Thursday, March 03, 2005

people who're better than I am (and other topics)

I guess I shouldn't whine. Life is hard, but not as hard as it is for some.

Two of my best friends, Mike and Dave, work full-time jobs and have families. Mike's got three kids; Dave's got two. Somehow, they manage. Somehow, they stay sane.

Then there's my brother David, who recently wrote:

Life here is busy - I had my first new business proposal meeting for Hxxxxx Sxxxxx last week... it was awlsome but the preparation for it was hell. Not only was I out sick for two days 2 weeks ago but then this proposal came up, and on the day I was most involved in the preparation I had the car accident. So I was sick, my car was banged-up and I was working 12 to 20 hour days during the proposal period (with Pollys, etc). OH NOOOOOOOOO. My car should be "fixed" by the end of the week - we'll see how that goes.

Two jobs, 12-20-hour days, and a car accident. Somehow, like my dad, he stays cheerful through it all.

Ray Charles was a much better man than I am, if the biopic "Ray" is any indication. I saw "Ray" on Wednesday afternoon. The movie is pretty honest about his drug use and womanizing, both of which dominate the story, undercutting the film's happier moments. Jamie Foxx definitely deserved the Oscar for his performance; he bears a striking resemblance to photos of the young Ray Charles, which appear at the end of the movie. But Charles did so much despite his disabilities that it puts me to shame. I admit it-- I cried a bit as the movie used symbolism to portray the guilt he felt over the death of his little brother. I feel very close to my own brothers, so it's one of those things that hit home for me.

In other news...

I was supposed to slap up a bunch of EC pics on this blog, but I can't find my 128MB flash memory card right now, dammit, so they'll have to wait.

In the meantime, I offer you this old pic that was in the news a while ago (thanks, David, for providing it once again):


It'd be cool to design a gun for this guy, but if I remember correctly, he had the finger surgically removed.

_

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