NUTTIN T' SAY

Ed is out in Arizona. He and Aspen fly back Sunday. Aspen and I will be back to the regular school year routine within a week. Ed, it seems, will be living with his grandfather for the remainder of the schoolyear. That will be quite a drive for him to get his grandson to and from school every day. I was not at all a part of the conversations that took place between Ed, his grandfather, his mother and her latest husband as far as Ed's living situation. Whose decision it was that he remain out here I can not say. If I'm allowed to speculate... His mother and her current husband (father of her 4th child) wanted Ed to come out for x-mas because he was Aspen's chaperone for the return flight (I don't want Aspen traveling by herself). They bought the tix to coordinate about a month ago. They are presuming that he won't willingly get on a flight back to Arizona to 'live' out there after his court date here on the 9th. Maybe they asked him, maybe they didn't even bother. At any rate, I'm not sure why he would have been given a choice. He could have had no option once he arrived in Arizona. Of course, that would have meant that his mother and husband #5 would have had to shell out another K or so for coordinating plane tix to get Aspen home. Conventional thinking is that that is what dictated the outcome of events regarding where Ed is living now. Money. As it so happens, while it is grossly unfair and irresponsible of his mother to have her father raising her son, I have no doubts that he will be far more committed to providing the supervision Ed needs to stay out of trouble. He and I have shared ideas on how to best provide a stable and structured environment for the misguided and discarded youth. It's just a matter of how willing he is to work within the rules this time. I may be foolish, but I remain optimistic. Then again, I always remain optimistic that his mother will finally get caught up on support payments too and that hasn't got me anywheres. In other news: I spent the holidays in complete isolation. I went out only to go biking or to get groceries. I watched football and finally finished 'God is not Great' by Christopher Hitchens. While he is completely biased in his oppinion about faith and religion, so are all the churches of the world. So, tit for tat. I suggest that everyone who holds a belief in God read this book if for nothing else to get a clearer idea of how exactly our history and current state of the world have been shaped by the various religions of the world. I haven't decided what book I will delve into next. If you care to suggest something I'm all ears(and any religious lurker out there who suggests The Bible... I have read it in full twice and the gospels themselves many more times but thanks). Tonight I think I shall go see Juno before watching The Pats cheat their way into history. See you all next year. Oh yeah, still thinking about a challenging and worthwhile new years resolution.