Perhaps, enough is enough.

More information here, should you need it.

You can give ABC your input by clicking right here and sending them a note.

Then, for you locals, go here and you can give WFTV, Channel Nine your input.

After sending messages to both ABC and WFTV, I myself, after decades of watching Channel Nine, will switch to WKMG, Channel Six. Here's one reason why.

WKMG is owned and operated by Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc., a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company. The callsign, WKMG, was chosen in honor of longtime Washington Post publisher, Katharine M. Graham.

Who is Katharine M. Graham?

At her death in 2001, President Bush stated, "She was a true leader and a true lady, steely yet shy, powerful yet humble, known for her integrity and always gracious and generous to others."

Louis D. Boccardi, president and chief executive of The Associated Press, described Mrs. Graham as "a hero - for the way she met the challenge of taking over The Washington Post Co., for what she did with it, for what she stood for in journalism, and for the inspiration she provided to other women."

Bob Woodward said about Mrs. Graham, " Accompanying her bravery was a deep sense of the peril of being wrong or unfair or shallow or even being miscast as partisan".

Fair, unbiased, honest.

Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, chairman emeritus of The New York Times Co., said Mrs. Graham "used her intelligence, her courage and her wit to transform the landscape of American journalism."

Mrs. Graham took charge of the Washington Post in 1963 at the age of 46. Mrs. Graham evolved from a self-described timid housewife into a guiding force in American journalism. With a steady hand, she led the Post through the turbulent days of the Pentagon Papers and Watergate and beyond, emerging as a powerful voice for a free and impartial press.

Author David Halberstam said about her "Because she had not been raised to do it, because she had self-doubt, it made her a great listener," he said. "Some of the weaknesses that she seemingly brought turned out not to be deficits, because she was such a good listener."

In 20 years, Mrs. Graham nurtured the paper her father had purchased at bankruptcy auction into a media empire that ranked 271st on the Fortune 500 list by the time she turned it over to her son in 1991. The Post conglomerate grew to include newspaper, magazines (including Newsweek), cable and broadcast properties, including WDIV-Detroit, KPRC-Houston, WPLG-Miami, KSAT-San Antonio, WKMG-Orlando and WJXT-Jacksonville.

Ben Bradlee, her longtime executive editor, said Mrs. Graham's legacy was that "she set a newspaper on a course that took it to the very top ranks of American journalism in principle and excellence and fairness.

Mrs. Graham's mettle was forged in the tumult of 1970s, in the showdown over the Pentagon Papers, a secret study of the Vietnam War, and in the Post's dogged pursuit of the Watergate scandal that brought down President Nixon.

At the critical moment in 1971 when she made the decision to publish the Pentagon Papers, in defiance of government protests and against legal advice - but after The New York Times had already broken the story - a frightened Mrs. Graham gulped and said, "Let's go. Let's publish."

She later wrote, "Publishing the Pentagon Papers made future decisions easier, even possible. Most of all it prepared us -- and I suspect, unfortunately, Nixon as well -- for Watergate."

The Post's dogged reporting of Watergate was its defining moment. Mrs. Graham, though, remembered it as "a particularly lonely" time for the paper.

"I sometimes privately thought: If this is such a hell of a story, then where is everybody else?" she wrote.

In 1974, she was the first woman elected to The Associated Press board of directors, serving the maximum nine years. She also was chairman of the American Newspaper Publishers Association from 1980-82. That group is now called the Newspaper Association of America.

Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle, D-S.D., "She was not simply one of the best woman newspaper publishers this country has ever produced. She was one of the best newspaper publishers America has ever seen, period."

Graham's memoirs, Personal History, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998.

Regardless of what she did in life, Mrs. Graham did it with "integrity, humility, impartiality, honesty", and often against legal advice. She made sure what she printed or said was the truth.

Is this really one of the reason's I have chosen to change channels for the time being? Yes. I don't really need another reason.

Katharine Graham has been widely described as one of the most powerful American women of the 20th century.

Rosie O'Donnell is a comedienne.

Random Ramblings, Rants and Rumblings for a Friday in late March.



In honor of my dear friends in New Orleans, who have simply put up with far more than should be expected of any human being.......

An article in The New Orleans Levee, "We don't hold anything back" ~


Brad, Angie say they'll take Ray...

New Orleanians breathed a collective sigh of relief last week, as celebrity super-couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie confirmed they are in late-stage negotiations to adopt New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.

Please read the entire thing, it's a scream, an absolute scream.


Seen on a local street recently ~ I am thinking about getting one for the yard, or at the very least, having the slogan tattooed on my ankle. It completely describes the way I feel each time I crank the car up.


What's wrong with this picture?

Andy, JT, Tim, Dru and Dan burn up the track at the 2nd Annual Master's Academy Eagle Regiment 5K Run. No family should look this good.

Life is so unfair. Look at these people ~ buff, confident, well-tanned and I hear they even like each other. You will remember Dru and Dan. Last year, they spent their 25th wedding anniversary out west, hiking. Nuts, both of them.

One thing that makes me feel much better about myself with reference to my dear Dan and Dru ~ they are stuck with, excuse me, the PROUD OWNERS of this wild and crazy dog.


Do You Know This Child?

Yep, that's your little brother, back when he was still in 'short pants' and not worried about getting a date or his driver's license or apparently noticing strip joints.


During our last trip to the beach, Dad surprised us by taking us out to dinner. Osteen's was closed it being Sunday (we never remember they are closed on Sunday), nevertheless, the Gypsy Cab Company was open and doing a brisk business. Marsh was horrified when we pulled into the parking lot. When pressed for information, Marsh couldn't exactly say why he thought it might be a strip club. "The purple neon says stripper to me," was his only reply.

Though the Gypsy Cab Company turned out not to be a strip club, but a restaurant with fine food and excellent service, research into the phenomenon of purple neon proved the boy to be totally correct.

And finally, too crazy for words......Double click to see the pictures better. Is that man really waving at me?

Easter Tea Party with the Hart Sisters


Please meet me for lunch/tea at the Hart Sisters Lunch Cafe and Tea Room on Wednesday, April 4th at 12:30.

The Hart Sisters, Anna and Susan, took over the Tea Room a few years back after having established a highly successful catering business. Southern hospitality is their specialty. We may chose to enjoy a lovely traditional afternoon tea or one of Anna and Susan’s delicious lunches while sipping hot or iced teas in the Victorian Dining Room or outside in the Tea Garden.


Later, we can take home a bag of freshly baked scones!


Take a peek at the menu here.



The Hart Sisters Tea Room is located at:

1305 S. Park Avenue
Sanford Florida, 32771

To get to the Hart Sisters Tea Room, look here.

It takes 16 minutes to get to the tea room from Oviedo.

I hope you will be able to meet me for lunch at the tea room where we can spend a lovely, spring afternoon!

Kerri

RSVP at kiwixmas@aol.com

Love Letter to Heidi and Her Friends in Afghanistan: 2006-2007



Come home soon, Heidi, safe and sound.....

We love you and miss you so much.

The Road From Kabul to Jalalabad



Please wear your seatbelt.

"Manny Ramirez Wants to Sell You a Grill"

As you know, I don't follow professional baseball, preferring college football and my beloved 'Gators'. However, I stumbled over this recently and I like this man's style.

Manny Ramirez, left fielder for the Boston Red Sox, is apparently known for his "Manny moments" ~ dropping his pants in left field, forgetting there was a game in progress and wandering out of the ballpark or having a pizza delivered to the dugout (good idea). Guess what he has done now?

"Hi, I'm Manny Ramirez. I bought this AMAZING grill for about $4,000 and I used it once. ... but I never have the time to use it because I am always on the road. I would love to sell it and you will get an autographed ball signed by me. Enjoy it, Manny Ramirez."


"I'm a business man, I've got to make a little money," Ramirez has stated.

ESPN says: "The bidding began with the minimum allowed, $3,000, at 1:11 p.m. ET Tuesday and rose throughout the day, reaching $99,999,999 by about midnight, the highest bid the Web site was technically capable of listing. The item was removed from the site when it was discovered the grill might not actually belong to Manny".

I found this last point interesting on numerous levels.

eBay, while able to figure out 'the grill might not belong to Manny', is unable (or unwilling) to stop liars and thieves from sending me dozens of bogus emails a month attempting to defraud me via a fake eBay account. Go figure. Seem they have their priorities and protecting me from the likes of Manny Ramirez is much higher on the list than protecting me from actual predators. But I digress as I often do.

Putting aside the fact the grill may or may not be Manny's, let's think a moment about this. Remember my 'Paula Abduls'? Those juice glasses Aunt Diana sent me years ago that matched my set of iced tea glasses? They once belonged to Paula Abdul who returned them to Williams Sonoma, Rodeo Drive. Aunt Diana snatched them up for me when she worked there and yes, she paid for them. Geez.

I love those glasses and while not having a particular affinity for P.A., many people do and might want to own those pre-celebrity owned vessels.


My idea: auction off items on a non-profit website (not eBay) that have been documented to having actually been owned by the famous (or infamous) and donate the money to charity. There are obviously lots of fools in the sea to take that bait. A good deed could be accomplished while giving people what they obviously want, at the same time. Now when does that ever happen, I ask you?

And now for something completely different. Mr. Fair is one of my all-time favorite people. When he left TMA, we were the worse for it. In this woman's unbiased opinion, Mr. Fair you are totally the bomb.



Much love,

Mom

ps A box of DVDs and books are in the mail along with your clove cigarettes.

10th Mountain Tribute in Pictures.


Please check this out. It's a wonderful tribute to Heidi's 10th Mountain Division serving in Afghanistan. Many of these soldier, including Heidi, are now serving the 13th consecutive month of their tour.


The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division of the United States Army currently serving under the XVIII Airborne Corps. The unit's specialty involves fighting effectively in harsh conditions. Like the rest of the corps, it is designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world. The division is currently based at Fort Drum, New York.

The modern 10th Mountain's first deployment came in 1990 when division units were deployed to support Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. During 1993, the 10th Mountain Division was deployed to Somalia as part of Operation Restore Hope. When Task Force Ranger and the SAR team were pinned down during a raid in what later became known as the Battle of Mogadishu, 10th Mountain units provided infantry for the UN quick reaction force sent to rescue them. The 10th had 2 soldiers KIA in the fighting.

After Hurricane Andrew devastated Florida August 1992, the division deployed to assist in the recovery effort. 10th Mountain troops set up relief camps, distributed food, clothing, medical necessities and building supplies as well as helping to rebuild homes and clear debris. The 10th Mountain Division later was deployed to Haiti and Bosnia in the 1990s. Because of number of deployments, 10th Mountain gained a reputation as the most deployed division in the army.

Dear Heidi:

Remember back in late November early December when you and the boys took a journey to BAF? I mentioned it in the Thanksgiving Day post.

I believe one of the soldiers you escorted might have been Cpl. Nathan “Nate” Goodiron, who was killed in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving Day 2006. Here is Nate's story and information about a book his father is writing about him.

Father writing book about son who was killed in Afghanistan

By ELOISE OGDEN, Regional Editor

Goodiron, of Mandaree, ND, is writing a book about Nathan’s life from his birth to Paul and Harriet Goodiron, to Nathan’s funeral on Dec. 2, 2006, in the Goodiron’s home community of Mandaree on the Fort Berthold Reservation.

The book will also take people on the family’s journey when and after they learned of Nathan’s death in Afghanistan, as well as the time following the funeral. It will also include Indian spiritual traditions relating to Nathan’s life.

Reflecting on Nathan and his job in Afghanistan, Paul Goodiron said, “Nathan believed in what he was doing.” He said that was why his son wanted to go there and be there.

Heidi, please read about Nate if you can. I am proud you were there to help take care of him.

Have I told you today how much I love you?

Mom

Religious Squirrels


There were five country churches in a small Texas town: The Presbyterian Church, the Baptist Church, the Methodist Church, the Catholic Church and a Jewish Synagogue.

Each church was overrun with pesky squirrels.

One day, the Presbyterian Church called a meeting to decide what to do about the squirrels. After much prayer and consideration they determined that the squirrels were predestined to be there and they shouldn't interfere with God's divine will..

In the Baptist Church, the squirrels had taken up habitation in the baptistery. The deacons met and decided to put a cover on the baptistery and drown the squirrels in it. The squirrels escaped somehow and there were twice as many there the next week.

The Methodist Church got together and decided that they were not in a position to harm any of God's creation. So, they humanely trapped the Squirrels and set them free a few miles outside of town. Three days later, the squirrels were back.

But The Catholic Church, with the best and most effective solution, baptized the squirrels and registered them as members of the church. Now they only see them on Christmas and Easter.

Not much was heard about the Jewish Synagogue, but the rumors are that they took one squirrel, had him ceremonially circumcised and they haven't seen a squirrel on the property since.

Heidi Ho Costume ~ Yodel Odel?

Some strange things are going on around here.



Look at what $49.99 will buy you at Target.
I don't think further comment on this is even needed.


Those wild and crazy royals...

Princes Pull Phone Prank on Queen Elizabeth II

LONDON — Princely pranksters William and Harry have been accused of recording a bogus message on Queen Elizabeth II's answering machine. The pair were asked for help by their regal gran when she was baffled by the technology. But she was reported to be mortified when she heard the end result.

"Hey wassup!" their message said. "This is Liz. Sorry I'm away from the throne."

"For a hotline to Philip, press one. For Charles, press two," the recording continued. "And for the corgis, press three."

According to The Daily Star, the Queen saw the funny side later when she thought about which VIPs might have heard the message. But her private secretary was not so amused. The paper says he almost fell off his chair the first time one of his calls was put through to the voicemail.

The Queen, who is 80, has been taught by Prince William and Prince Harry how to send text messages on her mobile phone. She was given her first mobile phone in 2001 by the Duke of York, but she banned servants at the royal palaces from carrying phones on duty, after becoming annoyed at their ring tones. The ban was reportedly prompted by several mobile phones ringing during a major banquet held for foreign dignitaries.

QE II keeps her cell in that black purse you always see her with, which was recently searched when she attempted to board a plane without going through security.

Finally for today, something a little funny ~ How to Quiet A Room Full of Kids.

Happy 14th Birthday, Daron!

You, My Brown-Eyed Girl



We love you, Darmo.

"What's in a name?
That which we call a rose
By any other name
Would smell as sweet"

W. Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

'Scooby' is my good friend Mary Lee's new puppy. In my expert opinion, I think Scooby is a silly name and I am going to tell her as soon as I see her. A dog like this needs a big boy name like Bruce or Shep or Butch or Magnus (from Latin, Magna, meaning great). Even though I prefer 'people names' for dogs ( MY dogs' names are Edward, Daphne and Hector), I could even accept something like Rebel or maybe Wiley.

Speaking of Shakespearean names (and we were), how about Benvolio (I am naming my next child Benvolio) or Dogberry from Much Ado About Nothing? Elliot might look good on this dog. I might even be open to Kareen or Fabian or Seamus. Scooby? How about Gregory or Hugo? Or maybe Jude, then you could say, "hey.... Jude".

You know Mary Lee, there can be pitfalls when you chose a name. Remember, you are taking full responsibility for creating an important factor in your dog’s identity. Your dog’s name must be suitable throughout all of phases of his/her life. Will Scooby be teased mercilessly at the dogpark? Will he be happy with his name when he is a teenager trying not to give into peer pressure? As a young adult dog trying to score with the ladies? Will his name suit him as he matures on into middle age?

What will your puppy think of your choice, Mary Lee? Will he thank you for constantly having to repeat and spell his name to people for the rest of his life? “Yes, ma’m, that is Scooby with a ‘y’ not an ‘ie’. “

Scientific studies undertaken by eminent psychologists suggest that dogs who have weird names, or names considered odd by those around them, can experience great difficulties in their normal social relationships! Think about this, Mary Lee! Will Scooby agree to take care of you in your old age or will he be so damaged by the stress of his name that he will put you in a home?

Mary Lee says, "He has been sleeping all night, and is really a good puppy". These people with their dogs, God love them, I could do dozens of blogs with pictures of my friends' dogs and their passionate, fanatical, crazy owners, including your dad and his Miss Lucy.

Mary Lee, please, before it is too late, go back to the drawing board on this one. Regardless, you could at least give him a good MIDDLE NAME!