Distractions

I haven't been here much lately. Not directly, anyway. Only by updates on Twitter. Things with the new store I took over a week ago have been quite hectic and taken a lot of time and effort. It's a broken store with lots of opportunities. I've had three people so far this week not come to work and not call in, and I'll be firing two people over the next few days.

The time when I am at home after putting the kids to bed, when I used to blog, my wife and I are watching "Jericho" online. It's quite a good show. And if you spend any time at all following current world events, you would know that the storyline of "Jericho" could come true very easily at any time.

So we've been watching a couple episodes of "Jericho" every night, and last night I found myself in the middle of a recurring sci-fi style dream, very much like the storyline in "Jericho." I woke up several times throughout the night because of my son or our dog, and every time I went back to sleep I fell right back into the same old dream. How crazy is that?

It's hard to actually say much about Jericho without giving away too much. So, from the official CBS "Jericho" website, here's a synopsis:

JERICHO is a drama about what happens when a nuclear mushroom cloud suddenly appears on the horizon, plunging the residents of a small, peaceful Kansas town into chaos, leaving them completely isolated and wondering if they're the only Americans left alive. Fear of the unknown propels Jericho into social, psychological and physical mayhem when all communication and power is shut down. The town starts to come apart at the seams as terror, anger and confusion bring out the very worst in some residents. Jake Green (Skeet Ulrich), prodigal son of the town's mayor, becomes a reluctant hero when a school bus crashes as a result of the explosion. Mayor Johnston Green (Gerald McRaney) is conflicted with the return of his estranged son, but is called to action when the town begins to riot. Johnston's wife, Gail (Pamela Reed), is the strong, savvy first lady of the town who runs interference between her husband and her favorite son. Attempting to usurp the mayor's power is Johnston's political adversary, Gray Anderson (Michael Gaston), who is not above putting his personal agenda before the welfare of the very community he wants to lead.

Though the cloud appears in the distance, it affects all the residents in Jericho, including Dale Turner (Erik Knudsen), the 16-year-old trailer park kid everybody picks on, who finds himself in a position that could change his status; Robert Hawkins (Lennie James), a mysterious stranger who seems to be a jack-of-all-trades as he steps in to help restore order; Heather Lisinski (Sprague Grayden), a pretty young schoolteacher on the bus with her students returning from a class trip when the glare from the explosion causes a terrible accident; Emily Sullivan (Ashley Scott), Jake's high school sweetheart who lives outside of town and innocently goes about her business unaware of the catastrophe, Bonnie Richmond (Shoshannah Stern), a pretty 17-year-old who is hearing impaired; and Bonnie's older brother Stanley (Brad Beyer), Jake's best friend from childhood and an avid car lover who works on the family farm. In this time of crisis, as sensible people become paranoid, personal agendas take over and well-kept secrets threaten to be revealed, some people will find an inner strength they never knew they had, and the most unlikely heroes will emerge.

Joe