Say it ain't so Joe.

Joe Paterno.
Arguably the best college football coach in memory.
And it all ends like this.
With Joe's legacy permanently damaged.
As it should be.

There were many many people involved in this cover up...but Joe had the power to do something even when his 'bosses' didn't. Joe was the most powerful man on that campus, he had the most visible personality. He could have done something. But he chose not too. I'm sure he rationalized it all by saying he had followed the law and legally done what he was supposed to. And yes. He did. He reported it to his 'boss'. 

We'll never know what he was thinking at the time.  Probably about how this could ruin his teams reputation. But it's not the teams reputation that's in tatters, it's Joe's. Don't allow Joe's misconduct to sully those teams. He may have coached them, but those young men did all the work and should remain proud of their time at Penn.

As for Joe?  There can only be guilt.  He says he wishes he had done more.  Are those the words of a truly repentant man, or the words of a man who can't admit his priorities turned his moral compass off?

There is no excuse for any of the adults involved to have brushed this under the rug. The ones who are now being told by the grand jury that their testimony is not credible.

But for Paterno to have turned a blind eye to the allegations, to have not followed up on activity that had been observed and reported in his locker room?  I hope he (and all others involved in the cover up) has to look those victims in the eyes at the trial.  I hope he sees the pain and fear his inaction caused them...particularly the ones that were abused AFTER the reported incident.  The ones he could have saved.

I hope that every day, until the day he dies, he sees them in his head.

Because I know those victims live with the memory of the abuse. Every. Day.

was gonna write

and now I've lost my train of thought...

Maybe this weekend.

Putting the Garden to bed.

It's been my first year gardening here in Montana. 
I had been used to being able to grow things virtually year-round.
We had a totally random garden this year, we bought 6 raised bed boxes, which Dougals and T -dawg put together, got a mix of compost topsoil and dirt filled them and got the ready to plant.
Then the whole fam went to the nursery and randomly bought plants.
pumpkins, tomatoes, onions, kohlrabi, purple bush beans, rainbow carrots, black radishes. Flowers, peppers, sunflowers, peas, lettuce, chard, herbs, strawberries, cucumbers and celery. 
And we planted it all.
Some from seed, some from starts.
And they grew.
There was hail damage..
and still they grew.
We had some not so good results, and some great results!
We have randomly harvested over the summer.  Our radishes, beans and peas were early, as was the lettuce.  but we got several salads
Our tomatoes were late, and planted in the wrong spot (not enough sun) but we've had cherry tomatoes all summer.
The onions and celery were too crowded, but still they grew.
We got cucumbers.
We got peppers.
And yesterday it was time to put the garden to bed.
So I completed the last harvest of the season.
And in Montana;
In October;
I had 5 bunches of celery, 6 carrots, about 2 dozen green tomatoes, 12 sunflower heads, 2 purple kohlrabi, tons of cherry and pear tomatoes, 2 large bunches of rainbow chard, 1 orange and 2 green pumpkins, 2 cucumbers a couple of onions and a bunch of herbs to dry. In Montana. In October.

And last night?
We had a frost.
Talk about perfect timing.
Goodnight Garden, see you in the spring!

A quick note to Washington DC

Dear Congress,

Please pull your heads out of your asses and remember why you're there.

"...of the people, by the people and for the people..."

Now quit posturing and get to work.

Love,

Susan

Napping

I hear napping is supposed to be good for you.

Yesterday, I read that people who nap about 30 minutes daily live longer than those who don't.  (I've always thought the Afternoon Siesta was very civilized).

I think naps are a wonderful thing.

The problem?

When I nap, I actually sleep. For Hours.  Even if I set an alarm, I ignore it.  Yesterday? I laid down reading around 9AM.  Next thing I knew? 2:09 PM.

It's not like I don't sleep during the week.  I'm pretty rigid about my bedtime and getting up time.  I get at least 7 hours a night. Usually 8.

But every once in a while, I'll just fall asleep and nap for hours.

Maybe I can count all my long naps as several short naps? 

In that case? I'm way ahead of the game.

xoxoxo