Facie’s Ramblings

So Osama bin Laden (or Usama, if you are Fox News) was apparently taken out by the Navy Seals. I was quite surprised to wake up to that news when I turned on the TV yesterday morning. After I let it sink in for a minute and listened to the news people talk, my eyes welled up with tears. But the thing is I was not sure why I was crying. When I think of the thousands of tears I cried on 9/11 and off and on (mostly on) for weeks after, the few tears that rolled down my cheek seemed to pale in comparison. I am pro life. In pretty much every imaginable way. I know plenty of people who are pro-life when it comes to abortion, but they support capital punishment. I don't fault people for that view. In fact, it seems less contradictory than the views of people who support women's right to choose yet are against capital punishment. But this post is not to argue or even quibble about that. And if you know me at all, then you should realize I really, truly try to respect and even under...

I find myself drawn to the Olympics this year similarly as I was when I was younger. I don't think I caught a single event in the 2004 Olympics, and I am not sure why; I have always enjoyed the Olympics, and I have quite a few memories over the years. I remember the '84 Summer Olympics and the men's gymnastics team. I thought I was in love with Mitch Gaylord. Loved watching him on the rings. Bart was great. And that Mary Lou Retton was so cute and amazing. I remember the '88 Winter Olympics. Debbie Thomas was one of the favorites in figure skating, and I think she stumbled, to Katarina Witt perhaps. Debbie ended up with the bronze, and I grabbed my ice skates, walked down to the frozen lake at our lake house, and took a few novice spins on the ice, as some sort of a cathartic process/homage to Debbie. At PSU three or four years later, I took an ice skating PE, where I learned some basic moves. My love for ice skating goes back to Dorthy Hamil. I had the doll and somethi...