When I started this blog I in no way committed to writing at any regular interval. I also decided that it was probably best to write when I had something to say. Since I've been in England there have been many a moment of me thinking to myself ' hey, that would make a great blog' and then I continue on walking and forget what exactly it was that I was thinking only minutes before. So in this blog I am going to try to sum up what our lives have been like so far in 2010 (in short), trying to pick up from my last blog at New Years.

Good news is that I finished my first year of my degree program with relative success. A design degree is practice in patience, a balance between constructive and non constructive self criticism and determination to not cry and to just finish a project without a complete meltdown. I am exaggerating (sort of) but I think a new challenge in life can help you learn a lot about yourself. This degree program has been a journey of self discovery; sometimes beautiful, sometimes hideous. I can’t complain though. I have a good support system here. It’s called the English pub. You can sit in a pub by yourself and drink a pint and stare off into the distance with a vapid look. The combination of complete lack of sleep and the let down from a particularly stressful project always make for a good time to go to the pub. It’s always a good place to stare to nowhere and contemplate how much thought can go into paving slabs and concrete mix ratios (for a landscape architecture student anyway). No one will bother you at the pub. The bartender rarely makes small talk, the three old guys scattered across the bar are usually drunk and have been taking up their place at the same stool for twenty years and are disinterested in general in life but especially anyone new at the same bar. People go about their business in an English pub. It’s just home away from home. No one's trying to make lifelong friends. There are no expectations. It’s a beautiful thing.

The central walking path at Writtle, lined with birch trees.

Aside from pubs, I have ventured out to do some touristy things. In fact I get overexcited a lot at the prospect of places to be visited- museums to be viewed, art shows, music shows, festivals, sporting events, BBQ's and the like. I thought I was going to explode when the world cup came around. I was beyond excited over the U.S. team and I could not wait to be the ultimate patriot and make it clear to people that I was in fact cheering for the U.S. and no; I don’t think the England team is all that great. In fact, I think they stunk it up pretty bad. Yes, David Beckham is amazingly handsome but Wayne Rooney is equally shrek-ish so they zero each other out.

It was great to see a meltdown of such great proportions for the English football team while in England. People were genuinely distraught and to be perfectly honest I did receive satisfaction in that. The distress was even high when we tied the England v.US game, which was confusing because they didn't lose. Shouldn't we all be happy?! I'm still not sure if it's passion, latent anger or just general repression that makes football so insane here. I'm leaning toward repression. I doubt anyone of those football fans are nearly as animated at weddings or births or some equally jubilant life occasion. Just football. That's the only acceptable time to cry, punch, shout, sing and embrace another human being.

It’s also become quite normal for me to call it football without pausing or jumbling between soccer and football, socfoob, socc, footsocc, football. I had to resign to using this because of the contempt surrounding using the word soccer, as if it was a supreme insult. Footie, affectionately named, is the one and true sport here and there is no tolerance for other names or countries interpretations, especially America.

dejected english fans. ha. (guardian.co.uk)

Back to my updates. If you didn’t already know, Jamey is working for ESPN America over here in their London office. ESPN America is basically American sports for about 3 Europeans that absolutely love the NBA finals or for some inexplicable reason, Lacrosse. I wouldn’t say its Europe’s most watched sports channel but people subscribe from all around the world. He is enjoying his time working in London. Disney owns ESPN so he works in the Disney building in west London.

Jamey and Iron Man in the lobby of the Disney building.

There are a lot of perks; free movies, nonstop Disney themed elevator music, Disney schwag, Iron Man’s costume in the lobby. It’s all good. And the best of all- tickets to sporting events. We have had tickets to both Wimbledon and the British Open at St. Andrews. We take every possible opportunity to go to sporting events, even cricket, where I have absolutely NO IDEA what is going on… the entire time. It’s sort of the feel of a baseball game, that slow intermittent action punctuated by beer drinking and gabbing to friends around you. The biggest difference is that the players don’t seem to do much other than stand around in the grassy field which they use only about 1 square foot of and then occasionally some cheerleaders make their way dancing around the outer perimeter of the field. They don’t appear to be cheerleaders for one side or the other. They just cheer no matter whose wicket goes where. It’s unbiased and random and pretty awful to watch. The fans are always nice and try to explain bits and pieces to us but they might as well be speaking a foreign language. I just nod my head and occasionally give some sort of recognizable nod of understanding.

Center court at Wimbledon, 2010

While sports seem to be a big part of our lives these days we do spend time checking in with family and friends back home. In late May, my father had a surgical procedure for an aneurysm in his chest and Jamey and I were fortunate enough to get to Raleigh to support him through that tough surgery. He is recovering nicely and is back to his stubborn old ways. Thanks for all the well wishes from friends and family during that time. A special shout out to Cousin Jimmy who came all the way from New Jersey to see that Uncle Don was comfortable and happy. Thanks for cleaning my parent’s fridge too, you’re the best.

We are also on a mission to bring our beloved Alfie over the pond. At the start of this Euro adventure we had saved money and done all of the appropriate vet tests and prepping to get Alfie here but as life happens, nothing has gone as planned and we have had to delay his arrival in the UK. We are now in the position of raising money to fund his trip over here. Meanwhile he is keeping Jamey’s parents, Susan and Steve, company in Arkansas. In a true grass roots effort, we are offering up baked goods (well Kate is) to those who with a sweet tooth in exchange all proceeds go to what we affectionately call our mission ‘Operation Alfie Drop’. You may have already become a member online on Facebook, and if so we thank you for your support. We’re not entirely sure if this is going to work but we’re giving it a try and our love for Alfie keeps us going to make sure we are successful. We are asking friends stateside to save extra coins and pennies in a jar and let us know how much you get by October. At that moment you can decide if you want to go coinstar and send the monies to our banker in Raleigh aka Rosemary and Don- Stateside Reps for Operation Alfie Drop or if you want to buy new socks for yourself or some other splurge. The decision is entirely yours. Meanwhile, Alfie will be waiting for us to make this happen and we can be reunited as a happy family!!

Lucky 2010

This is it folks, lucky number 10. I've been waiting for this all my life, and probably past lives too. Happy New Year to all. I thought I would write because I am procrastinating on a mountain of work that I really can't get into right now. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year or whatever you celebrate.

Over Christmas, I made a last minute decision to go home early for break and then proceeded to tour the entire United States by air. Unintentionally of course. There are two sides to flying on a pass on American Airlines, you either get lucky and have a posh trip somewhere cool or you get stranded in a snowstorm devising a million contingency plans and end up in Milwaukee at a local dive bar. I always choose Milwaukee for my example of random places although I've never actually been there. So this Christmas I planned on spending partially in Raleigh and partially in Arkansas to spend time with both families. But first, I decided to see some friends in D.C. for a couple of days. Then it decided to snow more than it has in a century or so and I ended up hanging there for five days and hitched a ride with a total stranger out back down to Raleigh because i couldnt get a flight out to anywhere! That would be an example of. the crappy side of the coin. Had I not gotten that ride I would still be in D.C., i guarantee it. Anyway, it was fun to play in 2 feet of snow! I was happy that i was in my home town for such a cool winter storm. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

So I make it home to Raleigh. I stay and spend Christmas Eve with the fam, including my nephew who just turned 5 on the 20th! We had a great time including when i came home the first nite and my mom was tipsy on a 60 proof costa rican liqour that i had bought two years previously to drink with their coffee, not straight, and in a tall wine glass filled to the rim. Tasty and warm! So on Christmas Day I decided to fly to Little Rock so I could spend it with Jamey's family in Mountain Home. I actually bought a ticket for this trip, fearing I would end up in Milwaukee again.

Long story short, I spent a good time in Mountain Home, AR where I got to see family and friends and of course, my furry little pumpkin, alfalfa sprout. Who is, by the way, the best snuggler in the world.

Eventually, I had to head back to England and my travel route choice back to London required I fly to Chicago by way of Springfield MO. I was standing by for this flight out of chicago and just keeping my fingers crossed because the flight was oversold and that pretty much means for people like me, scavengers of air travel that grab whatever seat whenever they can, that I would be sleeping in Chi town for a few days. But alas, the nice ladies at the counter told me there was a business class seat available and i jumped at the chance. Not only because if I didnt leave that night i would be stranded due to another snow storm but because it was freaking business class on an international flight.

Business class is snobby. So is first class. And for those of you who pay for the extra comforts I can see why but you're all snobs. what I expect from this classism on flights are put together people in ball gowns and men wearing ascots but those are the days of old. Today people are lucky if they remember to put two shoes on to fly on a long distance flight. Most people arrive in moo-moos (mu-mu's?) or thread bare t-shirts and stained sweat pants, as if they never considered changing that morning when they got out of bed. And these are the first class folks. The dress doesnt get worse as you go from first to coach, there is no discrimination on how people decided to dress to fly these days, they're all slobs. I think if we were to turn back the clock and show up on a flight in 1960 dressed as a ho-bo you might get some stares and gasps at the audacity of not dressing for the flight.

As a scavenger, I have to adhere to the American Airlines dress code. This means no jeans or even jean material, no sandals, no shorts, no skirts that are "too short" no mid drift shirts (damn!) no sneakers, no suggestive or swear words printed on clothing, no sweat pants and for god sakes if your legs are bare wear some panty hose! Actually i think they did away with that one. Anyway, I have to look decent. Them's the rules. As it turns out I look like the freak that came over dressed to a casual party or in some cases, pajama party. But I am proud that I travel well dressed. I think its a lost art and no one respects air travel dress like we did back in the good old days. Hey lady in 6 B, can you at least leave clipping your toenails until you get to your destination? Thanks.

This of course is my opinion. But I think we can all compromise and wear comfortable yet classy outfits. This goes for you too kids with your PB and J stained onesies. Business class is awesome overall though. Would i ever pay for an actual full price business or first class ticket, not hot a chance in hell but I will take advantage of my fathers benefits for working for the airlines for thirty years. Thank you very much daddy. I would have never been able to travel the way I have the last 10 or so years unless i had this privilege so I am grateful. Its also nice to play rich and ride in the fancy part of the plane where you get mimosas upon arrival, a five course meal and someone at your beck and call, oooh and a bigger bathroom! I recommend it to all if given the chance, just dont show up in cut off jeans a mullet and a beer stained t shirt.

happy new year everyone and i hope its a glorious one!

Photos Part 1, Writtle, United Kingdom

More pictures less words! Here are some recent shots of some of the surrounding area of the school. Enjoy~






































this is my "heroes" pose

First Impressions Part A

Its been a week and a day since I moved here to Writtle and everything has gone better than expected. I believe I was still smarting from the debacle that was my Visa application and once that was sorted out everything else seemed to fall into place. My plane ride over was really nice but I think I psyched myself out of sleep when the whole time I was trying to psych myself into sleep. I had a nightmare of a plane ride from L.A. to New Zealand, 14 hours, of me sitting in between Jamey on one side and a family of four on the other. The whole 14 hours i just stared at Jamey who was soft asleep in slumber land and I wondered why i couldnt reach that point. When I finally arrived to New Zealand I was so jetlagged I was slurring my words and coming down with strange infections. All I can say is the kiwis have got the whole socialized medicine thing under control. But I digress. The plane ride into London was actually pretty spectacular. We arrived in London just as the sun was coming up over the horizon and it cast an orange and red morning glow over the city. We flew over the Tower of London and the ferris wheel thing, all of which were still lit from the evening before so it was this beautiful light show from the sky and from the city. It was quite and introduction. I've never really been excited to visit London, I have to confess. Nothing about the whole cliche europe trip ever convinced me that I should visit. When I flew over I did get this moment of excitement however, realizing that I will again have the privilege to see some of the most beautiful architecture in the world. I have been lucky to travel and see some beautiful things but I've never seen those wonders of the world type things like the Tower of London, or Great Pyramids or the Taj Mahal etc... I figured I would save those trips for when I'm 80 and Jamey and I are wearing matching terry cloth jogging suits and we visit the Parthenon on a diesel bus and we have to turn our hearing aids way up to drown out the city noises. For some reason I think this is the best way to see the wonders of the world and while I'm young I should stick to underdeveloped and depressed countries with ineffective and difficult governments.

Anyway, England is good. I arrived and sat through 3 hours of immigration, which was smelly and in the basement of Heathrow and amazingly slow. I then decided to haul 100+ bags of luggage on the Tube, half asleep. Then, on random peoples suggestions I went to the street and hailed a cab to the train station. When I hailed the cab a nice gentleman got out and made several references about how I must be crazy to be carrying all this around in mid town London during rush hour but then ushered me into his cab. I still had my back pack on and as i stepped into the back of the cab the top of my pack caught the low roof of the car and knocked me backwards onto the sidewalk something to the effect of an upside down turtle, flailing and kicking in the middle of the busy city sidewalk as I struggled to right myself and appear cool and collected. Did this really just happen? I asked myself a million times. Hello London, Kate Lynch is here. Long and painful story short, i made it to the train that would take me to my final destination, 100+ pounds of luggage and all.

I am staying temporarily with woman who has been renting rooms in her house to students for over 9 years. Her father was one of the original graduates of Writtle College in the 1930s. Fun fact! She is a gardner and general lover of the land. She has free roaming chickens in the backyard and grows her own veggies. My room is a good size and will suit me fine until I find a permanent place somewhere in the larger town of Chelmsford. Until then I am biting my cuticles and hangnails trying to figure out how to get an 80 pound hound dog to the UK without paying my lifes fortune away. One scheme involves Paris, trains, ferries and rented cars. We'll see about that.

As for traffic here, I am still adjusting to looking the correct way when i cross the street. I will be surprised if I dont get my foot run over sometime in the near future. Most of the time I cross the street and I am confused and experiencing mini panic attacks inside about which way the cars should be coming but I appear calm and collected on the outside, which is all that matters right? And I definitely think that cat that lives here has a british meow. I swear, its different.

I've taken some pics around town, not much so far because i have slow internet connection but this should give you an idea of where I am. Love to you all....


Chelmsford Cathedral


in downtown chelmsford


down the street in Writtle


one of our gardens at school


our froggy pond at school


one of the only pubs in town, pretty flowers!


**** ps***** the photo of big ben up top is not mine. i just want to cover my butt if someone gets made. its not mine.

Thank You Mr. Kennedy

As an AmeriCorps Alumnus, specifically and proudly an AmeriCorps Cape Cod Alumnus, I want to pay my respects to Ted Kennedy. While I was serving in AmeriCorps in 2002 and 2003 our funding for our program and other programs in Massachusetts were threatened and may have been cut if not for the ardent support and belief in AmeriCorps from Mr. Kennedy. We received the funding for the following year and just this past May AmeriCorps Cape Cod celebrated its 10 year anniversary. We were lucky to have the lion of the senate on our side. While the funding for AmeriCorps was debated across the country, Ted Kennedy held a rally in Boston for support of the AC programs and a few of us traveled up to the city to hear him speak. He was a sincere and charismatic speaker and I am lucky to have been in such a great event with him for a great cause dear to my heart.

On September 11th this year my dad and I visited Arlington Cemetery to pay our respects to the Kennedy's but especially to Ted in light of his recent passing.

We should be so grateful for his time and his amazing courage to his convictions and fighting for the dispossessed and under served. He often made speeches about privilege and responsibility and how his public service was his way of giving back. He was born into wealth and privilege but was a true politician for the people and i think we will all miss him very much. Well maybe not everyone, but I sure will.

our AmeriCorps crew kicks ass, still. Some of us but not all of us stopped carrying axes around.

In honor of the September 11th victims of the Pentagon we also traveled to the memorial on the grounds outside of the building. My dad lost a friend and colleague that worked with him at Dulles Airport for many years. It was tough to stand in this place of loss and destruction but i thought the memorial was beautiful and stark and a simple tribute to the people that lost their lives. Here are some of the pictures from that day.

Speaking of loss, I would like us all to take a moment to say goodbye to something dear to my heart. My Chacos. What are Chacos some of you may ask? Well they are amazing all terrain sandals. Not convinced they need to be mourned? And what happened to your sandals Kate? Well, I bought my Chacos in college and they were purple and now they are this sickly gray color. I wore them religiously on every trek and travel overseas, every jaunt through a stinky sulfur swamp and into every body of water you could think of. And now, 3 years after they started to stink and 1 year after they started to really really really stink, its time to let them go. They are dead but not forgotten. 80 bucks well spent. 8 years together and now we must part.

Dont worry, I will be recycling them in the Chaco recycling program and sending them off to some town in Africa where a young boy will wear them and then he will be made fun of for stinking just as I was. I am happy to make this child's life better. I put African kids first.

And on to simpler matters; I received a "refusal of visa" from the UK Consulate in LA because I had the wrong paperwork from my school. Long story short the immigration rules changed mid application and preparation for entry and so I got the old stuff and the immigration officers wanted the new stuff and I paid. But after a brief meltdown I finally reapplied and was issued my Visa yesterday. Immigration paperwork is really fun. I have been doing it since May. I am now an expert. Please consult me if you have any immigration questions. And no, I don't agree with Joe Wilson, Obama's health care will not cover the guys waiting at 7-11 for a full work day.

I am leaving on Sunday for England thus ends months of immigration issues, until next year tier 4 student visa officers, I simply can not wait.

And for good measure, here is a picture of Alfie trying to wake up in the morning. He has trouble, he's a sleepy hound dog from Arkansas. Life is tough....

London Calling

We've had a busy summer, hence the lack of posts and furthermore the lack of interesting posts.

So if you havent already heard from Jamey or I- we're moving to England! Yes, you heard correct, we're moving to another foreign country and we're leaving with more than a backpack full of knives and mosquito nets. This time we actually have a plan. And we dont have to speak Spanish, unless of course we want to. This has been in the works basically since we moved to Little Rock a year and a half ago. I have been accepted into a Master of Landscape Architecture program at a University outside of London. We will be living in Chelmsford England for at least the next two years while I complete my degree. Everyone is invited to come play!

So these last few months have been filled with plans and setting things in motion to make this move to England happen. While working to make this happen Jamey decided to jump off his Vespa at 30 miles an hour and now is nursing a broken arm and many road rashes. This is Jamey before his accident and when he loved his Vespa:

This is Jamey when he doesnt love his Vespa anymore:

It turns out SUV's and Vespa's are not a good pair, especially while entering into a busy intersection. Jamey has successfully broken this arm three, count em, three times. A week later he went into surgery and had a plate and 8 screws placed in the radius. In Jamey's right arm we are at a total of 10 screws. Good Job!

Its been amazing to hear all of the unsolicited and gruesome motorcycle stories from complete strangers when Jamey tells them how he broke his arm. He was wearing a big wrap cast for two or three weeks and was limping around town so a lot of people had questions about his well being. My personal favorite is the deli guy at Kroger who sees us about three times a week (we like turkey) and talks to us each time like we've never met. I know the Kroger deli counter is a popular place but come on man. Especially after Jamey broke his arm and had this big cast on it you'd think he'd remember. Really, you dont remember him? The second time he asked what happened (after having gotten the story the day before) he proceeded to tell us about seeing a woman crash her motorcycle and her head bust open on the pavement in front of him when he was 11 years old. "Man, that was gnarly."

And as we were leaving the deli counter he said " ok man, get better soon, be a Wolverine about it."

oh yes he did. he just referenced a comic book hero from X Men. and now, with a few more surgeries jamey could definitely have metal claws and regenerate a la Wolverine. We'll keep you updated.

So in light of all this metal claw/ broken arm business Jamey will not be joining me right away in England because he needs to finish healing and rehabbing. So he will be stateside until about October.

Since we'll be moving overseas I'm sure we'll have some interesting stories so stay tuned. Dont give up on us yet. it may not be as interesting as getting thrown into a Panamanian jail but you gotta work with what ya got.

And here's a picture of Alfie looking at himself in the mirror. He still checks himself out every night. He's progressed from fear to merely admiring himself. At first it started out as" holy shit, there is another dog in my bedroom" and then on to " wait.. is the dog behind this mirror?" and then "i think its me, i look damn good."

just a giant bone he found, i'm gonna go ahead and assume it was a cow and not a giant human.

Cheers!

All That Is Left Is My Human Shaped Exo-Suit

Many times while in the midst of some deep, thrilling conversation I find I have to back up my declarations or statements with clear proof from the internet. This is where the iphone comes in handy. The simple google app does wonders to prove or disprove a point that is being wildly argued, usually after a few drinks mind you. For example, the other night we happened on the topic of the villains from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, specifically about Krang, the brain like thing that was the supervillain for many years. And wouldnt you know, Jamey did not remember this character and so started to doubt my memory about this fantastic cartoon. I'm talking about the TMNT of the 80's and 90's, not the current stuff.

Anyway, I googled Krang and naturally the first link that popped up was the link to Wikipedia. For those of you who have not visited Wikipedia it is a free online encyclopedia about anything and everything and is edited, written, censored and critiqued by people like you and me. Or people not like you and me that know a lot or very little and happen to have a lot of time on their hands to write biographies and detailed analysis of whatever. There is no real regulation other than the self appointed site administrators that perform the constant editing and objections to what is written so you never know if what your reading is the truth or real or purely a subjective statement from some 14 year old kid in his parents basement in Milwaukee. Despite this, I did think that I could use Wikipedia to back me up in the situation because I figured whoever had time to write a biography about Krang really, really wanted people to know this character and probably had some great things to say. I am so happy to say that I was not dissapointed.

As you all may have realized, cartoons are often thinly veiled criticisms of a nations politics, policy or leaders and can be a very successful and fulfilling artistic format for dissent. I noticed however the TMNT of the 80's and 90's did not provoke a massive uprising or revolution, especially in Japan where it was created. Having read a little bit on Wikipedia about the villains of TMNT I began to wonder what the heck might have been going in Japan and then I realized this might just be the story of many nations. The struggle for power, independence, the pursuit of destruction of a planet etc etc... Oh and the nagging problem with turtles and rats in our sewer systems.

So to test this theory I have taken the text from the Krang Wikipedia page and have removed the villains names of which this biography is about and have inserted certain U.S. politicians names to see if the biography would still flow. Please let me know what you think. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Wikipedia biography about villains real and fake.....

DISCLAIMER: This text is taken from Wikipedia, I have inserted names/places but the text is original to another author and is not mine. I am not claiming ownership of it and i doubt I ever would because it is totally ridiculous and i think it was written by a 14 year old in a basement in Milwaukee. Also, the beginning paragraph starts just like it is written, like the person was in mid-thought and mid-sentence. Thank you.

He somehow took command of an army of Rock Soldiers under the leadership of Donald Rumsfeld, and stole the United States, a powerful battle fortress, from its creator God. One day, an unexplained, bizarre incident occurred that caused George W. Bush to be stripped of his body and reduced to a brain-like form, also resulting in his exile from Texas to Earth, along with his army and the United States.

While on Earth, Bush II allied himself with the Karl Rove, who, along with his robotic Foot Soldier army, moved into the United States. In exchange, the Rove had to design and build a new body for Bush, a human-shaped exo-suit. Rove lived up to his part of the bargain in the season 1 episode The Rove is Splintered, in no small part because he was unable to deal with the free thinking liberal and compassionate americans (the free thinkers) and needed Bush's help. Indeed, in the season 3 episode Roveville, the Turtles have a dream of a parallel world in which they never lived, and Rove had no problem taking over the world and George Clooney and Matt Damon are his friends instead of the free thinkers'. In this world, Rove abandoned Bush after his conquest was complete, leaving him with no body and a heavily-damaged United States.

Bush's ultimate goal is to take over the Earth; it probably only became his objective after he was exiled on the Earth, but this point is never made clear. Every plan Bush conceives is either aimed at that goal, or towards the short-term objective of powering-up the United States. He does not share Rove's obsession with the free thinking liberal and compassionate americans; while Rove sees them as mortal enemies, Bush seems to regard them more like annoyances to be destroyed when they interfere in his plans.
Counting from the first meeting between the free thinking liberal and compassionate americans and Bush, Bush spent eight seasons in the United States, either somewhere on Earth or in Texas, scheming to power up his battle fortress and take over the Earth. In the season 8 episode Turtle Trek, the free thinking liberal and compassionate americans destroy the engines of the United States, trapping it and its inhabitants in Texas for good and putting an end to Bush's plans.

Bush spent the next two years in Texas, until he was contacted by Cheney (The Power of Three). Cheney arranged for him and Rove to come back to Earth, to help him fight the free thinking liberal and compassionate americans (the free thinkers). However, Cheney betrays them, and drains Bush's intelligence. Rove escapes and restores Bush (A Turtle in Time), but Cheney captures them again. Finally, the free thinkers spoil his plan and transport Rove and Bush back to Texas (Turtles to the Second Power).
In the series finale, Divide and Conquer, the free thinkers return to the United States to take Bush's android body, which they need to fight Cheney. Bush is nowhere to be seen, but it is assumed that he is still somewhere in Texas.

In the Archie Comics series, Bush was depicted as far more evil and wicked than in the cartoon. He was said to have the blood of whole races on his hands, like Wingnut and Screwloose's home planet Huanu.
According to the 1987 series episode The Ninja Sword of Nowhere, Bush is a fan of Earth's soap operas (John & Marsha) Ninjaturtles - The Ninja Sword of Nowhere.

* now this last bit seems a bit far fetched but could be true, i mean, soap operas? come on...

This synopsis of the last 8 years or "seasons" seems spot on. Coincidence? I think not.