I checked the database here last summer, and there were more than twenty offenders in this town alone, which is not that big, and that freaked me out.

I will note that when I worked for my friend Cecily (a criminal defense attorney) she talked a little bit about how punitive the sex offender lists are and how they're impossible to get off no matter what you do afterwords. She had clients who had been Good Citizens for twenty years who were on the list for acts they committed when they were young. And they couldn't get jobs and couldn't live in a lot of places. The punishment winds up going on long after their time in jail.

Also, people do wind up on the lists sometimes for things like statutory rape which the courts, prosecutors and defense attorneys do not consider to be a big deal.

Which is not to say that there aren't predators and you don't need to be careful. But the lists cast a wide net and there are people on it who are not a risk to anybody anymore.

Oh, Lisa. I'm so sorry. I check it every so often. There is a sex-offender not too far from here, but no one we know -- no one the kids know. It is puke-makingly scary.

Before I resigned from the Christian Education committee at church, we got word that one of our congregants was a past sex offender (on a comparatively mild charge, and we got it through the grapevine, but it was verifiable enough).

At the time, I wasn't only chairing the CE committee, I was Sunday School Superintendent. Our church Council (this is a congregational church, so basically the model for representative gov't in this country) is the ruling body (second only to the congregation), made up of the chairs of all the committees. Council is the one that got word of the S.O. They're the ones that broke the news to me. They already had a decision -- all children under a certain grade had to be escorted from Sunday School to the vestry after Sunday School (which happens during the service and ends about the same time). I delivered it to the teachers at the time.

I'd already implemented state background checks on all teachers and national S.O. registry checks, too. While I was chief bitch in charge, we also ensured that all classrooms had two (checked) adults, so that one adult was never alone with the kids (this was already a liability insurance mandate, but our compliance was 50/50 before my tenure).

I resigned because one of the teachers gave me a ration of shit (IN FRONT OF THE KIDS), because she had to walk her second and third grade students (which, at the time, included my youngest kid and HER youngest kid) down to the vestry, rather than dismissing them and allowing them to walk down alone.

I still have a hard time returning to the church. Not because I think any kids are at risk. This was a one off. They're no more at risk than at McDonald's and probably far less. I have a hard time, because this woman was so fricking offended that she had to walk the kids down to the coffee hour where their parents were waiting. I still don't get it, as either an administrator or a parent. What bugs extra is that she's a public school teacher, so she is not unacquainted with. It also bugs how nasty and riled up she got with me, in front of the kids. I went home and cried for (not exaggerating) 3 days. Then I snapped out of it and said, "Fuck her, then." Because really? Fuck her then.

I'm not sure how or why my sympathizing turned into an all-about-me spew. It wasn't meant to, but I've been holding it in forever and it feels so good to let it go, because Fuck her, then.

But the lists cast a wide net and there are people on it who are not a risk to anybody anymore.

There are actually 47 now, in a town of about 12,000. And you can find their offenses; one is listed as over 18 having sex with someone under 15, and one is listed as attempted sexual abuse of a physically helpless person unable of giving consent.

Out of 47 people, too, I doubt all of them were older teens having sex with younger girls who simply got caught by angry fathers.

How is it that while I stripped no paint, I'm finding paint smears on me? This business is such a mess.

First off,

Kat took me way back when, and I scored some nifty stuff. My main interview suit apparently belonged to Mrs. Magic Jordan.

Cookie Johnson! She consigned nice and she had a wide array of sizes. Now that I'm back in a 6/8 I can do sample sizes again. If I had cash. Instead I spend my $$ on oregano oil and coconut kefir. And Kombucha. But Kombucha is gone because of the big scandal.

Also, Cashmere, that's terrifying. My whole neighborhood though is on the sex offender list. God bless LA.

msbelle, I'm glad you're okay. Accidents are no good.

In other news, I love the nurse, but he makes me feel like a shitty parent. He changed her trach ties today with No Fuss Whatsoever from her. For me and K, it's been a two person job. I wonder if the Kellers ever resented Anne Sullivan?

Also, also, We made these tonight Milk and Honey Peanut Snacks without the coconut and they are delicious. I'm trying to build a repertoire of lunch yummies for Noah for preschool.

Kat, he had lots of practice before Grace, and probably much harder patients than her. And he gets paid for it. In a couple years (imagine how many times he had to do it in that time to get accreditation ) you'll be better than the nurses with your kid, if in a couple years it is still necessary (I hope not.)

And I'm sure they did. It seems like it would be normal to.

Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn and Mirror Kingdoms

AWESOMECAKES!!!!

Cash, not awesome, not awesome at all.

22 years ago when I lived in San Fran they had the best 2nd hand stores I have ever seen! I still miss them!

Oh, I'm glad that he can do it. But Grace has fought every nurse over this. The first nurse, the one we fired, decannulated Grace when she tried. I mean, K and I can do it together without an ish, with an occasional skin pinch. And frankly, I'm happy to give up that job. It's sort of humbling.

OK, so he's magic! That works. But yeah, can see the humblingness.