Major news events

Once again, I've been out of touch because the news, among other things, has been keeping me busy. I had every intention of commenting on the passing of Terri Schiavo and Pope John Paul II, but I just haven't had the chance.

On the Schaivo case, I'm really tired of hearing about this story. I've heard so many "apples and oranges" comparisons made by people taking issue with allowing this poor woman to die. No, this doesn't mean we're going to start starving people in wheelchairs. No, this doesn't mean we're going to give up on people when it's no longer convenient to care for them. I believe this case is somewhat unique.

Ultimately it was all about a family disagreement. I've heard Schiavo's death referred to as a murder or "judicial homicide" and her husband has been compared to a Nazi. But if the family had been on the same page, then this woman would have died quietly years ago without anyone hearing about, without anyone caring and without anyone crying "murder!"

As for the pope, it was sort of sad as "Pope Watch 2005" last all day Friday and into Saturday. I was hoping for a swift end to this man's suffering. There is little I can say at this point that hasn't been said by so many others in the last few days.

I first got the news he had finally passed in an alert on my cell phone. Kris and I were shopping in Target at the time. I read the bulletin to Kris and another woman stopped to listen. The three of us stared at each other for a moment and then moved on. Suddenly I felt very silly that as the pope was dying I was shopping for a TV stand and a DVD player.

I will relate this story: Kris was trying to explain to Nolan on Friday who the pope was and what was happening to him. Nolan doesn't know who the pope is, but he knows who our priest is. So she told him the pope was Father Jupin's boss and he was very sick and would die any minute. Saturday evening I was sitting at the computer doing some work when Nolan walked over and asked what I was doing. I told him I was sending an e-mail to my boss.

"He's gonna die?" Nolan asked very concerned.

"No, he's not going to die," I told him.

"He's gonna die any minute?" he asked again.

I assured him my boss was fine -- it was just Father Jupin's boss who died.