A Dixie Carpetbagger

My family came from a diverse set of places on this Earth– if I were to turn over enough stones, I could claim relatives from Scandinavia, Mongolia, the river valleys of Germany, the mountain slopes in Northern Ireland, and the highlands of Scotland.  I do claim these relatives, and I claim their legacy… and their legacy was a search, a struggle to find a free land.

I am an American.  Why would I wear the oppression my ancestors bore as part of my identity?  Should I wear the scars my German ancestors gained from the Romans?  Or perhaps the ones gained by my Irish ancestors under the care of the British?  Or should I simply leave off all hyphens, prefixes and suffixes and say that I’m from here?

(H/T I Own The World)

A country song and an old hymnal– connected to the casual observer by only a shared verse.  To a person who’s been in that dark moment when they saw the lonely valley in front of them, they become intertwined– one feeds on the other, and their meanings blend.  One is mourning the loss of loved ones to the grave, the other mourning the loss of a loved one to the wanderings of the heart.  The outcome of both losses is the same, though– “… we’ll never meet anymore / ‘Til we gather in heaven’s bright city / Far away on that beautiful shore…”

Note: If you haven’t already, go visit Lance’s YouTube channel. The man has a true gift for music.

Please note, the ice cream man will not stop for you in the middle of the road:

Also, I present you with the creepiest ice cream… vehicle… ever.  (Language warning.)

My first thought one seeing that… thing… was a line from Tango and Cash: “Who holds the pink slip?  Satan?”  My second thought was “that song, it will be in my nightmares, forever.”  (The fact that I just got finished watching End of Days didn’t help, either…)

(H/T both videos iOwnTheWorld)

I almost forgot… it’s been 41 years.

What my generation can’t do with computers and a template to build on, these men did with technology that seems ancient today. The Landing Module computer had less than 4,000 programmable words (yes, words– all commands were phrased like “Verb 884″ or “Noun 284″)… and the Saturn’s guidance computer ran on a two megahertz CPU.

Truly, the Apollo astronauts were pioneers.

“The Promise” by John Schneider… yeah, Bo Duke.

“Scott Brown has banned any Tea Party affiliates from his Facebook Page.”

If only there were a quote about betrayal from some libertarian-esque science fiction TV series I could use here to great ironic and comedic effect.

Why is it always the shitty politicians who have the beautiful female offspring? Bush, Kerry, Brown, Pelosi…

Have you ever wondered what a vulture being hit by a wind turbine looks like?  Well, wonder no more– it looks like this:

Just imagine– a few million of these, and we can rid of all those nasty oil rigs in the Gulf!

(H/T I Own The World)

I grieved my Lord from day to day,
I scorned His love so full and free,
And though I wandered far away,
My mother’s prayers have followed me.

Refrain:
I’m coming home, I’m coming home,
To live my wasted life anew,
For mother’s prayers have followed me,
Have followed me the whole world through.

O’er desert wild, o’er mountain high,
A wanderer I chose to be;
A wretched soul, condemned to die,
Still mother’s prayers have followed me.

He turned my darkness into light,
This blessed Christ of Calvary!
I’ll praise His name both day and night,
That mother’s prayers have followed me.

——-

One of the verses that ties to this hymn is… touching to me.  “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.” (2 Timothy 1:5)  I can imagine Timothy reading this letter and reflecting back on his mother and grandmother, tearing up a bit as he did so.  I know I did while reading that verse, and reading the words of the hymn.  Oh, thank You, Lord, that mother’s prayers have followed me…