I mean I heard rumors once that Tiger was going to buy a house out in the Ford Plantation, but I am pretty sure that never happened.

So I feel pretty comfortable telling you that he does not live in Richmond Hill. While that may make a difference in the way that I feel, I am not sure it would make it any less true.

If you have been living free of any kind of media and have no idea why I am talking about Tiger, stop reading now. If you don’t know, trust me , you don’t to.

Tiger’s decision to return to the game of golf at the Masters Tournament at Augusta is being hailed as brilliant – and it is. Augusta is exclusive (understatement), sought after (understatement), and particular (big understatement). If Tiger can play anywhere without being heckled and bothered, it is Augusta.

Except Masters Chairman, Billy Payne, decided a soapbox address with some small offers of grace was a good idea. And Arnold Palmer (who I love!) thinks that Tiger should “open up and just let you guys [reporters] shoot at him.”

Since I hadn’t even had my first cup of coffee during the SportsCenter run down, I was ornerier than usual. I jumped up and exclaimed to my beloved, “Why is any of this any of their business?”

My hubby agreed and made the comment that Tiger isn’t special, this kind of thing happens all the time.

That doesn’t do it for me. If it had never happened before, it would still be none of my business.

It is the business of his wife, his family, those women and his advertisers – none of those groups do I belong to. Actually, Tiger could choose to cut that last group out, but my knowledge of marketing says that they deserve to be there.

Why should Tiger hold another press conference? Why does a guy in a green jacket get to make public comments on it? Why do the SportCenter mouths get to assert that Tiger has a lot of unanswered questions to address?

Go ahead and tell me because he is a public figure and he put himself in that position. I would almost buy that one – heck I think I have said it before. But that was some years ago when as a society we just hoped one day we would know. Today, we have this sense that we deserve to be inside the freaking counseling room with him and his wife!

As the public, we have to decide if we buy his product, support his brand and champion his cause. This creates the chance that he may invite us into the knowledge of his personal business. It does not make us entitled to it.

Best of luck to all of those in Augusta – Tiger too.

Your inbox gets the “please find this child” email for the umpteenth billion time. It’s a scam. You know it is. But, facts are that children go missing. And there has to be a better way than sorting though spam.

I thought it was a wonderful idea when they installed the Amber Alert signs on the interstates. Unfortunatley, I am not always on the interstate, or in my car, or watching TV. But I almost ALWAYS have my cell phone.

Wireless Amber Alerts allows you to subscribe to a service that sends Amber Alerts directly to your cell phone in the form of a text message. Sign up is quick and easy. It’s dern near a moral obligation – yes, I feel that strongly about it.

One zip code from a city will cover the entire city regardless of the number of zip codes located in it. You can chose up to five. Cell Carriers that have come on board will not charge you text messaging fees for the service. Got any other questions – they have a page for that here.

Now get to clicking – we are all subscribed to less important things.

The size of this day is almost too much.  One almost cannot even begin to comprehend it when taken in its entirety.  I won’t even attempt it.  I honor of all those affected by that day, I want to thank those that impacted my life directly.

I have told the story about where I was.  This is what happened next.

The base was put on lockdown.  We were instructed that those of us who lived in military housing with our families would need to put a plan together immediately to evacuate them.  The fear was that our chance of being a target was great.  We were right outside of Chicago and the home of the largest Naval training facility.

Madison was 4 and Savannah was 2 months old.   Mark and I decided that should the call go out to evacuate, the three of them would go home to Georgia.  I would try to get home as soon as I could to help him pack.

I had just been promoted and they had not updated my ID card.  This meant my ID and my uniform did not match.  Usually not a big deal – but this was no where near “usually.”  My superior officers decided it was best if I went home and did not attempt to come back on to the main base until a runner could bring me the necessary paperwork.

By the time I got to base housing, there were big concrete barriers blocking all the entrances except one.  The main entrance was also equipped with these same barriers forming a maze forcing those who entered to do so slowly.  The guard shack was manned with armed security forces.  This would be the norm for a long time to come.

The order never came to evacuate our families.  I was thankful.  Although I was the military member, I always feel safer when Mark is around.  After a while, we attempted to regain some sense of a normal routine.

The first time Madison saw the guards at the entrance, she was bewildered.  The second time she had questions.  Why were they there?  Where had they been before?  Why do they have guns?  Is it because of the planes?

As I am sure many of you know, explaining the events of September 11th to a 4 year old is not easy.  Tip toeing on truth and appropriateness while maintaining a delicate balance of awareness and safety is no small feat.

Yes, they are there because of the planes.  They have guns to make sure that bad folks can’t hurt you.  They are here to help Mommy and Daddy keep you safe.

“Sure does look like they are cold out there,” Madison commented.  She was right – they sure did look cold.  We brought them coffee that they wouldn’t take.  Of course they wouldn’t – I knew better.  It’s a security precaution.  But, Madison was satisfied that they were okay out there, and they knew we appreciated them.

We really appreciated them.

These guys protected my home with force and at the risk of life.  Seems dramatic now, but the fear was very real then.  They did more than stand watch at the gate of housing, they gaurded the gate of my baby’s fear.  Mommy and Daddy would never let anything happen to her or her new baby sister, and these guys were going to make sure of it.

Thank you to all the men and women who stood watch outside of Great Lakes housing.  You kept my family safe.  Thank you to all those who continue to stand watch around the world.  You continue to provide that safety.  You are supported and appreciated.

Like Athol, I am not a opera buff.  I would like to be as it amazes me, but I think it may be the language barrier – I don’t know.  At any rate, I was still moved when I found out that the great Pavarotti had passed.

But don’t stop here.  Jump on over to Athol’s house and see the amazing duet with James Brown!

Ok – I don’t typically get into real controversial stuff, but this is one opinion I just have to voice.

Disclaimer 1- I think dog fighting is horrific and completely support the offense being labeled as a felony with prison time as a just punishment.

Disclaimer 2 – I could care less if if Michael Vick continues to receive endorsements – he never sends me any money so his income does not affect me.  I would prefer that Atlanta cut him simply because I am an Atlanta fan and not real impressed with his ability to lead the team or produce as a quarterback.

Down to my opinion. Vick has been indicted, not convicted. I don’t know why people have already called for the team and his sponsors to cut him. The Duke Lacrosse team is coming back to my memory.

Do I think he is guilty? Who cares. I am not on a jury – although I would be willing to volunteer if anybody can set that up for me.

There are people who say he is guilty. So what? I have been the unfortunate subject in a few untruths in my life. I’d be willing to bet you have too.

Then there’s the camp that says Michael Vick should be punished even if he isn’t convicted because everybody knows that rich people always get off. Just look at OJ. This aggravates me to no end.  Let’s follow this logic. I work hard, get born into, dumb luck – whatever – my way into being successful and making a boatload of money. Now, anybody can claim anything against me, true or not, and based on the claim, I am penalized. Does this make sense – really?  Who in their right mind would agree with this if it were themselves being treated this way?

The person (Michael Vick) is not the issue here. Neither is the crime. The point is the right we all have to our day in court and to defend ourselves. Micheal Vick is not an exception. Dog fighting isn’t either.

If you chose to disagree – that’s great, as that is your right. I just hope, for your sake, you don’t end up on the other side of the judgement fence.

…or is everybody else?  Sometimes I really don’t know. Is it a “silent majority” thing and I am the only loud mouth, or am I really in the minority? Are my opinions really that out in left field?

Feels like a rant is coming on and you, my dear friends, will have to excuse me while I try to stay on track.  This frustration is not one thing, but many things…this uniform thing is just the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The school system here is attempting to implement a uniform policy.  We had this when we lived in Chicago and it was fantastic. Mark and I both felt that if we had uniforms in school, we would have hated it, and our lives would have been much easier. However, some parents don’t feel this way and that’s okay. But, OMG (to use the cool, hip, text abbreviation) can we get over it already! Reading the newspaper, you would think Stalin was running the board and Hitler was poised to take over. I don’t get it. My kids have enough to deal with in their young lives with society being the way it is. Any attempt to remove some of those distractions while they are attempting to get an education is fine by me.

They say that the problem would be solved if the administration would just enforce the current dress code.  Are you kidding? Have any of you been shopping for school age girls lately? Now, I can’t speak to the boys, because I don’t have any, but girls I got and it is near impossible. What does my 5 year old or my 10 year old need with halter tops, short shorts, and platform shoes to round out the outfit? Sure, you can get them long pants and then contend with the provocative remarks the manufactures insist on pasting across the butt. That’s much better. You are basically limited to jeans, capris, and t-shirts (funny, sounds like a uniform policy). This is fine with me until I am getting the kids ready for school or shopping in the mall and I have to hear for the eleventy billionth time about what so and so’s mom will let them wear, buy, scout around town in.  No thank you. Get up, get breakfast, brush your teeth, and grab one of the approved uniforms that will be very much the same as anything else anybody else has on. Bypass the drama and get on to the job at hand – getting your education.

Speaking of the job at hand, a lot of jobs require a uniform, or, at the very least, a required manner of dress. Are they oppressive and limiting free expression of their employees?  Are we going to bash the boards of these companies for their abusive practices? No. We are probably working for them, collecting a paycheck, and happy for it.

I could go on. There are lots of things in the media that are absolutely driving me crazy – taxes, immigration, Iraq, and the list goes on.  But, I won’t. I will say this and be done. Don’t be a shallow thinker. Take opinions out to their logical conclusion. Pay attention to the society around you and compare it to what the media says society is. If you hear it on the news, don’t listen to what they say, figure out what they mean – it is all too often two different things.