Last Time, Let's Have Some Fun!

It's my last week here at the helm, so come on ladies, show me how Girls Just Want To Have Fun.

Like a Virgin

Okay, I've got nothing that I really want to talk about with this one, so I'm just going to type and see what comes up. I'll see if this is worth posting when I'm done (or I'll just post it and let it go at that).

It reminds me of one of my dad's off-color jokes:

A woman in her 70s is brought in for questioning during the McCarthy trials. (Thank you Wisconsin).
The sweet, innocuous woman asks why she's been brought in.
The interrogators tell her it is because she's suspected of being a communist.
She asks why, and is told that her passport shows she's traveled to the USSR.
Her response:
"I've been to the Virgin Islands, too."

My dad told it better. I'm not a good joke teller.

Like a Virgin reminds me of why I liked being in school. And no, it wasn't about the sex. It was the beginnings. You could start new at the beginning of each term -- promise yourself that you would do everything right this term, get the readings done, start early on projects and papers, be the best student you could be. It was even more prevalent at the beginning of each school year -- making promises to yourself that you knew in your heart you would not keep. Starting over.

I guess, to some degree, you get to do that at the beginning of each new relationship, too. Which I guess is the point of the Madonna song -- you may have been down this road before, but it was with a different person, and therefore the whole experience of the road will be different this time. Hmmm. Road metaphors and sex. Done that before.

At one point, Susan and I had a long discussion about the different ways that men and women seem to experience sex. It turned into a car metaphor, involving speeds, warming up, going the distance......we are masters of the extended metaphor. Cathy's getting pretty good, too.

Which, all in all, has nothing to do with being touched like the very first time. Is that a good thing? If I remember back to high school (and I try not to), fumbling around in my boyfriend's Hyundai Excel, a car most certainly purchased by his parent to insure that there was no way their 6'2" son was going to have sex in his car (it worked), the very first touching isn't all that memorable and impressive. How could it be? No one has a clue what it is they're doing. Experience is good, if you learn from it. Not everyone does, unfortunately.

Anyways, I don't look all that great in white. I have no desire to play dress up in brides' gowns. Ick. I don't want to ever fake that I am virginal property being bartered off. The feminist in me opposes most wedding symbolism, even if the need to public ally recognize a private bond is an important thing for many people. It is beyond willing suspension of disbelief to believe that the bride, who has been living with her fiancé for 5 years, is a virgin on her wedding day. And does it really matter? That would be her choice, yes? That said, some people look great in white and should wear it if it suits them.

Sometimes I guess it surprises me that with all the different strides made in demolishing many gender roles (it is now acceptable for women to be career-driven and for men to be care-givers, for the most part, although it's not easy to buck the "traditions") that this central celebration in many people's lives has seen so little change or even scrutiny. If a couple intends to build a life that differs from their parents' lives, which most of my generation sees as ideal, would they not be interested in creating a ceremony that reflects that? And I don't mean a touch of personality in the traditional ceremony. I mean recreating it. If you are not a religious person, why get married in a church?

Another way in which I am often confused about the way people think about things. Or don't seem to think about them, as the case may be.

My apologies for a Madonna-influenced post that had little to do with sex. I hate to disappoint.

By Jove, I think I've got it!

Just got this joke from a knitting pal:

I'm a chaplain at the County senior citizens' home. The other day I saw
a 96-year-old lady knitting a sweater for her granddaughter.
"What kind of yarn are you using?" I asked.
She said, "Virgin wool."
"Where do you get that," I asked.
"Ugly sheep," she smiled.

OK, I'll start.

As I've said before, I'm pretty virginal lately. NOT by choice. It sucks really...unless, of course, I look at my past & the men I've been with. Looking at it THAT way, I should cheer - whoo whoooot!! I'm SINGLE!! NO SHIT-THAT-COMES-WITH-MEN!!! NO SEX!! Wait. Stop. No sex?? I love sex, I love intimancy (??)...I. LOVE. HUGS. Hugs make me feel safe. Life will be OK if I get a hug that tells me it's so. no.matter.what.

My last boyfriend was all right. We still talk. I just decided it wasn't going to work because 1.) I didn't want to be his mother. 2.) I didn't want to be his therapist. 3.) His porn collection beat any porn store's. ANYWHERE. (Some is fine, but really - trust me on this) 4.) HE.WAS.A.PIG. Had something against showering every day (which I found out after the "newness" wore off), and OMG - his house. (long distance, so this took time to find out) Truly, I should have taken pictures. But when I get lonely (not often, but it happens), & start wondering if you CAN, TRULY, become a VIRGIN ALL OVER AGAIN.......I think of him. And after I think about the S_X (you know, the stuff that makes you a NON-virgin).....I realize one of my best memories of him was standing in line at a cafe....late Saturday morning....I was leaning back into him, he had his arms on my shoulders, leaning into me, his head leaning on mine. Not saying a word - either of us. Comfort. Totally. THAT'S what I've come to miss the most. Batteries & all the toys in the world won't give you that..........

Like a Virgin

I'm sorry, I got nothin'.

Can we do Weird Al's Like a Surgeon instead?

It's that time again!

It's that time again kids - and why aren't you all posting?? Just checkin'. As you know (because I'm pretty sure - posting or not - you've been paying attention), there are only 37 more shopping days until Tugday!! Which, of course, makes me a Virgo. Very virginal. SHUSH. I've been single long enough I can, sadly, make this statement with a straight face. Daughter K, you say? You've never met her (Cooth, you can pretend) - you don't know she's real...

So without further ado - this week's song is by Madonna.....Like a Virgin. Post away!! (If not, I may just be tempted to go back to Lee or Toby just to get you going)

Buffett Concert

Some of it's magic, some of it's tragic.

But I've had a good life all the way. My fave saying EVAH, from "He Went To Paris". JB.

***OK, I don't know what's going on, but you'll have to look at the next post (above) to see the flippingdamn picture. ***

Yes, I'm protecting the not-so-innocent (I'm in the pink & not 'wearing' protection). Awesome people who probably have their own websites by now, but it's not up to me to pimp them out. This was taken at a Jimmy Buffett concert in Phoenix. FUN TIMES. My boss at the time (middle) not only supplied the party this night, but also made sure I got to see a lot of Diamondback games (including the playoffs the year they won the World Series) (I got to see Greg Maddox pitch. Mark McGuire play. And the World Series Diamondbacks team!!). My friend from Vegas (left) drove over for the concert because we'd already been to see Jimmy in Vegas and LOVED.IT. And as much fun as this concert was - Vegas was better.

We had no idea what to expect. The concert was at the MGM Grand Casino, which is MONDORMOUS. We walked in, & I swear to you our mouths DROPPED (& we lived in Vegas, we'd "seen it all"!). You could not turn around in that hugeass casino without seeing a Hawaiian shirt, leis, men - young, old, buff, skinny, fat.....in coconut shell bras & grass skirts. And you never felt the need to puke - it was AWESOME. There were cheeseburger hats, parrots perched atop heads precariously....all.over.the place. We got there early, so we went out back. Tommy Rocker was performing.....if ever you go to Vegas on a Saturday night - stop by Tommy Rocker's - he comes very highly recommended. By me, and many many more. So anyway, we had nosebleed seats, but you wouldn't know it because the crowd was SO into it. We were a part of it, even in high altitude. And when he sang "Fins", it was just amazing to see the sea of fins in front of us - fins to the left, fins to the right. sing it with me now. You've got to go to a Jimmy Buffett concert at least once in your life. Truly.

Daughter K asked me what he sang when I first said I couldn'tWAIT to go to the concert. "Why Don't We Get Drunk & Screw"....."Wasted Away In Margaritaville".....those were all I could think of without preparing for this pop quiz. She was very proud of her mama, let me tell you. Even prouder when her hubby just KNEW. And we discussed wasting away & getting drunk. She rolled her eyes...until I played a CD for her. And again when I played his Christmas CD. She loves him now, & bought me a box set of Buffett for my birthday one year. Heart Squatter #1? The very first song he "danced" to was Volcano. **sigh** proud moment. brought tears. OK, not really, but that kinda made the moment seem better. Play along please.

SO ANYWAY. I love this song, & need to listen to more Jimmy again, I've kinda lost touch. He makes me smile. Nothing remains the same, sometimes we want to go back. But there's too much waiting in front of us, and if we don't laugh, we will go insane. That's it in a nutshell kids, thanks for the laughs! You can also check out Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville for fun times; you won't regret that either. Trust me...................Parrot Heads will never lead you astray.

472747N to 42.321597

This is great. This comes as I prepare myself to actually (at an ungodly early hour) change latitude this week.

I cannot tell you how psyched I am.

Remember being a kid? School lasted from September to June (or August to May) and then there was SUMMER!!!!!!

Adulthood sucks, vacation-wise. Not only that, but the US has some of the worst vacation policy seen among developed nations. We live to work, rather than working to live. How sad.

My trip to Boston is a vacation in that, though I will be "working," the work is related to a chosen activity (union membership and activism) rather than to what I get paid to do. And? It's BOSTON. They have a library. I love libraries. Every time I hit a new city, if I have time, I check out the library. This time, I don't even have to go out of my way -- there will be a reception there. And if all goes well, I will have the opportunity to meet another blogger -- I'll post her link if she agrees to it.

Even the prospect for a change in latitude has changed my whole attitude -- my whole outlook on life.

We need more vacation time.

Done bitching. (for now)

My original song in this whole "MY MONTH" spot was 'Bitch' by Meredith Brooks. HowEVER, I think 'bitch' came up enough last week (yes - I'm guilty) that we'll skip the whole Bitch week (how fun is THAT - just skip a week!) and instead, go with Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes by none other than my favorite beach bum, Jimmy Buffett. You've just got to love a guy that learned to play guitar because college sucked (or he sucked at it), he noticed all the chicks were surrounding a guy playing the guitar, & said "I want that". And look where it got him.... My name is Tug, and I am a Parrot Head.

I Wanna Talk about Me

I DON’T wanna talk about me. Right now, me is my least favorite subject. I have been in a major self-loathing phase for about 6 months now. I’ve been here before, but never for this long. I’m not sure what the whole problem is, but I’m guessing it is mostly stress with a pinch of mid-life crisis thrown in for good measure. A couple of years ago, I lost a substantial amount of weight. Last year, I gained almost 1/2 of it back. I just can’t seem to get myself caring about me again. It sucks.

I have a lot of icky qualities and wish I could change. I’m not close to my family. But I have nothing in common with any of them and seem to contact them more out of obligation than desire. I have few friends that I stay in contact with but desperately want to. I just don’t feel like any of them would want to hear from me. I cannot pretend that I like someone. If I don’t like you, I can’t fake it. Talking to you is absolutely horrendous for me. (This is the number one personality flaw of me). I cry when I get angry. I can’t (or maybe won’t) stick up for myself in a discussion. I’m a big chickenshit when it comes to conflict. Someday, I will just explode because of the frustration.

I’ve never felt like my dad loved me. I asked my mother about this last year and she basically said that he is just disappointed with how my life has turned out. Geez. I was pretty happy with it up until that point. You know, now that I think about it, it was right after that road trip with mom that I started gaining weight again and did nothing about it. My parents also told me, when I was 12, that no one would ever love me if I was fat. I’m bound and determined to prove them wrong. But then, I don’t even love me at the moment. I’m very disappointed in how my son is living his life at the moment and blame myself. I know he is the one that has made the bad choices, but I just can’t help but wonder what I have done wrong to make him do all this stupid shit. I need to get over this because I never want him to feel about me, the same way I feel about my dad. Of course, I think he takes pleasure in making me feel bad and/or stupid. Somedays he can be a real ass.

Okay, rant/pity party over. Carry on.

Moi?

I came up with this whole idea, you'd think it would be easy. Notsomuch. Probably because I'm living in HELL now, and really REALLY getting bitchy. It's my story. My post. My idea. Deal. (to me, as much as you the FUN readers & commenters) I used to make fun of myself I was so damn perky. and happy. Now I don't call my friends, don't write, don't.do.shit. Because I'm bitchy. And I don't like it. All because of a job I TRANSFERRED FOR. OFFERED TO TRANSFER FOR. Because it would bring me closer to my family. Who I LOVE. More than life itself. If it weren't for them, and I were here, I'd have gone postal LONG ago. Meg said "listen to me bitch".......here I am. Bitching. While I'm at it - in the comments, I asked kT her biggest life fear (because I've been thinking about it myself duh). Mine? That I will never find "the one", and my daughter (only child) will be stuck caring for me. So I've been thinking about that lately, too. That, and the friends I've lost touch with because they knew the "happy" me, & I don't call because all I have to do now is bitch. And I get tired of hearing MYSELF bitch, so won't do it to them. SO. HERE'S THE DEAL. Today, as every day for the last 2+ years, I job searched. This scares me, because I, Grandma that I am, have NEVER had to apply for a job. ALWAYS had a referral. And I'm a grandma (meaning not cute young thing). (And have tons of experience, but no degree) But I'm GOOD at what I do, so I WILL find something! I WILL get back in shape!! I WILL find friends in this hell I now have to call home. I WILL have FUN THINGS to call friends about! Attitude...........it's a damn good start. I will be the annoying perky person once again.............it's my mission. And my word. Which, in the olden days of which I grew up....meant more than a contract signed in blood. And if this job (which I WILL blog about once I quit) doesn't suck all the blood from my body? I give you my WORD, & my blood. lifeisgood, lifeisgood, lifeisgood, hummina hummina hummina............(& to my blogger friends? THANK YOU!!!)

I'm way totally sad, and not in the waa sense either

Okay, this is supposed to be the "let's talk about ME" post right? Well, I've now started this post... about... 6 times. Yup. And this is what you get. A post about me unable to write about me which is really sad in a short bus kind of way (what's a shameless plug among friends?). Yeah. And so... what to talk about... my toe nails are painted fuchsia? I want to repaint my dining room a more appetizing butter-cream color and do away with the big-bird walls? In staring at my toes (how else does one come up with such a resounding statement as my toes are painted fuchsia?) I've realized that I have 11 bug bites on my feet. I hate nature unless it's in a zoo. But I love the animals. And really don't mind the bugs so much, even if they are REALLY fond of me, and my blood.

Wow, I guess I CAN talk about me. Look at that. Only? You have to change the phrase around and substitute a few words. So "Lets talk about me" gets changed to "Listen to me Bitch". Wow. Refreshing.

I know there are happy bouncy people out there. If you ever have the pleasure of speaking to me on the phone or in person, you would think I'm this happy uppity creature. I'm not. It's a good facade.

Here's 10 random facts about me.

• I miss my goth phase and which I hadn't grown out of it
• The same with my Theater phase (which lasted all of my youth)
• I'm profoundly dyslexic with words and letters
• Also with numbers but I can memorize stupidly long chains of numbers
• And do most math in my head, and I'm almost always correct
• I hate nature, but you already knew that... or you should if you've been paying attention and your eyes didn't automatically drift to the bullets which most people's will but whatever. Go back and read. NOW.
• I'm bossy. No, I mean like way bossy. Like Spence would really like it if I stopped acting like his mother now. Not his mother but his mother. You know what I mean.
• I want to be Patricia Cornwell when I grow up
• I refuse to admit that I may very well be grown up already (at almost 30) because it's too depressing of a thought
• I'm really sad that my food processor died many moons ago because I saw a recipe on 30 minute meals (Rachel Ray) last week that I'm dying to try and it's totally bumming me out.

Yeah, be glad, I think I'm done now.

I wanna talk about me

Isn’t that, in general, what blogging is all about?

I tried, a few weeks back, to do one of those 100 Things that so many people have on their blogs. It’s harder than it looks. I guess I learned that I blog to get to know myself better (and because it’s a little more fun to rant and rave and ponder and muse in a public forum than in my nice little spiral notebooks) rather than to let other people get to know me well. But it turns out, I don't want to talk about me.

For all the yakking I do online, a lot of what goes on in my head is reserved for conversations, letters, and emails with people close to me. I don’t make friends easily, but when I do find someone with whom I can have a real conversation, I am loathe to let that person disappear from my life. I don't want to talk about me, I want to talk out the random and somewhat annoying thoughts that plague me.

Have you ever noticed that one of the hardest things to do is describe yourself? I totally suck at it. No matter what you say, you sound like a wanker. I tried it (describing myself) in my brief foray into online dating. I don’t think the attempt (the dating or the profile) was particularly good.

So, I’ll tell you about me. What do you want to know?

Questions Added Below

What's your favorite color?
I have two at the moment: lavender and crayola green.

If you had to have dinner with a current A list star, who would it be?
Hmmm. Where is the A list? Because I honestly don't know who is on it right now. I'd have a damn good time with Rupert Everett, but I doubt he's "A" list right now.

Do you support Hillary Clinton?
Support her for what? I am glad she is in our Senate. I think she is well-educated, intelligent, thoughtful, and a career politician. The latter means I don't necessarily trust her. Do I support her run for President in 2008? No. I don't think she has the personality or charisma or public speaking ability to win the popular vote. Not that that apparently matters anymore.

I thought her speech last year on the polarizing abortion debate was excellent and the response was telling. I would like to know how we came to a point in the United States where, whenever a politician (again, I understand, they aren't to be trusted) asks people to look at the grey areas -- the common ground that those opposed to and in support of an issue actually share, the points from which conversations could begin -- he or she is lambasted by both the right and the left as being wishy-washy. Since when did good discussion or actual debate -- when TWO or more sides of an issue can be heard -- become something to mock or run from?

(Side note: another EXCELLENT speech calling for a re-examination of what we have in common and where we stand was Barack Obama's speech on religion.)

What is your life fear?
That I will fail to make my life extraordinary. That when I die, I will discover that I have not lived. And unlike Thoreau, I don't think I need to go out into the woods to find marrow.

And one more thing about me. "Wanna" annoys the grammar professor inside me to all ends of the earth.

Yes, I know what day it is.

And I know it's not "post the new song" day. BUT, at 3:30 pm, and not a SECOND later, I am heading north for HS #1's birthday, and not coming back until Monday-ish. And I hope to be so busy being funGrandma, I don't have time to get to a computer. So you can either follow the rules (seriously - rules?) and wait to post until Monday (or later), or you can be like me - rebel from hell - & post over the weekend. Totally up to you. I'm nice like that. Today. you're very welcome.

SO.....now that kT & the country's birthdays are over, we are going to break into my theme and TALK.ABOUT.ME. ;-) fun times. Strap yourselves in people, it's gonna be a ride. fun, or otherwise, depending on your mood. You've all heard of Christmas in July? Well July of '06 is Tug's Birthday in July! YEA!!!! Have you already been celebrating these past 7 days? aw shucks......thankssomuch. And just so ya' know? My birthday's actually in August, but since it's my THEME MONTH, I figure why not just keep is simple & have MY MONTH. The good thing about it not really being the month of my birth is that YOU still have time to prepare - there really are 49 more shopping days!! YEA!!!!!!! The excitement just never ends in Tugland.

First up - (& you were warned Susan, don't forget to breathe).......Toby Keith's "I Wanna Talk About Me." 'Cause I like it, that's why. And it's all about me.

Average Apathic American

Figure I'll represent the Average Apathetic American and just go with some useless factoids:
>> The average person will spend 2 weeks over their lifetime waiting for the traffic light to change. Really, only 2 weeks? Seems like so much longer.
>> More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes. So, if you hang out with asses, you may die?
>> Only 1 person in 2 billion will live to be 116 or older. Hope you have a better than average health care plan.
>> You share your birthday with at least 9 million other people in the world. Party on!
>> It is estimated that at any one time, 0.7% of the world's population are drunk. Wish I was right now......
>> One thing that humans do more than anything in their entire life is sleep. Most Americans sleep more than 6-8 hours a day, which is on average around 24 years of ones life! Seems like a long time, but considering how crabby I get when I'm tired, it's worth it.
>> It takes about a half a gallon of water to cook macaroni, and about a gallon to clean the pot. What if you add soap while cooking?
>> During an average lifetime, a man will spend 3,350 hours removing 8.4 meters of stubble. (How much is that in feet?) Still haven't figured out the metric system.
>> The average human eats 8 spiders in their lifetime at night. Wonder how many they eat during the day?
>> Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour. Vent your frustration and shed pounds.
>> The entire length of all eyelashes shed by a human in their life is over 30 m. Great, more metric system.
>> The average woman consumes 6 pounds of lipstick in her lifetime. No wonder I'm so fat.
>> If you played all of the Beatles' singles and albums that came out between 1962 and 1970 back to back, it would only last for 10 hours and 33 minutes. What a great way to spend the time, though!
>> Termites eat through wood 2 times faster when listening to rock music. Rock on!
>> 13 people are killed each year by vending machine's falling on them. Hence, the Darwin Awards.....
>> The average talker sprays about 300 microscopic saliva droplets per minute, about 2.5 droplets per word. Say it - Don't spray it!
>> The average smell weighs 760 nanograms. I'm thinking our receptionist's smell weighs more.
>> The Earth's revolution time increases .0001 seconds annually. No wonder time seems to be going by so much faster!
>> If we had the same mortality rate now as in 1900, more than half the people in the world today would not be alive. Can I pick which half?
>> The average human produces 25,000 quarts of spit in a lifetime, enough to fill two swimming pools. Good thing I swallow.
>> A can of SPAM is opened every 4 seconds. Yeah!
>> Americans on the average eat 18 acres of pizza everyday. Think I did that on the last trip to the Pizza Hut Buffet.
>> Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed people. Hmmm. Maybe it's because more products are made for righties?
>> More than 2,500 left handed people are killed every year from using right handed products.
No Comment.
>> You blink over 10,000,000 times a year. Wonder who took the time to count? Probably paid for with federal money.
>> Sneeze travels out of your mouth at over 100 miles an hour. So when I sneezed while driving to work this morning was it really traveling at 140 mph?
>> The average person has over 1,460 dreams a year. Wonder how many are wet?
>> The average person laughs 15 times a day. I believe I am way above average on this one....
>> The average person spends about 2 years on the phone in a lifetime. Think Tug and I took care of our 2 years back in the 70's.

And one final closing factoid for all the world to ponder. And hopefully correct:
>> It has been calculated that in the last 3,500 years, there have only been 230 years of peace throughout the civilized world. I think civilized is being used a bit loosely.......

Don't forget.

Like I said in the comments of a previous post, this song made me tear up before the latest war. Sue me. I always choke up (forEVER since I was YOUNG, which was YEARS go). I choke up while singing the national anthem, too. And yes, I sing it each & everydamn time. And get pissed when people talk, don't remove their hats, etc. etc. while it's being played. My grandson - heart squatter #1......may be a little confused, but I love it - he bows his head, puts his hand on his heart to "pray" while the national anthem plays. C.U.T.E.

As for the war? In my ohso very humble opinion, it should have happened long ago. (feel free to comment, we are FREE in this land). September 11th (of the now infamous version), I was living in Phoenix. The news was on as I got ready for work, and I saw the 2nd plane hit. AS. IT. HIT. And I saw replay after replay of it all. I took a TV into work that day; we were all in shock. And, as our office & shop were under a flight pattern for a normally BUSY airport, it was very very weird to hear the silence of the day - all planes were grounded. I called my family, one by one that night, and reminded them that I love them (those who didn't call me first). I saw armed guards as I drove over Hoover Dam to visit friends in Vegas. Do I want that for our country? No. Should we have seen planes FULL of people crash into buildings FULL of people and said "peace, I pray for you"? NO. The terrorists do NOT understand "peace", nor our version (whichever version you may have) of "prayer". In my ohso humble opinion. Just so ya' know.

Read the lyrics, take them for what you want. Me? I hope I ALWAYS tear up when I hear it. And I will ALWAYS, no matter whether "you" agree or not, support taking these terrorists down. And I pray for our servicemembers, their welfare, their families. each & every day. Sue me, it's a FREE country.

HAPPY kT DAY!!!

Nope, it's not the new theme already.........just a happy kT day SHOUT OUT!!

Disclaimers as a post

1. I am an committed liberal with a few conservative tendencies (mostly financial).

2. The fourth of July and I are over. We have, at the moment, had a falling out that is entirely unrelated to the above -- it has to do with the sharing my birthday with the damn country, meaning that not only was **I** never the star of the day, but that I had a built in theme EVERY DAMN YEAR. These days, I like to wear green or purple on The Day. Because my mother no longer dresses me.

3. I used to live in Georgia and visit Stone Mountain for the laser light show at least every other year. The people who cheer along loudest with this song (which is good, I will admit, even if not one of my favorites) are the ones still wishing that their side won a war that was fought almost 150 years ago -- and if they had won said War of Northern Agression, THEY WOULD NO LONGER BE PART OF THE COUNTRY THEY ARE CRYING ABOUT. And most of them drove up in truck with flags of the freaking confederacy plastered all over (some of them are even wearing it).

4. Going back to number 1, I'm a pacifist at heart. I can't believe that war is a good answer to any question -- violence begets violence more often than not. We've fought a few wars over the years. And we keep having more. And we now have the power to blow up the planet, so it seems that maybe, just maybe, we should consider other options. Especially when we remember that we aren't the only ones who have the power to blow up the planet. To give you Sting (or was it The Police?) "I hope the Russians love their children, too."

5. I have friends who have been shipped overseas in the past few years (thankfully they're all in country now) and I am horrified and a bit disgusted that patriotism, at the moment, means toe the line and put a ribbon magnet on the car. I don't know how a ribbon magnet helps my friends overseas. To me, patriotism does not mean that I swallow the party line of the ruling party, hook, line, and sinker. It means that I have the right to question a governmental decision that places lives on the line. It means that I can oppose the government I elected (or tried to) when I disagree with it. It means that I can support the men and women who are following orders while disagreeing with those issuing those orders. And I do.

6. Which all leads to this: I would not stand up and defend my country with arms. But here, in this country, I have the right to speak my mind without fear of retribution -- this is somewhat less true today than it was 5 years ago, but the right is still enshrined in the founding documents of our nation. I have the right to pursue happiness, life, and liberty. Our government, being entirely made up of humans, is faulty. So is that of every other nation on earth. If we use our faculties for learning, we can sculpt an even better world from our vast resources. Our many mistakes provide ample opportunities to learn and grow and strengthen what it is we have. If those of us being represented in this representative democracy stop taking for granted our liberties, and use our lives to participate -- if we exercise the same freedoms at home that we say we are fighting to grant the citizens of other nations -- we can be a part of something great.

With freedom, with opportunities, with liberty, comes the responsibility to use our lives wisely.

Happy Independence Day.

OK kids, here we go!

So I'm told I'm July now.....had a plan for August, & I'm going to make it work - just relax & enjoy the ride. And don't forget to post. and comment - we love comments! Since July has one more Monday in it than August, I've decided to start the month with a tribute to the 4th of July.

Lee Greenwood, God Bless the U.S.A. I still can't listen to this song without choking up; say what you will.

Happy 4th of July everyone, be safe!