My sister Mary Beth turned 18 today. It's really hard for me to believe in some ways, since I remember the day she was born clearly. But in others it's not that shocking, since she is smarter than many adults I know.
The funny thing about December 1, 1988 is that my parents decided not to find out ahead of time if the baby was a boy or a girl. That's almost unheard of anymore, but my parents were old-school about it. My Mom had given birth to three boys in her first three go-arounds (me, my late brother Samuel, and Matt), but this time the coin flip went the other way and Mary Beth was a girl. Surprise!
She and I are alike in many ways, and it's always fun to spend time with her. When Matt and I are both around, it can turn into a 2-on-1 battle of jokes, with Matt and I working in tandem pulling pranks on Mary Beth. But it's all in good fun. To be sure, we have our differences; I tend to be more entrepreneurial, while she has a work ethic toward school that I never came close to matching during my run. Though, when you break it all down, she and I have quite a bit in common.
One way we're different is that she doesn't see the appeal of sports, whereas I love athletics. College football is definitely part of that equation, and I'm looking forward to the championship games that will be on TV tomorrow. After that it's a lull (on the college scene, at least) until the big bowl games hit at the first of the year.
This was sent my way from a friend, and I thought I'd share it with you. It's of Keith Olbermann on MSNBC Countdown and, as usual, he is brilliantly on-target. Check out this video, which references the Newt Gingrich story that I mentioned yesterday and the troubling undertones that it contains. Olbermann makes some spot-on points:
