The Median Sib

This quote from The Anchoress says it all. The only thing I can add is that you should go and read the rest of the post. It is worth your while.

We know there are Muslims in the Middle East who wish to be free of the jackboots of Extremism and Fascism. Our president has been trying to do what no one else in the world is willing to do: break the stranglehold and allow the great majority of Muslims to live in liberty - respected by the rest, free to make their own way in the world, in peace. A year ago, we were making great headway, and so it’s not surprising that the Islamofascists are doing what they can to strike back. What is surprising - what is a damn shame - what may end up being an unforgiveable sin, is that so many people in the press and on the left are so willing to submit to Dhimmitude out of fear and (even worse - morally MUCH worse) out of sheer hatred of George W. Bush, who cannot be permitted to succeed in his visionary and noble endeavor.

PawPaw and I have had an interesting and fun and frustrating past 24 hours.  We’ve been over at the land clearing the area along the road.  Skalawag’s landscaping crew will be there in a few days to make it look pretty.  We’re getting it ready so that they can work with it.  PawPaw has a HUGE bulldozer there, and he pushed several large brush piles together.  My job yesterday was to get the the resulting ENORMOUS brush pile burning and to keep it burning. 

With PawPaw’s help, we had the biggest brush pile fire I’ve ever seen!  There was no danger of the fire spreading since it has rained a lot lately and PawPaw used the dozer to clear out a wide swath all the way around the pile.  We also went the legal route and had a burn permit from the county.  It is amazing how fire will totally eliminate something as large as that brush pile.  Last night for dinner we ate Subway sandwiches in fold-out chairs watching the fire. There was intermittent light sprinkling which was actually very enjoyable.  Not enough to get wet, but enough to keep things interesting.

Thus, our new nicknames for each other.  I’m PyroWoman and he’s DozerMan.  I realized how far into this I am when I ran by the Tractor Supply place this morning and bought two pairs of work gloves.  They’re necessary for the stuff I’m doing.  Must protect my manicure.  PawPaw got another burn permit for today, and there’s more dozer work and burning in our plans.

I am shamelessly stealing an idea from Joan’s blog, Daddy’s Roses, and writing a “Monday Memory.” I really enjoy reading her posts each week, and I believe it’s a good idea to write out one’s memories. It helps to keep things clear (and Lord knows I need help keeping things clear). Plus, it’s just fun to write about one’s memories.

This is the second time I’ve written this particular post. The first time the post was lost through some foul-up with WordPress. I THOUGHT I had lost this one, but found it tucked away under saved but not published posts. I will save it again this time before trying to publish it, and hopefully it won’t be lost again.

My Monday Memory:

When I was five years old my family moved to Griffin, Georgia. My father had just finished college in Kentucky and was registered at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology to work on his Masters of Divinity degree in order to be ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church. While in Griffin he pastored a 3-point circuit of Midway, Sunnyside and Vaughn Methodist churches.

One of my favorite memories of our time in Griffin was going to kindergarten. The kindergarten I attended was held in one of the larger churches in Griffin - not one of my father’s smaller churches. I loved the play kitchen that the kindergarten had. I remember cooking up many a pretend meal there, and then sitting down with my friends for tea parties and dinners. Maybe that was the beginning of my love for cooking. I remember spending hours in that kitchen, though, and being in awe of all the kitchen equipment in there.

The other activity I loved was playing on the playground. They had swings, slides, see-saws and monkey bars. My most memorable event in kindergarten happened one day on the playground when I slid down the slide and then headed toward the church building. Apparently I wasn’t watching where I was going and I walked right in front of a child on a swing. The swing caught me under the chin. I woke up 10-15 minutes later (at least) lying on a sofa or cot in the school office with my mother leaning over me. I was unconscious long enough for them to take me inside, call my mother and for my mother to travel from home to the church. I don’t recall going to the doctor because of the accident. In retrospect and from my own experience as an elementary teacher, I can just imagine the horror the teachers must have felt. At the time, though, I didn’t think it was a big deal.

The other big event in kindergarten was the play we performed of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” Did I play Goldilocks? No. Was I one of the three bears? No. My starring role was one of the flowers along the path that Goldilocks wandered on her way to the three bears’ cottage. I don’t recall if I had a speaking part or not - “Please pick me, Goldilocks!” or “Don’t go into the bears’ house!”, perhaps? I remember that my flower costume was made out of crepe paper, and there were lots of “flower children” in the play! That was the role given to all the “extra” children - since the story only had room for four main characters.

I attended Kindergarten through third grade while we lived in Griffin. My father finished seminary, my last two siblings (Beth and David) were born, and my two older sisters (Janice and Joan) went off to college. There are other great and not-so-great memories of Griffin, and I’ll save them for future Monday Memories.