I'm not sure if I'm just jetlagged, or have post-travel malaise as documented by Lizzie, but I haven't had any energy or will to live since we got home. It could be the sore shoulder and arm as well. This is a lot better, but I'm always aware it's there. I do something silly like put on clothes and suddenly I've twisted wrong. I can't throw my shoulders back (snap, crack, pop!) equally. Rich went to the commissary yesterday and I asked for liniment. What I got was an arthritis Ben-Gay. It seems to be doing the deep-heating of the muscles. I'm slowly getting better.

We've had frost the last two mornings and tonight it is belting down rain. Most of the jade plants are inside, and the rest are on the porch, so they should be OK.

We called Vince last night. He still has his Boeing job, though he figures the ax will fall soon. He's off to Spokane this weekend, and on Monday he's lunching with a professor and getting a letter of recommendation. He's applying to grad school in aeronautics: Perdue, MIT, Caltech. His dream is that Boeing would help send him, but whatever.

The woman who taught him his 2-day-a-week preschool 20 years ago just died of brain cancer. I had seen her at the primary and told her about Vince, and she said "Don't tell me that!" I gather he was in her first class there, as she founded the park district program. At the November election, her husband had said she wouldn't be voting, but I got all busy and couldn't ask why.
I went to the funeral and the parking lot was full, as was the church. I saw a number of people I knew. I didn't get a chance to speak to the daughter I knew (who taught Vince the next year). I was surprised, though, to be joined in my pew by my newly elected congresscritter and his family. I guess the oldest girl was Marian's student last year. (After founding the park preschool, she spent 3 years at another one, then taught kindergarten at a private school for the last 16 years.)
There were family readings and rememberances. I lost it when a friend sang a song from "Les Miz". The grandchildren brought up the offeratory, which included a travel book, and apple to symbolize teaching, and credit cards!

The terrible accident at the Army-Navy game brought up more talk of needing a new stadium. While we were in Pittsburgh, this was the big thing. "Plan B" at the state legislature was to raise the state debt limit so that Pittsburgh could build two and Philadelphia two. Pittsburgh is ready: in fact, Kevin McClatchy, of the Sacramento Bee family, is talking of moving the Pirates if they don't. Philadelphia (which obviously needs something better) is not ready, so the eastern PA representatives blocked the thing. Then the western crowd passed some cleanup legislation (which no one read) which left one clause allowing the Governor to give money to Pittsburgh. There was a lot of "nyaaah, nyaahing" going on the television when the Pittsburgh mayor got home. This placed the Gov., who would like to run for Vice President, in a bind, and he finally said he wouldn't OK the money. Monday was the start of deer-hunting season, so the politicians didn't want to go back to work. (Heck, many school districts closed for deer-hunting.) So then Veteran's Stadium is too hot and falling apart, and I gather from the news the workers are not cooperative.
Last night I had a dream that I was the newly elected mayor of some Pittsburgh suburb. I was still learning where things were, a la Ventura!

I posted November 22, when I saw Three Mile Island. This is the last of the ones actually written on the day. After that, I only had time to jot quick notes on my laptop. It still was a joy to have along as I could keep up with e-mail. I was also writing my Round Robin letter on the fly, too.