Lefty Gives in to Vanity

I've been missing for a week, traveling North on another grandchild inspection trip. The two little boys we saw are doing fine, and so is our baby, a young wife, but on her way, with her almost-as-young husband, to worldly success. Among other things, we went to the Aquarium in Seattle, now the home of every fish featured in "Finding Nemo".

I warned last week that I might give in to pure vanity this week by marking two hundred blog entries and picking out a few personal favorites. This would not have been possible without George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, my chief inspirational villains, along with some of the Bush administration Cabinet members, who've made the past four years, or at least the first three of those years, to be so great. Really, fellas. It couldn't have happened without you.

I searched through the record and decided to divide my favorites into three categories. The first is, no surprise, political:
"Could it Happen?" - The Texas Board of Education shows who's in charge of what the kids will hear in school about a great many subjects.
"SCOTUS Reveals Itself" - The meaning of the Court's latest ruling on corporate "persons" and their "right" to free speech in an election campaign.
"Big Guys Collide" - Senate Republicans make clear the price for allowing Obama's choice for Attorney General to take office.
"The Party Party" - An unusual conversation following certain visitors' call on the US Department of the Interior in Denver.
"There They Go Again!" - Republicans ponder making a change in how electoral votes are counted in the Golden State.
"I Surprise Myself" - I write an angry letter in support of - Mitt Romney?
"The Speech No One Gave" - Words NOT said by the Bush (or, thus far, the Obama) administration.
"In Baghdad" - Two Al Qaeda foot soldiers try to fix an American election.

The second category is - local observations:
"Ask the Right Questions" - Lessons learned in teaching a group of elderly men.
"On a Role" - I get a chance to be St. Nicholas at a church dinner.
"Dialogue With the Demented" - A man in his nineties reaches some conclusions about life.
"Let's Put on a Show" - Starts out describing a group of children, but somehow ends up on the subject of neckties.
"My Day as an Old Guy" - I'm recruited into a barbershop quartet.
"An Oval Adventure" - I witness the breaking of a world endurance record.

Here's the last category, in which I lose all originality and label - "other":
"Good Luck, Your Majesty" - A regular fellow in Pennsylvania turns out to be African royalty.
"Big Guy Comes up Short of His Dream" - Money can't buy everything, even for Rush.
"We Get Together" - What happens when the family meets in an overcrowded house.
"Three Olympic Snapshots" - The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.
"Flying Over the Fair" - The closest I'll ever get to the Human Cannonball.
"Street Ball" - We succeed in leading an activity by not being TOO organized.
"A Driveway Moment" - A new skill set is acquired by necessity.
"Caucus Night" - Where I've been that most others haven't.
"The Museum Trip" - The obvious message isn't the only one on display with all the vintage aircraft.

No one's required to read any one of these, and I probably picked too many. But I'll send you the date it appeared to help follow up on any you can't find. It sure was fun writing them, and I hope you've enjoyed reading them, too.