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Wolf whistle

Does anybody know what that means? A wolf whistle is the obnoxious tweet-tweeeee whistle that some men make to show appreciation of/interest in a passing woman. Note to guys: girls do NOT like this. Ever. In fact, it pretty much guarantees that in her head she is condemning you to the lowest level of hell. Running after her screaming “shake it, mami, shake it hard” is also a Bad Thing. If you want to let a girl know you think she’s hot, then a polite, restrained nod of the head is the way to go.

Anyway, in my daughter’s China journal today, she points out that construction guys in China do it, too. Kind of makes you want to sing “It’s a Small World,” doesn’t it?

(The reason it is funny that she would be mistaken for a Latina, is that she has blazing white skin and red hair. Mostly, she gets mistaken for a tourist from Dublin.)

Congrats to Sarah Dessen writergrl (and my in-laws Darice, Gregg, Eric, and Anna) on the win of the Caroline Hurricanes, and to Alex Flinn on the Miami Heat.

Back to the doc today for more tests about the stupid infection. Bah.

And more fact-checking and obsessing about words in the picture book.

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Who is still in the Dance?

George Mason. George Mason?

::sighs deeply::

OK, this is the hand we’ve been dealt. I’m hoping for UCLA vs. Florida. (If that happens, cousin Sue, I’ll bet you a cup of tea that UCLA will win.) Big shout-out to my Georgetown boys for making us all proud to wear blue and grey again.

Is there life after basketball? Not really, unless you count the reading and writing stuff. I made it home from CA in one piece and will post photos of the gorgeous Cerritos library later. Today I’m writing WIP2 and when the right patch of shade hits the front lawn, I’m going to rake dead leaves and pick up sticks. BH says we might have a bonfire tonight. That will be cool.

Good news about Oklahoma – the concept of parental freedom to choose for their children might not be dead! Here is an update from an Oklahoma librarian, which I took from the ASIF blog:

“HB 2158 has been assigned to the education subcommittee of the appropriations committee of the State Senate. This committee has until April 7 to take action on the bill. If the measure comes out of committee and is scheduled for Senate debate, then we’ll be doing another letter/e-mail/phone call campaign to state senators. The good news is that the Senate leadership has assured our Oklahoma Library Association lobbyist that HB 2158 will not come out of committee — it may not even make it on an agenda for discussion. Administration tells us to remain “watchful” though, as the issue is far from over. While the bill might be dead, it is possible that another piece of legislation could be amended with the language of HB 2158.”

If you live in Oklahoma, please research this bill and contact your state representatives and senators with your opinion!!

Quote du jour: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

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The madness marches on..

Duke lost? Duke lost! OMG. And Gonzaga lost, too. I didn’t stay up late enough for that game, but I saw Adam Morrison’s press conference on TV this morning, and I have to say, I am developing a wicked crush on the guy. He played his heart out and his team lost. He took responsibility, saying “I missed the shots.”

But the best moment? With the game over, Morrison in a heap on the court, heart broken, UCLA team celebrating, Arron Afflalo of UCLA stopped. He went over to Morrison to comfort him. A few teammates joined him. Here is what Morrison said about the moment. “They had enough guts as a man to come over in their moment of victory, pick somebody up off the floor. If I could thank them, I would. That’s just a sign of great people and great players. It’s more than basketball.”

So now I have a crush on Arron Afflalo, too, and the entire UCLA team. If Georgetown can’t make it, I’m rooting for the classy guys from California.

I holed up in my hotel room yesterday and wrote, venturing out for sushi twice. It will be more of the same today, except I’m having lunch with a West Coast buddy.

If you live in LA and have nothing to do, come join me in Cerritos. I’m speaking at the Cerritos Public Library tonight at 7pm. Call (562) 916-1342 for more information. (Yes, I’ll be speaking while Georgetown is playing. Mom always said life wasn’t fair.)

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A rant-free post

No, really. I promise. Because I am in a good mood. A great mood. Georgetown won yesterday and SUNY Albany almost beat UConn. I love UConn, but come on – how can you not root for Albany in that situation? I love March.

Another reason for feeling so great today? The farmers down the road from us have started boiling their maple sap. It doesn’t matter how much it snows this week, Spring has arrived.

This means it’s time for me to hit the road again. Tomorrow I catch a plane to San Diego. (Tough, I know. Just pray that the Stinky Guy doesn’t sit next to me again.) I’ll be speaking in LaJolla on Monday, at the Chadwick School in Palos Verdes on Tuesday and Wednesday, and I’ll be giving a public presentation at the Cerritos Library on Friday evening. I come home a week from today.

One of yesterday’s highlights was a trip to the library that resulted in an armful of books for the trip. A lot of them are fantasies – it’s about time I read more of those. So I have the perfect Saturday lined up: writing, reading, basketball, and packing. OK, so it would be really perfect if I didn’t have to pack. But nobody gets a perfect life, so I can deal with it. I’ll get BH to build a fire in the fireplace tonight. That will balance out the sadness of packing my suitcase again.

What are the ingredients of your perfect Saturday in March?

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Green Friday

I’d like to take this moment to say thank you to my Donovan and Foley ancestors for leaving Ireland, braving the Atlantic Ocean, and coming to America. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all! I’ll be playing Celtic music and scaring the dog with my poor imitation of an Irish jig all day.

My friend (and awesome writer) Susan Campbell Bartoletti, and noted author Patricia Reilly Giff both have excellent books about the Irish Potato Famine.

I’ve been working on pictures books and shoveling the mountains of correspondence that precede a school visit trip. I woke up this morning and watched the sun crawl across the ceiling and came up with the opening lines of this new picture book that’s been nipping at my heels. (Details on next week’s adventure tomorrow.) It’s really nice when new stories start to talk to you.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed the bill that forces libraries to remove all books with sexual or homosexual themes (like SPEAK) to the “adults only” section of the library. The vote? 60 for, 33 against. The OK House of Reps doesn’t trust families to choose books for their children. Let’s see – wiretapping without a warrant is legal, book banning is legal… how long will it be before these fringe groups succeed in burning our Constitution to ashes and installing cameras in our homes to monitor our behavior?

If this upsets you, then ask yourself what you have done in the past month to participate in our democracy. If we do not take our government back, this is just the beginning.

And if any of you reading the above two paragraphs feel inclined to make assumptions about my faith or politics based on those opinions, let me state for the record that I am a Christian and I am more conservative than liberal. I am fed up with both political parties. Please let me know if you hear of a political leader who has common sense, who won’t take money from lobbyists, and who has a clue about our country’s history. I haven’t found one yet.

OK, end of rant.

Gerry MacNamara, hold your head up high. We love you and are proud. Did you see Adam Morrison at the end of the Gonzaga game??? Wow. Georgetown plays at 2:35pm on CBS…. might…have…to….wander….by…the…TV…