Do the Yak

See Dozer. Dozer is a stuffed dog. See Dozer drink. Dozer is having a martini at my father's house. See children. See children smile. The children are my nephew Jack, Sarah and Becky. See children unfazed by boozy dog. Dozer is friendly. "Hit me again, bartender," says Dozer. Yesterday the girls and I attended a show at the local library of Celtic music, storytelling and dancing. Sort of a mini Family Von Trapp -- a jolly bearded fellow, his wisp o' a wife and their kids, an 11-year-old girl who danced beautifully and an 8-year-old boy who played a drum but looked like he wished he was almost anywhere else. I learned a lot, including the difference between Irish and Scots bagpipes (apparently playing the Irish version must be done in a seated position while also doing the chicken dance with one arm) as well as the dances themselves. I never knew the fingers above the heads were meant to symbolize a stag's horns; I always figured they were just trying to look like ...

Some more thoughts on Obama's historic election... Gov. George Wallace's daughter movingly explains how her family has come full circle on race . Colson Whitehead writes in the New York Times that finally we will have a skinny guy as president . Amid the celebration, another reason to mourn the slow death of newspapers . Suppose McCain had won. Would the national reaction and mood (as dictated by those who voted for him) be anything like what were seeing now? Hell no, because let's face it, no one was excited about McCain. Larry King asked Bill Maher , "Did the McCain campaign -- I know you admired him in the past -- did it disappoint you?" Maher's reply: "Terribly. I think it even disappointed the people who were voting for him. I sensed something in conservatives reacting to the election yesterday. Even the ones who voted for McCain, they sort of were relieved. I sensed that. It was like, 'yes, I guess I kind of had to pull the lever for McCain, b...

Today I feel thankfulness. The country did the right thing and elected Obama as the 44th president. I still can't believe it, hearing phrases like "President-elect Obama" on the radio. Or just seeing it in print: President Barack Obama. "President Obama announced at his first press conference..." Wow. And I'm also thankful in the way you would be if you saw a car narrowly miss hitting a child that I won't have to see or hear the phrase "Vice President Palin," which in some ways would be worse thsn "President McCain." What a crushing blow that would have been. I mean was anyone, even those who voted for him, really excited about McCain? But now we don't have to spend any mroe negative energy deploring those two. At least just for today's it's all positive, and much more so for African-Americans. Funny thing... the media kept speculating on a hidden race factor, the Bradley effect, etc. Well, there was a race factor, but it ...