As I said in a previous commentary, it sure is good to know Christmas is almost over. We finally finished getting all the cookies ready, packing them up, and shipping them out. We decided to relax last night and go to the mall… I know what you're thinking, relax at the mall? Yeah right! Well, all the major stores were open until 10, so we decided to go. It was nice, very few people, no lines, and best of all, light traffic! haha. After the mall, we made an obligatory stop at my favorite store (not just Wal-Mart, but a Super Wal-Mart), and spent another hour there. When we walked in the door, we knew Christmas was almost over. It wasn't the satisfaction that the cookies were done. It wasn't the satisfaction that the last present had been purchased. What was it you ask? It seems Benny decided to "play" with the Christmas Tree (I wondered when he would). Yep, we came home, and found our Christmas Tree sleeping in front of the TV. There were bulb fragments everywhere. We were shocked that neither dog had cut their feet on all the glass. After containing our tempers and cleaning the apartment at 11 o'clock at night, we chuckled. We now have a very homely Christmas Tree with only one bulb, and a very frazzled looking angel. Trying to look on the bright side, I sit here and think, hey, at least he's learning to potty outside! Have a great day! :)

Nine years ago today, 270 people were killed when a terrorist bomb exploded aboard Pan Am Flight #103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Efforts are still underway to extradite the two suspected bombers from Libya. In remembrance of the victims (259 on the plane, and 11 on the ground), today I am posting a poem I wrote back in August of 1989, and asking you to observe a moment of silence in honor of the victims and their families.

When Planes Fall From The Sky
The tears flow from my eyes, as I hear the awful news,
One man is in deep despair, while another man sues.
It happened on a cold windy day, they say it was a bomb,
I keep repeating in my mind, the twenty-third Psalm.

With all of our technology, how could we let this happen?
Was it a simple oversight, did one bomb get by, or ten?
How could a bomb slip by them, aren't they paid to see?
And why are they so quick to say, "Hey, it wasn't me!"

Of course I am talking of the bomb, on the Pan Am jet,
They have found the cause, inside a radio it was set.
I feel sorry for the victims, and the people of Lockerbie,
But thank the Lord it did not blow, over the open sea.

What will be done now, to correct this problem in the air?
Before another bomb blows up, and a plane begins to tear.
Is tigher security the answer, to this awful airline plight?
Should we all be strip searched, before each and every flight?

Whatever the answer may be, I hope it comes real fast,
Before another airline jet, becomes a victim of the past.
Every time I hear of this, I think of all who die,
It really makes me worry so, when planes fall from the sky.

If you wish to find out more about the crash, please visit the Pam Am 103 Crash Page or the Lockerbie Memorial Page. That's all for today. :)

Wow, what a birthday! I spent the entire morning trying to figure out a mysterious "unknown device" in Windows 95. Wouldn't it be nice if Windows 95 told you WHAT TYPE of device it was (like modem, cd-rom, etc) so you could at least attempt to find a driver for it? Anyway, the problem still exists… Then, to make matters worse, I decided to go ahead and try out Internet Explorer 4.0 (I know I know).

So far, no problems, and I actually am beginning to like it. Yikes. Well, at least it isn't crashing on me every 20 minutes like some other browser that I won't mention. Yep, you read right, its my birthday, the big 33. I am now older than my own father was when I was born. Let's look back and find out what interesting things happened on this day in history:

1732: Ben Franklin, under the name of Richard Saunders, began publishing "Poor Richard's Almanac".
1777: Gen. George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pa., to camp for the winter.
1842: United States recognized the independence of Hawaii.
1910: Rayon was first commercially produced.
1918: Robert Ripley began his "Believe It or Not" column in The New York Globe.
1955: Carl Perkins recorded "Blue Suede Shoes."
1960: Frank Sinatra recorded his first session with Reprise Records.
1964: Slobokan was born in Las Vegas, Nevada.
1984: Britain and China signed an accord returning Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997.

It seems to me December 19 was a very busy day in history. I also share my birthday with these other famous people:

Alyssa Milano, 25, actress.
Jennifer Beals, 34, actress.
Mike Lookinland, 37, actor. (Bobby on "The Brady Bunch").
Janie Fricke, 50, country singer.
Robert Urich, 51, actor.
Tim Reid, 53, actor.
William C. De Vries, 54, surgeon/inventor. (artificial heart).
Cicely Tyson, 64, actress/singer
For dinner tonight, Gidget and Brandon (my brother-in-law) took me out to eat dinner at one of my favorite places (if you know me, you know it was Taco Bell), and surprised me with a "singing candle" right there in the place. :) :) I had a great day, hope you did too! :)

Today is the day… Okay, okay, I know it seems like we put it off, but honest, we JUST finished everything. Yep, today is the day we ship all the Christmas presents to relatives all over the place. We have boxes headed for Maine, New York, Maryland, Florida, and Nevada. Of course, we spent most of last weekend baking cookies and other goodies for the adults, I sure hope the post office doesn't "rattle" the boxes too much, or everyone just might get cookie crumbs. hehe… It's the thought that counts, right? :) Of course, we did make sure all the kids got something special (I sure know, I would be pissed if all I got was cookies), because every Christmas should be special for the children. (Hey mom, remember the christmas with Carla, me, eggs, and the vacuum? It sure was special wasn't it?) hehe. I hope you all have a great day! :)

We had to go to Wal-Mart (my favorite store, and the official store of Slobokan's Site O' Schtuff) tonight to get more cookie tins, and we had to wait in line for what seemed an eternity, until a nice lady opened another checkout lane and told us we were next (I wonder if she was an elf?). The holiday season is a very strange thing. Some people are filled with joy, others are sad. Some people are nice and polite, others are grumpy and rude. Some people go all out buying everything in sight, while others keep it simple. Yet, after all is said and done, most people are glad when the holidays are over. Do you ever wonder why that is? No matter what your beliefs, you must admit, the holiday season has become "over-commercialized". From department store ads, to credit card companies offering "no payments til March", the commercialism of the holidays seems to be getting more and more. In years past, you never saw Christmas decorations in the stores until after Thanksgiving, yet, this year, it wasn't even Halloween and there were Christmas Trees in most department stores. I realize that most stores rely on the holiday season to provide almost 50% of their total yearly sales, but I think their attempt to capitalize on the season has deviated most people from the real reason for the season. Whatever your religion, the holiday season should be a joyous celebration of life, not a time to be overwhelmed with ads for the perfect gifts that everyone just has to have. Just remember, its not the gifts that make the holiday special, its the love and thoughtfulness behind them that brings the most joy. Have a great day! :)