I'm In Heaven.

No not Iowa. And not Idaho. You guys remember these babies????

[FOCUS! I need to turn off the TV, I love "Better Know a District"!] Anyway, I have the hookups with the neices now -- the 3rd grader brings these babies home once a month. My mom pays me for babysitting while she goes to work every day, so last month I used my babysitting money to buy 25 books for less than $45. Eat it. That's right, I'm in heaven . . . I now have: the Little House on the Prarie boxed set, E.B. White boxed set, 3-pack of Max Lucados, Holocaust set, and 3 Newbery Medal Books.

On a related note, my new fave book is 'From Beirut to Jerusalem' by Thomas Friedman. I think it should be a required read for any citizen before they vote -- esp in these days and times. If you have ever felt like you didn't quite understand the whole Middle East mess, this is the book to read. Friedman writes it kind of like a Clancy novel but the whole thing is true life. If Cheney and/or Rummy just would have read this book before the war . . . it lays it all out right there -- what happens when a tyrant is taken away from an Arabic society. And why and ancient Arab proverb still explains a country's willingness not to overthrow the tyrant on their own, "Better sixty years of tyranny than one day of anarchy". It is their belief it is better to live that way than to be plunged into an endless civil war -- because tribal alliances are always stronger than national ones. Let's hope some of the current diplomatic efforts start getting us somewhere in that area. Anyway, nuf said.