John O'Quinn, RIP

Love him or hate him, this is a shock.

Wednesday's Quote from Mom

So mom arrived and so far, so good. We took her to church (gasp) last night for Family Night and she sat in on our class, which is sort of an Intro to Orthodox Christianity kind of thing. Class was held in the nave itself last night, as the discussion centered on church architecture and the meaning of icons. Mom did purse her lips until they disappeared, and kept them that way the entire time we were in there - a sure sign she doesn't like what she's hearing - but she didn't come right out and disapprove too much. The one thing she said that I loved was when we were walking around the church before class started and I was explaining to her the little I knew about iconography ("the ones with crosses are martyrs" and things like that):

Mom: "Well, while it's nice to have all these people known for being martyrs, I always think it's nicer when people die for their faith and no one knows who they are. It's just so much more humble of them to have died only for their faith and not so that people would worship them later on."

Me: "Honor. Venerate. Love. Not worship. But anyway - what were they supposed to do? Plan ahead to make sure they were martyred in a place where no one knew them? It's hardly their fault if others remembered them after they were dead. They weren't in control of whether people did that, you know - they were dead."

So if any of you out there might possibly become a saint someday, and you're out there in the mission field or whatever where people might possibly want to kill you for your faith - make sure you get martyred in a way that no one knows about, so mom can think of your nameless fate and know you were more humble than the saints whose names we do know. Got it? Good.

Southwest Airlines and Honor Flight

My mom was at her layover in Baltimore yesterday when one of these flights came in: Southwest Airlines works with a non-profit group called Honor Flight, which brings WWII veterans from across the country in to see the monuments honoring them. Just as the flight arrived a Southwest employee made the announcement that the group of 70+ was coming off a flight from St. Louis, and anyone who wanted to cheer them on was welcome. Southwest handed out flags, and people lined the gate area, cheering and waving flags as the veterans arrived.

You can watch a video of a similar event here. As Will Rogers said:

"We can't all be heroes. Some of us have to stand on the curb and clap as they go by."

This is Beautiful

A model with a normal body? What an idea!

My List was MUCH Shorter

Ann Althouse linked to this list of "30 Things Every Woman Should Have Before She Turns 30" and all I have to say is - my list was much shorter. Here's my "done at 30" list:

A husband
A baby
A house
An advanced degree
A job with a good company
A great nanny

I like my list a lot more - because I've never seen much need for a "signature drink".

Countdown to Torment

We're counting down to my mother's 1/2 yearly visit right now; she arrives tomorrow. Usually when she descends upon us I stop blogging alltogether, but this time I have a plan: I'm going to keep a running list of my favorite things she says and post them at opportune moments. What will be opportune about the moments, you ask? Well, they will be when I can't stand it anymore and am about to pop with all the things I want to say to her but won't. And there will be moments on this visits, I assure you. There always are, but this time we're introducing her Baptist self to our Orthodox church; I can't wait until she walks into the sanctuary and sees Christ enthroned on the Theotokos's lap - the most dominant fresco in the church. That will be one of many, many things she will feel the need to comment on. Even in everyday conversation, she throws out some whoppers, so the entertainment level here should be quite high, I assure you.

Just so you know the quality of phrases we're dealing with, some of the all-time greatest things my mother has said to me are:

When I told her that after five years of courtship, Husband and I finally were planning a wedding: "Is there a history of demon possession in his family?"

After announcing I was pregnant with One: "[SOB] I'd always prayed God would close your womb!"

On the subject of parenting after my parent's divorce: "I'm so glad God allowed me to raise you as if I'd been widowed. It worked out so much easier for me that way." Yeah Mom: Dad and I feel the same way.

So welcome to more free therapy for me! Feel free to check out and come back next week if this sort of thing doesn't interest you. She leaves on Sunday afternoon, you know. But if you stick around, be prepared to have some fun - at her and my expense, of course.

Here's hoping I make it to the other side of another thrilling visit ...

Afternoon Quote

One: "Whenever a Mythbuster has that kind of smile on his face, it can't be good."

Sometimes I wish I'd let them watch Nickleodeon...

Oh bother.

Dear Sir

Today, as I entered the freeway in the rain, you were in my blind spot. And despite the fact you must have noticed the frantic blinking of my turn signal, there you stayed. You sat and you sat, exactly 3/4 of the way down the length of my minivan, as the "get left - this lane ends" sign got closer and closer to the nose of said minivan. Finally, to avoid a fiery death, I desperately accelerated and made it into your lane at the very last second. No thanks to you, I might add. Now I have one, single thing to say to you:

GET A BRAIN! Check ebay, Craigslist - there must be a cheap but serviceable one out there somewhere that someone isn't using and wants to get rid of. Get this brain and have it installed before you take to the road again. If not to save people like me from a bone-crunching death, then to save yourself: people who drive as poorly as you do in Texas sometimes get shot by drivers less charitable than I.

Please, as a public service to others and for your own protection, listen to me.

Kindest regards,

The Grass Widow