i haven't had much time to blog lately. i will be whipping myself into shape soon, hopefully.

hey, everyone... did you know that ronald reagan died? i am just curious if anyone knew, because it's only been all over television, and radio, and print media for the past five days.

i don't get it. even if it was a former president i liked (clinton being the only one in my lifetime) i wouldn't need to hear about it for several days.

it was interesting to find out that ronald reagan started out as a sportscaster, doing recreations on the radio.

for those who don't know, way way way back in the day before radio stations broadcast live baseball games, they used to recreate them. so reagan was that guy, who sat in a small booth, using fake noises and real statistics to make it sound like a real baseball game.

that was a fun little fact that i found out on the day that reagan died. in the several days since, i haven't learned anything about the man that i give a crap about.

isn't it time to move on?

i don't think i'm being insensitive here. i mean, yes, after someone close to us dies, there is a period of mourning and remembrance that lasts for a while. it could be days, weeks, months...

of course. death is the single most difficult thing to deal with in our lives. it's understandable what we go through when hit with something so tragic.

but is our nation really in mourning? has reagan's death made the average american weep silently in their homes? i'm guessing probably not.

i was more upset when i found out that ray charles died.

he was a true living legend. he had three #1 chart toppers, and all those really funny diet pepsi commercials.

"you got the right one baby, uh huh!"

ok, maybe it's better to forget about the commercials.

but i don't get it about reagan. it's not like he was the current president when he died. i mean, he hasn't even been in the public eye. i forgot he was even alive until i found out he was dead.

grant it, ray charles hasn't exactly been in the spotlight lately, but at least when i heard he died i was like, "aw, that sucks."

i know reagan was a great speaker. shit, he was an actor. he should be a great speaker. and he used that talent to "stand up to communism" and all of that crap.

yeah. whatever.

it's the same exact thing that bush is doing now. this time, though, we don't have the threat of nuclear war looming over our heads, and people are FINALLY starting to realize how much bush sucks.

the bottom line is that reagan was a mediocre president who gave the middle finger to the middle class, and he did everything but tell the poor and jobless to go screw themselves. oh, and remember that silly little iran contra thing? you know, the one where he secretly sold our weapons to iran? apparently, bush's hard on for iraq goes all the way back.

so, let's see... number of hit singles for ray charles? 32. number of middle and lower class families helped out by trickle down economics? 0.

looks like a blowout to me.

so please, enough about reagan.

it's late, and i'm tired, and i don't really feel like blogging right now, but i have to.

i was originally going to write about how cool it was that i was at my friends house here in connecticut, and when i opened up her refrigerator i saw a bottle of yuengling lager (which you can't buy in connecticut) greeting me.

but, i dont feel like i can waste my time with that right now.

one of my best friend's mothers just died. she had cancer for a while, which had not been getting any better, and i guess everyone knew that it was just a matter of time.

i suppose, though, that for some reason i refused to really believe that she wouldn't get better, and my friend and his family would be spared this pain.

it's not right. nobody should have to lose their mother so early.

personally, i don't know how to react. i want to be there for my friend, so i am doing everything possible to make it down to philadelphia this week. but, i haven't had to deal with death very often in my life.

my dog, scruffy, died when i was 5. there was my great great aunt mina who died when i was 14. that's pretty much it. so, other than those two situations, my experience with consoling either myself or other people is limited.

i'm afraid to say anything, because i don't know if it will be more painful to bring up memories of his mother, or if it will be helpful to think about the happiness she brought to other people. contrarily, if i don't say anything, then i think that it will seem as if i am not being supportive, and that's the last thing i want.

i feel helpless. it's awful.

so, what i can say is this:

his family is made up of wonderful people. they are very loving and generous. if the only complaint that you can have about your family is that they bother you too much because they love you and care about you and worry about you, then you have a great family.

all of us who are friends with him know this already.

i wish i knew what else to say.

i'll just finish up by saying that all my love goes out to his family. they are some of the best people anyone could ever hope to meet.

and to all of the families of the people i know (and don't know) who read this silly waste of time, i wish you the best also. some of you i probably haven't spoken to in some time, but i surely think about you all often...