I had faith, too, that something would bring him down enough to reflect back rightly. But ever since I watched Syriana and saw how removed these people are from real life, I've lost faith. He'd feel he was a martyr if it got that bad, but most probably (NO NO NO, she shouts, and maybe we still can stop this) he'll just go back to that Texas ranch. (But I'll hope something is chewing, chewing at his soul.)

Happy Birthday to your Mom! You have a lovely family. Hope you all enjoy the day, week, year ...

And are you saying up there that your grandparents not only went to college but to graduate school? Do you know how unusual that is? (Well, I know yours are much younger than mine were -- one of mine came over from Belgium shortly after my dad was born; the other was born of someone who came over from Ireland.) But even my parents generation rarely went to college. Fascinating. What degrees did they pursue?