Thursday, July 07, 2005

Duo Over

The Odd One is putting in a long office day/night so it is just me and the daughter holding down things. It's a drudgery--answering questions about animals, making popcorn so she can watch her movie, and now preparing her dinner. If that isn't enough, after the meal I mistakenly agreed to help her out with a particularly thorny segment on "The Incredibles" video game, so you can be assured I will be beside her on the bed working through that mess.

When you first have a kid everyone tells you what to expect. You hear about the diapers, the colic, the late night feedings. I guess there is a reason you get an earful of all those joys but nobody warns you about nights like this, stretched out in front of a Play Station having to endure that incessant giggling. And for Friday night she wants to watch a movie together. Guess I'll have to do my duty.

Like many I was drawn to the television to watch the events in London this morning. It was something to watch, but I was drawn to the way the Brits managed to behave in the face of these attacks. The people on screen were composed and resiliant on the streets. Ironically I'm currently reading Patricia Cornwell's true-crime book "Portrait of a Killer" where she claims to have figured out who was Jack-The-Ripper. (Her premise is somewhat flawed but the book is a good read.) I was surprised that in the wake of the graphic murders many in London were becoming increasingly frightened, but in the neighborhoods where the murders occured the residents were taking to the streets. Anyone brought in for questioning feared they would be torn apart by crowds and many people actually skulked around in the shadows of the town overnight looking to catch the murderer. Pretty brazen considering there was someone disemboweling women on a regular pace.

Of course this morning's news was cast in unique perspective by myself. After some time I heard myself saying, "Oh no. Dave Barry is in London this week!" (You can all relax, he has reported back safely.)

Posted by Anonymous :: 7:13 PM :: | ---------------------------------------