Folks, it take a lot to get me to watch TV. I kissed it goodbye almost 40 years ago, and my life has been full of exciting times, productive work, lots of books and movies and thousands of conversations with live people. In a word, TV (generally) is for the brain dead. If you’re feeling a little offended right now, I suggest you … take a hike 😉 If you’re still here, however, I must confess that I just watched Continue reading “Caribou and SNL”
A Failure of Nerve
My father tells me that my grandfather, one of the most respected and best known farmers of Shelby County, seriously considered giving up and selling out in the 1930’s. It was after the stock market crash; times were very hard; he was in serious debt due to an unfortunate turn of events a few years before, and he wanted to sell out and become a doctor instead. He was almost 40 years old at the time– this would have been a very iffy road. He, and the farm, were saved Continue reading “A Failure of Nerve”
Receprocity & the 2nd Amendment- UPDATED
Caution–New York is the only state that prohibits the transportation of handguns without a license. Travelers should therefore be particularly careful since they face severe consequences should they inadvertently violate the state’s highly restrictive statutes.
On June 26 [2008], the Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment”A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” protects a purely individual right, as do the First, Fourth and Ninth Amendments. “Nowhere else in the Constitution does a ‘right’ attributed to ‘the people’ refer to anything other than an individual right,” the court said. “The term [‘the people’] unambiguously refers to all members of the political community.”
On Sept. 8th, while traveling home from a building seminar in NY state, I got a first hand look at how law enforcement in a “gun unfriendly” location interprets my right (see above) to individually carry a weapon as a means of protecting myself and my wife. Although I was not actually arrested, I was effectively taken prisoner Continue reading “Receprocity & the 2nd Amendment- UPDATED”
Evangelical Hypocrisy and the Married Woman
I’m not in the habit of condemning or defending classes of people. We’re all sinners, especially the ones who blithely deny the possibility of sin, and so such generalities are bound to be wrong depending on who they are or aren’t applied to. That’s being said, I find Continue reading “Evangelical Hypocrisy and the Married Woman”
There went the Bride
Well, it’s over. Sarah got married! She is now Mrs. Hartman. It was a grand occasion, and everything went beautifully and smoothly. My impression, looking back the next week after we got home was, “Gee, that was only a blip on the radar screen! It seems as if it should have made a bigger impression. Maybe the Jewish folks, and others who celebrate for a week have the right idea after all!”
So many people asked me if I was stressed over wedding preparations. The answer is, no, Sarah and Rainey did most of the planning and preparation down there (in GA). I ordered her wedding gown, which fit perfectly so that I didn’t have to alter it. I had to find a mother-of-the-bride dress to match some jewelry I already possessed — a deal, but not a big deal. Hey, I got to shop, didn’t I? I went down 2 weeks before the wedding to take them 2 chest-of-drawers, alter Sarah’s reception dress, and help her with a little bit of shopping. I helped set up the church and arrange a few flowers and bows the day before the wedding. The most stressful part of the whole affair was fixing 3 people’s hair the morning of the wedding. And the best part was hearing Sarah say, after I finished her hair, “That’s perfect, Mom; it’s exactly what I wanted!”
I’ll put in a picture that I took of Sarah when she was all dressed and ready. Ted will fuss over the way I do it and go back and edit the post! If anyone is interested enough to want more pictures, go to this website: http://bbandcompany.zenfolio.com/p1038900398 . The password is “thomas0816” There are over 400 pictures there, but only a fraction of those actually taken. It takes 15 or 20 minutes to view as a slide show. To order pictures as prints, please contact Brenda Brooks at BB & Company.
Inexperienced
We have choices, voters of America:
- An inexperienced white man with no track record for president
- An inexperienced white woman with a proven track record for vice president
Oh… I must have made a typo there, you’re thinking. He isn’t white, he’s black. No he isn’t. Does Continue reading “Inexperienced”
War & judgment
The title itself makes you want to skip this one, but– hold on a sec. This is actually about your financial future, how your government spends your tax dollars to educate children, whether your brother dies in the nuclear attack on the city where he lives and whether the Supreme Court becomes a tool of oppression for anyone who might be a moral conservative.
In this article, Noemie Emery makes the point that Iraq news is so good now that both McCain and Obama have a problem. For McCain, who staked his career on the success of the surge in 2007, it is that Continue reading “War & judgment”
Indian Winter and the Brontosaurus in our yard.
“Indian winter” is a term just coined by Lydia. It refers to the fact that, in all the 20 years we have lived here, this is the first time 
I have been cold in August. (Since Indian summer is when you have summer-like warm weather in the fall, then Indian winter is when you have cold weather in the summer, right?) Our weather all this week is incredible! Good incredible! While usually this time of year we are suffering under temps. in the 90’s with high humidity, our weather this week is topping at 85 or less, and getting down to the low 60’s at night. I just wish I could take it with me to Chattanooga for the weekend, where Sarah will be getting married. Her reception is outside, and the high that day is supposed to be 89. Oh, well, anything for a daughter getting married!
In other news, there has been a giant brontosaurus in our yard for the last few days. (I know, there was really no such thing as a brontosaurus. It’s more properly called an apatasaurus, but the b- word sounds better!) This brontosaurus was big, orange, metal, and weighed approximately 10 tons. It didn’t exactly eat tree branches, but it carried Ted and his chain saw on its long neck 60 feet in the air to trim the giant oak trees whose limbs were encroaching on the roof. The only catch to this mechanized brontosaurus was the short in its wiring that sometimes caused Ted to get stuck 60 feet off the ground! It took a little persuasion with a hammer to get it going again. Here’s Ted at his work.
We’re off day after tomorrow to attend Sarah’s wedding festivities. My next post will likely be pictures from the wedding!
Why Men Die before Women
This is one of those e-mails you get from somebody– my mother in this case. Just had to put up this picture. You wonder what the 
kid was thinking as he looked at the photographer. The caption under it in the note read: “It starts at a young age and men just get worse!”
You should see some of the other pictures… Continue reading “Why Men Die before Women”
Brutal Dictatorship in action…
Here is one man’s description of his anguish:
Before sunset on Monday, Mr. Yu walked along a river running past the eastern wall of the school compound. Peering over the wall, one could see piles of bricks and concrete all over the ground. He pointed out the few standing ruins of the main building. His daughters classroom had been on the fourth floor.
He said she had lived for two days after being buried alive, like some other students. She had even called out to him.
We could hear them under the rubble, he said. We passed them milk and water, but it was no use.
He smoked and stared at the debris.
If you are a parent, you should be tearing up right now…
Next month, as you watch the Olympics, remember what Mr. Yu has discovered about corruption in a dictatorship.
Democracy– the worst form of government on earth…
except for all the others.