Have decided to put the trip Down Under off until next year. Leaving now would mean I would miss a month of Labbie Ms. Margaret's life.
Can't do.
So, I delay.
Have been working on a big Web project since last July. It will go "live" soon. Been coding a bunch.
Last night, I decided I could not look at another query, or wonder why this function wasn't working, or have the heart to understand why it looks slightly different in IE vs. Firefox, so I flopped on the couch, turned on the tube, and clicked the remote through all movie possibilities.
Stop.
Saturday Night Fever.
Omigawd, this movie is like a car wreck. You can't help but watch it.
Never mind that Travolta looks like he weighs 15 lbs., or that there is so much shmaltzy glitter, it makes your teeth rot.
I think it is fascinating because of the language.
Example:
When one character in the movie inquires as to the emotional health of another character, he states:
"Whazza mattah wid chew, man?"
And they called Ronald Reagan the Great Communicator.
Tonight, there is a different discussion.
My sister Kathy called, to relay a story about one of my favorite people on this planet, niece Emma.
Emma is fascinated lately by research.
For Christmas, I found a set of World Book encyclopedias at a decent price. Her father Dave and I snuck 'em into her room while she was at school, when she wasn't looking.
That afternoon, I got a call from Emma. "Aunt Mare, you left 50 books in my room!"
Amen, sistah. Read to your heart's delight.
And she is.
Seems Emma, fascinated with maps and the wonders of the world these days, is pondering some bigger questions.
While sitting at the dining room table, studying a world map, Emma stopped, and with a confused look on her face, asked her mother,
"Where is heaven?"
My sister, taking a deep breath, had to think a minute about spiritual latitude and longitude.
And she smartly answered, as a good mother should:
"It is a place some people think about. It is also a place where mommies go so they won't be sick anymore."
And Emma, the human researcher that she is, answered,
"OK."
And went on to study something else.