Confederates in the Attic

So I'm reading a new book I picked up today at B & N ~ titled above. (I could spend hours in there browsing, reading and relaxing - thanks Mom for adding me to your club membership which equates to great discounts - the smell of the books is relaxing to me.) I'm only into the first few chapters so far and it's great view of a very different world we live in. You've heard of those "can't put it down" books? This is one of those. Occasionally I find one of these even though I read non-fiction. So far, this is a humorous and informational no-nonsense look at the deep south and how America can't get enough of the Civil War. Some southerners say the war isn't over, it's "half-time." One thing I've learned with my limited reading of other Civil War books, is that more confederate soldiers died per capita than the the Northern soldiers. Southern men and boys came to fight, not because they owned slaves - they didn't- it was the principle of it. They believed in their cause. A large percentage of southerners are direct decedents of civil war soldiers. A few family bibles once kept by a soldier remain with that descendant's family. Mementos of the war between the states as they refer to it in the south, is very common. Not a common memento is a piece of shin bone kept in a mason jar, brought home by someones great-great-great grand daddy when a musket ball took out a piece of his leg as he hid in a tree. And Carol thinks my old license plate collection is weird.

A collected quote says it all. The South is a place. East, west and north are nothing but directions. In retrospect, I see how true this is. I spent 18 months in Alabama after Vietnam. It was like stepping back in time, both good and bad. I even bought a small Confederate flag, not having any association of slavery, it was merely history to me. I enjoy history. (Does living in Southern Nevada and Southern Utah count ?)

An oldie but a goodie!

I received this from an old friend who now lives in Utah & the voice in my head told me to share. (For you Gen X'ers, Patsy Cline sang good county, passed away in 1963.) Song is a sad one, made hilarious here. You'll need your sound on. (I probably don't need to tell you Gen X'ers how to do this.) I laughed out loud - I hope you do, too! Please enjoy. PS I miss my old friend.

Why does he yell at me?

Is it just me? Billy Mays has worn out his credibility (if he had any)! His "in your face" approach does the opposite for me with the products he promotes. Does his stuff work? Can Obama get him off TV? Can we file a complaint with the FCC? I almost expect him to be a TV Evangelist some day, as he's believable as _________ (fill in the blank).

Unofficial picture of the day

This was my view, standing at the curb, on the not-so-friendly New York City streets. The cab pulling away as I waved and hollered, trying to get the driver's attention . . . NOT. It was Cash Cab & I knew the right answer! At least I know most of the answers on this show compared to Jeopardy. I enjoy this show, watching the city scenes pass by in the back ground, remembering the one time I was there with Andrea. Well, we shared a room having arrived on separate days in Nov 2006. Out of four days there, we were finally able to spend one day sight seeing together. The subways are loud and confusing, full of graffiti and busy city-folk, but efficient. A few cab rides were short & interesting; the ones to and from the airport were slow & expensive! I felt like I was on the Seinfeld show.
Pretty bad when I relate life to Television shows! ~ I just can't "do" Survivor Man.

Long Arm of the Law

Ron M's recent post of Lance Armstrong's stolen bike reminded me a happy ending to another stolen bike. I was working swing shift patrol in the West Charleston area in early 80's. As usual patrol practice looking for bad guys I sometimes drove through store parking lots, knowing they were a mecca for thieves and perverts. As I drove past the front doors of the Montgomery Wards at Oakey and Decatur, I saw a young boy crying and looking around. I made contact and between breaths and broken sentences, he told me that his brand new, chrome Stingray bike had been stolen. He hadn't locked it, "but I only went inside for a minute." I told him to get in my patrol car and we'd look for it. He was maybe ten years old. I advised dispatch and made it all official sounding which helped calm the kid. I had my doubts but wanted to give him some hope, and asked where he lived. I figured I'd just drive him home and take a stolen bike report there, with his parents. Hopefully, they'd have the serial number. (but most victims didn't) I told him to watch for it as we drove up and down a few streets as we headed to his house, and let me know if he saw it. (Again, for the kid's benefit as I thought this was a lost cause.) As we were driving the kid sat straight up in the seat and shouted, "There it is!" pointing to an older kid pedaling down the street, maybe a block away. He was riding on the wrong side of the street in a housing neighborhood and going the same direction as us. He hadn't seen us yet. I had to think fast. Quickly, I played out a plan in my head: I thought my best chance of getting him was if I'd drive up next to him and reach out and grab the kid's arm, thus recovering the stolen bike and suspect without a foot pursuit I may not win. (He was in tennis shoes and much younger.) What could go wrong? With my window rolled down, I leaned over and almost out of the car as I carefully steered the car as close as I thought I safely could without running over the bike. As we got next to him, he looked over and with big eyes saw me. My left hand put a death grip on his right wrist and I slowed the car. "Gotcha! You're under arrest." (or words to this effect) I needed to make it clear, I wasn't going to let him go, and I needed to communicate my legal authority to grab and detain him. (even though he knew exactly why). As soon as I had the car stopped, he dropped the bike, straddled it with both legs, as I held on to him. I had to figure out how to get out of the car without letting go so I can put him in handcuffs. I didn't want to release him and risk his running away. I put the car in park, put my left foot on the pavement, reached over the door with my right hand grabbing his right arm, let go of my left, stepped out of the car, and then twisted his right arm behind his back, giving him verbal orders to put both hands behind his back. (didn't know I could multi-task, huh?) As I got out of the car, I realized he was as big as me, if not bigger, just young and stupid. I put the cuffs on without much concern for his pain, more for my safety. I turned him around to pat him down for weapons ~ normal course of action ~ and saw a large wet spot in the front of his jeans. Yup, I scared him that bad. (it happened several times in my career - to the perp, not me) Later I found other paraphernalia and stolen items in his wet pockets at juvenile home which added to his charges, but that's another story. He was a really bad kid and almost an adult. To make a long story short, my little victim drove his bike home, I followed, took a very fast grand larceny report for the stolen bike - details "See arrest report-bike recovered." and headed off to Juvenile Home where I ended up with a larger investigation due to those items I found on him. He was a residential burglar. My arrest solved these and returned jewelry and money to two relieved homeowners who had left their home for the day, not using the dead bolt. He was a "door kicker," one of the most common means of entry into homes. That was a great shift! And they all lived happily ever after.
Please use those dead bolts and list serial #s of your valuables.

Thoughts on Presidents Day

Some of you know I enjoy reading history and memoirs. Since it's President's Day, I thought I'd share a little information. As much as I've admired George Washington for this famous picture above, my current read, American Creation, supports what I've read before. Washington kneeling in snow seeking Divine guidance at Valley Forge is a fabrication. It didn't happen. In reality, Valley Forge was a disaster for the Continental Army. (not yet the United States in 1777) It was winter quarters for an array of volunteer armies supplied by 13 colonies, all with their own ideas on military protocol, rank, uniforms, etc. No real leadership, desertion was rampant. Luckily, it was during a time in history that considered war wasn't fought during winter. Valley Forge was "a kind of Gethsemane for America." The British Army was housed in the warm, well supplied city of Philadelphia, about 20 miles away, with thousands of more and better disciplined troops. They were professional soldiers. Had they attacked Valley Forge, we may all be speaking with an English accent today. It must have been a grim scene. (It gets really, really cold in Pennsylvania in the winter.) Out of 12,000 soldiers, only 3-4,000 were fit for duty. About 2,500 soldiers were unavailable for lack of shoes or clothes, 3,500 were confined to their huts too weak to fight, some just waiting to die, 2,000 were in make shift hospitals. It was a breeding ground for dysentery, small pox and typhus. Medicines were in short supply. (record keeping was not a priority then - numbers are vague)

In support of George Washington, he was a religious man as well as intelligent. He recognized that time and space was on his side and the way to lose the war was to try to win it. He knew we didn't need to be the aggressor, we only needed to survive as one Army. He reorganized troop logistics, instituted training and military strategy of the war. During the many years of the War of Independence, many events occurred and lessons were learned, but ultimately, this book anyway, states that Valley Forge became a decisive factor in both the war and the very meaning of the American Revolution. Because of one man; George Washington.

Let's hope our current and future presidents have Washington's insights in guiding us! (my least favorite president(s) have been Carter and Clinton - both Democrats, what I am.) hmmmm.

Friday the 13th?

I'm not really superstitious so don't believe this day holds any spells on our destiny, (But then again, it's not over yet as I post this - sitting in So Utah, overcast and 40 degrees outside - don't think I'll bike ride today, not because it being Friday the 13th, but because it's too cold. ) But for those who are and who may really care, you need to be concerned, there are two more Friday the 13th's this year; March and November. Interestingly, or not, last year we only had one Friday the 13th to endure all year, in June, and next year there will be only one, in August. So plan your trips accordingly :-) Hmmm, the more I think about it ~ I think I'll stay inside today and enjoy the book I'm currently reading, American Creation, history of the key events in the founding of our country. I'll let you know if any infamous calamities occurred on a Friday the 13th. (Come to think of it we started with 13 colonies which became 13 states. This can't be an unlucky number and there's 13 in my immediate family - counting the pets.)

Random musings

Why does flammable and inflammable mean the same thing? Do we really need all the routine maintenance our cars' manufacturers recommend & why do I keep getting pre-recorded second-notice-reminder calls about my car's warranty when it's long past? Who decided cuss words are cuss words and why are some acceptable and some not? What will supplant blogs in our computer world? When can I retire again? Why do some cats purr while others don't? Blonds have more fun than who? Why is a pregnant goldfish called a twit? Why is nutmeg extremely poisonous if injected intravenously. Does everyone over 55 get by on 6 1/2 hrs sleep? Why am I allergic to penicillin? Is pasta-on-a-stick feasible for fast-food? Where's that money Obama promised me? Who will win Carol's 300th post drawing? (Is this a good last question?)

Chocolate news

Look what I found today! I'd heard this but found it in print. It wasn't too long ago that chocolate was considered about as healthy as a stick of butter. Not anymore. Although it may seem too good to be true, research does show that one type of chocolate is rich in the same protective antioxidants found in apples, grapes, green tea, and red wine. So is chocolate the new superfood? Not quite. But a growing body of evidence suggests chocolate may have more to offer than guilty pleasure. (Antioxidants are thought to help protect against cardiovascular disease.) The strawberries in the above picture are a bonus.

Foods Rich in Heart-Healthy Flavonoids; Apples, Apricots, Blackberries, Chocolate, Cranberries, Grapes, Green Tea, Onions, Red wine. (Grape juice works!) But not all chocolate is created equal. It's really only dark chocolate, high in cocoa content, that seems to be of benefit. Not white chocolate. Not milk chocolate. Only rich, dark chocolate. Guilt-free Dairy Queen? :-)

Just thought I'd share with my fellow bloggers. Source: http://www.realage.com/NutritionCenter/Articles.aspx?aid=10286

Unoffical photo of the day

Carol in between blogging, staining bathroom cabinets and experimenting with her new camera on an overcast, cool and lazy Sunday.

What bugs you?

Pet peeves ~ non-anonymous. Some of mine, in no particular order:

1. Other drivers who don't signal and I could've gone if I'd had known.

2. Spanglish spoken at fast food drive-thrus or not getting what I'd orderd on the phone & only finding out after arriving home.

3. Having to listen to another's cell phone conversation and I have no escape.

4. Politicians, period; this about sums it up. (A necessary evil.)

5. Those who deny the Holocaust.

6. Tailgaters at freeway speeds. (I've been known to wash my windshield; its unfortunate the over spray gets on them. Use caution here.)

7. The Socialistic trend America is going. (See # 4 above.)

8. I-15 under continuous construction.

9. A neighbor's yapping dog.

10. "Comfort food" that's not healthy.

My picture-of-the-day

I'm not officially doing the picture of the day but couldn't resist using this opportunity and do a video of what Cohen had to show me when I got home from work today! Sandler tries. . . . . . Monkey Boys Hop Scotch!