Hellllooooo, hydration.

"The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states-- red states for Republicans and blue states for Democrats-- but I've got news for them. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states, and yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and their are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging our allegiance to the Stars and Stripes, all of us defending the United States of America."

That's a quote from our boy Obama several years ago. He's so easy to fall in love with. I watched the speeches given by him and Biden yesterday. I think the good cop/bad cop image they've got going on is interesting; also notable are the political analyst that immediately dissect every speech. I wonder what effects these men and women have on voters. We watch the speeches together, and then they tell us what tricks were used. They point out the repetition of "working class" and the pot shots at McCain, and they let us know in no uncertain terms what buttons were pressed to cause what reactions. Does that change the effectiveness of political speeches?

I'm not sure. I, for one, found myself still enthralled. I hope I'm not being duped.

Reader's Digest just had some interesting interviews with both candidates. I like Obama a lot, although I worry about being caught up in the charismatic tornado and not the issues. I like to read about their stances instead of watching them speak because I think it helps me focus. Even so, I find my views to be more aligned with Obama than McCain. I think his lack of experience is certainly something to consider, although part of me actually finds that to be a positive; I would like the country to be shaken up. I think the most damaging thing to McCain for me is his patriotism. I consider myself a patriotic person; I do not consider the USA the greatest country in the history of man. I think that's a ridiculous claim, and one that we casually throw around. Now, if we wanna shout that from the rooftops, maybe also don't be assholes all the time? Just a thought.

Hmm, it's apparent from the end of that paragraph that I've run out political mojo. Bill Engvall just came on the television; this may have had a negative effect on my ability to care about the presidential situation for the next half hour. Sometimes it's nice to laugh at silly silly things.

Remember that time when I only ate boxes of tangerines?

So, this one time we had a night off at Camp McDowell, and a lot of the staff were going to Birmingham, and some were going to Hanceville, and Lindsey was back from Africa and we were doing one or the other or both and then all of a sudden we weren't doing either, we were staying at camp and getting dinner at the Goldsmith's and drinking a glass of muskedine wine and talking about Uncle Wade and our family and our friends and our lives and going to bed.

And the next morning we woke up early and jumped off the bridge and Lindsey got a nose bleed and we got covered in mud trying to climb out of the creek. We trekked back to main camp and rinsed off and then swam in the pool, and at the end we really swam in the pool, and then we took showers and went to the thrift store and came back with matching blue shirts and brown and orange dresses and twenty-three cent vases.

And then we went to arts and crafts, painting and repainting our vases and not talking as much this time, and then we scrambled barefoot up to the car because the top was off and the rain was coming, and we made it, only just. Barefoot back down, and then we were soaking wet and not complaining, and then we made a candle out of a candle, and slowly the staff came wandering home and the bell rang, and the meeting began. The meeting was good, and dinner was good, and arts and crafts was still there, but this time it wasn't quiet, but it wasn't loud. And there was painting and dancing and singing, soft singing and loud singing, and the whole placed smelled of strawberry-kiwi bubbles and rooibos tea.

I know you are strong; may your journey be long; I wish you the best of luck...

Here is a list of people I want to be like when I grow up:

Kee Sloan
Michael Goldsmith
Susanna Whitsett
Lindsey Mullen
Grampa
Lydia Atkins
Anna Lott
Chris Cook
Morgan Mullen

Just jottin' this down.

Haley Bauer had lived for seven years without green peas or her father. She was introduced to both a week after her seventh birthday, and showed them equal disdain, making her mother very happy. Her father won't appear again in her life (or this story) until she is seventeen, and this time instead of trying to impress the daughter he doesn't know by make a dinner that includes green peas, he will introduce her to marijuana, with far better results.

Please, remember me, finally, and all my up-hill clawing...

Well, friends, it turns out that Lindsey and I are infected with salmonella. We found this out only because of my sister's persistence; she called the hospital this morning. We're both still exhibiting symptoms and suffering mild to moderate and occasionally severe pain, so she wanted to know if there was anything the doctor could give us to at least ease things until the "virus" had run its course. They told us they weren't allowed to dispense medical advice over the phone, then called back 15 minutes later to say that our cultures showed we had salmonella and they'd call in an antibiotic. Great.

So now, finally, we may be on the road to recovery. Now, many people actually do go through this without antibiotics (and in fact, salmonella can be resistant to the medicine), but when things continue without improvement as long as our condition has, I think it's safe to say that antibiotics are a safe choice. Weakened immune systems often allow for the illness to take hold like this. I guess coming home from camp is a pretty vulnerable time, then, with all systems shot and us ready for a break. I gotta be honest, though... I wish I'd just gone to the beach. Then I could have avoided this whole mess.

Right now I'm left in a lethargic self-deprecating mood, lazy and tired and sore. There are so many things I need to be doing, from unpacking to school preparations. And I am so so tired of sitting around, but at the same time I don't have the energy or desire to do anything. Throw in some clouds, maybe some noontime rain for good measure, and it's looking like an all around depressing day.

Chin up, though, lass, it's not all bad! It's been neat to have all six of us living in the same house again, however briefly/unorganizedly/diseasedly. And the porch door is open, and a cool breeze is blowing off the Tennessee, August though it is, and I have you, all of you, so many of you!!!

I can't explain what it was like walking into my apartment after my stay at camp! I'm on the emotional high, this emotional loss, this twirling of emotions as I process another summer gone, trying to etch each memory, each person, in my limited memory, already thinking about the moments I was to late to save, and there, there on my wall in my tiny two-bedroom, pictures of everyone here, of my friends smiling and laughing a hugging and dancing and WOW! Wow to going from place to place and Wow to the smiling people greeting me and Wow to the friendships we've formed together and WOW for all the memories I've yet to form and yet to forget.

Am I losing my mind?

This is probably not the update you were wanting, and it's certainly not the update I wish I was writing.

I have adventures upon adventures to lavish upon your willing ears, but for all I can think about is the growling of my stomach and the pounding my head.

Lindsey, Graham, Meagan, and I had dinner at my grandmother's Thursday evening. Around 1:30 that night I awoke with serious stomach issues, and began vommiting a few hours later. I went to sign some papers at UNA Friday morning, and I threw up there, too. I got to my parents' house around 11 to discover Lindsey exhibiting the same symptoms. We assumed it was something we'd eaten, and spent the next couple hours in bed. By that afternoon we felt things were on the upswing, but it was short-lived. By that evening our symptoms had gotten worse, and we discovered that our cousin Katie was also sick, knocking out the food poisoning theory. Unable to hold down any liquids or medicine, dehydration became a serious worry.

Around 6 Saturday morning Meagan took us to the ER to get IVs and a diagnosis. Both of us were dehydrated and my electrolytes were out of wack. They released us after a few hours, with instructions to have only clear liquids for the next six hours and Gatorades and such for the 12 hours after that.

I've been on a fairly strick Tylenol regime because every time I forget my temperature soars to 102 point something-or-other, and then I get the shivers. I've become less nauseous and even ate a piece of toast about half an hour ago. Lindsey's back to vommitting. I started my period today as well, as if I didn't have enough going on. Overall, we're pretty miserable. If you have an extra minute send us a message or a prayer or some good energies... we need them. We missed Uncle Bill's wake, his funeral, seeing Grandma and Great-Aunt Marie, and my other grandmother's 75th birthday.