"Stuff"

Found this on cnn.com
Man kills wife, self at Atlanta hospital
Monday, August 15, 2005; Posted: 1:53 p.m. EDT (17:53 GMT)
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- A 71-year-old man fatally shot his ailing wife in her hospital room and then killed himself Monday morning, authorities said.
Donald Shields walked into St. Joseph's Hospital at about 6 a.m. and shot his wife, Beverly, in her intensive care room before turning the gun on himself, said Fulton County Police spokesman Cpl. Gary Syblis.
The shootings were confined to one room and no other injuries were reported, police said.
Beverly Shields, 70, had suffered from a heart-related illness, Syblis said. He did not say what sort of treatment she had undergone, but said she had been in the hospital for several weeks and that her recovery was not going well.
Syblis would not speculate about a motive and declined to say how the man got a gun into his wife's hospital room.
A hospital spokeswoman declined to comment on the shooting, saying hospital officials were preparing a statement.
St. Joseph's, founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1880, is Atlanta's oldest hospital. The 360-bed facility in north Atlanta specializes in cardiac care.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

I think what bothers me the most about this is I can guess at some rather depressing reasons why this man killed his wife and then himself. Most of them revolve around money and quality of life. If she had been in the hospital and was not doing well by any stretch of the imagination, then I would hope someone would shot me if I were in the same position. Then there is the entire issue of how the hell did he get a gun in the hospital? THAT is just scary!

Am I the only person who is having problems staying awake? Today just seems to be the sort of day when caffeine is a must, a necessity, forget an indulgence.

This weekend I was able to watch several movies and 1/2 of them were great, the other 1/2 were anything but. The 1st set I watched were actually not movies but 3 episodes of my favorite BBC show, Brother Cadfael. I have a sneaking fascination with all things British, and I adore Ellis Peter's (the author of the Cadfael books) as an author.

I also watched Dragons: Fire and Ice. That was a cute animated flick that had no real value beyond yet another moral lesson in communication and how ultimate power corrupts. I liked it but then again, I like almost anything involving dragons. After that, watched Boogeyman. Do not waste your time. I can't say it was awful because the 1st half was really spooky, but it flopped about half way through. I then watched Pirates of the Caribbean - again. I love that movie! After that, watched Cirque du Soleil's Dralion. I enjoy those just because the people involved are flexible beyond belief and the choreography is fascinating.

This weekend was a rather interesting one. On Saturday at work we had some of our problem children. There are 2 brothers who come in to my library practically every day. I have no problem with that, but what annoys me to no end is how they feel this public facility is their personal living room. They frequently get angry because they are told that their shoes MUST remain on their feet. The chairs are just that, the word "rocking" is not attached anywhere to any chair in this building. Food and drinks are not allowed in the building because, duh, there are computers, electronics, books, and other easily damaged items all through this building. Computer usage is strictly first come, first serve. You do not get to harass other patrons to the point they get off the computers. Yet these concepts seem to escape these 2 juvenile delinquents.

(FYI-Lollipops are seriously frowned upon in the library. Along with using slices of bacon or sandwich meat in general as bookmark. As a civic kindness, please remember that food is not a good bookmark.)

I also had some company this weekend. I must say it was rather fun to have someone new to talk with a do things with. I definitely appreciate that aspect of company. It was down right strange having someone in the other bedroom who walks on 2 legs and not 4, but that is a commentary on my life I am not delving too deeply in to.

This week I will be posting comments on the wisdom of moving back home. There are numerous financial reasons to do this, but the biggest is sheer laziness. I spend 95% of my free time at my mothers as it is. If I am going to be spending my nights there, then I want my own bed so I can get some sleep. The floor is not the most comfortable place to sleep, esp. when your bones scream at you all the next week.

I am going to spend most of this next week up at my mother's and it is going to be a rather trying experiment. I am going up straight from work Tuesday, spending Wednesday running my sister around, and then praying for a decent nights sleep the rest of the week. I will keep everyone posted as the week goes by.