I don't have the answers yet, but I have learned enough to be dangerous, and ask better questions..

Whenever my firefox browser opens, it's set to Apple/Netscape's web page.

Or I guess the real page is 'content targeted at Sharon'. I wonder who decides what stories I think would be of interest. Over the last few days, the CNN headlines have been a succession of announcements like:

Thur. - "US close in Falluja, according to White House"
Fri - "US storming Falluja - victory certain"
Sat - "US confident Falluja will fall"
Sun - "'Enemy broken' in Falluja" (can you almost hear the obligatory hallaleuja on Falluja???)

Yet I feel so disconnected from it all, like I am in Orwell's 1984, and somewhere, there is a big war going on that we really are close to winning....somewhere, but not here. But I hear about it all the time, the war effort, what's going on in the war, how victorious we are...but the war never ends.

I wonder if it has always been like this - and did Orwell just write a reflective piece based on what he saw....or was he picking up patterns of a world in the making, and just lighting up what he saw there?

I think if every person in this country had to do a week of duty in a war, we would stop politicians from engaging in that shit quickly en masse. In fact, we would probably go to war as a people to stop war.

It's the distance that makes it possible, isn't it? That's what makes it tolerable. That you're not personally affected somehow.

So today, I avoided the headlines. Of course, next to the CNN headline was "See what styles Nicole Kidman really likes", "Things guys should say to women", and "10 worst jobs in science".

Who decides what crappy headlines to flash at me??? They are WAY off the mark. Oh yeah, and don't forget about Scott Peterson - seriously worried, but secretly relieved that California doesn't have an Ol' Sparky lurking around to give him his last ride out on.

I went hiking in the woods, looking for some peace, and I will show you a little of what I saw.....

First, a general looksee at the area in which we hiked:


Yes, that is the Pacific in the distance. What a gorgeous place this was.

On the path there, as in life, a winding way:



And when we reached our destination, we climbed the boulders to stand on top of the waterfall:



All in all, a terrific hike, though the kids needed a snack like every 30 feet, and their shoes got untied, etc.

But they were all strangely quiet on the way home and on their return. I realize that getting them out, getting them physical, and getting them into nature should be at least a weekly requirement.

And being in nature needs to be at least that for me too.

Over and out.