abraham lincoln - 143 ; every-freakin'-body-else -0

today is the 143rd anniversary of the delivery of the preeminent discourse in the history of the western hemisphere. i have previously described my thoughts about abraham lincoln and this body of work; so, there is no need to rehash those musings. i could not -however- let the day pass without acknowledging this piece of prose which i hold in such high personal regard:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

what bliss?!

She was looking kinda dumb with her fingers and her thumb in the shape of an "L" on her forehead

yesterday afternoon i took jackson to target. he had just taken me for a couple of bucks on the putting green, and i told him he could spend it on football trading cards. it's weird having a six-years-old son who knows more about the nfl than i do. anyway...

we walk up to target and there is a line of 8 to 10 people lined up on the sidewalk, lying on sleeping bags, and wrapped up against the cold. up the way to our left i could see a larger group of people doing the same thing in front of the best buy store which shares a shopping center with this particular target. we looked with curiosity, but weren't sure what to think as they didn't appear to be protesting anything.

walking in, we overheard a guy on his cell phone telling a friend about the vagrants on the sidewalk; but, i couldn't make out whether or not he knew what was going on. we went about our business and when in the checkout line, i asked the clerk "what the heck?" he informed me that the playstation three was going on sale in the morning, and these people outside were in line hoping to be the owners of the limited selection available. i nodded my head in acknowledgement.

it is a strange thing to feel old and out of touch, and superior, both at the same time.

kitty cat...ahhh

last wednesday night, i was walking into the church when charlotte called me. it seems she had just gotten home and couldn't get dingo to come up to the porch. they could hear her nearby (it was dark) barking up a storm and growling. charlotte got all of her things into the house and went out to try and discover what dingo was upset about. she found her standing over two little kittens which had crammed themselves into the crevices of a rock wall i built a long time ago. they were frightened beyond description, freezing cold, and hissing with all they had.

charlotte gathered them up and took them into the house. they were tiny and lethargic. she wasn't exactly sure what to do with them as i am violently allergic to cats and have never in my life had one in my home. i can merely sit in the home of a cat owner for twenty minutes before my body begins to rebel. my eyes swell to unnatural proportions, my throat and eyes itch beyond reason, my asthma goes into over-drive, and i sneeze with little stopping. she decided to put the kittens in a cardboard box, fill it with towels, and put it on the porch. she tried to feed them and get them to drink water; but, they were uninterested...or unable.

when we awoke in the morning, the cats were in horrible condition. they grey kitten appeared dead. he was lying on his side with his mouth open, his tongue hanging out, drool puddled near his head, and he had lost control of his bowels. his body did not rise and fall due to breathing. i thought he was dead. the white kitten was a little-but not much- better. he did not appear to be breathing either. when i touched him, he began to take deep gasps for air, and meow. after 30 seconds on this, he would return to his semi-comatose state.

i hurried them down to the veterinary clinic in town. it was about 7:45 and no doctors were meant to arrive into the office until 8:30. the receptionist had me fill out forms of "ownership." i repeated that they weren't my cats, i wasn't sure how much i was willing to spend on their treatment, and i was merely trying to do what i thought was the right thing rather than allow my dog to eat them. she said she understood, and she would call after the doctor had arrived and examined them.

later that morning i got a call that informed me that they were both alive. the six-week-old kittens were suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, hypothermia, and flea anemia. they had so many fleas, which had extracted so much blood, that they were dying from lack of blood. i'd never heard of such a thing. i was told they would be getting care all day, and i would receive another call in the afternoon.

when i called back that afternoon, i was told that the grey cat died. although i thought it was dead anyway, and hate cats in general, this was sad and upsetting news. the white cat was doing pretty well owing to an i.v. of saline, a blood transfusion, liquid vitamins, and a heating incubator. thankfully the vet explained that she would be happy to provide this treatment pro bono, as the kitten had received several hundred dollars worth of treatment. she said this cat was about as close to dying as possible without actually going over the edge. i went to get him.

i still hate cats. i don't want to have a cat in my house. i can't wait until it is well enough to be out on the porch. on the other hand, frosty (jackson has already named him) is a cute little thing and i can't help petting him and loving him.

what has this world come to?!

no t.v week

this week is children's book week. as such, i am going to read a children's book. i haven't decided which...maybe "where the red fern grows." i'll definitely have plenty of time for reading.

as part of children's book week, charlotte always presents a program to the children at school; wherein, they each sign a contract to eliminate a portion of their television watching for the five days that comprise the school week. for example, jackson promised to watch no more than 0 hours of television this week. charlotte and i will also follow the pledge he has made. about one-third of the children in the school returned pledge sheets. charlotte seemed pleased with this amount of support for the first year of the program - especially considering that it is this school. the pledges seem to range from the "no more than 0 hours" to the "no more than 21 hours." yes, we had a good laugh over that one. what a sacrifice!!!

i would be lying if i said that we don't really watch television. we do. what we never do is watch network television in the so-called prime-time. from what i can gather, the shows featured in prime-time are crap. vapid. tasteless. morally deficient. vacuous. unoriginal. i don't/won't miss them in any way.

what i do watch much is the news...both real and fake, ie...daily show, colbert report, cbs news. i also watch alot of sports. when i am having trouble sleeping, a movie is a good source of mindless entertainment. i do that alot.

on the surface it seems like a simple thing to not watch television. that is because it is. good riddance...at least until next week.

i've had this stupid thing in my possession for a while...i might as well fill it out...whatever.

Four things you might not have known about me --

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. golf course maintenance crew member
2. short order cook on venus...ok so it was woodcreek
3. shoe salesman
4. hairdresser


B) Four movies I would watch over & over:
1. l.a. confidential
2. on the town
3. singing in the rain
4. a river runs through it


C) Four places I have lived:
1. dallas, tx
2. wimberley, tx
3. phoenix, az
4. aztec, nm


D) Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. sportscenter
2. curb your enthusiasm?
3. the daily show?
4. the colbert report?


E) Four places I have been on vacation:
1. epcot
2. magic kingdom
3. disney's mgm studios
4. animal kingdom


F) Four Web sites I visit almost daily:
1. bigbendchat.com
2. disboards.com
3. statesman.com
4. urbandictionary.com



G) Four of my favorite foods
1. greasy cheeseburger
2. chorizo, egg, and cheese taco
3. chicken enchiladas with tomatillo sauce
4. a REAL cobb salad



H) Four places I would like to be right now:
1. walt disney world resort
2. the blue hole
3. in the new mexico wilderness
4. in bed with jackson and charlotte watching a movie

you're gonna have to muscle up, big guy, to get it out there. give it the ol' steroid jerk!

last weekend was the annual church golf tournament. dad, dave smith, keith ireland, and i played one under at plum creek. we had two bogeys in a select-shot formatted tournament...unbelievable. sadly, one under was good enough for third place. that should tell you all you need to know about the level of competition; but, i still out-drove everyone else on the designated hole. at my age, you learn to take the victories where ever they can be found. besides, jackson likes appropriating my trophies; and this is the first one for golf.