Not nearly enough on life thereafter.

I remember the tomes, wheelbarrows, whole libraries full of books, magazines, websites, and whatnot on pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Couples with eight-page birth plans. Water births, home births, drug-less births, and so on. Come on! Every detail managed, down to the Chopin on the CD player.

We dutifully went to the childbirth classes. The details of my particular delivery are irrelevant to this note (yes my husband was there, and yes we all survived). At the end of a few days we came home with a new live human being of our own. And there we were. Holy cow. Shouldn't we have a license or something? What the heck are we supposed to DO with the little nipper? He's ours? How did THIS happen? And we're UNSUPERVISED??

I'd like to see a whole lot less handwringing over labor and delivery, and a whole lot more realism about the overwhelming changes to one's house, life, sleep, finances, and outlook on the universe that arrive with the baby. THAT'S what we needed classes for, looking back now. That's what we were totally unprepared for--and what you can't learn from books.

ADHD is real. To say that it is not is about as valid as saying "hearing loss is not real, and is just a way to sell hearing aids" or "diabetes is not real, and is just a way to sell insulin." Do a shred or two of research first, spend a while with people (adults, kids, boys, and girls) diagnosed with the condition, and report back your findings. And "my brother-in-law's neighbor's kid" doesn't count. Until you have done so, please refrain from spouting off about a topic you obviously do not understand.

... between ADHD and natural variation in personality?

When it becomes such a handicap that the person (child or adult) cannot get along in life. Same as you would with any other disorder. When do you get glasses? When your vision gets bad enough that you get headaches all day long, can't drive, and can't see the chalkboard. When do you get a hearing aid? When you can't participate in conversation, can't hear directions, can't hear the TV without blasting out the neighbors too.

When do you seek treatment for ADHD? When your child spends more time in the principal's office than in class. When they are an order of magnitude more immature than every other classmate, to the point where they're the weird kid who no one likes. When they're two or three years behind grade level in every subject. When they act so inappropriately that they cannot participate in any age-appropriate activity with their peers without being continually disciplined. When they're not only jumping in puddles on the playground, they're DRINKING out of them. When it's painfully apparent that your child is on their way to a life of misery, and you would do ANYTHING for them to have a feeling of success about even one aspect of their life. Then you seek treatment.

And yes, it IS real.

July is the month when we splurge on fancy cable (up from the cheapo local-channels-only version) just to watch the Tour. We watched it before Lance, we had a great run watching Lance win, and we're still watching. Yes, we're out of the mainstream. For most of the rest of the year, the set is off or on Sesame Street, and we (gasp!) read books. Or hike. Or ski. Or have a life away from the TV set. But anyway.

Floyd Landis, an American racing for the Phonak team, is having a hell of a run this year. However, Floyd Landis is a quiet guy who keeps to himself and happens to be a great bike racer, unlike Lance "mouth on wheels" Armstrong. So yes, there is an American to root for other than Lance. I've learned a ton about the stragegy, tactics, and team aspect of bike racing from the excellent commentators on OLN: Bob Roll, Paul Sherwen, and Phil Liggett. All three have been around cycle racing forever, understand the history of the sport and the personal histories of every racer and team, and if you're willing to listen, you can learn a lot.

Another aspect that Americans don't "get" with the tour is that these are truly international teams. The teams have sponsors, the teams have racers. If you look at any one team roster (www.letour.com), the individual racers come from all over the world. Even when Lance was sponsored by the US Postal Service and wearing a red, white, and blue uniform, the team was international. The Discovery Channel team (Lance's ex) has only one American on it this year.

But the real problem, King (and the problem of many American sports fans) is that you don't "get" endurance sports. Bunch of sweaty guys running into each other to fight over a ball? You're all over it. People doing anything in a straight line (biking, running, skiing, swimming, you name it) and ho-hum, I think I'll go wash the car.

There ARE sports that don't involve a ball. Really and truly. So sorry for you that you don't get them.

Yes, Bob Roll is a complete goober and a bit of levity next to Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen, but he does know his stuff about cycling. When I first came across him years ago he drove me nuts (Mr. "Tour Day France") but he's grown on me.

And yes, I lose my mind on a regular basis but I usually manage to find it again.