Caturday Night Special, Episode 0x6B

To the happy and newly-married couple:

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon the fields.

May the light of friendship guide your paths together.
May the laughter of children grace the halls of your home.
May the joy of living for one another
trip a smile from your lips, a twinkle from your eye.

And when eternity beckons,
at the end of a life heaped high with love,
May the good Lord embrace you
with the arms that have nurtured you
the whole length of your joy-filled days.

May the gracious God hold you both
in the palm of His hands.
And, today, may the Spirit of Love
find a dwelling place in your hearts.

Amen.

(And may we swiftly deal with the leftovers, sunburn and ensuing chaos from it all.)

I'll have what they're having

And make it a double:

Favoring the constitutional right to bear arms over others' concerns about gun safety, Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday signed into law a bill making Arizona the third state allowing people to carry a concealed weapon without requiring a permit.

The measure takes effect 90 days after the current legislative session ends, which likely puts the effective date in July or August.

"I believe this legislation not only protects the Second Amendment rights of Arizona citizens, but restores those rights as well," Brewer, a Republican, said in a statement.

Take that, you mealy-mouthed, panty-waisted, half-wit hoplophobes!

Damn, but don't it feel good to win one now and again. I think I'll look at some real-estate in Arizona, as it just vaulted itself into the upper reaches of my list of desirable places to inhabit on a semi-permanent basis.

Small Miracles

I think what I like best about this idea is not that it can be done, but the utter simplicity with which it can be done.

Human nature hasn't changed one iota since we founded our first cities in the mists of pre-history. Furthermore, contrary to what the Utopians would have us believe, changing our nature isn't something that is within our power to do; we can only hope that a little wisdom rubs off on ourselves and others now and again in our search for salvation. This kind of cultivation goes far for alleviating hunger where it doesn't need to exist, which is one less thing to fight about. I'm all for it.

Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders.

- Henry David Thoreau

Frozen pizza is the new fish

Talking to the police will get you cited (and sometimes justly so), but sometimes it yields more than that:

Ziegler had asked the man why he had been stealing.

“He was really upset,” Ziegler said this week. “Basically, he told me he’s having a hard time and can’t provide the food for his family right now, so that’s why he was stealing.”

Ziegler already had the man’s address, but asked for the man’s phone number.

“I told him, ‘Give me 15 minutes,’ and I went and got him some food.”

Ziegler ran to Wal-Mart, picked up a few frozen pizzas and delivered them to the man’s house.

And he would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for those kids and their stupid dog the dispatch reporter.

It is just as important to applaud and encourage the good as it is to resist and condemn the evil. Officer Ziegler, we salute you, and we salute the many out there that aren't caught, but do it anyway.