The Office

Nearly every weekday morning I drive to Lindale to enjoy a cup of coffee with friends at Pop’s Cafe. Judy calls it the office because when I'm telling her the latest news I learned over a cup of coffee, I'll often unwittingly refer to our gathering place as the office. Guess it's habit from all those work years.

I often read another blog where the author periodically posts a photo of some point of interest in her town. I found the idea interesting, so I'm going to try that, but since winter is still hanging on, I'll wait until everything is green before taking more pictures.

Where Lies their Loyalty?

Even as several state legislatures contemplate passage of resolutions reminding the federal government of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution, Internet chat rooms and political blogs are atwitter with discussions about the potential consequences of secession. A real fear is that the moment the state legislatures begin to seriously contemplate breaking away from Washington, the president would declare martial law and call out the Army to take over the state government and all law enforcement activity within its borders.

If the decision was made to call out the troops, I’m of the opinion that the military would refuse to march against citizens acting in defense of the Constitution. The military has little time for the appeasers now calling the shots from Washington, and when they enlisted, they swore to defend the Constitution of the United States, not the president.

If you have any question who the military supports in their hearts and minds, the following link should give you a hint.

Thanks to www.conservativeoldhippie.com for finding the video.

Change You Can Believe In

If you were a foreign operative and had the ability to affect national policy in the country that was your sworn enemy, what would you do to spread wreck and ruin from within?

Divide citizen loyalties?
Undermine the economy?
Squander the national treasure?
Promote fear?
Insult lifelong allies?
Weaken defense?
Destroy industries?
Spread lies to confuse?
Attack individual citizens?
Disarm the populace?
Invite spies into the country?
Open the borders to criminals?
Stifle dissent?
Control the media?

Just wondering.

Tax and Sacks

Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours cleaning the patio, re-planting some big pots and trimming plants. Then the winds came, and today there is a leaf drift 8" deep outside the patio door. It's a losing battle until the grass gets tall enough to keep the leaves from blowing between yards.

Finally received the last 1099 forms so I can now get all my tax info together. Usually, I'm tied up for two weeks or more with taxes, but things should be less complicated this year so I might finish a little faster. It should be a good project for next week when the forecast is for rain and thundershowers.

Got this in the mail today.

The Sack Lunches

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read and perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me. 'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan.' After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time.

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard one soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base. His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and
squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'
Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'
'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class.
'This is yours with thanks.'

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars. Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Aircraft Pilot coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked , I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only
on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.
When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars! Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'
Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return.
These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little.
A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to his country for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people who no longer understand it.

Politicians Acting Like Children

The spitting contest going on between the Republican Party elite, Rush Limbaugh, and the White House proves that neither party is competent enough to lead the country. A pox on both houses!

Here in Texas, there is a simple way to vote a straight ticket. You mark one place on the ballot and your votes all go to one or the other party. I’ve done that in the past, but never again. I will vote only for those who place our country above themselves and their party. Party hacks will not get my vote, and I’ll write in my own name when I’m unfamiliar with candidates for state offices, or can’t pick from those on the ballot. Everything I’ve heard so far from our announced gubernatorial candidates means I’ll be getting at least one vote in the Republican primary. It's enough to gag a maggot.

24

I’m not much of a television fan, but I do make a point of watching 24. It has its moments of incredulity, but for the most part it’s a well written series and I really like the main characters. Tonight, after a recorder malfunction in the middle of the show, we at least got to watch the first hour and the last thirty minutes, so we were able to keep track of the plot.

This week’s show did a marvelous job of showing exactly how naïve and stupid our politicians can be when it comes to dealing with terrorists. Poor old Jack Bauer tries his best, but the bad guys always manage to do a lot of damage before anyone believes him, and people always die because of some arrogant, stupid politician or bureaucrat. Our new Attorney General, Eric Holder, sounds like he’d fit right into the show as an example of terminaly dumb.

The show makes you wonder if there is anyone in our real intelligence or special ops organizations that emulates Jack Bauer. I hope there is, because we sure could use someone like him to deal with the people trying to run the country now.

I also wonder if there are real computers that can instantly access anything and everything in mere seconds. I can’t even log onto the internet in the time Chloe can access the detailed blueprints of a building she’s never seen, and do a complete background check on an unknown Romanian sailor. Just once, I’d like to see her hit the wrong key and crash the system so bad that she had to reboot. If she did, and if her computer could get as screwed up as mine can, they might have to rename the show to 24.5.

Sunday

I'm sure you've noticed my lack of entries lately. That seems to be normal for the other blogs I visit, so I guess I'm normal, but I still feel guilty for not being more diligent. We've had company all week, so I'll just blame them for not having the time to come up with any profound comments.

When all else fails, I suppose I can give a weather report, since I do spend an inordinate amount of time following weather happenings around the country. Just for the record, we're expecting our second night of twenty-some degrees, so winter hasn't given up yet. It's been windy, too.

I can report that Operation Tea Bag is gathering steam and even Facebook now has a group called the American Tea Party. Seems like lots of people are concerned about the fate of the country and are using a similar theme to vent their frustration.

On the nature front...the bluebirds are busy building a nest in the birdhouse, and the feeders are still busy. Lots of migrating birds dropping in for a snack on their way north. A couple of squirrels have been tempted to visit the feeder, but there is a long stretch of open ground between the feeder and the nearest tree, so they are respecting the dogs. Bonnie likes to chase them, but doesn't get into the sport like Dakota did. Dakota absolutely loved chasing squirrels and had a special bark that told us when she had one treed. I dearly miss that dog.