Ah, Big Brown wins another one. He's one short of a Triple Crown but seems otherwise on track to win it. And while the big brown fella leads his contenders at every turn, we have the senior senator from Massachusetts, Teddy Kennedy, fading in the final stretch but is reportedly resting comfortably at the trough in the wake of yesterdays seizures. He is more affectionately known as the "Fat Bastard" by those who blindly adore him and by those who follow and perpetuate the Kennedy myth in the oh-so-liberal state of Massachusetts. Since I had placed my wager on Teddy not coming down for breakfast, it doesn't look like my horse will be coming in. Not today. Perhaps not even tomorrow. He remains as my top prospect in the death pool, however, so I remain optimistic. Not because I have anything personal against Teddy, but rather because I detest political dynasties. Dynasties of any kind. His passing can only mean good things for those of us who find fault with everything he and his family represent in modern day politics. Unless, of course, it enables yet another generation of Kennedy's to emerge with the sympathies and prayers of their natural born constituents in the state of Massachusetts. I'll take my chances.

I know it's hard to believe but it looks like spring has finally arrived. I guess it's time to plant whatever it is that we are going to plant. Nan put in a couple of blueberry bushes in the last few days and it will be interesting to see how they develop. It would have been so easy to stick the plant or plants in the ground and let them do whatever it is they are going to do. Nan wasn't taking any chances and what she discovered was that you need to plant blueberry bushes in pairs. They need cross pollination in order to produce berries so I'm glad she asked. We would have otherwise watched and wondered season after season as to why we had bushes but no berries. We probably would have come to the conclusion that we had done something wrong, something fateful like planting them in a place with too little sun, too little of this or too much of that, and that would have been the end of it. If it turns out well for us, we can deal with more interesting problems like protecting them from birds and other animals so we might enjoy a bowlful on occasion. Nan is a big fan of blueberries so I hope all turns out well. If our crop comes up short, it won't be due to a lack of sunshine, peat moss, water, or just plain lovin'.

We were awakened in the middle of the night last night with a start. Ev was sleep walking only this time he wasn't walking. He was running. We heard him jump out of bed with a thump as his feet hit the floor and no sooner was he on his feet when we heard the back door opening. He was on his way to god only knows where and Nancy was right behind him as soon as she heard the door opening. Typically, we will awaken in the middle of the night to find him standing in a dark corner in our home somewhere muttering to himself. Maybe it's the muttering that wakes us up. Maybe just being aware that he is prone to this type of behavior has our collective antennae up even after we've gone to sleep. I do think that even in this somnambulant state of his it is important to not ply him with questions that are too direct or questions that require any form of thinking on his part. It is better to help him help himself to realize where he is and to guide him back to bed with as little interruption as possible. In fact, I find that if we do this right, he won't remember a thing the day after. Lastly, I think a mothers soft voice and guiding tone is best suited for this task. If she does it right, even I may not remember that it ever happened. Selfishly speaking, of course. But he didn't go far last night and I will have to ask Nan this morning what he had to say if anything when she caught up with him at the end of the driveway at 2 in the morning. She did say something about his girlfriend when she finally came back to bed. I didn't know he had one.