brushes with death leave one shaken but relieved- that's hopw i feel this morning after our family 'brush' with near disaster. andrew complained yesterday morning that he smelled something funny in the basement as he was leaving for school. when ernst went down to check, he opened up the older of the 2 waterheaters, and noticed that sparks were flying, amid water draining out of the motor. he got towels from the laundry room to mop up the mess, only to find flames coming out of the motor at this point. we are so lucky that andrew mentioned the smell, as the flaming water heater was in our little storage cubbyhole with lots of stored books, files, and other flammables- the place could have gone up in smoke. by the time i got home, the plumbers had installed a new element, and the hot water was again functional. whew........

it has just occured to me that ernst and i missed 24 on tuesday night while we visited with our relatives. this is a really confusing and intense show- it has only a few episodes left- i have ahard time seeing a happy ending to it all. of course, the world of television is no longer about happy endings. my prediction about the last episode of ally mcbeal is that she will be left all alone after 5 years of dating and discarding all those mr wrongs. of course, i harbor a secret wish that robert downey jr will show up on the last episode and sweeep her off her feet-the cinderella ending, but he is probably in jail for probation violations so that is unlikely. at this point in my life, i would rather follow along with a good book for 1 or so hours a day than to try to keep up with sitcoms or tv dramas. i do enjoy alias on sunday nights- enjoy sitting with my spouse and watching alias on sunday nights- but mostly don't make time for primetime. i wish i had a nielson rating box so i could destroy the curve.....