Anyway, I didn't really start to get mad today until I was getting Av ready to leave the house to go do our errands. Along with a trip to the bank and Stop and Shop I had planned to take her over to the library so that we could sign up for Thursday morning story time as an activity to replace school. I sat her on my lap to put on her shoes and said 'Do you want to go to story time tomorrow?' Well, she must have been confused and the putting on of the shoes must have made her think that she was going to school because she started to panic. She latched on to me like a koala bear and started shaking and screaming. Yeah, shaking. When we got in to the car I tried to explain to her what was going on and she just got more and more upset. We ran our errands and every time we got back in to the car seat she would start to cry again. That isn't normal. What the hell happened at that school? Obviously, something happened that upset her way beyond the fact that mommy and daddy weren't there. I'm guessing that it was the juice incident. No kid should get yelled at because they want to hold their juice. That's just not right.
Anyway, I'm pretty much over it provided that we never have to go back there again, but I am pissed that I have to sit here and try to heal the scars that it provided. That said, we have had a lot of fun over the past day or two. Here are a couple of incidents that I found particularly humorous.
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Av is pretty good at doing funny things at inappropriate times, like when she sees an old person in a scooter and starts making her car noise. Yesterday she had two pretty classic ones. First as I was cleaning the kitchen she walked over to the recycle bin and took out an empty can of Budweiser. She shook it around, looked at it and said 'Where is Papa?' This would be hilarious to you if you had ever met Monica's father, who we have taken to calling the 'Mayor of Bud town.' Dude is single-handedly keeping Anheuser Bush in business. The fact that Buds are an immediate trigger that Papa is around is priceless.
Second, we were doing our usual park stuff yesterday among the usual clan of decrepit old Russian people enjoying their daily death parade when she looked at one of them who was pushing a walker- actually, he wasn't just pushing the walker, the walker looked like it was the only thing keeping him from falling in to his own grave- and said 'Where is the baby?' Yeah, she thought it was a stroller. 'Where is the baby?' I didn't really want to explain how life will eventually become a painful, miserable struggle just to move when she gets older, so I just said 'I don't know.' I have a feeling I am going to have to answer a lot of these awkward questions pretty soon. Yet another part of parenthood that I am not prepared for.
Oh, that reminds me. One more really awesome leftover tidbit from school. Someone there, not sure if it was a teacher or a student, taught her how to say 'why?' Cool. Now all day long I just here 'Why?' 'Why?' Why?' Thing is, she has no friggin clue what it means or how to use it in context yet, so it doesn't really fit. She is getting better, though. I think she is starting to understand since I always answer her when she asks it. Thanks, school, for not letting her get to that annoying stage on her own. OK, I'm really done with bitching about school now.
Second, we were doing our usual park stuff yesterday among the usual clan of decrepit old Russian people enjoying their daily death parade when she looked at one of them who was pushing a walker- actually, he wasn't just pushing the walker, the walker looked like it was the only thing keeping him from falling in to his own grave- and said 'Where is the baby?' Yeah, she thought it was a stroller. 'Where is the baby?' I didn't really want to explain how life will eventually become a painful, miserable struggle just to move when she gets older, so I just said 'I don't know.' I have a feeling I am going to have to answer a lot of these awkward questions pretty soon. Yet another part of parenthood that I am not prepared for.
Oh, that reminds me. One more really awesome leftover tidbit from school. Someone there, not sure if it was a teacher or a student, taught her how to say 'why?' Cool. Now all day long I just here 'Why?' 'Why?' Why?' Thing is, she has no friggin clue what it means or how to use it in context yet, so it doesn't really fit. She is getting better, though. I think she is starting to understand since I always answer her when she asks it. Thanks, school, for not letting her get to that annoying stage on her own. OK, I'm really done with bitching about school now.
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The case for Michael Vick
The case for Michael Vick
Time to put my sportswriter's hat back on for a moment- and this is going to be an unpopular opinion.
Whether or not you follow the National Football League there is a good chance that you know who Michael Vick is. The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback was arrested and charged in an illegal dog fighting and gambling ring back in 2007. He pleaded guilty and served just under two years in federal prison. He lost his entire fortune and was forced to work a minimum wage construction job before he was eventually reinstated in to the NFL and signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. Now entering his second season with the Eagles, Vick is experiencing a resurgence. In Atlanta he was one of the most dynamic players at his position. His ability to use his legs as well as his arms as a weapon made him one of the most elite players in the league prior to his arrest, despite not having the same success as stars like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
Following his arrest and the release of details pertaining to the dog fighting ring Vick was crucified, and rightly so, in the press and in the court of public opinion. PETA, in fact, protested his signing in Philadelphia last summer and there are many people out there who believe he should never be allowed to play again. I am here to tell you why those people are wrong.
Before this season I never much liked Michael Vick. I thought he was an overrated player and he was a bad character guy. I was right. Everything that went down went down and he went to prison. Good. He deserved it. He was stupid and cruel and once he got caught he continued to lie about what he did until he realized that it was no longer in his best interest. With that said, I feel like Vick has served his time both in the federal justice system and in societal court. What else do you want from this guy? They locked him up, took all of his money, took him away from his family and vilified him for three straight years. For what? Killing dogs? I'm not saying that killing dogs is right, I obviously don't support that, but let's look at some other cases. Case one: Former NFL player Leonard Little. Convicted of vehicular homicide in a woman's drunk driving death and later convicted of a second DUI. Little received four years probation and community service. His career lasted for over a decade, where he managed to get himself in to repeated legal trouble, with little to no fan backlash and little to no backlash from the media. Try to tell me that killing a woman drunk driving isn't worse than killing dogs. Please, I would love to hear someone justify this.
How about another example. Ray Lewis. Super Bowl champion, superstar linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens. One of the best, and most popular players at his position- ever. Also probably killed a guy. After the 2000 Super Bowl Lewis and two other men were involved in a confrontation that resulted in the stabbing deaths of two other men. Lewis was charged with murder but got off on a plea deal with an obstruction of justice charge that netted him one year of probation. He didn't miss a game. There is no proof that he killed that guy, but even if he didn't, he was there when one of his buddies did and you damn well better believe that he didn't stop him. Again, I would love for someone to tell me that killing dogs is worse than this. Give it a shot. Please do.
My point is this. Michael Vick did what he did, he got caught, he got punished- heavily- and he served his time. He was released just like any other criminal that does his time in the system and he went back to find a job. He just happens to be a professional football player so that is what he got a job doing. Now that he has been given a chance to play this year he has started to excel and may be on the verge of rebuilding his career. He has apologized for what he has done and donated a portion of the minuscule amount of money he still has to the rescue and care of abused dogs. Yet PETA still protests him and people still vilify him every day. That isn't right. The man served his time and acknowledged what he did. He deserves to be able to live his life from here on out without repeated harassment. And don't give me that crap about 'those dogs not being able to live their lives.' They are dogs, people. I have never liked Michael Vick but I am pulling for him now. I hope he wins the Super Bowl this year. Screw off, America. How is the view from your glass house?
Whether or not you follow the National Football League there is a good chance that you know who Michael Vick is. The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback was arrested and charged in an illegal dog fighting and gambling ring back in 2007. He pleaded guilty and served just under two years in federal prison. He lost his entire fortune and was forced to work a minimum wage construction job before he was eventually reinstated in to the NFL and signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. Now entering his second season with the Eagles, Vick is experiencing a resurgence. In Atlanta he was one of the most dynamic players at his position. His ability to use his legs as well as his arms as a weapon made him one of the most elite players in the league prior to his arrest, despite not having the same success as stars like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
Following his arrest and the release of details pertaining to the dog fighting ring Vick was crucified, and rightly so, in the press and in the court of public opinion. PETA, in fact, protested his signing in Philadelphia last summer and there are many people out there who believe he should never be allowed to play again. I am here to tell you why those people are wrong.
Before this season I never much liked Michael Vick. I thought he was an overrated player and he was a bad character guy. I was right. Everything that went down went down and he went to prison. Good. He deserved it. He was stupid and cruel and once he got caught he continued to lie about what he did until he realized that it was no longer in his best interest. With that said, I feel like Vick has served his time both in the federal justice system and in societal court. What else do you want from this guy? They locked him up, took all of his money, took him away from his family and vilified him for three straight years. For what? Killing dogs? I'm not saying that killing dogs is right, I obviously don't support that, but let's look at some other cases. Case one: Former NFL player Leonard Little. Convicted of vehicular homicide in a woman's drunk driving death and later convicted of a second DUI. Little received four years probation and community service. His career lasted for over a decade, where he managed to get himself in to repeated legal trouble, with little to no fan backlash and little to no backlash from the media. Try to tell me that killing a woman drunk driving isn't worse than killing dogs. Please, I would love to hear someone justify this.
How about another example. Ray Lewis. Super Bowl champion, superstar linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens. One of the best, and most popular players at his position- ever. Also probably killed a guy. After the 2000 Super Bowl Lewis and two other men were involved in a confrontation that resulted in the stabbing deaths of two other men. Lewis was charged with murder but got off on a plea deal with an obstruction of justice charge that netted him one year of probation. He didn't miss a game. There is no proof that he killed that guy, but even if he didn't, he was there when one of his buddies did and you damn well better believe that he didn't stop him. Again, I would love for someone to tell me that killing dogs is worse than this. Give it a shot. Please do.
My point is this. Michael Vick did what he did, he got caught, he got punished- heavily- and he served his time. He was released just like any other criminal that does his time in the system and he went back to find a job. He just happens to be a professional football player so that is what he got a job doing. Now that he has been given a chance to play this year he has started to excel and may be on the verge of rebuilding his career. He has apologized for what he has done and donated a portion of the minuscule amount of money he still has to the rescue and care of abused dogs. Yet PETA still protests him and people still vilify him every day. That isn't right. The man served his time and acknowledged what he did. He deserves to be able to live his life from here on out without repeated harassment. And don't give me that crap about 'those dogs not being able to live their lives.' They are dogs, people. I have never liked Michael Vick but I am pulling for him now. I hope he wins the Super Bowl this year. Screw off, America. How is the view from your glass house?
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