Bad News on the Door Step

So it's been less than a happy beginning to 2015, as radical members of the religion of peace tore up Paris. Apparently there's an Onion on steroids type of magazine there called Charlie Hebdo, and they published cartoons of Mohammed, so a couple of monkeys shot up the place, killing 12. Then, for good measure, some confederates stormed a kosher market and killed 4 more people, before the Inspector Clousseaus caught up with the terrorists and killed them. But one femme fatale, literally, got away, and today there's a womanhunt going on for her. It brings home the wisdom of my late mother, who cut off her newspaper subscription, and never watched the news, other than for the weather. She understood that she couldn't do anything about all the tragedy, other than let it sadden her, so she simply shut it out. Not me -- I'm a full blown news junkie -- checking local and national and international news all day. And the news is usually very sad and tragic. Hemingway taught that all we can do in this crazy, dangerous world is to build ourselves sanctuaries -- "clean, well lighted places" where we can escape the madness. And so I have -- Villa Wifey, and hopefully safe places for the Ds... But modern life reminds us that no place is safe -- movie theatres in Colorado attract nutcases who massacre, and surely college campuses see their share of shootings. Wifey is spooked about going to her native land -- Israel. The Ds and I started planning our first big family trip since the 10 year Wifey Back Intifadeh has shut them down, but Wifey put the kibbosh on it. She understands her fears are largely irrational, but she pointed out that my fears of the Ds traversing Florida on the Turnpike alone are irrational, too, and yet I tag along when they drive and fly home the next day. So Israel is out for the trip, and we're exploring options. Switzerland may be the answwer -- a country of amoral neutrality, who has graced the world with watches, chocolate, and cuckoo clocks. We thought about Iceland, but learned that, even in May, surprisingly, it's still pretty cold there. So Europe it probably shall be. Meanwhile, life here in paradise is pretty good. D2 is back at UF, in her final gradual school semester. Actually, it was gradual school for D1 -- it took her 3 years to get her MS, while D2 is doing it in a single year. D1 is busy as usual, treating the poor kids at JMH, and having the necessary humor to deal with the Bon Qui Qui-like parents she encounters. Things are stirring in my law business -- I've been putting in serious hours in cases and marketing. Just Thursday, we took out a new young ortho doc and his staff who want to treat our injured clients. Wifey is hard at couch -- figuring out stuff for her parents and the upcoming trip. I just hope the nutcases stay out of our lives...