The Winter's Amusements are At Hand

   A walk is in order today. It's blue and bright, moderate temperatures.
   This is the first week after Labor Day. I accept and give thanks for the gift of this day, a jewel in the more uncertain weather that develops as the days grow shorter. It's inevitable that cold winds will come whipping through the field surrounding the house, shaking the snow from the evergreen boughs. Even though wisdom dictates sheltering one's self from the elements, we'll still have distractions to fill the days.
   The two big ones: the retrial of ex-Governor Blagojevich starting on January 4. But from now until March, we'll have the mayoral election in Chicago to observe.
    Yesterday, Richard Daley called a press conference detailing some cabinet changes. Thinking it a mundane housekeeping detail, very few reporters showed up. The ones who did had the privilege of witnessing history: Mayor Daley announced that he would not be seeking a seventh term of office. No reason given, just that he felt it was time.
      In that instance, a sure bet went out the window in a vortex of speculation. Whom would Chicago voters see on the ballot in March? Why was he so abruptly making the announcement?
      Three theories tossed about on the latter: 1. a plummeting approval rating; 2. his wife's health (Ms. Daley has been  reminding cancer of its proper place in the grand scheme since 2002, I think, but had to be treated for a bone lesion last spring); and 3. his father, the first Mayor Daley, died of a heart attack in his office on the fifth floor of City Hall. My two cents is a combination of those factors. But we'll never know for sure. He kept describing his decision as personal, and I'll respect that, hoping others will as well.
      As far as the former is concerned, get your scorecards ready. We're in for another round of Chicago civics.
     This winter will not be dull, certainly. But we will stay in this day, and we will take a walk.  

Still Waiting

    So we finally had a little movement in the Blagojevich trial--the jury sent a note to the judge. Did they have to be total accordance with each other on all the charges?
    No...
    So the mystery continues. Which charges they're deadlocked on, we don't know. Which ones are still shadowed with doubt, we don't know.
     I'm listening to WBBM, which I rarely do.  Since there's a status meeting scheduled for later this morning, I want to keep an ear peeled. Will this be the day a verdict is handed down? I don't know, but we will shortly.

We're Waiting

      Been a little negligent in my two cents on the Rod Blagojevich trial.
      Briefly recapping: jury's been out nine days. We wait. We wait. And wait some more.
      For some unstated reason, the defense chose not to present their case, and rested immediately after the prosecution did the same. In some logic that defies explanation, the defense chose to rest because the prosecution had made all the arguments for them.
       Meaning...what? Were they that scared that ex-Gov. B would make himself look like an even bigger doofus that the prosecution had made him seem? Or that to save some shred of dignity, perjury would have to be committed? Once it's disclosed that a governor hid in the bathroom to avoid the budget director, and that he'd spent $400,000 on clothes which sent him onto debt, hence the alleged attempts at soliciting bribes, it would be harder to make him look worse.
       So, some nine days later, we wait. Is the jury making sure that they have their ducks in a row before they return the verdict? Are they hung? Or are they listening to the tapes for what a friend of mine, a retired lawyer, calls "the yuck factor" and laughing hysterically?
       Stay tuned, Gentle Readers.

How To Tell if You Need A Break from News

From my dream journal 8/2/10.....I'm being interviewed by Katie Couric. She has tracked me down to interview me about Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial. In the dream, I'm one of his ex-girlfriends. There are flashbacks to pivotal points in our relationship. The dream ends with me in the Thompson Center (the state office building in downtown Chicago) and Rod following me into the ladies' room, begging me to believe in his innocence.

I studied Carl Jung in grad school. I've kept track of my dreams since then. It's been helpful, and have figured out what symbols correlate with which events in my life. But, please, can't I just have a dream about horses or rainbows and unicorns or mythology? Please?

"Blagojevich" is Serbian for "Toast"

    After 18 long months of the good ex-Gov. Blagojevich protesting his innocence, demanding his day in court, guess what? On advice of his lead council, it ain't gonna happen.
    The defense team stated that the Feds had proved all their points for them, making it unnecessary to put Rod on the stand. What points? That he was involved in a lot of horse trading? That he ran his face too much? Yeah. But one must ask if this decision wasn't to protect the defendant, especially after the tapes the jury heard.  How do you answer the question, "Would you please explain what you meant when you said, 'I have this thing and it's bleeping golden?'"
     How would he answer it, indeed. The jury's been regaled by profanity-laced diatribes all ready. Witnesses for the prosecution have told stories of Mr. B hiding in the bathroom to avoid meetings with the budget director. What could that trigger off in terms of a melt down? Looks as if we'll never know.
     Without any witnesses, the case goes to the jury on Monday. Stay tuned.