Will we ever learn?

"The belief that youth is the happiest time of life is founded on a fallacy. The happiest people are those who think the most interesting thoughts. Those who decide to use leisure as a means of mental development, who love good music, good books, good pictures, good company, good conversation, are the happiest people in the world. And they are not only happy in themselves; they are the cause of happiness in others." ~ William Lyon Phelps

I surrender to the idea that Americans are truly as lazy as once thought by most of the world. We continue to rest on our collective laurels, while the powers that are take away our freedoms in the name of freedom. Awkward as it sounds, the liberation of our Nation is not up to republicanist, nor democracist, but the true freedom loving Americans among us that refuse to take it any more.

We must demand ethics in governance and the operation of government, no matter who is in power. The troughs must be emptied and the feeding frenzy stopped before WE starve. The special interest groups, disguised as business development, need to be disemboweled from the feeding tubes of the taxpayers. We can no longer support KBR's and Haliburton's and Enron's of this country while letting the ports be sold to foreign interests.

WAKE UP!

Complacent-do we even know what it means?

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist." ~ Dom Helder Camara

I have noticed that so many of my acquaintances don't care about anything outside their immediate sphere of touch. Notice I did not use the word influence. Why, because as citizens we use less and less influence in our sphere, because we are selfish. That is why the conservatives think they won the culture war on the mind of America, because the spiritual mind of America does care about others. However, true conservatives are selfish, self-serving, hoarding, my-way or the highway kind of people. Unfortunately evangelicals have fallen in with this belief in a prosperous type of America, following the teachings of latter-day Reverend Ike's like Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Crefol Dollar, Joyce Meyer and Jan and Paul Crouch of TBN. They all sell the give to me and God will bless you theme. Neglecting the time worn camel through the eye of the needle comparison to a rich man getting into heaven is beyond them. They both privately and publicly rundown mainstream Christians that follow a more traditional, less affluent path to salvation. God never promised riches on earth, only rewards in heaven.

I chuckled to myself last evening at our interim pastor as he mentioned an experience with a woman that felt that she had always been called to be a missionary in Africa. But once she was there she asked, do I have to work with black people? This is so typical of this type of christian, they do not understand realistic sacrifice, especially their place in the real world.

"Do Justice, Love Kindness, Walk humbly with your God." ~ Micah 6:8

Christians BEWARE!!

And you think they have the same values that evangelical Christians do? Think! Use the brain God gave you; really understand what is going on.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11548419/?GT1=7756
Polygamist judge forced off bench in Utah
Man flouting state polygamy law has three wives, 32 children

Associated Press Updated: 4:47 p.m. ET Feb. 24, 2006

SALT LAKE CITY - A small-town judge with three wives was ordered removed from the bench by the Utah Supreme Court on Friday.

The court unanimously agreed with the findings of the state’s Judicial Conduct Commission, which recommended the removal of Judge Walter Steed for violating the state’s bigamy law.

Steed has served for 25 years on the Justice Court in the polygamist community of Hildale in southern Utah, where he ruled on such matters as drunken driving and domestic violence cases.

A year ago, the commission issued an order seeking Steed’s removal from the bench, after a 14-month investigation determined Steed was a polygamist and had violated Utah’s bigamy law.

Bigamy is a third-degree felony in Utah punishable by up to five years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines.

“Judge Steed’s relationship with his three plural wives for more than 20 years clearly runs afoul of the prohibition,” the ruling said. “When the law is violated or ignored by those charged by society with the fair and impartial enforcement of the law, the stability of our society is placed at undue risk.”

The initial complaint against Steed was filed with the commission in November 2003 by Tapestry Against Polygamy, a group founded by former polygamous women who help others leave the secretive religious colonies.

Three wives, 32 kids
Steed legally married his first wife in 1965, according to court documents. The second and third wives were married — or “sealed” as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints refers to it — to him in religious ceremonies in 1975 and 1985. The three women are sisters.

Steed has 32 children by the three women, according to court documents.

A receptionist at the Judicial Conduct Commission said neither the commission nor its attorney on the case, Colin Winchester, would comment.

Attorneys for Steed scheduled a news conference for later Friday.

In the court’s November hearing, justices focused their questions on two issues: whether Steed’s conduct impugns the judicial office and whether he should be removed from the bench if he has not been criminally tried and convicted of bigamy.

Friday’s decision did not address the trial-and-conviction issue. It only said that the illegal behavior is something Steed acknowledged and that he “has given every indication that he intends to continue his ‘plural marriage’ arrangement.”

Plural marriage holdouts
Plural marriage was an original tenet of the mainline Mormon church, but the faith abandoned the practice in 1890. About 30,000 polygamists, who split from the main church into various fundamentalist sects, are believed to be living in Utah, the Southwest, Mexico and Canada.

Justice Court judges are appointed to four-year terms by city councils or county commissions to handle class B and C misdemeanor infractions, charges with penalties that don’t exceed up to six months in jail or $1,000 in fines.

Judges are not required to have any legal education or training prior to appointment. A truck driver by trade, Steed was paid a few hundred dollars monthly for serving in the part-time position.

What do we understand?

"My problem is I say what I'm thinking before I think what I'm saying." ~ Dr. Laurence J. Peter

We understand little these days, other than what is near to us. Worldly distractions continue to pile up at our doors and windows trying to get inside to influence our minds. Constant onslaught cannot be avoided, it may however be evaded. Not by ducking and running, not by scrambling to hide, but boldly standing by our principles.
Situations that normally cause distress are handled with grace and compassion for all involved. Morality is not just rhetoric and words spoken to incite or illicit a response; it is how we daily live our lives. How people really perceive us. Actions do really speak louder than words. If we live this way daily it is done without thinking it becomes our nature.

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task." ~ William James

"A man does not have to be an angel in order to be saint." ~ Albert Schweitzer

"Never trust a person who’s always critical, and always distrust a person who’s never critical." ~ Dr. Mardy Grothe

Time to Think?

These past few months, I have been able to watch the unfolding and dis-assembly of the Bush administration before my eyes on national television and in the media. Whether it be electronic media or written in the pages of our newspapers, blogs, or online news control has slipped into cronyism.

Richard Reeves said on Charlie Rose the other night that his respect for Reagan had changed since he died. Mainly because he did a few things well, but only those things. He did not know people's names, he did not have a wide scope, he had a very narrow focus. He was easily distracted. Not because of his age, he did not care to be concerned for anything that did not interest him.

That is probably why the majority of Americans now like him so; he was simple minded. Easy to distract, he would have loved Fox News and its tabloid style. Compare the irony of Fox News and its perceived morals to Fox Network Televison's purely trash television offerings, he would have loved that also.

I have noticed the Reaganites are the best examples of polar opposites in one individual that you can find. One of my best friends is one of them: He boasts of his morals and stiffs his ex-wife on child support. He condemns abortion as illegal acts, yet uses many truly illegal drugs and alcohol. He lambastes liberals for supporting socialized medicine, then leaves the country to receive social medicine in Germany as an ex-pat. He spends all day listening to Neil Boortz for social commentary and Bill O'Reilly for sexual advice.

But it is easy to see why he and the masses were attracted to Reagan and now to Bush, simpletons are like magnets, they attract each other. They actually believe some day that they will earn enough in their job to become one of the upper 5%. They just don't get it that the harder they work the more they have to earn to become a 5%'er. They are under some kind of assumption that 5% starts at $40,000 per year. Boy are they in for a surprise.

"The problem with being sure that God is on your side is that you can't change your mind, because God sure isn't going to change His." ~ Roger Ebert, film-critic (1942- )

"Let people think they govern, and they will be governed." ~ William Penn

"I'm not smart. I try to observe. Millions saw the apple fall but Newton was the one who asked why." ~ Bernard Mannes Baruch

So you wonder why W can't save your money?

I love the folks at truthout.org. They don't care who they piss off. Word is now that another reason we are in such debt is that the sadministration is spending so much telling us why we have it so good! Go figure.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022206D.shtml

And just when things in the domain of W the little start to slow down, he screws up and peeves both sides of the aisle by saying that the Dubai based company will control up to six (6) US ports. Which strangely enough he has connections to through his staff. Even boasting about no VETOES!!!.

TAKE AMERICA BACK!

Mary Matalin should have done her research.

This morning Mary Matalin was on the Today Show defending her "vice" president to some semi-tough questions from the ever perky Katie Couric. Katie was probing and Mary Matalin had a difficult time answering the questions posed in the short interview. Ms. Matalin should have read some of the news reports from this past weekend to get her story straight. She did not have her facts congruent with the facts poised by the White House, the VEEP's office and the neo-con talking heads. She kept referring to the "fact" that Ms. Armstrong was an "eye witness" to the accident, when she herself, said on Sunday that when she saw the security detail running toward the area where the "VEEP" and Mr. Whittington were hunting, she knew something was wrong.
Mary, Mary, you are so contrary. It is a good thing James is so forgiving. He must have a great sense of humor. Well he is Southern and a Cajun.

"Half the truth is often a great lie." ~ Benjamin Franklin, statesman, author, and inventor (1706-1790)

Cheney is Responsible...well damn.

As my friend William would say. Even though he has been decidedly silent on this issue. No surprose there. He seems to listen to Neil Boortz, Rush Limbaugh and Faux News 24/7. And what's more he believes it all. He thinks Thomas Sowell is a God and "W" was the original cherry tree chopping president.

He is one of those "silent majority types" that thinks eventually he will own everything he touches. He has a very negative attitude about everything except wealth. What is so ironic about William is that he lectures me about my morals, yet he uses drugs, has been divorced, skipped the country to avoid paying child support, moved to Germany to get free health care and votes republican; because he doesn't want anyone to have those kind of benefits here.

He just doesn't want to pay for any one else to have the same benefits he wants. He doesn't believe in abortion, yet has paid for more than one for girlfriends in trouble. He lectures me about how I have let down society because I don't have the moral convictions he has.

He probably hasn't been into a church, except for a funeral, since I was in his wedding back in 1981. I am not only a regular attender, but involved in many aspects on my local church. No, I am not guilty, I am just fed up with his repugnant attitude. The holier than thou thing has gotten old. We must take back the faith.

"Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right." ~ Isaac Asimov

"If you are sure you understand everything that is going on, you are hopelessly confused." ~ Walter Mondale

This could be too easy....

"If you are sure you understand everything that is going on, you are hopelessly confused." ~ Walter Mondale

After this weekend's shooting of Attorney Whittington by NincomVEEP, it could be very easy to make jokes about the plight of the injured lawyer and the aforementioned VEEP, but folks this is serious business.

Not only did he shoot someone, he did it without being legally licensed to hunt in the State of Texas. If that was to happen to a normal, ordinary, regular, plain, non-influential person not of color, he probably would have been arrested and stiffly FINED!! ON THE SPOT!! Obviously, not surprisingly, the vice president does get special treatment. But come on.

For a man that could not find time to pick up a gun when it mattered during the Vietnam war, he finds time to pick one up just after getting out of the hospital after a Heart Attack. But if can't tell the difference between his hunting companion and a quail, it is probably a very good thing for all of our Veterans of the Vietnam era that he did not serve. He may have mistaken them for a dove or for that matter a VC.

I grew up hunting quail, and the noise of hunting from a "car" limits the number of coveys to a minimum. Also, hunting in the afternoon is for the, well, lazy. And without dogs, pointless. He may be able to sniff out an oil deal or another KBR/Haliburton contract, but I doubt he would be able to find a downed bird.

So, let us say if they really started hunting in the morning....maybe this happened long before we were told it did. That just goes to motive, as with everything else this administration is involved in, damage control first; then a smattering of the possible truth.

"The problem with being sure that God is on your side is that you can't change your mind, because God sure isn't going to change His." ~ Roger Ebert, film-critic (1942- )

Today the WORD is INSINCERITY!

"This is slavery, not to speak one's thought." ~ Euripides

Notice insincerity has creeped into our President at a more alarming rate. He cannot tell the truth!

Witnessing GWB telling another one almost made me sick. My heart goes out to all of those honorable men and women that have fought in this conflict under this lying liar. He honestly believes that if he tells a tale loud enough and long enough the rats will believe. I heard this morning on a radio show two talking heads praising him for his "honesty" regarding the information about the "supposed attack" on the Liberty/Library/what ever the real name of the tower is... and they have actually bought it, again. They sounded like Forest Gump when he was asked about going to Washington, AGAIN! Obviously they have ostrich-like habits and have kept their heads under ground for the last five years and not listened to the truth. But that reminds me of something I read today, there are three sides to every issue: your side, my side, and the truth.

So, Scooter is going to sell out Cheney, um, no honor among neo-cons. Well what did Dick expect, Scanlon and Jack are naming names and opening books on everyone else, including the White House. Time will tell. Could Jack's tell all be why Haley Barbour decided to stay at home in MS for '06-'08? He was a lobbyist before the locals elected him to the statehouse in Jackson. Most Mississippians you ask do not have a clue that his campaign was financed by lobbying for exporting jobs out of the USA. They just know the "good ole' boy" image he portrayed when he came home. I guess politics are local, since the locals don't really pay attention to what is going on anywhere else.

"Impudence is the worst of all human diseases." ~ Euripides

I Finally Figured It Out!!

For years I've thought that not only America, but the world was advancing in intelligence.

I have been proven not only wrong, but completely mistaken about how far we as civilization have advanced. We cannot get along with other countries because of religion, culture or cartoons. We cannot get along within our country because of religion and other beliefs.
It truly is easy to see why this group of Americans so fervently follow our president and are enamored with him. They either feel superior to him, or at least his equal. A necessary feeling for those of sub-standard education levels is to decry others. Since they lack real confidence to face people eye to eye. Always using torment and derision to poke and prod those that they cannot match equally on an intellectual level. Being propped up by think tanks and talking heads of talk radio, to do their thinking for them. It is impossible for them to think for themselves for it would give them a severe headaches. Abusing their wives and children verbally, their pets physically and themselves mentally, they disguise their fears in homophobia, muslimphobia, liberalmania, religiousity, alcholism, racism, facism, false conservatism, mis-placed libertarianism, anti-taxation, and wrestling. More often than not they push either themselves or their children to achieve beyond their abilities and ages in sports.
A gap has grown between the reasonable and the unreasonable. Unfortunately, the unreasonable do not recognize who they are. Joking at others expense, poking, proding, defaming, and laughing. All this while proclaiming to be servants of the One True God, surely he has turned aside from them in their scoffing. They are but bullies and deserve not his respect, nor ours.

"The effect of liberty to individuals is that they may do what they please; we ought to see what it will please them to do, before we risk congratulations." ~ Edmund Burke

"If in the last few years you haven't discarded a major opinion or acquired a new one, check your pulse. You may be dead." ~ Frank Gelett Burgess

When all the laughter dies in sorrow

And the tears have risen to a flood

When all the wars have found a cause

In human wisdom and in blood

Do you think they'll cry in sadness

Do you think the eye will blink

Do you think they'll curse the madness

Do you even think they'll think

When all the great galactic systems

Sigh to a frozen halt in space

Do you think there will be some remnant

Of beauty of the human race

Do you think there will be a vestige

Or a sniffle or a cosmic tear

Do you think a greater thinking thing

Will give a damn that man was here

Kendrew Lascelles

Don't be surprised!

Fool us once, fool us twice, but even the American public is smarter than he thinks. OR maybe not.....

"There is nothing more uncommon than common sense." ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

"Force without wisdom falls of its own weight." ~ Horace, poet and satirist (65-8 BCE)

"Rubber Stamps"

"Our land is now, more than ever before, the last best hope on earth. I know that we can begin here the fuller and richer realization of that hope." ~ Hubert Humphrey

"The people never give up their liberties, but under some delusion." ~ Edmund Burke, statesman and writer (1729-1797)

Independent thought must prevail, once again! We must have discourse. Real, honest, level-headed discourse. Outlaw think-tanks! Look what it has given us, a Karlrovian image of America. Foxnews daily runs a raised "terror" alert across the bottom of the screen and the puppets panic again. Watching Faux News for the news is like buying The Enquirer for sports scores, they ain't there!

We as a nation must address the disparity between the rich and the poor. Close the tax loopholes for the upper 5-10% and large corporations. Stop writing laws to aid and abet drug and insurance companies. When was the last time you tried to get something approved by your insurance company? I have lost all faith in big business, drug companies, and insurance companies within the last six years. Being a baby boomer, I continually face age discrimination in the work place, even though I continue to out work those younger than myself, both physically and intellectually.

We have a moral dilema in our country that is skewed to a "right" driven, not correct driven issue. I've recently heard so called fellow christians complain because they think too much attention has been given to the cartoon flap in Denmark, well if it was Jesus the Danes made fun of they would be just as infuriated as the Muslims. It's just like the election in Palestine, you get what you create. Create hate, you get hate. There is hope out there, new blood, not so dogmatic, not so set in regression, we must re-invent ourselves to regain America we dream about.

"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually." ~ James A. Baldwin

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross." ~ Sinclair Lewis

"Let us begin by committing ourselves to the truth - to see it as it is, and tell it like it is - to find the truth, to speak the truth, and to live the truth." ~ When he accepted the Republican nomination for president in 1968, Richard Nixon (yeah, right)

What goes around, does in fact come back around once more. Full circle once again.

IT DOES TRY OUR PATIENCE.......

Faith is all we need.................

"Reason is our soul's left hand, Faith her right." ~ John Donne

Naaman proved he was a man of faith, yet it took a servant to force him to understand that the obvious is sometimes not only the easiest, but the most appropriate thing to do. Today's Christian must look at the Whole Word. Not just select the few pieces of language that support the political and irrational motive of their inner lust. Yes, I said lust. When one allows their entire being to be overcome by something outside the Will of God, it is lust of a certain kind.

Whether it be focused on cleansing the world of homosexuals, abortionists, or liberals; gaining wealth, imposing your belief on others or out shouting the people across the aisle; or maybe its just not understanding that democracy is freedom for all in their "OWN" land, under their "OWN" elected leaders (whether we saw it coming or not).

According to AP, The Bush administration said Thursday it will ask Congress for $120 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I thought he declared victory two years ago? Where is the money coming from? Since he has promised to cut taxes once again, during war time, it certainly makes sense, doesn't it? The debt continues to grow, the programs fail, the country slides into despair, people loose faith, wasn't this what it was like when Hoover was in charge?

Our local congregation just under went a severe breakup, because the pastor forgot his main purpose as the shepard his flock: to keep it together and nourish the members. He became self-important, self-serving, self-absorbed. He carried with him about 80 out of 500 plus members. The people that left with him seemed to almost worship "him" instead of God. They became a social club for people that needed like minds, not spiritual uplifting. Vengance is mine says the Lord....

"As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit." ~ Emmanuel Teney

And now: Arlingon, Va.- KBR announced today that the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) component has awarded KBR an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contingency contract to support ICE facilities in the event of an emergency. KBR is the engineering and construction subsidiary of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL).
With a maximum total value of $385 million over a five-year term, consisting of a one-year based period and four one-year options, the competitively awarded contract will be executed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District. KBR held the previous ICE contract from 2000 through 2005. The fat just keep getting fatter......

"Man stands face to face with the irrational. He feels within him the longing for happiness and for reason. The absurd is born of the confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world." ~ Albert Camus

"In a democracy . . . good will without competence and competence without good will, are both equivalent formulas for political disaster" ~ Theodore H. White

"I tell kids to read like a wolf. Read when they tell you not to read; read what they tell you not to read.” ~ Gary Paulsen

"The shepherd always tries to persuade the sheep that their interests and his own are the same." ~ Stendal (Marie Henri Beyle), novelist (1783-1842)

"The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them." ~ Albert Einstein

"Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

"All sins tend to be addictive, and the terminal point of addiction is damnation." ~ W. H. Auden

I got to get out of here!

Today I went for a short walk to retreive some vitamins from the drugstore. I realized that life has a certain course and deviation from that course is a matter of chance. It all depends on where we get started and what assistance we receive along the way. Some get more assistance than others, some get none at all. The bootstrap philosophy is a myth, in reality, because someone else has to help a person that is pulling their own bootstraps. A person that suceeds gets some kind of help from some where along the way. Be it a mentor, teacher, parent, pastor, friend or benefactor. An interaction must have occured with one of these in a significant way to cause a desired result.

"'Tis one thing to know virtue, and another to conform the will to it." ~ David Hume

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?" ~ Robert Browning

"The most disagreeable thing that your worst enemy says to your face does not approach what your best friend says behind your back." ~ Alfred de Musset

"Try to learn something about everything and everything about something." ~ T. H. Huxley

"A man's worst difficulties begin when he is able to do as he likes." ~ T. H. Huxley

"Rationalization may be defined as self-deception by reasoning." ~ Karen Horney

"My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it." ~ Mark Twain

"A good novel is possible only after one has given up and let go." ~ Walker Percy

"The difference between false memories and true ones is the same as for jewels: it is always the false ones that look the most real, the most brilliant." ~ Salvador Dali

"A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship." ~ John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

"Throughout history, most of the wrongs of the world have resulted from people absolutely sure they were in the right." ~ Dr. Mardy Grothe

"My life consists in my being content to accept many things." ~ Ludwig Wittgenstein

"Poetry is an orphan of silence. The words never quite equal the experience behind them. We are always at the beginning, eternal apprentices." ~ Charles Simic

"Do you ever read any of the books you burn?" "That's against the law!" "Oh. Of course." ~ Ray Bradbury, science-fiction writer (1920- ) [Fahrenheit 451]

"A hidden connection is stronger than an obvious one." ~ Heraclitus

"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)

"Man is not the lord of beings. Man is the shepherd of Being." ~ Martin Heidegger

"Ideologies separate us. Dreams and anguish bring us together." ~ Eugene Ionesco

"If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about the answers." ~ Thomas Pynchon, writer (1937- )

"A cleric who loses his faith abandons his calling; a philosopher who loses his redefines his subject." ~ Ernest Gellner

"Secrecy, being an instrument of conspiracy, ought never to be the system of a regular government." ~ Jeremy Bentham, jurist and philosopher (1748-1832)

So as I attempt to find my way out of here, go with me along this pathway. The tracks lead forward and back. Neither wrong nor right, however you must choose. For not choosing is also a choice. Follow, stay, or go the other way. The choice is always ours, or so they tell us.

Godspeed.

Quotes for another day

Along the winding roads of the Virginia Blue Ridge sits this reminder of days gone by. Pull up, read the menu, honk your horn, order your food, eat in the car. No Tables! After your meal drive up the hill to the Starlight Drive-In and catch a first run movie on a warm summer night. Both reminders of a time gone by. Enjoy a the night and a flick and some popcorn.

Now for the days business....

"Against my will, in the course of my travels, the belief that everything worth knowing was known at Cambridge gradually wore off. In this respect my travels were very useful to me." ~ Bertrand Russell philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970)

"Who never sold the truth to serve the hour, nor paltered with Eternal God for power." ~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), poet laureate, eulogizing the Duke of Wellington.

"In Ireland, for a few years more, we have a popular imagination that is fiery and magnificent, and tender; so that those of us who wish to write start with a chance that is not given to writers in places where the springtime of the local life has been forgotten, and the harvest is a memory only, and the straw has been turned into bricks." ~ John Millington Synge

"If you can't annoy somebody, there's little point in writing." ~ Kingsley Amis

"Politics is opposed to morality, as philosophy to naïveté." ~ Emmanuel Levinas

"The supreme paradox of all thought is the attempt to discover something that thought cannot think." ~ Søren Kierkegaard

"Liberality consists rather in giving reasonably than much." ~ La Bruyere

"It is sweet to be remembered. But it is often cheaper to be forgotten." ~ Kin Hubbard

"If you want to know your past - look into your present conditions. If you want to know your future - look into your present actions." ~ Buddhist Saying

"Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" ~ Lewis Carroll, mathematician and writer (1832-1898)

"I think knowing what you cannot do is more important than knowing what you can do. In fact, that's good taste." ~ Lucille Ball

"Nothing so completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity himself, than straightforward and simple integrity in another." ~ Charles Caleb Colton, author and clergyman (1780-1832)

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have little." ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

"The beloved of the Almighty are the rich who have the humility of the poor, and the poor who have the magnanimity of the rich." ~ Saadi, poet (1184-1291)

"All our knowledge falls within the bounds of possible experience." ~ Immanuel Kant

"Life is short. Be swift to love! Make haste to be kind!" ~ Henri Frederic Amiel philosopher and writer (1821-1881)

"The will does not choose between good and evil; it is its choice, rather, that makes it good or evil." ~ Karl Jaspers

"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, then that of blindfolded fear." ~ Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect and author (1743-1826)

Today's Quotes

I have always enjoyed words, the hearing of a tale, the telling, the putting on paper or their effect on society.


"A stiff apology is a second insult. The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt." ~ G.K. Chesterton, author (1874-1936)

"The arrow belongs not to the archer when it has once left the bow; the word no longer belongs to the speaker when it has once passed his lips." ~ Heinrich Heine


"Many a secret that cannot be pried out by curiosity can be drawn out by indifference." ~ Sydney J. Harris, journalist (1917-1986)

"What one has not experienced, one will never understand in print." ~ Isadora Duncan


"I cannot walk through the suburbs in the solitude of the night without thinking that the night pleases us because it suppresses idle details, just as our memory does." ~ Jorge Luis Borges, writer (1899-1986)

"Freedom is always and exclusively the freedom for the one who thinks differently." ~ Rosa Luxemburg

"More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly." ~ Woody Allen, author actor, and filmmaker (1935- )


"I never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with a lot of pleasure." ~ Clarence (Seward) Darrow

"The man who says what he thinks is finished, and the man who thinks what he says is an idiot." ~ Rolf Hochhuth


"Act as if the maxim of your action were to become, through your will, a general natural law." ~ Immanuel Kant

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." ~ Socrates

"I am happiest when I am idle. I could live for months without performing any kind of labor and feel fresh and vigorous enough to go right on in the same way." ~ Armetus Ward

"The true lover of knowledge naturally strives for truth, and is not content with common opinion, but soars with undimmed and unwearied passion till he grasps the essential nature of things." ~ Plato

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy -- for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another." ~ Anatole France


"Jealousy in romance is like salt in food. A little can enhance the savor, but too much can spoil the pleasure and, under certain circumstances, can be life-threatening." ~ Maya Angelou, poet (1928- )

"The desire of the man is for the woman, but the desire of the woman is for the desire of the man." ~ Madame de Stael, writer (1766-1817)

"Freedom...is not an inconsequential chucking of one's weight about, it is the disciplined overcoming of self." ~ Iris Murdoch


"I've always found it difficult to start with a definite idea, but if I start with a pond that's being drained because of a diesel fuel leak and a cow named Hortense and some blackbirds flying over and a woman in the distance waving, then I might get somewhere." ~ Bobby Ann Mason

Quotes for Today

"Every revolutionary movement also liberates language." ~ Christa Wolf

"The cruelty of most people is lack of imagination, their brutality is ignorance." ~ Kurt Tucholsky

"The intellect is part of life--not its counterpart." ~ Kurt Tucholsky

"What use is it that knowledge mounts? It's knowing something good that counts." ~ Friedrich von Logau

"Seeing death as the end of life is like seeing the horizon as the end of the ocean." ~ David Searls

"The Holy Sprit intended to teach us in the Bible how to go to Heaven, not how the heavens go." ~ Galileo

"A man finds room in the few square inches of the face for the traits of all his ancestors; for the expression of all his history, and his wants. " ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher (1803-1882)

"It is far easier to blame someone than to take the time to understand the problem." ~ Dave Gurteen

"Time wears away error and polishes truth." ~ Gaston Pierre Marc, Duc de Levis, writer (1764-1830)

"Marriage doesn't fail to meet the demands of people; people fail to meet the demands of marriage." ~ Dr. Mardy Grothe

"I need not tell the brave survivors of so many hard-fought battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to the result from no distrust of them. But valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss [of more men]. I bid you all an affectionate farewell." ~ General Robert E. Lee’s Last Order

"I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may; light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful." ~ John Constable, painter (1776-1837)

"Nature is slow, but sure; she works no faster than need be; she is the tortoise that wins the race by her perseverance. " ~ Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862)

"It is better not to express what one means than to express what one does not mean." ~ Karl Kraus

"Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all." ~ Thomas Szasz, author, professor of psychiatry (1920- )

"We are not free, separate, and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way." ~ Thomas Mann

"It isn't where you came from; it's where you're going that counts." ~ Ella Fitzgerald

“Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone somewhere may be happy.” ~ H.L. Mencken, writer, editor, and critic (1880-1956)

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops" ~ Henry Adams

"Society has always seemed to demand a little more from human beings than it will get in practice." ~ George Orwell

Changing Light Bulbs in the SEC

At VANDERBILT, it takes two: one to change the bulb and one more to explain how they did it every bit as good as the bulbs changed at Harvard.

At GEORGIA, it takes two: one to change the bulb and one to phone an engineer at Georgia Tech for instructions.

At FLORIDA, it takes four: one to screw in the bulb and three to figure out how to get stoned off the old one.

At ALABAMA, it takes five: one to change it, three to reminisce about how The Bear would have done it, and one to throw the old bulb at an NCAA investigator.

At OLE MISS, it takes six: one to change it, two to mix the drinks and three to find the perfect J. Crew outfit to wear for the occasion.

At LSU, it takes seven, and each one gets credit for five semester hours.

At KENTUCKY, it takes eight: one to screw it in and seven to discuss how much brighter it seems to shine during basketball season.

At TENNESSEE, it takes ten: two to figure out how to screw it in, two to buy an orange lampshade, and six to phone a radio call-in show and talk about how much they hate Alabama.

At MISSISSIPPI STATE, it takes fifteen: one to screw in the bulb, two to buy the Skoal, and twelve to yell, “GO TO HELL, OLE MISS”.

At AUBURN, it takes one hundred: one to change it, forty-nine to talk about how they did it better than at Bama, and fifty to get drunk and roll toomer’s Corner when finished.

At SOUTH CAROLINA, it takes 80,000: one to screw it in and 79,999 to discuss how this finally will be the year that they have a decent football team.

At ARKANSAS: None. There is no electricity in Arkansas.

Ain't Life a...well you know!!

No Whining!

"All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting." ~ George Orwell

"Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." ~ George Orwell

Who is to blame? Who cares any more? Anyone and Everyone who has been paying attention in the last several months knows that the Executive Branch of our government had plenty of time to get warrants even after the wiretapping started. However, they did not, period. The issue is not whether or not that they did it, we know they did; the issue is why didn't they follow through? It is because they thought none of us would care. They have us so brain-washed into believing that we are "at war with terror" that any thing they do is acceptable.

Yet if another administration was involved in the same tactics as this administration, the pundits that so whole-heartedly support this one would not only be outraged, but would be involved in a full scale impeachment process. So if this executive was only sleeping with the help and lying about it, not just having thousands of young American men and women killed in a foreign land, we could impeach him then. What constitutes an impeachable offense? A small sexual act, or a large one?

Libertarians whine about the Constitution not providing for taxes, yet they fail to read the document they claim to be upholding. The US Constitution allows Congress to enact taxes to support all forms of things. They just don't want to be the ones to pay those taxes.

Whine on, whine on, because the precedents you create now will come back to haunt you in case of a CHANGE!!

Closet, free-will progressives will revolt at the polls, slowly at first, locally, then at state level and eventually at a national level. The history of American politics is full of examples.

"The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns, as it were, instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink." ~ George Orwell

One Dad's Pride

Years have slipped by since my Dad passed. It is still easy to remember his looks, his habits, his laugh and the distinct aroma of Old Spice. However, what I remember most are the lessons I learned being his son.

LOVE
We are an affectionate family, but it embarrassed Dad to have affection lauded on him. He showed his love, devotion and care in much less visible, less outward gestures. I recall at his death my sisters and I remarked on how it unruffled him when you demonstrated public affection to him. Not that he did not appreciate it, he just did not know how to accept it without embarrassment..

STABILITY
Never was there a doubt in his dedication to Mom or his family. He supported her in everything she attempted to accomplish. His devotion was evidenced daily as they dined together at the same local restaurant. In the same place, with the same menu, with the same people, same old-same old. Mom and Dad was a fixture in their community, an example of stability. They gave everything a sense of normalcy.

INSIGHT
Dad generously gave advice, but did not so that you felt he was prying of judging. But when he said, “ I don’t know if I would do that”. You pretty well knew he disapproved of what ever it was you might be about to do. Dad saw an extreme cross-section of the peoples that make up the palette that is Alabama. He dealt daily with those who were trying to repair their transportation, as economically as possible; along with those restoring vintage automobiles and trucks, where cost was no object.

PREPARATION
Dad believed in planning, planing to plan and planning to plan to plan. No surprises, no mistakes. “Work smart, not hard. Examine the situation you are encountering and solve it the easiest way possible. It will not always be quickest, but will always be easiest.

LOYALTY
Dad taught me how to be loyal and why to be loyal. He demonstrated that respect came with being loyal. He cultivated loyalty from others with giving them respect. I saw the manner in which my father dealt with each customer. Treating each telephone call as an individual instance without preconceived notions. I also witnessed the respect he had garnered over the years by the number of former business associates and employees that attended his funeral.

FAIRNESS
Dad firmly believed in the “Golden Rule”. He gave everyone a level start. No preconceived notions. It mattered not if a customers or passers-by were chicken catchers, bankers, factory workers, former governors or scarlet necked farmers. “Everyone deserves respect until they personally wrong you. Give everyone a fair starting place, a level playing field,” he would say. “Don’t pay attention to education, color, religion or wealth. All of us are equal in God’s eyes.” I have been able to witness the reputation my father gained by his respect and fairness many times in my many trails. One instance that clearly stands out in my mind happened to me while my family was living in Tennessee.

On a rare afternoon off from work, I was “shopping” for a new “used” car and visiting several dealerships in our local area. After walking one particular lot, the owner approached without being overzealous. He inquired as to my needs and desires. He began making small talk, as successful sales persons should. Putting my mind at ease, rather than going in for the kill. He continued to probe with questions, narrowing down the features I was interested in including. Then switching to small talk again he asked, “Where are ya from?” Obviously, he did not recognize me as a local.
I responded in kind with, “Cullman, AL, originally.”
He said, “I think that I know someone from there. A real square-dealer. Do you know this fella?, a, I believe his name was.....?”
I grinned with pride and said, “Yes, I believe that I do know him. Especially since I grew up as his son.”
The dealer was startled at the coincidence of the occasion. No I did not purchase a “new” car, but came away from there with a renewed sense of paternal pride. It builds your character when we know someone who is built up, especially your Dad.

ADAPTABILITY
Change is necessary, although unpleasant. I have experienced abundant change in my life. Not as much as some folks, but quite a lot. With each change we lose something we had. We also gain new experiences and discover new places, new things, and maybe best of all new food. I’ve moved often enough, my nuclear family adapts quickly and actively. My perspective of humanity changes each time I move, I still don’t understand us.
My genetic code still puts unexplained passion for certain things in mind. My code gave me these passions. Faith in God, my wife, my daughter, my family; I know these are all given. So here’s the real list; “Real” democracy, Barbecue (sauce on the side please), Catfish and coleslaw, Music, the South and its people, Literature, Story Telling, Auburn (the lovliest village on the plains), Places I’ve lived and People I know.

LSIPLFA does not spell anything, so no acronyms please.

It’s a small, small world. We better realize it. Learn some lessons. Change our approach and enjoy each other and what we have. For far too soon we are gone and cannot say what we should have. We never know who is under our influence. We don’t know who we touch and how we touch them. It would be far too easy to see the outcome before the action. Some things would not get done.

I hope by striving to impart his wisdom I will be able to leave worthy tracks along the pathway of life. I only regret his view and outlook ceased with his passing. My daughter hardly knew him, just as I hardly knew my grandparents. Fortunately for my daughter, my in-laws have been there to assist in her growth as an individual. They have imparted their collective wisdom, knowledge and outlook and she has responded in a manner to which Dad would be proud. I am also sure my Mom would have some kind of enormous scrapbook with tattered news clippings and pictures, oh, she loved those pictures.

Dad spoke with me privately just moments before my wedding, with his philosophy on marriage and how to respect your mate. I still treasure this conversation with “Pop” as one I hold most dear. I strive to achieve this pinnacle of marriage my parents had, when in reality they had struggles along the way also and money issues, and anger. Those are normal occurrences. How we deal with them is how we succeed.
Life is not perfect, it is life.
Don’t fret Dad, it is still hot in July and August. She loves Auburn and she made the dean’s list. You would love her work ethic and dedication. She now is teaching others about our world and has a scientific mind just like her grandad.

Flashing Pigs

"One of the secrets of life is to keep our intellectual curiosity acute." ~ William Lyon Phelps

Flashing pigs dance along the eave of the cinderblock building as the sun slowly drops behind the water tower on the horizon. Pinks and blues color the distant western sky as well as the prancing neon porkers in the foreground nearer to us. The sign, by far the most costly addition to this establishment, flickers to life.

Greeting us as we step through the entryway a portly man directs us past the register stand. Our host conveys us to a hostess that directs our party to a table along the wall. Our party finds the table and four obviously mismatched chairs to our liking. As we seat ourselves through a layer of polyurethane, faces gaze up from a collection of photographs and sports cards. Mixed among these images are ticket stubs from concerts and sporting events. One aging purple stub, several years old, grabs my attention, the New Orleans Jazz Festival. Closer examination of the tickets yield a much more eclectic mix than first impression, minor league baseball, college football, hockey, Reba McIntyre, B.B. King, festivals, fests, and cook-offs.

Over my shoulder, an alto voice asks a familiar question of the South, “Will that be four sweet teas?” No assumption of soft drinks, water or beer, we are below the Mason-Dixon if any one had wanted otherwise they would need to speak now or forever hold their peace. Speak up now or receive the “Elixir of Dixie”.

Photographs of local heroes and personalities adorn the walls, with images of regional landmarks thrown in occasionally. Scattered among those Kodak candid shots and Polaroid pretties are antique artifacts, each telling an individual story of a checkered past. One could spend hours soaking in all the clutter, or culture, depending on your point of view. This environment reminds us of days gone and lives spent. History is a fuller and richer experience outside the pages of some book you remember from golden rule days.

“What’ll y’all have?” chimes the waitress gliding up next to me. I have not even glanced at the bill of fare to sort out the choice of side items. While my companions select their respective feasts, I closely examine the menu. Nothing to be found there unusual or life altering. However, the marinated coleslaw looks interesting. Not everyone dishes up baked beans that tickle my fancy. Sometimes, less really is more. My decision is to opt for fries and the coleslaw to accompany my large barbecue plate.

Over the din of kitchen noise and conversation my ears detect the strains of BB King and Eric Clapton playing through the sound system. This is becoming a truly positive experience. Smoked meat and Delta Blues are made to be enjoyed with the same breath. As the notes drift from table to table, patron to patron, the beat tantalizes and amuses as it aids in passing the time from order to delivery. An establishment such as this will tease and tempt all of your senses. Hickory and pecan woods each have a distinct aroma when used as fuel for a slow cooking pit. Years of smoking meat in that pit permeate the boards, bricks, mortar and shingles of the building. Along the sensual scale, my eyes and ears slip far below my overloaded olfactories. I hope that these temptations brought on by my sense of smell will be rewarded by my taste buds.

Anticipation builds as we await our meals. Absorbing every moment of this anticipation prepares me for my feast. Other diners do not even suspect as I gaze and evaluate their plates attempting to determine what triggered their decision. They are oblivious to my espionage.

Suddenly, I hear the sound of tinkling of ice as the waitress refills our drinks and utters and apology, “I’m sorry for the wait, but Friday nights are a real ‘booger’”.

I spy a weathered Frostie Root Beer sign, with the characteristic elf, next to an autographed baseball. My curiosity drives me to examine it closer, checking it for authenticity. Aging relics are used to create a measure of ambiance. Americans crave atmosphere, an experience, an event or a happening. Corporate America and its simulation of this experience are endangering these authentic locations. They are planting cookie cutter imitations of real “joints” delivering sterile versions of this atmosphere to society. Spotlessly clean simulations of old joints, shacks, roadhouses attempt to give young Republicans a taste of the forbidden. Without leaving the safety of suburbia or the mesmerizing malls of America, you cannot truly experience this joy, this satisfaction, this atmosphere. Corporations continue to strive to imitate this feeling by using flea market purchases and reproductions placed strategically to create the level of ambiance.

Dining is one of the rites of humanity, not just protein for survival. Not just nourishment, but socialization with each other. An interaction between human beings. I imagine ideas can be idealized, tales told, flirtations can also be felt, and egos be entertained at any dinner table. However, these “homey hold outs” are our oasis from the sameness of those corporate giants. Just how different is TGI Friday from Ruby Tuesday or Applebee’s? Don’t expect sameness if your choice is between Johnny’s Barbecue and the Top Hat. Each experience can and should be an adventure.

Over the years, being flung around the country I’ve pleasured and experienced many local color establishments that really tickled my fancy. Uniqueness, for its own sake has not been squandered on me. When I sit in remembrance of these places, I enjoy them over again and share them with those I know. Hot links in Louisiana, Chuy’s Tex-Mex in Texas, Schnitzel in Kentucky, Tenderloin and Milkshakes in Tennessee, Catfish in Mississippi, Seafood in South Alabama or Pomme Frites with Anthony Quinn in NYC. Each place has a special place and special memories.
The aroma of plated barbecue disturbs the air as the server hefts the oversize platters onto our table. I envy the choices of my tablemates. Baked beans never looked or smelled as tempting as those across the table do tonight. A quick prayer of thanks is then offered for the bounty before us. A little polite conversation breaks the anticipation and the feast is on. Neither the aroma nor wait has been in vain. The food has lived up to its aromatic billing. The ambiance and atmosphere converted the short wait into a pleasant adventure.

After what seems to be hours later I rise with my friends to leave and pass the weathered glass showcase. A mixture of Clorets, Certs, and Wrigley’s gum join t-shirts and bottled sauce on the shelves of the showcase. Hanging above and behind the cash register, on a makeshift clothesline are samples of the t-shirts in the showcase. America’s contribution to the fashion world, the t-shirt comes in many styles and colors. These proclaim the prominence of the barbecue from this business. Some are humorous. Some are serious. Some are just colorful. 

Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble comes out of the sound system as we exit the door into the parking lot. Just an exclamation point on a near perfect evening! It really does not matter whether its barbecue, hot links, fried chicken, catfish, soul food, seafood, or your favorite ethnic place, a little food and music between friends is perfect. Oh, If you recognize the place from the story, let me know where it is, ‘cause I would like to try it.

Lee in the Mountains

A poem in memory of a Great American.

Lee in the Mountains by Donald Davidson

Walking into the shadows, walking alone

Where the sun falls through the ruined boughs of locust

Up to the president's office. . . . Hearing the voices

Whisper, Hush, it is General Lee! And strangely

Hearing my own voice say, Good morning, boys.

(Don't get up. You are early. It is long

Before the bell. You will have long to wait

On these cold steps. . . .)

The young have time to wait

But soldiers' faces under their tossing flags

Lift no more by any road or field,

And I am spent with old wars and new sorrow.

Walking the rocky path, where steps decay

And the paint cracks and grass eats on the stone.

It is not General Lee, young men. . .

It is Robert Lee in a dark civilian suit who walks,

An outlaw fumbling for the latch,

a voice Commanding in a dream where no flag flies.

My father's house is taken and his hearth

Left to the candle-drippings where the ashes

Whirl at a chimney-breath on the cold stone.

I can hardly remember my father's look, 
I cannot Answer his voice as he calls farewell in the misty Mounting where riders gather at gates.

He was old then--I was a child--his hand

Held out for mine, some daybreak snatched away,

And he rode out, a broken man. Now let

His lone grave keep, surer than cypress roots,

The vow I made beside him. God too late

Unseals to certain eyes the drift

Of time and the hopes of men and a sacred cause.

The fortune of the Lees goes with the land

Whose sons will keep it still. My mother

Told me much. She sat among the candles,

Fingering the Memoirs, now so long unread.

And as my pen moves on across the page

Her voice comes back, a murmuring distillation

Of old Virginia times now faint and gone,

The hurt of all that was and cannot be.

Why did my father write? I know he saw

History clutched as a wraith out of blowing mist

Where tongues are loud, and a glut of little souls

Laps at the too much blood and the burning house.

He would have his say, but I shall not have mine.

What I do is only a son's devoir

To a lost father. Let him only speak.

The rest must pass to men who never knew

(But on a written page) the strike of armies,

And never heard the long Confederate cry

Charge through the muzzling smoke or saw the bright Eyes of the beardless boys go up to death.
It is Robert Lee who writes with his father's hand--
The rest must go unsaid and the lips be locked.

If all were told, as it cannot be told--
If all the dread opinion of the heart
Now could speak, now in the shame and torment
Lashing the bound and trampled States--

If a word were said, as it cannot be said--
I see clear waters run in Virginia's Valley
And in the house the weeping of young women
Rises no more. The waves of grain begin.
The Shenandoah is golden with a new grain.
The Blue Ridge, crowned with a haze of light,
Thunders no more. The horse is at plough. 
The rifle Returns to the chimney crotch and the hunter's hand.
And nothing else than this? Was it for this
That on an April day we stacked our arms
Obedient to a soldier's trust? To lie
Ground by heels of little men,

Forever maimed, defeated, lost, impugned?
And was I then betrayed? Did I betray?
If it were said, as it still might be said--
If it were said, and a word should run like fire,
Like living fire into the roots of grass,
The sunken flag would kindle on wild hills,
The brooding hearts would waken, and the dream
Stir like a crippled phantom under the pines,
And this torn earth would quicken into shouting Beneath the feet of the ragged bands-- 
The pen---Turns to the waiting page, the sword
Bows to the rust that cankers and the silence.

Among these boys whose eyes lift up to mine
Within gray walls where droning wasps repeat
A hollow reveille, I still must face,
Day after day, the courier with his summons
Once more to surrender, now to surrender all.
Without arms or men I stand, but with knowledge only
I face what long I saw, before others knew,
When Pickett's men streamed back, and I heard the tangled
Cry of the Wilderness wounded, bloody with doom.

The mountains, once I said, in the little room
At Richmond, by the huddled fire, but still
The President shook his head. The mountains wait,
I said, in the long beat and rattle of siege
At cratered Petersbyrg. Too late
We sought the mountains and those people came.
And Lee is in the mountains now, beyond Appomatox,
Listening long for voices that will never speak
Again; hearing the hoofbeats that come and go and fade
Without a stop, without a brown hand lifting
The tent-flap, or a bugle call at dawn,
Or ever on the long white road the flag
Of Jackson's quick brigades. I am alone,
Trapped, consenting, taken at last in mountains.It is not the bugle now, or the long roll beating.
The simple stroke of a chapel bell forbids
The hurtling dream, recalls the lonely mind.
Young men, the God of your fathers is a just
And merciful God Who in this blood once shed
On your green altars measures out all days,
And measures out the grace
Whereby alone we live;
And in His might He waits,
Brooding within the certitude of time,
To bring this lost forsaken valor
And the fierce faith undying
And the love quenchless
To flower among the hills to which we cleave,
To fruit upon the mountains whither we flee,
Never forsaking, never denying
His children and His childrens children forever
Unto all generations of the faithful heart.