It's all about me

It's clear from their reactions that some people do not think I was sincere in my apology to anyone who might have taken offense at remarks of mine that could have been construed as being insulting to those whose appearance is less than perfect. They seem to think I'm not sorry for what I said, merely that I made the remarks in a public way and got called out on it.

I am so, so sorry. Please forgive me. I don't know how I went so terribly wrong. In the middle of an otherwise lucid and insightful post on government and parenting yesterday, I let the urge to take a cheap shot get the better of me. "Look at the photo of the legislator in question, by the way," I wrote. "My first impression is that she would never have to spank a child. Just looking at her would make most 3-year-olds, not to mention many adults, run screaming in terror."

Has anyone else stopped reading the comics pages? I used to read them regularly. There were two or three each in the morning and evening papers that I followed. I don't know if says something about me or something about the comics, but It occurred to me this week that I haven't even looked at them in at least two or three years.

I once knew a woman who asked me, I swear, every five minutes, "What are you thinking?" That question asked occasionally is not too annoying, especially if I might have stopped listening to the other person's conversation and am staring off into space. The content of my mind at the moment is fair game. But, over and over and over? That results from a deep insecurity, which is undersandable. But it deeply invades my privacy, which is intolerable. Half the time, I'm thinking nothing in particular; the other half, it's not something I want to share.

A few days ago, in a post called "Doubt and certainty," I wrote this:

I notice that people everywhere, including Fort Wayne, are sharing their stories of having met or in some other way been touched by President Ford. I am sorry to report that I don't have such a story.

Awwww, a brave doggie saves his people's lives:

We named him Hero and now is a hero," said fire victim Melissa Boyd.

Hero was coughing from smoke inhalation after saving Boyd and her 4-year-old son from a house fire on Christmas.

"The dog saved our lives because he jumped on my son and started licking him on the face to wake him up," Boyd said.

"He went in the fire," said Noah Boyd.

No, you do not have a right to your opinion. Because:

1. A right for one person carries with it duties for other people. If I have a right to live, you have a duty to not kill me. If you have a right to your good reputation, I have the duty to not libel you.

I dunno. I live alone, so a little background noise is nice once in a while:

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A U.S. researcher says television makes it too easy for people to tune out family and friends during the holidays.

Glen Sparks, a communications professor at Indiana's Purdue University, says television creates so much background noise that it can be difficult to really hear what people are trying to say.

The National Toy Hall of Fame. I had about half of these at one time or another, so I guess my childhood wasn't as deprived as I might have thought. If you'll notice, not a single one of them requires electricity, let alone microchips. This one is probably my favorite, because it cost nothing and was able to become almost anything: