My Sister and I

This Post consists of a wonderful email exchange between my sister and I dated around the first part of September, 2007.

Good Morning Bro!

Had to think about your journal entries a bit. I love them and still say you should be blogging them. Look at www.blogger.com , so easy a lawyer can do it!

Terri: I was reading the news this morning and saw two great articles. One is that the moderate/centrist Christians are disenchanted by the Republican party. Even the hard-cores are getting miffed. First, none of the candidates are doing their 'prayer time' at the evangelical events.


Kenny: I am absolutely amazed that Mike Huckabee is not jumping all over this omission. At this point in the campaign, I suppose Cred is his problem-no golden Rol-o-Dex. ALL of the repub candidates blew off a recent evangelical convention/debate/straw poll . . . This does make it seem fairly obvious that the religious right was cynically used in 2000 and 2004.

Terri: The moderate/centrists are getting disgusted with the obsession with abortion and gay marriage. As the hysterical clouds lift and a few gay couples have actually gotten the 'piece of paper' and there hasn't been a societal downslide into public orgies, beastiality, pedophilia and polygamy, the smarter folks are starting to say, 'who cares, as long as queers don't want to get married in my church, really . . . who cares . . . '


Kenny: I do agree that the religious right landscape has seen fewer people rending their clothing and wailing about what other people’s marriage and sexual lives are about. Frankly, in the Red blogs, there is a noticeable lessening of the: “My children don’t need to see Queers walking down the street holding hands.” In the world of reality, it appears that the children look with curiosity then promptly go back to what they were doing. Rueful religious right members observe the children and are very very slowly reacting in a more rational manner. What a national "Mind bend" the whole issue has been.

Terri: I've always said the gay community needs to focus on the long game. Take your 'civil unions' and back away from the 'M' word for a generation. Buy houses, join country clubs and adopt kids. Go to PTA meetings and support progressive political candidates. Go to church, run for city council, and support public projects. In other words, be normal.


Kenny: You are absolutely spot on with that observation. The ultra aggressive wing of the gay community is doing the movement harm by pressing to much to fast. As you mention below, civil rights is an excellent model. There will be many setbacks. If Bubba is pushed to hard to fast, bad things will erupt. That’s not right, but it is the way it is. Martin Luther King figured out early on that they were going to have to take the ass-kickings. They took them and the movement while nowhere near perfect is light years improved. Gay rights can go the same route. Let the next generation of new preachers take over the pulpit and then, after everyone becomes more acclimated, approach the marriage issue. Challenge statutes and iniatiate and support mediating legislation and legal processes.

Terri: Civil rights don't happen over night. One day you woke up and had blacks living next door and you were bitching about crab grass over the fence and discovered they were just people like you. We had one of the original 'Little Rock Nine' speak at a function here in town. Talk about the bad old days . . .

Another article dealt with the defection of major business leaders from the repubs. This is serious, cuz those guys help control the financing. A couple of CEOs have even ventured out and said 'ya know, I really don't pay too much in taxes all things considered . . . and if the taxes were directed toward specific projects, I would be willing to pay a little more . .


Kenny: I do have to agree here, with this proviso. Where have these Jokers been for the past few years? I know, I know, I am being naive. This bunch will always congregate on the buttered and jellied side of the bread. It just grinds my butt. In all my years, I have never been able to embrace Republican/corporate “Me-ism”. It’s a meal best served cold.

Terri: BLASPHEMY!!! At least republican blasphemy . . .

The far-seeing business types even see things like reduction in global-warming as an opportunity . . . and more are saying they are going to support the Dems. The newer generation of business leaders do not oppose taxes, they oppose how they are spent.


Kenny: Same as above. Where the hell have they been? Like on mind consuming ideological wars that suck up the best people from the labor pool and depress social morale .

Terri: I think there is also a fundamental battle over the definition of Patriotism. I love this country. I get misty over 9-11 documentaries and national guard units marching in parades and flags and veterans wearing their 'honor the MIA' jackets. I love selling American pop culture to customers in Europe and went out of my way to be no more obnoxious than necessary when I was in Paris. I come to a complete stop before I make right turns and I don't litter. I don't apologize for the things my forefathers did and I vote every chance I get.


Kenny: I get misty reading the above and your next paragraph. What a uniquely American perspective. You encapsulate precisely what it is that makes us different. Your implied humor was terrific and your message was simple and beautifully said.

On a related but different tangent, I add that I have seen the distant shores. In Vietnam, I have picked up the dismembered leg and put it in a body bag, but I did nothing. The guys we were tending did the heavy lifting… that “last full measure”! I saw the sunken ships in Buckner Bay, Okinawa from WWII. I have walked the National Park at the nuclear blast site in Hiroshima, Japan with a heart so heavy, I was not sure I could complete my tour. Anyone who walks up and down on the Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and is not deeply moved is dead inside. When sailing into Manila harbor in the Philippine Islands from the high sea, you experience a sense of faith, almost love for the valiant soldiers who held out against the Japanese onslaught against the island of Corregidor.

All of these events, emotions, attitudes, and consequent feelings are tiles in that mosaic that we call American. Each tile is placed, broken, altered and then replaced. It may happen many times, until the change is permanent and then we move on. This compendium of experience and heart is what we call patriotism.

All that said, I maintain my hard won, freedom given right to question authority and criticize the government. I refuse to buy into the 'with us or against us' and 'questioning the war is giving comfort to the enemy' and 'doubt is treason' stance taken by this particular government. The thrust of that sentence was bought into by frightened and unsure Americans, and therefore accounts for one national election, the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives, hundreds of billions of dollars, and horrific loss of international prestige. Leaders don't have to bend to the whims of every opinion poll, but they do need to be accountable to the 'stockholders' of AmeriCorp. The leadership, and it pains me to use that term when referring to what we have in Washington at present, are not accountable and tragically, have not been held accountable for their actions. This country, legislatively, has been hijacked by the forty nine Senator Cabal in the United States Senate, and a foolish pretender in the executive. Yet throughout, the people are silent. Where are the pitchforks and torches? I remember a cool quote from Abbie Hoffman in 1971: “Nixon is the only dope worth shooting”. Where is the civil disobedience?

I contend that keeping the caskets out of sight upon their arrival back in the United States and, of course, using the “strictly volunteer” Army tends to tamp down any real outrage. Unfortunately “It’s not my problem” is an altogether too common manner of dealing with the Iraq outrage. This is certainly not new, but instituting a draft would end United States involvement in Iraq in about two weeks. As soon as the money folks kids started receiving draft notices, The Iraq war would end. Just a poor boy griping? Maybe not.

Terri: Rant aside, I think the time of the neocons is coming to a close. Absolute social intolerance is tiring and the 'middle majority' is getting bored with being screamed at from the 10% on either edge. It’s about Damn time! They may not support gays and abortion, but those two tiny little issues don't define them. They bitch about taxes, but pay them. They don't understand global warming, but know it kinda scares them. They are tired of the war, even if they thought it was a good idea in the first place
Who knows, if the Iraq war helps dispel the neocon fantasy of the 'surgical strike' and the '30-day victory' then some good may come out of the debacle.


Kenny: This is what is really scary about this. Here I am some nobody and I knew that was bullshit when we first started hearing those terms. The horrid part was that this nonsense was embraced as policy and acted upon. 3,895 of our young people have died acting on this myth. Lets not forget the tens of thousands injured and disabled, and then the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens that are dead and injured. What a legacy for the neocon cabal and their boy. I cannot believe they did this. Worse, I can’t believe we let them without a fight.

Predisone, Albuteral, and Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips

Generally, I consider myself a pretty smart guy.

Here is the deal. I happen to love vinegar and salt potato chips. I will eat them by the bag. I hadn't eaten any for a long time, so I picked up a bag at the grocery store. With much anticipation, I got the bag of chips and headed for the Blogs with them and a Pepsi. I am subjecting you to this meaningless drivel to point out a great injustice which has been thrust upon me. I started eating my chips and they were good! They invoked good memories, tasted good, and in general just perked me up.

About one half an hour later, the inside of my mouth was "on fire". This was serious. It hurt like hell. I was whining around the house rinsing my mouth out with different solutions and no relief. It was serious pain! My friend observed this behavior and suggested we go to the emergency room. Isn't this dumb? I told her that I appreciated the suggestion, but I'll be damned if I am going to the Emergency Room and report that I am suffering from Potato chip consumption! My God, some semblance of dignity must be preserved.

In the meantime the Southern California Santa Anna wind driven brush fires were still raging in my mouth. I was in tear inducing pain. This was looking "like the big one Elizabeth".

Finally, I remember that the Hospital had an Advice Nurse on duty around the clock. I decided that telephone ignominy was acceptable and called the number. I sheepishly explained my problem and she said "Oh, salt and vinegar chips", I replied, Yup. Then she asked if I was taking any medications. I rattled off the list and when I got to the Predisone and Albuteral, she said "there you go". I said, Huh? The Nurse said "I want you to lay the phone down and, if you have it, go mix one teaspoon of baking soda into a drinking glass of warm water, and then rinse your mouth out several times and then gargle softly. Don't swallow the solution." I went and gathered the materials and complied with those instructions.

I am here to tell you, the relief was just like the mythical drinking of Ambrosia. It was wonderful. I could feel the relief, it was a tangible force. I got back on the telephone, in an almost tearful state and reported my results to this angel of mercy. She explained that the Predisone has a sensitizing effect on the skin, and the Albuteral inhalations exaggerated the sensitivity further. Anyway, she said the tissue on the inside of our mouths is delicate in any circumstance, and then when I loaded it up with all that acid from the Vinegar, it was an invitation to hell revisited, Which I surely found. The rinsing with the baking soda was a simple remedy reestablishing a PH balance in my mouth.

By this time I was high on feeling good. I told her I would be her slave forever. She politely declined citing the fact that her Grandchildren would not approve. I replied, how about if I wash your car then. She again declined. I thanked her profusely and went about my business. She is gone, but not forgotten. My Doctor happens to be her Boss, so I will make sure that he is aware of the jewel that he has on his staff.

On a more serious note, I am reminded once again of the fundamental goodness of my fellow man, in this case, my fellow women. We are so blind-sided by the evil doers and the sensational that we don't often take adequate note of those, my advice nurse, for example, who make a quiet difference in our lives for just a few minutes in one day.

HP and Me

My little Sister, who I admire beyond any small words that I can muster suggested that I make an effort to blog some of the, lets say it again, "mutterings" that I have written in a journal that I am doing for my Daughter.

I was always reluctant to do that because I couldn't imagine anyone being interested in reading something like this. I finally got the point though. Whether or not anyone is interested is irrelevant. The act of my writing it and then presenting the words is what it's about. I get it, and here I am.

December 18, 2007 Journal entry


Good morning!


I am really buoyant despite the rainy crappy weather. I can report substantial progress on rebuilding the frame for the Genealogy wall hanging. Small wonder, this project, although near and dear to my heart is still presenting me with roadblocks. Several months ago, I had ordered a special ink cartridge from HP that is designed especially for photograph printing. The picture is guaranteed to last one hundred years. At the same time, I ordered the paper for reproducing the photos.


I set my printer up yesterday for the process and the damn cartridge is not the correct one. Sheesh! This further adds to my delay. I swear, this could almost make a TV episode. "How to screw everything up". When I received the cartridge, I didn't check it out. Is there any hope for Ol Dad, Sweetheart? I don't know.

However, I promise I will be intrepid.

Later in the day:

The great HP print cartridge update:

My bad! After having my "Sheesh" spasm, I decided to send an inquiry to HP Support and inquire what the hell was the deal. I told HP, in no uncertain terms, that I was pretty disappointed in their system of selecting products to be sent from peoples orders. Further, I was stopped dead still in my project because of their incompetence. Finally, I was just madder than hell. A very patient young lady named Raven emailed me back and after the obligatory thank you's and we are sorry's', she asked me "When you took out the black print cartridge.... "Huh? black print cartridge, what?" Her message went on- "when you insert the photo cartridge in the black print spot.... Uh Oh! wait, let me get back to you on that, Raven. I surreptitiously, as if anybody was watching, replaced the color cartridge back in the color spot and removed the black print cartridge and then, Oh Boy, slipped that Photo cartridge right in there. It fit like a glove.

I now remembered that I had just handed Raven a huge smackdown. Bless her heart. I now have to email her and make a happy. I did exactly that. I congratulated her on her professionalism and thanked her for the help. I received a very professional response thanking me in return for using HP Products, and so on. I did appreciate that. However, at some level, I know that Raven is sitting there, laughingly shaking her head and muttering, "Big Dummy"!

Ain't life wonderful? It is so self correcting. Just about the time you think you got something nailed, a certain or uncertain truth pops up and bites you right on the butt. You would think by now, I would have that figured out. I'm smiling. I just love it.