You were right

Valentine's Day left me with a number of ideas running through my head, looking for the right way to say them. Somehow this two-year-old idea kept coming forth...
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You were right. About almost everything, really.

You were right. I do look better in solid-colored shirts.

You were right. I probably should look into dental surgery some day.

You were right. I do tend to find the humor in things, even when they're not truly funny.

You were right. I do hate to be alone.

You were right. I will try to get the last word into every conversation.

You were right. Some day I will want to move closer to my family. I did, and I'm better off for it.

You were right about so much. But you were wrong about me.

You were really wrong when you once said I'd never admit when I was wrong.

I'm not going to swap opinions on things that truly matter to me. I'm not going to forgive and forget where religion's concerned. I'm not going to stick my tail between my legs and come running back to you.

I wish I could stop thinking about you and the things you said. We had a great time together, no doubt. But it ended nearly two years ago. And some days, without warning, it'll just start haunting me... making me wonder what I did wrong... making me reconsider if going separate ways was such a good idea.

But most of all, you were right when you said maybe we were too different to stay together. I miss you all the time, but I know deep down we're both better off apart.

Exhausting and tiring

I haven't been able to update this thing as much as I might like. I've had an exhausting couple days at work.

I just lost a fairly in-depth discussion of the week and what made it tough. Then the window crashed. I don't think I'll try to recreate it. I'll just share links to the finished products. Maybe some other day I'll explain what made them hard.

On Tuesday, I had two fairly time-consuming and emotionally draining stories:

Family in Putnam County mourns soldier's death
Continental voters approve levy; board cuts six teachers

On Sunday, I dealt with FOUR breaking news stories:

Train derails near Cridersville
Montgomery praises students' help
Pearl Harbor activist dies
And a fourth one about a hostage situation in Lima that somehow didn't make the Web.

So you'll forgive me if I feel a little "written out." I have a refreshing weekend in Georgia planned which mixes all the things I like: Friends, ocean and fresh seafood. That should liven me up again...

State of the Man Address

My fellow Americans, we live in a nation of unparalleled liberties. American men today have more options to act like men than in any generation to this point.

I'd like to take this moment to recognize men like David Trinko, of Ottawa, Ohio. On this very evening, he redefined the term "multitasking" for all men everywhere. While sitting on his couch and gnawing on the hard end of a summer sausage, he flipped back and forth between the State of the Union Address and the basketball games on ESPN every time a standing ovation began.

He understood the world sometimes must laugh at itself. During a touching moment in which an Iraqi woman hugged the mother of a slain Marine, he noticed the dogtags of the deceaded freedom-fighter. He thought to himself, "She'd better be careful not to get that caught on the Iraqi woman." Sure enough, once the embrace ended, the two were still united, with that dogtag literally bonding them together.

He also thought about how mocking the State of the Union Address could be fun in everyday life. Tomorrow he'll join his coworkers at a meeting in the newspaper's newsroom. He intends to incite his coworkers to stand up to interrupt the editor's speech occasionally.

It's with great pride that I present to you the State of the Man Address for 2005. May man continue to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of a significant other.