The Hardiness of Plants

At Christmas, I was given a plant holder in the shape of a tricycle. It joins the rooster plant holder in the front of the house and several other architectural pieces designed to add color, but without a lot of the neediness of flowers.

The tricycle has a small pot holder where the "rider" would sit. I needed the right sized pot to put in there, so off I trundled to the garden (which has yet to be planted) where there is a number of last year's pots stored and waiting to be used. In spying the perfect pot, I noted last year's dirt and dead plant remains in it. And there amongst the detritus was a plant from last season, growing. I was taken by it.

Despite the 40 inches of snow and the freeze that followed, this Hen and Chicks plant survived the winter and was prospering in a pot crowded with dead sticks and crowded roots. I had to try and save it. And I hope it will prosper this season in a new pot.

While that plant positively impressed me, the Morning Glories from last year did also, but in a negative, aggravating way. They survive by having so many seeds and such a powerful underground root system, that they survive despite my best efforts to "control" them. Now they are starting to "fight" with three rose bushes.

We live in a pleasant relationship with plants and trees. They brighten our lives even in the depth of winter. The lushness of green grasses, the chartreuse of a locust tree, the velvet colors of day-lilies all add to the quality of our lives. But, make no mistake, under that foliage and along with their beautiful pastel colors, at the heart of the plant is a potent competitor with a long history of surviving in that jungle of beauty outside my window.

“One generation plants the trees, and another gets the shade”
~~ Chinese Proverb

The Query Letter

Among the most important pieces of writing that an author can send, is the Query Letter -- either to a literary agent that you hope will represent your new work, or to a publisher that will accept Query Letters directly from an author instead of through a literary agent. The purpose of the letter is to excite/convince/interest them in staking their reputation on representing you or getting a publisher to risk publishing your book! Thumbs up ... or thumbs down on something you have spent a goodly portion of your life.

Some agents have their own peculiar form, such as:
... send the first paragraph or
... send the first five pages or
... send the first chapter or
... write a one paragraph description of your work and I'll tell you if I want more.

Some have no form or template and depend upon you, the author, to "Wow" them with your concise, brilliant prose, written in a new voice, using words that have never sat next to one another -- in 100 words or less. And you hope that they won't "just shrug it off as the foghorn bleat of an over-privileged mediocrity looking for some attention." (Quote courtesy of the Anchoress, Elizabeth Scalia.)

If you are curious or ever need such a device as a Query Letter, take a look at Nathan Bransford's Blog http://www.nathanbransford.com/ (I follow it, so you can see it on the right of my Blog). He has a "form" to follow. Since he is a Literary Agent, the template should be "very" accurate.

Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very;" your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.
~~Mark Twain

Hurst Lightning Rods

Yesterday, my son, Steve and his son, Jason (my Grand Son) went to a local car show of Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles -- two marques that have recently been relegated to the great car brands of the past, you know like Morgan, Dusenburg and Gremlin -- as well as a few Buick muscle cars from days past.
The show was a nice mix of local enthusiasts with some serious entries. Five year old Jason, particularly enjoyed the 1959 Oldsmobile 98, while his Father and I had our heads under the hood of a 1964 Pontiac 2+2 with a 421 cubic inch engine with three, two-barrel carburetors. (No Pansy fuel injectors on this model!)

It was a trip down memory lane for me, walking among these aging engine blocks, as I regaled my two younger males with stories of hot rods and porta-walls and metal dashboards from my youthful days "On Harrisonville Avenue."

"Grandpa Ron, Grandpa Ron. What are these?" Jason asked.

I looked closer inside the 1984, 15th anniversary edition of the Hurst Olds. There, above the ash tray (another historic anomaly) was the real gearshift and two other shifters, the "Lightning Rods." I had never seen anything like that before.."
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Well," I replied authoritatively, "one is for vanilla and the other for chocolate."
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Jason looked to his father for guidance, since he knew that I have kidded in the past. "Is that right?" Jason asked.
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"Grandpa Ron is having fun with that answer," my son replied. "Actually, the Lightning Rods allow the driver to shift up or down when he wants to, but without having to use a clutch, like I do on my Honda."
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Jason smiled at me -- knowingly -- and we walked on to the Pontiac Firebird 6.6.
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Maybe I shouldn't joke around with a five year old. Maybe he'll grow up with a distrust of adults. My Grandfather Borders joked around with me when I was growing up, and I turned out alright. Right? RIGHT?

“Does Grandpa love to babysit his grandchildren? Are you kidding? By day he is too busy taking hormone shots at the doctor. At night he and Grandma are too busy doing the cha-cha.” ~~ Humorist, Hal Boyle

I Have Been Away

I have been away -- not in the travel sense, but away from this and other widely social settings. Among the things keeping me away is my third book. Even though the writing is complete, I have been revising the first chapter, an agonizing process for me, in preparation for sending it to an editor. And, as part of the process, I have sent off five query letters -- one to an agent that I carefully researched as to his interest in historical fiction, and four to publishers who accept contact without an agent. Four rejections; one is still out.

The book has also sent me searching for an illustrator to work with. I expect to use three or four illustrations, presumably from my main character who was an artist a thousand years ago. The search ended up in my own back yard -- the wife of my cousin's son; she is an '09 Fine Arts graduate from Kent State with quite a range -- from anime to portraits to insect illustration (she currently has a contract with Orkin).

In the past four weeks, Joan and I have presented four hour long concerts -- "Hymns and Their Stories." Each of these are formatted for the occasion; two of the three used an actor playing the role of a poet, with me writing their script. And then there is rehearsal; generally, I try to rehearse one hour a day with Joan for three weeks to get my voice in shape for singing and speaking an hour's length. As I age, my voice is not as forgiving of things like outrageous amounts of pollen. It's amazing to recall that as a younger singer, I smoked two packs of Winstons a day and got away with it (I think)! I couldn't do that any longer.

And then there is family -- Joan is preparing a 75 page booklet on our annual Memorial Day grave visits in Pittsburgh. Carefully researched stories and photographs of deceased family members proudly grace the pages she has painstakingly -- oftentimes in conflict with her computer and other mechanical objects that stand in her way -- assembled over two months in a spiral bound and tabbed edition intended for this and future generations. I have tried to stay away from her "process" but somehow always manage to become involved -- much as she does in mine.

The Grand Children are getting older and as they do, they become involved in sports and theatre and activities that grandparents want to see and photograph. How precious it is to get beaten by your 5 year old Grand Son in Bean Bag Toss; I think I can take him the next time!

Writing, Art, Music, Children -- I have been away Dear Reader, in a most pleasant way.

"Writers will happen in the best of families"
~~ Rita Mae Brown, American Writer, b. 1944

President Obama In His own Words

One of our dear readers pointed out to me that in my previous post, my partial list of the industries and organizations that President Obama has demonized was unsupported. I offer the following in support of my list. Although the Administration has many people who speak additional words on behalf of the President (Gibbs, Emanuel, Geithner) this is the President of the United States in his own words:

President Obama Blames the Medical Profession for high health care costs, thinking of themselves and not their patients --
July 23, 2009:
"And part of what we want to do is to make sure that those decisions are being made by doctors and medical experts based on evidence, based on what works, because that’s not how it’s working right now. That’s not — that’s not how it’s working right now.

"Right now, doctors a lot of times are forced to make decisions based on the fee payment schedule that’s out there. So if they’re looking and you come in and you’ve got a bad sore throat or your child has a bad sore throat or has repeated sore throats, the doctor may look at the reimbursement system and say to himself, “You know what? I make a lot more money if I take this kid’s tonsils out.

"Now, that may be the right thing to do, but I’d rather have that doctor making those decisions just based on whether you really need your kid’s tonsils out or whether it might make more sense just to change — maybe they have allergies. Maybe they have something else that would make a difference."

President Obama demonizes the Insurance Industry -- March 8, 2010:
“Every year, insurance companies deny more people coverage because they have a pre-existing condition. Every year, they drop more people’s coverage when they’re sick and need it most. Every year, they raise premiums higher and higher.”

“When I was young, just got out of college, I had to buy auto insurance. I had a beat-up old car. And I won’t name the name of the insurance company, but there was a company — let’s call it Acme Insurance in Illinois. And I was paying my premiums every month. After about six months I got rear-ended and I called up Acme and said, I’d like to see if I can get my car repaired, and they laughed at me over the phone because really this was set up not to actually provide insurance; what it was set up was to meet the legal requirements. But it really wasn’t serious insurance." February 25, 2010, President Obama confusing who pays when you are rear-ended, while slamming the insurance company/industry.


President Obama indicts the Cambridge, Massachusetts Police Department
"The Cambridge Police acted stupidly." ~~ President Barack Obama, July 22, 2009, on the arrest of Professor Henry Gates.

President Obama on "people waving tea bags around" (President Obama ,April 29, 2009) "So, I have been a little amused over the last couple of days where people have been having these rallies about taxes. You would think that they would be saying 'Thank You.' " ~~ President Barack Obama, April 15, 2010.

President Obama slams banks and bankers:
"I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street." December 12, 2009

"Banks don't get it." December 9, 2009

"Here's the problem," Mr. Obama said, "It's almost like they've [banks] got -- they've got a bomb strapped to them and they've got their hand on the trigger. You don't want them to blow up. But you've got to kind of talk them, ease that finger off the trigger." March 18, 2010

President Obama insults Wall Street firms
"Unless your business model depends on bilking people, there is little to fear from these new rules." ~~ April 22, 2010

"That is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful, an outrage." ~~ January 29, 2010

It appears that President Obama and/or his handlers are following a plan taken from Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals," published in 1971. President Obama knows of the Alinsky method because he used it in community organizing and employed it in his 2008 campaign. It was so successful, that he became President, evoking this note from Alinsky's son:

"Obama learned his lesson well. I am proud to see that my father's model for organizing is being applied successfully beyond local community organizing to affect the Democratic campaign in 2008. It is a fine tribute to Saul Alinsky as we approach his 100th birthday." ~~ L. David Alinsky.

Whenever the Administration wishes to undertake a new initiative, it appears they follow Radical Rule #13, excerpted from Alinsky's book, pages 127-134 :

13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.

"In conflict tactics there are certain rules that [should be regarded] as universalities. One is that the opposition must be singled out as the target and 'frozen.'..."

"...any target can always say, 'Why do you center on me when there are others to blame as well?' When your 'freeze the target,' you disregard these [rational but distracting] arguments.... Then, as you zero in and freeze your target and carry out your attack, all the 'others' come out of the woodwork very soon. They become visible by their support of the target...'

"One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other." ~~ Saul Alinsky.

On Earth Day

"It always makes it easier to fight a war if you demonize people, so that you are not killing human beings, you are killing the devil." ~~ Retired Army Colonel, Harry Summers

The Obama Administration has demonized quite a few "devils" in 18 months:

... Doctors
... Insurance Companies
... The Cambridge Massachusetts Police Department
... The Tea Party Movement
... Banks
... The Auto Industry
... Wall Street

And, who is most likely to accept this argument of demons, as being responsible for the "ills of the moment" -- the labeling of "them", or "they" as being the ones responsible? Young people are the most likely to buy the argument of demonization without pause, ages 11 - 25.

So, if I were mindful of the power of propaganda -- as demonstrated by the brilliant film-maker, for Adolph Hitler, Fr. Leni Reifenstahl -- what audience would I go after as fertile ground for my message. That's right -- the youth of the country, any country, your country.

... Al Gore announced today, "Inconvenient Youth," a website to indoctrinate our youth without questioning the gospel according to Al Gore, Nobel Prize Laureate, Oscar Winner, former Vice President of the US.

... "Barack Hussein Obama, Hmmm. Hummm. Hmmm" ~~ Maryland Elementary School Children

... http://www.climate.nasa.gov.kids/ -- part of Climate Kids, which is part of kids.gov, a part of the White House Websites, confidently states in #6 that "People Cause Global Warming" and yes, there is the picture of a Polar Bear clinging to melting ice, with the caption: "Polar Bear clinging to melting ice, surrounded by open seas." Awww!

The Polar Bear looks pitiful, doesn't he? Like he is going to drown at an moment now, as soon as we adults melt the ice that he is clinging to. The truth is that Polar Bears are excellent swimmers and have been seen as far away as 100 miles from land. Our kids do not know that they are being manipulated.

www.epa.gov/ozone/science -- Kids are treated to cartoon drawings citing 1992 data proving that CFC's have caused a huge hole in the atmosphere over Antarctica. "Animals can't get enough food to survive and eventually people don't get enough food either." Pretty scary stuff to read, as an adult; imagine how you would feel as a kid!

Dear reader, we are paying for the government to do these things (Al Gore is being paid by others, I guess). Is that what you want done with your money -- presenting a point of view to children as fact, when we are generally 50/50 in disagreement on everything?

There is too much government waste of our money anyway. Let's not have it used to proselytize our children to bureaucratic views.

If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the state can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the state to use all its powers to repress dissent, for truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the state.

~~ Joseph Goebbels, 1897-1945 -- Reich Minister of Enlightenment and Propaganda for the National Socialists German Workers Party (NAZI)

Alea Jacta Est

In Mr. Obama's own words:

________________________________________

"I now have been in 57 states -- I think, one left to go." ~~ Candidate Barack Obama, Oregon, 2008.

"Anybody been to Whole Foods lately and seen what they charge for arugula?"

Candidate Obama in Iowa, 2008, relating his own grocery store shopping experiences to the common people.

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"It's not surprising then that they [voters] get bitter, they cling to their guns or antipathy to people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment, or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustration." -- Candidate Barack Obama to middle-class voters in Pennsylvania, 2008.

"The Cambridge Police acted stupidly." ~~ President Barack Obama, July, 2009, on the arrest of Professor Henry Gates.

"The Middle East is obviously an issue that has plagued that region for centuries." ~~ President Barack Obama, Florida, 2010.

"So, I have been a little amused over the last couple of days where people have been having these rallies about taxes. You would think that they would be saying 'Thank You.' " ~~ President Barack Obama, April 2010.

_________________________________________________________

Maybe this explains why the President is not permitted to have Press Conferences and uses a Teleprompter (TOTUS) all the time.

President Barack Obama speaking to elementary school students in Maryland, 2010.

Joan -- the Editor

Just in case you thought the Chicago Manual of Style was rough on writers whose careful quotient was low, please meet JOAN -- Mrs. Giles.

She can spot a single space after a period as soon as she turns the page, and then takes obvious delight in darkly circling the needy spot. SPACE, she tirelessly writes.

Then there is my need to capitalize words for emphasis, uhh, Emphasis. My penchant for this new and inconsistent addition to the English Language must be very frustrating for Joan, offending her sense of proper rule-following, since I do it over and over Again. If the poet, ee cummings, could play with capitalization and word placement,

why

Can't I?

Finally, I find the ellipsis a very useful form of punctuation ... say, when characters are thinking, looking for just the right ... word. Or, when the villain catches himself from saying the spot was caused by "blood" and instead says ... "wine" after a pause for consideration or for ... effect.

Joan's quarrel with my ellipsis is that they should be . . . that is, three periods separated by spaces, but that really calls too much attention to itself. I want something that the reader "trips" over and pauses to catch their ... balance, rather than pausing to catch their . . . balance.

Joan is very specific, and I'm ... well, Scattered. The differences between us has kept us married for 44 years, and has led to some spirited, if arcane, Discussions.

"Grammar is not a time of waste."

~~ Bart Simpson

Writing

Rewrite, revise, ellipsis, spellcheck, Chicago Style Manual, rejection letter, Chapter Three, drop cap, page break, cut, paste, copy, clarify, redo, find, replace, eat, pay attention to wife, cook, wine. Sleep.

"I'm not a very good writer, but I am an excellent rewriter."

~~ James Michener

Writing

Revising, revising, revising -- capitalization, grammer, em dash, grammar -- cutting, substituting, moving, synonyms, missing words, fleurons. Singing, shopping, church, cooking -- revising, revising, revising. Five pages a day, 125 to go.

Writing

I couldn't let it go! Yesterday, I added three pages to the end of my book. It is an improvement, I think. Joan will tell me.

Maybe this is all about avoiding the rewriting process. I'll have to think about that.

"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday"

~~ Don Marquis, American novelist, playwright and poet -- 1878-1937

I have completed the principal writing of my third book. It was difficult sleeping last night as I had nothing to resolve about the book. Today, I am having trouble focusing or even getting the energy to organize myself for reading and revising. It is printed out waiting for me to put it into my three ring binder, but the idea of picking it up is not appealing. I liked the story very much -- was even moved to tears several times in writing it -- but this phase is hardly my favorite. After I make the revisions, I need to get it to an editor to do what editors do. But right now, I need to get started. Maybe after I take a nap!

There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.

~~ Ernest Hemingway

Writing

Writing, writing, writing -- sleep -- eat. Writing, writing, writing. Almostattheend. Then revise, revise, revise ...

Writing: Chapter 4

From 800 AD to 1400 AD, a Global Warming period struck the Northern Hemisphere. During this time, the Vikings discovered and settled "Greenland", naming it Green because it was warm enough then to be green and to grow agricultural crops. Today, of course, Greenland is mostly ice-covered and its name a contemporary misnomer.

In my third book, the Native Americans present around the year 1000 are living through this warming cycle and are, in fact, having to deal with the results Mr. Gore alludes to as "man-made." (No, I am not making a political statement.)

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This is the reportage on a scene from Chapter 4 which is setting up a later physical conflict over food -- one tribe against thieves who want their food reserves.

The heat and the lack of rain, has been very hard on the Tribe because the food has not been as plentiful. The plantings have produced pitiful results, even with planting fish skins and water from the springs.

The dry and the heat have increased the amount of insects and have made them more vicious towards humans and more ravenous towards vegetables. New insects seemed to have emerged from the cracked soil while the hoppers prosper and multiply, bringing large white birds who take our fish before we can.

From the cave, I could see the winds whip around in circles, causing dust to rise and be blown away from our fields. Even I as one person, could notice that the coyote were becoming more plentiful and were beginning to hunt young deer in packs, causing the deer to be less plentiful and those who were there were more cautious.

I could also see from the cave the shallow depths of the two rivers. Their banks were never full and many times in the Great Heat, their waters would be reduced to small flows in their main channels. The fish would be jammed together in the small space and the otters, fox and hawks would take more than they should, causing the fish to be fewer and fewer.

All of this was worrisome and there seemed to be nothing that we could do. Some of our villagers had left us, to wander the river banks in search of a better place. Most of us who remained behind, thought it best to stay together as a group, but taking up the wandering life did have its appeal, as our ancients had practiced it many years earlier.

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

~~ Dr. Seuss

Writing: Chapter 4

Consumed with writing, I have finished Chapter 3, a transitional chapter, and now turn to Chapter 4, a critical chapter. It opens with our main character, Young Heron, curious about the activity in his estranged village that he is witnessing from above:

Word had quickly spread through my Village of some important event; the people were running from hut to hut, meeting in the Plaza. Even from my high lookout, I could tell that they were excited.

I left my cave and climbed to the Sentinel’s camp on top, but he was not there—probably hunting, I thought. From my vantage point, I saw my son of twenty seasons, Heron, climbing the hill without regard of being spotted. He must be coming to tell me of the event, but he should be more careful. Heron arrived, just as the Sentinel emerged from the trees on the ridge, carrying a gourd that was sloshing water. Neither of them seemed concerned about the other’s presence; it was confusing to me.

“Father,” Heron said excitedly, “the old Chief of Chiefs has died. Grandfather says you are free!”

The sense of what Heron said did not immediately set in. The Sentinel arrived. I turned to him. “Is it true that the Chief in Chi’cotha has died?” I asked him.

“Yes,” the Sentinel replied flatly. “The Council has named White Eagle from Nurk as the new Chief.”

They could have named Father, but for my mistake twenty seasons earlier. The Sentinel seemed to be making preparations to leave, but it was not time for a new Sentinel – not till the next moon. What did this mean?

Ink and paper are sometimes passionate lovers, oftentimes brother and sister, and occasionally mortal enemies.

~~Terri Guillemets, Anthologist

A 5% Pay Cut for Congress

Meet Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Arizona. She represents the First Congressional District of Arizona, an area that, if it were a state, would be the 25th largest state

Her website indicates that she was "born and raised in Greater Arizona. Representative Ann Kirkpatrick’s first words were in Apache, and she has spent her whole life serving her home state - as a mom, as a prosecutor, a teacher, a small business owner, a community leader, a state legislator and now as a Member of Congress."

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She is a first term Congresswoman, having been elected in 2008. She has proposed that members of Congress take a 5% pay cut, or about $8,000. Congress has not taken a pay cut since 1933, the height of the Great Depression. Twenty other members of Congress have signed on to support her bill, despite the fact that Congress is considering a pay raise for themselves.

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I spend a lot of time in this column railing against the offenses of Congress, but here is an idea from them that I support. If you do also, then I suggest you call your Representative and ask them to get behind Rep. Kirkpatrick's idea.

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Currently, Rep. Kirkpatrick already gives 5% of her salary back to help pay off the National Debt.

"It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself." ~~ Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady, 1933-1945

The Consent of the Governed

A January, 2010, Rasmussen poll of US citizens found that 45 % of us believe that randomly selected citizens from the phone book could do a better job of legislation than the current bunch in Congress. One wonders what the percentage would be today, given the accusations or revelations of Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY).

Our Declaration of Independence says that the National Government "derives their just powers from the consent of the governed." (That's you and me, Dear Reader.)

A new Rasmussen poll shows that just 21% of American citizens believe that our current government has that public consent.

How do you feel? Do you give your consent to this group? Are they representing your will the majority of the time?

Rasmussen then went on to survey the Politicians about their estimate of ratings on having the public consent.

61% of the political class believe that they have the consent of the governed! A big disconnect between their estimate of consent and the public's actual consent, would you agree?

Why the disparity? Well, if most of your waking moments are spent talking to those in the bubble around our nation's Capital, you develop that attitude, while on the other side of the Potomac River, the nation is simmering in discontent with the amateurish antics of the political class, their out-of-touch legislative agenda, and the disrespect they have for the American Public.

Vote them out -- all of them.

"Politicians are like diapers; they need to be changed often and for the same reason." ~~ Mark Twain

Writing: Chapter Three

So far, my discipline for writing has held. I am sure that the cold weather has something to do with it as the distractions are limited to things inside the house. Chapter three is now 12 pages (about 18 book pages) and 5000 words.

In this chapter, our hero is 28 years old, and despite being banished from his village for an indiscretion with an older woman, he and his "one," (wife) Lone Bird, have managed to create another child, a three year old daughter, Little Fawn, whom he has not seen since she was an infant.

The scene below takes place in the woods, near a spring -- a familiar meeting place. Although he does not know who might be coming to meet him today, our hero, Young Heron, has arrived early, eagerly awaiting whomever might appear:

From my hiding place in the woods above the rocks where the springs flowed, I waited. Then I heard the sounds of a little girl crying and I knew Lone Bird and my daughter were coming. But the first person I saw, was my son, Third Heron, who came cautiously creeping into the opening around the small pool of the spring’s waters, as if to see if any animals were drinking there.

Then running into the opening came Little Fawn, cuter than I could have imagined. I had not seen her since she was a baby, but now she could walk and run and was beginning to talk to her brother, when her mother, my One appeared, trotting after Little Fawn. My breath was taken away by seeing all three of them there. And, following Lone Bird was Mother. What a gathering this would be!

I whistled the call of the redbird—“purdy, purdy, purdy, wheet,” to let them know that I was nearby. Third Heron looked back at his mother, and she nodded ‘yes’ to him. My son then answered my call with his whistle—“piddy, piddy, piddy, wheet.”

I was thrilled; tears of joy and pride welled in my eyes, as I bounded out of my hiding place and ran down the hill. Little Fawn was frightened by me and hid behind her grandmother. Third Heron ran to me and hugged me strongly. He was ten years old and getting big.

“Aiyee,” I shouted happily. Mother returned, “Aiyee, my son.” Little Fawn stepped halfway out from behind her grandmother and stood with her fingers touching her lips.

Lone Bird looked back at Little Fawn smiling and said in an encouraging tone, “Aiyee,” with her voice rising at the end. She and Little Fawn had practiced this greeting for me, but Little Fawn was unsure. “Come on my Fawn, you can say it, with me. “Aiyee, Father.”

And shortly, alone by herself, Little Fawn ventured softly, saying “Awee, Faver.” It was precious. “Aiyee, my pretty daughter,” I said gently, and she smiled and turned her head in embarrassment.

"A grownup is a child with layers on."

~~ Woody Harrelson, American Actor, b. 1961

Reconciliation in the Senate?

"The misuse of the arcane process of reconciliation—a process intended for deficit reduction—to enact substantive policy changes is an undemocratic disservice to our people and to the Senate's institutional role." ~~ Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia.

Senator Byrd has written a four volume set on the rules and procedures of the Senate and is not just "an" expert, but is "the" expert on the use of Senate rules. When he states that the process of "Reconciliation" is only for deficit reduction, then the authority on the matter has spoken. End. 30-30.

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Yet the Obama Administration continues to push for Health Care reform, despite the fact that the American Public does not want it. The populace may want parts of it, but not the whole enchilada that consumed all of the 2009 legislative year. Why is President Obama persisting on making this controversial and destructive push again?

The Wall Street Journal has suggested a reason for the President's determination that seems plausible to me: "he's volunteering Democrats in Congress to march into the fixed bayonets so he can claim an LBJ-level legacy like the Great Society that will be nearly impossible to repeal."

Obama's legacy as President? Is this what this unpopular, unwanted exercise of power by the President is all about? Ego? All other reasons seem to pale next to this one. And if so, is this a proper use, or attempted use, of the Presidential powers? The Wall Street Journal's article is entitled "Abuse of Power." A serious charge for a serious matter, n'est-ce pas?

"Whom the Gods would destroy, they first make mad with power."

Writing: Chapter Three

I am continuing to write daily, averaging about a page a day. Our now 28 year old hero has been sentenced to spend his lifetime in seclusion -- in a cave -- and Chapter Three is about what has taken place in the first ten years of his supposed isolation. He and his "One," Lone Bird, now have a three year old daughter, so I leave it to you, Dear Reader, to surmise how that might have happened in his decade of imposed loneliness.

When a man looks across a street, sees a pretty girl, and waves at her, that's not a rendezvous, that's a passing acquaintance. When he walks across the street and nibbles on her ear, that's a rendezvous!

~~ Wally Schirra, 1923-2007, US Astronaut and Navy Pilot with 267 Carrier landings