Just to follow up on things, Tina is okay. She went into the hospital Friday for some tests, and came out with a clean bill of health (well, besides the multiple pregnancy, anyway).

Saturday, we had our baby shower at Allen Pond in Bowie, MD. Just about everyone we know came out, and I have to say I was quite moved by their enormous generosity. If you’re reading this, we appreciate all your support.

The only bad thing about the shower was the heat — it was about ninety-five degrees, and about halfway through opening our gifts, I began to get sick. We never would have guessed that it could get so hot in early June.

Tina is just about to pass the thirty-one weeks mark. Only little over two months left. I can’t believe the girls are almost here — the last few months have been an amazing blur. It’s easy to think that pregnancy will last forever, that nine months of your life is an incredibly long time. But it’s not — it’s so short. Soon, if you can believe it, I will be a father.

* * * *

This afternoon, I was working in my office when I heard that Michael Jackson had been found not guilty. On the one hand, I’m sickened that this terrible man has used his celebrity as a shield against what I thought was pretty overwhelming evidence against him. His home with all its various amusements was obviously built as a trap for children — and the verdict pretty much means he can continue abusing them with impunity for the rest of his life.

But as evil as he is, I can’t help but blame the parents, too. To leave their children with such a person shows how easily they let Jackson’s celebrity cloud their judgement. They failed their kids in the worst possible way, handing them over to a predator in exchange for being in the proximity of his unimaginable fame.

You really have to wonder what makes people like that tick — to so easily abdicate their responsiblity to keep their kids safe from harm. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to understand them.