Despite spending 17.5 hours on the air last week, I never had the chance to do my usual BatesLine update. Usually, after we talk about the issues of the day, I get a couple of minutes to highlight other topics I've been writing about. During the normal slot on Monday, we were occupied with the Mayor's speech to the Republican convention, and the rest of the week, Gwen and I were talking to guests and callers. We just never got around to it.

Here then are some non-city-politics highlights from BatesLine over the last couple of weeks:

• Remembering Abigail, two years later: Remembering the life, death, and triumphant faith of Abigail Litle, who was killed two years ago in a terrorist attack in Israel. If you've never read this, and the articles it links to, please do.
• Borscht and a cake from Brooklyn: A report about the exotic food served at our church's missions conference banquet.
• MENDing broken hearts: A victim of abortion speaks at the banquet of a local crisis pregnancy center.
• Lots of coverage of Terri Schiavo's situation and the efforts to save her from starvation: here, here, and here.
• Summer at age 8 -- 1972: My memories of summer as an eight-year-old and of a particularly significant event that happened to me.
• Swinging on a scar: A TV sweeps-month report about "swingers" inspires thoughts about intimacy and vulnerability.
• Memories of a different kind of swinger -- posts in honor of Bob Wills' 100th birthday here, here, and here.
• Hunchback nation: How computers threaten to give us all permanent humps and headaches, and what you can do to stop it from happening to you.
• Go forth, Gruntfuttock, my child: A salute to the classic British radio comedy "Round the Horne" on its 40th anniversary, with a link to where you can hear the program today.

Finally, in doing some research for more recent blog entries, I read through my archive from March 2004. It was an eventful month -- the city elections that gave the Reform Alliance four seats on the Council, along with the court fight that overturned the District 3 Democrat primary. Beyond the local stuff, there was rather a lot of good writing, I thought, and if you're new to BatesLine, wander back a year and have a look.

Go get caught up.