And it's Blogger by a nose!

As much as I HATE to admit it, Charlie was right. Blogger is far superior to Xanga. I mean, I get to have a parchment background and fancy quill-esque script! Xanga just offers me a few color choices. Sorry, X. Better luck next time. Maybe it's time for some new user options...

So it's Thursday for about 10 more minutes. My last Thursday in Denver. Sniff, sniff. Man, I love it out here. Can anyone visit Denver and not want to live here? And if so, who are you people? I love the neighborhoods, the green space--swing a cat and you'll hit 10 parks, it seems--and the weather. My skin/hair is not looking forward to stepping back into August Atlanta humidity, even if it is temporary.

But what I realized today as I drove down I-25 to CO Springs was that, despite all the effort put into beautifying the area and its public spaces, it seems that no money goes toward road maintenance. None. Zero. I felt like I was driving on tires made of rocks. There's a trade-off, I thought, as I clumped my way down the highway. I can't tell you how much my soul is pleased by the parks. I love all the public art. But right now I'm a visitor. I don't drive these roads everyday to work. Who is deciding that all this tax money should go to build a 30-foot bear statue peering in the glass walls of the Denver Performing Arts Center? I can picture the council meeting now: "So we've got a stretch of highway that is in dire need of repairs. We've received 24 calls today alone complaining that it's like driving on tires made of rocks." "Hmmm...right. Well, we'll get to that. Perhaps next April? But now we have a pressing issue. I've got a guy who can make a 45-foot tall bear sculpture that we can place in front of the new Arts Center." "What? That's ridiculous! You can't be serious." "What do you...oh, I guess you're right. 30 feet tall is plenty." And there you have it, folks--your tax money hard at work. Just remember--the Flintstones drove on tires made of rocks and look how well it worked for them.

Doot doot. Do do doot doot. Do do doodoodoodoo do do doooooo...."WILMA!!!!!"