DC--NYC Trip Day 1

We started our trip to DC and NYC by flying to Baltimore. Before even getting on the plane, we had what we now affectionately refer to as our Dharma and Greg moment. (For those who don't watch much TV, "Dharma and Greg" is a show about an odd married couple. The wife, Dharma, is a new agey wierdo, and Greg is a straight-laced Republican lawyer. Good show. We recommend it.)

We sat down and this woman named Kim immediately turned around and attached to Elliot like a pitbull on a poodle. After interacting with Elliot for two minutes, Kim announced Elliot is a crystal child. Now, for those utterly ignorant regarding crystal children (don't feel bad, we were once one of you), they are kids with divergent DNA who will lead the world into a new age, an age without conflict, lawyers, or books. She then informed us our duty as parents of a crystal child is to get out of his way, and to let him teach us. Evidently, the reason Elliot loves dogs is because he can talk to them.

Things started going south when Dem put some lotion on Elliot. Elliot whined a little. Kim then said, "I want to let you know Elliot's talking to me right now. He says he doesn't like the lotion because lotion impedes his cells' ability to communicate with his environment. But, if you do insist on using lotion, you should believe the lotion will have no effect. That way, the lotion won't do anything and his cells will be free to fully interact with the surroundings." Kim's previous overall kookiness was almost endearing, but the lotion thing was too much for Dem. She saw it as an afront to her mothering skills (and she was right). Thankfully, we boarded the plane at this point.

We arrived in Baltimore around 10 p.m. We drove to Gretchen's house and fell fast asleep.

Another Fun Saturday

Saturdays are the only way I make it through the week. This morning we went for a hike on one of the mesas near Farmington (We're going to Texas next weekend, so we stayed close to home this weekend).

After our hike, we watched a San Francisco Opera broadcast of La Rondine by Puccini at a local movie theater. Angela Gheorghiu sang the Magda de Civry role, and was wonderful. Seeing this opera wet our appetite for The Damnation of Faust which we will see at the Metropolitan Opera in New York later this month.

To cap the day, we went through our standard "put Elliot to bed" routine. It consists of (1) reading a column of the Book of Mormon in Italian, (2) praying (whoever prays gets to pick the language), (3) Demaree reciting The Going to Bed Book from memory, and (4) turning on a children's CD.

No on 8 Hate, Cali Style

I've chronicled some of the actions taken against Mormons in the wake of Props 8's passage on my babbomormone blog. I warn you, some of the quoted material is vulgar, but it's worth reading. Say hello to tolerance liberal style.

Voting in New Mexico

Instead of braving election Tuesday, we voted early Saturday. To vote we simply filled out a registration card without showing ID. When we voted we fully expected to be asked for some form of ID, but no, no, no, they just asked our name. We were then allowed to vote. (Come to find out, New Mexico law prohibits poll workers from asking for picture ID.) I was floored. I could have been Victor from Moscow, or Alessio from Florence, or Jim Bob from Arkansas and they would have ushered me through to vote in a federal election. What kind of evil joke is that? You'd think we would care more about the integrity of our federal election system than to allow anyone, absolutely anyone to vote. Apparently, I was wrong.

Reading is Fun

I just finished 1776 by David McCullough and How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill. 1776 is classic McCullough: readable, engrossing, and somewhat vulgar — i.e., of or relating to common people. I think, however, John Adams is the superior and more insightful book.

As for Cahill, enlightening read. I think he plays fast and loose with some history, but absorbing this Everyman book was time well spent. Here is a short review I wrote on Facebook:

Thoroughly enjoyable and informative read. I had no idea the extent to which culture had declined after the fall of Rome (Dark Age indeed), and that Ireland was the savior of Latin literature. Keep in mind, Cahill takes us on a literary journey in this book. In this way, this is a different type of historical text: one built not so much on dates and socio-cultural minutiae as on personality shown through the prism of poems, epics, and biographies. This makes sense, however, since the story of Ireland saving civilization is the story of being saved through literature and determined individuality.

Mitt Romney Political Rally

This morning, Mitt Romney came to Farmington and held a McCain–Palin rally. Neither of us much care for McCain, but we're big time Mitt Romney fans. In fact, I have a rather long-standing man crush on Mitt.

This was Elliot's first political rally, and he seemed to enjoy himself. A random woman gave him a flag, which he promptly put in his mouth.

After Mitt's "vote for McCain and all the other Republicans here present" admonition, he started shaking hands. We met him briefly (he's better looking in person than on TV, by the way); and, like every good politician, he acquiesced when we asked him to take a picture with Elliot.

Ah, Mitt. What a beautiful man you are. You might have lost this time, but we look forward to seeing you again in 2012.

Halloween

October 31: Elliot's first Halloween. Demaree, in her infinite goodness, made Elliot's costume.

As you can see, we (read: Demaree) decided on a jack-o-latern. It was a cute idea. We filled it with crumpled newspaper, and put a makeshift stem on Elliot's head.

We all went to a trunk-or-treat at the church, where we ate chili dogs (yeah, I was surprised by that as well) and played some games. Good times.