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Even saw lightening bugs this evening, which makes it really officially summer, right?

Yes, today is West Virginia‘s Birthday! The state is 145 years old, which I’m sure most of Europe thinks is positively young, however, the Appalachian mountains are quite old–and probably related to mountain ranges in Great Britain. And don’t forget, our cities and counties have been around much longer than 145 years, and if Virginia hadn’t chosen the wrong side in the Civil War, I wouldn’t have to spend my life going, “No, it’s West Virginia. Yes, we have snow here. No, I don’t live near the beach.”

Nor would I be nearly as thankful for Arkansas and Mississippi as I am now.

When Chief Justice Rhenquist spoke here several years ago, he said the state was very lucky that Virginia had never challenged our statehood, because he wasn’t sure the cause would have held up in court.

Yet, despite everything, I fiercely love West Virginia.

Yes, we’re a poor state. Yes, we’ve got lots of problems. Yes, there are places in the state where ignorance thrives.

Yet the people are kind and generous.

In college I was riding around in the woods with my friend Andy, back from where we all would go camping on a regular basis, when he managed (through a series of unfortunate events) to destroy the battery in his jeep. We ended up not far from the kind of place that makes out-of-staters think of “Deliverance” and out in the yard was one of the biggest men I’ve ever seen. We explained the situation to him, and he went over to one of the trucks in his yard, pulled out the battery, handed it to Andy, and said, “Y’all go get a new battery, and just bring this back when you’re done.”

He wouldn’t take money or anything else. So we went to town, got a new battery, and then took his battery back to him.

Those are the kind of people you meet here in West Virginia.

If I get in my car and drive in any direction, within fifteen to twenty minutes I’m surrounded by trees, with houses few and far between. Sure, I’ll eventually come to another town or city, but for the most part you drive through woods, with shade and cool temperatures in the summer, and spectacular color in the fall. Even living in the center of town as I do I walk out on my front porch and see trees–most of the steeper hills in town are still wooded; it hasn’t been worth the effort to try and build on those hills, though I fear that may change in the near future.

And so despite her faults–and I admit we have many–I love this state, and am proud to live here.

Happy Father’s day, to all guys out there with kids!

Just so you can see I come by it naturally, here’s a picture of my dad, with his horde of Easter Egg Dippers.

And thoroughly tired of being in the car.

I’ll have to check the trip odometer, so I can see how many miles we were in the car since Thursday morning.

Now… food of some sort.

ADDENDUM the First:
922.4 miles since Thursday morning.

I think when we go to replace this car, I want something a little larger than our Corolla. As I spent almost half the trip(s) in the back seat, a little more space would be nicer.

ADDENDUM the Second:
Why is exhaustion indistinguishable from depression?

But just barely.

I drove all the way from Morgantown to Va yesterday, and then drove until back we were off I270. And then I felt absolutely terrible. I should have known better than to push myself that hard as sick as I’ve been (I don’t do well on long car trips).

But that’s enough whining, he’s a celebratory picture from yesterday.

That mop of hair is me helping Liz do a celebration dance in the kitchen.

Happy Loving Day!

As gas prices continue to reach unprecedented heights, I’ll be driving to Virginia this week.

Twice.

My cousin Liz (my secret twin) graduates from high school tomorrow, and turns 18 on Saturday.

She is two weeks and two days shy of being exactly twenty years younger than I am, although she is too kind (so far) to point that out to me.

I’m going to write her a letter to put in her graduation card, but I haven’t decided exactly what I’m going to say.

I’ve got some of the important stuff written out in my mind, but there’s so much I’m forgetting. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

But do it quick. We’re leaving disgustingly early tomorrow morning.

In case you aren’t a public radio junkie and haven’t heard that ad about, oh, four million times, you may want to check out Catalog Choice.

It allows you to tell companies to stop sending you catalogs if you don’t want them. Now I actually like getting catalogs–some catalogs. But when we’re getting two copies of the same catalog, and catalogs I’ve never heard of and so won’t buy from, that is just a little excessive.

Maybe that’ll allow me to enjoy the catalogs I do get just a little more.

I’ve still got a nagging cough and exhaustion.

Amuse yourself with the following:

topless athelets
OK. First, “athelets” sounds akin to the metal eyelets in your sneakers. Second, Olympians originally competed in the nude. But topless?

daysypgal
Yes, you can find the definition here. But you can NOT find any pictures. Thank goodness.

hair braid morgantown wv
I can’t even imagine what this person was looking for.

why do i feel so crappy?
Because you have the flu. Go drink lots of orange juice and take a nap. You’ll feel better in a couple of weeks.

10 things that make me mad
George W. Bush
Rude drivers
People who obliviously talk on their cell phones in public spaces
Blatant ignorance
Child abuse
Books with cliffhanger endings
Specific people who will remain unnamed
Internet Explorer
Racists
Dropping my ice cream off the cone and onto the floor

despite
Despite what?

is gruntle the opposite of disgruntle
No. But it should be.

And most disturbing, I had 324 people end up searching for tall woman leather

Weren’t they disappointed!

Here’s an e-mail conversation with my brother.

On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 1:14 PM, Brian wrote:
What do u want?

On Jun 9, 2008, at 1:16 PM, “Michelle” wrote:
A million dollars and world peace.

On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 1:22 PM, Brian wrote:
What else that I can afford?

On Jun 9, 2008, at 1:23 PM, “Michelle” wrote:
What? You can’t afford world peace?!

On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 1:49 PM, Brian wrote:
185 rule of acquisition. Peace is bad for business.

On Jun 9, 2008, at 1:52 PM, “Michelle” wrote:
WRONG!
Rule 34 War is good for business.
Rule 35 Peace is good for business.

That’s all.

Anyone heard from Tanya in awhile?

Did the moose get her?

Things that amuse me even when I’m not on cold medicine.

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