my favorite holiday

Independence Day is my favorite holiday.

We went out for a fireworks display in a field. The fireworks were fabulous. There was family, food, and fun .. and rain. But that was okay. The rain did not dampen my spirit for the holiday. I celebrated my freedom by doing what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it, where I wanted to do it, and how i wanted to do it.

Today, I heard someone had said something about how our freedoms were really earned during WW II. Now, I am not going to dispute the importance of WW II. However, our freedom was won way back in the Revolutionary War. It was then that this great nation was formed and fought for its fledgling freedom. Wars since have protected that freedom. There is little difference between gaining something and keeping it when a battle is involved. The speaker then went on to expound about our religious freedoms and how he cherished them. Then he said something about other religions in a less than flattering sense.

Some people just don't understand freedom.

Years ago, when I was younger and a comic book reader, I read in a Captain America comic, Steve Rogers (CA) said, "I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to my death your right to say it."

This is how freedom works. If I seek to take away your freedom in some area, I must yield my freedom in that area as well. My right to proclaim my religion comes at the cost of allowing others whom I may or may not disagree with, to proclaim theirs as well.

You cannot both hide behind civil liberty and deny it at the same time. Your right to disagree with me is standing on the foundation of my right to disagree with you.

Many want to proclaim freedom, their brand of freedom.

Freedom isn't freedom until you offer it to someone else without reservation. Freedom for one is tyranny for all.

Feel free to disagree.

Halloween was here last night in our sleepy little podunk of a town. The city coulcil decided to move the celebration from Friday (a non school night) to Thursday (a school night) because they were afraid for the kids to be out on a night when many people are out drinking.

Hello!?!?!?

Trick or Treating is from 6 til 8. Most drinking out folks don't do their drinking that early, and most of them are sober on their way to do their drinking.

Anyway, here is the Princess Cloe above and the brood below. There is Kyle (the mobster), Sierra (not sure what she was), and Chella (the stabbing victim.)

Jack-O-Pumpkin Carving

There was pumpkin carving at the hacienda tonight. Each of the kids did a pumpkin and I did a pumpkin. Tammy can't carve anymore because of her wrist injury. She is adjusting to letting me do the carving. The first shot is Fredrick. He is Kyles first attempt at pumpkin carving. Notice the large open mouth. It is reminiscent of Kyle himself, always talking.

This is the pumpkin carved by Chella and Caleb. His name is Xayven. Chella says he is sinister looking. You cant see it in this pic, but they carved "BOO !" in the back of the pumpkin. When I first saw it, I asked, "Why does your pumpkin say 'POOP'? The B looks like a P and the exclamation mark looks like a P.

This is Herman. Tammy named him. I carved him.

It was fun for all. Opening .. Scooping .. Collecting the seeds .. Carving .. Lighting .. Displaying .. and no-one had to drink vinegar. (I'll explain sometime later .. it is a weird Easter egg thing.)

Favorite Holiday

Yesterday, July 4, is my favorite holiday.

The basis of everything else we celebrate in the way of holidays and special days comes in the freedom we have. Regardless of which holiday is your personal favorite, the right or privilege to celebrate it comes in the freedoms our forefathers wrested from the hands of the British.

Our country is not perfect. Our system has it flaws. It is rife with instances of abuse. The very nature of our freedoms provides place for those that would exploit the system to do so. Many, eventually, are caught up with and a band aid is placed on the problem. We cannot fix this problem without taking away freedoms we hold dear.

Benjamin Franklin said, "Those that would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety"

My right to complain about my country is afforded to me by the same country I criticize. That right was given to me and is celebrated yearly on July 4th.

The Christmas blog

It is that time of the year again. Christmas is not my favorite holiday. Independence Day is my fave, however, Christmas is in my top four. I do like the holiday. It just isn't one of my top three. I am sure it was my favorite when I was a kid. That being said, we continue.

Christmas is about stress. Boy, do we need stress.

There is stress about what present to get for this one and that one. Tammy will tell you that I increase that stress because I never want anything. If someone asks what I want, I will tell him or her just that, nothing. I really do not mean to be frustrating in that. Dad was the same way. If he needed something, he bought it. Therefore, he needed nothing, basically. He was hard to buy for. I am a lot like him in that, I suppose.

Then, there are the money issues. It is an American tradition to spend more than you can afford at Christmas time. In that, we are just like most. We will spend more than we should. The spirit of Christmas giving captures us and we always want to give more. We want the kids to have a good Christmas.

In spite of all that has happened this year, we are still happy. We want to share that happiness to those we love and those that surround us. Our lives are still touched by all that has came to pass. My oldest said something about Christmas being different this year because of dad’s passing. I thought about it and decided that every Christmas is different each year. Each year, we would gather at dad and mom’s house on Christmas Eve. Every year, there would be someone or so new in the crowd. There would be a new boyfriend or girlfriend. There would be a new husband or new wife. There would be new babies.

This year will be different again. There will be new boyfriends, girlfriends, hubbies, wives, and babies. However, this year, there will be minuses as well, especially for Tammy and I. Chella stated that everyone in our house lost a father this year. It was a stunning statement. So, Christmas will be very different this year.

There will be presents. There will be joy. There will be singing. There will be family. There will be happiness. There will be celebration. There will be giving. There will be receiving. There will be eating. There will be gathering. And, there will be sadness for the missing ones.

This Christmas, like all the other Christmases in my life will come and go. It will provide some joy and some sorrow. It will bring some smiles and some tears. It will be one more good reason to gather with family.

Merry Christmas to you … and to yours …

And a Happy New Year !

Thanks (How else would a Thanksgiving Day blog start ?)

Traditionally, Thanksgiving is a time when we reflect over the past year and give thanks for things that have happened. It would be easy to just look at the last eight months and wish we could erase it all, for the most part. Tammy and I were counting, and death has crossed our path closely seven times in that time period. We both lost our fathers and our grandmothers. I have lost two great aunts, and we lost our next door neighbor. How simple it would be to take a giant eraser and begin rubbing away those months.

However, in that same year long time frame, there have been shining moments as well.

In December, we welcomed Abigail Kennedy to our small but growing list of grandchildren.

In June, we welcomed the six week early arrival of Cloe Danielle.

In August, we began the publishing process to have my own baby, "Journey Into Darkness." It is scheduled to arrive by the end of November or the first of December.

Add to that, that on any given day, I can call or find any of my seven children (yes, I do claim them all.) Every day I am surrounded by the love of those around me. Everyday, the tall redhead finds ways to show me how much she loves me and gives me room to fall more deeply in love with her.

You can keep that day eraser away from my year. I'll take the hard with the pleasant. I'll keep the sorrow stored neatly beside the joy. I will be thankful, for while I did lose a few this year, I had the joy of knowing them for many years.

I am thankful today, as I try to be every day. I am thankful for the things left to me. I am thankful that I can feel the loss and can tell the difference. I am thankful that we are adding to family and making new friends, even in the midst of our losses. I am thankful for so many positive changes in my life. I am thankful to God for His Love, His Grace, and His Mercy.

I am thankful for you.

Memorial day weekend

The weekend started with a pain, literally. Tammy had her surgery. The DR did a Hysteronomy. It is supposed to be much less invasive than a hysterectomy. Tammy said it was the most pain she had ever had in her entire life. Considering the fact that she has given birth four times, I will safely assume it was very painful. I have never seen her in such pain since I have known her. She was, or should have been, tied to the bed. It was done out patient with only local anesthesia. She had incredible cramps and pressure. She had Lortab and that didn't even knock the edge off of it. I called the DR. He was on call, but never returned my call. I was not a happy camper.

It highlighted one of the drawbacks to living in a small town. There are only two gynecologists in town. Your choices are fairly slim. As disappointed as we are, there isn't really anywhere else to go for treatment. Rest assured, when she goes back for her check-up, there will be some stern words.

Saturday, she was stubborn and feeling slightly better. I emphasis slightly. She rode with me to Winchester to go to my school and pick up a cover I had altered on Friday. We went to the park then, and put the cover on the new junction box/former panel that we used to change out the service there. When we got back, she conceded that it might not have been the best idea she ever had. Needless to say, when it came time to go out that evening to see some friends, she was still adamant about going. I would have rather stayed home, but she insisted. It was great seeing our friends that we hadn't seen since March. However, it was too much for Tammy. We ate and left after very little socializing. She was exhausted and pale as a sheet at the JC Penney White Sale.

Sunday comes, and I have a singing engagement. It was the day I was to sing the National Anthem at the Lexington Legends baseball game. She was going if it killed her. I offered to stop at the school and get her a wheelchair. She said she was fine. Of course, once we got there, she conceded that the wheelchair might have been a good idea. It was too late to go get it. I had a sound check and then was to sing about an hour later. The singing went well. I couldn't find the exact note I wanted but I found one I could do it in. I found the note in the car, but lost it later. The range on that song is vast. Start too high, and you will croak by the end. Start too low, and you will bottom out in the beginning. I was still a bit throaty from the cold and congestion. Still, Tammy promises me that I did great. I believe her.

We made it home and both stayed in or near the bed for the rest of the day.

Monday, Tammy did something very un-tammy-like. She actually stayed in the bed till around eleven AM. She did get up and change out of her sleeping clothes. She can't stand to stay in them all day. I like it, since most of the time she sleeps (cover your eyes) naked.

She took a bath and washed her hair. We forced the kids to do some cleaning. She folded laundry and wore herself out again. I went on the rampage. I turned off the TV and took away books. I told the kids there would be nothing else done until the house was cleaned. Tammy asked them to do certain things and they took it that those were to be done at their leisure (translated never.) I showed them the error of their ways. The house looks much better now.

My daughter called me this afternoon. She was all apologetic. She was supposed to pass along an invitation to a family cookout today in Lexington. I assured her it was ok, since we wouldn't have been there anyway. Tammy was still in too much pain and discomfort to be traipsing all over town and beyond.

She is sitting on the couch now, because she doesn't have the energy to do the stairs just yet.

That is my weekend. How was yours ?