Obama, The Mentalist, and Being Alone

NEWS FLASH is basically news or thoughts that may be changing over time - an update or an evolution of thought that covers a multiple of topics. It is what makes a blogger tick and it is the reason why we read. So, with that in mind, I came up with NEWS FLASH as an acronym that stands for what is going on in life:



News (or current events)
Entertainment (movies, TV, celebrity, etc.)
Writing (thoughts on the blog(s) or other writing projects)
Spirit (thoughts on God and/or the supernatural)
Family (or friends)
Love
Anxiety (a rant or a trouble)
Sports (also considered should be contests, reality TV, recreation, cards, games), and
Home (house, yard, or even another family type of thought.
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NEWS - I have been studying the polls for this presidential election. Things are shifting big time for Obama. As a matter of fact, watching a tracking mechanism on people watching the debate on one of the cable news outlets, I discovered something. Obama was scoring the highest on independents, this backs up most of the national polls now. So, if you consider yourself an independent, but are leaning towards McCain, maybe you should rethink your "independent" status.

ENTERTAINMENT - I have found a new television program to follow this season. I make no reservation in recommending The Mentalist on CBS. Simon Baker plays Patrick Jane, a consultant to the police department whe formally was a fake psychic. He made a name for himself posing as one of those people who insist that he can talk to the other side. He now insists that there are no such thing as psychic abilities and the skills of paying attention fool people into believing. He uses those skills to solve crime. Baker is smooth in his role, but what makes the show deep, is that his character has a lot of mental baggage (feeling guilt for the slaughter of his family by a serial killer). The Mentalist airs on Tuesdays at 9:00 pm ET/PT on CBS.

WORK - Work has calmed down a bit. I guess I need to focus on finding an intern for the year now. I am dreading that.

SPIRIT - Now that I am getting used to being alone, the dreaded lonliness has kind of set in. It isn't that I am a depressed lonly, more like a somber lonly. I mean, I don't feel hopeless, just alone. This gives me an opportunity to work on some things in my life and draw closer to God. I know that as I draw closer to Him, He will draw closer to me.

FAMILY - My (healthy) sister had a scare. She scheduled an appointment for a checkup and discovered that she apparently had a heart attack LAST YEAR. No one told her and she spent the past year thinking she was fine. There was a definite slip in communication - either between the hospital and the doctor, or the doctor and the patient. Miffed, she scheduled a stress test. However, four days before she was to go in for the test, she had chest pains. Normally, she might have just chalked it up to something else, but the news spooked her so she went to the emergency room. They did some tests and admitted her. They moved her stress test up for the following day. When all the dust settled from all the tests, she is completely fine with no sign of any heart attack at all. It is quite a mystery.

LOVE - This is a rough week for me. This is the big Fall Festival week in Evansville - a pretty big deal. It was something that my wife and I really enjoyed and shared with each other and this is the first one without her. Not only that, but this Saturday (the last night of the festival) is October 11 and that is our wedding anniversary. We picked that day to get married, because five years ago on Saturday the 11th, I officially asked her to be my girlfriend, under a tree there - on the last day of the Fall Festival. That isn't all, I went through my voice mail at work to delete a lot of it. I tend to not delete it much because of facts that I may need to use when working on a case. Anyway, as I deleted about 20 of them, I ran across this sweet voice that said, "Hey you. I am just calling to tell you that the dogs, our children, are VERY excited to be getting the new house. Here, I will let them tell you . . ." I cut it off right there. For those of you that do not remember, that was right before she went away for the weekend and changed our lives forever.

ANGUISH: My tenant is going to make me hurt him. He is trying to buy the house from me for $10,000 less than we agree on - which would cause me to get a $10,000 loan to cover my loss. He told a neighbor that he has me over a barrel and thinks he is going to get it that cheap. What he doesn't know, is that I would rather let the bank repo it before I give it to him for that price - ESPECIALLY him. I haven't wanted to inflict bodily harm on someone since I was a kid. However, he is pushing me to the limit.

SPORTS - My teams suck and my fantasy football team is in last place. However, I am ready to make my move.

HOME - I am slowly putting things together for the house that used to be ours. I have no furniture, but I don't care much. I do have a bed and a recliner. Everything else will come in time. I am also getting closer and closer to getting into the shape I want. I am running daily again with my dogs and putting together the gym in my garage. I just may move it into the house. Apparently, there is room for it now.