Beruit 1983

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Beirut Marine Barracks attack. There were 241 service men killed that Sunday morning when  Ismail Ascari crashed a stolen truck full of explosives into the Barracks.

It seemed so far away when it happened. I was in High School and it just seemed so far removed from my life. I didn't know any Marines then. I didn't know any service men or women.

The world is so much smaller now.

Praying for their families today.

Going Dutch

I read an article on men paying for dates and how they would like help but are afraid to ask...

I have to say, I had the opposite issue. I actively tried to convince the man I was dating that I could afford to cover some of our dating expenses. It took a really long time for him to accept an assist from me. (This even when he took a large cut in salary when business was slow) and his comment was telling- "Are you sure you won't hold this against me?"

Who are men dating that such a question comes up? If I have the ability to help out, I offer. Because I am eating too. I am watching the movie too. And right is right.

But even with my offering regularly, it was the rarest occasion that I was permitted to pick up the check. Occasionally I was allowed to leave a tip.

Mostly I was treated.

So "Thank You" to all the gentlemen who insist on paying, but please feel free to allow me to cover the check sometimes. It is only fair.

Fall TV

So far I like Hostages and Blacklist. Both are new shows, and already Hostages may be on the cancellation list, though reports say they will let it play for the 14 episodes it has in the can.

My sister Ellen's early favorite, Lucky 7, is already gone after only two episodes. Ironside, We are Men, and Welcome to the Family are also gone. I didn't see any of them so no loss for me, though Elle was sad.

And for all my returning shows, it is a mixed bag.

At least Scandal and Nashville are going strong. I am on Team Deacon and Team Jake. And I still cannot believe Olivia's father... OMG!

Grey's Anatomy is in a slump and Bones is just slugging along. Booth and Brennan are  getting married, but it just doesn't compare to the drama of the Gravedigger!

USA is keeping me happy- Covet Affairs and Royal Pains all summer was great but having Annie Walker back already is just so much fun.

Ziva is off in Israel, and my hope is that the new NCIS team menber gels. I am enjoying all the rotating characters in Ziva's chair. It will be fun to see who is seated when the music stops.

In the LS version, Deeks being tortured was the stuff of nightmares. And Callen finally seeing a film of his Russian Major dad was as sweet as it was sad.

So what are you watching?

Vocabulary of Mad Men

penultimate: next to last...

A new word for me. It was used in a description of last season's Mad Men. The penultimate season...

Of course now we know that we are getting two shortened seasons over two years instead of one last season this fall.

Penultimate...not so much. And while Don Draper is good television, this kind of game playing  by AMC is ridiculous. Sheer greed.

It will make me think twice about staying tuned in.

Twelve years on...

A beautiful September day...

The World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon attacked...

Thousands lost...

Palpable grief...

And an army of heros...

I remember.

Accountability

LZ Granderson makes a number of good points in an article he writes about parental responsibility and criminal behavior in children.

Accountability is in short supply.

When my daughter was in 8th grade, she and three friends were caught with a Burn Book (just like Mean Girls, I imagine). My daughter called me from school devastated and admitted reading and laughing at some of the crude entries. She said the principal would be calling me about the punishment.

I asked her what on God's good earth would possess her to take part in such a cruel demeaning act of bullying. How hurtful it was. How wrong it was.  Did she not remember how much trouble the girls in the movie got into when they were caught?

Sobbing, she acknowledged her mistake.

Then I told her I would fully support whatever punishment the principal wanted to give her. And that I expected not one word of complaint from her.

When the principal called me a short time later, I told her Liz had informed me about what happened..

The principal told me my daughter would have in school suspension for a week for her participation, just as would the other three girls. She explained that the suspension was basically day long detention, where she would work on her schoolwork in isolation.

I asked if she could have some math support, since it was a subject she struggled with. The principal assured me that would be arranged so that she didn't fall behind.

"Sounds good to me."

Now some argued that I should have fought for a lesser punishment- my daughter didn't write the burn book, she was only shown it...

I disagreed.

Because the moment she saw that someone wrote those mean things, she should have told her teacher. That bullying or supporting bullying was never okay.

She needed to be accountable for her actions. And what she did was wrong. I believe she is a better person for my harsh stand.

“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”

"Preach the Gospel, using words when necessary."

While I was away, one of the big news stories was about Pope Francis and his thoughts on gay men and women. And with the spin doctors going at full speed, you can tell it was not what the conservatives of the Catholic Church were expecting to hear... Though I am pretty sure it is pretty close to WWJD.

When Pope Francis was asked about the "gay lobby" as in an inter-curial pressure group (nobody is sure if they lobby for or against the acceptance of gay Catholics), he said while that might be an issue, he did not have a problem with men and women who are homosexual.

“When I meet a gay person, I have to distinguish between their being gay and being part of a lobby,” he said in reply. “If they accept the Lord and have good will, who am I to judge them? They shouldn’t be marginalized. The tendency (to homosexuality) is not the problem ... they're our brothers."

He is very like Pope John XXIII, who will be made a saint this year- the Pope of Vatican II. (Why is Vatican II so important). Ed Asner did a great job or portraying this humble man in "Pope of Peace".

I really like this man. He is a breath of fresh air. I pray for his on-going leadership of the Church.