Magical Moment 180, "I Auditioned For American Idol and all I Got was this Beer Coozie"

Yesterday morning as I casually flipped through the TV morning talk shows, I discovered that I must be living under a rock. It turns out that American Idol was holding auditions practically in our back yard in East Rutherford, NJ at the IZOD Center. In a very spur of the moment decision, I decided to drive over and pre-register for the auditions that were held today.

Well, first let me put an end to your suspense, no I didn’t pass the audition. Our schedule for today’s exciting events were as follows: Arrive at 5 am. Sit on sidewalk for three hours. Wait in bleachers for ten hours. Audition for 15 seconds. Go home.

Oh, there were perks. When Eddie won a free, styrofoam beer coozie for recycling his Sprite can, I thought it was a sign of good things to come. However, after paying $15 for a parking space, and almost $9 for a kids size personal pizza which Eddie and I split (I’m starving right now by the way), I began to have my doubts.

Twelve tables were set up in the middle of the huge indoor arena that held about 10,000 contestants and on-lookers. Each table had 1 or 2 producers, and 4 contestants at a time were sent to sing a 10 second solo in front of them. All this happened simultaneously, so the auditorium continuously echoed of, Lady Gaga, Whitney Houston, and Christina Aguilera sounding hopefuls. If you were lucky enough to pass this first audition, you were sent to a second audition in front of more TV producers. If you were lucky enough to pass that audition, you were sent to the judges, which is what we all see on TV. If you’re scratching your head at all, yes, that means that those horribly tone-deaf individuals that Simon and the others mock, have made it passed 2 previous auditions already.

Eddie and I passed our 10 hours of waiting by playing the one sad little video game that came free on our iPod and walking laps around the outside of the stadium. I knew early on that my gentle singing voice, even at its most powerful, was not the right style or fit for American Idol. Still, I knew that if I passed up the opportunity, I would kick myself later. So, if nothing else, Eddie and I found out that we could entertain ourselves pretty easy in the face of total and absolute boredom. I also was reminded of what a rare husband I have to support me so willingly on such a dreadfully long day. And of course, I got an awesome title for today’s blog!

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do not endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty. And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 280, "The Eleventh Hour"

The Veterans Day Parade, NYC On July 29, 2001 , five exceptional men were honored by the President of the United States for their remarkable military service. They were involved in a top secret mission that required unfathomable intelligence and as a result, literally won a battle which was instrumental in winning the war. Not the war that was happening in 2001, not even the Gulf War. It was World War II, and they were the Navajo Code Talkers who were largely responsible for winning the bloody battle of Okinawa. The only problem with the ceremony was that just 5 remained of the original 29. Our country was too late in thanking the other 24, and nearly too late in thanking those 5 men. On March 10, 2010, three hundred women won the Congressional Gold medal for their outstanding war service. Unfortunately, 800 received the award posthumously. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, who devoted themselves to flying military aircraft like the B-26 and B-

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