I always have the TV on in my office (always on News or Congressional floor debate).   This morning the news is re-broadcasting the coverage on 9/11 and it takes me back immediately to that day.  It was a one of the most gorgeous days in D.C.  Clear blue sky, perfect weather.  I was at my office, 3 blocks from the White House and in a meeting (with a TV on) as we were discussing our Afghanistan client (this is a story for a face to face discussion, but I was working on a client who had significant concerns about the Taliban rule in Afghanistan.  We were working with some famous foreign policy experts and it is very strange the ties I already had to 9/11 without even knowing it.)  The meeting had not yet started because we were discussing what kind of “idiot” flies into a building.  On TV we saw the 2^nd plane hit.  Everyone was quiet and I kept saying, “ was that a replay of the plane hitting?”.  Once we determined it was a second plane we all retreated to our offices to make phone calls and figure out what was happening.  I tried to call my friend Michelle but I was having trouble with the phone lines.  When I finally connected all I was able to say is “We are under attack, turn on your TV.”   I grabbed my cell phone and migrated back into one of the rooms with TV so I could watch the day unfold with my colleagues.  I thought about my friends in New York and prayed they were okay.

All of a sudden we heard sirens…lots and lots of sirens and they were everywhere.  I went to the windows of our 9^th floor downtown DC office and I saw police motorcycles whizzing by escorting limo’s flying foreign flags out of the city.  That is when we realized that it wasn’t over and we could be in trouble.   All of a sudden we could see smoke in the sky not far from the office but the TV wasn’t reporting anything in D.C.   It took a little bit for us to learn the Pentagon had been hit.   Suddenly there were lots of people and cars on the streets.  We happened to be on the corner of the two major routes out of the city and it was filling up quickly with people.  All of a sudden we could see smoke in the sky not far from the office but the TV wasn’t reporting anything in D.C.   It took a little bit for us to learn the Pentagon had been hit. 

The traffic on the street turned to gridlock.   Out of our window we could see the smoke, on the streets cars were stuck, and there were more people on the streets of DC than I have ever seen in my whole life.  That is the image that sticks with me…smoke in the background on this crystal blue clear sky day, cars at a standstill and tons and tons and tons of people walking out of the city.   The TV was reporting all kinds of rumors and facts: possible car bomb in front of the state department; fires on the Mall; missing planes; Pentagon in flames; plane headed to the Capitol; plane headed to the White House..etc.  I kept trying to make calls on my cell phone but it was no use.   I could not really grasp what was going on, but I knew we were under attack and I did not feel safe and I couldn’t get a hold of my family.  It made me wonder what the hell I was doing in Washington, D.C. when my family and friends were in Texas.

I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to take the subway. All I could think about was if I were a terrorist attacking a city, I would surely gas the subway system as people were trying to evacuate.  My car was at the metro station so the only option I really had was to walk the 8 miles home in my high heels and business suit.  

I tried to call my parents again but phones were still down (Land-lines and cell phones).  I decided to send a short email note to my family and my best friend Julie and I hoped it would go get to them.  The note read: “I am in the office. I am okay.  Trying to get home.  Will call you when I can…phones down.   Love you.” 

A friend of mine got kicked out of her building after the attacks so she came to my office.    We sat with a few others in my office watching the TV.  Nobody felt safe enough to get on the subway, I didn’t feel safe enough to start walking, and frankly, I think I was just too stunned to leave.  At one point my phone rang it was my friend Lizzie.  She was able to get through.  We had a very short conversation and I assured her I was okay.  I tried again to call my Mom, Dad and brother and I could not get the phone to connect. 

We watched the towers fall and at I sat there trying to figure out my next move.   I was glad Susan was there.  Now it was no longer just me trying to figure out what to do, I had a friend.  Two heads are better than one and I felt strengthened by having someone else there.  If we both decided the subway was okay, then certainly it would be okay.

The FAA has ordered all planes grounded yet there were constant planes over our skies.  When you could see them, you realized they were all fighter jets patrolling the sky.  But it was very unnerving because you sat their listening…does that sound different than the other planes?  Is that a terrorist plane?  

My phone rang.  I picked it up and it was my Dad.  I quickly escaped to my office and burst into tears. I had not cried yet but there is something about having your Dad call.  Maybe it’s a daughter thing, but my father is always the one who handles the crisis, he is always the one you call when you need help.  When my father swoops in to any situation, I can relax because I know he will take care of me.  Just to hear his voice on the other line let me know that I could breakdown.  I was actually embarrassed to cry and kept apologizing to my father.  I wasn’t hurt and I was a grown adult.  But I also wasn’t completely convinced that we were not in any kind of danger.  There were still planes missing and I was scared and I was far far away from home.  I had a short conversation with my father. He calmed me down.  I told him I loved him and that I was going to try and get to my house in Falls Church.  We agreed to try and talk at least once a day for the next few days. 

Around noon Susan and I decided to chance it on the Subway. We only had 3 stops to go until we were in Virginia.  We got in my car and it was very eerie.  The streets of Virginia were deserted for a Tuesday afternoon.    I actually had a friend staying at my house. She was scheduled to fly home to Houston that day.  She ended up being stranded at my house for a week.   We went to my house and grabbed Michelle. We were all starving and we just couldn’t sit in front of the TV any longer. 

The next few days were crazy.  We had a house full of guests as several friends lived by the Pentagon and could not go home.  Yet, we all got up the everyday that week and went back to work.  It was so strange going to work.  We had the constant fighter jets patrolling the sky.  On the subway you looked at everyone suspiciously.  Every time the subway stopped to long, or the lights flickered, we panicked.  I would walk to work and on each corner were military Humvee’s flanked by four military men in fatigues holding what looked like machine guns.  On the rooftops of many buildings downtown were snipers.  Every day there were more rumors about another attack…they were going to come back to finish the attack.  It was very strange to go to work every day feeling like you were at war.  It gave me a little bit of insight into what it must be like in other countries that really are at war, and life has to go on.

By Friday I was a mess and my nerves were shot. I could no longer pretend I was okay.  I was a crying nightmare in my office at work. It was the culmination of a really bad week.  So I decided to do something I never did…I decided to find a Catholic Church nearby.  I went to Noon mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  The Solicitor General attended mass that day with me.  He had just lost his wife on the plane that went into the Pentagon.   I walked into that Church a mess and walked out feeling like everything was going to be okay.  I can’t explain it, but I sat there for an hour, prayed, and at some point during Mass I felt a sense of calm wash over me. 

That was my day.  Everyone has similar stories.  I just hope we don’t forget the lessons we learned during that time. 

BTW – you might think I am crazy, but I have my emergency kit prepared and I also have an emergency kit for my dog Carson prepared.  I have an evacuation plan to get out of the city.  And more important, I know have a pair of tennis shoes and a flashlight at my office.

I was outraged tonight to watch President Obama deliver a speech to both Chambers of Congress and hear someone shout “You Lie” during his speech.  I was even more outraged to find out it was an 8 year veteran of the Congress, Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC).  I don’t care whether you like the President or not, or agree with his statements, to simply shout out something like “Lying” is embarrassing.  What happened to respect for the Office of the President?  What happened to respect for the historical building in which you are seated, the U.S. Capitol?

 

I disagreed with some of his statements, but never would I have thought I was at a football game or a boxing match and shouted out something negative like that.  If I lived in South Carolina I would think twice about re-electing someone like that.  (I think I might feel better if we find out he was drunk!)

 

As far as Health care reform, I can’t really comment on the bill.  I don’t do health care policy and I have not taken time to read the entire 1000+ page bill.  I do support the notion that everyone who wants health care should have it, we should have affordable health care, there should be a patient’s bill of rights, nobody should go bankrupt because they are sick, and we must bring down the cost of health care.  BUT, I seriously question that my government should provide a public option.  I look at so many things the government does and can’t help but think I, We, You, the Private Sector can do it better.  The government is definitely not something you would call “efficient” or even highly “effective”. 

 

I am very skeptical that all the money to fund this reform will come from money already being spent.  He said, “I will not sign a bill that adds one dime to the deficit.”  Make me a believer because I don’t see how you can do it when the Congressional Budget Office says it will add at least a trillion to the deficit. 

 

I was also not happy when he went political.  It was a great speech. I was on board. I was so glad he called out some of the blatant misconceptions about the bill.  But he got off track when he started playing the blame game and referring to the Trillion $ deficit he inherited and the Bush tax cuts for the rich.  How quickly we forget, but may I remind you that the budget deficit was around $750 billion when you took office, Mr. President.  But, enough partisan politics, our elected officials need to work together to fix this mess (if they can.)

 

I am very thankful I don’t do health care policy…those people are working like dogs and have been for some time.

 

BTW, if you would like to call Congressman Joe Wilson’s office and let him know what you think about his “Shout Out” during the President’s speech, please call: (202) 225-2452.  That is his office number.

I had a lovely Carson (my dog) experience the other night.   I have relayed my Carson issues to you on this blog before.  He is a great dog but on occasion he likes to wake me in the middle of the night.  I am not good in the middle of the night…I need a solid 6 hours of sleep.  I am cranky when I am awoken in the middle of the night.  So, on Friday night about 4 a.m. I hear Carson walking back and forth loudly on the hard wood floor (click…click…click…click) outside my door, he then bursts into my room shoving the door open with a bang, he starts shaking his collar (clang clang clang) and then he huffs a few times all while loudly slamming his feet into the floor.  (I am serious…this is his normal “I need you to wake up now routine.”  It is really effective and highly annoying).  Like all good mom’s I attempt to ignore it.  He continues.  He starts pacing back and forth, huffing and puffing so I say, “Carson, Stop it.”  And he stops for about 10 minutes…then the whole routine starts again.  I am now in a light sleep and I say groggily, “Carson what the is your Problem?  Go back to bed, it’s 4 a.m.”   He seems to quiet down for few minutes then he starts up again.  So I hope out of bed, very upset and yell, “Carson what the hell is your problem?  Its 4 Fricken A&M and I am Tired!”  Now I am out of bed and he is VERY excited.  I pass by his water and he has water..still using a slightly raised and agitated voice I say, “You have Water JERK!” so then I sleep walk to his food bowl…he has food.  I decide he is just being a jerk so I stumble back to my room, slam the door and say, “Damn it Carson, Mommy needs her sleep.”   (Which is really funny because this is Friday night…I have all day to sleep Saturday if I really wanted.  In my defense, he did wake me from a dead sleep.)

Just as I start to fall back into a deep sleep I hear Click..Click…ClickClickClick..my bedroom door bursts open, he starts shaking his collar and huffing and puffing.  So I leap out of bed REALLY MAD.  I follow him to the hallway shouting, “What the HELL is your Problem?  Its 5:30 a.m.  It’s not Play time!”  He ignores my shouting and is very excited I am following him.  I follow him downstairs while grumbling..”I don’t know what your fricken problem is but mommy is tired and this is BS” and he leads me to the big glass doors to the back yard.  Please note, just around the corner is a rather large dog door that he can use to let himself in and out as he pleases.  So I say, “Oh now you’re too good to use your dog door…you want me to let you out at 5:30 in the FRICKEN morning?”  I proceed to let him out the back door while continuing to grumble about this being BS and how I am not doing this again.  He could hardly wait for me to get that door open he was so excited.   I decided to walk around the corner and check on his dog door to make sure there wasn’t an issue…and guess what.  The Dog Door was closed!!!!!

The exterminator had come earlier that day at 4 p.m. and my roommate had closed the dog door.  She forgot to open it.  Carson had not been outside to go to the bathroom for at least 13 hours, if not longer.   So, being the best dog in the world what did he do…he held it until he could no longer wait!  Did he just do his business on the floor?  No, he spent over an hour trying to wake me and make me let him outside.  So naturally I felt like crap for yelling at him.  I have to remember that ALMOST every time he wakes me in the middle of the night it is because he really does need something from me.  I took him to the dog park on the water on Saturday.  He loves to get in the water…but only his front half. He does not like to get his butt wet.  It is a very funny sight.  I hope to capture a picture of it for you soon.

We had the annual river trip this year. I think it was the 13^th Annual trip.  It was a great time, but there was no river.  We have been at the river when it was its highest (36,000 CFS cubic feet per second) and this year it was around 3 cfs.  We had to sit in the river because there was no floating the river. But we still had a great time. The kids are at a great age where they play really well together.  This trip is always a bit rough as Julie was the organizer of this and it started with her love of camping. I know it was hard on Brendan to come but it is something we all enjoy because we can reflect on Julie and spend time with each other. 

Funny story from the river:  Irma walks in on her son William (5), Jackson (5) and Kendall (3) on the top bunk at 8 a.m. in the morning with a large bag of gummy worms.  There was only one worm left and Irma says, ‘Did you guys eat Gummy Worms for Breakfast?”  Naturally the boys look guilty and one of them squeaks out a “yes”.  Irma says jokingly, “Well that is disgusting.”  Kendall responds with a bobbing head and says, “Yeah, Well it was YUMMY for us.”   She cracks me up!

 

The low low river

 

No matter how old they get, they still enjoy boy humor.

 

The kids had some great Chicken Fights but we learned how ruthless Hallie was.  She knew enough that when Trent went down like this to reach down, grab his feat and flip him off Lil’ Joe. 

 

The Pose!  You can see while this girl is going to be trouble later on.  I had to “pay” to take this picture with an entire bag of Buc’ees Beef Jerky!  Notice Ralph in the background. He was suppose to have his eyes covered (per Ashley) so he would not see the famous Pose.

 

William really loves to show you his muscles. I have two photos of him with his muscles.  Perhaps you guys need to convert that playroom to a gym.

 

This was the first trip where two of the kids developed a little crush on each other.  They were joined at the hip. 

 

Group photo…are we outnumbered by kids yet? 

I seriously plan to post something on this Blog this week.  I have LOTS of great summertime stories.  It has just been too busy to post something.

Congress goes on recess on Friday (Thank you Lord!).  It has been a rough few weeks. I am not getting my way with some legislation (and you know how I hate that)…and I should clarify..we have had to compromise and I only got part of my way.  But, it isn’t over yet.  We still have a whole other chamber to go through.  This is just my way of giving you an excuse as to why it seems like I quit keeping a blog.  Between work, vacations and house guests I have been busy.

 

So, I take Carson to the Vet today to get his bath. (Why the vet?  They do a great job and I nearly kill myself trying to get him in the bath tub and trying to dry his big thick fur.  The vet is really the best way to go.) Now as you know from previous posts, I have a stubborn dog who has very strict rules about when and how he gets in the car.  The problem is, I cannot for the life of me figure out his rules..other than he doesn’t do crap if it’s raining.  So every since the last Mexican Standoff with Carson  I have been a bit selective about taking him places in public.  It used to be anytime I was going somewhere I would load him the car.  But I think because he has gotten older and is sick (did I tell you Carson has cancer) he doesn’t get in and out of the car so well. 

Because I would do anything for my dog I went out and invested a small fortune on a fancy sturdy folding ramp to help him get in and out of the vehicle.  Well he has successfully used it three times…each time I had to use dog treats to lure him in the car.   This weekend we went to the dog park and he walked right up the ramp into the back of the SUV. I was very excited. I was convinced that he was now comfortable with the ramp and we would have no more problems. Then, two days later when I wanted to take him to my cousins, he flat out refused to use the dog ramp.  He just sat down in the road, looked at the ramp and then looked at me like I was crazy. I am pretty sure he was saying, “why don’t you use the ramp if your that excited about it.”  So, we opted for the old fashioned method where he puts his front two paws on the tail of the vehicle and I use every muscle in my body to heave his 90 lbs back end into the car.  Because this must look ridiculous (and probably rather incredible that I can even lift this wide load) I try to do it quickly to not draw excessive attention to myself.  (I think I told you that I have had people stop in a parking lot and actually say, “Oh Man I got to see this!” as they watched me put Carson in the car.) You know how I hate to be the center of attention…especially with a difficult dog.

So back to today.  I took Carson to the vet and I DID NOT take the ramp.  As I said, he has been refusing to use it, why take it.  So in order to get to the vet this morning (it was a clear blue sky morning, no rain) I just heaved his back end into the car.  We get to the vet, he hops out and all is fine.  So, I show up at 6 p.m., closing time, to pick him up.  The parking lot was packed, I got the last spot.  I go in, get Carson, and he is very excited to be going home.  We go out to the car, I open the back of the SUV, he hops up and puts his front two paws on the back of the car and I bend down to lift his back half up in the car.  Well as I am lifting his back end, he lets his front paws go back down to the ground. So his front half is standing in the parking lot and I am dying with his back half in the air trying to lift him in the car.  He did this to me no less than 5 times!  It took 5 minutes to get him the darn car.  Of course the whole time I am having a conversation with him. “Honestly Carson, do you want to get in the car and go home?  Then put your paws up here and don’t drop them.”  “Carson, get in the fricken car.”  “Carson I didn’t bring the dang ramp because you won’t use it and I honestly don’t know how you expect to get your butt home if you won’t keep your paws on the back of the car.”   “Carson, I am not going to do this again, don’t move your paws!”   Yes, I got lots of strange looks from people whose dogs would just hop right in their car.  One guy offered to help. I couldn’t do it to him, I didn’t want to be sued for any back pain Carson might inflict on the poor guy (he didn’t look too strong).

Finally I ended up opening one of the back doors and Carson BARELY Squeezed his voluptuous hips into the back seat between the seats.  He eventually hopped up on the freshly cleaned leather seats where he ended up sliding around the whole way home.  Of course every time he would slide across the seat I would say, “I told you to get in the far back but NOOOO, you had to be difficult tonight.” 

Yeah, I got great parenting skills…

(It was a rough day at the Vet getting a Bath..he has been like this since he got home.)

 

On Monday I sent an email to my members to provide them an update on one of our active issues.  Somehow, this email got sent to a reporter who decided to do an entire story based on my email WITHOUT EVER CALLING ME!  Seriously, in the article it actually says, “XXX wrote in an e-mail message to members today.”

 

Now, this email was relatively harmless, however it did provide information on what the Government “intended” to do.  So, it was not something I wanted in the press.  Thisreporter does an entire story on it, and it gets picked up by a bunch of other reporters.  It even got carried as BREAKING NEWS by one publication.  Who does an ENTIRE story based on an email?  How lazy is that?  No other sources?  No leg work?  No PHONE CALL TO ME??????????

 

So here we sit, 3 days later and I am getting hounded by reporters asking me if this is going to happen.  It stinks, because now I am not so sure I am going to be privy to advance information in the future. 

The whole thing hacks me off. How do you do a story without calling the source?  Isn’t that sub par journalism?  Where are the ethics?   All I can tell you is that reporter won’t get crap from me in the future!

 

(As you can tell, this really hacked me off…I am blogging about this several days after it happened…imagine my reaction on Monday!).

 

 

We had a great long weekend.  My cousin Jack turned 8 on Sunday so he got to invite a friend to go to Hershey Park with him. It is a great amusement park and we all went for the day. It is only a 2 hours drive. It is a fantastic amusement park because it has something like 11 or 12 rollercoaster’s.  It was a “no “no’s” day…i.e. the kids could have anything they wanted.  And they sure took advantage of that. I thought I was going to get sick just watching them eat ice cream, cotton candy, chocolate candy, sugar drinks, chips, etc.  It was truly a kids dream (and I had a lot of fun as a big kid).

 

At lunch time (hotdogs, French fries, chicken nuggets, soda) one of the kids said, “Man this is the life.”  It made me smile.  Can you remember back to when you had the best day in the world because you spent it at the amusement park…if only I could get back to something that simple making me feel so good.  It was a great day…especially for a kid. 

 

I have to say, I feel pretty lucky that both the little cousins have no fear in them. They will ride the scariest ride possible if they were allowed.  Unfortunately height restrictions prevented them from riding some of them. A big smile would come across my face whenever I saw some parent trying to convince their kid that the ride wasn’t “that scary.” 

 

We spent 8 1/2 hours at the park and right as we decided to leave it started pouring rain. We had to ride home soaking wet.  It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

 

Here are a few pictures:

Birthday Boy after some blue Cotton Candy.  Wish it showed up better in the picture but it was pretty funny looking…he was covered in blue sugar.

 

Kate with the animal she won while battling Aunt Jen in a water shooting game.

 

Dude, I can do this rollercoaster with my arms up…let me on the bigger rides…this is for babies.  (And it was a good rollercoaster, not one I would have gone on as a child.)

Dad was relaxing, Kate was tying his shoes together.  A little birdy (Aunt Jen) suggested she tie them together. 

Mom & Kate with her winnings..nearing the end of the day.

 

Kate was asleep within 10 minutes of getting in the car.

Jack waited until the VERY end of the 2 hour roadtrip to fall asleep.

So it appears my new home phone number used to be the number for the Virginia Driving School.  I get at least 7 calls a day asking about driving school. So, I have changed my voicemail to say, “THIS IS NOT A DRIVING SCHOOL.  Believe me, you do not want me to teach your kids to drive.  If you are calling for any other reason, please leave a message.”

 

So why do I come home today and have two voicemails that say, “Umm yes I am trying to find out how much driving school is.”  “Hi, is this Northern Virginia Driving School?”

 

I had to double check my message to make sure it was still on there.  There is a whole world of geniuses out there…why are they calling me?

Is it really the end of the Newspaper?  Below is an email detailing the drastic measures being taken at one the print publications in my area.  If you read this you can clearly see it is the beginning of the end.

 

• 20% pay cuts across all XXX employees as well as Friday furloughs to all.
• No additional PTO(paid time off)  through the 2nd half of 2009
   All cell phone payments covered by XXX will be cut in half
• The company is no longer covering sales reps home phone or dsl
   The companies explanation was that they needed the capital to comply with their bank and investors

 

It is sad. One of my favorite things when I was in college was to go and get a New York Times, L.A. Times, Houston Chronicle, and Boston Globe newspaper on a Sunday.  Then I would spend the day reading all the papers and comparing the different “slants” on essentially the same story.  This was before it was so prevalent to have one Associated Press reporter write an article for every major paper. 

 

I used to love to buy the Houston Post and the Houston Chronicle and compare their views on the same subject.   (Now do you see why I say I am a news junkie.)

 

Will our kids grow up and not even know about print newspapers? 

 

Although I will say the rise of online journalism and blogs has been very interesting.  A few months ago I found myself (and several officemates) spending an entire day trying to respond to a Blog report.  One lone guy had developed a story that could adversely affect us and he was about to post it on his blog…and we spent an entire day trying to figure out how to respond.  The power of the press…