Weather in the Tries:
oooh, the lows will all be below freezing, one down to 22F, unless the fickle weather person changes his mind again. The highs will range from 33-42, and we’ll have sun each day. Unless the fickle weather person changes his mind, again. 😉
Remembering:
Today is Thursday, 9 Jan 2025, I’m watching President Jimmy Carter’s funeral.
Jason Carter told the best story of President Carter of the whole service. Jimmy finally got a cell phone, and early on in the process, Jason got a notice that Paw Paw Mobile was calling. He answered and said, Hi, Paw Paw. Jimmy said, Who’s this? Jason: What do you mean, this is Jason and you called me. Jimmy responded, I didn’t call you. I’m taking a picture. Jason brought much laughter when he concluded this story with, And he was a nuclear engineer. Humor belongs in a funeral. Remember the deceased with humor, not hate.
In retelling this short blurb by Jason, who also described his granddad as probably answering the door if someone knocked, in shorts and crocs. The image of him in crocs reminded me of when King Tut became a person to me, and not just a name from the dusty pages of history. I had the honor of seeing many of his possessions many years ago when they visited Seattle. They were overwhelming until I got to the camp stool he used. When I looked at the back legs I had to smile. The bottoms, facing front, were very scuffed. A bored or perhaps eager? young man, waiting for whatever he was waiting, obviously rubbed his feet against the stool’s legs. The legs on the stool were curved, so maybe these were the front feet of the stool. The legs were an ‘x’ shape. At any rate, that’s when Tut became a real person to me.
Once again, I find myself ignoring political news but watching ANKA, a news video out of Turkey, I think. At any rate they are giving coverage to Ukraine/Russia, which has not been all that great with our news coverage, and has become less so.
Once again, I think of Sherri S. Tepper’s book, The Gate to Women’s Country. If you haven’t read it, I strongly recommend it. I enjoyed the story tremendously, but her idea of how to fight wars is one I think should seriously be considered by all countries on our globe. I think Jimmy Carter would even approve, but he would, like me, prefer NO wars. Ever again. If every country were to sign such a treaty, their economy would be affected, at first negatively as they moved away from a war-based economy and literally turned weapons of war into peaceful uses.
We now have, and have had for years, the capability to kill all life on earth in a matter of minutes. But what would happen if all projectile weapons were banned, including the atlatl? Look that one up, if you don’t know what it is. It’s pretty interesting. It used to be spelled Atalatal, but time, and dictionaries, march on.
There are several things in Tepper’s book that would not be accepted by today’s people, though they would be interesting. In a nutshell, the parts that could be accepted (with probable edits by this writer) are:
1. Warriors must use hand weapons only, i.e., swords, knives, battle axes. They must be able to look into the eyes of the warrior they kill—or are killed by.
2. Wars must be declared by written letters, the defenders get to choose the field.
3. Wars must be fought outside population areas whether cities or villages, in fields set aside to be used as a battlefield. (May be used for agricultural purposes between wars). Civilians are off limits, and the warriors may not enter villages, cities, etc. to fight.)
4. Once the war is over, the victor claims the territory or whatever comes in the treaty. The loser clears the field. But the civilians carry on. Nothing is bombed. No grenades are thrown. You want to kill someone? Look them in the eye as you do so. Or as they do unto you. No drones. No howitzers. No HIMARCS. No guns or automatic weapons. Get the idea?
If we didn’t pour gazillions of dollars into the war machine, think how much we could do for our people, our children. We could feed them all, have universal health care, why, we might even become civilized.
Can you even begin to imagine what it would be like to send your kidlets off to school and know the worst thing that could happen to them would be a skinned knee, or maybe a school yard scuffle? Can you imagine walking down the street and not having to fear a police officer deciding you walked too much like a star bellied snitch and therefore shoot you. Of course, he may attempt to run you through with a sword, but you’d have a better chance of escape.
Oh dear, our magic dragon has died. “Our fearless dragon is tired and has entered the last chapter of his magnificent life. The world knows Peter Yarrow the iconic folk activist, but the human being behind the legend is every bit as generous, creative, passionate, playful, and wise as his lyrics suggest,” his daughter Bethany said in a statement.
RIP in peace Peter Yarrow, you are sorely missed. But, I gotta add a question: Are you and Mary singing with Jimmy, now?
First Photo of the Year:
Dragonflies Coming in to Land at Harry Reid Air Port, Las Vegas, NV (the reflection from the window is part of my shirt which says Future Corpse. The reflection is TUR
from the desk of the mighty chihuahua;
my human found my sweater. I wondered if she would ever find it. I don’t really like wearing it, but when there is ice on the pond, it feels very nice to have it on. especially when the wind is blowing. it’s really nice when the air is cold but the sun is out. when the sun smiles at me in my pretty black sweater, I’m top dog of the planet.
Earworm of the Week:
Puff the Magic Dragon, original by Peter, Paul, and Mary (damn! I shed a tear every time I hear this, now I’m crying.)
Quotes from the Funeral, from pbs.org:
Joe Biden: “I miss him, but I take solace in knowing that he and Rosalynn are reunited again,” he concluded. “To the entire Carter family, thank you — and I mean this sincerely — for sharing them both with America and the world. We love you all.”
Jason Carter: By the way, he cut the deficit, wanted to decriminalize marijuana, deregulated so many industries that he gave us cheap flights and, as you heard, craft beer. Basically all of those years ago, he was the first millennial. And he could make great playlists, as we’ve heard as well.”
Andrew Young: Seated at a microphone, Young — whom Carter appointed as United Nations ambassador — drew laughs from the crowd when he called Carter “something of a miracle,” noting, “It’s still hard for me to understand how you could get to be president from Plains, Georgia.”
More quotes at the link.
