Yesterday’s fiery wreck on I-85 has been haunting me all day today. I don’t know why it affected me so much. And its not like we witnessed the wreck or anything. But it hit close to home, regardless.

Three generations of family died after their stopped Jeep Cherokee was rear-ended on the merge lane of I-85: Joyce Holt, 66, her daughter Patricia Allen of Wake Forest, and Allen’s four-month-old son, Ricky. Frantic passers-by were unable to rescue them from their burning vehicle. No one knows why they stopped in the merge lane. It was a fatal mistake.

We usually drive through Creedmoor on our way back from Kelly’s parents’ house in Virginia, though we never take the I-85 exit. While we took a different route back this time, it was possible that we could have been driving right by that spot at the time of the wreck.

So I’m both happy and sad I took that route. I’m happy we got home safely and swiftly, but I’m sad I wasn’t around to potentially save those people. Crazy, isn’t it? First responders feel gut-wrenching grief when a person dies in front of them, and I’m feeling grief for not being anywhere near them. I just feel for what they and their would-be rescuers went through.

So from now on, I’ll drive a little more carefully. I’ll make sure that every day, my wife and kids will know I love them. And if I ever get a chance to help someone in need, I’ll be ready.

Well, we managed to make it out of Virginia without getting a ticket. Helps that we drove the speed limit, of course. Took route 15 down from Warrenton, adding a detour through South Boston instead of our usual Clarksville route. There was nary a soul on the road: just the way we like it.

Well, that isn’t exactly true. There was a big traffic jam on 29 north of U.S. 17. All those cars were bound for the parking lot that is I-95. We were happy to blow right past them on 15 heading south. Suckers!

Had a great visit at the Swansons. Weather was cold and blustery, but we made the most of it. The Naylors joined us, on Thursday and Saturday and we spent lots of time together eating, laughing, eating, taking pictures of each other, and eating.

Neil put up a basketball goal in his driveway. The chance to shoot hoops was strong enough to lure all the guys out in cold, drizzly weather. My game was rusty, but parts of it still shine. Man, did I feel good after shooting baskets (and bricks, too). I need to play more often.

Travis and Hallie are world champion travelers. They both mostly napped all the way until Dillwyn, where the driver, yours truly, had to take a desperate pitstop. After taking care of that urgent matter, we pulled alongside the passenger cars belonging to the Old Dominion Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. While Travis nursed, I carried Hallie around to look at the rail cars. She was very whiny at the time, having just woken up from napping, and wasn’t in the mood to look around.

We’re all beat now, the fridge is empty, and we were short on sleep to begin with. But we had a great holiday and are now safe at home.

Blog ya tomorrow!

I’m really getting into folk music nowadays. I’ve heard this Dan Zanes CD Parades and Panoramas hundreds of times this holiday and have this song stuck in my head. The surprising thing is I still want to own it.

Titanic

the rich folks decided to take a trip
on the finest ship that was ever built.
the captain persuaded the people to think
that the titanic too safe to sink
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It’s Thanksgiving. Y’all go out and be ye thankful.

So, after reading JT.Net’s post about U2, I’m trying to figure out something. U2 used to be cool, but I think everyone can agree that at some point they sold out.

So, when, exactly did U2 jump the shark? I’d like your opinion.

Happy Virtual Friday, everyone!!!!!1!111!

I’m lying alone with my head on the phone
Thinking of you till it hurts
I know you hurt too but what else can we do
Tormented and torn apart
I wish I could carry your smile in my heart
For times when my life feels so low
It would make me believe what tomorrow could bring
When today doesn’t really know, doesn’t really know
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I was wrong. Yep, wrong.

Grier Martin, the guy I campaigned for for a seat in the N.C. House, is not a registered Republican after all. He’s a Democrat and always has been.

Grier sent me a note this morning setting me straight. Turns out his former neighbor on his street is listed as David G. Martin and is a lawyer, too. I neglected to check the address properly and jumped to conclusions. Grier’s actual voting record is here.

We at MT.Net are just making this stuff up. Sorry, Grier!

I was happy to see Clemson and South Carolina took a firm stand in response to the appalling fight during the two rivals’ annual football game. Both teams were bowl-eligible but are staying home this year – an unprecedented move.

I was shocked at the intensity of the fight. The picture in the paper of a Clemson player kicking an unhelmeted South Carolina player in the head was just sickening. Just when I thought the thugs were all in the pro leagues, this sets me straight.

Bowl games are very lucrative to schools. Teams work hard to get there. Deciding to skip their bowls shows that the schools take sportsmanship very seriously. I applaud their decision, and I hope its message is received loud and clear.

Most of my music collection has been encoded in OGG Vorbis because Oggs are patent-free, are smaller, and – most importantly – they sound better. I was thinking I was stuck with using my Zaurus PDA for taking my music with me, since there aren’t many portable Ogg players out there.

Then I found the iRiver, a 40GB portable player, with MP3 and Ogg support and an integrated FM transmitter.

Oh, and it runs Linux, too. Pretty cool.
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