What a Wonderful 4th of July!
As we re-connected...the six of us which by now had bloomed to I-literally-lost-count proportions with children and grandchildren running and playing together like puppies...squirt guns blazing...and so many many Musicians in the family. The boys talent now confirmed...not only nurture...but genetics must play a huge role as well.
And vowing that we will all stay together now! Not just family, but somehow emotionally "survivors" isn't too strong a term.
This may actually explain Deja Vu...
Anyway, it was a perfect 4th of July...Food and Fun and Music and Family
I've spent the last couple of days "recovering", actually. And time to finish the last book in The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett: Edge of Eternity. These three massive books may be Follett's Magnum Opus. Beginning before the start of WWI and ending in the Vietnam Era. Historical Fiction they follow the lives of several families generation by generation. The third book lagged at first but quickly picked up with the building and later fall of the Berlin Wall. And how people sacrificed EVERYTHING to get to the West while it stood. It gave insight into Kennedy, Castro and the Bay of Pigs. We followed MLK to Birmingham Alabama at the height of the Civil Rights Movement and saw it through the eyes of two of the Freedom Riders. And so much more. This is hands down the best trilogy I have EVER read. And I read...a lot!
A MUST read for anyone who loves Historical Fiction.
So...the news has been full of those shake-your-head moments recently. And it hasn't been confined to the clown car of Presidential Hopefuls either.
Admittedly the two that immediately said that if elected the first thing they would do is to disband the SCOTUS (...apparently not realizing, not only is that unthinkable...it is also impossible...and even as POTUS above their pay-grade, as it were...)
And the Pastor and 2 OTHER Presidential Hopefuls who promised us Self-Immolation if SSM passed in the SCOTUS.
"Still waiting with the marshmallows, guys..."
There were also the garden variety Darwin Candidates this week. The guy who was open carrying in a Crowded Mall...well, until he decided to go from Open Carry to Open Fire on the Mall Patrons. Who saw THAT coming, eh? And it must be fairly rough on Security to know if you are just taking your semi-automatic weapon for a nice stroll, or a socio-path who takes out a Mall Full of People.
And there was The Alligator Whisperer...who at 28 made the fatal mistake of ignoring the signs, and the warnings of a local woman who pleaded with him not to swim in the Texas bayou in the evening. You know. While the gators are feeding. I believe his parting words were
"F#%& the Alligators."
Luckily his girlfriend managed to escape unharmed. The Alligator Whisper did not fare so well and managed to be attacked and killed almost immediately on diving into the brackish water.
And, two over 40 year old men, in separate instances on the 4th of July Holiday who went to see WHY the last mortar didn't explode.
Public service announcement:
NEVER stick your face and head over a recently lit mortar.
They both died of blunt head trauma when the unexploded mortars suddenly exploded in their faces.
Not to be bested...a third was killed elsewhere when he set one off
ON HIS HEAD
You know. Just to see what would happen.
They say alcohol was involved.
I'm shocked.
They removed the Confederate Flag from the Statehouse Lawn...which was a positive IMHO. But then people got insane about it...bug-shit crazy...jumping on the bandwagon. Walmart won't be selling them in the South, anymore. Although they will still be peddling a metric butt-load of crap made in sweatshops in China by children for pennies on the hour. How absolutely PC of them. Then some bright soul decided maybe we should pull down Confederate Memorials...let's pretend the whole Civil War never really happened. WTH? The crowning blow came from somebody's decision
(no...I am not making this up...)
to paint over the Confederate Flag on one of the Dukes of Hazzard Cars.
Jesus Wept.
Seriously?
Thinking in terms of Sheer Automotive Value:
Have YOU all lost your damn minds?
Yes, the STUPID has been unusually strong this week.
But that isn't how I want to end this missive. You see in the midst of all the crazy.
The Grateful Dead Declared
The Long Strange Trip was Over.
And then left us with these last words.
And they made me smile and made be feel a little more
hopeful about my fellow man.
"This feeling you have here. Take it home and do something good with this."
"I leave you with this: Be kind."
"I leave you with this: Be kind."
Jerry Garcia is smiling somewhere.
Feeling the Love