If I Had to Post

Just to get back into the swing of posting,
after a week of eternity,
I'd probably post something like this:

*** Do bloggers ever "draft" before they post? If so, I think that's a bit funny. Not to be a smart ass, but wouldn't that be taking the self way too seriously? Or maybe those bloggers know who is reading them . . . .

*** Everyone's been yaddaling (ooo--copywrite@2005) about Timmy's Rrroll Up the Rim; you know what? I never look. I always forget. Who knows how much cash I've thrown away?

*** I bet Twin B's soccer jersey would be sponcered by Tim Hortons: TimBits #19.

*** Twin A would probably be starting, say, swim lessons or something like it today. Just to be different from his brother. I'd buy him new swimshorts with a firey red dragon.

*** Yes, if I had children, this would be the perfect weekend for it. Not knowing if I was about to start a "real" job next week, I'd probably keep them out of school on Friday and wisk them away to our nearest Science Intitute for Kids. The 12-one would discover that she wanted to pursue a career in aqua biomedics. She would relate scientific wonders to me that I had never heard before & didn't know that she, erm, knew.

*** All three would squish into a tiny yellow submarine and take pictures for me, b/c I'd be to claustrophobic to get in myself. The 12-one would control robotic arms; Twin A and Twin B would create live diaramas of Mar's Landings on video. We would all try the icecream "Dots" that would be yummy, but far too expensive.

*** Yes, if I had children, I'd hide out with them this weekend until the storm passed over.


@@@ I've never addressed the Case of the Asshole Professor. I've put all the clues together, researched all the loose ends, yet I cannot bring myself to answer his email. It's been 4 days. I think he will eventually forget that I exist. I am just a microbe on the pimply back of that university.

@@@ I wish I could handle the above situation with more grace. But did I mention that my partner had some sort of breakdown Tuesday over the job at _________ ? Yeah, that's the real source of my angst, one in which I will keep embedded in this post (where no one is likely to read). Hard to think about anything else when one's partner freaks out on the sofa, the family physician says she'll get back with us on Tuesday, and the shadow of unemployment with three imaginary coyotes slaps one in the face.

@@@ I really should be emailing my dear friends. Those who care about me have called and emailed all week their love and support. They really kick ass. I wish all of you could meet them--you'd fall in love. I just . . . can't seem to face them right now. I'm a little sad right now. I hate talking on the phone when I am sad.


### Let's see what's in the headlines (if I've served one purpose on earth, it was to show the nice woman at Habitat for Humanity the amazing trick of keeping multiple windows open at the same time. my work on earth may be done):

### Ga. Woman Found, Reportedly Got Cold Feet By MARY PEREA, Associated Press Writer

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A Georgia bride-to-be who vanished just days before her wedding turned up in New Mexico and fabricated a tale of abduction before admitting Saturday that she had gotten cold feet and "needed some time alone," police said.

Jennifer Wilbanks, 32, was in police custody more than 1,420 miles from her home on what was supposed to be her wedding day.

"It turns out that Miss Wilbanks basically felt the pressure of this large wedding and could not handle it," said Randy Belcher, the police chief in Duluth, Ga., the Atlanta suburb where Wilbanks lives with her fiance. He said there would be no criminal charges.

Wilbanks, whose disappearance set off a nationwide hunt, called her fiance, John Mason, from a pay phone late Friday and told him that she had been kidnapped while jogging three days before, authorities said. Her family rejoiced that she was safe, telling reporters that the media coverage apparently got to the kidnappers.

But Wilbanks soon recanted, according to police.

Ray Schultz, chief of police in Albuquerque, said Wilbanks "had become scared and concerned about her impending marriage and decided she needed some time alone." He said she traveled to Las Vegas by bus before going to Albuquerque.

"She's obviously very concerned about the stress that she's been through, the stress that's been placed on her family," he said. "She is very upset."

The mood outside Wilbanks' home went from jubilant to somber after Wilbanks changed her story. Family members ducked inside and the blinds were drawn, but friends expressed relief that Wilbanks was safe.

"Having cold feet is a joy compared to what the alternative might have been," friend Melinda Larson, who had planned to attend the wedding, told CNN.

The wedding was going to be a huge bash. The couple had mailed 600 invitations, and the ceremony was to feature 14 bridesmaids and 14 groomsmen.


### SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AP) -- Pfc. Lynndie England will plead guilty to abusing Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib prison, her lawyer said late Friday, months after photos of her sexually humiliating inmates made her the face of a scandal that damaged the credibility of the U.S. military.

England will plead guilty in a military court Monday to seven of the nine counts against her: two counts of conspiracy, four counts of maltreating prisoners and one count of dereliction of duty, said Rick Hernandez, her civilian lawyer.

England, a 22-year-old Army reservist who was a clerk at the Baghdad-area prison, was scheduled to go to trial Tuesday at Fort Hood.

Hernandez said the plea deal was reached Friday afternoon during a meeting with military prosecutors at Fort Hood.

"This is in her best interests," he said.

One count of committing indecent acts and one count of failure to obey a lawful order will be dismissed, Hernandez said. That will drop the maximum sentence she faces from 16-and-a-half years to 11 years, he said.

England, from Fort Ashby, West Virginia, was one of seven members of the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company charged with humiliating and assaulting prisoners at the prison near Baghdad. She became a focal point of the scandal about a year ago after photos of her surfaced, include one that showed her smiling and posing with nude prisoners stacked in a pyramid.

In one notorious photo from the prison England is shown holding a hooded, naked Iraqi prisoner on a leash. In another she is smiling and pointing at a naked detainee's genitals, while a cigarette dangles from the corner of her mouth.

Her lawyers had argued England and others in her unit were acting on orders from military intelligence to "soften up" prisoners for interrogations.

But Army investigators testified during hearings last summer that England said the reservists took the photos while "they were joking around, having some fun."

Five other members of the 372nd have entered guilty pleas, with sentences ranging from no time to 8 1/2 years.

The only soldier in the case to stand trial, alleged ringleader Spc. Charles Graner Jr., was convicted on all charges earlier this year and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Graner and England were once lovers, and authorities believe he is the father of England's baby.

One other member of the 372nd is awaiting trial: Spc. Sabrina Harman, a guard who faces up to 6-and-a-half years, if convicted on charges of conspiracy, maltreating detainees and dereliction of duty.

England had initially been charged with 19 counts of abuse and indecent acts that carried a combined maximum sentence of 38 years in prison. Prosecutors filed a reduced set of charges in February.

### Interesting stories to juxtapose, no? What do you see in the two tales of these American women? I have tons to say on the England case . . .


What?! _Hitchhiker's_ out?! I gotta go--British humor sucks (sorry, but it's just true), but it could be just what my partner needs--