Random Musings

Cindy Sheehan has my deepest sympathies. It's tragic that she lost her son and her husband. Her pain and sadness is too terrible for me to fathom. However, the lack of appreciation for her son's sacrifice is shameful. I would have much greater empathy had her son been drafted.

Today is the 13th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew. Ironically, hurricane warnings have been posted for South Florida today in advance of (soon-to-be) Hurricane Katrina. While this latest storm is considerably weaker than Andrew, memories of that great storm must be going through many people's minds. I lived in Miami Beach when Andrew hit and I will tell you that the devastation to the area (both physically and emotionally) was greater than anything I had ever witnessed before.

Everyone is complaining about the surging price of gasoline (Chicago average is $2.81 per gallon) and with good reason. What bothers me the most is not the actions of OPEC or the U.S. government. No, what frustrates and angers me is the enormous profits the oil companies are making. Granted, gasoline prices have stayed below the inflation rate for years, but the shock of the past year's increases will certainly have a negative effect on the incumbents in the 2006 mid-term elections.

I support the war in Iraq (duh). However, I do wonder why we Americans have to not only sacrifice our soldiers, but have to cover the enormous financial costs as well. If only Iraq had some sort of commodity that could be sold the pay for it. Hmmmm.

I watched my beloved Cowboys play Seattle Monday night and was quite happy with the result. While I certainly do not expect them to win the Super Bowl, I was encouraged by the new additions to the team and believe they can compete for a playoff bid this year. I'll refrain from making any bold predictions until I write my annual Cowboy season preview - before the opening game.

My wife and I took my oldest son to the Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley last night. We were one row in front of the farthest back row, but behind home plate. Except for the seats with obstructed views (because of the concrete support beams), there really isn't a bad seat in the house. Plus, the crowd singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" - during the seventh-inning stretch - is something that must be experienced. Especially when the home team is winning (as they did last night, 10-1).

That's all for now.