Technical Difficulties

Fourth Street is this weekend.

I am not going.

And yet, I have the con crud.

On the one hand, this makes me doubly glad I chose the better part of valor. But on the other, wtf, man?

I hope everyone who is going to Fourth Street has a wonderful time. And I hope I'm an effective sacrificial lamb, and nobody gets sick.

1. Yesterday, I wrote letters to Senator Feingold, Senator Kohl, Congresswoman Baldwin, and President Obama (email to the president, paper letters to the legislators) about the oil spill and BP's abhorrent behavior. This is the first time I have ever written a letter to any of my elected representatives, and if it does even a particle of good, I will be passionately grateful.

2. Because my mother-in-law asked, I went out yesterday and took pictures of various portions of the yard: roses, lilies, marigolds, etc. Plus a picture of the Elder Saucepan for lagniappe. Gallery here.

3. Last night I managed to get out of the stupid anxiety dream wherein I'm back in high school and failing calculus, but only by turning it into a MUCH WORSE nightmare about undead ghoul/vampire/Fury creatures feuding with each other.

4. There is no item 4. Yes, there is! Item 4 is that today is the 66th anniversary of D-Day. I loathe war, but that does not mean I do not honor the bravery of the men who died on the Normandy beaches--and the men who survived. And although I will argue about the necessity of war in almost all circumstances, I have read enough about Hitler to know that in this case, yes, war was the only way to stop him, and he had to be stopped. So, those who died on June 6, 1944, and those who survived to fight on, I am grateful to you and I honor your memory. And those veterans who are still alive, I hope this June 6th is a good day.

5. Have I mentioned that I'm going to be at Fourth Street? Because I so am! It looks like I'm going to be on two panels (including one that is based on this post, about which, yes, I would admit to being a bit chuffed), and of course I will be there for the rest of it, too.

Inevitable addenda:
(1) I am very near-sighted and very shy, but neither of those means I don't want to talk to you!
(2) Unless I'm late for a panel (or otherwise obviously busy), I'm always happy to sign books.

I am back home after Fourth Street, which was exceedingly excellent. I will try to post more and better later (although with Corambis revisions due at the end of July, don't count on it), but for now I just want to remark that I listened to Peggy O'Neill's album, Love, Lust, and Frustration, on repeat all the way home, and it is awesome. If you like women blues singers, which I do.