Last Sunday night Amtrak officials kicked a man off a train in a remote area because he was being disruptive.

The man is diabetic and was experiencing hypoglycemia. Amtrak is holding that they followed policy. How is it policy to indiscriminately kick passengers off trains without a second thought as to what might REALLY be happening.

Fortunately, the man has been found.

Everytime I read this story, my eyes well up with tears of rage and pity. It’s disgusting that something like this would even happen. I hope that every single Amtrak employee involved in this is disciplined up to and including dismissal.

Dear Driver of the Green Subaru Forester, Plate # HG 4935:

I’m not sure why you took such offense to me hitting the horn when you almost sideswiped me at the intersection of Capitol Avenue and Lawrence Street. I rather like my car undamaged by jackasses, thanks.

Kudos on your excellent revenge, though! You really got me with your driving at half the speed limit (15 in a 30) the whole rest of the way up Capitol. And the way you slowed down at traffic lights, hoping they’d go yellow so you could slam on the brakes– priceless! It was really sweet how you would try to anticipate my moves so we could be together longer. When we parted ways at South Highland and Boulevard, I gave you a special goodbye wave. Did you see it? I hope so.

And why yes, that was me taking down your plate number as you again slammed on your brakes to let people make left turns in front of us. Your little friend in the passenger seat did see me as she turned to look 3 times.

Hope the rest of your day is as good as mine!

Here’s to karma getting you in an itching, burning way!

Kisses,

The normally level-headed girl in the silver Civic who was stuck behind you for what felt like 600 miles

I was just at Target and I walked through the cereal aisle and had to squeeze by a vacant eyed couple who were debating whether Cap’n Crunch or Fruity Pebbles were healthier for their little darling.

I got to the end of the aisle where their little darling and her little darling infant brother were in the cart. As I walked by, little darling reached out and hit me. Not waved at me, not touched my arm, actually smacked me. I was so shocked I didn’t even stop.

As I hightailed it out of here, I heard mommy dearest coo to the baby “Isn’t your sister so silly?”

Um, no, his sister is well on her way to being That Kid in school who spends more time in the principal’s office for biting people when she’s angry than she does learning.

However, it wasn’t all bad because I got to see normal mom-to-be Amanda tonight and she’s starting the kid off right with this adorable onesie:

I got a little teary thinking of how nice it is for the baby to be helping other babies in Africa. Good karma!

Also, speaking of kids who grew up pretty well, check out this collage my mom made! She’s been doing them for the family.

I ALSO got to see Lisa today! We had lunch at Gengras. My Gengras has changed since my day. It’s all fancy and modern looking! It was nice to be back on campus, I miss college sometimes.

Hey, hot enough for ya?

I’m getting on the road to Boston soon to go have margaritas with some cool chicks. If only I could figure out what to wear that I won’t sweat through on the drive.

Also, as many people know, diabetes is a disease that a) makes no sense and b) can be quite finicky. On my way home from work my blood sugar suddenly dropped and I was seeing double. It is not fun to be on 91 seeing double. It would have been safer for me to just close my eyes and drive than to try to aim. I got off 91 at the exit for 218 and got myself to Copaco where Nate came to get me so I could recover at home for a bit. Damn heat, making my blood sugar all wacky. I hate this effing disease.

Okay, I should change out of my work clothes (pantyhose! eugh!) and find something comfy.

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Originally uploaded by Ms. O’Brien.

Can you see the little sign in front of the big van? Apparently the driver couldn’t.

All of the recent passport hoopla has reminded me of my own crazy passport story from ought-five.

In, I think, January of 05 in anticipation of an upcoming trip to Ireland, Nate and I applied for a passports. His arrived within a month of applying. Mine did not. Then I got an email saying there was an issue with my passport application and it gave me a number to call. I called and the man said “Oh, yes, you were born in Hudson County. Do you know the story of Hudson County?” I said no, and he proceeded to tell me that about a year ago, due to widespread corruption, every single birth certificate issued in Hudson County within the past 40+ years has been rendered invalid.

Here is an MSNBC story from 2004 that mentions the problem and that I wish I had seen at the time.

It all ended happily, though. I was able to relatively quickly obtain a new birth certificate and brought it down to the passport office in Norwalk to get expidited service. The passport, along with both copies of my birth certificate, arrived in time for us to go on our vacation unhindered by bureaucracy.

15 years since its debut, season 1 of “Picket Fences” is now on DVD!

EEEEEEEE! I loved this show back in the day. I watched it on FX in syndicated reruns and was devastated, in a pop culture way, when they stopped showing it.

It’s actually how I got into X Files. When XF went into syndication, FX put it in PF’s spot. I tuned in one day to watch PF and found XF on instead. I had been sitting down to watch TV for that hour anyway so I kept watching.

Anyway, this post is about PF. I can’t wait to pick up the DVDs and get reaquainted with my old friends the Brocks, the mayor(s) and the rest of the wacky residents of Rome.

It’s been a year since I was brought back from the brink.

My memory of that day and the days that follow is hazy at parts. I’m still struggling with the idea that I went through being carried out of my home by EMTs, a CT scan, an arterial line, and a catheter being inserted and have no memory whatsoever. I still struggle with the idea of how close I came to losing it all.

Instead, though, I try to remember how fortunate I am to still be here. To have made it to one year later. I remember the kindness of the nurses. Combing my hair, removing a psinful IV in the middle of the night. The flowers. The stack of cards.

The chance at a do-over.

I don’t even know where to begin!

1. We are now a two-car family again. Thanks to Nate’s incredibly generous parents, he was able to get this beauty. Meet Cecilia.

2. I am annoyed at the baggers at Stop and Shop. I purposely use the self-scan registers so I don’t get the weird looks or eye-rolls when I ask to use my own bag.

Wait, that’s another store altogether. If your store SELLS and ENCOURAGES the use of reusable grocery bags, then your employees should not be so rude to the customers that use them. Christ.

Anyway, I use the self-scan because it’s just easier. However, now the SnS employees have taken to pacing in front of the self-scan registers and bagging the groceries for the customers. I get it, it’s helpful, it cuts down on lines and saves time, but it’s driving me CRAZY. When I have one or two items, just leave them be!

3. I had an interview at a large corporation on Friday. I’m pretty excited about it. I’m looking forward to a building with amenities like a gym and a cafeteria. I’m even looking forward to having a commute, though I know that will wear off quickly.

4. Last night we went to Wood-n-Tap with Francine and took a spontaneous trip to Northampton. It was a lot of fun. Cute little town with a lot of neat shops. I wouldn’t mind living there.

In response to my loyal fans, I am back with some posting action AND I’m posting this from a dashboard widget. Pretty cool. No ability to add tags, though. I’ve been enjoying the tagging feature.

…because my Dan will have an hour-long special on the whole spectacle at 9 tonight. YIPPEEE!

I am a big fan of anything that puts my Dan back on my TV.

I’m good with it because I got 10 minutes of my Dan on the TV. It’s allllll worth it.

The “press conference” was ridiculous, though. If the reason for letting her go on house arrest because of overcrowding, that was likely a problem when she was sentenced. I mean, there wasn’t a recent all-girl riot, was there?

In other brainless news, I just watched the new reality show Pirate Master. I have no idea what was going on for most of it but the end was pretty dramatic when they cut that guy loose. I was crossing my fingers for a mutiny, though!

I’ve been hooked on this show on the travel channel. It’s been on since 8 and will be on til 3am. I started watching because Nate and I went to ESP when we were in Philly. Now I’m just hooked on the spookiness. It was an unsettling place when we were there in the middle of a sunny afternoon. Now it’s nearly midnight and it’s frickin scary!

The host lady is a little irritating, yelling all over the place, antagonizing the alleged murderer ghosts. “COME OUT AND TALK TO US, YOU MURDERING COWARD!”

This is a picture Nate took of a chair in one of the cells. We assumed it to be a dentists chair, but now that I’m doing some more research, I wonder if it’s a “mad chair,” which was used as a form of punishment. With the placement, it’d make more sense for it to be that than for it to be a dentist chair.

(c) Nate Howe Photography.

The Mad Chair was another form of punishment, or restraint, adapted again from mental asylums. Here, the prisoner would be tied to the chair by chains and leather straps and held so firmly that he was unable to move at all. After long periods of time, his limbs would become very painful and swollen. The offending prisoners would often find themselves strapped into the chairs, unable to move a muscle, for periods of time befitting their punishments. These periods could last anywhere from a few hours to days. Prisoners who spent any length of time in the chair would find themselves unable to walk for hours (or even days) afterward. Their limbs were often a bluish-black color, caused by the lack of circulation, and it could take a week or more before they returned to their normal color.