Politically Correct Darth

Lucas loves Darth so he was happy when he got his costume together. He tells me things that I can't quite understand for instance when he mentions Darth he always says, "Darth Vader Belt". I showed him a photo of a belt on a man, handed him a belt to hold and said, "This is a belt but Darth Vader's name is just Darth Vader". He mostly loves Darth because of his saber but in school he can't say shoot, gun, saber, or anything that denotes a weapon of any kind. If he has a stick and uses it for a weapon he gets it taken away unless he can find a way to use it in another fashion. He can use the words, squirt bottle, because even though it has a trigger like a gun it is used to spray water. Therefore, when Lucas is in costume he announces in a not very threatening manner, "I'm Darth Vader Belt and I've got a squirt bottle." Brett says if Lucas ever joins the military he'll be saying, "This is my rifle, this is my squirt bottle".

My mom and I went to see The Lion King on Sunday. She said she liked it but she didn't see any lions. She was happy when I dropped her off at her apartment as she wanted to share her program with the ladies she visits. Yesterday she asked about paying her rent and when I said I was doing that she acted kind of hurt like she wanted to do it. I told Cyd I felt bad about taking that job from her because it made her feel good to write checks. Today I took her for a ride to visit her old apartment and when she looked in her wallet she had a check in the coin section. It was written by someone I've never heard of, Allan Hinkley, and made out to Southside Christian Church on September 4, 2005. I asked her how she got the check and she said she didn't know. I phoned my friend who goes to that church and took it by his house and he'll put it in the offering. She said you know I didn't take money from the collection plate and I don't think she would but how could she get a stranger's offering? Maybe the word collection made her want to do just that. I've been rethinking her need to write checks.

I hate to tout books by Oprah and when she announces that it's about a drug addict I'm really not interested. In fact I admire Jonathan Franzen who resisted even appearing on Oprah when he knew doing so would make his novel a best seller. However I relented and bought Millions of Tiny Pieces and I only read, ate and slept for two days until it was finished. It's not just about drug addiction but more about the human spirit and the things that make a difference in life. Now I'm starting Amy Tan's new book so I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

I'm pleased that the Johanson's 37th Reunion will be at Chiwawa Lodge this year even though the lodge has 5 bedrooms and there are 40 of us. I'm proposing that we form a corporation, buy the place and remodel. We need a benefactress.