Most of them are veterans, ie retired US soldiers, college has nothing to do with it. Illegal would be if they volunteered to serve for an enemy country were were at war with. As for any profit, they’re probably getting fed and housed by Ukraine but they aren’t getting rich. Oh I guess their family is probably still drawing their veterans benefits, but we all know those aren’t generous, especially under this administration.

That’s great news!

I hope Sandy’s financial owner gets into a better place in the coming year as well.

May 2026 bring plenty and joy to you, her, and especially Sandy.

Individuals from other countries have been volunteering in other countries since time immemorial, dude. Enough American flyers went over to help the RAF they had their own squadron long before the US officially entered WWII. Before 1917, the Lafayette Flying Corps in WWI France. Also, ever heard of the French Foreign Legion? It’s in the name. Hemingway, Spanish Civil War, the bell tolls for thee. Lord Byron fought for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire. And untold numbers of people have joined battles in other countries, whether they were inspired by a cause or simply because they happened to be there.

Two is enough avocados to share, if someone brought tortilla chips and someone brought salsa

I did. But the filter is plastic and so is the pitcher!

Geez, if he’d lived any closer it would have gone through her and into the baby as well. Although she probably dropped the baby in any case.

Whose mom, red sweater kid’s? Oh, so it’s his own imaginary friend that he doesn’t get along with. And she’s crying because… her child is insane? Or because he’s mean… Okay.

Did he just banish the green-shirted kid’s blue-shirted imaginary friend?

I wonder how it would look if he’d never gotten into it in the first place. He was always a joke but I remember when the joke was funny. (Although we would have been horrified if we knew what he’d been doing.)

We had the sense not to pick up the second season but for some idiotic reason we were sold the third.

Is there any other way to read that if we didn’t know he’s dead? Like, maybe the short route home from prison would be to give up the location and code to his other secret safe with the video of Trump raping a 14 year old or sucking off Clinton

A plant for the aunt sounds perfect. If the partner is a woman, a different plant for her too, yes it’s normative but as a woman myself I like a plant. For the guys a big bottle of fancy beer is often appreciated, unless they don’t/shouldn’t drink. One I’m liking these days is La Fin Du Monde because it feels like we’re living in the end of the world. It’s 750 ML, so wine-sized, but beer. About $12 at BevMo in my area.

This makes a lot of sense and adds valuable context!

Also, if Kate has to maintain control under tension while being called lazy, I think she and I could be best friends.

First, I’m sorry for all the people who will miss him, which includes a lot of lemmings. And I’m sorry for both him and his passenger, it’s a painful way to go.

But Angeles Crest Highway is notorious for Ferraris and Lamborghinis speeding crazily while fans film them, zooming past people who are just trying to get safely up and down the mountain.

In real life, dead is dead.

At least they didn’t hit another car. And the burning Ferrari didn’t fall down into a ravine, potentially sparking a wildfire and/or putting rescuers at risk retrieving the bodies.

I’ve sauteed it to softness before, along with onions and celery, so I think it will be fine.

Yes, different chemicals

Ah, I can see this! Gonna try it.

Sauteed sliced fennel would have a similar bite and sweetness, but with that mild licorice aroma and without the onioniness. In a pasta sauce where dried fennel seed would be normal anyway, it seems pretty genius to me. I’m going to pick some up and try it next time I get to the grocery store.

I don’t mind the flavor but I hate that I’m an onion/garlic sweater. For days after eating garlic or most onions, I stink so badly no perfume or deodorant or antiperspirant can control it. As a girl growing up, it was a real problem, and once I was old enough to do my own cooking I started leaving them out, or using sweet onions when they were too important to exclude.

I’m also capsaicin-sensitive, like major ass-bleeding bad, so I minimize spicy peppers and use bell peppers plus black pepper/wasabi/horseradish/ginger for spice. If it’s not my cooking I get “Mild” and do the best I can with it.

Also a lot of these errors you might be embarrassed about will make your family laugh, and even provide stories in future years that help build togetherness. You just have to let go of taking it personally and see it as part of the larger saga, like the time Aunt Hattie forgot to put sugar in the pie