McCain selects Palin as running mate

Not to get all politicky on you, but McCain has just announced his selection for VP. Sarah Palin, the governor of my own state of Alaska. Interesting choice. My husband and I speculated months ago about this possibly happening. While she comes from a state with only 2 electoral votes, as opposed to one of the more populated states down south, she is a strong leader and has been systematically beating down corruption in our state since her election. Her position on Anwar is opposite that of McCain, and since it IS her state, I'd like to think that will weigh in a bit as well. She's obviously female, so she fills the billet emptied by the dreaded HC, but she is prettier, softer, younger, and not evil, as far as I can tell. She has a handicapped kid. She's not one of the DC parasites. Bound to help against Obama. Should McCain become president and die (he's older than dirt, folks), she is a capable person to run the country. And somehow it doesn't seem to be a big deal that she' a woman. Maybe because that isn't all she has to offer.

I think it was a smart choice, and like I said, an interesting one.

Funny thing. In the Yahoo News article about this choice, the last line reads:

She and her husband Todd Palin, have five children. The latest, a baby, was born with Down syndrome.

Of course it's a baby. What the hell do you think it is??? A puppy???

ha.

Link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080829/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_veepstakes

Today

Today is my birthday. I am 36 years old, and that's fine with me. Most everyone I know has a little breakdown each year when their birthdays arrive. Oh, I'm so ooooold, they whine. It's so terrible, not being 22 anymore....etc., etc. Bloody hell. Are you kidding me? I am smarter and stronger and healthier and wiser and better every year that passes. I'd rather age than die, which seems to be the only alternative I can think of. These same people loudly proclaim their intent to Not Celebrate said birthday. Okay, so nobody acknowledges it, and they complain about being forgotten. The next year everyone gets them a gift, and they complain about THAT. Sigh. It makes me tired.

Celebrate your birthday. it's important. Once you lose someone you love, the birthdays you celebrated with him rise up vividly in your mind, and you see how truly you aren't celebrating just a day of birth, but another year of life. Let people appreciate you on your birthday. Shut the fuck up about how old you like to think you are. Enjoy it, and allow your loved ones to enjoy it as well. It could be the last one for you, or someone with you. How sad and selfish it would be if you died and all they had to remember from this year's birthday was you bitching and complaining about aging.

So, what am I doing to enjoy today? I took my dog, whom I love most of all, for an hour-long walk in the rain this morning. We went a different route than usual, sniffed new stuff, peed on new trees (well, he did; I had already peed at home), enjoyed the cool, wet morning, and talked about stuff we like to do. We went to the beach and watched the water and poked around in the seaweed and beach detritus. It was nice. Now I am having coffee and reading my email and in a few minutes I will find a book or some knitting, and sit on the couch with my coffee and bask in the quietness of my house. This evening my husband and I will have sushi with another couple who are our good friends and neighbors. There are some gifts on the table in the dining room to unwrap. And after all that, another walk with my dog.

It may not sound like much to you, but it is precisely what I want to do with my birthday this year.

Subsisting

Saturday was a fishing day. My brother was in town, so it was a big treat for him: fishing in the cold Alaskan seas for king salmon and halibut. Many people never get to do that. Most who DO get to fish here do so on a charter, and pay handsomely for the trip.

For me, though, it was a grocery procurement trip. Yes, I love being on the water, especially when the weather is nice, and the whales are breaching alongside the boat and the gulls are wheeling overhead. I can't imagine a better place to spend a day.

But what it's really about it getting the fish. See, up here food is really expensive, and often in winter there just isn't much to be had, as bad weather means no barge, and the barge is what our food comes in on. We have a lot of bad weather, and therefore there are often times when we wait and wait and wait for the barge. Ah, island living. Anyhow, so I go fishing to catch fish that I then put in my freezer so we can eat all winter long.

Saturday was a good day fishing. We caught some kings, including a rare white king, a halibut, a rockfish, two starfish and a skate. We put the last three items back. One of the starfish had a collection of seashells in his possession, and was munching on a barnacle. Well, it sort of seemed like it was stuck to his lip. If a starfish has a lip. Either way, he was really loaded down.

We also caught a bucket of herring early in the day to serve as our bait. If you catch the herring, you get free bait. If you buy it, it's several dollars per bag. Why would anyone buy it??? Catching herring is ridiculously easy and lots of fun. You find a school of herring, drop the herring line over, pull it up and it's full of fish. Rinse and repeat. In 20 minutes you have a full bait bucket. I thought we really needed some circus music to play while we got the herring, as they are wiggly and slippery little devils, and getting them from the hook to the bucket is nothing short of comedic.

The best part? Heh. I got to drive the boat. Nothing is more fun than flying through the water on a sunny day, waving at the other boats, watching sea otters, sea lions and puffins bobbing in your wake. We cleaned fish until almost 11 pm, but it was a great day and my freezer is filling up nicely.