A Song for all those new Lucky Duckies out There

"Industrial Disease" - Dire Straits

More bleak jobless news and everything seems to point to a continuing decline in employment for the next few months at least.  So many new "Lucky Duckies" out there.  I would suggest that the Administration might consider an attack on the GOP along the lines of "your jobless . . .  and they don't care."  Not very bi-partisan, but at least it's got the whole truth thing going for it.

On a much happier note, I just saw this comment from our good friend low-tech cyclist, who had been uncharacteristically silent during recent events, despite especially egregious WaPo related items like the possible hiring of Bill Kristol.  Well it turns out he has an excuse -- here is his comment:

Mrs. LTC and I finally made it to Russia, and met the boy who will shortly be our son.

My political posting is really gonna go way down now. It's hard to think about politics when your head's full of the time you've just spent with the world's most adorable 18 month old boy.

So congratulations, best of luck, and safe travels to the entire low-tech cyclist clan.  May your son live only under Democratic administrations.   

 

Comments

[big bad wolf]

LTC, that's great, and so are you and the mrs.

you have your own blog, so your posting may go down. i bet you can still comment though; use my model, no forethought or spelling checks

[litbrit]

I send many good wishes and lots of love your way, LTC. How wonderful for you and your wife--a new baby! They have a way of changing every single thing in your life, by the way, as well as changing forever the way you see every single thing in your life. But I suspect you already know this.

Do keep us posted. Congratulations!

XXX
Deborah

[Corvus]

Congratulations, Low-Tech Cyclist!

[Voice o' Reason]

LTC, congrats! I would't mind a kid myself at some point; they look fun. (I've been practicing on cats for a couple of decades now, and think I've got most of the kinks worked out.) Seriously, you're doing a lovely thing for yourself, the missus, the lad, and the world. Mazel tov.

I always liked Mark Knopfler except for two things: The headband and the whole working-with-Sting thing. Still, Headband Rock is a necessary subset of Rock, and MK and Loverboy Guy are its two primary proponents.

[Sir Charles]

The headband is really unfortunate. I actually saw their very first American show in Boston (the Paradise again) in 1978 and am happy to say there was no headband.

He's a bit limited as a vocalist, but is a really exquisite songwriter. I don't think his skills as a lyricist are always given their due.

Lover Boy - Oy -- didn't they wear vinyl pants?

[big bad wolf]

one has to be very careful working with sting: he ended up with a writing credit (and thus large checks) for adding "i want my mtv" to the aptly named money for nothing

[kathy a.]

long-distance congrats to LTC and family!

[Voice o' Reason]

One also has to be careful about working with Sting because he's a flaming self-involved asshole with an ego the size of an endangered blue whale or some such.

Plus he calls himself "Sting."

[low-tech cyclist]

Thanks, all! My wife and I finally got back home last night, not quite 24 hours after the alarm clock woke us up in Moscow yesterday morning. We're tired but elated, and looking forward to bringing this adorable child back home in several weeks.

(We need to get a bunch more paperwork done, then there'll be a court date in Russia, then a 10-day waiting period, then some paperwork with the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, then finally home. Looks like it'll take 2 more trips to Russia by the time all is said and done. March seems realistic.)

The couple sitting behind us on the Moscow-Atlanta flight were bringing home two children that they'd adopted in Russia. One of the children was crying a lot, and I was thinking that, in several weeks, that could be us, trying to calm down a toddler on a crowded airplane, a child who we would still only be starting to really know, who would only be starting to learn to trust us.

And even once we're back home, we know he'll continue to surprise us in all sorts of ways. It'll take time, patience, and a lot of love, just to get to some sort of normal. He's going to turn our comfortable, predictable world upside down, and that's exactly what we've always wanted. Like the slogan goes, it's change we can believe in. :)

Deborah - yep, we're expecting that. And I'll be keeping the CogBlog crowd updated regularly.

VoR - we've been practicing on cats for quite awhile too, and I think there are a few lessons that carry over. Two that occur to me are: the best way to get love and affection from them is to give them lots of love and affection to begin with; and keep your set of rules pared down as much as possible, because they only mean something if you're ready to stand behind them all the time.

Thanks, Sir Charles, for boosting my personal note to the front page here. One of the great things about this blog is that it's very much a community, and this makes me feel very...supported, I guess would be the right word, in this endeavor.

And thanks, Corvus and kathy a., for your good wishes!

[Sir Charles]

l-t c,

Glad you and spouse made it home safely. If you are ever in need of assistance on this front shoot me an email. I've got a couple of good friends who are fluent Russian speakers, one of whom just finished a four year stint at the US embassy in Moscow. He probably knows his way around the sometimes capricious Russian system.

There are a huge number of Russian adoptees in the DC area, so there are a lot of people here who have had success with the process.

Keep us posted.

[low-tech cyclist]

big bad wolf - my blog's been basically inactive since November. I really was talking about commenting on others' blogs, and it's not just a matter of time.

I peeked in at the blogosphere a day or two ago, when the big debate seemed to be whether Obama got taken to the cleaners by the House GOP, or whether he was playing a deeper game. A worthwhile debate, but though I tried to convince myself to give a good goddamn, I failed abysmally.

So I expect that my comments on the issues of the day will be much more sparse than usual for several months at least. There's a little boy who my life is already starting to revolve around, even though it may be a couple of months before I can bring him home.

Sir Charles - I'll keep that in mind. Fortunately, the good folks at the adoption agency are fluent in both languages, including their people on the ground in Moscow and Samara whose first language is Russian, but who speak English excellently.

[big bad wolf]

ltc, i know what you mean. we were gone for two weeks over the holidays and again for 5 days over the mlk weekend, just hanging out with the kids. much as i love this site and a couple of others, i didn't miss the internet at all. playing in the snow, seeing how quickly a thing will freeze when it is -24 (wow, vermont can be cold), playing games, reading books, ordering pizza (and pizza and pizza) was deeply satisfying.

i've been on more in the past year or so for two reasons: my daughter learned to read, which she often prefers to all else (i can't say that i blame her) and her brother got big enough to be a good playmate. so, i watch more now, or listen, and thus can take a break to surf and add my little piece. and, in the long run, we help them by being informed and caring. but when they are little, we do much more for them and they for us jsut being with them.

enjoy it. i never wanted kids. i've learned i would trade everything else for them.

[Sir Charles]

bbw and ltc,

Despite all the grousing you'll hear, I am actually really enjoying my son's teenage years (if he just didn't have to go to school). We've go to soccer games and concerts together -- he is supposed to be figuring out if he can get tickets for us to see either the Pretenders of the English Beat on my birthday -- he downloads music for me, and we generally amuse one another. If he'd just stop using my razor -- sadly he got the heavy beard gene. (It's a very weird feeling the first time you hug your kid and you get whisker burns.)

Enjoy them, as the time goes rather quickly.

[low-tech cyclist]

Don't worry, my friend, I intend to enjoy every single moment as it happens.

That's cool about you and your son sharing music! Pretenders v. English Beat is a tough choice - I think the Pretenders have a stronger overall catalog, but "Save It For Later" is one of my all-time favorite songs.

[Sir Charles]

It's 9:30 Club versus the Birchmere too. Alas, I think the Pretenders are sold out, although you can usually snag tickets in front of 9:30. Have to see what the weather looks like next week.