I've been skipping some stuff that I just didn't feel like writing about at the time, or that happened between my Saturday update and now. I'll try to go in chonological order.

First, Deb and I had a big fight on Thursday night. Don't worry. What constitutes a "big fight" in our house is the equivalent of slightly heated dinner conversation in others' relationships.

The fight was about her wine tasting escapades with Jake and the crew from her wine store. Both Deb and Jake admit that they probably couldn't have passed a breathalyser test. I'm happy that she understands it was a really, really bad idea to drive home that night.

What we fought about was my opinion of the people she works with. I like some of these people; they're fine on a day-to-day basis; but the whole lot of them are incredibly irresponsible social drinkers who encourage irresponsible drinking in others. I have heard about a lot of parties and a lot of wine tastings and the drunkeness that ensues. I have never heard of anyone taking a cab home. Or even expressing concern that someone needs to take a cab home. The store owners make no provisions for designated drivers, or to make cabs available. I hate the atmosphere at the parties the owners throw so badly that I've refused to go to more than one. When I don't go, Deb's not as interested in going.

It would be so easy, and not that expensive, for the store owners to arrange to have a few cabs available when the employees go drinking for business or social reasons. I really think someone is going to have to get seriously injured or die, or kill someone else in a car wreck before they show any concern for their behavior.

The owner that I know best is the kind of guy who would call you a pussy if you wanted to take a cab home.

One of Deb's best friends from the store drove home from that tasting dinner in much worse shape than she was, and he has a baby at home who's less than a year old.

Arrrrgh! It just drives me crazy.

Deb's opinion is that she makes her bad decisions on her own, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the people she works with. She thinks I shouldn't think badly of them or blame them for anything. I agree that she's an adult, etc., but I also have zero respect for these people, and I don't trust Deb to make adult decisions when she's with them.

We had to agree to stop fighting without reaching a resolution. I think this topic will always be a sore spot with us.

Friday night Sara had to work a really horrible scene. It's been in the news for a couple of days now. She told me some things about it, but not a lot. She worked a long, bad night and didn't get much in the way of sleep before her next shift. I won't even go into it. But if you're a Sara reader, that's part of the reason she hasn't updated lately. That and time, as usual.

Saturday evening Jake, Deb, and I went out to dinner at the new Mexican restaurant in town. The food was great and reasonably priced, but our waitress did not speak much English at all.

I think she was giving it a shot to practice, though.

Me: ... and a Diet Coke.

Wait: Water?

Me: ... uh. Yeah. I'll take some water, too. But I want a Diet Coke.

Wait: *looks confused*

Deb: *points to the word Coke on the menu and says, loudly, "Diet!"

They don't have Diet Coke. I take the water and order an orange Jarrito (or something like that) later in the meal.

Jake had flautas, Deb had enchiladas, and I had pork ribs in green chili sauce. Yum-my.

I've got to recommend it to everyone else in town I know so that they'll stay open for business.

Sunday morning we had a late brunch together. And I guess here is the place where I should talk about the asswipe.

Let me start by saying that my late father, the man I loved and respected more than any other I know, was a proud Marine who voluntarily served during the Korean War. He never talked about his experiences there, though, other than a couple of humorous stories he would tell if asked. He just didn't want to relive or think about most of it.

Now, in the newspaper Sunday morning (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 18, 2001), is a story about an ad campaign financed by the Georgia Highway Contractors Association. The message of the ads is that environmentalists are opressing good Americans and taking away freedoms by showing opposition to the good patriots who want to pave more of our great land so that we can all drive around without running into traffic.

I don't mind business people lobbying the public to try to make money. That's the American way. That's basically what the environmentalist cause has been doing: lobbying the public, urging them to take mass transit and to carpool, and trying to keep some green space in our state unpaved or stripped by building and road contractors.

What REALLY TICKS ME OFF is THIS SORRY EXCUSE FOR A MAN ...

... comparing his organization's reigned in ability to build more roads by environmentalist efforts to the struggles and conflict that led to the Korean War!

"Environmentalists are telling us how to live our lives ... preventing us from driving cars, and forcing us to live downtown. In America, these are still personal choices. Tyranny didn't win in South Korea. Don't let it get a foothold here." �Pete Conrad

WHAT?

"preventing us from driving cars, and forcing us to live downtown." ???????

Gee, the 4,000 cars that I can see just from my office window, driven into town in long commutes by people who live in the suburbs and outlying counties seem to give me A DIFFERENT IMPRESSION! Gah!

And "Tyranny didn't win in South Korea"? I don't recall that anyone "won" much of anything in Korea, period. Aren't we still trying to sooth relations between North and South in that country. Aren't there still landmines buried all over the place, still blowing people to bits 50 years after the start of that "conflict"? Yeah. That's a big, proud victory for South Korea over Communist tyrants, who were so much like environmental tyrants of today who are trying to find ways to uphold the federal Clean Air Act (signed by Pres. G.H.Bush).

These ads are an insult to Koreans and an embarrassment to the U.S. Armed Forces and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Can you feel the steam coming out of my ears?

I'll have to catch up on the rest of Sunday and Monday morning later. I'm needing a smoke, and I've got a bunch of work to get started on.