Death of a stroller - Friday night I came home from work and Michelle gave me the good news and bad news. The good news was that she was able to call Kohl's to confirm that they had one last king sized quilt that she had her eye on from a recent flyer that came in the mail. Once Claire got home from school, Michelle packed the kids up and drove into the Nashua mall to pick it up. Once she parked the van she loaded the twins in the double stroller and Timothy in the umbrella stroller. She had Claire push the twins in the double stroller. As they approached the curb just outside the store (probably a granite curb, knowing NH), Claire kept pushing the stroller without lifting the front end. The front wheels both cracked off of their supports and the front end came down. That stroller had seen it's end. We bought it eight years ago when Claire was born -- how ironic that she should be involved in its demise! Back then people thought it quite odd that we bought a double stroller. "You only have one child!" I guess you could say we were "forward thinking".
Luckily Kohl's had some store double seat strollers that Michelle could use once inside to continue her shopping. She tossed the old stroller in Kohl's dumpster. Luckily we still have the triple stroller that I bought last June. Michelle hadn't been using it much but plans to do so in the near term. I offered to pick up another double stroller but she didn't think it would be worthwhile. She thinks in another year or so the twins will have outgrown it. I think she's also a little worried that God will fill to meet capacity. It's been our track record so far: buy a van, have twins; buy a larger house, have another baby...
Gutters again - I was happy that dad and I picked up a long ladder for cleaning the gutters when he was last here. I used it again this past weekend. Since he was here last September, we had developed nice bundles of pine needles in all the gutters. Not a single leaf, all pine needles! The extension ladder flexes a bit when you're in the middle range of steps. It's rather unnerving as you scale up 22 feet to reach the gutters.
Leno - Michelle and I watched "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "The Tonight Show" from Monday night. Jay had a decent political dig (as he often does for both sides of the political spectrum):
"The president’s trip to England is tomorrow. This has just got the White House guys going crazy. I saw footage of them, they’re learning how to bow before the queen. Practicing saying "Your Highness," learning how to act in front of royalty ... no, I’m sorry, those are Democrats in Iowa when Hillary Clinton showed up."
I know it's a completely ad hominem attack, but I can hardly stand to listen to Hillary's voice. She always has this pedantic, nagging, "mother lecturing you" kind of voice, especially when giving speeches on the political trail. It grates me. And the cadence of her speech is very JFK'ish - sort of sing song Kennedy'eque. It makes it very hard to listen and parse what she's actually trying to say because half of you wants to put your fingers in your ears. I'm sure that there are those who feel the same about Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly because they can often be shrill when they blow their tops.
Leno also had Britney Spears on to promote her new album. While it was a cordial interview, he did corner her a bit when he asked about how conversations go when she talks to her father about recent photo ops like her Rolling Stone magazine cover. She went on to say that she just tells him she's 21 now and she has her own life. I feel for her father. Perhaps he's laughing all the way to the bank, but considering that she mentioned that he confronts her about the increasing sensuality of her image, I tend to think it doesn't sit well with him. Meanwhile, fathers across this country roll their eyes at Britney's latest assertion that she is a role model for young girls.
Marriage - Lastly, today was another landmark day for the craziness of New England as the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled the ban on gay marriage unconstitutional. I thought it was always the Catholic Church that was accused of "inventing doctrine" but recent court decisions on a number of issues regarding what's "in the constitution" really show how to "invent doctrine". Bush promised to do what he can do defend the sanctity of traditional marriage. Given the 180 day timetable given by the court, I don't know what can be done. Various states have "defense of marriage acts" defining marriage that clash against this ruling but under the US Constitution states typically respect marriages licensed in other states. My prediction is that this will continue to escalate and likely become a presidential election issue. I wonder whether we'll get to hear more use of the term "quagmire", or is that reserved by the media for covering Iraq?
Once again, it's late. Time to press the "Post" button and call it a night. The new laptop battery has been in use for hours and still is at 60%. Gotta love it!