I have a strange family tree, which would explain the strange fruit (me) that it bears.
One oddity is my sister in law twice removed.
Above? First husband and his sister. He was missing his girlfriend, she’s just an all-round pill.
Her brother was my first husband. We divorced.
Once removed.
My brother, Mr. Trick, was her second husband. They divorced.
Twice removed.
That’s how I like her best.
Twice removed.
I prefer the first husband to her.
And that’s my bitchy story for today.
The past few days, I’ve been practically addicted to Facebook. I can’t wait to see what is coming down the pike next on the live feed. Strangely enough, I only just discovered the live feed because I had largely ignored Facebook for the most part. Just busy working, but relying mostly on Twitter to get family updates, like which of the old folks was joyriding to the hospital in the ambulance. Thanks, liddle sis, for your updates, by the way.
That all changed with a call from my brother, Dizzee. Strangely enough, I had just logged onto Facebook and saw he had reactivated his account, and made a proclamation that his status was clearly married. I almost made a comment on that to the effect that his kids would be so pleased that he could no longer call them little bastards, because I’m all insanely witty and fabulous like that.
Before I could make that comment, he called and there was something so momentous in his energy he could barely speak.
He told me that he had been contacted by a daughter he had fathered some thirty-odd years ago, and I was all, I sure hope your wife knew about this because it might be a surprise she wouldn’t take to. And he croaked “yeah” and I was all good boy, because while he was practically speechless, I’m all about the speechiness, even if I do talk to strangers on the phone all day. In fact, my throat is sore, and I still can’t shut up.
So we’re all excited because hey, he has a daughter, and his kids have another sister, and I have another niece, and I’m searching her profile and holy shit, she looks so much like me, I’m frigging mesmerized. I’m thinking if my brother isn’t really her father, then I must be her mother, and wouldn’t I have remembered that? Of course I would, I’m just all excited and jabbery and run on sentence-y, and can’t even write in my own voice.
So in between shifts, I’m chatting with her, and telling her that there should be some stories and old pictures and things on my blog because I can’t label and organize my images well enough to email them to her.
I ask her what she wants her blog name to be because I usually offer people I write about that choice. After asking if I can write about them, of course, because who needs their family all grumbly because of a blog?
She leaves it up to me to come up with her blog name, and I ran a few through my tiny little brain like Surprise and The Daughter I Never Had and all I could come up with is Mini Me. I have a feeling she is tall, so maybe not so mini, but I don’t know much about her yet, except of course she is gorgeous. Smirk.
I’m open for suggestions.
All of this blathering is leading up to what I am grateful for and wanted to share. My niece has found her family, and her family has found her.
Thank you, universe. Oh, and thanks to Facebook, too.
UPDATE: I have consulted with my niece and we have agreed her blog name should be Hidden Treasure.
Not the Twelfth.
Which is when I traditionally take down my fake tree.
It’s been bothering me.
Like how can I possibly create a blog post while that tree is staring
at me in accusation?
Day late, it’s done now.
Rejoice.
I’m still alive. Hopefully, will get back to posting.
The turkey is brining.
The stemware is shining.
The veg are all peeled.
Dessert is at hand.
Presents are wrapped.
I’d like to get zapped.
According to http://www.blackboxvoting.org/
You may have read about this, and Black Box Voting has sent an ELECTION ALERT about this. Here are the details and what to do about it:
THE PROBLEM: “Straight party voting” on voting machines is revealing a bad pattern of miscounting and omitting your vote, especially if you are a Democrat.
Most recently (Oct. 2008), a firm called Automated Election Services was found to have mis-coded the system in heavily Democratic Santa Fe County, New Mexico such that straight party voters would not have the presidential vote counted.
Straight party voting is allowed in 15 states. Basically, it means that you can take a shortcut to actually looking at who you are voting for and instead just select a party preference. Then the voting machine makes your candidate choices, supposedly for the party you requested.
Additional details follow, but first: PROTECT THE COUNT
1) NEVER CHOOSE THE STRAIGHT PARTY VOTE OPTION, because it alerts the computer as to your party preference and allows software code to trigger whatever function the programmer has designed.
2) SEND THIS INFORMATION OUT TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN, blog it, root n’ toot it out there to get the word out.
3) ESPECIALLY GET THE WORD OUT TO PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING STATES, which have straight party voting options:
- Alabama
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Utah
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
(Missouri and New Hampshire had straight party voting in earlier years, but have cancelled the straight party option for the Nov. 2008 election; however, the Straight Party software is still on Missouri and New Hampshire election management computers.)
4) DEMAND COMPLETE AND CAREFUL TESTING OF THE STRAIGHT PARTY OPTION IN LOGIC & ACCURACY TESTS. Bring copies of the citations in this article to buttress your case for why this is needed, if you have to. Witnesses for L&A tests in the straight party option states should specifically watch for and note whether (a) the tests were done and (b) the results were accurate.
5) LOOK FOR UNDERVOTES (high profile races with lower-than-average number of votes cast) and flag them, post them, bring them to the attention of others for additional scrutiny.
Undervotes may reveal straight-party programming fraud after the fact, but can never be reconstructed to know who the voter would have voted for. Such programming malfeasance, when found, disenfranchises voters.
There’s more, much more, but visit the site and protect your right to vote. Canada cares about your country!
