The Hatred My Friend, Is Blowin’ In The Wind

It’s been an emotional 3 days for the USA.

Friday, our citizens were wildly exuberant over a wedding in England.

Two days later, Americans were dancing in the streets over a death in Pakistan.

I’ve already addressed the Royal Wedding. I don’t get the fascination but I certainly don’t mind if others do.

The reaction to death of Osama bin Laden, however, merits a mention in my normally light-hearted blog.

First, I want to be clear that I have the highest regard for those who wear The Uniform and have fought and continue to fight for our country.

I’m not interested in debating the merits of war or political agendas. I am interested in how we Americans react to global events.

As I watched the news throughout the night and listened to the crowds chanting: We’re number 1! We’re number 1!  USA!  USA!  I felt as though I stumbled into a virtual a pep rally.

Tonight the Late Night guys found it to be great fodder for their opening monologues. The audience loved it.

The let’s make this a party atmosphere I saw on TV felt incongruent to me. It seemed to trivialize 10 years of sorrow. I’m certain that wasn’t the intent.

I’ve been more disturbed by what I’ve read. For the past few hours, I’ve been reading blogs and articles regarding Bin Laden’s death. Here I’ve  found a  much different tone. There are common themes: closure, revenge, retaliation, retribution, relief… hate.

Reading the comments to the post and articles, the nearly universal theme is hate.

About 10 feet from the RV door is a thistle. It’s blooming. It’s hearty even though we haven’t had rain for 4 months. It’s been mowed, driven over time and again by semis, wind whipped and sprinkled by Henry. Still it thrives.

That’s the way it is with thistles. Cut them and they grow back. Pull them up and break even a bit of root and they will grow back. Not only will they grow back, they’ll bloom and spread by sending out their seeds in the wind.

Kind of like hate. It has a bloom that attracts and seeds that spread.

I tried hate once. I recognized the seed. I planted it and even nourished it with frequent doses of justification.

Eventually, hatred  put down roots in my heart. It matured and bloomed. Before long, all I had to do was exhale to spread its seeds.

The thing about the thistle that’s so misleading is the attractive purple flower. It looks so innocuous. The thing about hate that’s so misleading is that it feels so right, righteous even. But hatred is a thorny weed that, if not eradicated, alters the shape of the soul.

The Royal Wedding was the only story in town until Sunday night. In time, even an event as monumental as the death of Osama bin Laden will fade from the headlines. It will have faded from the forefront for most by Mother’s Day. What remains is a lessons in weeding.

Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated. ~ Coretta Scott King

Think You’ve Got Troubles? Tighten Your Laces!

Careful what you step into...

After I posted  We Aren’t in Kansas Anymore, I was offered a pair of ruby slippers! Since they’re magical, I’m  assuming they’d be a perfect fit for my size 8 1/2 feet. And, this could actually be the real thing!

There are several pair out there that are considered authentic. Judy Garland wore a  couple different pairs on the set, and so did her double.

Still pondering the ruby slippers offer, I turned on the TV, searching for the big news stories of the day. Direct TV News Mix plays six thumbnails at once. Four out of the six were talking about the Royal Wedding and one of the four was The Weather Channel!

The station that was talking to me began their Headline Story at midnight with:

Five in Hot Competition to Design Kate’s Wedding Shoes!

Really? And this is the news in America at the top of the hour? That’s something that often came up in conversation last fall in London. You Americans are so obsessed with our Royalty. You didn’t want any part of it, now you can’t get enough of it!

The Royal Wedding is Friday. I wish the couple well, but I’m not a friend of the bride or of  the groom. I’m not invited and I’m not a loyal subject. I’m just not interested. Given the massive amount of news coverage, that must make me an American anomaly.

Devoting an entire new segment to Kate’s wedding shoes struck me as a bit of rubbish, but I realize many others find it to be spot on.

These boots weren't made for walkin'

I’m not Imelda (yes, I know she isn’t British, but she really, really likes shoes). I have 2 pairs of Keens for the beach, a blown-out pair of Nikes for everyday, a battered pair of hiking boots and a pair of dress shoes under the bed.

I am thinking of getting a pair of snake repellent cowboy boots.

I saw these in San Antonio but they weren’t  my size and were out of my price range.

I don’t know what Kate’s shoes will cost, but to get a pair of Dorothy’s these days is a pretty pricey proposition.

The Ruby Slippers in the Smithsonian sold for $15,000 in 1970. Another pair was sold to Christie’s  in 1988 for $165,000, and later sold to a memorabilia dealer for $666,000 in 2000.

I read somewhere:

If you want to forget all your other troubles, wear too tight shoes.

11 hours into an 18 hour day

That’s sage advice.

As I’ve been writing about sinking into the wheat field and invisible snakes, the guys have been working 18 hour shifts: taking down at the old site and putting up the rig here.

It was 97 today. Nobody complained.

I hear it takes a year to break in a good pair of cowboy boots. Maybe I should get me some.

HELP! On a completely unrelated note to all you gate guards and RVers: the wind is fierce at this site. Any advice for a way to keep from getting your arm ripped off when you open the door? Not complainin’, just askin’.  🙂