Urban Onramps

Micah and Kafi and Sam leave town tomorrow for three weeks on the East Coast (plus cruise). Yet I saw Micah tugging on her ear a couple hours ago. She’s been taking antibiotics for an ear infection, but all we need is for this kid to be sick during this upcoming time period (not to mention flying five hours with a 20 month old who has an ear infection). So I’m off to the pediatrician. But before I complain too much, we have good health care available, and we have health insurance. We are truly blessed. So I’m annoyed and blessed, and grateful… and… and…

and a little thirsty, and peeved that Argentina is out so soon, and wondering what’s for dinner, and hoping the notes I just made for some big grant are what the (potential) funders are looking for. And it’s pretty hot outside. Ok, now I’m off to be on time at the doc’s… Dr. Ola if anyone cares.

Heartbreaker for Argentina. Unmitigated joy for the Germans. I didn’t want either to lose. But did you see the German goalkeeper guess right on penalty kicks 3 times out of 4? The Germans will be tough. At this moment, it feels like a Brazil v. Germany final is coming.

I’ve been looking afresh at the whole “media bias” claim by many on the political right, the claim that major news media are biased against Republicans, conservatives, business, Israel, etc. in favor of left-leaning positions. I think media bias is very real, if only because major media is concentrated in an elite niche on the upper east coast, and it’s easy for any one in a bubble to think that the whole world “obviously” thinks like they do. But I’ve also wanted to cast a skeptical eye on the whole “media bias” perspective because it tends to stereotype all major media reports as biased, when that’s not the case either. There’s lots of excellent reporting being done by major media, and I believe that the Right often cries wolf.

So I left the radio dial on NPR this morning as I drove home from City of Hope (I took Sam in to get his blood level counts; we were the first there, and therefore driving west on the 210 Freeway at 810am. I confess that I searched first, in vain, for a radio station broadcasting the Germany-Argentina quarterfinal, before settling on NPR via KPCC). There was a report about fresh Israeli military strikes against Hamas in Palestinian territory. Fulfilling stereotype, the NPR report literally told one side of the story (click this link to listen), a view weighted toward the idea that the Israeli response to the soldier’s kidnapping was unjust. For balance, some quotes from Israeli officials and Israelis-on-the-street would have been in order, as the NPR report was full of quotes from ordinary Palestinians. I was underwhelmed by the NPR reporter’s, er, report.

My son Samuel was diagnosed with leukemia on Monday, July 12, 2004. He was first treated at Children’s Hospital in Hollywood. Sometime in the first few days we were there, a representative from the Make-A-Wish Foundation came by our room. Make-A-Wish provides event experiences for children fighting life-threatening illnesses, and not just for those who are terminal. But I didn’t know that. I thought Make-A-Wish was for terminal patients only. When I saw the rep at the door, I got angry, and I moved toward him to get him away from us. He was like the Angel of Death to me at that moment. He read my face immediately, however, and calmed me down. “We help all children, not just terminal.” That calmed me down, but I still didn’t want to talk to him.

I’ve mellowed out, Sam has received great treatment, he’s in remission, and Sam is still taking chemo drugs to fight the leukemia (to guard against re-occurence, or relapse). Sam still has at least a year and a half to go. But the Make-A-Wish Foundation has stepped in and is providing a wonderful family trip, a cruise, for the Carrasco nuclear family. The second week in July we’ll be going around the Caribbean, Sam, Micah, Kafi, and myself. Some family and friends have chosen to join with us, too. It has finally dawned on us that this is all happening – that we are going on a vacation, that these generous people are covering our costs, but also that my son Samuel was really really sick and is still in maintenance chemotherapy. It’s a bunch of joy and pain, but also a lot of hope, and not a little excitement about jet-skiing through the Mayan Ruins (what? that’s not an option for Port Excursion Fun?) and bungee-jumping into an active volcano (wait, that was an episode of Rescue Heroes or a dream I had). Well, I may have the options screwy in my head, but I’m just glad that we can all get away together. I’m really happy for Kafi. My woman works really hard. I love the life I have with her. I love our children. I want Kafi to be at rest and happy. I’m grateful to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and its donors for making our trip possible. I’m also thankful for our family and friends who have been a support to our whole family during Sam’s illness and treatment. The cruise doesn’t leave til another ten days or so, but I’m just sayin.

Today I was on a lunch panel with the Jewish Communal Services program at Hebrew Union College (near USC). Neil Cole was there. So was Spencer Burke. Plus Don Miller from USC’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture. I dragged along some youth from the Chapel Hill Bible Church (they are at Harambee this week, serving and helping in myriad ways). We ate lunch at In ‘N Out afterward. At the panel we said a bunch of stuff that seemed important enough at the time, but now I can’t remember any of it. We did talk about pentecostals a bit. Plus I held up a draft copy of Spencer’s coming book, A Heretic’s Guide to Eternity.

In other news, did you see Ronaldo’s goal today? That’s how I play soccer. And Spain disappointed, greatly. And now it’s a rematch of the 1998 World Cup final, Brazil versus France on Saturday, July 1. I bet you Brazil hammers the French and gets some revenge. Four goals. But the real war is this Friday when Germany and Argentina square off. What a shame that that’s a quarterfinal game. Should be a semi, even a final.

In other other news, I was gonna do this book chapter a few months back, for some compilation anthology thingy, but couldn’t pull it off timewise. But I just got word and they’ve still got a little time, and right now my time has (sort of, kind of) opened up. So I’m back in on the project. Dig it. I’ll let you know soon enough what’s up.

• No joke. For a chapter, not the national.
• I said no.
• I told my staff. They are beyond amused.

That wasn’t me saying that. It was a group of 500 economists, including 5 Nobel Laureates and Arthur Laffer (as in The Laffer Curve). They produced an Open Letter on Immigration that was sent to President Bush and the Congress. The New York Times op-ed page and the Wall Street Journal op-ed page both commented on the letter. It is compelling.