Lucky to Be Alive: Dad's Accident (Part 1)

There's really no nice way to transition into this, so let's just get down to it.

On October 18th I got a phone call from my mom. This in itself is a bit of a rarity, and I have frequently told her she needs to call more often, because she seems to only call with bad news. I need to be reconditioned not to expect negative things when she calls. (You know, like how you take your dog for car rides so he doesn't automatically assume car = vet.) But I got blindsided on this one. First, she called from my dad's phone, and my dad is a billion times more likely to call me for something random (like to tell me he's 20 minutes from my house, and would I mind if he stopped by). Second, she started the conversation so normally that I suspected nothing. (Sneaky woman, she is...)

And then she hit me with it.

My dad was in a motorcycle accident on the night of October 17th. He was on his way home from a softball game (he plays in a Fall Ball league when he's able) and was worried about hitting wet leaves on the street he normally uses to get home. Instead, he went one street down, nicked the median (we think), and went down. 

The table was still set for Monday's
dinner when I arrived on Wednesday night.

My mom had been waiting at home for him. Over an hour after he should have been home for dinner, the hospital called my mom to let her know Dad was there. After explaining that his injuries were serious, but non-life-threatening, she got off the phone and headed straight to the hospital.

It wasn't until late Tuesday morning that my mom called to tell me. I immediately requested the next two days off from work, planning to go to Madison as soon as possible. I ended up spending Wednesday doing chores to get caught up at my house and then headed to Madison that night so I could spend Thursday at the hospital with my parents.

Wednesday night, Mom filled me in on the details of his accident, including the laundry list of injuries he sustained. Both bones in his left leg were broken, which included a compound fracture (bone came through the skin). His left thumb was partially dislocated (subluxation) and two of his fingers were broken. He broke his sternum and 20 ribs (he likes to boast that he was going for the record). The bridge of his nose was broken, leading to some nice bruising that made it look like he was rocking purple eyeliner. He had some relatively minor road rash, as well as some other bumps and bruises. And he hit his forehead enough to need some stitches and have a mild concussion. Seeing as he wasn't wearing a helmet, he is insanely lucky that was the extent of the damage to his head (and that he's here to tell the tale). 

As for the accident itself, the details were - and still are - pretty sketchy. We know he was making a left turn when he went down, and was less than two miles from home when it happened. Other than that... We're just not sure. There were a few witnesses who gave statements (one said she saw a car run him over, but the others didn't mention anything about that), and Dad has some flashes of memory from the accident (he thinks he remembers seeing the bike sliding away from him). Mostly he remembers a woman who sat with him while they waited for the ambulance. He says she was wonderful. She made sure someone called 911 and she stayed calm through the whole ordeal. He has no idea who she was (he couldn't really turn his head or body to look at her as she sat with him), but he'd love to thank her. So would I. 

There's a LONG road to recovery ahead of us. I'll share some details of that journey later. For now, just know that he's going to be OK. That's the only part that matters.

Election Day Thoughts

Well, here we are. Election Day at last. Seems like it took FOREVER, right? 

No stickers for absentee voters.
I'm pretending this is mine.

Today, "I Voted" stickers will cover the country (or, at minimum, Susan B. Anthony's grave site), social media will take one last look at Ken Bone and his charming red sweater, and we the people will elect the next U.S. president. It's kind of a big deal.

As I've definitely made known, I voted for Gary Johnson. I've explained why I'm voting for him, but one thing I haven't really mentioned is this: I know he won't win. 

I'm not delusional. I've known from the very start that Gary had less than a snowball's chance in Haiti of becoming our next president*. And yet, I voted for him. Proudly so, I might add. 

Do you like your mom's posts
with that finger?

I voted for Gary knowing he wouldn't win. I voted for him knowing that I'm going to continue to hear that my vote was wasted. I voted for him knowing that I'll be blamed by some for the outcome of the election because somehow my vote for a third party candidate gave votes to, or took them away from, Mr. Trump or Ms. Clinton. I voted for him knowing that it was an unpopular position to take among my friends, and that some have chosen to hide my posts or unfriend me as a result. I voted for him knowing some people would get downright hostile about my decision and would probably think less of me because of it. 

 So knowing all of that, why did I do it?

Aleppo-shmaleppo, Gary's my guy!

I voted for Gary because I felt his voice best represented my own. I voted for him because I trusted in him over the other candidates. I voted for him because I believe he has this country's best interests in mind. I voted for him because the system isn't working the way I believe it should. I voted for him because I want him to reach the 5% mark so we are guaranteed more than two options in 2020. I voted for him because I wanted to vote FOR a candidate, not AGAINST one. I voted for him because when all is said and done, I will still feel good about myself and my vote. I voted for him because it was my vote to cast however I wanted, despite what others may think. I voted for him because it felt right for me.

I voted for Mr. Johnson because Ms. Clinton is well-spoken, polished, and prepared for the job, but she is a candidate I cannot trust. I voted for Mr. Johnson because Mr. Trump is bold, business-minded, and not afraid to shake things up, but he is a candidate I cannot respect. 

In the end, it doesn't really matter why I voted for Gary Johnson. Others who voted for him already understand and those who didn't aren't likely to care one way or another. But I have my reasons and I stand behind my decision.

I hope you stand behind yours as well.


*Yes, I meant Haiti, not Hades. The temps in Haiti are almost always in the 70s or 80s. This is not a place Frosty is going on vacation.

The Hunger Games: The Odds Were in Their Favor

I should totally be doing homework right now, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.  And I gotta gush!

Hubby and I went to see Hunger Games last night.  I had bought my tickets a month in advance (because I'm a huge nerd) and we had chosen the 9:45 show so we could go out for a nice dinner together beforehand.  We wound up grilling steaks and eating at home instead, but it was definitely a nice dinner.  :)

We got to the theatre probably 15-20 minutes before showtime.  We grabbed some popcorn (Hubby's an addict) and drinks and went to find seats.  It wasn't as crowded as I had anticipated!  We decided to sit fairly close to the front (primarily because we didn't want to deal with the teenagers toward the back) and had our whole little row to ourselves.  

We got to see some fun previews.  The upcoming Spiderman movie looks pretty intense, though I still don't understand why they're making it so shortly after the other trilogy ended.  What To Expect When You're Expecting actually looks like it could be good!  The cast is stellar, at least, so if it's not good, that's just sad.  And, of course, there was a short preview for the next Twilight movie (which some people actually booed at; I didn't think that was necessary, but it was a little funny).  

And then it was time.

From the opening shot through the end of the movie, I'm not sure I blinked.  I didn't want to miss a single detail, a single moment.  District 12 was almost exactly as I had imagined it: the fence at the edge, the Hob, everything.  The colors and outrageous fashions in the Capitol were beyond what I even imagined.  And the arena was equal parts beautiful and terrifying.

Jennifer Lawrence was amazing as Katniss.  Beautiful and strong, she represented everything that Katniss is in the books and I was routing for her just as fervently as I had while reading.  Liam Hemsworth is a little too pretty boy for my taste.  I kind of pictured Gale as being a bit more rough around the edges with an ooey-gooey center, you know?  But that's just me.  Everyone was so gung-ho about Josh Hutcherson from the get-go as Peeta, but I wasn't convinced.  Until I saw the movie.  He was wonderful, playing the perfect counterpart to Jennifer's socially awkward, but well-intentioned Katniss.

I still say that Woody was damn near the perfect Haymitch, though I expected a little more of a struggle with him.  And I was very pleasantly surprised that Lenny Kravitz did such a great job as Cinna.  

HERE COME THE SPOILERS!

If you haven't read the books and/or seen the movie, you might want to stop reading now and come back another time.

OK.  Last chance.  Going once?  Going twice?  Gone.

The Good

I already pointed out some of the good, but here are a few other things I just have to praise.

• The screenplay, for the most part, stayed very true to the story told in the book.  Sometimes when books are adapted for screen or TV, you get some weird things going on where you're going, "WTF?  That never happened!"  I was never seriously upset about the changes that were made (perturbed, yes, but not upset) and the story line itself stayed intact.  
• The use of the Hunger Games commentators and media.  I was wondering how they would explain certain things, since a lot of the book's descriptions are in Katniss' mind as she narrates.  The commentators during the games did a great job of getting some of that settled, as did the film shown at the reaping.
• The outfits.  Katniss is, after all, the girl on fire!  And the movie did not disappoint.  In my mind, the first outfit (in the chariot) was a bit more elaborate, but I think I liked the simplicity in the movie.  The effect was stunning.  And the dress with the flames was actually breathtaking. 

The Bad

OK, nothing was REALLY bad about the movie, but there were a few things that bothered me.

• The mockingjay pin.  In the books, the pin is so significant.  It's a symbol of one of Katniss' few friendships back home, and then becomes all the more important when she finds out it was owned by a former Hunger Games tribute.  In the movie, she just stumbles across it at the Hob and then gives it to Prim to keep her safe?  WTF?  We don't even give Prim much thought in the book until her name is called at the reaping, but from the opening, we're so focused on how scared she is.  It comes as no surprise when Prim's name is picked because we've done the whole, "Oh, it'll never happen!  You'll be safe!" thing.
• Avox?  What's an Avox?  Not a damn thing about them (save for an early reference that Katniss makes about the Capitol removing their tongues as potential punishment).  Maybe they'll get into it for the second movie, but I was definitely disappointed they were left out. 
• Cinna's team.  In the book, we get way closer to his team of crazy stylists, and they play rolls in the next books as well, so why did we just gloss over them?  Hopefully that will also be remedied in the next movie.
• The pivotal moment when the announcers tell the tributes that two of them can win if they're from the same district, and Katniss automatically cries out for Peeta.  In the movie, she just barely whispers his name and then goes to find him.  In the book, it's this point that they use to explain when Katniss really begins to love Peeta (at least in her interviews).  She calls out for him without first thinking about giving away her own position, and this hushed version felt less special to me.

The (In)Different

There were a few other things that were tweaked in the movie that weren't necessarily good or bad.  Just different.

• The parachutes.  I understand it would be hard to explain the thought process Katniss goes through to figure out the timing of the parachutes, so the little notes were cute.  They totally skipped the one that has the sleeping serum for Peeta (so Katniss can slip out and get his medicine), but still made it work.  
• The mutts.  Actually, I'm a little glad they didn't make them so strongly resemble the fallen tributes as they had in the book.  That was effing scary, and because we didn't spend as much time focusing on each tribute in the movie, it might not have had the same effect anyway.
• Rue.  She was more timid than in the book.  It was endearing, and did make her a lot like Prim (one of the main reasons Katniss takes to her so well), but I missed the line where she tells the audience not to discount her.
• Haymitch.  Not nearly as sloppy drunk as he is in the book.  I kind of thought Woody could've played more into that, but I also understand that Haymitch isn't the focus of the story.  Plus, this way we didn't have to see him puking and Peeta having to clean him up.  That's a win.
• Post-games.  They didn't go through the process to heal the winning tributes, nor did Katniss and Peeta have much of  a falling out at the end (you know, once more for the cameras).  The emphasis was on the games, and that's OK, but some more dialogue between the victors could've been helpful in setting up the next movie.

In all fairness, I don't know for certain there will be follow up movies, but, c'mon.  You can't leave with President Snow just walking away and expect me to think that's that!  Even without reading the books, that just screams, "Unfinished business!  Sequel's a-coming!"

All in all, I definitely encourage you to see the movie.  Reading the books first will give you a greater appreciation and understanding of what you're watching, but if you prefer just to see the movies, then happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!