NASCAR Mamas and Other American Slices o' Life

Best Quote I Heard All Day
Being Lutheran, Mother believed that self-pity is a deadly sin and so is nostalgia, and she had no time for either.--Garrison Keillor

If that doesn't describe my mother to a nicety, I don't know what does. And yes, we're lapsed Lutherans. However, she was no Church Lady.

Back from Charlotte last night. The final trip, I believe. We'll see. I truly like Charlotte, despite the NASCAR crap. All I can say is, one of the NASCAR Mamas damned near ran me over with her kid's stroller trying to beat me into the line for the security checkpoint. Charlotte-Douglas Airport is bad enough to navigate without some idiot who procreated careening through the crowds using a stroller as a battering ram.

She got some choice words from me. She shot me an ugly look. I smirked. That always annoys 'em.

Did you know that NASCAR has its roots in the textile industry? I didn't know that, either. Apparently, the loom mechanics in the mills souped up cars and raced them in their spare time, along with the moonshiners. The races were then eventually formalized into the gas-guzzling "sport" we know and avoid so well.

Open Mic Thursday
I was remiss last week--missed Thursday entirely. I know I was working from home that day but I'll be damned if I remember WTF kept me from writing a blog entry.

Anyway, I was thinking that perhaps there's a very good way to conserve petroleum. So here's my tongue-in-cheek question to you:

Should Congress impose a special tax on acrylic yarn, as it is actually a petroleum product?

I am an avid recycler and very much concerned about the crap that we can't recycle. Just think--thousands of acrylic sweaters thrown away over the years are lying in landfills, never to rot but only to become stinky, stringy rags that will confound the archaeologists of the future.

Ya wanna be "eco-friendly"? (God, that's such a fucking stupid term. Irritates the piss out of me.) This is a damned good reason to eschew the plastic crap, if you haven't yet figured out a better reason. And if you read this blog, chances are very good that you don't use acrylic, right? In the spirit of environmentalism, I challenge you to boycott all acrylic yarn, once and for all. This has nothing to do with being an elitist knitter. I've always been that. And fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.

A Wedding in the Fambly
Yeah, my eldest daughter Jenn got married last Sunday in New Hope, PA, to her longtime boyfriend, Norm. It was a nice, small, intimate ceremony. Those of you who were on the Knit List years ago perhaps remember her medieval wedding to her first husband back in 1996. (Well, that did produce my boy Ian, if nothing else.) For that wedding, Jenn designed and sewed her own wedding dress, quite a work of art with very elaborate embroidery. Jenn won't knit but she is an amazing seamstress and embroiderer. She takes after her Mamoo in her love of color and making something out of nothing.

Anyway, it's getting to be my bedtime. Tomorrow is Friday and I must prepare emotionally and physically (need a hair cut and a fresh dye job) for my 40th high school reunion on Saturday. I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends, especially Dottie, my oldest and dearest friend from childhood. There will be much laughter, much talking, and probably a few tears, too, for those no longer with us. Montclair High School Class of 1968 contained a few rare and handy people. Hopefully they'll show.