Another Namesake

The Deige recently entered a contest at a local unique hand-crafts store, Impulsive. These are not just your run-of-the-mill hand crafts like quilted pot-holders. The contest involved suggesting a name for the store's mascot, a large, brass frog. The frog, when the store is open, is setting on a bench in front of the store, reading a book. The prize, to the person whose suggested name is selected, is a $100 gift certificate from the store.

The day The Deige was there last month turned out to be the last day of the contest. The Deige, always resourceful, especially in the way of frog-naming, suggested my name (Jeremiah). As it turned out, the owner narrowed the names down to either five or 10, then ran them by the employees. Each time my name was mentioned, the staff broke into the lovely strains of "Joy to the World" (Three Dog Night version, obviously). Eventually, there was no option except to name the frog Jeremiah.

The gift certificate was used in short order.

Texas Suffering in the Hurricane Katrina Aftermath

As reported everywhere, but this specifically from the Chicago Tribune:

Mrs. Bush, after touring the Astrodome complex in Houston on Monday, said: "What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them." She commented during a radio interview with the American Public Media program "Marketplace."

I understand Mrs. Bush's plight. I'm just grateful that the refugees aren't coming to Virginia.