My Weekend

I watched "Walking Tall" yesterday, starring The Rock as Sheriff Chris Vaughn. Now THAT guy knew how to present his own defense. I'm going to try it myself. [To the jury] "Man, I know this town, people used to walk tall. And if you acquit me of felony battery against ten people, burglary, and trashing a casino, I'll run for Sheriff. Then I'll dole out the law with a piece of lumber and no respect for the Fourth Amendment." YES.

I spent the weekend driving with my dad to Nebraska for my great aunt's 90th birthday. It was really nice to visit with this side of my family, since I haven't seen many of them since I was 13. I was amazed at how young my great aunt looked and acted...had I not known her true age I would have pegged her at about 70 years old. She warned me about the perils of drinking cheap beer.

On the way to Omaha, we passed through vast fields of farmland illuminated by hoardes of fireflies. It was really an incredible, magical sight. You live in a city long enough and sometimes you forget what the outdoors is supposed to look like at night: trees, fireflies, and T-Bell. On the way back, we drove directly through some severe storms. I could tell it would be rough when I looked ahead and saw a giant supercell that looked like it came directly out of "Twister." The gigantic anvil had a perfectly formed wall cloud protruding from the base and as we passed below, I could envision a 'nado coming down right on top of me. I didn't even have a gun to defend myself against nature.

The other thing I was mildly worried about was the thought that a storm could suck up a poisonous snake from hundreds of miles away and freeze it into a basketball-sized chunk of hail, which would thunder downwards and break my leg. Then, just when I thought it was over, the hailstone would crack, a cold-blooded viper would emerge, revive itself in the heat, and bite me. That would have sucked.