Category Archives: Life

Musings on the 4th…

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It’s hard to come up with a new 4th of July blog that doesn’t repeat the same things I have said year after year. I’m not going to go on about the laurels due the giants of the American founding and I’m not going to rail against the useless hippy bastards that want desperately to think the world is a place of sunshine and puppy dogs rather than the dangerous place it is. All I can really say is that today is the Independence Day, the High Holiday for those of us who pray at the altar of republicanism (that’s a small ‘r’ in case you missed it).

Even I’m not arrogant enough to proclaim that the United States infallible in our actions, but I will argue vehemently that we have done the best we could with the world we inherited from the failing empires of Western Europe. In good times and in bad times, I remain unashamed to say before you and before the world that I love my country. For me it has been a land of opportunity that has given far more than I had any right to hope for while demanding so little in return. I know I’m biased, but I don’t shrink from saying that taking all things as a whole, my country is the greatest on earth, not necessarily because of the global reach of our military or our role in global trade, but because of the nearly unlimited opportunities available to this son of a cop and a teacher. I couldn’t possibly ask for more than the chances I’ve been given… and for those yet to come.

24…

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So, whatever was kicking my ass seems to have been a 24-hour bug. I’m feeling much better now. It’s so nice not to feel like death on a biscuit. Hopefully this isn’t just the intermission!

Sucking…

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I don’t know what kind of freight train hit me a little after noon today, but I am well and truly tired. Actually, check that. I’m flat out exhausted. It feels about half like the flu, with the dizziness, achy muscles and joints, and almost complete inability to actually sleep. Whatever this is sucking the life out of me needs to knock it the fuck off and I mean right now, because it’s taking every bit of effort I have to focus on getting through these couple of lines to bitch about it. That’s clearly not the recipe for a good and productive day.

Sir, do you know how fast you were going?

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Yes. Yes I do… and apparently you do as well, officer. I got pulled over for the first time in 7 years yesterday on my way home from work. It hardly seems right, really. I was in an awesome mood, had finally gotten my satellite radio in proper working order, and had 381 horses under the hood. The fact is, I blew by the nice sheriff’s deputy in a marked car like he was sitting still and he was at least nice enough to only write me at 14 over the 65 miles per hour limit. Now I just need to figure out if I want to pay or drag my ass to court and pretend to be humbled by the experience. Somehow I think I’ll be writing a check to Shelby County sometime in the near future.

Smell…

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I’ve hear it said that there’s nothing as powerful as the sense of smell to carry us back to a moment or a place we haven’t thought about in years. I had one of those moments a few minutes ago. In smelling the combination of fresh-cut grass and the exhaust of a not-quite tuned gas engine, I was hit with an overwhelming recollection of my grandfather and his Allis Chalmers B-10 lawn tractor. I don’t think my grandfather was ever happier then when he was tooling around the yard on that mid-60s vintage machine. With that smell hanging in the air, for just a second, I was a kid again and could see people and places I haven’t set eyes on in twenty years. It was really quite remarkable and, I’m not too proud to say, it choked me up there for a minute. Memory is a funny thing like that.

Sense of smell…

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I’ve hear it said that there’s nothing as powerful as the sense of smell to carry us back to a moment or a place we haven’t thought about in years. I had one of those moments a few minutes ago. In smelling the combination of fresh-cut grass and the exhaust of a not-quite tuned lawn mower, I was hit with an overwhelming recollection of my grandfather and his Allis Chalmers B-10 lawn tractor. The mid-60s vintage machine was practically new even when I knew it in the 80s. With that smell hanging in the air, for just a second, I was a kid again and could see people and places I haven’t set eyes on in twenty years. It was really quite remarkable and, I’m not too proud to say, was the best warm fuzzy I’ve had in quite a while.

Return Leg…

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Let’s just say that my desire to climb in the truck at 6:00 tomorrow morning and drive 13 hours back to West Tennessee is less than total. The last day is always the worst part of a vacation and particularly so when you’re leaving so many good friends and family on this end of the run. All-in-all, it’s been a great and much needed week. I wish it could have been three or four. For those I managed to see, it was awesome. For those I didn’t, I’m sorry the timing didn’t work out. And for everyone, remember that the interstate system runs in both directions. See ya in Memphis.

Gone…

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Surprisingly, it wasn’t seeing the Mustang sitting on the dealer’s lot that bothered me. True enough, it was a great car, but we never bonded the way the Jeep and I did. It sounds totally asinine, but I would actually drive out of my way in the mornings just to avoid seeing the Jeep on my way to work. I guess it’s sort of the same feeling as seeing the ex out with someone new. Theoretically, you know it’s going to happen, but that doesn’t mean you want to see it. It’s funny the attachment you form with your vehicle, especially one that’s been around for a while. It must be a little bit like what the cavalry felt like when they handed over the reins to their horses in exchange for the levers of the early tanks. You know it’s a far superior bit of equipment in every way, but you can’t quite shake the nostalgia.

New stuff rocks…

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So, between the new pup and the new truck, my free time has been cut back to almost non-existent… Just the way I like it. Winston is doing well and packing on the pounds. We’re back to the vet Monday for his 4th round of puppy shots and hopefully a continued clean bill of health.

I’m tapping away here at the Toyota dealership where they’re somewhere in the back installing my Sirus receiver since they didn’t have one in stock last week. The balance of the weekend will be installing step rails, having the windows tinted on Saturday, and making a run to BestBuy to get my iPod adapter installed. Once I get it to that point, I’ll be ready for a roadtrip… Which is coming up soon… More on that a little later.