This evening, the Irish Woman passed me as she was going across the living room.  Being the sweet, wonderful wife she is, she decided to give me a smooch as she passed.

As she leaned down to kiss my cheek, a bolt of lightning arced from her nose to my eyeball.  Apparently the throw rug had energized her as she crossed it.

I’m glad the kids weren’t in the room for a few minutes, as I expressed my surprise and pain in a language that would make a nun swoon.

No real damage, but I now flinch when she comes near me.

What a wonderful, romantic way to start the Valentines Day weekend.

Gentlemen,

If you are on an elevator with someone, and you notice that they are a younger and thinner version of your ex-wife, please don’t ask her what her last name is to ascertain if she’s related.  It’s creepy.

Just a word to the wise.

This headline caught my eye:

Chrysler offers minivan return policy

My first thought was “All right!  I can take that hunk of junk back!”

Then I read the article.  Turns out if you trade in a competitors car for a Chrysler minivan, you can bring it back in the first 60 days.

Oh well, back to my plans to trade it in later this year.

Here are some pics from this afternoon once it had stopped snowing:

We got between 4 and 5 inches.  Some of my friends got more.  Hopefully the schools will be open again tomorrow.

With your Hippie Dippie Weatherman, Al Sleet.  (Language Warning)

We’ve gotten about 3 inches of snow so far, with more falling.  I’m at home with the kids, and trying to work from home while riding herd on a toddler. 

Once the kids are up and about, I’ll kick them out to start shoveling.   I’ll go out and help too, once BooBoo is down for his nap.

I’ll try to get some pictures and post them later.

Brigid over at Home on the Range is preparing to return home from a trip to Ireland, and her goodbye to the ancestral homeland is eloquent, and sums up my feelings when Irish Woman and I came home.

Of all the places I’ve been, Ireland will always be special.  I’ve never been anywhere that felt so close to home, or where I felt so accepted.  My mother’s Irish ancestors left there in the 1800’s, but everywhere we went were reminders of family and history.

Brigid, thank you for reminding this barbarian that there are good, soft places in a harsh world.

Fox News is reporting that Representative John Murtha of Pennsylvania has died due to complications from surgery.  

For those of you who aren’t in the US, John Murtha was a representative from Pennsylvania who has become notorious in the past few years for his opposition to the Iraq War and accusations he has made against the soldiers and Marines who are fighting it.

He may have some ‘splaining to do when he gets to Fiddler’s Green, but he was a Marine combat vet, and deserves our respect for that if for nothing else.

Rest in peace Congressman.  I may not agree with you over much, but thank you for your service.

Just finishing up watching the end of the Superbowl.  I had to run and get Girlie Bear from her mom’s house, so I set the DVR and am just getting to the end of the game.

Of course, I was being careful to not check the internet so as to not give away the ending.

Then I got an email from a friend of mine in Alexandria, Louisiana, which read, and I quote “Who Dat? Saints Win!”.  Of course, I checked email when my phone chimed.  Doh!

He had no way of knowing I hadn’t kept up with the game in real time, so I can’t blame him for celebrating.

So anyway, congratulations to New Orleans.  Guess having a Super Bowl parade during Mardi Gras is pretty cool.

I’ll tally up my final record later.  I’m going to hit the sack.

I usually kvetch a lot about the way that our municipal employees take care of the roads during snow and ice storms, and how Kentucky and Indiana people react to them.

This morning was an exception, and I was happy to see it. 

We got about 2 inches of heavy snow last night after a day of hard rain.  When I left the house this morning to take Junior Bear to work, the streets were plowed, and the Kentucky people were driving like normal, sane people.

Just when you thought you had something to complain about, you get a pleasant surprise.

Last year, a man in California witnessed a fight between two men after a road rage incident.  One of the men swung a hammer at the other, and the witness, along with others, called police.

Now he’s getting sued for his trouble. The man with the hammer is suing him, saying it’s impossible for him to do what the witnesses say he did because of a physical limitation.

While the case will probably be tossed out of court, it goes to show that no good deed goes unpunished.

A couple of years ago, I was in a local convenience store getting a coke before going out to cut wood, and the place got robbed.  The guy was in and out in a few minutes, and while he showed us his gun, he never actually pulled it.

After he ran off, I watched which way he’d gone, and went over my description of him, especially details that security cameras wouldn’t pick up, in my mind.  All those training sessions in the Army about the details you need to remember finally came in handy.  When the police arrived, I gave my statement, as did the other witnesses.  At the time, I thought it was strange that the policeman made sure we all knew each other’s contact information.

Now I suspect he was preparing us in case the yutz who robbed the store decided to sue us.  If we could give our lawyers the names and addresses of other witnesses, then we could corroborate what we put in our statements.

How did a lawyer even think that such a lawsuit was doable?  A witness to a crime should be immune from suits if he or she gives true testimony, especially if other witnesses back up that testimony.