"I think it's time to LEAVE."

Wow; it's like spring out there this morning. I mean, birds everywhere making noise, not just winter birds; warm enough to run without a full-on cold-induced asthma attack; just feels like spring. For years I've celebrated quietly Imbolc or Candlemas, which most of us know as Groundhog Day, and is the midway point between winter solstice and spring equinox. But even though the day reminds me that the sun is on its return path, I still have considered right up until March pretty much the Dead of Winter. Then, in Soil Basics class at the beginning of this month our prof talked about how little signs of life will begin to show, even in February, if a person is paying attention: skunks come out, prairie dogs, animals we normally don't associate with winter. And now that I'm paying attention, it's not just the warmer weather we're getting, but life is returning. Nice!

Just had to say that pretty little bit before getting into the hard stuff.

Once my FFL Tammy and I, while undergrads, were dressed as Renuzit Doozits for Halloween. We were having a really good time, so good that we were late for late night at Lambda Chi, and when we showed up the brothers were shooing people out the door. Since we weren't allowed in the door, T and I decided to climb in the windows. I don't remember who bagged us as we were crawling in, but he told us that even we couldn't stay. Tammy looked at me and said in her high-pitched little voice with the Texas twang, "I think it's time to leave."

From that night on, whenever we were out and got a little too buzzed or it got late and we were tired or bored, we would seek each other out and say, "I think it's time to leave."

I don't know about being buzzed or bored, but I suspect there are plenty of people in Iraq, American soldiers, who are tired. Tired of the whole shebang. And after yesterday, I would like to say adamantly, that I THINK IT'S TIME TO LEAVE. I mean, just haul ass out. Sorry, peeps; I know we started this mess to some degree- or at least our friends in the Bush Administration- but why do we have to stick around and let "known rogue police" officers kill our men and women? What? Do those guys in Mosul think they're in LA or Detroit or something?

Let's get the hell out. NOW. Everyone.