Five Plus Two Equals Freedom

Today has been a rather hot, muggy summer day. A good day to stay indoors, for sure.

I just got done with an long play date with Brian. When I called Brian last night, Amy mentioned she and Katlyn were going to spend the day in Frisco with her sister and niece. She asked if she could drop Brian at the house so we could play. Brian decided to bring their beagle, Moe (named for the Simpson's character, Moe Szyslak) to play with our beagle, Logan.

I woke up rather early but didn't get moving until about 10. I spent a lazy day reading the newspaper and listening to the Crosby, Stills and Nash cd I bought yesterday. Then I realized I hadn't done the straightening I intended to do last night and kicked it in high gear. Within 30 minutes, the place looked neat, but not so neat it was obvious I cleaned for them, and the floor was vacuumed. I could show them the house without being afraid of being attacked by a killer lint bunny like the one that almost got Jimmy Carter.

(Before I forget - yesterday was Chris' birthday. My phone conversation with him was quickly interrupted when Jackson threw up in the car. Happy birthday, yo.)

After listening to the song "Ohio", I felt inspired enough to consult my books and refresh my memory about the events surrounding May 4, 1970. War is a very sad thing. I'm hurt by the destruction, the loss of life, and the harm, even death, caused to civilians and other innocent bystanders. The Kent State Massacre was a very unfortunate incident that should have never happened. The protesters had no right to burn down the ROTC building; the national guard had no right to volley rounds into the crowd. It kind of reminded me of visiting the site in Boston where the Haymarket Riot occured.

Then, I read the NY Times book reviews, a favorite part of my Sunday morning. Christopher Hitchens has a pleasantly surprising, but very good, review about a triad of piracy books coming out. (I say pleasantly surprising because he managed the self-discipline to not talk about 9/11 or the Iraqi/Afghan War, which he is apt to do). One of the books he reviewed was about the Laffite brothers during early 19th century New Orleans. Last time I was in New Orleans, I went with Chris and Brian; we took a walking haunted house tour and one of the stops was Laffite's blacksmith shop that doubled as the hide out place for his stolen goods.

Once Brian got here, my day of learning was over. We watched golf and chit-chatted for several hours until Amy came and picked him up. I think Logan had a good time with Moe.

The long summer day is now coming to a close. The night is starting to remind me that there is a deafening alarm beep in my near future. Five more days of work, responsibility, and deadlines.

Then two days for me.