Where Are the Heroes?

Marion Jones admitted to doping last week. She's been stripped of all medals going back to, I think September 2001.

I liked Marion Jones. She seemed like a perfect role model for all sorts of athletes. She was likeable, successful, pretty, and well-spoken, and she seemed down-to-earth. I remember thinking, back during the Olympics, that we need more people like her. More people we could look up to and emulate.

And now this. Personally, I think Jones's doping scandal is worse than Sammy Sosa's. Few people have ever looked to Sammy Sosa, both inside and outside the stadium, and thought "I want to be like him." But Marion Jones was, or seemed to be, a good person and a good athlete. I'm sure she was a hero to a lot of little girls.

And now look. It's no wonder that superheroes — X-Men, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Superman, even Ghost Rider, and now "Heroes" — are making such a comeback. It has become apparent that there are so very few "regular humans" out there in the real world that one can actually look up to. Only the superhuman seem to have a decent moral compass.

Surprise Marriage

I found out yesterday that, over the weekend, my best friend got married in Las Vegas. Although it wasn't unexpected, I feel strangely conflicted about it. On the one hand, I'm happy that she's at such a great point in her life — a new house, a new husband, a secure job. On the other hand, that's one less single friend — and I know from experience that singles and couples don't always mix well — and one less great single woman off the market.

I suppose I'm mostly just jealous, though. I see how great her life looks right now and how happy she is, and then I go home, alone, to a cold, silent apartment.

Plus, it's my birthday and I'm feeling old...

It Isn't Just the Stores

This morning, on the way into work, I saw a light-up nativity scene is someone's front yard. Three and a half weeks before Thanksgiving.

(sigh)