All Hail The Great State of Texas

Can you smell it? AHHHHHHHHH...it is in the air. The smell of back to school, back to fall, back to school shopping sales ... AND FOOTBALL!

Oh, but it is much more than that to this Texas girl in Yankee-land. It is HOME. It is checking stats, blood pumping on game day, phone stuck to my ear as my father and I try not to cry (real) tears while we wait to see what our Number 10, 11 or 12th ranked (depending on which poll you use) Longhorns will win in the last few seconds of EVERY SINGLE FREAKING GAME. Only these boys in burnt orange can make a grown man cry on the phone to his daughter while she curses a blue streak and BEGS her team to do something - anything - that I can cram down the throats of my cubical mates.

Oh, yes, it is a thrilling time indeed. Not only do my Longhorn's take to the field but my Spurs will hoop it up once more this fall, winter and spring while I chew on my nails and coach from my couch or bar stool, instructing everyone around me not to touch me and to "Please, for the love of all that is good in this world, SHUT UP already so I can watch the game".

Up here, it is all about the Giants and the other team ... oh, the Jets! How could I forget about the Jets? That's right, I remember now, I DON'T CARE. I don't care if Manning usurped the reining kingdom of the Pats in the last few minutes of the Super Bowl - sure it was exciting - but I am living in the NOW people. I don't care if Brett Favre is going to cry up and down the field of the Jets. Get the man a hanky already.

I care about TEXAS. The sunsets, the pep rally's, the false hopes that this year will be OUR year.

In other areas, I am so glad Texas history is coming to an end. ELECTION TIME! Wahoo. No matter who wins, I will now not be greeted with "Well, obviously you support our dim witted President because you are from Texas". Really? Because I am from Texas I must be a blind sheep who does not know when a man has served his time (questionably) and it is time for him to make hay ... I mean HASTE! Run, George, Run! The sheer audacity that there will be a movie out called "W" about our current leader BEFORE he even leaves office does not escape even the most devout W. lover. Which, I am not - devoted or blind.

Yes, I am a Texan, a title which can never be stripped of me no matter my political beliefs (Democratic, baby) or my stance on thenew law passed in Texas.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26393946

It is true my friends and fellow Texans, Governor Good Hair has approved teachers to carry guns in schools. Bless his heart (that is what we Texans say when speaking of stupid or ill equipped people). I realize there have been school shootings around the country. It is something that makes me sick to my stomach - hell hath no furry as the ones left behind in a broken system.

So, after seeing this news flash and cringing that it came from Gov. Perry (of course it did) I Googled states where school shootings have occurred - and guess what? No other state that I can find has this unique law. Now, granted, I did not do an in depth search, but this commentary would stand for other states other than my own who would pass this law.

I think about police officers who are trained to fire weapons, but not just to fire them but also when NOT to fire them. How to (best case scenario) disarm a gun toting hooligan gone awry. These trained professionals in the heat of conflict often make mistakes, putting 41 bullets in an uassuming man standing on the stairs to his building in a known dangerous block of the Bronx who was just trying to show his wallet to them. Even the best of our finest can't always take in all the factors in the heat of a conflict. What makes anyone think a teacher can do better? A teacher, who is almost assuredly under paid, over stressed and scared as hell their class room will become the next target because someone got an F.

I am a dreamer, it is true. I do recognize and understand reality. I am not so high on my soap box that I cannot see the unfortunate necessity in this development. But it makes me, a dreamer, very low and sad. I know innocence has been gone from our schools for a long time, but now it is in black and white in a law in Texas that not even the Government has faith that we can make a positive difference in the lives of children.

Obviously, I have some passionate feelings on this, but I would hate to think of Thing 1 and Thing 2 going to a school where the norm is for a teacher to have a gun in the desk. What kind of message does it send? Does anyone else feel like the government might possibly be raising their collective hands in the air saying "Well, we give up".

I am over simplifying. I am not taking into consideration all of those people who would lose their lives if someone was not allowed to have the opportunity to do something before things got out of hand. But damn, it puts a pallor on my rising HOPE of a new football season. A new fall TV season. A new season of government. Or just, a new season.

I hope for better. I hope for wars to end, for people to come together and cheer a bunch of college students hoping to be the next draft pick so they can make millions play right now for the love of the game. I hope for a bunch of do-gooder basketball players to prove they are NOT old, thank you very much, and good guys DO WIN.

I hope for good roll models and bright futures.

But if all that is not possible, then I guess, I hope my child never has to go to school where weapons are the norm just because the school is 30 miles from the nearest police station and everyone has decided it is better to assume someone will need to use that gun.

But, hey, this is Texas and, apparently, we do love a good sport.

What I did on my summer vacation by HB

Remember in elementary school when you had to stand up in front of the class and recite everything you did on your summer vacation? (Or if you were "that girl", like me, the ONE thing you did on your summer vacation besides sit in front of the TV eating Spaghetti-O's)

This summer has seemed a bit elementary to me. Given the fact that everything I do makes me turn around in search of a gold star to signify "Job Well Done!"

It has been a busy summer, what with the move into the apartment, the two new men in my life (remember, "crazy cat lady" here) and the addition of AC into my apartment. What a roller coaster. (BTW, went to 3 Home Depot's for this AC and finally found it in the middle of Queens where - and I have never seen this before since living in the New York area - the homes have actual LAWNS! I mean, they have to mow them ... crazy stuff! I was so far out, when I asked for a taxi to take me and my new air conditioner home, the woman had to call HER MOTHER to find out if taxi's run in the area. They do not. Car services do and that is how a black Lincoln Town Car took me and my new AC back to the non lawn care world of Sunnyside)

The cats have made themselves at home. Both are novice plumbers. They are intrigued with all things in the bathroom. Where does their kitty litter matter go when I flush it down the toilet? How does the water come out of the sink when I magically tell it to? And what is down the drain of the bathtub? I swear, it is like having my own crack team CSI Unit in the bathroom every signal morning.

In my non-cat life, I have been walking for the Breast Cancer Walk and in between I got the brilliant idea to run a 10K. Sometimes I wonder just who is in control of my brain. Clearly it is not me. I have not run anything since I ran away from my mugger in LA almost 10 years ago. But am trying hard. I run every morning and walk every weekend and somehow I have lost weight even though I continue to eat everything in site and still love beer.

I also still do not own a TV. Those of you who know me well are tired of hearing of this. You think I am some superior than thou person but really, I have just gotten used to it. I know, weird. I love TV. But since I moved in, there has just not been a reason to buy a TV and now I think, what is the point? It has gone on this long.

So what I really did over my summer vacation is read - a lot. I have read so many books that I have banned myself from buying anymore and now have my very own library card.

Here are some of my favorites:

The Host: Stephenie Meyers
Twist at the End: Steven Saylor
Big Stone Gap: Adriana Trigiani
This Charming Man: Marian Keyes
Breaking Dawn: Stephenie Meyers
Love the One Your With: Emily Griffin
Time and Again
1000 Splendid Suns
Power of Now: Tolle
Certain Girls: Jennifer Weirner
Skinny Bitch
Ten We Came to the End: Joshua Ferris
Wake Up, Sir!: Jonathan Ames
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell: Susanna Carke

There are actually more, but you get the idea ...

I have also discovered new and interesting ways to entertain myself. For one, I spy on my neighbors. I call the guy across the way "Single Guy". He likes to cook in a variety of outfits. His boxers and T-Shirt, a suit -with jacket on- in a towel and in jeans and a tank top. This was all very amusing until I discovered "Single Guy" is not one guy. There are two of them. I guess they are related because I cannot tell them a part, even with binoculars.

The other entertainment I subject myself to is trying to understand the little old lady named Ursala who sits out on the park benches in front of the building. She lives here but she looks homeless. If I am sitting on one of the two benches available, no matter what I am doing (like talking on the phone) the woman will sit RIGHT NEXT TO ME and start talking to herself. This cries of a lonely person, I know. I sometimes talk to myself, but not in public and I certainly do not sit down next to someone to hold my own private conversation. Try as I might though, I never understand a word of the conversations we do have - not the ones in her head - and she never remembers me each time we see each other. But then sometimes, I am not sure the cats would remember me on a daily basis if I did not feed them regularly.

And so, that is what I did on my summer vacation ... gold star anyone?

Crazy Cat Lady = 1 Married with Children = 0

For those of you with bets on crazy cat lady, your odds just increased. I adopted two kittens this past week and am having a lot of fun getting to know them and all their shenanigans.

Both are boys, so in theory, I am surrounding myself with males so maybe the Universe will yield a human male for me. I know, that is already crazy cat lady talk ... it happens so fast.

Regardless of my status, I will share that both boys are healthy and almost 4 months old. My friend was going to take them to a shelter since she is no where near crazy cat lady status and so I took them in. They are brothers, although they look nothing alike and act nothing alike.

The grey one is Pagoda, and he is shy and timid but WANTS attention, just does not know how to ask for it yet. So he follows me around and stares at me and generally I end up scratching his ears with my arm extended as far as it will go while he simultaneously backs up but also squints and purrs. He is a mess.

The orange one is bigger and has a fat little belly. He knows how to ask for attention, no problem. Walks right up to me and rolls over and I rub his belly. He likes to be talked to and enjoys all of the toys I have bought him. His name is Royal and he is so the "king" of the house already. Thankfully Pagoda follows Royal around and is learning to be just like him so it is only a matter of time before both of them are ruling my house.