I'd like to announce....

my candidacy for the SD House of Representatives, District 25. I took out my nominating petition from the Secretary of State in Pierre last Thursday. This is something I've thought about for years, but always talked myself out of. Now, with the encouragement of Lt. Governor Daugaard and others, I'm commited. We all promised Wyatt we would push the boundries of our safe little worlds, and I'm going to keep my promise. I know I can make myself a better person while giving the people of District 25 the voice in Pierre they need, want and deserve. The last line of the Jaycee creed keeps playing in my head, "....and service to humanity is the BEST WORK IN LIFE!" Now I
'll do my best to live up to that motto, and more. Wish me luck, and thanks in advance for your support.

Love is in the air- NOT

I'm sure everybody knows tomorrow is Valentines Day, if you don't, consider this a gift. I just saved your bacon. But seriously, the ads pimping everything from teddy bears to roses are everywhere. So, the other night I'm going through my nightly ritual of going to bed at midnight then waking up at 3:45 and not being able to sleep. So I go sit in the recliner and channel surf, maybe fall back asleep, maybe not. There are a lot of strange commercials on late night tv. This particular spot I refer to was sponsored by love@aol.com. The gist of ad was this- if you can't find love, maybe it's not you. Maybe it's the city you live in. Here are the top 10 cities to live in, in order, for the ultimate in hook-up-ability......
1- Atlanta
2- LA
3- Houston
4- Detroit
5- Dallas
6- Orlando
7- Philly
8- San Francisco
9- Denver
10- Boston

Now the thing that really caught my eye- it also listed the worst cities to find a mate. You are all aware of where my 2 oldest daughters reside, right? Well, here are the worst-
1- Washington, DC
2- Minneapolis/St. Paul

I guess that answers that question and a few more I had.

Peace Corps Volunteer

I checked the fallen Peace Corps Volunteer site today. I couldn't believe my eyes. Another volunteer died. Her name is Tessa Horan, she died on February 1st. She was sworn in sometime in January and had been on site since November in Tongo. She was 24, the same as Wyatt. I feel overwhelmed for her family. She has 2 younger brothers and a sister. I know what they are going through. You can see her website at www.tessahoran.com. My heart goes out to them. Now it is my turn to reach out like so many did to us.

Finally, some peace

If you've been following Ginger's blog, you know that straight answers as to what actually transpired the night of Wyatt's death have been few and far between. Non-existent, actually. What we do know has been the result of our own inquiries, for the most part. The part that was torturing us the most was; did Wyatt suffer? And could he have been saved had something been done immediately? Jeannie asked Dr. Shawn Culey to come to the house and interpet the autopsy report. Dr. Culey is the local doctor who came to the house to be with us the night of Wyatt's death, and one of the kindest, patient, compassionate human beings I've ever met. With his help, we learned that Wyatt couldn't have survived his internal injuries, even had help been close at hand. I will not repeat, out of respect to Wyatt, the summary of his injuries. Suffice it to say that he didn't suffer. And for that we are grateful.