RIP Troy Davis

They know not what they do. 

And the great but not quite as great pumpkin that my husband grew

This one weighed in at 650.5 lbs. Not bad for his first time, I guess. He's hoping it lands him in the top 20 at the Durham (CT) Fair this weekend.

The Great Pumpkin lives at the Durham Fair

A new CT state record, weighing in
at a whopping 1,487.5 lbs.
(PHOTO: digitalamber.net)

Size matters: Grower Ken Desrosiers
of Broad Brook at the weigh-in
tonight in Durham, CT
(PHOTO: digitalamber.net)

Never in my wildest weirdest dreams did I ever see myself attending a giant pumpkin weigh-in. Yet there I was on the grounds of the Durham Fair, watching pumpkins and their people. These folks are intense!

Rejection emails and other forms of humiliation

I take rejection way too personally. My stomach clenches. My back tenses. My cheeks flush. My jaw tightens. 


People have spent a lifetime (mine) telling me not to take it personally. If only it was that easy. I can't even pinpoint exactly why these physical sensations take over at the most inopportune times, but they do. 


That said, here is my latest rejection email. This was for an organization with which I had a 20-minute phone interview yesterday: 

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with <communications consultant> and me yesterday about your prior experiences and interest in (our organization).  After a thorough review of your past experiences and preparation and a reflection on our phone call, we have decided to zone in on applicants that better suit our needs.

We thank you for thinking of us and hope that our paths will cross again. Best wishes in your future endeavors.

This was a tough one, as it indicates to me that my phone interview could have gone better. So, tell me - are you looking for someone who knows Connecticut media? I'm your person, despite hemming and hawing my way through the answer to that question. Honestly, if you gave me a chance, I'd be able to meet your needs better than any candidate on your list. 


Here's another one from an institution of higher learning:

We wanted to let you know that the search process for this position recently concluded.  We were very fortunate to find an applicant who comes with the exact experience for which we were optimally looking.

Why does it seem as though a few sentences are missing from this email?  Like "and that applicant isn't you! HAHAHAHA!!!"


Dang, I hate rejection. 

Death is so...final.

A man who could very well be innocent of murder is just hours being put to death by the State of Georgia.

Troy Davis is accused of killing a Savannah police officer in 1989. Unanswered questions surround the case, raising doubts about Mr. Davis's guilt.

Much of the case rests on the eye witness testimony of nine witnesses, seven of whom have recanted their original testimony. Yet tonight the Georgia Board of Pardons refuses to stay Mr. Davis's execution. 

For a moment set aside the usual anti-death penalty arguments: the fact that murder is barbaric, that the United States is just one of two Western countries (along with Belarus) that continue using capital punishment, that the death penalty is disproportionately kills African American and Latino men (which, under any other circumstance, would be considered a public health issue).

The fact remains that the circumstances surrounding this particular case leave way too much doubt in the minds of most thinking people to proceed with his execution.

The NY Times makes the argument eloquently.

Have we become just a mob?

Joshua Komisarjevsky

Today begins the trial for Joshua Komisarjevsky, the second defendant in the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Haley and Michaela, of Cheshire, Connecticut.

Another man, co-defendant Steven Hayes, sits on Connecticut's death row for his role in the crimes committed against this family over a six-hour period in July 2007.

And a mob mentality seems to have taken hold of the public.

People are angry, and rightfully so. What occurred that warm, rainy summer's night reminds each of us that we remain vulnerable to stranger violence even while tucked snug in our beds in our homes. Though the chances of such an attack actually happening to any one household are quite remote in this country, what happened to the Petits hit way too close for many, both emotionally and geographically. Some would rather get this nightmare over with by dispensing with due process and invoking mob justice.

The complex emotional reaction of the public at large can seemingly be summed up by a New Testament paraphrase: crucify them.  Some have even suggested in print (usually in post-news article rants) that a trial is not required and they these men deserve to be taken out and ________________ (insert preferred violent method of killing here). They are deadly serious, their judgement clouded chiefly by anger and a sense of "there but by the grace of God go I."

Have we forgotten that the United States is a nation of laws and processes? Simply put, due process is about fairness. It's about preventing the wrongful conviction of the innocent. It's about the scales of justice being blind and balanced and rendering judgement only after all of the evidence is presented before a jury of our peers.

Our forefathers were so passionate about due process that they put it into the Constitution in Amendments 5 AND 14. It is strongly support by case law. In the U. S., we don't throw 200-plus years of case law just to satisfy the human need for revenge. Leave that to the world's dictators.

It is a process designed to protect the innocent from being wrongly accused and convicted.  Defending Joshua Komisarjevsky will not be an easy task. He and Hayes rank high among the most despised men in Connecticut history.

L to R: Jeremiah Donovan, Todd A. Bussert and
Walter C. Bansley, III. (PHOTO CREDIT: Bettina
Hansen, Hartford Courant)

Therefore, I must express my admiration for his defense team of Jeremiah Donovan, Todd A. Bussert and Walter C. Bansley, III. Despite overwhelming odds and vehement public sentiment against this defendant, they have taken on the monumental (and likely futile) task of giving him the best possible defense. I don't always agree with their legal tactics, but they are to be praised for endangering both their practices and their lives in the name of a bigger ideal: a fair and accessible justice system.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

My son fancies himself a younger version of the obsessively compulsive clean and orderly, afraid of change, title character from the TV show Monk, played by actor Tony Shalhoub.  Nate wears essentially the same outfit every day: a black (sometime grey, but only if all the black ones are in the wash) t-shirt, jeans, sneakers and, if required by the weather, an unbuttoned flannel or wool shirt.

Having started painting the main rooms in our home last spring, he has been quite vocal about the change in color. It's been the same since before he his birth nearly 16 years ago and Nate likes structure and order. So what if the walls had food stains,  pencil and crayon markings, dirt, peeling paint and wallpaper. With two rooms complete, he still makes his displeasure known.

Today's minor home project is to install a new toilet seat in our full bathroom upstairs. Nate spotted me, and when informed of my intentions stated:

"Mom, you're heartless."

He immediately went into that bathroom just ahead of me to take a shower. And, presumably, say good bye to the old toilet seat.

And no, son, you cannot have the old one after I install the new one.

<sigh>