May 25, 2011

There were 4 posts published on May 25, 2011 (this is page 1 of 1).

Shaken

Got a call tonight from my fellow coach of Travis’s T-ball team, which just wrapped up its season. He told me that his daughter was out riding her bike on Sunday and got hit by a car, sending her into the windshield! If it weren’t for the helmet she had been wearing she would’ve died instantly, he said. Instead, she suffered no brain damage but has a seriously broken leg that will take a long time to heal.

I was shaken when I heard that, as I’d just seen them the day before. She and my daughter, Hallie, had become fast friends during the games and practices. As a parent you try to protect your kids from harm but sometimes the unexpected happens.

I don’t know any more details about the accident but I am reminded of my recent post about many drivers just not respecting cyclists. This is one collision that could have had far more tragic consequences.

Please be careful out there. And hug your loved ones every day.

Gardening

As I mentioned before, I’ve been enjoying gardening this season: all two and a half weeks of it (ok, ok … I’m obsessed with it). My plants are going like gangbusters with the exception of my jalapeno pepper plants, which seem to be withering. They’re hanging on, though, so I haven’t given up on them yet.

I spend spare time during my day in the garden, pruning the plants. I was delighted to see many of my tomato plants sprouting flowers already. And, thanks to sites like vegetablegardener.com, I now know what kind of care these plants need. The 15 minutes I spent before work this morning out pruning my plants was some of the most delightful time I’ve enjoyed all day. There really is something zen-like about gardening.

After my plants were finally in the ground I saw how much our kids enjoyed gardening. That gave me the idea to start a gardening email list for Raleigh gardeners. After only a few days it had 65 enthusiastic subscribers. It’s now up to 67 and I’m expecting that to rise. If you’d like to join in and share your gardening experience, you can sign up for the list here.

Watch Lent Carr tell whoppers

I’ve been watching the raw video of Carr’s interview and my bullshit detectors have flat out exploded. Watch about 8:38 into the interview when he discusses his current job as a “Business Development Specialist” at Allstate Insurance and spends the next few seconds mumbling phrases about policies. Carr tap-danced around that question like Miss Teen South Carolina Caitlin Upton did. Nowhere on his LinkedIn profile (which is mostly fiction, granted) does he mention working for Allstate. Nor do any Google searches turn up any hits linking him with Allstate.

The guy isn’t simply a liar, he’s a pathological liar. It makes me feel sorry for him.

Lent Carr and District C

Lundsford Lane’s once-in-a-blue-moon blogging at Below the Beltline has apparently attracted the press’s attention to Lent Carr, the District C candidate for Raleigh City Council. About the same time Lane got wise to Carr I had done the same, though I chose not to post about Carr because frankly I was embarrassed by the guy.

Carr seems to me to be a con man. A harmless one, perhaps, but a con man all the same. His so-called credentials are completely bogus. Anyone can find that out with a few targeted Google searches. Like Lane, I’ve done my homework and can back Lane up on what he says.

Lane also reports that Carr no longer lives in District C, which is going to make it tough for folks who do live in District C to support him. If he has any supporters, that is: the folks I know around here know better than to fall for this guy’s tricks.

On the other hand, I am happy to see that Eugene Weeks is running to keep his District C seat. Eugene is a hard worker and a dedicated public servant. He doesn’t play the games that some folks in Southeast Raleigh play. He is his own man and has served District C very well in the time since he was appointed to replace James West. Things are looking up for my side of town.

Now if only Lane could find the time to post something more than once a quarter. Come on, Lane! Surely there is more dirt out there to be had!

Update 9:20 PM: WRAL ran their story on Carr on this evening’s newscast. The web version has more details.