Disability and Veepstakes

Two quick things here as the days winds to a close (which I frequently find myself being awake for) .

Earlier tonight, as I sat in a popular restaurant eating with my family, I saw a couple pass by the window. Before they even walked in, I knew they were different. As the door opened, I saw that the man was wearing sunglasses, had a cane and service dog. Blind, of course. The waitress sat them down a ways beyond my section of the restaurant. Right in front of us, a decently-sized group was eating. They had two small children. Those two kids, a boy and girl, had their own small booth within arm's reach. They were, as any young child would be, fascinated by the service dog. So as the blind man and his girlfriend/wife sat at their booth, the mother had to explain why the dog was there. Now this situation on the awkward meter is about a lowly 4, because most people know what the dog is for. Though obviously the children must find out somehow, and no doubt the man with 4 senses heard every bit of the explanation he's heard countless times.

Now I'm not pitying the man. He is not incapable of providing for himself. But it put into perspective how different people live. Even eating a cheeseburger (which he was doing with a smile) can be difficult at first. And sometimes I forget that, with my semi-dramatic life where the outskirts of the universe extend to about a 3-mile radius.

Oh where oh where is the cynicism? Here it is.

Veepstakes! Just fandamntastic. As if the word wasn't annoying enough (Fox promised not to use it, but proceeded to do so for 3 hours), it's the only thing newscasters will talk about. Now I get that their jobs depend on having something just the least bit interesting dribble out of their mouths, but at least it could be something fun. CNN and Fox, with their inability to touch the Olympics, could've scoured the interwebz to find something fun and heartwarming.

But no.

What we get is 2 days of predictions about who will be the VPs. Endless "experts" with nothing better to do.

It's even worse when you're driving four hours in the car at night, and the only programming on your XM radio is drabbling newscasters, french pop, football discussion, and pathetic Rodney Dangerfield comedy.

My only request is that they find something that is meaningless, but DIFFERENT. Otherwise they can just put on the news ticker, "WE HAVE RUN OUT OF NEWS.......THIS IS THE PART WHERE YOU TURN THE CHANNEL....."