allow you to buy anything you want, with invisible money! All you have to do is sign...and voila'! You'll never miss what you'll never see, right? So...spend away! This convenient little account even keeps the worry about tips and gratuities from intruding on your fun. You won't ever feel awkward wondering if or how much. Instead, *they* will determine that their service merited a tip, and the amount, and it will be automatically added to your bill. You don't have to do a thing. Oh, except pay.

And of course on the home front, prepare to be gone. Stop the paper and the mail, notify the neighbors and the cops, arrange garden and dog care, clean out the refrigerator. Pack the suitcases, but first make sure you have something to pack in them. Get haircuts...don't wanna go cruising the world looking like we look. Although...we're never gonna see any of these people again ~ well, except for our family, but they've already seen the worst ~ so maybe that's one little detail we won't have to worry about.

Unchained stress...Next time somebody wants to get married I am going to suggest a quick trip to the JP. Well, there is one thing to be thankful for. Or two.... One, a lovely new ddil, and two, I'm not the mother of the bride...WHEW...!