A family full of happy Tom Waits fans

That's us.

I picked up a copy of Orphans by Tom Waits tonight. I sliced off the wrapper with a meat cleaver and found a beautiful little package, bound like a book with lyrics and lotsa pictures. Makes me wish it was on vinyl--something like this really deserves the visual impact that an LP record would have had. It's exciting knowing that I have all morning tomorrow to listen to it, house all to myself.

Talked to my mom earlier, and found out Tom was on David Letterman last night; she recorded it for us and said he was funny as hell. Then lo and behold, Tom turns up on the Daily Show tonight! Then, in the final Tom Waits coincidence of the day, my friend Bawb the Revelator sent me this link in an email:

Tom Waits Supplement: Lyrics analysis

If you've ever had the desire to look up the names of characters from Tom Waits songs, this is the place. Everyone from Big Joe, Jimson and Grady Tuck to Tony Franciosa, Alice, Blackjack Ruby and Tabletop Joe. They're all here.

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The last couple days have been kind of odd. I spent yesterday and today attending WMD training. Yesterday was mostly classroom, and today I spent the better part of the day in a gas mask and chemical suit doing training scenarios. The training was put on by the Center for Domestic Preparedness (part of the Department of Homeland Security.) The training was excellent, but frankly it left me kind of depressed. Two days of worst-case scenarios, IED recognition, discussions of blister agents, reviewing triage procedures so we can decide who gets medical attention and who doesn't...I'm tired now. I remember practicing to use auto-injectors of atropine and 2-Pam Chloride when I was at Ft Jackson in 1983. I was surprised to see that's still the emergency treatment for exposure to nerve agents. This is the first time I've worn this kind of protective equipment since I was in the Army 20 years ago. I found it, I don't know, disturbing maybe, that I'm now doing the same type of training as a 44-year old cop that I was doing as a 21 year old soldier. Our world has changed.

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So, what do you do when you're all worn out at the end of a day like this?

Buy some new Christmas lights! I did this--went to Target and bought new lights for the front of the house, and did a little incidental Christmas shopping along the way. Then came home and drank several chocolate vodka martinis while watching the Daily Show as outlined above. And now my outlook has brightened considerably.