Infinite Cat Project

The Infinite Cat Project is a site that has fun with photographs of cats, looking at cats, looking at cats... Anyway, I liked it enough to plug it here on Athenamama.

I especially dig their inspired logo.

Goodbye, Mr. President

During this past week much has been said good, and bad, of Ronald Reagan. From what I have seen, the bad seeps from his politics; his failure to act swiftly enough in the face of aids, his economic policy, his stubbornness, and the idea that he lied about trading arms for hostages. Obviously you cannot please everyone when you hold a political office. If you do what you think is right for most of the people in your care, and stick by your ideals you believe are in the best interest of those people, then in my book you are a great politician. I believe Ronald Reagan did what he felt was right, and that he acted upon the information that he had as best he could. No one knows all the answers. No one is flawless. No one makes it through life without making mistakes, or being ignorant in some fashion or another.

The good that has been said of this man is mainly praise concerning what kind of husband, father, and friend he was. This, too, is like politics, and Ronald Reagan seemingly handled these jobs as he did his political career. For that, I respect the man, and hope that one day I can be brave enough, and strong enough to be like him.

What I witnessed tonight on television was the funeral of a man who was deeply loved by his family. A man who loved his wife more than himself, and did everything he could to ensure a good life not only for her, but her children, their children, and his children. Oh yeah, he also ran this state, and later, our country.

Good show, Ronnie. Here’s to your life.

Death of a Friendship

I don't have many friends, but the ones I do have are very dear to me. So I was of course disappointed when a close friend of mine called me two weeks ago and told me that he and his wife just sold their house, and were moving to Louisiana. He said that for the past five or six years he and his wife had attempted to develop a decent relationship with his brother and sister-in-law, but it just wasn't working out. He said that his wife's relatives are more family oriented, and that it would be a much better environment for his year old daughter to grow up with loving relatives than with his dysfunctional family.

We have been friends for going on twenty-six years. I have known his family for just as long, and his sister-in-law even longer. I know his immediate family is just as bad as he says, so I don't blame him for wanting to make the move. What bothers me is that for the few years my friend and his wife lived here, we rarely got together.

My friend and I met when we both worked for a local fast food joint. He later joined the Navy, and I kept on pluggin' away in the private sector. Nevertheless, we always managed to keep in touch when he was away at sea, or stationed far away. When he was stationed in nearby San Diego, I would often drive down to visit, and when he was on leave, he would frequently stay with me.

All through his naval career we remained close friends. Hell, we were like brothers, at least we were in my mind. A few times we were even mistaken for brothers. We shared a lot of good times together, and I even lived with him and his then future wife in San Diego for a while. He was my best man when I got married, and I honestly felt we would be friends for life.

When he was given the choice of where he would like to run out his career in the Navy, he chose to be stationed near his family, which coincidentally enough, meant near me as well. I was overjoyed. He and I would be able to get together whenever we wanted. We would go out to dinner. We would go to the movies. We would go to computer shows, and Disneyland, and do all the great stuff that good friends like he and I do. Our friendship would flourish, and we would be close by each other to our dying days. I always wanted at least one friend like that.

That never happened. After they got settled in, he rarely called me, and after I got married he not once invited my wife and I over to their house. Once he retired from the Navy his new career kept him pretty busy, and his life became even busier when their daughter was born. All that is of course understandable, but still, I felt a bit slighted when I was over to his house early last year and he spoke of parties and barbecues that I never knew of before. When he elaborated, and talked about who he had had over, I was quite hurt. I have been friends with this guy longer than any of the people he had over for those parties and barbecues, yet I didn't even make the list of invitees.

I felt even worse when he and his wife didn't bother to visit me in the hospital last year, or even call for several weeks after I was discharged. Yet, I convinced myself that he was a busy guy, and that things like that go both ways. After all, when did I ever call them up and invite them out for a night on the town with my wife and I?

Anyway, like I said, he called me a few weeks ago to break the news that he was moving. He said that even though he was very busy, he wanted to get together before he left. I said fine. I would check our schedule with my wife and get back with him. My wife understands what my friendship with this guy means to me, and gave me carte blanche to hang out with him one last time before he left. I called him the next day, and told him I was free whenever he would like to get together, he said Friday would most likely be the best day, and I said fine. He said "Great! I will call you Friday and we will get together!" I said that would be fine. I was trying to keep the call short because I was actually starting to get all misty-eyed during the conversation. If I said much more than just "fine", I would have broken down for sure. I didn't want him to know it affected me that much.

He never called. He leaves today, and he didn't even bother to say goodbye.

As I said, I don't have a great many friends, but now it seems I have just lost one.

UPDATE I found out my friend was back in town a few weeks later, so I gave him a call. Again stated that he wanted to get together with me before he went back to Louisiana. He said, "And this time, no screw-ups". Again, he never called back. That's what I get for trying.

More on Ronald Reagan

Many people are saying many wonderful things about former president Ronald Reagan. I am happy about that. I liked the man. But because so many wonderful things have been said, and because they have been said much more eloquently than I could, I will forgo any eulogy here. Just know that I admired him, and, as many others have said, feel that he was the finest president of my lifetime.

Oh... one more thing. Isn't it ironic how Reagan ALWAYS seemed to steal Jimmy Carter's thunder? Even on his dying day, and as always without any intention to do so, Reagan stole the spotlight from Jimmy yet again by dying the very day the USS Jimmy Carter was christened.

RONALD W. REAGAN