- My grandfather's funeral was as nice as such things can be, I suppose. Pallbearing was kind of a surprise because I always thought it was mostly for show. But no, those things are seriously heavy. I did get to see a lot of family members during my visit that I hadn't seen in a long while, albeit under clearly negative circumstances. He was given full military honors for his service in World War II, and those were even performed by his specific branch. My dad spoke at the funeral and did a fantastic job, I have to say. I choked up at some of his words about his dad, he was really better than he gives himself credit for.

- My trip with Maria was the perfect rebuttal to that period of sadness. It was really wonderful. I loved being with her for so many days in a row, getting to go out to eat and drive and sing songs and watch TV and see movies and visit the Henry Doorly Zoo. We saw Mamma Mia!, which was cute times and probably the most pleasant way you could hear ABBA music these days, all told. There will be many zoo pictures forthcoming, with my usual emphasis on fishy photos. In addition to watching The Daily Show and Rush Hour 2 and Diary of a Mad Black Woman on TV during our mini-vacation, we also bore witness to McCain's bizarre VP nomination on Friday morning. This column says everything about that subject that needs to be said, and better than I could say it.