The weekend was a wonderful one, made even better by the addition of good friends. Today, I met Margaret for brunch. She was in town for her daughter's gymnastics meet and we had so much fun talking, though we did not have nearly enough time together. We talked about 'lite' subjects like politics, religion, and teenage daughters. Good thing we are both reasonable people (meaning we share a lot of each other's views). She was, as always, lovely to spend time with.
Yesterday, John and I attended a Democratic Party of Oregon brunch with special guest Al Franken. We were strategically sitting at one of the tables closest to both the food and the microphone, so we were lucky enough to be be one of the first to speak with Al Franken, and to be directed to start loading our plates with all the wonderful food, provided by Mother's restaurant.
John had invited our friend, Shahriar Ahmed, and his son, Shehab. Shehab is a sophomore at UCLA and an aspiring comic, and he was given more than 10 minutes of great free advice from Al Franken, himself. Of course, having a conversation with Shahriar and Shehab is always great fun and very interesting. I asked his views on the whole Muslim/Danish cartoon thing, and he was as reasoned and reasonable as I would have expected. Basically, freedom of expression and the press are our rights, but our rights come with the responsibility not to try to harm or insult others. And the reaction on the other side was an over-reaction. That is what I was thinking, too.
John and Ross went skiing today, taking advantage of a gorgeous, sunny, warmer day. After my brunch with Margaret, I went to visit my lovely MIL, who has been really ill for the last 2 weeks. She has turned the corner on this problem, though, and is finally recovering her health. I have been very worried about her and probably smothering her with too many visits and lots of fussing, but that's what mothering is all about. Me mothering her, that is.
All in all, a wonderful, carefree weekend...just love those, don't you?
That is just so very cool that you got to meet up with Margaret while she was in your neck of the woods. I've known her for a very long time. Isn't she great?
Posted by: Tonya | Tuesday, February 21, 2006 at 04:37 PM
Exciting event. I so agree with what Franken said in response to your question. For me that's one of the most disturbing developments I can remember in recent history. If only everyone could think so reasonably about it. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Barbara W. Klaser | Tuesday, February 21, 2006 at 12:56 PM
Sounds like a purrrrrrfect weekend! That picture of you and Margaret is so sweet!
Posted by: Elizabeth | Tuesday, February 21, 2006 at 07:19 AM
Sounds like a great weekend - you have a knack for meeting the coolest people!
Posted by: tinker | Monday, February 20, 2006 at 11:39 PM
oh, how cool that you got to speak to al franken!! i'm glad you had a chance to get out and meet with a friend, from the pic it looks like you both had a great time. :-)
Posted by: kat | Monday, February 20, 2006 at 11:59 AM
Ooh, Margaret...please tell her I said HI! We've only exchanged a handful of comments and emails, but she seems a delight. Great about Al Franken...and very cool for an aspiring comic.
Posted by: Marilyn | Monday, February 20, 2006 at 11:36 AM
It was fun, wasn't it? (even though I didn't understand the waitress and tried to ruin our free breakfast) It is always a pleasure to visit with you;it makes me think that the world is not such a crazy place.
Posted by: Margaret | Monday, February 20, 2006 at 11:15 AM