So here's the news for the day: my children drove me crazy at school; my teaching aid called out sick again; I went into the city by myself (first night trip alone ever) and picked up R.A. Salvatore's "The Lone Drow" which came out today; watched The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown on tv.

I'm really excited to see the movie Radio (Ed Harris; Cuba Gooding Jr.) that came out recently. It looks like such an incredible story, especially since it's based on an actual person, not a fictional character. I have an uncle who is handicapped and that seems to draw me to the movie for one reason or another. I learned a lot of my compassion through hearing stories of how people treated him growing up, and watching how people treat him to this day.

When my uncle was about a year and a half old, he contracted Eastern Equine Encephalitis. There have only been 200 reported cases in the nation since 1964. In severe cases, it causes swelling of the brain. This is what happened to my uncle and the swelling caused scar tissue to build up near the base of his spine, which damaged his brain. To this day, although he is 50 years old, he has the mentality of a 10 year old. His reflexes are much slower than the average person, making it impossible for him to drive (although he's attempted it more than once much to everyone's demise.) He also has very poor balance, but at the same time, he is ten times stronger than the average man.

At any rate, I'm looking forward to seeing the movie. I hope people can watch it and relate to the lessons being taught, as I learned so many important lessons from my uncle. (My little sister has seen it all ready, and claims it to be a wonderful movie, if you needed proof before you run to the theater. Go! Shoo! What are you waiting for?)