Friday, December 30, 2005

The Sins of Presidents

A Sordid Sexual Encounter


One of these days, when I get a round tuit, I’m gonna write the definitive post on this Democrat’s perspective on the Clinton era. I mentioned it, in passing, in another post and one of my favorite people in the whole world responded as follows:

"Clinton did not have "an affair" but a sordid sexual encounter with a girl a few years older than his daughter. I heard Larry king on CNN say " we do not do this..this is our daughters...we tell them to go home , behave...etc.... A few nights later Larry King came out with the same Liberal spin that it was a "private behavior" etc, etc. If this had been the very same "private behavior" by Republican President... the press would have put him out of office

I listened to Clinton yesterday...his entire speech. He is a gifted speaker and politicalan but i will never again vote for him or any of his cronies. I also listened to Barbara Boxer yesterday. I listen to both the "liberals" and the "conservatives," If one listens only to the liberal press and CNN, (or only to conservative radio) they get a warped view of what is going on now... We are in real danger and we have senators more intersted in trashing Bush than in truth."

I love that reader of Alone On A Limb!! I have practically worshipped at her feet. She had the courage to take up for Martin Luther King at a time in the early sixties when that was very unusual for a white person in Georgia. She has been an articulate proponent for women's rights in the church. She is a loving and eloquent pastor, parent, poet, and friend. She always voices her opinions in loving and polite ways. I hope I can do as well in voicing mine.


I agree that Clinton's private behavior was abominable. I wish it were only a "sordid sexual encounter": it was a least a series of them -- an affair.

But, affair or encounter, it was private behavior between consenting adults (chronologically speaking).
  • Clinton was not sending us to preemptive war.
  • Clinton was not intimating a correlation that did not exist between a tin-pot dictator and a terrorist attack on America.
  • Clinton was not lying to us about aluminum tubes in Iraq.
Clinton was lying about what most any other person, foolish enough to be in such a predicament, would lie about: stupid and boorish and unethical and “sordid sexual" behavior.

In the most powerful office in the world I will choose Clinton and his typical Baby Boomer irresponsible let's-feel-good-now unethical personal behavior over Bush's irresponsible unethical official behavior any time.

William Jefferson Clinton deserved his embarrassment. The United States of America did not deserve the disastrous change of power that would not have happened had Clinton behaved. George Bush should never have been selected President; but the Court would not, I believe, have had the opportunity to select Bush had Clinton behaved responsibly in his personal life.

Republicans should give Bill Clinton some sort of honorary membership in their party.


--------

A little more spin from the limb:
  • Warped views: I watch some C-Span and CNN. I listen to NPR in the mornings. I catch a little blather on Fox and the other TV “news” sources. I rarely watch network or local TV news. I read the Rome News and the AJC every day, and Time every week. I read news that catches my eye on several websites. I read several blogs, conservative, moderate, and liberal.
  • Bush-trashers in the Senate: They are out-numbered: may their tribe increase. Lately a few Republicans have begun to show a little ethical backbone in the face of the Bush/Rove machine.
  • Truth: If the unvarnished indisputable version of that ever comes out, Bush, Cheney, Rove, and DeLay, among others, will be in big trouble.
  • Liberal Spin: The Republicans, while our planes were in the air, accused Clinton of political motives in attacking Saddam Hussein. I wonder what they would have done had Clinton lied about issues of war (aluminum tubes?) in his State of the Union speech.

I wish you enough.

Recommended from the Limb

I can say it no better than my mother already has said it at Ruthlace. Check it out.

Also, please remember to check my Grand Trivia blog occasionally, out of pity for me. (Carol says begging helps.) I have at least three unanswered trivia questions there.

Where is America's City of Bridges?
Which is the Deadliest Mammal in America (not counting humans)?
Where is the World's Largest College Campus?

Jane used Google to discover our highest ranking officer to wade ashore in Normandy on D-Day. Do you know who he was?
Enough for 2005 was getting my eldest back safe and sound from 100 days with a backpack in Europe. You can read about it and see her pictures at Bran's Euro Trip. Now she will be off for another three months beginning January 9 doing a Fifties Revue at Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Florida. Wow! Maybe there'll be a new Brannon Blog.

I hope the new year brings "enough" for each of the readers of this blog.

Thursday, December 29, 2005

Bob Barr, Patriot?

"Law doesn't back Bush tap"
by Bob Barr
from a special to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, December 21, 2005 at 9:00 AM

"The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States and when carrying out duties in such capacity shall not be subject to the laws of these United States or of this Constitution."

—Constitution of the United States, Article II, Sec. 2, as amended 2005

I have never had a high opinion of my former congressman, Bob Barr. He decided the fate of the republic and western civilization was threatened by the President of the United States trying desperately to hide a sordid little sexual affair. I too was appalled at Clinton's boorish and stupid behavior, - and at unfaithful behavior by Barr, Gingrich, and other Baby Boomer pols -- but what do you expect when you elect a member of my generation to office.

But now Barr is actually realizing that the person currently occupying the White House might also be threatening us. I suspect even Bob knows a President who claims dictatorial powers is more dangerous than a philanderer. Here is the rest of an anti-Bush piece coming from the far right. Go Bob!

An Off-the-Cuff Serial Autobiography: Positive Influences on My Life (B)

People Who Have Influenced My Life (Part B)

(Outside of God and My Family Members)


This is the second part [Here's the first.] of my exploration of the influences on my life outside of family and God. These are mostly more famous folks whose influence was through their work, writings, recordings, etc. But I also include a few community theater friends, pastors, teachers, and personal friends.
As I brainstormed lots of names came up. Some with huge effect on my life and others with less dramatic, but still important, influence. So here we go again.

(In no particular order)

Erick Fromm, author, for his definition of love. See my recent post on love.

Pete Seeger, singer/activist, (yes, an old Commie), like several others, for living his beliefs, for being the same person in person as on stage.

Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, Hubert Humphrey, Charles Weltner, John Lewis, public figures who have taken risks to do right and inspired me to want to impact the world in a positive way.

Robert E. Lee, soldier, for his loyalty, devotion and honor.

Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Franklin, Lincoln, T.R., Wilson, FDR, Truman, Johnson, Carter, Clinton, Bo Ginn, Ellis Arnall, Wyche Fowler, Sam Nunn, Buddy Childers (I'm going to write a , for their influences on my political life.

Wesley, C.S. Lewis, Camp Glisson counselors, Bill Landiss, James Sanders, Paul Hanna, George Freeman, Grant Magness, for their influences on my ethical, moral, and religious beliefs.

Twain, Shakespeare, Frost, Housman, Donne, Keats, Marvell, Nash, Whitman, Hopkins,
Tolkien, Dickey, cummings, Ciardi, Shel Silverstein, Professor Arthur Brestel, Gene Stewart (MYF friend and poet), Pat Alger (Camp Glisson friend and songwriter), Mrs. Howel (11th grade English), for influencing me to write, or influencing how I try to write.

Famous actors like:
Lee Strasburg, James Stewart, Alan Arkin, Topol, Olivier
Community actors or directors like: Cecelia Dawson, Rudy Childs, Brian Sikes, Barbara Myers, Nora Rouse, Wain Bates, Virginia McChesney

Community musicians like: Rachael Jones, Bob Jones, the other Bob Jones, Brian Horne, Angela Flanegan, James Willis, Sam Baltzer

Pete Seeger (again), Steve Allen, Donald Davis, Ed Stivender, Bill Harley, Ed Kilbourne, for their influences on my storytelling.

In some of these categories it feels downright dishonest to leave out family members. A few quick examples of many: I wouldn't have gotten back into acting without Brannon's influence. My love of storytelling stems pretty directly from listening to Bible stories from Mother and family stories from Daddy and Daddy Shaw. And although we have many philosophical and political differences, my two older sisters and their husbands were huge influences on my life, especially in my adolescence.

It's been fun remembering and evaluating the influences on my beliefs and behaviors. Maybe I'll choose in the future to explain more fully how some of these folks have influenced me. I know I am leaving out many and I'll want to revise this in the light of day and a little more reflection. It's a beginning.







First Lines

First Lines/First Posts
Check Daddy's Roses for more on the origin of this posting idea. Here are the first lines of my first posts of each month since I've been posting:

November 2005: "What I write below is very serious and important to me." I then tried to outline my political beliefs. Check it out.

December 2005: "It was a time of great fear." I compared Bush and his cronies to the McCarthyites. Check it out.

That's it. I've only been involved in this obsession for less than two months.

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Visit Grand Trivia!

Trivialities!
I have enjoyed coming up with trivia for my new Grand Trivia blog. I hope everyone will visit and give the questions a shot.

Up till now I have posted the questions on this blog and the questions and answers on Grand Trivia. That has become a pain. So from now on I'll just post Questions on that site and add answers in edits or comments.

So, if you are among the few, the proud, the intelligent, then bookmark Grand Trivia!

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

True Love Links

Daddy's Roses and A Few Minutes with Andy and Robin each have stories of True Enduring Love. They are worth the visit: check 'em out. I would argue that the basis for these long love affairs is mutual commitment.

True Love is a topic on which I have very strong opinions. Basically my theory of love is that love is a choice. Anything less than a choice is sub-human. If it's just chemistry or fate; if it's something I "fall" into; then my free will is not involved and I don't want it. If it can be "fallen" into; if it can be brought on by pheronomes or fate: then fate might call later for a split or pheramones might dissipate.

I can't believe I'm doing this again but here are some of my poems. These deal with True Love.

The first is addressed to my daughters:


Listen, Daughters

To Brannon and Lillian


Listen, daughters.
Be careful what you name love:
It is not so cheap as musk or fate;
It is not so easy as a fall.

Hear the wisdom of age;
Hear your father's voice!
Love is a promise.
Love is a choice.












The second is just a basic statement of my stubborn proposition:


Choose Love

At first sight, never!
Let me choose or let me be.
There's no romance in lightswitch love
I will make my choice.
Let the rat keep his musk.






















This one plays with the idea that I could have made a different choice. It ends with the affirmation that I am very happy with the choice I made.





I Suppose I Could Have Loved Jane

I suppose I could have loved Jane.
And Jennifer often waxed wise and gay.
You are lovely, true: Were others plain?
You laugh at my wit: So did they.

I long for your kiss and your touch
But passion, wit, beauty are all around.
Others have kisses as sweet; and as much,
All and any your charms abound.

Even now in age I see sometimes
A glance, a smile, a coy frown
And think my songs, my artful rhymes
Could win a youthful night in town.

Temptations beckon, the world's untrue.
Our promises keep. My world is you.






























And finally I address the objection voiced by one person that my theory of love is cold. I took great exception to that objection since I have always felt my true love very warm, even, in today's parlance, hot!

When I first read Erich Fromm's little book The Art of Loving, a real weight was lifted from my shoulders. I had dated lots of girls. I had kissed a good many of them and had found all of those experiences very enjoyable. (Admittedly one girl who smoked heavily had kisses less enjoyable.) Suddenly I was free to choose the one I would love. And if I could find someone willing to choose meas well, I could look forward to a wonderful loving relationship without the fear that I might have missed that one magical match that twentieth-century America had decided exists for everyone. I now knew that what separates infatuation from true love is commitment. No commitment, no love.






True Love

You think me daft, You say I'm cold and sad
You think me a passionless crafty cad
You think that heartless we bargain - both
bloodless, scheming, colorless, mad!
You swear we swear a sterile oath.

I breathe, I feel, I bleed! -You are wrong.
True, for love we labored hard and long;
Made our choice, proclaimed our duty;
But we wrote love free, wild as song
composed with wit, passion and beauty.

Her beauty drew me; her wit entranced;
Her voice sang, painted, danced.
My pulse quickened; her palms seemed wet;
Our hearts meshed, entwined, romanced.
In song, in passion, our promises met!

You are right, true love must know fire
True love is kind, doesn't boast, or tire
It vaunteth not itself, is less "me" more "you"
Doesn't sulk, demand, abuse, require
But true true love must first ... be true!








Finally!!

Jefferson C. Davis

Finally, after grovelling, I persuaded someone to actually give a stab at my Jefferson Davis question.


Check it out.

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Separated at Birth


Terrell's Celebrity Twin
My sister at Daddy's Roses has linked to the site above that compares your very own uploaded facial image to the faces of a gazillion celebrities and declares which you most closely resemble -- physically, not emotionally, politically, intellectually or etceterally. So my Grand Trivia question of today is: Who is Terrell's Celebrity Twin? On your honor, now, make a guess in a comment before you visit the answer. Repeating: Do not Click the following link until you have made a guess. Hint: it is not (??!!) Robert Redford or Tom Cruise. (The best full-face image of myself I could find quickly was the one at the left: I was in make-up for the role of Maurice in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Do you think that affected the match?)

Separated at Birth: Terrell and ???????

Give my Grand Trivia a try!

I'm Being Embarrassed Here!
Alright now, folks, I'm going to the trouble of coming up with obscure, interesting-only-to-me (obviously) but easily-answered-with-the-help-of-Google Trivia, the least you folks can do is make a stab at it. Granted, it's Christmas and folks are busy, but let's get our priorities straight. A few of you Romans, at least, must surely know about Jefferson C. Davis. Humor me. Let it be my Christmas present: Answer my trivial trivia question!

Merry Christmas!

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Happy Christmas to All!

Unto You A Child Is Born!
Last Christmas Eve my daughters, wife, and I worshipped with a wonderful assortment of folks in Manhatten. We heard beautiful music and the Christmas story in a little oasis of peaceful contemplation in the heart of the Big Apple.

Tonight we returned to our usual Christmas Eve custom. A custom from my teen years in the early sixties and one we have observed almost every Christmas Eve since 1982.We participated in the annual Live Nativity Scene at our church, Trinity United Methodist, in Rome, Georgia. We stood silently for 30 minutes as beautiful Christmas music played and we contemplated that Christmas Eve 2000 years ago. (Actually we had taken another turn on Friday night as well.) If you'd like to see pics visit my neice's blog at Reasoned (sic) (grin) Audacity. I'm the Wise Man (Wise Guy?) in the left foreground.

What a great way to prepare for Christmas. After days of hectic shopping, wrapping, budgeting, programs, school holiday activities, etc., etc., etc., etc., ... a quiet time of serious reflection on the wonder, joy, history, and meaning of all the commotion.

Happy Christmas to every one who reads these words!

Friday, December 23, 2005

Top Ten Christmas Memories

Christmas Memories
A preliminary Top Ten
-- until the ones I'm stupidly forgetting come to mind.

10. Receiving (or giving) the girdle from the Phantom in Milstead.
9. The first Christmas that I got to stay up with the big folks to prepare Christmas for the little folks.
8. Hunting a tree with my Daddy and sisters in my childhood.
7. Hunting the perfect Redcedar with my little daughters at the Burton farm in Booger Hollow.
6. Grape juice from little bottles on Christmas morning
5. Singing "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" and "O, Holy Night" at the Christmas Eve service
4. Standing in the Nativity Scene at Trinity every Christmas Eve.
3. Hunting Christmas stuff at a flea market a few days before Daddy's death.
2. Watching my little girls come through the door or down the stairs on Christmas morning -- usually through the lens of a camera.
1. Completing Daddy's projects for the grandkids, when he died suddenly three weeks before Christmas.

I'll probably expound on these a little soon.

My baby sister reminisces about Christmases at my grandmother's house here.

Thursday, December 22, 2005

An Off-the-Cuff Serial Autobiography: Positive Influences A

The Influence of Friends

Daddy's Roses ran a meme (new term to me) and referenced the blog of The Euphemist as her source. Visiting there I found the meme: "MY TOP TEN (OR SO) GREATEST INFLUENCES, OUTSIDE OF GOD AND MY FAMILY MEMBERS."

I thought it would be fun to get this one started among my family's blogs. But when I got started I soon had brainstormed a huge list. So I'm gonna break it apart and probably break the rules along the way. This post will deal with the influence of close friends.

It is hard to leave out the exceptions above. My wife, daughters, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brother, sisters, and my wife's parents have all been huge influences on my life, and I am a double preachers' kid, so I have certainly been exposed to the influence of the church. Maybe I'll discuss those family and church influences one day. After all, my wife is, without doubt, my closest friend on earth.

Rather than giving you my top ten list as suggested by The Euphemist, I'm just going to free associate for awhile and see what names pop to mind. It will be more than ten, I'm sure. I may get around to an overall top ten list, but maybe just listing all the influences that this meme brings to mind will do it.

In no particular order, (pop!) lets with the close friends:

Mike Burton, my slightly (admit it, Mike) eccentric artist/deaf educator friend. For his zest for life; his independence and efforts to be self-sufficient, creative, and moral. His (and Carolyn's) friendship sent me to Booger Hollow looking for property. That resulted in lots of experiences including getting to know Steve and Laurie Craw (below). Even before that he got me involved in performing folk music at his "Coffee Houses" and hootenannies. Movie making. And chess. And historic preservation. One job, when I needed one badly. Video storytelling. Hyperstudio/presentation computer stuff. Woodworking. Carpentry. Bronze casting. Blackberry picking. Sign Language. Bushhogging and gardening. House moving. Cow chasing. Dump harvesting. Goat husbandry. Swimming pool construction. Playhouse construction. Implausibly-tight-space plumbing. Well-digging. Demolition. Beekeeping. (Heavens to Mergatroid, Mike, I shouldn't have started counting the ways you've messed with my life!)

I adopted the wonderful Burton Girls as my "extra daughters" and he and Carolyn adopted mine. Mike's Mother and siblings adopted us into the Burton clan and we have been there at several extended Burton/Btrown gatherings.

Sheila and I were honored to help celebrate Carolyn's life at the wonderful memorial service Mike organized. And when Mike found Julie we got to help him celebrate the beginning of a new part of his life.

Mike Bock, for his loyalty, intellectual approach to life, his determination to live life fully. Mike also showed up at my room in the clinic (I was abed with the mumps at the time and only days from graduation) with an application to the Teacher Corps -- I wonder what path my life might have taken without that little nudge. Mike has not only influenced my use of corporal punishment (jk) but education philosophy in general -- Socratic seminars, literature circles, Great Books discussion, cooperative learning, billiard ball math.

All those crazy Teacher Corps friends, struggling for civil rights, peace, education reform, womens rights, the environment.

Steve and Laurie Craw, for their determination, their loyalty, their creativity and talent, and their 25 years of friendship and sometimes partnership. They involved Sheila and me in an effort to give the Rome News some competition via Broadside (weekly newspaper) in the seventies. That experience had a huge impact on my life. Not to mention: the cookouts where Steve Buries the meat in coals to cook underground all day; duck hunting on Lake Creek; New Years watch nights at the farm; trips to the Collinsville Trade Day.

Mildred and Philip Greear, for their dedication to live their belief system, their love of nature, their family commitment. Mildred and Philip helped us overcome inertia and get involved in grassroots politics to fight Reagan's environmental disasters - and we won a battle: the Chattahoochee National Forest is still there!

Richard Ware, friend, for his contagious love of music and nature and his doggedness. He has spurred me to investigate trees and wildflowers and folk music. And what would the hootenannies have been (Would the hootenannies have been?) without him?

Solomon Lasoi, my college roommate, for his work ethic and scholarship.

Mrs. Lyle Moser, of Eleanor WV, close friend for a year or so, and her husband, who died very shortly after I met him. Again, people very determined to live their beliefs.

Bill & Cathy, Betty & Cotton, Cleve and Terri, Marty Teem, Gene Stewart, teacher friends, college friends, church friends, old girlfriends I dare not name (jk), who knows how Galen Foster influenced me my first three years -- Mama says Galen and I had own own language! --
there are many more I could name, but I'll stop there for now. This has been way too rambling.

Next time some famous persons who have influenced me.

What close friends have changed your life for the better?

Grand Trivia Question #4

Jeff Davis

The Line Item Veto trivia question reminded me of this one:
Who was Jefferson C. Davis?

  • President of the Confederate States of America
  • Union General during the Civil War
  • Son-in-law of the President of the USA
  • United States Secretary of War

Bonus: Who is the very interesting match for each of the other answers?

Grand Trivia Question #3

Ohi
Get the newest Grand Trivia Question here.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Grand Trivia Question #2

I had overwhelming response to the first Trivia Question. (Thank you, Joan. You tied for first and last responder.) Just for that, I'm gonna give my public more:

Grand Trivia
Question #2

Due South

You lead an expedition from Rome, Georgia. You have been instructed by your commanders to travel by land and water due south until such time as you set foot on foreign soil. When you acheive your goal, on the soil of what nation will you find yourself? (Alabama doesn't count.)



Monday, December 19, 2005

Grand Trivia Question #1


My sister at Daddy's Roses posted a fun Christmas trivia questionaire. I decided I'd like to occasionally post some of my favorite little trivia questions and see which smart alecks out there will show out for us. Bragging rights will go to the blogger who first e-mails the answer to terrellshaw@mac.com. I will post answers, eventually, on my new blog Grand Trivia.

Grand Trivia Question #1
Line Item Veto
President Clinton gained the power of Line Item Veto on January 1, 1997. It was a short-lived privilege of the President. The Supreme Court on a 6-3 vote, June 25, 1998, struck down the legislation under which Clinton exercised that veto. Only one American President other than Clinton has been allowed to veto line items. Who was it?


Saturday, December 17, 2005

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Add Narnia to my travel maps



Today Sheila and I visited Narnia via the new Disney movie of C.S. Lewis's wonderful little book, The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe.

It was a fantastic movie in more than genre.

The cinematography was dazzling. Gorgeous photography, creative angles, great visual storytelling, fantastic special effects, nice use of variable focus.

The animation and special effects never overwhelm the story. Yes there are enough glimpses of Mr. Tumnus's legs for us to notice they really are the legs of a goat: they really move like the hind legs of an animal, but we glimpse as the story moves on and we don't dwell on the absurdity. The beavers, wolves, fox, etc. in the context of Narnia are believable individuals.

The air battle of World War Two in the opening scene is a neat foreshadowing of the climactic battle scene in Narnia. The dramatic dash to rescue his father's photo during a London Blitz lets us know that Edmund has a spark of humanity despite his despicable behavior later. Maybe he is redeemable.

The allegory (Aslan/Christ) is obvious but not heavy-handed.

The changes and additions seem appropriate in translating the story for the screen. The opening scenes explain the setting of wartime England to a new generation. The chase from the Beavers' home, and the continuing race to the stone table, are closer, more dramatic for the screen. The end of the battle is effective, though I'm not as sure about the reasons for the changes there.

The acting is outstanding. The Witch and Tumnus are especially convincing, and so are the four children. The casting of Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmund is perfect and the director gets flawless, sensitive, multifaceted performances from them.

This guy is a great director. Maybe I need to see the Shreck movies again. Were they this good?

How Old Was I When...

Another Silly Post

The Daily Meme has links to lots of silly little sites like this one that lets you know your age at memorable moments of history.

I was...

54 years old at the time of the 9-11 attack on America
52 years old on the first day of Y2K
50 years old when Princess Diana was killed in a car crash
48 years old at the time of Oklahoma City bombing
47 years old when O. J. Simpson was charged with murder
45 years old at the time of the 93 bombing of the World Trade Center
43 years old when Operation Desert Storm began
42 years old during the fall of the Berlin Wall
38 years old when the space shuttle Challenger exploded
36 years old when Apple introduced the Macintosh
36 years old during Sally Ride's travel in space
34 years old when Pres. Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr.
32 years old at the time the Iran hostage crisis began
29 years old on the U.S.'s bicentennial Fourth of July
27 years old when President Nixon left office
25 years old when Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace was shot
22 years old at the time the first man stepped on the moon
21 years old when Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated
18 years old during the Watts riot
16 years old at the time President Kennedy was assassinated
12 years old when Hawaii was admitted as 50th of the United States
10 years old when the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1 was launched
6 years old at the end of the Korean War

World Travel

I need to see more of the world!

It's been quiet on my limb this week. Too busy with school, family, Christmas, and drama. With my daughter just home from gallavanting through Europe, I got to thinking about the limited traveling I've done myself. I've visited the states colored red on this map.



(You can create your own personalized map of the USA.)

I have also visited two provinces of Canada.



(You can create your own personalized map of Canada.)



(Create your own visited country map.)

That's my full 58 years of travel.

Meanwhile my 22 year-old-daughter has visited 14 European countries!



(You can create your personalized map of Europe.)


Read about her 100 days in Europe or see her pictures here.

I have my passport now, so who knows, maybe I'll take off and explore one day.

Monday, December 12, 2005

Person of the Year!!






I am Time's Person of the Year!

Click on the link above.

Y'all aren't surprised I'm sure, that Time Magazine put up a huge electronic bulletin board on Time Square in New York announcing me, by face, not by name, as their Person of the Year.

This is supposedly an actual undoctored photo according to my friend, Barbara Myers, who sent in a bunch of pics from Stars in Our Eyes to the Time Magazine promotion and mine is one that made it through. I would have chosen a different pic. And it would have been nice if my name were attached. Strange, huh? Wouldn't it be interesting if someone who would actually recognise me saw it. Or do they flash them subliminally?

I've got to find out more about this promo!


Later:

Aha!! I did find out. Try these links:
Brannon on Broadway 1
Lillian on Broadway 1
Brannon on Broadway 2
Lillian on Broadway 2
Brannon on Broadway 3
Lillian on Broadway 3
Brannon on Broadway 4
Brannon on Broadway 5
Terrell & Sheila on Broadway


What a silly use of time!

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Time Machine: Check Your Wardrobe Lately?

Eight years later this cute little fourth-grader will be chosen as Armuchee High School's Star Student. And  honor her old elementary teacher by choosing me as her "Star Teacher". I read The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis to my class early in this 2005-2006 school year. So Haley and her folks prepared this nice Christmas card for me.


 

Friday, December 09, 2005

Off-the-shelf & Out-of-the-fridge Soup



Eating soup all the cold week!

Now, my gourmet sisters are probably gonna chuckle at my simple-minded glee at discovering that really good soup is available quickly and easily from just what happens to be around. (Be kind Jan, Joan, Carol, Debi, and Beth. And David has become something of a chef as well: I guess I'm last to this game.) It's so easy, and probably obvious to them, but revolutionary and novel to me, and an integral part of my Slow Motion Diet (Make checks payable to Alone On A Limb for more information on the sure fire, no pain, eat your way to health and happiness, Slow Motion Diet. I'm down 22 libbies so far.)

Since cool weather came around again, I’ve been making these impromtu soups. I have really enjoyed them. Basically, I have been combining low-fat, low-sodium canned broth with whatever is in the pantry and/or leftover in the fridge, that might make a pleasing combination.
The first one started out to be Black Beans with Rice but it became a soup that Lillian and I liked and Sheila accepted.
___________________
Ingredients:

A hunk of onion chopped
A clove of garlic chopped and squished
A couple of handsful of sliced mushrooms
A little olive oil
A can of black beans
A can of tomatoes and chilies - I used Ro-Tel mild.
A can of low sodium, fat-free chicken broth
A couple or three handsful of cooked rice
A few dashes of non-salt seasoning, like Mrs. Dash
A little water
A few dollops of low fat plain yogurt
A handful of shredded cheddar
A garnish of chopped green onion

In a large saucepan sauté the onion, garlic and mushrooms in olive oil. I just used a little spray olive oil “Pam” to coat them.
Add the beans, tomatoes, broth, rice and seasoning and simmer over medium heat. Taste frequently and add water to achieve the desired consistency.

Add a dollop of yogurt, a sprinkle of cheese and a little green onion to each steaming bowl full. Serve with corn muffins, cheese toast, or a few crackers.
___________________

Since then I have tried different combinations. I have liked them all. And I get to totally leave out the stuff I don't want, like English Yuck Peas and Green Yuck Beans. And I get to really pour on the on(yum)ions and to(yum)matoes and mush(yum)rooms! A can of chicken breast always helps. A dash of hot sauce can't hurt. Left-over pasta? Toss it in. Water chesnuts add crunch. Different beans. No beans. More tomatoes. Less mushrooms. More mushrooms. Less tomatoes. Let your imagination soar! For some reason I'm at a point when I prefer a sorta transparent, watery but spicy base with good sized chunks of veggies floating around in it.

Bon appetit!

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Church, State, and Cultural Literacy


Ladies and Gentlemen!
Behold, a spade!

One of my genuine pet peeves for many years has been the tendency of public institutions to muddy the water, dumb down the discourse, and bore us all to tears, just to avoid controvery.

Some folks have complained, justifiably, when public schools, for instance, have allowed themselves to be in the position of promoting a religion. As a result, some dumb and/or lily-livered school administrators, textbook companies, and teachers have taken the easy way out and basically pretended religion doesn't exist. How stupid! And how destructive to the cultural literacy of our students!

Madison and Jefferson, even though they breeched it themselves sometimes, were in favor of a wall of separation between church and state. Me too. But it doesn't have to have razor wire at the top and guard dogs and armed sentries. It could even have a few windows in it, for heaven's sake! They did not want us raising ignoramuses who do not know the stories of the Bible, who do not know the meanings of religious words, who do not know the basic tenets of various Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Mormon, and other groups.

This is not officially a "Christian" nation and never has been. It has certainly never been an "Evangelical Christian" nation. Our framers were careful and deliberate and specific in leaving references to the deity out of the Constitution with the exception of the traditional "in the year of our Lord" at the end. We have always had a variety of religious and non-religious men among our leaders. But they were not, as a group, anti-religious. (Paine was and Jefferson may have been privately.) And they didn't expect us to pretend religion doesn't exist.

I teach fourth grade. We used the Houghton Mifflin, Spelling & Vocabulary series for several years. Near the first of the year one of the spelling words is "pray". According to Houghton-Mifflin the word means: "To wish or hope strongly" ARRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! "Pray" may sometimes be used in this way, but it is primarily used to mean "To petition or express thanks to God". It is simply absurd to give "wish" as the primary definition.

Similarly, to call a Christmas Tree by another name as a way of making it palatible for a multi-cultural group is just revolting. "Holiday Tree" is boring and incorrect. There are ways to be sensitive to a diverse populace short of homogenizing the taste right out of our diversity.

"Happy Holidays" is a perfectly suitable greeting with history behind it. It's not very interesting, but there's nothing wrong with it. If I were a Jewish or Muslim businessman that might be my most common greeting during the Christmas season. But there is no reason to demand that those who observe Christmas ignore its name or its significance.

Neither is it un-American to admit to your beliefs (or dis-, un-, or other belief). If I use my position as a public school teacher to actively promote the United Methodist Church, I should be reprimanded. Public school groups have no business attending church-related activities or meetings and such meetings should not take place at school. But there is nothing wrong with my students knowing that I am Methodist; that I pray; that I attend services regularly; or, incidentally and assuming I want to share them, what some of my beliefs are. Cultural literacy demands exposure to the different belief systems in our country.

It is a fine line. Teachers should be careful they don't cross the line between teaching and preaching. I would certainly scream bloody murder if the Falwell ilk started proselytizing my children at school. But I have no problem with my children having an idea of what it means to be, for example, Baptist in Georgia. They would be illiterate in this society without that information.

There is nothing unconstitutional about calling a spade a spade, even religious spades.