good old news!To host someone you love is a sweet thing! Enjoy being together!!!No idea what a blogathon is, but I'll try to look around during these days to read Caryn and Jamelah.

It's A Blogiful LifeMan on Porch: Why don't you kiss her instead of talking her to death? George Bailey: You want me to kiss her, huh? Man on Porch: Ah, youth is wasted on the wrong people.

Uh, Bill? Wha-huh?

Well now ...Thanks for the very generous promo ... I hope that everyone will stop by and if you can't spare a few bucks (any amount, no matter how small is appreciated and does matter) to toss on the pile for a good cause, please keep in mind that your posts, comments, emails, etc. of support really do help (hint, hint). Also, if you have a blog, website or profile and can mention this effort -- that definitely helps to get the word out. Tell a friend, tell a complete stranger -- whatever you want to do. Don't make me beg...I feel pretty strongly about the importance of adult literacy -- and many times the issue is overlooked to focus on early childhood prevention -- which is great. However, part of helping those children also relies on the assumption that their parents, grandparents and other adult family members are literate enough to encourage, assist and educate them as well. You may think that the issue of adult literacy is no longer a problem in our time, but literacy goes beyond the ability to read simple phrases, rather ... to be able to read, retain, comprehend and take away important information from legal documents, work-related text, medical instructions, consumer packaging ... is sometimes a real struggle for those who are not as fortunate and we can definitely take that for granted. So you can see how this goes beyond just simply being able to kick back with the latest William Vollmann epic ... the issue has a real and lasting impact on the basic quality of life for those who haven't attained a general level of literacy. This affects their day to day life in numerous ways, but affects their families, communities and you as well. From ProLiteracy's 2005 report on the state of literacy in the US (pdf):The Economic Impact of Low Literacy in AdultsThe economic impact of adult functional illiteracy in the United States reverberates throughout the country's economy. Public assistance in the form of welfare, food stamps, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), and Medicaid make up the majority of the budgets for most local governments. In Onondaga County, for example, where ProLiteracy Worldwide is headquartered, these mandated programs account for 48 percent of the county's expenses. These costs directly impact the property tax rate charged to homeowners.The cost of health care goods and services, which is rising faster than almost any other sector of the economy, is a continued concern for the American family. The health care industry estimates $73 billion per year of unnecessary health care expenses attributable to poor literacy. While the average American spent $5,440 for health care in 2002, the average health care cost for adults with low literacy skills was four times that amount, or $21,760. I think that with a small amount of help, big effects can be seen ... so please consider donating even just a few dollars to this cause. Please note that I do not see or receive any of this money -- as it's all donated directly to the charity. I'm just helping to raise awareness and interest. Sponsor Me!

I suppose an explanation is in order. For some reason, the way Levi spoke about Caryn reminded me of the movie It's A Wonderful Life, and I was in an escapist mood from all the recent serious talk. Here is the movie scene as described by Tim Dirks:"George asks Mary about her deepest wishes and then offers her a poetic, imaginative fantasy about lasso-ing the moon and bringing it down to Earth so that she can eat it - it's almost a marriage proposal: 'What is it you want, Mary? What do you want? You-you want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey, that's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon...Well, then you could swallow it. And it'll all dissolve, see. And the moon beams that shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair...Am I talking too much?'A bald, overweight neighbor (Dick Elliott) on a nearby back porch hears their romantic, non-sensical conversation and challenges George to do less talking and try more romantic action: 'Why don't you kiss her instead of talking her to death?' "

Bill -- as long as you're the bald overweight neighbor and I'm Jimmy Stewart, I guess I'll go along with this.

Of course.And if you and Caryn dance the Charleston live on the Blogathon, I will donate to her cause.

Now, let's talk about JamelahWhere will you be blogging from J? Are you going to be on a live cam as well?

Bill -- it's a deal. We're looking forward to your donation.

I will be blogging from my ol' internet homestead, jamelah.net, and though there will be no live cam, there will be plenty of dead cam. As much dead cam as I can muster.