Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone. We're (me, my wife, her 2 sisters and our dog Kaleb) at my folks new place, enjoying a nice, slow, relaxing day. When we got here, the annual Hundley Christmas brunch was waiting for us - bacon, scrambled eggs, fried oysters, juice and coffee. A Christmas Story is on the TV upstairs, I'm in the basement watching a Law & Order marathon, Dad's cooking in the kitchen, Amber's playing cards with Mom, Grandma and my niece. A good time is being had by all. Hope you're having a wonderful day as well.

Chaz

Christmas Time Is Here

So today, I finally got into the holiday spirit. My wife was throwing a baby shower for her older sister, so I needed to be out of the house for most of the day. Luckily, my fav gal pal aka East Coast Alaska Girl (who my wife tells me I can marry if something happens to her - don't ask, she's morbid that way), who's now just East Coast Formerly Alaska Girl because she's moved back to DC where she belongs, was free to hangout all day. I drove into town to meet her at her awesome condo on The Hill, and we walked ourselves over to Eastern Market. Now, the calendar may say December 23rd, but the weather wasn't feelin' it. It was beautiful today, about 61 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. A perfect day to check out the scene at Eastern Market. Lots of cool crafts for sale, as usual. We had lunch at Tunnicliff's Tavern, sitting outside and doing some major people watching. And what do we see directly across the street? Dudes selling Christmas trees.

Now, we don't have a tree this year, because the Mrs. isn't feeling especially jolly this year, with her mother passing away last month. We have a very large poinsettia, but no tree. Well folks, we now have a tree! The tree dudes were selling all sizes and shapes of trees, and ECAG helped me pick out a small, cute tree. Only $10!! Afterwards, we went on a search for a tree stand. Home Depot would have one, right? Well, maybe a few weeks ago, but not 2 nights before Christmas. The wife and her sister our out shopping now, so I've had 2 hours to jerry-rig a stand out of an oversized planter and some festive holiday ribbon for support (don't ask). It's merely temporary - I'm going to head to a nursery tomorrow - they've got to have stands, right?

On further reflection,

It was definitely because of the Carbombs!

Sensitive Guy?

I don't know if it was the 4 Carbombs and numerous beers I had during the day on Sunday (celebrating my birthday a few days early at a local sports bar with 30 or so of my closest friends), but I got all weepy watching 60 Minutes on Sunday. Yeah, I know, 60 friggin' Minutes. They were doing a story on children in foster care, and I just thought about how lucky I am that I was raised in a home with 2 loving parents. My mom was visiting for my party, and I thanked her for probably the 1st time in my life for being such a good mother and for giving me and my siblings everything we could ever want or need. (Dad, I would have thanked you to if you had come up for the shindig).

Sinclair Lewis said it over 60 years ago

When facism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.

I just want to ad

the following to today's earlier post:

Jefferson Davis said slavery "…was established by decree of Almighty God… it is sanctioned in the Bible, in both Testaments, from Genesis to Revelation… it has existed in all ages, has been found among the people of the highest civilization, and in nations of the highest proficiency in the arts."

"Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages." — Statement by Virginia trial judge in 1959 case that led to 1967 U.S. Supreme Court striking down laws in 16 states that prohibited interracial marriage.

So, please, stop using the Bible to support your bigoted views!

A sad day for the Church

My dad just e-mailed me to tell me that the church we went to while I was growing up, All Saint's, has just voted to leave the Episcopal church. Why? Because the Church has an openly gay bishop and the new head of the church supports him. The 500-member church was one of nine churches to vote last weekend whether to leave the Episcopal Church over disagreements on biblical authority and the 2003 consecration of New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, a practicing homosexual.

They plan to join the Nigerian Anglican church, whose leader believes that gays should be jailed. What really gets me is that the rector of All Saints, Father Guernsey, a man I really liked growing up, has the nerve to say

"We are heartened by the congregation's vote to move forward with our mission to be a church overflowing with God's love and healing power,"

God's love? When you're breaking away from the church because of hate? Do they plan to expel women from the church who are on their period? Or ban bacon or pork sausage at church breakfasts? What am I talking about, you ask? Just this, that the section of the Bible that says that being gay is a sin, says alot of other things are sinful too.

Homophobic fundamentalists often quote two particular verses that seem to be against gay people. These two verses, both of which appear in the book of Leviticus, are . . .

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination." (Leviticus 18:22)

and . . .

"If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them." (Leviticus 20:13)

Okay, so the Bible does say being gay is wrong. But read on:

"For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him." (Leviticus 20:9)

Imagine what would happen today if we killed every child who was disrespectful to his parents. Fundamentalists explain this verse away, saying that it is part of the Old Levitical Holiness Code and is not meant to be taken literally.

But the above verse is just a mere 3 verses before Leviticus 20:13, one of their favorite anti-gay scriptures which, of course, they do choose to apply literally.

"If a man lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has discovered her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from her people." (Leviticus 20:18)

Imagine what would happen today if we deported every man and woman who had ever had sex together while the woman was having her period. Fundamentalists decline the opportunity to take this verse literally, which is merely 5 verses after Leviticus 20:13.

"Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property." (Leviticus 25:44-45)

Did you ever wonder where racist, people got the idea that slaves were just property and not people? Directly from the above verse, which fundamentalists do not, of course, take literally (at least not in public).

"Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard." (Leviticus 19:27)

"Bible-believing" fundamentalists never preach against the evils of shaving, as they do not take this verse literally for our day. Of course, they most certainly would do so if they had a personal bias against shaving, but apparently, they do not.

"...and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you." (Leviticus 11:7)

As you can see, the book of Leviticus also prohibits the eating of pork (a swine is a pig). Of course, fundamentalists do not choose to use this verse to preach against eating pork. Sadly, however, they have no problem abusing the Bible to condemn gay and lesbian people. Remember, it's about their personal prejudice against gay people, not about a true desire to understand what the Bible actually says.

"...do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear material woven of two kinds of material." (Leviticus 19:19)

Farmers in this country almost always grow more than one kind of crop in their fields. In fact, they often must do so for ecological reasons. Fundamentalists do not apply this verse literally. If they were to preach against farmers, there would be an uproar, and rightfully so.

Fundamentalists also ignore the Biblical command to not wear clothes that have two different kinds of material. The shirts that many fundamentalists are often seen wearing must be a cotton/polyester blend, the most common in the United States of America. They may be "Bible believing" Christians, but this is yet another verse that they don't believe should be applied to today.

See how stupid this whole thing is? It gets better, The Bible says that eating shrimp and lobster is an abomination:

"But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you." (Leviticus 11:10)

"They (shellfish) shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination." (Leviticus 11:11)

So eating shell fish is just as bad as being gay. Or is that being gay is just as bad as eating shellfish? An important distinction, no?

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Thoughts on death

It's been a little over a week since we said goodbye to Amber's mom. It was pretty sad, and I had a pretty hard time during my little part of the eulogy. This is my 2nd family member to pass away over the past year, and it's tough.

One thing that's really struck me across the face is the whole issue of mortality. As a child, you think your parents are going to be around forever, and up until last week, I've never considered the fact that my folks are going to die one day. I can't imagine what life would be without them. They've been the constant in my life for the entirety of my existence. And this is what makes it so hard for me with my mother in-law's death. I honestly don't know what to do for my wife apart from just being there for her. My natural inclination when anything bad happens to those I love is to fix it, or at least try to put myself in that person's shoes and establish some empathy. But now, I don't know. Losing a parent has to be incredibly painful and numbing, and I just don't know what to do.

Amber is a very, very strong woman and has yet to really let me see her grieve over her mother's death. Partly because she's been so busy dealing with all of the practicalities of what's happened - planning the funeral service, figuring out who's staying where, getting her mother's papers in order, cleaning out her home. The list goes on and on. I'm just afraid that at some point she's going to lose it. And I'm angry at her sisters and her brother. Intellectually I know it's only because we live the closest to her mother (one sister is in Taneytown, MD, the other is in Chicago and her brother is in Oregon) that Amber is the one who's had all of the responsibility fall on her, but she's the 4th child, the 2nd youngest. This is the time when older siblings really need to step up and take some responsibility. But, as with most things, that hasn't (luckily, Amber never reads this blog, and neither do her siblings). Whoa, I sound like my grandmother now - "You're the oldest" she's been telling me since I was around 7 or 8.

Anyway, back to the issue of mortality. I guess if I was a person with strong faith, I'd be comforted in the fact that my loved ones are going to heaven, but I'm not. I don't have any idea what happens to us when we die, and that scares the shit out of me. It'd be nice if we ended up chilling on some beach, or floating around the clouds. But what if this is it? What if nothing happens, and we just stop being?

Weekend

Well, we had Mama Nightingale's funeral on Wednesday. Obviously, very, very sad. I'm not going to go into any details, because it's it's still too hard to discuss. We had Thanksgiving with the whole family at her place on Thursday, with her sisters and brother who flew in from Ireland.

Tonight, we're having the FW's 2 aunts from Dublin overnight, along with her 3 sisters. Yep, me alone with a house full of Irish Woman. God Help Me!

My Mother In-Law

My mother in-law was a wonderful, fun loving woman. Yeah, she could be a bit rough and gruff, but that was part of her Irish charm. This is my favorite picture of her. It was taken at our wedding, and even though we had open bar, she didn't trust that we would have what she wanted, so she brought along her bottle of Bailey's. She loved that stuff.

She was really looking forward to Thanksgiving - we were all headed down to her place for a good old time, and two of hers sisters were flying over for from Dublin for the holiday. They're still coming over, just for a much less joyful occasion.

She had a really tough life, growing up dirt poor in Ireland, moving here to start a new life and raising 5 kids on her own after a bad marriage. But she never stopped having fun and enjoying life, though she did like making sure everyone knew how good they had it thanks to her.

I'm really going to miss her. I'll never forget the 1st time I met her. Amber and I had been dating for a few months and Amber drove me down to meet her "Mamacita". I was a bit worried - I didn't know how she would respond to her daughter dating me, as she was straight off the boat from Ireland. But she never batted an eye, and loved me as if I were one of her own. We had good times, and I'll never, ever forget her. I just wish she held on until we gave her the little grandbabies she wanted us to make for her.

Catherine Rickard Nightingale

Catherine Rickard Nightingale, 71, of Victoria Park retirement community in Woodbridge passed away peacefully on November 18. She died from multiple complications related to diabetes and congestive heart failure.

Ms. Nightingale was born in Dublin, Ireland, to the late Luke and Jane Rickard. She emigrated to the United States in search of adventure and opportunities in 1964 and resided in the Washington DC region. She became a United States citizen in 1996.

Ms. Nightingale worked as a housekeeper at Potomac Hospital for over 15 years. In her retirement, she was an active resident of Victoria Park retirement community. In addition to being an avid bingo player, she was involved with planning and organizing special events for community residents.

Survivors include five children, Scarlett Tausen of Taneytown, Maryland, Vienna Nightingale of Chicago, Illinois, Winchester Nightingale of Portland, Oregon, Amber Nightingale and Victoria Nightingale of Alexandria, Virginia; sisters Mae Checkon of Dale City, Virginia, Rose Honan and Ellen Carroll of Dublin, Ireland, Clare Kay of Lancashire, England, brothers Mark Rickard of Dublin, Ireland, Frank Rickard of County Wicklow, Ireland, and Hughie Rickard of Lancashire, England; grandchildren Christopher Tausen, Kelly Tausen, and Bailey Tausen of Taneytown, Maryland and Amber Nightingale of Morrill, Nebraska . She was preceded in death by her sister Nancy Rickard of Dublin, Ireland, brothers Luke Rickard of Lancashire, England, and Thomas Rickard of London, England.

Her sassiness, wittiness, and story-telling charm will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her.

A wake will be held from 12:00 noon until 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 22 at Mountcastle Funeral Home, 4143 Dale Blvd., Dale City, Virginia 22193. The funeral service will follow the wake at Mountcastle Funeral Home. Friends and family are welcome to attend a reception following the service at Ms. Nightingale’s home, 16820 Flotilla Way, Woodbridge, VA 22191.

A memorial contribution may be made in the form of a donation to: Capital Hospice 6565 Arlington Blvd., Suite 500, Falls Church, VA 22042.

Memorial Card

In Loving Memory

Catherine Rickard Nightingale

Sunrise: June 15, 1935

Sunset: November 18, 2006

God looked around His garden

And found an empty place.

He then looked down upon the earth

And saw your tired face.

He put his arms around you

And lifted you to rest.

God’s garden must be beautiful

He always takes the best.

He saw the road was getting rough

And the hills were hard to climb,

So He closed your weary eyelids

And whispered "Peace be thine".

It broke our hearts to lose you

But you didn’t go alone,

For part of us went with you

The day God called you home.

May she rest in eternal peace.

Not The Happiest of Holidays

My mother in-law passed away yesterday.

For Dad

I just realized that the last 2 Republican Senators to concede were Burns and Allen. Say goodnight Gracie!

It's Official

We won! We really won!

Recount

A recount in Virginia doesn't mean that they recount every vote, all they can do is double check the number the computers spit out. Don't see how Allen thinks he's going to get 7,000+ votes switched to him.

The Day After

Tester just declared victory in Montana. Webb is still leading by almost 8,000 votes in Virginia. And Rumsfeld is resigning (according to MSNBC). I've got to be dreaming!

Wow!

It's 2:15 am. We've just won Missouri. Webb is now up 8,000 votes in Virginia, and Tester is leading in Montana. Unbelievable!!! In Virginia, the leader heading into a recount has never lost. Plus, a recount means alot of scrutiny on the race here in Virginia. And lots of talk about voter intimidation and suppression by the GOP in Virginia. It's going to get ugly.

Good Night

I've got to get some sleep. We've won the House, the Senate is too close to call. What a great night for democracy. Talk to everyone tomorrow.

My Favorite Shirt

I've had this shirt since the last election, when I did alot of work for the DCCC. I wore it all day today, and every Saturday for the past 2 months (yes, I wash it). Who new I was only 2 years ahead of my time?