Twisty, Curvy Roads

Listen to this article: Your browser does not support the audio element. Notes from the evening of October 14, 2019.  Click photo to expand My dog, Max, and I are camped at Upper Lagunitas Campground in the Carson National Forest of New Mexico. As I wait for my Columbus Day dinner of lasagna to cook, I am looking out my window at a million dollar view of the lake that lies below our campsite. In the far distance I can see the tops of the mountains that define the Continental Divide. Max is outside dashing from tree to tree and sniffing every blade of grass. He has already had his dinner of Old Roy dog-food. Click on photo Our camp is high (about 10500 feet) so I had some altitude sickness yesterday afternoon when we arrived. The air is thin, so every task takes more energy and effort than it did back in the flat-lands of Texas. I still have a touch of altitude sickness but I believe I will be fine tomorrow. It always takes a couple of d...

Nine Generations of Democratic Voters Pose For Election Day Family Photograph Can you spot the deceased family members? Family reunions and holidays are treasured in many parts of this Nation. For Democrats, the most important family day each year is Election Day, the first Tuesday after November 1st! On Election Day, Democrats from the past rise from the grave to cast their ballot. Living Democrats meet at the polls to welcome and freely converse with great-great-great Grandpa, who passed away in 1845, as he casts his ballot! Republicans have long resented the fact that only their living family members can vote in national and local elections. As early as 1865, Republicans began to advance schemes to keep deceased Democrats away from their rightful place at the polls! Today many states, such as Texas, have passed Voter ID Laws specifically designed to prevent Democratic families from enjoying comradeship and political inclinations with their deceased family members. The...

Listen to this essay read aloud: Your browser does not support the audio element. Do we live in the United States of America? Or do we live in the land of Uz? Twenty-five or 26 centuries ago, a gentleman's agreement' between God and Satan was recorded in The Book of Job. Perhaps a short synopsis is in order for those of us whose shadow seldom falls upon the threshold of a church door. Job was a good and successful man who honored God. He had sons and daughters and friends who admired and loved him. He owned flocks of various livestock and by all accounts was a righteous man. One day God and Satan were sitting around Heaven chatting. Satan said to God, "You know, I believe that that fellow, Job, only honors you because you have given him so many blessings. I'll bet you that I can make him curse your name." God accepted the bet and gave Satan permission to have a go at Job. Satan, using the all of the latest t...

For as long as I can remember, I have loved to explore new places.  Every curve in the road compels me onward. Each hill dazzles me with the promise of treasures that I am certain will be just over the next rise.  And mountains..., Oh! My soul quakes at the very thought of the wonderful secrets that they hide. Little wonder that my Casita has become such an important fixture in my life. Even when I am not on the road, I prefer to sleep in my Casita instead of my house. That may seem strange to most folks. My house is chained to a single locale.  No matter how much I like the neighborhood, it is still the same neighborhood night after night, month after month, year after year.  My Casita is not chained to any specific place.  It is home in the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico; at a wonderful hidden lake in Alabama, or even at a hidden little beach on the California coast. That means that when I close my eyes, I can be anywhere my imagination wan...

One of the few good professors that I met at the University of Alabama, was a Dr. Wheeler. (he was actually a visiting professor from Rutgers who was teaching during the summer term at UofA). He once said that the real purpose of education was to “extend adolescence and keep people out of the job market”. He also said that the secondary purpose of education is to “fund the teacher’s lifestyle”! Obviously, he was stretching slightly to make a point. Historically, what he said is certainly true! Granddaddy and Grandmother Westmoreland both finished the 8th grade and then went to work in the cotton mills. In the early 20th century that was very common. Children competed with grown men and women for jobs. A part of the government’s solution was to pass compulsory education and child labour laws. Of course, there was a social justification of preventing unjust treatment of children, but there was also a hidden agenda of removing competition in the job market. For centuries, adolescence...

Borders are important and good rules are essential for a polite and civil society. A reply from a friend: "Just to clear on where I stand. Unsure of what is really happening in these detainment centers. I completely understand that there are some people trying to escape desperate situations. We have shitty immigration laws. Trump is right. We need to get all this stuff figured out in a big hurry. No one should be separated from anyone they love." My response: In general, I agree that no one should be separated from those they love. But "Love" is a big little word and what each of us understands it means can vary considerably. We have to look at the actions and, if we are going to err, I believe that it should be on the side of protecting the children. To me, that means when faced with a situation where no one is immediately certain, it is better to separate the child from the adult than to risk leaving the child with an adult who will ultimately harm...

Note: This was a Facebook post partially in response to a post of a friend who seemed to be lamenting how our Nation is handling children who accompany adults who are engaged in illegally crossing our southern border. Jim Ivy I swore to myself that I would avoid making posts that involve politics. The knee-jerk reactions to the misleading media coverage and utterly unconscionable actions of politicians have led me to reconsider my oath. Below I share my own view of what is going on along our Southern border. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ______, you have a big heart. Sometimes parents harm their children by following their heart without regard to what is best for the child. When you hear the words "child" and "family", you associate them with yourself and your experience of child and family. That is inevitable, but not necessarily good. These "families" have put their children into a situation that is basically abusive. They have exposed these childre...