a tacky ad

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Senator John Kerry thinks this is how you get to the K-Mart:

Kerry: You turn left at the light, go straight about six blocks, then left on Main, left again at Fourth, and it's on the corner.

Left! Right! Straight! Which is it, Senator Kerry? Isn't it time we had a direct answer, instead of flip flopping? President George Bush has a better answer:

Bush: You just tell the guy to take you to K-Mart. Let me finish here! What's the big deal with this?

John Kerry: Left, right, left! George Bush: Right on Main, Right on Fourth, Right on Everything!

Bush: I'm George Bush. Let me finish! Let me fi-i-inish!!

Paid for by other people's blood.
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fire people

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The big outing today was to the Hampton carousel, which Sarah enjoys very much. I wonder what happened to the other carousel in Newport News, that was in the mall we used to go to. I imagine I've ridden the carousel more times in the past couple of months than in the rest of my life to date. On the way down, though, we stopped off at the Newport News Library on Main Street. It's right by the Fire Station, so Cathy and I took Sarah past the station on our way in and waved to the friendly fire people. One of them, Johnny, quickly escalated the situation and offered Sarah a chance to sit in one of the engines. We got so far as having Cathy sit in the driver's seat, then brought Sarah up to stand on the top step. When Johnny took the camera, I moved next to them. The next second, an alarm sounded and voices began describing a 'situation,' so Johnny said we had to go and quickly snapped the shot and we went out to watch one engine and the ambulance depart with sirens and lights and friendly waves to Sarah. I set my camera for a movie and held off until I reckoned they were about to roll (my camera's movies are 33 seconds long) and was rewarded with the beginning lurch of motion in Second 32. The camera took its normal time to save the movie and I took another as the ambulance crossed the view, but I started to use the zoom and the battery quit.

We went in the library and on our way out we saw that all the vehicles were back in their places, so we went back by and Sarah got to take a tour of an engine and see the little apartment inside, which is at least half the size of her bedroom. I think I've been visually underestimating the size of fire trucks for a long time. Sarah was given a little fireman's helmet and a couple of stick-on fireman badges, and we also got to see the ambulance and take pictures with Sarah on the front platform of a truck.

Then it was off to the carousel, by way of a reluctant restroom break at Fort Fun. Two wooden pony rides around and around, and a stop at the British Market for some more crisps and beef pies. On the way home Cathy waits while I run out and ask at the Fire Station, and then the Library, to see if they have found Sarah's little back pack. Librarians provide the pack, which I wave at the firemen so they'll know we had a happy ending.
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