Father's Day

When they were little and I was a young father, I had this magic to turn their cry into a smile by blowing air with my mouth at the place where they were hurting. Now they are adults, I am an older dad and I have lost that touch. Now, instead of smile, I manage to bring tears in their eyes and hurt their feelings, that too on a Father’s day. I am heart broken on this day, but how do I explain how much I love them!

Potpourri

My Kilimanjaro training plan is as follows: from Tuesday through Thursday at Bally’s fitness center during lunch hour – stair master, running, fitness machines respectively, Friday afternoon on tread mill for an hour at the highest inclination with back pack strapped, Saturday morning – biking, Sunday morning – 2 hour hike w/ back pack, Monday – rest day. But it’s not quite going according to my plan. Oh, well!

As for other events – the younger daughter took her MCAT (and she is starting a new job on Monday), the older one is going to Utah for a conference next week, we visited our friend who was diagnosed with cancer recently and had a surgery done, attended a community prayer for a friend’s father's 1^st death anniversary.

On the world stage – Houston is hot (and it’s testing my fitness when I go for a hike), Midwest is under water, California is on fire, an earthquake jolted Japan, China and Myanmar still reeling from recent disaster, the Space Shuttle came back home safely, Monarchy ended in Nepal, some one bombed a prison in Afghanistan and freed some Taliban prisoners, black gold (oil) is becoming like yellow gold and soaring food prices making people vulnerable and angry in many countries.

A commentary with malice towards none

Our current president used to call himself a uniter. What a disaster! He has been the greatest divider so far in addition to his white lies, his exaggerations, and his excuses to continue a stupid war in the name of fighting terrorism. Thank God his term is coming to an end.

So, we have been waiting for a new dawn. Along the way a new face got young people hyped up with his rhetoric about hope and change and creating one America. The young ones got high on his message and when they wake up they may have a hangover or a depression. Who is against hope or change? We love his idealism. However, like a teenager, he is dreaming in the land of Wizard of Oz. Along the way in the primary campaign trail he managed to divide (unintentionally) America worse than ever before. Now we are divided by race (80 –90% blacks voted for him along racial line; all of a sudden Clintons (they used to call Bill Clinton the 1^st black president) are too white and Obama, who wasn’t black enough not too long ago, is adequately black), by age (young vs. old), by gender, whites are pitted against white and the browns do not count. Hillary has been painted as the devil she is not. Some white party elders with their “holier than thou” attitude rooted for Obama undermining the voters even in the states where Hillary had won. The party even allocated delegates for the uncommitted voters in a state where Obama’s name did not even appear. The Supreme Court (and not the voters, remember the “hanging chads”?) had selected the president in 2000. Now the Democratic Party is trying to decide the presidency in 2008. But they need Hillary’s help. Obama cannot win without the white middle class and the women voters. So, after outmaneuvering Hillary, now they are begging for her help to get the support of her backers. Even the black caucus recognizes that Obama needs Hillary to create history.

She is smart. Many people cannot stand a smart woman. In fairness to all, she had fought for health care for all, but she was defeated. Ours is the only civilized country with the best medical service where some people cannot afford health care. She was the 1^st lady. Her own husband denigrated her by a scandalous affair. She was a Republican in her school days. Then she turned a Democrat after seeing the plight of some poor people. Now when she sought the presidency, basically she and the women folks have been told that their time has not come. It has been over 100 years since Susan B. Anthony’s time. That’s not long enough. America is not made up of just macho black and white males.

So, I may sit out this general election and not exercise my civic duty. I have no one to vote for.