confused

from the Washignton Post

The Washington Monument is unlike any other in the capital, so austere and abstract that creating security arrangements for it has dogged the National Park Service for a decade. Fortunately, plans to build a large, underground visitors center, floated in 1993 and renewed in the security panic after Sept. 11, 2001, never came to fruition.

Really? Why the heck was it closed for half a year with the grounds being all dug up, then?

thankfulness

What am I thankful for today?

How about having been married to someone for 17 years, someone who remains a good friend today? We met in college, were friends for years, dated, split up, got back together, had a long and mostly happy married life, and divorced when it seemed like the best thing for both of us, and went back to being good friends, where we remain (and I hope always will). We had some excellent adventures, loved each other, helped each other through some adversities, fostered each other's growth as human beings, and still respect each other, care about each other, and have good times. We've even added friends to each other's lives through the people we've dated since then--her wife, shy_kat, has become a dear friend of mine, and the two of them are good friends with poliscidiva, even though she and I didn't end up together.

Today I'm thankful for Christian Howlett. :-)