Popping my head up out of my hole . . .

I owe a lot of people apologies for this weekend.

I wound up picking up a number of assignments for the local paper and never made it down to Roses or out to Panteria (not that I thought I would get there anyway).

Alethea also wound up with an event-free weekend, and neither of us had the aforethought to tell our friends.

If you were looking for me this weekend, I am sorry.

I do not expect I will be at an SCA event until Northern Region War Camp, although Alethea will be at Vinland Raids.

The paper I write for has gone to an annoying tactic and does not post all of its stories on the web. This is coupled with the rise in price of the paper to $1 and is to encourage subscriptions.

But the one story I was most proud of did make it up, and considering it was cut in the print edition, I was pleased.

I was especially happy, because I felt it was solid, and the head editor is on the board of directors of the historical cottage I wrote about.

(Please note, if you see a typo or an error, I don't want to know). I was also doing a lot of sports events last week.

This week, you ask?

I am on the Elvis Fest beat.The city editor has decided it would be a good idea to have a single person cover Elvis Fest in Lake George, and I am the guy. Ernie: I am probably going to get to do some Americade stories the following weekend.

I also covered a folk festival and two Memorial Day ceremonies this weekend. The ceremonies have me a lot of food for thought.

I miss youse guys!

Don't tell me that . . . (a political observation)

As you might expect, I was happy to see the House of Representatives' vote on Don't Ask. Don't Tell, and I sent my Congressman a letter thanking him. I checked out all the Congressfolks I know, and they all voted what I considered the "right" way.

Yesterday, at a ceremony at the local Vietnam veterans' memorial, I met his opponent, a really sharp guy who is a returned colonel from the 82nd Airborne, a bonafide hero and holds a doctorate in government.

So, after I interviewed him, I asked him, off the record, as a constituent, what he thought about the vote.

He peed on my leg and told me it was raining. Well, figuratively.

He told me he thought the vote was political (I agreed), and he told me that the repeal would hurt readiness.

He also made it pretty clear that since I had never been in the service, I could not understand the concept of gang showers. (I did tell him a lived in a fraternity when we figured out he had served with my frat brother Buffy).

He pointed me to an Army Times poll that said 58 percent of soldiers polled would be "uncomfortable" showering with a soldier they knew was guy. He talked about the need for "separate facilities." Yes, "separate but equal" rears its ugly head. I get the sense that since those who oppose gays in the military know they've lost, they are going to dig in their heels and delay."

First of all, if I were actively Gay or bisexual, and someone said "I am not comfortable with showering with you," my immediate response would be "Dude, you so flatter yourself. You are not my type."

It got me to thinking though. I bet more than 58 percent of soldiers are "uncomfortable" sleeping on rocky ground in the rain, or getting shot at or being away from their families.

I also bet more than a few of them have had their lives saved by the guys they are supposedly "uncomfortable" showering with.

I see citing that survey as a crock of horseshit. I see the idea of "separate facilities as horseshit. I see the concern about readiness as "horseshit."

No, I have never served in the military, but I an an expert on horseshit. I know it when I see it.

His attitude? FUBAR.