Did I Just See What I Think I Did?

Remember this story? The whole, dumped lawn clippings in my yard thing?

I just witnessed, with my very own peepers, the man and his wife carrying pruned off branches across the street and one house over. I also live across the street and one house over from him, but some of my yard (the part where the grass clippings were dumped) is directly across the street from these people.

My picture camera was in the car. My video camera battery was dead. I have no evidence, aside from what I saw. And who's to say they didn't ask the neighbor first?

But still... a little too ironic for it's own good.

Happy Independence Day

Might I suggest some reading for the day, and to ask yourself afterward why, as a country, we have not stormed the White House yet?


IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

The Kids

My daughter is on her way to New Mexico as of yesterday. She stayed over night here on Wednesday and we had a very quiet evening with her playing The Sims2 on the computer and me reading on the couch. We shared some good giggles as we went to Wal-Mart late that night and bought her road trip snacks.

Thursday I spent the day sweating and driving. I dropped my daughter off at my brother's house and spent a little time visiting with my sister-in-law while there. Her, my niece, my brother and my daughter make a yearly road trip. I think they enjoyed New Mexico so much last year, they decided to do it again this year. I'm jealous of the weather they will get to be in. The high temperature where they are going was 67 degrees. That, and the horse back riding, mountain biking, rafting and other various activities they have planned. My sister-in-law went and bought my daughter a mountain bike for this trip. They should have an exceptional time.

Thursday evening I took a shower to wash off the 4 gallons of sweat that had made it's way out of my body, and then it was off to see my son's new apartment, but only after an hour long panic attack. You see... I have this slight phobia of driving to places that I've never driven before. It used to be be a lot worse. Back in the day, I would not have even considered driving to where my son lives now. (I plan to post more about this adventure later) But after all the tears, I got on the road anyway and made it to his house with no problems. We had a nice dinner and I got to see the fancy new apartment where he lives.

I had a weird experience with both of my kids yesterday. With my daughter, it was seeing her with a blanket wrapped around herself as she played on the computer. With my son, it was seeing him lay on the floor of his apartment with his feet up by the chair where his girlfriend was sitting. As I watched both of them, each without knowing that their momma was REALLY watching them, they both did their "thing" that they would do when they were very little.

My son's "thing": When he was little, my son's thing was to approach me or my mother, lay on the floor and stick his feet on our laps, or if we were standing, in the air, so we would scratch his feet. This would progress to scratching his arms, hands, legs and back. I would tell my son that whoever he married, they would have their work cut out for them with all the scratching. His girlfriend is NOT happy with me right now.

My daughter's "thing": My daughter was a blanket girl, more commonly known around our house as a bankey. But not just ANY bankey. They had to be the kind that had the real soft, often silky type border sewn around the edges. When she was not old enough to have any type of hand eye coordination, maybe a month old, she would roll up the corners of these blankets just so and she would tickle her nose. This was often combined with thumb sucking but that started a few months after.

I watched yesterday as my daughter sat at my computer, wrapped in the blanket, take a corner of that blanket and rub it against her cheek. It was a simple gesture and it did not involve any thumb sucking. But for me, memories of the child that was now 21 came flooding back and I remembered the girl that I would kiss at night before I left for work in her girl's bed... thumb in mouth, bankey in hand. And echoes from across the room where my son, who is now 23, lay, Big Bear tucked in next to him whispering, "scratch my feet scratch my back scratch my hands" in a cadence that only a 5 year old can achieve.

For you young mothers out there just starting out... these are the things that you will carry with you once your children are grown. It is the most heart warming, happy, wonderful thing to remember when you are looking at your adult child.

My kids are totally embarrassed when I openly talk about them when they were young like this. I do not understand why, but I do my best to try and not mortify them. This post, I couldn't help. Yesterday was one of the most wonderful days I have ever had, in part because of these early memories of my children... when I was the age they are right now. When or if they have children of their own, I'm sure they then will understand where I'm coming from and hopefully will no longer be embarrassed that they were normal, loving, wonderful kids who grew up too fast and became exceptional, normal, loving adults.

Thank you, my beautiful children. You are more precious to me than anything else in this world and you always will be.

Big Bear, A Tickle Bankey, And Libertine

July

It's too hot to blog. I'll be back when it cools off. Like sometime in December.

Kidding.

Today is daughter day. Tomorrow is son day. Lots of time with kids. I'll regale you soon. Until then... stay cool... man.

Happy July.