Sleepless in Midland

Drop off a baby, for good - the Baby Moses Program

The city of Midland has implemented a Baby Moses program with drop off stations at the hospital and fire stations.  Here's the news release:

A total of ten safe baby site signs have been placed at Midland fire stations and at Midland Memorial Hospital.  The yellow and black signs are placed where they can easily be seen.  Newborns, under 60 days, may be voluntarily delivered unharmed to Safe Baby Sites.  A parent giving up a baby may voluntarily disclose background and medical information, but the parent is not required to do so under the law.  Infants given over will receive evaluation and placement in a permanent loving home where the child’s future is unlimited.

Baby Moses was adopted nationally in 1999 to address an alarming increase in newborns being abandoned. Texas was the first state to adopt the Baby Moses Project.  The mission of the project is to publicize a confidential and safe alternative to newborn abandonment.

The name Baby Moses was chosen because in addition to being placed in a basket, Moses was also carefully watched over by an anonymous protector until he was safely placed in the arms of a person who could provide the love and care necessary for life.  Similarly, those involved with this project, and the implementation of abandonment legislation, want to provide a protector for newborns.

Too bad they have to be under 60 days old.  A more appropriate cut off age might be 18 years old.

The World is Their Stage

Local theater goers are in for a treat this week as the  Midland Community Theatre presents the 2006 AACT International Theatrefest with plays from all over the globe.

Theater groups from nine or ten countries are in town for the fest, and they will perform plays Thursday though Saturday at the MCT.  Many of the plays will be performed in a language preferred by the country of origin, which in most cases won't be English.  That needn't deter mono linguists, though, as the producers are aware that most of the audience won't speak the language and have selected plays with a universal appeal and which should be easy to enjoy inspire of the language.

Tuesday night there was a reception for the guests at the MCT lobby with free food and booze.  And  a good time was had by all who attended in spite of the need to adhere to the mesh mash of American laws:  you can't smoke inside, you can't drink outside.  C'est la vie.

And here's an amateur people watcher's opinion:  the group from Studio de Monaco likes to have a good time.   And I would venture to bet that their play Thursday night will be quite good with the expressive and entertaining Jerry Cellario acting and directing.  Here's what the website has to say:

“The’ ‘a la Menth ou t’es Citron?”  By Patrick Haudecoeur.

A company of outdated amateurs, including a ham actor, an inveterate worrier, a fake star on the comeback, a sour-tempered technician and the son of the producer (who never performed in his life before!) in the role of the leading man are laboriously rehearsing a boulevard comedy. With three days from the opening night, there is much still to be arranged. Presented at the Mondial du Theatre in Monaco in July 2005.

The play's in French.  You know, that's the language that puts the “r” in the wrong place in “theater,” among other things.

Break a jambe, y'all.

Toyota Trucks -- Ranked number one by the Taliban!

No rational person would want to use the Taliban as a product endorser.  But Toyota truck owners probably felt a little bit of guilty pride after 9/11/01 when that video of Toyota trucks bouncing over those rocky Afghan roads was played over and over on our tv screens.  But those trucks just kept on trucking.

My old 4Runner has been a great vehicle, and it's not even 20 years old yet.  But, things do go wrong.  There's the normal wear and tear, but some things just don't age as well as others -- rubber gets hard, plastic gets brittle.   And parts are difficult to find.  So a simple thing like a pin sized hole in an air conditioner hose can end up costing a bit to get that cool air blowing again.

Keeping the 4Runner running -

Here's a tip of the hat to Xavier Carrillo at Carrillo's Automotive.  He's not only a nice fellow, but he's a heck of a mechanic.  He has been tremendous help in keeping the old 4Runner running.  And I appreciate the way he took it in last week even though he was trying to finish up all the current business and take off for a vacation.  But, I have this nagging suspicion that when he saw me pull up he might have called his wife and said “Upgrade to first class!”  Just kidding, he's got lots of loyal customers  who keep him and his staff busy all the time.

There's bound to be a way to take out the sentimentality and calculate when it's time to sell an old car.   But that sentimentality is a hard thing to discount.   By golly, the old thing has served me well over the years, and it's going to be difficult to let go of it.  It's durable old boat, the repairs notwithstanding.   Aw shucks, I think I'll keep the old thing around a while longer.  And I'm sure Mr. Carrillo will appreciate that.

4th of July quiz

Here’s a short Independence Daze history quiz to test your fourth of July knowledge.  I scored 7 of 10, but hopefully you’ll do better.