AJ may make an Eagle Scout yet, but it won't be because he is particularly astute about the process. When he finished his project I assumed that the hard part was done. Apparently I was wrong. For reasons beyond my ken, teenagers refuse to follow (or perhaps are intrinsically incapable of following) even simple instructions. The Eagle packet directed AJ to submit a list of his goals, aspirations, and accomplishments. Does this directive sound convoluted to you? Somehow, AJ heard that somebody said that somebody else had said that there was this scout in Philadelphia (or maybe it was Bangladesh...) who was awarded the rank of Eagle without submitting said summary, so... AJ ignored my pleas, and omitted it from his packet. Three days later a letter arrived pointing out the omission and asking for it to be rectified before the upcoming board of review. After the requisite amount of grumbling AJ produced the required document and had it delivered to the Scout Office, but again ignored my pleas, this time to take a copy with him to the board of review. As anyone familiar with bureaucracies would predict, when the board convened the omitted form had not yet been added to the packet, and further, no one at the Scout Office knew anything about it. Ten days and five phone calls later (including an offer to fax, email, or hand deliver a replacement), the original has finally re-surfaced, been united with the deficient packet, the now complete application sent to somewhere in Texas for final, final approval, and the world has again returned to equilibrium. Wouldn't it be nice to be like AJ and have so few problems that you could afford to create a few just to savor the excitement? (If the truth be known, we are very pleased that AJ has reached this goal.) |
 Christmas was fun, as usual. LaRena, and her husband John Coiner, visited for a short time. John is southern born and proud of it. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) I didn't get the opportunity to explore his views on the American Civil War (or perhaps more accurately, foist my views on him). He did admit that he would have supported the Southern cause if he had lived during that epoch, and it would have been fun to interrogate him closely about his views on slavery. Not that I would ever try to make anyone squirm... In the history of this world, the victors always write the history books. As a result, any third grade teacher in America will tell you that our Civil War was fought over slavery, and because the good guys won we no longer embrace that evil institution. Unfortunately, the real story is not that "clean." The Civil War was caused by the same question that has sparked every war that has ever been fought (including the war in heaven). That question is, "Who gets to make the rules?" The immediate cause of the Civil War was the decision by about half of the states to withdraw from the Union, and reluctance on the part of the states remaining to allow them to depart in peace. While I detest slavery, I find myself drawn to the Southern cause. The US Constitution assigns certain powers to the Federal Government, then specifies that powers not explicitly given to the Federal Government are retained by the individual States. Each state joined the Union voluntarily. There was (and is) nothing in the Constitution prohibiting a state from leaving, so by law, the power to leave the Union belonged to each state individually. In my view, the Federal Government was wrong when it undertook a costly, savage, devastating war to overthrow duly elected state governments (clearly supported by the majority of the state's citizens) and replace them with people willing to repeal their state's ordinance of succession and return to the Union. And Lincoln, who orchestrated the deaths of a half million Americans, was morally reprehensible. Politically, what do you do when you have a victorious despot? You ignore his obvious problems, extol his accomplishments, and make him a hero (much like the Soviet Union did with Vladimir Lenin). Hence, today Abraham Lincoln is considered to have been the greatest president ever (except for possibly George Washington). I once read, "In recorded history, many things didn't happen exactly the way they should have, and some things didn't happen at all. A good historian will correct all that." Apparently, spin-doctors have been around for quite some time. |
Barbara (using the fuzzy logic found only in want-to-be grandmothers) had concluded that LaRena and John were expecting sometime in March. Judging from LaRena's expression when quizzed, I would suggest this is not going to happen.
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Actually, LaRena is following a pattern (set by Ameilia and followed faithfully by Sabrina) of substitution. Pictured here, are her surrogate children.
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AJ has been complaining that I don't take any photos of him. Given his reluctance to pose, coupled with his unbridled theatrics while photos are being shot in a group setting, it is hard to lend much credence to this criticism. Never the less, in an effort to rectify any injustices underlying this sentiment, I include this photo. Being the youngest, AJ tends to be "picked on," or at least to interpret the inter-sibling banter as being biased against him (not that he would ever do anything to incite or encourage it). His refusal to model the gift given him by his brother Nathen (foot gloves [socks having individual toes]) coupled with his fanatic devotion to seeing a certain football contest on TV made him a target that was both tempting and "easy." AJ endured the torment for a short time, then became angry, found a "hand held TV" (a small black and white set with a 7 inch screen), took it up on the roof, tapped into the antenna, and proceeded to watch the game from that vantage point. Fortunately for him, the snow was on the TV and not the rooftop. |
  We also attended a pre-Christmas dinner hosted by Terre and held at Karren's house. A few gifts were exchanged, and the turkey was good. Jim is thinking about building a solar powered pump. He has a photo of one built in the early 1900's and is convinced that the key to it is a parabolic mirror. I think Nathen should calculate the area this mirror needs in order to generate the energy necessary to lift water 80 feet at a rate of 10 gallon per minute. If an engineering degree doesn't entitle the bearer to do things like that, what good is it? |
  Rebecca, who is living at Karren's home for distressed relatives, has training as a pastry chef. Although she claims to be working as a mailroom clerk (unpacking edibles), she shared her culinary expertise and made a tray of eclairs. I thought they were spectacular. |
  Ethen received several gifts. It was not evident who enjoyed that process more, Ethen or the people watching him. Kyle didn't quite yet grasp the significance of the events that transpired, but he is becoming personable. I have difficulties anchoring events in the flow of time, and can't tell if his development is precocious, retarded, or right on schedule. |
 I used some of my holiday time off to take a couple of short hikes, an activity that I find enjoyable. This is a view looking out over San Manuel. If rumors are to be believed, those smoke stacks will come crashing down sometime in May. That might be an event worth witnessing. |
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