Half an outlook is better than none at all....

Talking with Rachel in the van tonight in the Ukrop's parking lot waiting on Mom and Robbie to buy something, she made me again realize just how blessed I am that Monday morning's calamity will go down in Witham history as a strange, bizarre, and funny, albeit temporarily painful, series of events.

Who knows? A half-inch one way or the other, and, well, who knows. Praise God for watching over me, even when I'm trying to get away from the roosters.

So, this week has been interesting regarding how I (no pun intended) saw things. By the end of the day, all I wanted to do was go home and rest my good eye. By late this afternoon, it looked like some keys were trying to "jump out" of my keyboard at the office. Kinda weird; then again, I'll go long periods of time working, almost forgetting Mr. Pirate Patch is there.

The ER Doc said 5 to 6 days; I'm always on the conservative side. 6 days will be Sunday morning, so the hope is to take it off Sunday night, so Monday won't be too stressful (I'm expecting lots of weakness in an eye that took a week off, plus the cut on the eyelid will come up close to the top of the socket, so some pain is possible, I guess).

Plus, I need to watch Desperate Housewives with two eyes....hee hee...

By the way, one of my all-time crushes joins the cast Sunday night: the lovely Lesley Anne Warren! I've had a crush on her since, gosh, 12? I always thought she was beautiful (and a great actress, too!)

Other musings, news, and notes:

---I did not see the Pope's funeral this morning (in fact, the first words I heard on TV after it woke me up and I got my wits together was "and that concludes the funeral".) I would like to have seen it, if for no other reason, to take in the scope and magnitude of it. I'm sure it was no less than astounding. I grieve for my Catholic brethren, especially for my Catholic friends. I'll be interested to see how they follow the process of selecting the next Pope.

Speaking of which, I had no idea such controversy surrounding the death of John Paul I in 1978. One of those events where the truth will not be known, until we're home.

---Baseball season has started, and frankly, I could care less.

---I miss college basketball. Period. Now my "off-season" begins, longer this year thanks to no Stanley Cup Playoffs. My juices flow again in late July when NFL camps open and fantasy teams are drafted. Until then, I stay inside with air conditioning.

---Google's new map system is both amazing and scary. Haven't tried it? Go here.

---And, hopefully my crew is back from their two-day whirlwind conference in making better commercials in NYC. They stayed in Times Square; that caused me to fight back jealousy pangs! I've been to NYC, but I don't think I made it to the Square. I did get to the observation deck of the Empire State Building, however.

Oh, heck, why not; now that I'm just rambling:

CITIES I'VE VISITED:

New York
Boston
Albany
Hartford
Pittsburgh
Cincinnati (well, their airport across the Kentucky border...)
Baltimore
Washington, DC
Roanoke
Virginia Beach/Norfolk
Raleigh/Durham
Greensboro
Atlanta
Los Angeles
San Diego
Charlotte
Minneapolis
Nashville
Knoxville
Charleston, West Va.
Kansas City
St. Louis
Louisville


CITIES I'D LIKE TO VISIT:

Philadelphia (close, but not yet)
Buffalo
Chicago
Green Bay
Denver
Oklahoma City
Jacksonville
Birmingham
Houston
San Antonio
Albuquerque
Seattle
Chicago

IF YOU LIKE DOWNTOWNS, DON'T MISS:

1) Nashville: Cleanest downtown I've ever seen, and plenty of music nightlife, being the home of country music and contemporary Christian music.

2) Minneapolis: Absolutely hoppin'. Music, outdoor events, food, easy to get to one place and another (I walked from my hotel to the Metrodome to see a Twins game on a Sunday afternoon); plus, the buildings are all "skywalk" connected, for those, ah, less than comfortable winter days they tend to have there. ADDED PLUS: Quick bus ride to Mall of America!

3) Boston: Faneuil Hall. Enough said.

4) New York: the parts I took in were cool, and that was back before Guliani cleaned up the joint!!!

Oh, and as for foreign places, only the following interest me:

1) Witham, England: the community from whence my family came.

2) Sydney, Australia

3) Jerusalem

...and that's about it.

Unless of course, you think Alaska and Hawaii are foreign lands....:)