Thoughts from our nation's next generation . . .

Everyone makes stupid mistakes and says stupid stuff don't they? I know they do. I had the esteemed pleasure of reading over 700 tests for my American History classes this semester. I thought it would be interesting to post a few of the statements I have received from my students during my first semester teaching at ASU. While I know that everyone is not a master of American history, I did expect a little more eloquence from future college graduates. This is just a snippet. I have many more of varying degrees of humor and utter ignorance.

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On Columbus:

He was a man who set out to prove that the world was flat and not round and that you could fall off the edge of it if you weren't careful. He took off sailing and eventually made it to this place called the new world. When he got there he drew a map. While he was looking at the map he realized that the world was not flat and that you couldn't fall off of it while you were sailing around in the ocean.

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On Native American gender roles

Some men were dressed as women but others just stayed men.

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Robber Barons:

During the late 1800s there was this guy named Robert Baron. He was really greedy and tried to take all the money for himself. He shut down a bunch of companies. Robert Baron was not a very nice person. I wouldn't like Robert Baron.

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On Rosa Parks:

Rosa Parks was the first woman to ever have a prostate.

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This is but a small slice of the true genius that presented itself during the course of the Fall 2008 semester. Stay tuned for more and better pearls of wisdom.

Mark Twain: A National Treasure

I recently saw a quote from Samuel Langhorne Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain) and re-realized just how quick witted and humorous he was and still is. Some people can take words and construct them into the most amazingly beautiful sentences. With just a few short words, they can, with razor sharp efficiency, write what would take me pages and ages to produce. So for your reading pleasure, I give you a random sampling of some of Mark Twain's best stuff!


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Courtship lifts a young fellow far and away above his common earthly self and by an impulse natural to those lofty regions he puts on his halo and his heavenly war paint and plays archangel as if he were born to it. He is working a deception, but is not aware of it.- "Which Was the Dream"The romance of life is the only part of it which is overwhelmingly valuable, and romance dies with youth. After that, life is a drudge, & indeed a sham.- Letter to Will Bowen, 6/6/1900

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Total abstinence is so excellent a thing that it cannot be carried to too great an extent. In my passion for it I even carry it so far as to totally abstain from total abstinence itself.

- autograph inscription in album to Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes, reported in The Washington Post, June 11, 1881
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The romance of life is the only part of it which is overwhelmingly valuable, and romance dies with youth. After that, life is a drudge, & indeed a sham.

- Letter to Will Bowen, 6/6/1900
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We are all erring creatures, and mainly idiots, but God made us so and it is dangerous to criticise.

- Letter to the President of Western Union, New York, 1902
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would rather have my ignorance than another man's knowledge, because I have so much more of it.

- Letter to W.D. Howells, 2/10/1875
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All Congresses and Parliaments have a kindly feeling for idiots, and a compassion for them, on account of personal experience and heredity.

- Mark Twain's Autobiography
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After all these years, I see that I was mistaken about Eve in the beginning; it is better to live outside the Garden with her than inside it without her.
- "Adam's Diary"
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There is in life only one moment and in eternity only one. It is so brief that it is represented by the fleeting of a luminous mote through the thin ray of sunlight--and it is visible but a fraction of a second. The moments that preceded it have been lived, are forgotten and are without value; the moments that have not been lived have no existence and will have no value except in the moment that each shall be lived. While you are asleep you are dead; and whether you stay dead an hour or a billion years the time to you is the same.

- Mark Twain's Notebook, 1896
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The elastic heart of youth cannot be compressed into one constrained shape long at a time.

- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
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The Impartial Friend: Death, the only immortal who treats us all alike, whose pity and whose peace and whose refuge are for all--the soiled and the pure, the rich and the poor, the loved and the unloved.- Mark Twain, last written statement; Moments with Mark Twain, Paine
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A nation turns it's lonley eyes to you. woo woo woo

Alas . . .

Booking it-Honesty

On my mother's blog (www.pointedmeanderings.blogspot.com) she answers the question of the week. I thought I'd give it a shot and see how it turns out.

Question of the Week:
I receive a lot of review books, but I have never once told lies about the book just because I got a free copy of it. However, some authors seem to feel that if they send you a copy of their book for free, you should give it a positive review.

Do you think reviewers are obligated to put up a good review of a book, even if they don’t like it? Have we come to a point where reviewers *need* to put up disclaimers to (hopefully) save themselves from being harassed by unhappy authors who get negative reviews?

Absolutely not! Under no circumstances should anyone ever offer up a review that is untruthful simply to appease or stroke the ego of some aspiring author. One of the blessings of living in this country lies within our 1st Amendment right under the United States Constitution. In short, it gives us freedom of speech, press, religion, and the right to assemble. The aspiring author operates under this amendment to write whatever he/she chooses. Under that same write, those who would review that work have the right and an obligation to review that information honestly. Appeasement, throughout history, has seldom turned out positively for those doing the appeasing.

We, as a society, have taken political correctness to the point that Hitler took Germany and Stalin took Russia. Well maybe not that far, but we certainly put more stock in what people think that we do the truth. Sadly enough, behavior similar to this extends far beyond the realm of book reviews and into the employment sector. Supervisors routinely offer individuals glowing employment references simply to ensure that they leave and go elsewhere. Instead of having the courage to stand up and dismiss them for service or provide them a reference consisting of the truth. The truth hurts, but reviewers should step up to the plate and do the right thing.

Friends don't' let friends read bad books unaware!

The Cabinet

Today President-elect Obama made several announcements regarding his cabinet appointments. So far he has assembled not quite half of his cabinet officers and has among them some highly qualified individuals, including Hilary Clinton at State. Obama went on to say, "I am confident that this is the team that we need to make a new beginning for American national security." While some may cringe at the thought of Hilary Clinton as Secretary of State, I find comfort in her appointment. Hilary is definitely an accomplished politician who will undoubtedly display excellent diplomatic skills combined with "extraordinary intelligence and toughness."

Among the other appointees are Sec. of Defense Robert Gates who will remain at his post in the Defense Department and General Jim Jones (USMC ret). Obama had promised to appoint a Republican to his cabinet and Gates is an excellent choice for many reasons. Not only has he done a tremendous job since replacing Donald Rumsfeld, he also stands as a member of the cabinet respected equally among Democrats and Republicans in the Senate. He will also provide the defense department with a sense of continuity as they sort through Iraq and Afghanistan. Jones, a fervent supporter of John McCain in the past presidential election, has been given the National Security Advisor slot. The former NATO commander gained attention for his skills as a military commander as well as his diplomatic prowess. Obama's advisors stated they did not consider political affiliation while assembling the team.

It would seem that Obama is attempting to round out his cabinet to appeal to both sides of the aisle. Could this thing called compromise actually work? Only if we as the people let it. Both sides scream incessantly for compromise and then, once achieved, complain about the choices and how it will be detrimental to their party. Nodoby likes to make concessions, but they often constitute a necessary evil. Liberal blogger Chris Bowers refers to Obama's decision as "very disappointing" and further stayed it sent a message to the American people that "even Democrats believe Democrats can't run the military." Maybe he's right . . .


If you would like to read more concerning Obama's appointments you can follow this link:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/01/obama-unveils-national-security-team/

Grace in defeat . . .

I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Sen. Obama believes that, too. But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.


A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States.


Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.


Sen. Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.


Sen. Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain.


These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face. I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.


Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.


It is natural. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.



~Senator John McCain, Republican Presidential Nomination 2008~



May we all put aside our differences and work for the betterment of the nation.

In retrospect . . .

Well, things don't always turn out as I would always like them to. Newsflash isn't it? Despite the obvious refusal of the world to do as I would wish and Barack Obama's successful attempt to 'Bogart' all the electoral votes, I find myself having to adjust my perspective of the world as I know it. They say if you can't be 'em, join em. I do not totally agree with that, but I see no reason that you should refrain from attempting a compromise. So starting today and for the next two years, I will do the "American" thing. As President Elect Obama so aptly stated in his acceptance speech:

"As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours: 'We are not enemies but friends...' 'Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.' And to those Americans who -- whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your President, too."

I did not vote for him, but he's my president, too.

Looking Back

Very recently on her blog, my mother posted remembrances of the first house she lived in back in Aubrey. The small details that she remembered jogged my memory and made me think of things long stored away in the recesses of my mind. I grew up in a brick, Ranch style house on the outskirts of Aubrey, AR. I could write at length regarding things that stand out in my mind from my child hood there, but there are a few things worthy of public dissemination. My carpet was lime green. It wasn't a terrible lime green, but it was pretty loud. I was forever attempting to load my BB gun in my bedroom. I never managed to get all the BBs into the gun. They invariably fell into the carpet causing my mother to go on at length about how tired she was at having to vaccum up BBs every time she cleaned. I remember the day my parents got new recliners. They old ones had lived long past their usefulness. Dad lectured us all about how we were to leave them alone and not tear them up. He was going to have this chair for a long time. The next night, Dad sat down in his new recliner, recline in it, and leaned back too far. The base split down the middle and he rolled over backwards in his brand new, useless recliner. I remember thinking how funny it was then that nothing at all was said. I still think my life may have ended had I done that to his new chair.

I remember playing in the rain outside the carport in the water puddles with my brother and sister and having a blast. I can remember Mom under the carport looking on in amusement and dad out in the rain with a shovel digging ditches trying to get the water out of the driveway while lamenting and ranting about the fact that he had built our house in a hole. I remember sitting around the dinner table on Sunday nights after church. Sometimes we would order pizza and Mom and Dad would tell stories about growing up. I heard the tales of their childhood friends, stories of the Poe brothers, the Leonard cousins, and different times my parents got into trouble. I enjoyed the nights when we watched America's Funniest Home Videos (back when Bob Saget hosted), but the nights around the table were best. I used to sit there and pray they wouldn't notice bed time had arrived so I could hear one more story. I would try so hard to remember them because I knew there was no way I could ever develop such a repertoire of fine stories.

I remember Mom leaving me a $5 bill on the counter with a note telling she loved me. She knew I didn't have the money for gas in college. The $5 was nice, but I still have the notes. They're still worth more than the money, even with inflation factored in.

I remember looking up at the stars with Dad at 2 a.m. after getting back from a horseshow. The sky was so clear at night that it felt like you could reach up and pull yourself into the Milky Way. I still think about him when the sky's clear and you can see every star in the sky.

The stories could go on and on. I could write about all the time I spent out in the barn having shootouts with John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and all the villains of the American West, sitting on the couch with Mom talking about my latest teen disaster, or hiding in my closet after I heard Dad's truck pull into the driveway after Mom had said, "Wait until your father gets home."

The house is still there, but Mom and Dad don't live there. My grandparents moved in after we left and made it there own. It doesn't look like it did when we lived there. That's not a bad thing, it's there house and they live there now. Not everything changed though. When I go visit, I stay in the guest bedroom, my old room. The paint is different, and so is the furniture. The only remnant of the room I slept in for 20 years is the ceiling fan. I can lay down in that strange bed, turn off the lights and turn on the ceiling fan. It still clicks and moves like it did for 20 years. As I lay there in the dark with only a ceiling fan to remind me, those memories aren't as far away as I thought. Some make me laugh and some make me cry, but most make me do both at the same time, the latter a result of the former. All in all, an excellent childhood I do believe.

Relativity . . .

What can I say . . . time is relative. I have sat here in this very chair on numerous occasions and watched each minute pass in painstaking agony. I set here today, and I think that if I had a old clock on my desk right now the hands would be like an oscillating fan. 15 minutes left in a 4 year stint with Arkansas State Parks. Those bad days in the past where I could have quit and walked out the door never to look back again seem so far away. I remember the good times now. I know I have to go, but that doesn't make this any easier.

When I was a young boy, I always used to wonder why people would decide to move away and then cry about it before they left. It seemed so silly to me then. Just stay where you are. I can't say that I understand it any better now than I did when I watched my Mother cry as an old friend moved away, yet here I stand about to walk out the door, out of what is comfortable and into everything that is foreign. The past seems so clear and the future so murky.

I feel like Indiana Jones, poised above the precipice, holy grail within reach. I'm going to take the step . . .

Peanut butter pie and community tables

The simple pleasures in life often amaze me. Today I went to lunch at Renee's, a small diner in Black Rock, AR. In many ways it's the hub of the community. You can go in and sit alone in one of the old booths that line the walls of the diner if you wish, or you can be daring and choose to sit at one of the many community tables in the center of the room. You take a big chance when you choose to dine in one of these tables. In the center of the room, three mismatched kitchen tables rest in no particular position. At these tables you never know who may sit next to you. Today I just so happened to sit next to the Chief of Police and the Fire Chief. Tell me,
where in New York or San Francisco will you ever be able to accomplish a feat so grand as that?

Now if you sit at the community table you have to be prepared for the conversation that will accompany your decision. If you came prepared to discuss astrophysics or even exchange intelligent political banter you would find yourself ill prepared for the conversation that would ensue. Today's discussion revolved around the shocks located on the front of a Ford Crown Victoria and the little tool you need to remove the old shocks. Apparently no one at the table was aware of this little tool. For the next thirty minutes we all discussed, in great detail, this little tool and why Ford found it necessary to make the front shocks irremovable without it.

At the end of thirty minutes, I found myself looking at the dry erase board special and wondering what type of pie I should try. I didn't really need any pie. I did want it; however, so I went with my gut instinct. I forgot that I was sitting at the community table. As I placed my order one of the older ladies questioned my decision concerning pie. Slightly affronted, I defended my choice of pie (I could have chosen lemon ice box, coconut, chocolate, or peanut butter). It just so happened that I chose peanut butter. For the next few minutes we all discussed the various pies on the menu and which would be best. In the end, I stuck with my decision. I did realize, though, the importance of keeping everyone appeased at the community table.

If you ever drive through Black Rock, I highly suggest you give Renee's a shot for lunch. You can fall in with the safe thing to do and sit alone in one of the old booths along the wall. Or you can be daring and sit at one of the big kitchen tables in the center of the room. You never know with whom you will sit. You may learn more than you ever imagined. Venture out from the booth on the periphery and explore the area in the middle. I also suggest you try the peanut butter pie. Just be ready to justify your decision to everyone else.

Breaking the ice . . .

Well, here I sit writing the first entry to my new blog. It comes on an interesting day. On this day I turn in my resignation to the Arkansas State Park system and move into a new chapter of my life. I must confess my actions have been a long time coming, but very few know this. I will be moving 60 miles from my current location and living in a log cabin constructed circa 1850. No longer a park ranger, I will take up the mantle of a college history instructor while serving as the Cadet Battalion Commander for the ASU ROTC program. What a lifestyle switch! To think this all revolves around a decision I made just over a year ago.



While this will be a paycut, unusual living quarters, and a complete change of schedule and routine, I can barely contain my excitement and enthusiasm at this move. As you may have guessed, my new living quarters have inspired the name of this blog. I now nurse romantic ideas of sitting at a table near the fireplace in my 19th century living quarters, my laptop, a glaring anachronism in my new surroundings, on the table in front of me as I type away my thoughts and perspectives from my new vantage point in life. It may not be romantic for very long as hot as it is this time of year, but I will allow myself to dream for the moment.



As I wrap up my first post, I am steeling myself to walk next door and hand my resignation letter to my supervisor. I suppose that will constitute page one of this new chapter. I'm interested to see how my story unfolds.