Life is Short, and Shorter for Some

Life is a real mystery.

I really mean life, as in right to...

Some people have lot's of kids, even ones they don't really want. My daughter's friend's mother found out she was expected... her two children were 15 and 18 at the time. She thought she was about to regain her freedom, and bam. To top it off, her husband had his manhood fixed eight years earlier. Yes, it was his child, but it took a paternity test to make him believe it. Talk about a real turn of events. After all this drama, the baby was a real joy to them both. Thank goodness.

My cousin and her husband married late. They bought the perfect house in the suburbs. And, they want a baby. Really badly. But, it may not happen for them. Unfortunately, she gets pregnant, but something is preventing going beyond the first few months. Yet, they keep trying despite the pain and emotional stress.

I try hard to avoid political topics because I learned long ago you can be friends with people on the opposite side of political lines only as long as you don't discuss them. So, I'm going to stay away from the Right to Life and Right to Choose stuff. If only life was that simple, simple. If only it was really up to you how things turned out.

Well, it's not.

Ask my cousin, who lost another battle with the universe today as this latest pregnancy was deemed nonviable.

Ah, the Smell of New Leather - Almost

My car died on I-95.

What could have been a disastrous calamity - the right shoulder was blocked by construction for several miles as the car lost power - turned out okay. Nobody was hurt. My car was irreparable and I had to buy another vehicle, but that was only a matter of spending money. (Not that I had planned to spend this money, but it could have been much, much worse.)

So, I thought I'd capture here the amazing fact that throughout this week of dealing with this major inconvenience, I kept my composure -- and so did the rest of my family, which as also obviously impacted by the loss of one of our family cars.

I'd like to praise AAA - my mother was a passenger in the car as we were traveling home from visiting relatives out of state. She is the AAA member. Thank goodness. Because we broke down in an extremely dangerous location, in the dark, AAA dispatched a tow truck that got to us in 30 minutes. Thank you very much, AAA.

What could have been a very bad experience was truly minimized that night by the effective and professional treatment we received - down to delivering the car to my local repair shop.

Since there were three of us in the car, AAA sent a truck that had sufficient seating for us all.

Believe it or not, despite it all, we only lost a little over 1 hour (and we were stranded 35 miles from home.)

I am now a real believer in AAA service. I realize not all experiences will be this quick and smooth, but it's a real comfort to know that you will never be left alone on the road without help if you have this membership.

I am very thankful all-in-all with how things worked out. Too bad the car was unable to be fixed. But, that was only a car. The people were just fine.

What is the 4th of July All About Anyway?

It's Independence Day and everyone is writing about how wonderful it is to be an American. This has been a topic of interest for the Presidential candidates of late too. I understand the Obama's when they say things that are often misunderstood, such as "for the first time in my adult life I'm proud of my country." That came from Michele Obama if you didn't know. People were all in an uproar about that and other similar quotes from both Michelle and Barrack.

I'm an Independent voter - I care not for either of the traditional parties. I don't find either of these candidates very exciting when you peel away the media hype. But, these statements have got me thinking about what did they mean.

Just like everyone else, when I was a kid, I loved the flag, Flag Day, the 4th of July, and all the other national holidays and symbols. I grew up in a small Democratic town on the east coast near Washington DC. It's a very politically active community and we had huge parades that all the local and state level politicians marched in, shaking hands along the parade route. People took pride in our similarities and differences, and how well we blended together to form this vive rant community.

It's not like that today. The parade is still held, but it's lost it's luster. No, it's not because I'm now grown up. It's because people don't feel the same way about their country, community, or neighborhood. The atmosphere surrounding national holidays has changed from a celebration of our national heritage, our freedoms, and our democratic system that has served us well for over 200 years. Nope - today it's about sales, eating, and time off from work. The only thing that's the same is the fireworks. (Thank goodness we still have fireworks.)

In this plasticized commercialized society we live in, what does it now mean to be an American? Are you proud of our bloated overweight lifestyle that we've exported to ruin other countries? Are you proud of our leaders who have used fear tactics to bully us so we don't question the industrial combat that's being waged against us from within our own country? Are you proud that Americans are now coach potatoes, allowing the TV to do their thinking for them? Are you proud that we are now among the lowest ranking industrialized countries in our educational scores? Are you proud of our gridlock and pollution? I could go on... Like it or not, this is the Simple, Simple truth.

All these things are just outward symptoms of a country that's lost its way, become lazy, and is on its way down the slippery slope to.... where?

On this Independence Day, don't sit there basking in the accomplishments of past generations. Get motivated to do something to save our country for this and for future generations.

Enjoy the fireworks tonight. And, pray for political fireworks that are much needed to get us back on track, for we've lost our way.