Breaking out the hankies . . .

Goodness, once again I have failed to write for a while. In my defense let me describe what has been going on with me. Since my last post, I've:

• been house/multiple cat/dog sitting for a friend who we will call Jane.
  
• moved completely out of Jane's house into my own apartment.
  
• caught, with my bare hands (like a grizzly bear catching salmon), Jane's escaped-recently-rescued feral cat so that I didn't have to make the trek every day to feed the G.D. critter.
  
• received, in the process, multiple cat bites and scratches all over my arms and legs. (If that cat thought I was going to let go, no matter how many times he bit me (as I knew this would be last chance to catch him since I had, just seconds before, decided to pounce on him), well, *phhh*, he just had another thing coming.)
  
• been to the doctor and am in the process of taking a strong course of anti-biotics to prevent me from dying from the infection that results from being bitten multiple times by a feral cat with a broken, diseased tooth.
• decided to never, ever, catch a feral cat with my bare hands.
  
• further decided that I have to be the biggest damn fool in the world.
• subsequently fell in love with said, completely adorable, cat.
  
• have also had the flu.
• am now in my new apartment, studying hard for my big test on August 1
• bhah blah blah.

But, no, I haven't been motivated to get my duff off the couch to whine about my problems. Oh, no, what truly moved me this morning was to learn that George W. Bush is "besieged and isolated, yet at ease." In a truly heart-wrenching article in the Washington Post, subtitled "Bush, Grasping for Answers and Fixated on Iraq, Remains Resolute," the Post article describes in glorious detail how Bush is "coping" with his unpopularity. Yes, well, even the subtitle of this little gem is very profound. I would hope that someone in a position of such importance would have grasped some of the answers before becoming resolute. But, then, what do I know.

I take real inspiration from this man who "exhibits an inexorable upbeat energy" although he "remains largely locked inside the fortress of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave." Goodness, my heart stirs just thinking of his strength. Here is a man, who at the very "nadir of his presidency" (I must have blinked and missed the zenith), has the courage to ask, "Why does the rest of the world seem to hate America? Or is it just me they hate?" "Not generally known for intellectual curiosity, Bush is seeking out those who are." "Over sodas and sparkling water, he asks his questions."

"Burdened by an unrelenting war, challenged by an opposition Congress, defeated just last week on immigration, his last major domestic priority," and, still, Bush has the courage to ask, "Is it just me they hate?"

I'm also deeply amazed to learn how grounded he is in the midst of his troubles. "He feels he's doing what he needs to do, and he seems to me at peace with himself." "Bush has virtually given up on winning converts while in office and instead is counting on vindication after he is dead." And I'm not alone in my amazement. "'You don't get any feeling of somebody crouching down in the bunker,' said Irwin M. Stelzer, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute who was part of one group of scholars who met with Bush. 'This is either extraordinary self-confidence or out of touch with reality. I can't tell you which.'"

Yes, well, I think I know. . .