Dad's in Atlanta and ate at one of his favorite restaurants...

It's a great little place called The Vortex, and it's been here for years. They've got a very deep beer list, the best damn burgers around, and you can upgrade from fries to tater tots...tell me how that gets any better?

This is the entrance. I think it's a requirement that staff have at least two tattoos and/or piercings. Or both, for that matter.

Tonight's special? I roared...you can tell you're in the south. A fried bacon sandwich (yes, deep fried bacon), smothered with sausage gravy on a bun. I asked whether or not they call the ambulance with the paddles and arterial stints when they drop the bacon in the fryer.

Here's the entrance to the place:


Need we really say anymore than that? It was a great evening, and right now I'm watching a speech by a man who, by all accounts, should be the next President of the United States.

I've been traveling to Washington, DC, for work for the past six or seven years, mostly in the wake of September 11th. Our Congressional Representative is Judy Biggert, a Republican. I've had the opportunity to meet with people in her Washington, DC, office, and could ask to be put on a list to get a tour of the White House. I've refused to visit it while the current occupant inhabits it.

Come next year, I will ask for that tour and I will proudly walk through that hallowed building as an Illinoisan and a citizen of the United States, a country which will once again return to a position of prominence and respect on the global stage.