Florida Rolling

I got a call last night from a good friend at work reminding me of one of my most important roles as a government employee. First, I was an expert potluck planner for all occasions to include Ramadan and secondly I provided lively and random topics for office conversation. One of our best office debates was over an issue that was under deep debate in the Florida legislature - Truck Nutz. Apparently these are a metal representation of a bull's...well you know, that can hang off your truck. While one Florida legislator felt this truck accessory was obscene another felt he had an inherent right to own a pair in order to express his "truckliness." My friend called me last night to say she had spotted a pair dangling from a van driving in front of her. I'm not sure how you feel about this issue but feel free to read about the details. (http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/04/28/florida-kicks-truck-nutz/) I personally would never want to denie someone the chance to express their "truckliness."

About two weeks ago a study was released on HIV/AIDS in the US. The study listed Washington DC as having a 3 percent infection rate which is greater than that of West Africa. This made my stomach roll a bit. Later that week I heard the DC Health Commissioner state that this was actually a good thing because it demonstrated that DC's efforts to HIV test were more successful and that DC tested more people than most large cities to include testing all inmates in the city jail. I found this concerning because if DC does test more than average, the nationwide numbers of infected people are actually higher than what is reported. I am beginning to feel overwhelmed by American denial. Instead of calling a spade a spade the media, television, public schools curriculum, continues to portray non-monogamous sex as fun and harmless and in the meantime we keep watching and incidents of sexually transmitted diseases continue to rise. I feel like we have all willingly accepted the idea that great sex is a true indicator of great love and this makes me sad because I feel we are capable of deeper and more fulfilling things.

To end this post on a more positive note, I had a great thing happen yesterday. I had put JAC on his stomach for his 15 minutes of doctor mandated tummy time. JAC hates to be on his stomach and screams for the entire 15 minutes. After putting him on his stomach I ran downstairs to put on my running clothes. When I came upstairs the screaming seemed louder than usual and it turned out JAC had flipped himself over! I was so excited. I put him back on his stomach and watched as he rolled over again. I cheered and cheered and I think JAC could tell he had done well. My friend Janet laughed and said, "This is the beginning of great praise for ordinary things." JAC is getting more fun and I can't wait to watch him crawl.