This and that

Time flies when you're sick, disorganized and pathetic. But enough about the crooks who've destroyed our economy. I felt sick, disorganized and pathetic for a few weeks now. But there's nothing like a 105-year-old woman who recently announced that "no sex" is the key to longevity. Now, that'll perk a single gal like me up.

Politics:: Aaaaah. Please do not argue unless you go to a nonpartisan, nonprofit voter advocate site like factcheck.org. Those are my fightin' words for a dreary Monday.

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia:: Oh, don't act like you don't care. But I'm not sure what's most depressing about Maureen McCormick's (Hello, uninformed folks:: Marcia Brady, on The Brady Bunch) memoir being released tomorrow. It bothers me, to be sure that she partied hard at the Playboy Mansion. She used cocaine. Traded sex for drugs. As reported everywhere --here's Yahoo/AP's blip -- she also dated Michael Jackson. And did something with Sammy Davis Jr. My mind just can't grasp that. Frankly, my dears, I think I was most disturbed by one fact:: She's 52. Yikes! Not that's a bad age, mind you, but Marcia Brady is 52!

Accentuate the positive:: If you're down in the dumps (we may all be meeting there soon, if the economy doesn't improve), I suggest you fly right over to NPR's This I Believe page. It's chuck-full of essays from people like you and me (well, Bill Gates and a few folks like him, write, too). The essays are moving, inspiring and a whole bunch of other uplifting adjectives. For some reason, an essay I heard on the radio in June has stayed in my head. It was written by a high school senior named Brighton Earley, who talked about grocery shopping at Chevron gas stations when you're short of money. Just type in Brighton's name (you can add the word "humility" as well, and you can listen to and/or read her words. (I had a heck of a time getting the right link, so you're on your own.)

This I Believe reminds us that people are good. Well, except those AIG crooks who spent gazillions of dollars going on trips after getting in trouble ... nevermind.

Oh, just a bit more politics:: As spittin' mad we get at our politicians, it's nice to stroll waaay back American History Lane to put things in perspective. For example, after one president's inauguration, the White House was described as a "war zone" the next morning. Yes, that tall, gray-haired Andrew Jackson really knew how to par-tay ... in 1828. There's an essay at The Smart Set that might just make you go "hmm." Yep. Some things never change.

On that note, I'll leave you with a...

Quote O' The Day:: "Did you ever know a politician that was not 'facing the most critical time in the world's affairs' every time he spoke in public?" ~Will Rogers

That's all she wrote. For now. Until later...