Breathes there the man with soul so dead...

As I think about America's Independence Day celebration this week for the 4th of July, my thoughts turn toward this excerpt of Sir Walter Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel:

Breathes there the man with soul so dead

Who never to himself hath said,

This is my own, my native land!

Whose heart hath ne’er within him burned,

As home his footsteps he hath turned

From wandering on a foreign strand!

If such there breathe, go, mark him well;

For him no minstrel raptures swell;

High though his titles, proud his name,

Boundless his wealth as wish can claim

Despite those titles, power, and pelf,

The wretch, concentred all in self,

Living, shall forfeit fair renown,

And, doubly dying, shall go down

To the vile dust from whence he sprung,

Unwept, unhonored , and unsung.

Our prayers go out to those patriots who honor their country with service in our military, and to those family members who wait expectantly for the day when their loved one's footsteps are turned toward home.

God Bless America!!

Clean Water Memories

When our children were little I used to walk with them down to Pump House, to the overflow of the spring that provides our town with drinking water. We'd take the dog along, and I'd let them wade around in the cold spring water to their hearts content. I didn't need to worry about snakes with the dog splashing around with them. They would pick watercress to use in salads, try to catch the minnows and frogs, and marvel at the Water Boatmen and Dragonflies.

Thanks to homeland security concerns, the pump house and spring have been fenced off for some years now, and the old pier we used to walk out on is long gone. But you can still hear kids laughing and playing in the creek behind our house in the Summer.

Sometimes their friends would invite them to go swimming in nearby Lake Logan Martin, which is fed by the Coosa River. They would get mad, because I wouldn't let them go. I knew that the e-coli count was high. Even back then it was polluted.

Today, Logan Martin and the Coosa River are favorite haunts of plenty of water sports enthusiasts. And plenty of fishing is done, but very few people eat the fish they catch in the Coosa. It's just way too polluted to be safe.

Hubby and I belong to the Coosa River Keepers, a non-profit organization whose goal is to clean up the Coosa River and restore it to a living river. You can help the River Keepers win a cash prize by voting and giving 5 stars for this short video in which a long time resident of our town recounts her childhood memories of the Coosa River.

I urge you to find a local group working to protect a habitat near you.

What's Wrong with a Brokered Convention??

I find it amusing how little history most people seem to know. Hubby and I have been amazed when we hear commentators making the possibility of a brokered Republican convention sound like the most horrible thing that could ever happen to the Republican party.

When we were growing up TV was in its infancy, so they showed ALL of the Convention process on TV. And it was not at all unusual for there to be quite a few pollings of the delegates before a candidate was picked. It was fascinating to watch and listen to all the talk about backroom conferences and deal making. By the time a candidate was picked, we really felt like we had seen history in the making.

Nowadays the conventions are just plain BORING, as they are a coronation ceremony at best.

Maybe, just maybe, this will be a convention worth watching!

Just Me, Myself, and I

Ok, before I go on a rant, I acknowledge that English is a living language that is constantly evolving.

Now, with that said, I'm constantly irritated by the way Americans, including myself, consistently misuse the words me, myself, and I. "I" is to be used as the subject, while "me" is to be used as the object in a sentence.

So does this sound right to you? - They asked Jane and I to go to the ballgame.

 Using "I' just "sounds" more correct to most people these days, based on the way public speakers, radio and TV personalities, and the general public use it. BUT it should be Jane and ME in this sentence, because you wouldn't say, "They asked I to go to the ballgame." It's the object of the verb in that sentence.

In an effort to avoid making the decision about whether to use me or I people are starting to say myself, instead. So you hear people say, "They asked Jane and myself to go to the ballgame," but you wouldn't say, "They asked myself to go to the ballgame."

Is it any wonder that we're losing the ability to use these little words properly when we hear them used incorrectly constantly?

I don't make the mistake in writing, but I do catch myself using it incorrectly in casual speech. And it's like fingernails on a chalkboard when I realize I've done it.

Where Have All the Manners Gone?

I'm an elderly Southern lady who has some difficulty walking. Sometimes I use a cane, and there are times when I use a walker.

So I fit in the categories of being Female, Elderly, and Handicapped.

When we're out in public I am appalled to find that people have gotten so rude.

It's become the norm that when I arrive at store isle intersections I'M the one who has to stop and let the other person by. If I don't, I get run over.

Although some people will help with holding doors open, most do not. People, including even store employees, speed around me with no regard for the likelihood that they are going to knock me down.

I'm old enough to remember when it was normal that people would respect their elders, show deference to women, and go out of their way to be helpful to anyone with a handicap.

My wonderful hubby ALWAYS shows his good manners and goes out of his way to be respectful and helpful. But then he's from the "Old School" and was taught good manners as a child, as I was.

This is one time when I DO wish for the "Good Old Days', and I make a point of saying Thank You to anyone who still shows good manners!!

Sept. 11th - 10 Years Ago

It's hard to believe it's been ten years now since 9/11. The images and tributes shown on TV still bring up the most terrible hurting for me and I'm sure for most Americans.

There's a lot that has changed in our country during those ten years because of that fateful day, and I can't say that they have been good changes. We're still at war, with a terrible loss of life among our military men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Air travel is much different than it once was. The World Trade Center area is rife with controversy. Our politicians seem determined to ignore the God inspired roots of our country.


So it's a sad time as we honor those who died on that day and lift up the first responders who were so courageous. So many of those first responders died then, and many more who helped in the aftermath have contracted serious illnesses due to their exposure to toxic materials.


In 2007 I joined many others in an online tribute to the individuals who lost their lives that day. I've chosen to write out Norma Khan each year since then in tribute to all those who died that day and in the aftermath.

I intentionally did not name her 13 year old son in the original memorial, because I am particularly cautious about children and the internet. But last year I found this article showing a photo of Imran with his aunt right after 9/11.

He's 23 years old now, and I wanted to see if I could find out how he's doing. I did find this 2001 article:

As reported in The News last week, Norma Khan, manager of member services for the Plumb-ing-Heating-Cooling Contractors — National Association (PHCC), was on board American Airlines Flight 77, which was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon on September 11.


She left behind a 13-year-old son, Imran. At its annual conference, PHCC decided to establish a scholarship fund for Imran Khan.


We have no doubt of our industry’s continuing generosity.


# To contribute to the Imran Khan Fund, send checks to the PHCC Educational Foundation, 180 S. Washington St., Falls Church, VA 22046. Please make checks out to the PHCC Educational Foundation Scholar-ship Fund, with a notation that the donation is for the Imran Khan Fund.

So I'm hoping that means this young man has graduated from college by now. His mom has made the whole 9-11 tragedy very close to home for me, and I wish him the very best life.

Norma Khan was on American Airlines, flight 77, on her way home to Reston, Virginia, on September 11, 2001, when that plane was hijacked and aimed at the Pentagon. She was 45 years old. She had worked as an organizer for fundraiser programs for non-profit organizations, and had been heavily involved in the Reston Multicultural Festival, held each September in Reston. She was a single parent with a 13 year old son, Imran.


Several people have left memorial comments on various 9/11 sites, praising Norma as a warm, loving woman who cared about people. She was a good mother to her son. There is no way that I can properly pay tribute to this lady that I did not know, but the many lives she touched during her lifetime are a living tribute to her that will last forever.

If you'd like to read more tributes written by bloggers to honor the 2,996 people who died tragically on 9/11, you'll find the whole list here. It's a shame, but not all the links are any good any more, including mine, but I did find the link to Norma's page after a bit of Googling. A flower is added at the bottom of the page each time someone visits it, so please take the time to stop by. Maybe someday Imran will see that people have not forgotten her.

Every once in a while someone who knew Norma posts a comment on one of my annual posts about her, as they deal with their personal loss. I keep hoping that some day Imran will contact me. I would love to know that he is having a good life. I know that's what his Mom would want for him.

Political Rhetoric Gone Wild!

I didn't know that I was a Jihadist terrorist!! But evidently this 68 year old granny is trying to overthrow the government of the United States. And what makes me say that? Well, if the Vice President of the United States and an op-ed piece in a major American newspaper says so, it must be true, right?

Anyone who listens to politicians without thinking for themselves is no better off than the animals on George Orwell's Animal Farm who slowly lost their freedoms, because they were not diligent to remember their history, think for themselves, and stop the encroachment on their rights at the first signs of them being infringed upon.

No, we've never gone to a Tea Party rally, but our personal political beliefs align us with this group. And I honestly don't believe that the majority of Americans look "in horror" at the unwillingness of the Tea Party Congressmen to compromise on the national debt reduction issue.

Our Founding Fathers set in motion a government run by the process of Checks and Balances, so that no one part of the government has total control of any issue. Our government works at its best when we have a "loyal opposition" - proud Americans ready to voice, in a lawful manner, their disagreement with those in power.

The day we stop opposing political decisions we don't agree with - that's the day we stop living in the United States of America!