Pseudo Redneck Tuesday Tidbits

Hey, y'all!

Dub Dubberly here with a quick tidbitty roundup of some of the stuff rattling around in my brain.

Thought #1

       How bout that Greece?  I don't mean that stuff from the pig we got cookin' in our meat pit, I mean that country over there near that Middlerainian Sea.  I think they're being drove to the broke house, and somehow that's causing my 401k retirement plan at work to slide towards the ditch.    

          So is them Greeks spending too much while owing too much?  Probably.  But I do know that what they call austerity, starving people out, don't always work too good.  Seems to me you gots to grow your way to success.  If you cut off your leg, than you can't walk so good.

        Take a look at World War One.  We won that good, and we made them Germans pay big time money to make up for the damage they did.  They got poor and cornered, angry and vicious, and it allowed the ground for the Nazis to build their evil on.

        Take a look at World War Two.  Yeah, we beat them Nazis big time, but then we done one of the smartest things we ever done.  Instead of spanking 'em financially, we gave them the Marshall plan, and helped them build back their economies, with democracy and capitalism and Coca-Cola and blue jeans and stuff.  And now both Germany and Japan are strong democracies, contributing to the stability of the world.  And we keep getting some pretty good beer, too.

      So I want Greece to be responsible, but I don't want to inspire no more Nazis and the like.  It's a tough balancing act.  I may not have the palavering skills necessary to do it, but I hope we don't get someone like Trump in there, insulting Greeks like the way he did Mexicans.

Thought #2

Yeah, I love the South.  I love my heritage.  It's true.  My great great Grandfather fought for the Confederacy.  He had some wrongheaded ideas about who was a proper person and who wasn't, but even with that, he had some good traits.  He was good to his family.  He loved his home state of Alabama (our family didn't move to Texas until the 1890s).  He whittled wooden toys and gave them to all the children, slave and free alike.

So am I proud of my ancestors?  You betcha bottom dollar!  But I'm smart enough to know they weren't perfect.  They were fighting for something that kept people enslaved, that didn't think everybody was equal in God's eye.  I don't care what year it is - that's just plain wrong.

So I think the Confederate flag, the one adopted and promoted in the fifties and sixties as a way to tell the world that we would not integrate, that we still believed in racial hatred and segregation - that flag has to go.  I see the pain it causes Franny, and my best friend, John, and I say no, I don't want to fly it, display it or see it.

Yeah, we should not forget the Civil War, or that it was fought by people who were good and bad, some our family and friends.  And we should not whitewash what happened, but that includes the plain truth that it was fought by the South not to keep men free, but to keep some men enslaved.

Thought #3

All this stuff on Facebook is causing some people to be pissy with each other.  I just found out there's something on it that allows you to be friends with someone, but to "unfollow" them.  I'm not sure what that means, but it don't sound good.  Yeah, there are some people posting stuff I don't like, but unless they are mean and/or racist, I got a high threshold for tolerance.  It makes me wonder, though, if there ain't some people posing as my friends who have actually "unfollowed" me.  Well, what the heck can I do?  I gots to speak my mind, y'all.  What's the point of talkin' if you can't say what's on your heart?

Thought #4

Stop using the Bible as a club!  It ain't meant to hurt, divide and condemn!  It's meant to love, redeem and care!  Jesus didn't make the ultimate sacrifice for us just so we can refuse to make each other cakes. Sometimes, people are so big at using the Bible to justify their own prejudices and hatreds, they just use quotes out of context and warp them to their own purposes, and they is just getting so lost in the trees that they can't see the forest.  Love God, love your neighbor.  How that fits in with condemning people who just love each other is beyond me.

Thought #5

My friend, Billy Ray Bob, works at our shop, and our employer is so small he felt like he didn't need to offer health insurance, and up until recently, Billy Ray Bob couldn't get his own health insurance because he had a pre-existing condition (diabetic).  Well, thanks to Obamacare, he was able to get a policy, and a pretty good subsidy.  He had a heart attack last month, and he said he would have ignored the symptoms if he hadn't had insurance.  But because he had it, he got the treatment he needed, and he didn't have to go to the ER as a free case and make everybody else pay for it.  My buddy is alive today because he had Obamacare.  I remember that when some of my other buddies start foaming at the mouth about it.  I can't see anything wrong with giving more people access to decent health care.  Honestly, I just wish it covered everybody. Nobody deserves to be left out.

Well, the shop beckons.  I'm putting in some overtime to pay for Franny and me's vow renewals honeymoon.  Who knew Branson could be so expensive?

Bye, y'all!

In the City of Country

Our Nashville experience started at the Opryland Hotel, which was huge and had the glorious advantage of being completely indoors.  

Yeah.  The Opryland hotel even had waterfalls in it.  It also had a riverboat ride that you could take on a fake indoor river. We passed on that one. 

Benjamin hears there is an opening in the Jackass band.  He failed to make their qualifications.  I don't know whether to be disappointed or happy.

We ate breakfast at The Pancake Pantry, which one source listed as THE restaurant to try when in Tennessee.  It was pretty good, with pancakes fixed in all sorts of ways.  Benjamin had his with about three bags of chocolate chips on his pancakes, I had pigs in a blanket (sausage stuffed pancakes), and Alison had sweet potato pancakes.  There were over a dozen other ways you could have had pancakes, but we filled up.

Proof that segregation still exists in the South, although this example is of the sexist kind.  They even had separate but equal entrances.

This was a show we hoped would be at the Frist Center (the family of Doctor/Senator Bill Frist whose family made their fortune off hospitals and exploitation of Medicare).  Unfortunately, it was not there yet, and we paid 12 bucks each to see a lot of Italian dresses. I had so hoped to get a postcard we could send to our wiener dogs back home. 

SQUIRREL!  Parthenon J. Squirrel, to be exact.

I'm including this photo to show that we really were in a city.

The highlight of the whole vacation for me was our trip to the Johnny Cash Museum.  The exhibits and music was so touching that I almost cried five times.  All right, some of the times were more than just almost.

A extra special surprise for me at the Johnny Cash Museum was the Roy Orbison exhibit.  Roy IS the Voice.  Two of my favorite singers in one museum!  Awesome!

Civil War's End: Saturday Political Soapbox 109

A casual reading of American history would seem to indicate that the South lost the Civil War with the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.

But it did not.

The resistance began almost immediately with the terroristic assassination of President Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth, and his defiant shout of "Sic Semper Tyranus! The South is avenged!"

Different elements of the Confederacy did not surrender right away, staggering over the next year or so, and President Andrew Johnson did not officially declare the war over until August 20, 1866.

But the South still had not truly lost.

Reconstruction continued for about a decade after the Civil War, and was met with fierce and angry resistance.  This was the period of the KKK and massive cruelties done to the black population, and Yankee sympathizers.  Reconstruction ended in 1877, with the withdrawal of the last federal troops.

The progress that had been made by African Americans was immediately reversed.  It would be another one hundred years before black politicians would be elected from the South. Jim Crow laws re-instituted slavery in all but name only.  Voting rights were effectively stripped.  Separate facilities were  constructed and enforced.

By 1877, the South had won the Civil War.

The South effectively controlled American national politics.  Even as FDR moved the nation towards greater economic justice and greater safety net support, he did so only because he had Southern Democrats as part of his coalition.  This meant that little progress could be made in obtaining civil rights for African-Americans.

There was some evidence of the unease of this relationship, even as early as 1948.  When President Truman integrated the armed forces, Strom Thurmond and other Southern Democrats formed the Dixiecrats. Gradually, a version of the Confederate flag (one used by the Virginia army and some naval units) was used to symbolize segregation and white supremacy, a defiance of the federal government based on wanting to maintain Jim Crow laws.

When President Lyndon Johnson passed civil rights laws in the mid 60s, he thought that it might lose the South for the Democrats for a generation.  He was wrong.  It's been at least two generations that the South has been lost, and maybe more.

Republicans decided that they needed to deploy a Southern Strategy, to appeal to the Southern white voter, and began to use more and more coded racist language.  The South's conversion took place slowly, first at a Presidential level, then Senate (symbolized by Strom Thurmond's conversion to the Republican Party) and House, and finally at the local level, so that the South became solid red, with only a few gerrymandered pockets of blue.

And so, for generations, the south's political will, with rare exceptions, continued to dominate the country's politics and direction.

But that dominance has now ended.

The South officially lost the Civil War on Friday, June 19, 2015.

It lost it when, at a bond hearing for the murderous, terrorist thug Dylann Roof, these words were spoken by family members of the victims -

I forgive you

That powerful message of love and forgiveness shocked a nation into realizing where true strength and grace lay.

People who you thought would never surrender the Confederate flag began to call for it to be finally removed, including Strom Thurmond's son, State Senator Paul Thurmond.  People from all walks of life, from all ethnic and economic groups came together to honor the fallen.

The race war that Dylann Roof thought he would ignite completely backfired, and it actually achieved the opposite.  The power of love is stronger than hate, grace is more moving than cruelty, forgiveness more powerful than revenge, light is greater than darkness.

The South has lost.  But it is the old antebellum South that has lost.  With changing demographics, the old South no longer has the strength to dictate American politics.  Right now, the Democrats can with without the Dixiecrats.  The Republicans cannot win as long as they embrace Dixiecrat values.

But that does mot mean the the South is over, vanquished forever.  Oh, no.

I have faith that the South will rise again, but as a new South, one based on mutual respect and tolerance. One free of voter suppression, a multi-cultural South that respects the past but progresses in to the future. One that will move forward with love, tolerance and forgiveness.

No, it will not be a perfect path.  There will be hiccups, and resisters, and those who fuss and fume and preach hate.  A wounded bear may not be a winning bear, but it is a very dangerous bear.  Vigilance against this must be constant.

But I believe the path is there now.  I am sorry and sad and tearful at the horrible sacrifice that was made at the Emanuel AME church, but I am hopeful we have turned the corner.  Thank you, Emanuel AME, for these powerful words -

I forgive you

Thank you for showing us the way to grace, freely offered to all who will accept it, whether we deserve it or not. 

God bless you, Emanuel AME.  

God bless the UNITED States of America.

Mall in the Swamps Part 2

2

A-Number One

Once upon a time, there was a fairly vibrant food court inside the Mall of the Swamps.  There was a McDonald's and a Chick-Fil-A, but they both moved out to freestanding restaurants nearby.  All that was left was A-Number One Chinese, and a hand full of tables outside of it.  This was just outside the JC Penney's.  It was surrounded by closed locations, including its last competitor, Swamp Burger, a great idea (including a specialty Gator burger) that failed to take hold.  Maybe the concept of eating something that raised the palette to anticipate 'swamp' was not the best decision.

The specialty at A-Number One was a very spicy General Tso's chicken.  You could smell the spicy kick in the steam that rose from it.  Splitting this treat that could singe your nose hairs were Franny Goodkind and Tabitha Steel. Tabitha was not as thrilled with the super heat emanating from it, but she knew Franny loved it, and she was trying to be a good friend. Neither one wanted to go to the expense of separate meals, and the portions given for each meal were huge.  Tabitha nibbled at the egg roll while Franny twirled strands of noodles.

"They want to go out in the swamps," Tabitha said, between nibbles.

Franny noted that Tabby looked tired, her blues eyes not as bright as usual, with heavy bags underneath, her long, dark hair was not as lustrous as normal.  "Who does?"

"You know!" Tabitha admonished.  "Cokie and the Ghost Squad!  I mean, don't you know what your own brother is up to?" 

Cokie was Franny's older brother, and a recent ex-boyfriend of Tabby's.  Although Tabby had not made that fact clear to Cokie that he was an ex, partly because she was in denial herself.  Franny had not cleared this fact up with Cokie, as she felt that was Tabby's responsibility.  "Sorry, Tabby!  I don't know how to tell you this, but I don't keep up with everything my brother is up to."  Franny took a bite of the chicken, and realized it was a bit hot even for her.  She took a big swallow of sweet tea.  It was not as good as the sweet tea at the Honey Dew, but it would do for cooling your burning tongue off.

"Well, any rate, I don't know what to do.  They're going out to look for clues for what happened to Mr. Mavis.  You know, around where the body was found.  I think they hope to find some ghostly vibes out there, get the story straight from his ectoplasma or something like that," Tabitha said.

"I don't know what they'll find, but it sure sounds like something my brother would do.  Don't you want to go?  Wasn't he one of her favorite teachers?"

"No!  He was THE favorite teacher!  He really inspired me about science and biology.  Between him and my sister, Angela, they really lit a fire in me.  One I hope to stoke into a career in science when I start this fall at Georgia Southern."  Angela was Tabby's older sister, who was a chemistry teacher at Dixon County High School.

Franny thought that might explain Tabby's mixed feelings about Cokie, knowing that she was going to  Statesboro, and how many connections she wanted to have back in Crowley.  "Well, maybe you should go out there, then.  It would help me feel better, knowing that you could stop my brother from doing something too crazy out there."

Tabitha thought for a second.  She pushed at her egg roll.  "I kinda do want to go out there.  I just..." She paused, and Franny thought she saw a tear.  "...it's been awhile since I've done anything with Cokie."

"Ummm, could that be because you and Cokie broke up?" Franny pointedly questioned.

"No!" loudly asserted Tabitha, loud enough for the couple at the table next to them to look over and see what was going on. "We have not broken up!  I've just been too busy to see him, and now, well, I just don't want things to be too awkward."

"Don't over think it, Tabby.  Just go if you want too.  You need to stop stressing about things so much.  You look kinda frazzled."

"Do I?  Well, Miss Goody Goodkind, just because you're high on a cloud with Mr. Dreamboat, doesn't mean the rest of us are!" Tabby teased.  Yes, things were going amazingly well now that Adam and her had finally kissed and started going out, Franny thought.  The shadow of Tabby's sister, Racine, had finally receded.  As hard as it was for Franny to fully absorb, Adam was now her boyfriend. 

"Well, I guess I am," answered Franny.  "Hard to believe that he's interested in this short, chubby girl, but I can't say that I'm not happy."

"Oh, my gosh, Franny, you are so critical.  You are hardly chubby!  And who could resist that sweet face and beautiful smile?  Adam is one lucky ducky, if you ask me."

And who should be coming up the mall, just past the entrance to Hubbell Sporting Goods, clutching a bouquet of flowers? 

And this time, Franny realized, those flowers were not for Racine.  They were for her.

Bath 'n' Body Works

Well, okay.  Not actually in Bath 'n' Body Works.  The tables and chairs set out in the mall near that oderiffic store.  That is where the Waycross Gamers League was meeting.  They were today twelve strong, the apostles of board games, attempting to bring that hobby back to life.

And as far as Mickey Barnes was concerned, was there a more a noble endeavor in human life?  Yes, it was just gaming, or was it?  In this age of sitting by yourself, isolated to your cell phone, TV, computer or video game console, what was better than breaking free of that and reconnecting with people, playing games that actually required human interaction, with people you could see and touch, who smiled at you, and you could smile back?

Mickey was President and organizer of the league.  As a teenager in the eighties, he had cut his teeth on Avalon Hill games like Anzio, Battle of the Bulge and Storm Over Arnhem.  In college he continued, adding in role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons.  Then as an adult, working as a cost accountant for the Crowley Paper Mill, he had despaired about the demise of his favorite hobby.  Just in the last year, however, he noticed the hobby was picking up some steam in mentions on the internet, and he found some tabletop gaming conventions that rekindled his interest.  He was surprised in the last year when he put out notices that they would hold some gaming activities in the mall (after getting permission, of course), and that he had a growing base of fellow gamers.

In fact, he saw somebody new approaching.  It was a young teenage boy, a bit overweight, coming towards him carrying a large cardboard UPS box.

Mickey gave him a warm smile and reached out his hand.  The boy set the box down on a table and shyly shook his hand.  "Hi!  Have you come to try some board games?"

The boy nodded.  "I'm Mickey Barnes, and this is our group of gamers!  What's your name?"

"Uh, D-David Roper," the boy sputtered.

David was somewhat younger than the rest of the group.  David appeared to be in early high school, whereas most of the others there ranged from mid-twenties to mid-forties.  It was nice, Mickey thought, to see someone David's age set aside video games and turn his attention to table top games.  It was a great sign for the revivification of his hobby.  "Well, David we have three games going right now.  We have four over there playing Star Wars: Imperial Assault, and another four over here playing Suburbia, and I'm in a group playing Settlers of Cataan.  We've all kind of started, but I'm sure we could welcome you in any of the games."

He saw David hesitate, like he was unsure whether he should continue.  He didn't want the boy to buck and run, so he said, "I see you've brought something.  What did you bring?"

"It's...it's...I don't know.  It's not important."  He turned to pick up his box and leave.

Mickey grabbed him gently by the arm.  He didn't want to lose this chance to expand his group.  "Look, it's okay.  You made a special effort to come out this way.  Show me what you got.  I would love to see it.  Which game company is it from?  Days of Wonder?  Fantasy Flight?  Something else?"

"It's,,,it's...well, it's from me. I made it."  David opened it up and brought out a game board that almost looked like a race track.  "It's...To Crown A King."  The boy had dice, scorecards, homemade miniatures and other game paraphernalia, detailed but very amateurish.  What was he supposed to do here?  The boy had come up with his own game!

Mickey wasn't sure how to respond.  They really weren't a league of game creators.  The boy took his hesitancy as rejection and started to pack his game back up.  "No.  Don't leave.  Give me a chance to finish up my play in Settlers of Cataan, and then I'll take a closer look at your game with you.  We might not be able to play it today, but if you help me understand the basics, I think we can give it a whirl next meeting, okay?"

David's eyes lit up, as he smiled and nodded yes.    "Have you played Settlers of Cataan before?" Mickey asked.

David shook his head no.  "Come watch me play for a bit.  Maybe it will help give you some ideas."

David stayed.  This was going to be good, he hoped.  Maybe this would be even better than the Ghost Squad.

A Spelunking We Will Go

After leaving the humble confines of America's advertisement against celibacy, Shaker Village, we went to another place in Kentucky, the town of Cave City, near the gates of one of our premiere natural attraction, Mammoth Caves National Park.   

The death of the American middle class vacation, which I will more fully discuss in another post, has hit Cave City pretty hard.  Surrounded by motels that were nowhere near capacity, and attractions (tourist traps, if you will), that lay sick, dying or dead, there was a great sadness surrounding this once thriving vacation spot.  One of the spots near our motel was Funtown Mountain.  We couldn't find it right away in our google searches of area attractions, because it is listed as Guntown Mountain, which went under some time ago.  Somebody bought it out recently, and it had it's grand reopening the day before we arrived.  All they did was take the old sign, and slap an F over the G.

Most of the attractions at Funtown were closed (they failed to pass inspection), but the Haunted Hotel was open.  We did not go in, but can you see the huge line waiting to get inside?

Benjamin used all his might and by about the tenth try, he rang the bell.  I did it on the second try.  Man, did all those years of weight lifting and strength training pay off!  Then I remembered I must have been thinking of somebody else.

The mini-golf was do it yourself, as apparently they did not have the staff to assist.  I guess we could have done it all day if we wanted to.  It was a nine hole indoor, glow in the dark course.  None of our pictures of it turned out, so we can't amaze you with it's dazzling array of cheesy obstacles.

We made it to the one great, mammoth  attraction in the area, Mammoth Caves National Park.  What is one of it's primary attractions for this Southern family?  55 degrees in those caves, y'all!  If they had condos down there, I might make it our summer home.

One of our few pictures to turn out while we were down there.  It is of the Kentucky Monument, made by an earlier generation of tourists.  Notice also the writing on the ceiling (referred to as ghostwriting), done by tourists in the nineteenth century.  There was a lot of trashing of the place done by earlier generations, including a whole lotta drinking.  Just in case you thought our current generation was the worst, and prior generations were saints.  All you have to do is consider slavery, Jim Crow, child labor, suppression and subjugation of women, a level of alcohol and drug abuse that would make this generation look like pikers, and on and on, and you'll stop your Mayberry fits of nostalgia.

Next stop - Nashville!

Yeehah!

Shake Shake Shake! Shake Shake Shake! Shaker Village!

After our big California trip of last year, our family vacation was a bit shorter and less expensive this year, giving us and our wallet time to recover.

We started in Atlanta, spending the first night at the cheapest lodging we could - my son, Doug.  It was a nice visit, including dinner at metro Atlanta's Chinatown, which is basically a mall called...Chinatown.  We will be spending more time with Doug next month, in conjunction with Benjamin's robot camp at Georgia Tech.

We traveled to the wilds of Kentucky, and spent some time at Shaker Village, a religious community, or the place where there was at one time a religious community.

They made all their own stuff, and are famous for their furniture, like the chair pictured above.  I saw lots of chairs there.  Lots.  And other furniture that Alison knew the names for, but I identified as....furniture.

There was an antique show there.  The two boxes above were "on sale" for a combined north of $500.  I think Alison called one of them a pantry box.  I called them something we would not own anytime soon.

This teddy bear. dating from the nineteenth century, was selling for around $300.  That may be in part due to the addition of the ribbon.

This woman was using a very elaborate machine to make a rug.  It was only powered by her hands and feet.  It took several days just to set up the pattern.  We don't do this anymore in the United States.  We now have electric powered machines and Bangladesh children to do it.

The Shakers slept, ate, and did work in different quarters.  They were celibate, concentrating their energy on other things.  This seems like a bad long term strategy to me.  It is evidenced in part by the fact that Shaker Village is now basically a museum and not an operating community.

Benjamin considered converting.  

Well.....another blow to my one day becoming a Grandfather.

No. It's Not Over Saturday Political Soapbox 108

No. It's not over.

It doesn't matter that we've elected an African American President.  It doesn't matter that we no longer officially have separate drinking fountains.  It doesn't matter that we have the Voting Rights Act, Affirmative Action, an Open Housing law, television shows with blended casts.  Yes, in many ways things are better than they were in 1955.

But don't let that fool you.  It's not over.

Racial tension, and even hatred, still exists.

Sometimes it spills over into undeniably horrible and violent demonstrations of unforgivable acts of violence and brutality.  A sacred church setting, filled with loving, open people, is turned into a killzone.

So, no.  It's not over.

A moderate, centrist Democrat, one elected to bring us together, more open to the other party than any President that I have ever seen, is turned into a foreign-born devil, and is vilified and unaccepted, no matter what he does.  Hard fought for voting rights are being assaulted in state after state, as we have imposed greater and greater voting restrictions, returning to an era of what are almost poll taxes.  Affirmative action is considered a foul and unnecessary advantage, and as more and more colleges and work places move away from it, they become less and less diverse.  Our public schools are becoming less integrated every year.  The wealth gap between the rich and the poor is almost dwarfed by the wealth gap between the average African American family compared to the average white family.

No.  It's not over.

The young man who did this made it abundantly clear why he did this.  It was his opening blow in a race war.  He told that to his victims, and the survivor that he left to spread the message as to why he did it.  He wore patches on his jacket of apartheid countries.  He had the confederate flag symbol on his car.  He expressed racist attitudes to his family and friends.  To deny why he did this, to say it is not clear, is a an act of racism in and of itself.   Sorry, but that's the way I feel.  Fox News and the major Republican candidates who are being obtuse about this should be ashamed of themselves.

Was he mentally ill?  Only to the extent that anyone who commits such atrocities are mentally ill.  But he knew what he was doing.  He planned it out.  This was not an impulse.  He clearly knew what he was trying to ache rive, as sick and twisted as it may have been.  When you think of the terrorists that crashed into the Twin Towers, the first thing that rolls through your mind is not mental illness.

Was it an act against Christians?  No, it was an act aimed against people based on the color of their skin, not the state of their faith.  What do Nazi Germany, apartheid South Africa and Rhodesia all have in common?  They all thought of themselves as "Christian societies".  Now,  most Christians understand what an abuse of that label that is, but that does not mean that it is not often usurped that way.

Was this just an isolated incident?  In it's extremity, yes.  But that does not mean there are not a thousand cuts that occur every day, a thousand incidents much smaller in scope, but in accumulation, just as damaging.  This area just a few weeks ago had an officer shoot down an unarmed black suspect in cold blood.  That officer will be a jail companion of Mr. Roof.

No, it's not over.

What can we do, those of us who care, those of us who DO want it to be over?

We can look to the example of the Emanuel AME Church.  They opened their arms in love to this evil young man, and welcomed into their prayer group.  He stated that he hesitated because they were so nice to him.

When he was arraigned, victim's family members spoke out with love and forgiveness.  Their love and outreach under such horrible circumstances just about brought me to my knees.

The answer in not more guns.  The answer is not to return hate with hate.  The answer is love.  We need to preach out to each other in love.

It won't be easy.  But we need to care, and understand that it's not over.  There is a reason for voting rights laws, open housing, affirmative action.  We are not there yet.

And we need to stop clinging to symbols of division.  We can start by putting away the symbol of past hatred and slavery, and consign the Confederate flag to the museums that it belongs in.  Not over state property, not even at your home, business or car.  It is not saying what you think it says.

Love is not always easy.  Even in a church dedicated to it, it cannot be easy for those family members to say what they did, to reach out in love and forgiveness at a time like this.

Each one of us that takes that step makes this world a better place.  The only way to defeat the darkness of evil is with the light of love.

No.  It's not over.

But the more of us that choose love, the brighter the world becomes, and the harder it becomes for darkness to exist.

Emanuel AME is showing us the way.  Let's make their message of love stronger than Dylann Roof's message of racial hatred.

Read All About It

Newspapers.

You can find a whole community in them.  They contain the full spectrum of humanity.  They give you hope, and they can make you shake your head in despair.  You can share in joy, and grieve at unexpected passings.

Newspapers.

You can see that, even when government and institutions fail us, and people fall through the gaps, there are those ready to reach out a helping hand and pull them back to grace.  You can read about people who, even though they suffer great loss themselves, in the loss of a child to disease or a terrible wreck, who fight back by rallying others to conquer disease, to provide support for other families facing similar crises, to fight for laws and changes that will better protect us.  You can find stories of those who give to shelters, who help feed the poor, to devote what little they have for people with even less.  You can find the light of humanity shining through pages of your local paper.

Newspapers.

You also can also see the dark side of life as well.  People who commit crimes, from violent crimes of abuse, robbery and molestation, to white collar crimes of corruption and embezzlement.   You can find legal proceedings, and who has not paid their property tax.  Sometimes the papers need to report on horrible tragedies that turn your stomach or bring a tear to your eye. You can find the darkest moments of a community in the paper as well as you can the brightest.

Newspapers.

In them, you can see the march of time, the changes that bring both joy and sorrow,  The births and weddings that hold such promise, and the deaths that bring not just mourning but shared memories.  The pageantry of human existence is there for you each and every issue.

Newspapers.

They put you in touch with the great pride and occasional carnival atmosphere of your town.  You can feel the pulse beat of our young people in the schools, marveling at their achievements, both academic and athletic.  It draws the community into events as varied as the Homecoming Football game, Festivals in the Park, fireworks over the lake, the gatherings of dozens of community organizations, and community singings at church.

Newspapers.

A place where you can go to get the REST of the story, through features, columns, and investigative reporting.  It can bring you not just the what, where and who, but also the why and how, the background that fleshes out a story and brings a deeper understanding.

Newspapers.

What is white, black and read all over?  Newspapers.  Their black and white stories (sometimes enhanced with color photos!), are red - the red, beating blood and life force of a community.

As the internet changes the experience of the newspaper, as we drill down to those stories only of immediate interest to us, and ignore everything else, I hope and pray that we can hang on to the printed page.  Because there is nothing like it in really being able to feel the living pulse of a community.

Feel the pulse.  Breathe in your town.  The next time you get your hometown newspaper, watch your community come alive in your hands.

To Tabletop Infinity...and Beyond!

Just when you thought that video games and tablets and smart phones had taken over the gaming world....it's back!  The wonderful joy of playing board games around a table, interacting and having fun with real people, enjoying a wide variety of games, is undergoing a resurgence, and Waycross is leading the way!  Michael Baker (like me, an area accountant) and some of his gamer friends have started the Waycross Gaming Community.

One of the main features of this group is Thursday Game Night at the Waycross Mall from 6 to 9.  A small but growing group of tabletop game lovers meet there to play a game cornucopia - strategy, war, Euro (involving more interactive cooperation, simple rules, short playing time), card games (Yu-gi-oh), traditional (like Clue), and more.  

Here about eight players are gathered around a game called Star Wars:Armada.  Each have their own space vehicle, half on the rebel team and half on alliance.  The plan is to anticipate your future moves ahead of time, and engage your opponent from a position of strength and/or future advantage.  The game involves strategy, skill, fun, and most importantly, live interaction with your fellow players.

This is the start of a layout for a game called Carcassone.  It is a Euro type game, and involves adding tile sections that can help you earn points by building cities, roads and other structures.

This is me, the red shirt and tie guy (the curse of working until 6 and not having time to change), trying my hand at Carcassone, a game where I accidentally stumbled to victory.  And, of course, has me re-hooked on table top games again.  Standing is Crystal Simpson, a member also of the Okefenokee Writer's Guild.  I found out about the Waycross Gaming Community from Crystal and our Writer's Guild Chairman, Elizabeth Welch.

As much fun as this may be for me, the real joy is seeing how Benjamin is taking to it.  Here he is giving the big thumbs up to Thursday Gaming Night, and ready to plunge into the world of Star Wars: Armada.

It is wonderful to see my gamer son interact with fellow gamers, and get out and enjoy his hobby without being just cloistered at home in a darkened room.

Kudos to Michael Baker and all the gamers in bringing the revival of this great hobby to the Waycross area.  If this sounds intriguing to you, check out the Waycross Gaming Community group on Facebook.  And if you are so inclined, come out and see what's it like to game with people again!

There's a table waiting for you!

Blockbuster Weekend and Other Monday Musings

Yes, we were part of the millions that saw Jurassic World this weekend.  We went to the time and expense to see it at an IMAX theater in 3-D.

Was it worth it?

Oh, yes.  Very much so.

It was a formulaic thrill ride, with stereotypical characters, but that didn't stop it from being very impressive indeed.  It felt like you were visiting a real theme park, and the dinosaurs seemed very real, with characters and expressions that almost topped their human counterparts.

This movie is the reason that it is still worth taking in the big screen experience.  I love the movies.  I love the thrill ride.  It's the reason I set up the Facebook group Ripping Good Yarns, to celebrate the joy of the storytelling art forms, and a love of melodrama.  Enjoy the group if you can find it.


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We also visited Chamblin Bookmine in Jacksonville.  I have been to many bookstores all over the country, but I have never been to one larger and more intriguing than this labyrinth of books only about an hour and a half from where I live.  It's maze-like structure and almost underground feel is the closest I come to achieving my one great, recurring dream, of a huge underground library that exists beneath my house.


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Saturday night we ate at the Strickland's, a new family in our church (well, they have been there a year or so), who wanted to share a meal with church members.  They opened up their home, and three or four dozen of us had a great meal and wonderful conversation.

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Benjamin and I binged the last three episodes of The Flash.  It was fantastic, and I was thrilled beyond measure of how Jay Garrick's Flash helmet came out of the time vortex.  My theory is that Barry Allen's mother is a Garrick, and that the Speed Force is at least in part inherited.  But we'll see next season!

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Speaking of theories, another off the hook season finale of Game of Thrones was on last night.  For those worried about it's ending, let me remind you of a few things...1) Danerys is fire 2) Jon SNOW is ice 3) the subtitle of the book series is A Story of Fire and Ice 4) Ghost 5) Bran 6) Mellisandre.  Just chill and let the story take it's course.

The final three episodes of Game of Thrones this season has been among the very best television episodes I have ever seen, from ANY series.  They have diverged some from the books, but have still remained true to the central theme.  I'm willing to love both the books and the TV show, each on their own terms.

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It was a good weekend, but it was a failure as far as fiction writing goes.  I only completed three paragraphs on a Crowley Story.  I hope I can get back on course.  I am anxious to finish my second novel.

Until next time,

T. M .Strait

Clown 747: Summertime Speculatron - Saturday Political Soapbox 107

Last year, most of the Republican candidates were of such low quality, that they were often referred to as being part of a clown car.  This year, like in the movie Jaws, somebody's going to have to get a bigger mode of transportation!

Yes, I know clown cars are amusing because of how many clowns can come out of them.  But the Republican field is getting to the point where even that exaggeration is not possible.

Therefore, somebody's gonna have to swap out the clown car for a clown 747!

And 2016 MAY include some Democrats as well!

So here's my handicapping for as many of them as my little brain can carry information on -

DEMOCRATS

The Likely Nominee

Hilary Clinton - she has the most certain path to the Presidency as any candidate in the race.  We are way, way past due for a female President, and she is supremely qualified and capable of serving in that capacity.  As long as she remains healthy, and can demonstrate that she has the drive and desire to do the job, I don't she can be stopped by anybody but herself.  Many elements of the media and the right wing will do everything they can to turn her into Darth Clinton, but it will only bolster those who  had no intention of voting for her in the first place.

The Number One Challenger

Bernie Sanders - US Senator from Vermont, Bernie's honest and direct approach, policy based and big money free, is starting to catch fire and show momentum in the polls.  Can he be beat Hilary?  Everything else being equal, probably not.  But he is saying important things, and at this point, I am proud to be one of his supporters.

The Other Contenders

Martin O' Malley - former Governor of Maryland, he has some liberal credentials, but not the charisma, strength and boldness of Bernie Sanders.  Recent events in Baltimore and Maryland are undercutting the case he is trying to make.

Lincoln Chaffee - party label wanderer and silver spoon, this former Republican Senator and Independent Governor from Rhode Island, so far seems to have as his sole purpose the criticizing and undermining of Hilary Clinton.

Jim Webb - former US Senator from Virginia and Secretary of the Navy, he may have some contributions to make on the foreign policy discussion, but does not seem capable of emerging from the pack.


Prominent Bench Players

The two following will not get in unless Hilary stumbles very, very badly.

Joe Biden -  Vice President of the United States, and the person who I think is the most qualified to run this country.  Despite his reputation for casual speaking, he is very smart and very capable.  And he cares deeply about the average American.

Elizabeth Warren - the most important figure on the political scene today.  She more than anyone else represents the new politics that is emerging in this country.  Whether she runs or not, her views will rightly shape the entire debate.


REPUBLICANS

The Likely Nominee

John Kasich - current Governor of Ohio, he is my front runner to win the nomination.  Yes, I know polls don't reflect that now, but this is the Speculatron, remember?  What good would it be if I didn't take chances?  To have a prayer of winning, the Republicans have to shore up their efforts in the industrial Midwest.  He is a tad more sane than some of the other Republican candidates.  Of course, in the Republican primaries, sanity may not be the virtue that I think it is.

The Next Best Bets

Jeb Bush - the former President's brother.  Also another former President's son.  Some thought he was the smarter brother, but he is quickly making many question that.  I can think of nothing more depressing than a another Bush/Clinton race, a real killer to our already under siege democracy.  But he's got money and a lot of support from big shots, so he could bull his way to the nomination.

Scott Walker - Governor of Wisconsin.  His record is absolutely atrocious, and he will be lucky not to be indicted for past campaign violations, but this is the Republican Party and there is no accounting for taste. He is the favored candidate of the Koch brothers, and thanks to Citizen United, having a billionaire buddy means a lot.  His one claim to fame is his vilification of unions and public workers, trying to destroy the very foundations of the middle class, and he survived a recall effort.  Thanks, Wisconsin.

Marco Rubio - US Senator from Florida.  First, he'll have to win the Florida-off against Jeb Bush. Look, my own opinion is he's not very bright.  But time will tell.  His name does make the basis for a great pool game, though.

The Longshots

Chris Christie - Governor of New Jersey.  My Mama told me that bullies never win, so I'm hoping that's true.  More likely to be in jail than to be President.

Others include Bobby Jindal (Governor of Louisiana), George Pataki (former Governor of New York) and Lindsay Graham (US Senator from South Carolina).  Of this group, although I rarely agree with Lindsay Graham, I do admire his saying what he really believes and polls be damned.


The Pray they Never Become President Group

Rand Paul - US Senator from Kentucky.  Yes, some of his faux-libertarian positions appeal to some progressives, I find him dangerous and reprehensible.  His positions shift to suit his needs, and he has very thin skin.

Mike Huckabee - I used to like this former Governor of Arkansas, even though disliking his politics.  Not no more.  His fake piousness repulses me, and his recent mis-steps and brushes with religious hypocrites should further remove from contention.  He used to give the appearance of being somewhat caring.  I see none of that now.

Carly Fiorina - the CEO who virtually destroyed Hewlett Packard.  Really, Republicans?  How is she a candidate for President?  Oh.  It's the Hilary thing.  She can say awful things about Hilary without being accused of being sexist.  Well played, Republicans.  Scummy, but well played.

Dr. Ben Carson - gifted surgeon and motivational speaker.  Unfortunately, not a good Presidential candidate, or someone who could be President.  The most crazy, bat-crap right wing of all the candidates except ......

Bringer of the Apocalypse

Ted Cruz - Cuban/Canadian US Senator from Texas.  The Senate, Republican and Democrat alike, almost to single person, despise him with every fiber of their being.  He doesn't care about this country,  He is willing to go to any extreme to make his point.  Shut the government and bring on economic Armageddon?  Why not?  If it gets you a few good head shots and puts your smiling Grandpa Munster mug on the front page, who cares who gets hurt?


Yes, there are some Republican contenders I left out.  It's hard to see all their faces inside the clown 747.  But if, for example, you think that Donald Trump is a serious contender, then let me get you psychiatric help post haste.

UPDATE:  A quick review of this after I posted it shows I left out Rick Sanctorum (deliberately misspelled for this pompous former US Senator from Pennsylvania) and Rick Perry (former 'can't remember a list of three things' Governor of the independent nation of Texas (well, independent until they want disaster relief)). But I'm afraid this year they're like Pokemon - you want to catch 'em all, but sometimes it's just so damn hard!



That's the shape of things right now.  For those brave few who like to read these sort of things, see you for the update in the Fall!

Introducing Swamp's Edge Publishing!

Introducing Swamp's Edge Publishing!

Well, it's not a REAL publishing company (unfortunately(, but maybe it will be soon.

It is my promotional arm to promote writing projects of myself, and associated writers from the Okefenokee Heritage Writer's Guild.  Only my own books and one's I assist in getting published will carry the logo Swamp's Edge Publishing, but I will be doing everything to promote other Writer's Guild authors as well.

Here is a brief introduction to some of the writers and writing projects we will be promoting:

T. M. Strait

That's me.  I have one story that can be purchased online as a Kindle short, and hope to be launching a lot more in the coming months.  Available right now is Through the Closet and Into the Woods, an "escape the office" romance, at the prices of 99 cents!  Check it out!

I also have The Strait Line Chapbook, a collection of posts from my blog, available for purchase at the Okefenokee Heritage Center.

One of my projects are the inter-related short story collection about the town of Crowley, stories set at swamp's edge.

Grace Lee

One of our most gifted and venerated members of the Writer's Guild, Grace Lee, has organized a collection of her poems and stories, and I am eager to share them with the world.  They are filled with nostalgia, wonder and insight.  They are genuine gifts, and I hope to make them available at the Okefenokee Heritage Center very soon!

That is me with Grace Lee, holding up her story collection.

Leslie Crane

Leslie Crane (L Thornhill Crane) is one of our most successful Guild members.  With at least three self published books, she is a tremendously talented writer, with books field with great characters, drama, humor and inspiration.  Her books include The Life I left Behind, Come to Me Like Rain and Tied to the Draw. Her books are available as Kindle editions or trade paperback editions.

L Thornhill Crane.

Remley Farr

Rem is another talented Guild member who has written both eshorts and novels available on Amazon.  He has started a great Young Adult series, called Paragon, already publishing Volume 1 Issue 2(The Beast and the Cricket) and Volume 1 Issue 2 (Mother of Our Monsters).

This is one of his eshorts, The Popcorn Lady. Great cover, suggestive of a movie poster! 

OHC Writer's Guild Contest Winners

We have many wonderful writers in our area, and I hope to organize and present our winners in a chapbook or some other format that would be available for purchase.  Our Second writing contest is coming up September 15th, so get your submission ready!

So, please, keep watch for my promotional efforts as Swamp's edge Publishing, and check out all our great local authors!

No More Pretense!

I enter this planet, and am grateful that I am not claustrophobic.

I arise!  I arise!  (please don't let me go, not quite yet).

Another one?  Is that necessary?  

Mobile at last!  Here I come to save the day!

The teenage years were filled with angst.

What??? How did this happen??? How did I get to be so....old?

Oh, what the hell!  No more pretense!  Embrace the decrepitude!  If nothing else, I'm fully in the world of senior discounts!  And now I can play the old parts in plays like I always have, and I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MAKEUP!