Pants On The Ground

Boys! What can you do with them? I always knew God was going to give me boys and I was right. Now that I have 2 of them, I am forever amazed, amused and aghast at their antics. Recently, we had the pleasure of experiencing one of the many rights of passage of boyhood in our home. Stitches!

Allow me to digress just a bit. My Honey, in all his wisdom, decided that a nice, shiny, new pocket knife would be a GREAT Christmas gift for each of the boys. The boys, of course, were ecstatic to receive such a "grown up" gift. After the knives had been opened and thoroughly inspected, we explained to the boys that while the knives were theirs, they were not to get them out or use them without supervision. We had every intention of spending some time discussing proper handling of knives and knife usage but had not yet gotten around to it. On January 18th, we discovered just what a mistake that was. Apparently, knowing those knives were so close at hand and not having had the opportunity to use them proved too much for my little munchkins.

That morning, during a stop at WallyWorld, Muffin Man had used a bit of his Christmas money to buy himself a new Bionicle. It was around 3:30 P.M. when I finally told him that when all his things were picked up and his chores were complete he could open it. I headed into my bedroom to change clothes and freshen up for a job interview I had scheduled for 4:30. I had started curling my hair and partially undressed when suddenly, from the opposite end of the house, came "The Scream." You Moms know what I'm talking about. It wasn't the scream of joy that should have come from opening a new toy. It wasn't the scream of "Leave me alone! It's mine!" that comes when his big brother tries to take over the new toy before it is even out of the box. No, this was the pure scream of terror and it was coming in stereo, from both of my boys!

Dropping everything, I sprinted to the opposite end of the house only to find Muffin Man, with his hands cupped and FULL of blood, more blood streaming down his arms and dripping onto the carpet, (Did I mention we just got new carpet?) blood sprayed on the furniture, and bedspread, blood everywhere! There was so much blood I was not even able to see where it was coming from. I quickly grabbed him and pulled him into the kitchen where I had him lay down and then I just started squeezing his hand with both of mine in an attempt to stop the bleeding. I told Little Man to call 911. Both of the boys were hysterical! Little Man was so upset that he couldn't get the call completed. He kept accidentally hanging up. Muffin Man was crying hysterically and alternately screaming "Dad's going to Kill me!", "I ruined your new carpet!" and "My thumb is gooooone!". Needless to say the scene was chaotic. I was struggling to get both of them to calm down and failing miserably. Little Man eventually got through to 911 and immediately started screaming again. I finally got him to hold the phone to my ear and I was able to let the dispatcher know what was going on and that we would need the paramedics. After a few moments discussion with her, she said to me, " the paramedics are only a few blocks away and should be there any moment."

It was at this moment that I came to my senses and realized that I was not dressed! Remember, I had been in my room changing clothes for an interview when all hell broke loose. So here I am, squatting, in nothing but my granny pants and a small camisole, covered in blood, and unable to let loose of my son's hand! Can we say AWKWARD? I calmly explained to the dispatcher that I was unwilling to have 8 firemen, most likely in their mid 20's and good looking, walk into my house and see me in all my glory half dressed on the kitchen floor. I told her that I would need to put the phone down for a moment while I had Little Man help me get my pants on. And that is just what I did. Let me tell you, we were just in time! As Little Man pulled my pants up, the fire engine drove up to the front of my house! WHEW! Disaster averted! Thirty seconds sooner and I would have been caught with my pants on the ground! NOT a pretty sight!

Once the fire department arrived, I was able to allow them to take over Muffin Man's care and I was able to finish dressing and call My Honey and let him know to meet us at the hospital. My Mom and Dad came over and my Mom drove with us to the hospital while my Dad took Little Man to their house. In the end, Muffin Man got 8 stitches around the base of his thumb and we were told that he was VERY lucky that the tendon was not involved. The cut was literally right up to it but did not involve it. YIKES!

So in the end, all is well that ends well. Muffin Man's hand has healed wonderfully and he has full use of it once again. Both of the boys learned a very valuable lesson and we all have a new found, healthy, respect for knives. There was more than enough guilt to go around. My Honey and I for ever having bought the knives in the first place. For not having spent the time teaching knife usage before then. For not putting the knives in a less accessible place. Muffin man for using the knife even though he knew he wasn't supposed to. For getting blood all over our new carpet. (P.S. Stain Master treatments really are worth the extra money!)Little Man for encouraging his little brother to use the knife in the first place. (We found this out later!) For doing what he knew better than to do resulting in a really scary situation. There were other lessons learned that day. My boys learned the importance of staying calm and quickly reacting in an emergency. They learned about putting pressure on a would and how freaking out only makes getting otherwise simple tasks, like dialing a phone, nearly impossible.

I can now look back at the whole ordeal and laugh but I really have no desire to repeat any of it any time soon. I know injuries are pretty much inevitable but I hope it is a good long time before we have to face another. And I hope to never again have to face the possibility of 8 firemen walking into my house and finding me with my pants on the ground.

Below is one of the photos of the wound. It is not for the faint of heart. Enjoy!

Judge William Young and the Shoe Bomber Sentencing

I received this in an email. I am not sure who wrote it but it bears sharing with everyone who lives in this great land we call America, The Land of the Free!!! We need more judges like Judge William Young. May God Bless America!



Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and
tried to light it?

Did you know his trial is over?

Did you know he was sentenced?

Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments on TV or Radio?

Didn't think so.!!!

Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.

Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to
say. His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record,
Reid also admitted his 'allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the
religion of Allah,' defiantly stating, 'I think I will not apologize for my
actions,' and told the court 'I am at war with your country.'

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid.

Judge Young: 'Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court
imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the
custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4and 7, the
Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on
each count to run consecutively. (That's 80 years.)

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years again, to be
served consecutively to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon
you for each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 that's an aggregate fine
of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with
respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to
Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.

The Court imposes upon you an $800 special assessment. The Court imposes
upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it.
But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and
just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.

Now, let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your
terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been
through the fire before. There is too much war talk here and I say that to
everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with
individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As
human beings, we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier
in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a
soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether the officers of government
do it or your attorney does it, or if you think you are a soldier, you are
not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We
do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We
hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow, but you
are not that big. You're no warrior. I've known warriors. You are a
terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted
murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you
first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the
press and the TV crews were, and he said: 'You're no big deal.'

You are no big deal.

What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys
have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to
grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led
you here to this courtroom today?

I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to
search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to
do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing? And, I have an
answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record,
it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate
our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we
choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we
individually choose. Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom.
It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize
individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom, so
that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly,
individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers
are striving so vigorously on your behalf, have filed appeals, will go on in
their representation of you before other judges.

We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we
treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake
though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to
preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The
world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. The day after
tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure.

Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America , the American
people will
gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual
justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States
through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence
on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather
to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine
our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America .
That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands
for freedom. And it always will.

Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.

So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on our TV sets? We need
more judges like Judge Young. Pass this around. Everyone should and needs
to hear what this fine judge had to say. Powerful words that strike home.