"i want a girl just like the girl that married dear old dad..."

(not on the radio right now, but all the other titles I came up with sounded so cheesy.)

This was my first "tweet" of the day: Called dad at 7:50. Had a great and varied chat. He always reminds me that it was I that made it possible for him to be a dad. (Grin.)

Reminder to self: maybe wait 'til a little later so you haven't done the main thing of the day so early.

Because lemme tell you, the "Tribute to Tim Russert" on Meet the Press was not a pick-me-up.

So around 12:45ish, I tried to get out of my sofa coma, pulled myself back over to the computer, and hit on the perfect thing to do for the rest of the afternoon: See SATC-TM for the second time.

Sigh. It was lovely. And while now that I've read some reviews, I see how the critics might have issues, I still don't. For me, it was a goofy movie with not always the best writing, but with great wardrobe and its heart in the right place. What more could a girl ask for?

Since I had popcorn and a smuggled yogurt for lunch, I am making Pad Thai with Tofu (don't fall over--it's from the healthy foods frozen section.)

In one of my favorite books, On Fortune's Wheel, the heroine meets the hero's grandmother and says, you never told me you had a grandmother. And in time, she understood why--the grandmother was so close to his heart that he didn't have to talk about her. (Note to self: I hope I am someday that way about future husband. Single women, you hear me, right?) And all the cards are so goopy or goofy or just insulting to my intelligence or his. You know I love him, I write about him all the time. He's still here, so there's no need for a tribute.

I am grateful for every day that I have the living love of my dad.

And for all you golf widows, I hope you did something fun like go to a movie or have a gab-fest with your girls. Yep, it's still on.

If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press...

(Tim Russert, RIP June 13, 2008)

I am pretty new to the Sunday news shows, but my church meets at night, so I occasionally tune in, and this being an election year, I've become a little more interested. So the fact that I just watched Tim on Sunday and never will see him live again, well, it's not as devastating as the tornados or the floods or the earthquake survivors...but it's not a small loss.

He seemed so cool, calm, and collected. And 58 is very young. I've put his books, Big Russ and Me, and Wisdom of our fathers on hold.

Link from The Caucus, a NYT blog. Oh, and I see that his wife and son were in Italy and have been flown back.

Go hug your dad.

"Thank you for making this occasion necessary" (Yogi Bera)

Happy Father's Day! Google has done up one of their doodles again. It's early -- well, not really, but I've only been awake for a half hour and so my voice had frogs in it when I wished Pa a happy day.

Father's Day grew out of some lady hearing a Mother's Day sermon. So she worked to get a day for Dads. Father's Day is also the highest netting "retail holiday" besides Christmas. It makes sense -- for Valentine's, most folks buy chocolate, for Mother's Day you can get away with a dishtowel, but dear old dad invariably gets golf clubs* or at least a coffee table book on Augusta.* (And those go for like $40 a pop) (pop, get it...) Also, Dads aren't as good at that thing Moms always do, "pshaw, I don't need a thing." Erin over at Biscotti Brain has a great idea if you're shopping for "the man who has everything and then some" or you just want to make your gift more meaningful.

Speaking of golf*, Pittsburgh is (I speak on behalf of the city) pleased as punch to be hosting the US Open at Oakmont.*

*This is the one and probably only time you'll EVER hear me talk about golf more than once in a post or in a post EVER, so I had to cram it all in.

(About the quote: my dad is forever quoting Yogi Bera--yours too? This year he has amended his usual, "You were the one that made me a Daddy" to something like "I wouldn't have been a Daddy so soon if it weren't for you." I think the first one is more literary, but real people resist editing, and surely he has his reasons for changing his tagline -- maybe that he has two other lovely children... I love you Daddy!)

signed,

His #1.