Covering the pope

Sorry, folks, it's been awhile since I've posted but it's been one thing after another. First it was six straight days of covering His Holiness here and in New York. I no sooner got back Monday than I came down with a nasty cold which I am still trying to shake off. So I was off work Wednesday trying to recover. Then yesterday my boss got laid off! Yes, there are interesting personnel changes going on at my company. So that threw us all for a loop.
Meanwhile people keep tromping through my home to view it so everything has to be kept very neat and clean, a real trial with now 3-year-old Veeka. Who did real well in her yearly medical exam, by the way. She weighs just under 25 lbs and is 35 1/2 inches - almost exactly 3 feet. She is in the lowest 5% in terms of weight but in terms of height she is in the bottom 20% - pretty good for a kid who has been very small for her age. But that's what happens with a preemie, I hear so hopefully in a few years she will shoot up. Still, I am pouring kefir (a yogurt-like drink) down her to drive up that calcium level.
The photo is of me looking hot and bloated at one of the papal venues in Yonkers, N.Y. Before the pope showed up at this youth rally, the media had to sit in the dust on a hill overlooking the stage for about 5 hours - in the sun, I might add. Notice the Secret Service tags around my neck - we couldn't move anywhere without those. One reason I got sick was because of the interminable lines we had to sit in for hours waiting for our security clearances; like we were al Qaeda. It was nuts. I have always had pretty unprintable thoughts about the SS and the over-the-top way they act with the media.
I found papal coverage pretty inspirational. Even though Benedict's accent was strong, we had his printed texts to follow so that his speeches made sense. Once you read them, you can see how profound they are. And the fact that he met with the sex abuse victims was a real coup -very impressive. So it was a pleasure to cover.