True story: I was on the phone, at work, telling my wife about the towers when a co-worker dropped by. “The pentagon’s been hit.” she said. “Another plane”. I had this vivid image in my mind of going home, picking up one of my rifles and standing out in the street; as if it would have made the slightest bit of sense to just stand there and shoot at passing jetliners.

I went home and wrote instead.

2) Tom, Charlotte, and Lilly. The names just fit them somehow.

3) It seems apt, doesn’t it? Sitting here, hurling my own creations out at whatever catches my ire, I can’t say it doesn’t fit. My wife despises the name and won’t even use out fecesflingingmonkey email address.

4) There are two different stories here, the human story and the legal one. The human story is tragic, with no winners. It serves as an excellent example of why it is hard, and perhaps impossible, to legalize euthanasia. Euthanasia is not so hard to support when the family and patient agree, everyone is loving, and the medical outcome is certain. It’s much harder when darker motives intrude, the family is split, and the prognosis is uncertain.

The legal story? I’m a federalist, and I’m not happy, even if they are doing the right thing. I wouldn’t want Hillary to have power like that at her disposal when she is president.

5) Yes, but my surname and my pseudonym are different!

A friend of mine used to bug me about copyrighting my page; I finally relented by writing “Copyright 2001 Mike Spenis” and sent him an email that says “I got your copyright right here, pal!”

Every time I see it it makes me laugh. I’m a simple soul.