Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should

In one of my more ignorant moments this morning I told Carol we needed to buy some juice next time we go to the grocery store. 

She said: "Didn't I ask you last time we were at the store if you wanted juice? You said no." 

I did say that and I was wrong. 

She then said: "We have juice." 

Me: "I know, but it is green. I just can't get past the color."

Carol: "It is full of stuff you like. Mango, banana, kiwi, Apple, spinach." 

I took about an ounce in a glass and tried it. Not bad. Keep in mind that for me there is a big jump from "not bad" to "good". 

The argument that it is full of stuff you like doesn't work for me. I like steak, mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans. It in no way means I would like them thrown in a blender or juicer and turned into something like this. 

Show Me the MONEY

It seems like lots of folks are upset about Andrew Jackson being replaced on the $20 bill by Harriet Tubman. So upset they post things that don't make any sense. 

I would hope that even those with a very basic understanding of American history would realize Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Franklin were never president. Then they went to "founding fathers" which would leave out Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson. The only way they can justify their position is by saying paper currency should feature pictures of old, dead, white men. 

Some have also argued that women have not been featured on paper currency. They are also wrong about that. It has been over a hundred years and there have only been two. In 1886 Martha Washington was featured on a one dollar silver certificate. The bill was discontinued before 1900. 

The other woman was the Native American Pochantas who was on the back of the twenty dollar bill in the 1860's. So, that is it. Do you think maybe it is time? I don't have any real preference who is on our currency. The importance is for the person pictured to provide some sort of inspiration. Harriet Tubman seems to fit that bill. She worked in the Underground Railroad helping slaves escape to freedom. She also worked as a spy for Union troops during the Civil War. Her placement on one of our most used bills will hopefully serve as an inspiration to women and minorities. It is recognition of their contribution to the rich fabric of our shared cultural history. Faces on our currency change from time to time and should not be seen as a slight to the person removed. 

Too many are just on Facebook and other social media to create trouble. They have no interest in anything just commenting to engender chaos. 

Art

This past weekend the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) held the annual sidewalk chalk art contest in Forsyth Park. We did not attend but after looking at pictures of the art works it is on the list of things to see next year. Here is a sample of some of the works from recent years. 

Tybee's In Bloom

I won't clutter this with many words. This is our yard today. 

This last picture is across the street. People often stop and ask about the pretty blue flowers. 

They are not pretty to me. Always look and see them as morning glory. Nothing a little Roundup wouldn't fix. 

Another Birthday

Mom had another birthday. Being a gentleman I will not disclose her age. I will share her pictures through the years. 

We will start young.

A bit older with hair tamed down a bit. 

Moving ahead a bit more. 

Time to graduate. 

Maybe meet a handsome sailor from Illinois. 

Marriage. 

A family comes along. 

A career.

Grandchildren.

Her parents 50th anniversary. 

Great grandchildren. 

Today. 

Happy birthday mom. 

Not complete without her favorite picture of herself. 

We Got Robbed

Lily has returned to "normal" since her escape last week. Yesterday she spent the better part of the morning in her fenced enclosure digging. The holes have gotten big enough that at times you cannot see her when she gets down in the hole. All that digging makes you hungry. I took the tractor to Wataga to get diesel fuel and gas for the chain saw. Carol stayed home to do some cleaning while Rose and Lily did their digging. Carol also worked on lunch. We had some left over baked potatoes she cut up to fry on the griddle along with a couple of hamburgers that just needed to be reheated. I got home and she let Rose and Lily in and met me at the door. When she went back to light the burner for the griddle on the stoves, no hamburgers. Rose isn't tall enough to get things off the counter or stove. Lily, no problem reaching up there but hasn't done so in the past. So, it was hot dogs for lunch. We got robbed, but Lily was happy. 

Apologize?

On Monday, in a ceremony generally ignored by the media, Secretary of State John Kerry made the following appearance. 

He was laying a wreath at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial also known as the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, Japan. 

The picture above is of the building as it appeared following its completion in April 1915. The picture below is how it appeared in September 1945. 

If you had asked me on Sunday if the United States owed Japan an apology for the use of an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in 1945 I would have said no. It is Tuesday and after a good deal of reading and thinking I'm not so sure. Let's take a minute to look back. On August 6, 1945 a B-29 bomber named the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb called "Little Boy" at 8:15 a.m. The bomb's target was the Aioi Bridge. It missed its target by almost 800 feet detonating 2000 feet directly above the Shima Hospital. The domed building that survived was 2000 feet vertically and 490 feet horizontally from the hypocenter of the blast. It was the only building at the hypocenter left standing. It survived because it was almost directly under the blast. The blast killed 70,000 people instantly and another 70,000 would die of fatal radiation injuries. 

Why Hiroshima? Why an atomic bomb? The answer is more complex than you might think. President Truman alleged at the time an invasion of the Japanese mainland would cause an estimated half million casualties. Years later President George H.W. Bush would claim the use of atomic weapons on Japan saved a million lives. Hiroshima was an important port and headquarters of the Japanese Second General Army. There were about 40,000 military personnel in the city. That would seem to make it a legitimate military target. There is, of course, more to the story. The United States had virtually complete control of the skies over Japan. We had been and were continuing to firebomb their cities. If "Little Boy" was dropped on a city that had been firebombed the true power of the weapon would not be as apparent. Hiroshima had not been firebombed. The blast would show its power, terrorize the population of Japan and blunt the territorial ambitions of Russia who had agreed to join the fight against Japan. President Truman felt Russia would attempt to expand its influence into Asia. 

Why we shouldn't have used the bomb. At the time there were seven total five star generals and admirals. Six of them felt the bomb's use was unnecessary. Their assessment was that the Japanese knew they were defeated and were likely to surrender before any invasion. The bomb overwhelmingly targeted a civilian population. Yes, there were military personnel in Hiroshima, about 40,000. The blast killed an additional 100,000 men, women and children. Civilians who happened to live in a port city that had not yet been firebombed. We, the United States, remain the only country to ever use atomic weapons in a war. We continue to maintain and even upgrade our nuclear arsenal. It will cost us an estimated one trillion dollars over the next 10 years. 

Was our use wrong? Should we apologize to the citizens of Japan? 

I look at the picture above and struggle with an answer. If we had not used those weapons perhaps the world would not have an appreciation for their fearsome destructive power. Perhaps in the decades since someone would have been tempted. At the same time the deliberate targeting of a civilian population was and always will be wrong. We are quick as a nation to demand other countries acknowledge and apologize for their misdeeds. We never seem to apologize for ours. Perhaps a place to start is with the few remaining survivors of the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some day the United States may apologize for these attacks. My concern is that no of the survivors will be alive to hear it. 

I Don't Have Words

Yesterday our precious fur child Lily got out of the house. She is a smart girl and can open flip handle doors even the ones that open in. She has never tried the front door before. I'm not sure if she opened it or if we didn't get it shut tight. In the end, what difference does it make. She got out and ran. I went out to try to track her down. She ran to the neighbor's and kept going. In order to understand completely you need to have an idea where we live. When you cross the fence 75 feet to the east of our house the next fence to the east is at least 1.5 miles away. The fence to the south is over 1.25 miles. We are dealing with an area of almost 2 square miles and a dog that LOVES to run. I don't know exactly what she scared up but I suspect it was a deer. I never saw her after she left the house. I heard her bark a few times the last time about 2 hours later about 3 miles from the house. I drove about 100 miles looking for her. Windows down, cold air blowing in and yelling out the windows. Hours of searching and yelling and yes, crying. I gave up at dark. We had posted on Facebook, with the local Humane Society, and it was shared hundreds of times by friends and people we didn't know and never met. We got a call this morning that a nice family about 10 miles from us had picked her up about 5:30 yesterday afternoon. They had kept her fed, warm and safe on a cold, rainy, windy night. She was not out alone in the night hiding from coyotes. She was safe and warm sleeping by their bed. 

I said all that to say this. We watch the news and we see and hear all the terrible things going on in the world. We hear candidates for president say terrible things about minorities, gays and immigrants. It hardens our hearts. It makes us wonder about our fellow citizens. Today reminded me of something that had been slipping away in my mind. The goodness of my fellow citizens. That there are, every day, good people out there in the world. People who see a scared, lost, lonely animal along the road and reach out to care for her. No thought of reward. No concern other than to care for someone who has a need. The returned our beloved Lily to us. Equally important, they restored my faith in the goodness of my fellow man. We can never thank the King family enough for what they did for Lily and by doing so, for us.