Mattie Stepanek, child author of Heartsongs and its many sequels, died today. Whatever you may have thought of his poetry, the kid had a lot of heart. He accomplished what most writers only dream of, getting his work published and read by millions of people. And along the way, he got to hang with Oprah and Jimmy Carter. Mattie made his mark on the world and he will be remembered by others, which I think is the most any of us can hope for.
Jeri Ryan was the only reason I watched Star Trek: Voyager (some of you may be noticing that my viewing choices are easily swayed by a pretty face). Divorce papers recently made public indicate that her Jack Ryan, her ex, a millionaire running for the Senate in Illinois, wasn’t content to simply show her off at the restaurants and country clubs. He took the whole concept of public displays of affection to an extreme, taking his wife to sex clubs and asking for a little nookie in front of the other patrons. I’m relieved to know that not all Republicans are sexless cyborgs like Cheney. People should get as freaky as they want, assuming the other party is welcoming of said freakiness. The Democratic candidate (Barack Obama, my favorite person to watch in this election cycle) is too classy to make an issue of this, but the GOP morality police (I’m looking at you, DeLay) will would be well-advised to tone down their “family values” diatribes.
