The Confederate Flag Controversy

The shooting of 9 black people at Emanuel AME Church https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston_church_shooting last week has awoken a controversy about the Confederate Flag "Stars and Bars" flying at the Capitol in South Carolina. The history of the flag and its use at the state capitol in South Carolina is well documented by NPR http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/06/22/416548613/the-complicated-political-history-of-the-confederate-flag.  Gov. Nikki Haley has changed her mind about removing the flag from the Capitol http://www.salon.com/2014/10/15/nikki_haley_its_ok_to_have_the
_confederate_flag_at_the_statehouse_because_not_a_single_ceo_has_complained/.

The symbolism of the flag is conflicting:  some see it as a symbol of history, heritage, ancestry and pride.  Many see it a symbol of hatred, racism, segregation, and discrimination. I saw a post on Facebook by someone who said he saw the flag as a symbol of bikers, country and western music, and rebellion. This may be his take on the flag, but for many more people it is a hurtful symbol associated with such things as the Ku Klux Klan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ku_Klux_Klan, white supremacy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_supremacy, and Jim Crow laws https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws. 


I heard, loud and clear when Norman Brannon http://www.scstatehouse.gov/member.php?code=0184659069, a  representative of South Carolina, from a very conservative part of the state, say he would sponsor a bill to have the Confederate Flag removed from the state Capitol.  He said he did not do his job:  http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/21/politics/south-carolina-confederate-flag-debate/.

Wal-Mart has announced it will removed Confederate Flag products http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-23/wal-mart-to-remove-confederate-flag-products-in-wake-of-shooting.

Living in the South, loving people who have pride in their Southern Heritage, I understand the feelings of identity to the heritage.  But the flag is a lie, and only became widely celebrated as a symbol against the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s.  Its symbolism has been glorified, but the symbolism of hatred it portrays has been ignored or glossed over.

It is history.  On a private basis, we cannot ban the Confederate Flag. And if there are people out there who do believe it speaks of pride and glory, they can tout the flag. But I do not have to agree with that. And governments in the United States do not need to support that.

I choose Peace.  I choose the symbols of Peace.

Memorial Day Service

This evening, at the Lubbock War Memorial, the First Baptist Church of Lubbock presented a Memorial Days service.  This service consisted of patriotic songs, which the audience was encouraged to join in singing.  It also included prayer, a brief talk, presentation of colors by the Lubbock Police Department honor guard, and taps.

It was announced as a community wide service, and I certainly am not a member of the First Baptist Church.  There was a small group of attendees, and most seem to know each other, so I would assume they were chuch members.

Patriotic songs always make me cry.  And give me a catch in my throat. 

I had decided several years ago, that I wanted to be more observant of national holidays.  I have gone to several Memorial Day services.  I have gone to Fourth of July events. The Silent Wings Museum http://www.silentwingsmuseum.com/default.aspx often has special events associated with special military dates.  This year they have a D-Day event, which I will miss as I will be at work, and a speicial event that weekend, as well as a Flag Day event.  That is nice.

I have learned from others to be more appreciative and thoughtful of active duty military and veterans. 

The Fentennial

I am so glad that I have been able to get the TV broadcasts of Red Sox games this week, which happened since they are playing the Texas Rangers in Boston.

Tonight, the Rangers announcers talked about the Fenway Open House scheduled for April 19th: fans can go all throughout the park, including into the Green Monster.  If I were in Massachusetts tomorrow, I would go!  And, it is free, although you can guess the hucksters will be out, and paid parking will be at a premium.  http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120417&content_id=28901654&vkey=pr_bos&c_id=bos

Then, Friday night, the actual 100th year celebration will occur on a day when the New York Yankees are in town.  This is only fitting and just, as the Yankee - Red Sox rivalry defines baseball rivalries. 

The announcers remarked that all the living ex-Red Sox have been invited back for the event and over 200 have accepted. (I wonder how many there are, and who they are.)  I hope I get to watch some of that.  But, now with computer access, I am sure I will be able to find some video of it somewhere.

The Fentennial is an fun, exciting event.

Opening Day

I heard about a couple of home opening schedules for baseball teams a few days ago, so I went to the Major League Baseball site to find out when opening day occurred http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/schedule/#date=03/26/2012.  I was really really confused when I read the schedule that indicated that there were regular season games on March 28 and 29, and April 4, but spring training continued until April 4.  I decided I was somehow misreading the schedule, until I listened to a sports cast last night.  And learned that I read the schedule correctly, and that the opening games were being played in Japan!

As a local sportscaster said today, why does opening day for America's pastime occur in Japan?  I do not get it. 

I do not usually pay attention to opening day except for the Yankees or the Red Sox, so much to my chagrin, as I researched this, I learned that this is not the first time that opening day has not happened on the home front http://espn.go.com/mlb/topics/_/page/mlb-opening-day.  So, now I am wondering if this is the first year that opening day occurred before spring training was completed? 

Did I miss something somewhere?  Isn't opening day when the new season begins, after spring training is finished?  Did I get something wrong?  Can you explain this to me?

That Woman!

I frequently peruse the 7 day book shelf at the library, but often do not get a 7 day book, depending upon what I know my reading schedule to be.  Last week, I looked at the 7 day shelf, and saw the title That Woman http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8735153/That-Woman-The-Life-of-Wallis-Simpson-Duchess-of-Windsor-by-Anne-Sebba.html and knew immediately about whom it referred.

Years ago, when Princess Diana and Prince Charles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana,_Princess_of_Wales were all the publicity rage, an older co-worker of mine talked about the abdication of Edward VIII because he wanted to marry Wallis Simpson.  My co-worker always referred to her as "that woman."  When I saw the book title, and knew immediately about whom the book was written, it struck me as how monumental an event the entire saga of Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII was and is.

At the mystery book club meeting tonight, while we were visiting, I mentioned reading this book, and several of the members immediately knew, without a hint from me, who "that woman" was.

As I read the book, it became obvious to me that this story was more than a love story, or gossip magazine fodder. The story of the king who abdicated his throne is the story of a major shift in the way politics would be handled in the United Kingdom during that period in history.

Of course, the story had so many levels: it said something about the way Edward VIII perceived himself and what he thought was his power. It said something about how the Royal Family behaved in public and in private. It said something about how the common people of the United Kingdom perceived the Royal Family.  It said something about the character and persona of Wallis Simpson, and Edward VIII. It spoke volumes about the double standard of the role, rights, responsibilities, freedoms, expectations and enfranchisement of women during that time period.

Wallis Simpson, like so many women prior to that time period, during that time period, and since that time period was stuck being dependent upon men for her welfare and well being.  Although women's rights have come a long way since then, many women still face that stifling dependency on men for their existence. 

There are many lessons to be learned from this story.  I think one of the most important for women is to appreciate and safeguard the freedoms, rights, and responsibilities we have gained by the struggles of women who came before us.  And, to help promote those freedoms, rights and responsibilities so women, who still in this day and age do not have them, may move closer and closer to having them.

We forget about how much the United Kingdom changed during the 20th century, when so many of the countries became independent of England, but still in some ways are more or less loyal to England and the monarchy. It is certainly a different way of life and different attitude than what we have in the United States. Yet the lessons regarding women's rights ring true and solid in both cultures, and around the world. 

One person can change history, intentionally or inadvertently, especially because of the impact that one person has on those that person impacts. What a lesson!

Four Hours

I went to work at 7 AM this morning, took my hour for lunch break, and left work a little after 4 PM, having worked my 8 hour day. That is a very strange  behavior for me, as I usually set an agenda and work until I complete the agenda, length of day not withstanding.  But I am trying very hard to work about 4 hours a stretch because I am bottle feeding a kitten.  She has started eating solid food, and her eating habits at lunch range from "ravenous" to "I could care less." But, I want her to have that option, and I am able to afford it to her, by going home at lunch time. So I do, and my lunch break varies from an hour and a half to 45 minutes.

Tonight, her interest in sucking milk has varied from "ravenous" to "oh, yeah, that's nice."  She is weaning herself, eating solid food, but still having trouble sticking her nose into a pool of liquid (milk or water) to lap it up.  She will learn.  Meanwhile, I will hand feed her.

I have several different "feeding stations:" in the computer room, on the sofa, at the dining table.  Generally Taki follows me to where I call her to feed, but tonight, she was very determined she wanted to be on the sofa.  I tried the computer room for my preference, and she showed little interest in eating. A few minutes later, she was back at the sofa. I tried feeding here there:  she did not want to drink, but she wanted to play on the sofa.

As a baby, she slept on me on the sofa quite a bit, while I sat on the sofa.  And last weekend, when she was feeling poorly, she slept on me while I sat on the sofa.  But a couple of days ago, while she was on the sofa, she shimmied her way down to the floor, using the slip cover and a bunched up afghan as conduit. She has been trying to climb up onto the sofa, but with no success as far as I can tell, so far.  A couple of times, she has actually climbed my pant leg to get to my knee (where she gets stuck) because she is looking for something to drink.  

So, all this happens in the early evening of my life. When I have not felt constrained to work only 4 hour blocs, and then go home to tend to Taki, I might work until close to 7 PM.  So, when I got home, took care of my family and myself, and relaxed, it might be almost 8:30 or 9 PM.  Four hours after I arrived home might be 10 or 11 PM.  Tonight, 4 hours after I arrived home was only 8 PM or a little after, and my chores were finished by 6:30 PM or so.  What a difference.  I am dealing with a culture change because of this. Not bad, just different.  Have I said that before?  You bet.

Taki is teaching me about time limits and boundaries, by which I have never been able to abide.

The Catholic Veterans' Poppy

I remember, as a child, going to church, and donating for a poppy at various times of the year. As I became older, I realized these times were associated with days acknowledging and celebrating the memory of war veterans, living and dead.

It is a symbol that was lost to me until today, when I went to a Memorial Day mass at the Lubbock war memorial.  They passed out poppies, and I was pleased to receive one http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/23173.  The speaker talked about distributing poppies so their seeds can reproduce.  Looking up the references to poppies, it seems to refer to the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae http://www.flandersfieldsmusic.com/thepoem.html. Either way, it is an important symbol for us to remember.