THIS WEEK'S FARM NEWS/TIDBITS

Imagine you're reading the "Local News" section from a weekly small town newspaper. A silver-haired little lady who knows all the local "buzz" is in charge of reporting the town's breaking news.Translate that to yours truly sitting at the computer, and you've got THIS WEEK'S FARM NEWS.
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After two absolutely glorious, warm, sunny days at the farm, the temperatures have again plummeted to sweater/scarf/socks and glove levels. Bummer! I wore my Teva sandals to the office yesterday, and yes, I got some weird looks from the campus fashion police. Do I care?

The peepers have been chirping their little hearts out the past two nights. Tonight, however, they're silent, looking for a place to keep warm, I suppose. I hope they haven't frozen!

Samuel and his friend, Faith, left for NC today after spending the past week at The Farm. We had a great time, mostly just hanging out. Faith's sweet, intelligent, witty, and nice. I like her, and I like her new camera. I want one.

Faith, Samuel, and I watched Babel the other night. Done in a seemingly disconnected episodic style similar to Crash, the movie is a heavy watch with a somewhat redemptive ending. Last night I watched Half Nelson. The actor who has the lead role (and whose name escapes me now) received a nomination for Best Actor this year. I thought he did a good job, but the movie, like Babel, was not one that left me feeling light-hearted. I'm ready for something funny and mindless...Any suggestions? Perhaps it's time to pull out Inspecteur Clousseau.

My friend, Laida Carro, just returned from Costa Rica where she and several other people who work closely with human rights issues in Cuba were invited to speak to the Costa Rican Congress in support of the Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White). Their presentation was interrupted by pro-Castro thugs who entered the session and began shouting pro-Castro slogans at the panel. One woman, the mother of a prisoner of conscience jailed in Cuba, was physically assaulted. Now I know the Iraq debaucle (or Civil War, as we can now officially call it) occupies top priority on our government's foreign policy (or lack thereof) concerns, but folks, matters in Cuba are not getting any better these days either. In fact, the situation is quite serious. Laida did get home safely, and for that, I'm very thankful.


Tomorrow evening while Eliza celebrates Matt's birthday with him and his family, I'm heading over to Nelsonville, OH, to see Bruce Cockburn. My friend, Diane, may be Bruce's most adoring fan, and she and Norm will surely get a visit backstage after the concert. I doubt I'll get that close, but I'm excited to see him in concert.


Several folks are off traveling these days...Dana's been in Albuquerque; James went to Atlanta; Joe's off to interview at a conference in Louisville, and Daniel's in Abuja, Nigeria. I hit the road on Sunday to go to NC to visit with my parents and Sammy...Yeah!


That's about all for now...Off to bed and Sleepytown...Love to all!