September 28, 2001 - Mary Ann and I just got back from Eastern Washington today. We had a lot of fun camping just outside of Moses Lake. Although it was sunny, the weather wasn't as warm as we would have liked. It was in the 60's, windy, and rather chilly at night. The RV Resort was nice. We spent a lot of time walking, playing pool in their recreation room, hot tubbing, and just sitting around reading to each other and playing games. We were both ready to come home, but regretted having to come back to reality.

September 24, 2001 - With all that has happened to our country and us over the past few weeks, it has been hard to find the time to write on this page. I am now working my new schedule at work - every Saturday, Sunday, and Monday - and Mary Ann has this week off, so we are going camping. It looks like the coast is going to be wet, so we're heading to the desert in Eastern Washington to enjoy a little more hot weather until we hunker down for fall. Heather will be staying at her friend Tiffany's house while we're gone. We've been needing some time to ourselves and are looking forward to some down time.

September 14, 2001 - With the events of the past week, I feel pretty solemn today as I watch the ceremonies being played out in the USA, Canada, and Britain on TV. I was choked up as I watched the president rally the rescue workers; as I heard the national anthem being sung by those that gathered in the Royal Cathedral in England; as I saw not just a nation, but the western world deeply saddened by these happenings. I was also disgusted by the news of a Muslim mosque almost being burned by arson; a cab driver accused of being a terrorist and assaulted; a Christian women of Arab descent, whose lived in the United States 30 years, receiving menacing phone calls; an Indian couple joining with the mourners at Westlake Plaza only to be ridiculed and harassed; all these events occurring here in Seattle. Hatred spawned by prejudism of faith and racism. The history of racism in this country has deep roots and I always liked to think that my generation would help turn the corner. It is hard to see racist use the opportunity to come out of their holes and feel they can justify their actions of hatred and think that they would receive support from those descent citizens around them. It is an excuse to demonstrate blind hatred for a group, to blame them for the actions of a few, and to dehumanize them so as to terrorize and harm them in a guilt-free manner. A behavior not unlike Osama Bin Laden's. Osama Bin Laden and his followers are a strain of militant Islam that have been festering in the Muslim world for 30 years. They have both a theological and cultural agenda. They think that the Muslim world is being poisoned by infidels. The infidels must be driven out of the Muslim world by a jihad, and strict Islamic rule must be established everywhere that Muslims live. During the Gulf war, Saudi Arabia had hosted the American and Allied forces - had allowed infidels to set foot on and defile the most holy lands of the Islamic faith. From that time, Bin Laden had made the United States his enemy. It is a hatred for what the United States is: a melting pot of peoples and cultures, a society of diversity, prosperity and freedom, and a foreign policy that is directed to help other countries in the world achieve the same diversity and freedoms. You could not find any society that could be more polar and threatening to these terrorist. So they develop a hatred for our country and, therefore, of us. We are nothing more than infidels - less than human - and instruments for our government, culture and society. They believe it is okay to hate us, to harm and terrorize us, and that they would be rewarded in heaven for such a deep hatred. It is a sick and twisted belief. A god that would reward you for mass murder of the innocent? They call the United States the "Great Satan", but I would have to believe that if there be God and Satan, these bastards are not going to be rewarded with heaven, but with hell. Let us hope that Bin Laden will get his wish to be a martyr very soon.

September 10, 2001 - I had my first weekend of fantasy football and my team got STOMPED, 101-71. Busy weekend at work. We had a few sick calls and worked short for a few days, but I have the next 9 days off!!! I can't bear to sign up for overtime, but I'll be doing that when I get back to work. Mary Ann got a flat at work today. The tires are all have over 40,000 miles on them, so I'm biting the bullet and getting new tires tomorrow. The weather is looking pretty good for the week, so I'm going to try to get some chores done.

September 3, 2001 - We had a lot of fun with Dave and Nancy Saturday night. We went up and attended an Aqua Socks baseball game with them and it was fun just t spend time with them. Things are slowly coming together and Zephen starts school on Tuesday. Dave has been remodeling their back room for the boys and I plan to help out with the cost. I figure it will be about $600-1000, in addition to the $500/month we promised to give them. We've been cutting back on lots of stuff. I've gotten rid of the Daily newspaper, satellite TV, and one of the cell phones. I had planned to work on the yard, but that will be put on hold for a while. Come next month, I'm going to try to grind out a lot of overtime until we can put a hole in some of our debt. So far things are looking good with Zephen. I only hope the sacrifices we and the Kratovils are making will equate into a promising future for Zephen.

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