Wakefulness And Reading

Word of the Post
Today's word is: umbrage
/um"brage/ noun
Shade, shadow, obscurity; Shadowy resemblance; Feeling of being overshadowed, jealousy; Feeling of anger caused by being offended.
The common usage is the phrase "taking umbrage", which fits best with the anger at offense. So, when I read Harry Potter, and we met Professor Umbridge, I thought first this question: Where are they going to take her?
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Tonight is the night. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be in my hands overnight. I will be reading for a couple of days, and then, I will most likely be disappointed. Not because Jo Rowling will write all my favorite characters dead, but because this will represent the end of an era. It was obvious from the first book that the 7 years of Hogwarts were going to be the 7 installments of the story. The fans will be quieted either by being allowed to write their own stories, or by JKR being stuck in a rut for a long time to come. I would rather that the fans get to take over the writing, and JKR can do editing before it gets printed.

For those of you who could care less about that, I went to a baseball game last week. DH and I are both in an internet chat room related to a local radio station. We have made many friends there, and we get together for fun things every once in a while. Sunday, we went to an Oklahoma Redhawks game. They were in their old Oklahoma City 89ers uniforms, and were listed as 89ers on the scoreboard. I have to wonder if it was because we were playing the Round Rocks team, and from the distant scoreboard it would have been easy to mix up? Anyway, we had 8 chatters, one visiting babysitter, and two children at the game. It was a fun time, and a few of us went to dinner afterward.

It is good to have connections. One of the regular chatters is a personality on the local radio station. He has a show in the morning. From 5 am to 8 am. Yeah, I usually hear the sign-off of his show, before the next one. He said even his Mom doesn't listen as much as she wants to. But, he does have a faithful audience. He is funny to talk with, and friendly, and generous. DH may even get to go to an arena football game tomorrow, thanks to this friend. I would have to go get the ticket, but if it is free... I see no problem with that.

I have been getting very frustrated with politics lately. The next presidential election isn't for more than a year, and my favorite person isn't even in the race yet. I get tired of the same old "I am going to....(insert lies here)". I would love it if the candidates would say... "I am for this or that, but none of that matters. I represent YOU. What do you want me to do?" I wish I knew who said it first, but I have heard it physically from Robin Williams: Diapers and Politicians should be changed, often, and for the same reason. I agree. They stink. I propose Term Limits for all offices. Federal judges should not sit until they are senile and we wish them to die to vacate the post. They should sit for a maximum of 10 years. The whole white house should have the limit of two terms. If you have been President, you may not be Vice President. 8 years is quite enough, Mr. Clinton. No more.

My niece, Jelly Bean, is continually doing funny things. Recently, her trick is to be sweet. Anytime she hugs a person or a bear, people around her coo and say, "Aww, how sweet." So her new trick is to give you a hug and say, "I sweet!" I agree, dear, I agree. She also is learning family names. She knows DH and me, and she is careful to say Uncle and Aunt when she thinks about it. She knows that those are titles, not just part of our names. The baby is growing up!

Have a great week!