The Times, They Are Changing

     The 1960's were turbulent times, African Americans were fighting for equal rights, America's youth were fighting against the Vietnam War.
     The early 60's headlines were consumed with racial equality. President Kennedy desegregated the schools allowing African American kids to attend traditionally white schools, colleges and universities thereby obtaining an education equal to that of white kids. President Kennedy was assinated during his second year of office in November, 1962, I was a freshman in high school.
     Vice President Lyndon Johnson was sworn into the office of President and over the next few years he dealt with a multitude of issues including racial equality, the Vietnam War and civil protest about both issues. He did get a Civil Rights Bill passed but it took a lot of arm twisting and organized peaceful marches particularly in southern cities.
     A  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from Atlanta, Georgia was the leader of the racial equality movement, he advocated against violence even though many of the marchers were met with violence and even death.
     In 1965 I enlisted in the U. S. Navy, while attending boot camp I received my draft notice.
     After two years in the Navy I was given orders to an outfit in Vietnam, I left in late November. There were protest and even rioting against the war, college students and other young people from around the country marched and confronted authorities on campuses and streets. Heads were busted with nightsticks, blood ran from cuts and lacerations, police cars were set afire, university buildings were occupied. The National guard was called up, students were arrested, beaten and at Kent State University several were shot and killed by the National Guard.
     I returned from my first Vietnam assignment in late March 1968 and was allowed to return home to get Linda. We left Nashville, Tennessee in the afternoon of April 4, 1968 and started driving to San Diego, California. About halfway to Memphis, Tn. we heard on the radio that Dr. King, who was in Memphis, had been assinated. Tensions were so high that a curfew was placed on the city, we slipped through just as the curfew went into effect, moving on we passed through Little Rock, Ar. slightly ahead of the curfew for that city. Every major city in the country was consumed with riots, looting and the burning of cars, businesses and homes.
     During all of this, war protesters kept up their vigil, GI's returning from their tours in Vietnam were cursed and spit on, they were called "baby killers".  Everyday newspapers around the country printed the names of fallen GI's killed in action, their numbers grew into the hundreds then thousands, the returning wounded numbered into the thousands and filled VA hospitals across the nation.
     I was fortunate, I returned unscathed, Linda and I picked up our lives and moved on. When I returned from Vietnam I received a welcome home package from the Navy, one of the things it held was a family coupon book for Disneyland in Anihiem, Ca., having never been Linda and I drove to LA and picked up her cousin Bobby, who was about ten at the time, and took him to Disneyland with us.
     Disneyland had a hall of presidents, it was a collection of robotic beings that looked like every president from George Washington to  Lyndon Johnson, they sat and stood around as a group, smiling and nodding their heads as you walked by. The main character was President Abraham Lincoln, he sat in a straight back arm chair, his legs crossed, his fingers tapping on the arm, his head turned from side to side and nodded, his eyes followed you as you walked by, it was eerie.  When the audience was seated the lights went down and a spot went up on Lincoln, he uncrossed his legs, and stood then began to speak.
     It was a speech he gave January 27, 1838, his Lyceum speech, I had chills on my spine then and have never forgotten the experience. The following is a portion of the speech although a very significant portion for 1968 and especially today - June, 2020.

     "Shall we expect some Trans Atlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never ! All of the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth in their military chest with Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force take a drink from the Ohio or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years. At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected ? I answer. If it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us, it can not come from abroad. If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be it's author and finisher. As a nation of free men we must live through all time or die by suicide."

     Over the last four months our nation and the rest of the world has been in a battle with a virus called Covid - 19.  People have been shut up in their homes fearful of contracting this disease that has sickened and killed thousands in Georgia alone. Tensions are running high, people are ready to get back to work while others think we should stay in quarantine for a while longer.
     A spark ignites a flame, a policeman uses too much force and an African American in custody dies. Nationwide protest erupt, before it is all over the protest will grow to world wide proportions with protest in many countries.
    Once again the streets are filled with young people protesting police brutality, racism and death of black men and women at the hands of the police. The protest start out peaceful but soon turn violent. Outsiders infiltrate the protesters, starting fires, taunting law enforcement, breaking into and looting businesses. Arrests are made, people on both sides are injured and even killed. Because it is an election year, political parties are using the turmoil to sway voters to their side.
     Change is demanded by the protesters, they are tired of being lied to, tired of being used then forgotten until they were needed again - usually at election time. The powers that be are anxious to appease the protesters so monuments of the past, offensive to some, are removed without regard to their true meaning. Talk of defunding police departments in major cities across the nation is rapidly growing. Blame is thrown out to all corners yet no one accepts it. For days the protest continue, curfews are put in place, violence continues.
     Finally, after more than a week things start to calm, the agitators are gone, the protest are more peaceful and of shorter duration. The clean up begins, life becomes somewhat more normal but most likely it may never be what we call normal again.
      I have lived through a lot of changes in my time, every generation does to some extent. Every generation  complains about the new generation and it's ability to survive without them. I hope I'm wrong but this generation that is protesting now gives me serious doubts as to the future my grandchildren will have, for sure it will not be the idyllic times I grew up in. I can only hope people can come to their senses.
     You can't change history by removing monuments, you can't understand history by picking only the parts that fit your ideas, you can't move forward into the future without bringing some of the past with you.

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                                                                    November 9, 2020

     2020 has been and continues to be the most screwed up year in recent memory. First the Democrats of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate continue their culminated their attempt to impeach the Republican President Donald Trump. They have been at this since President Trump was elected and took office in 2016, you might ask why the democrats have spent so much time and millions of tax dollars to impeach a duly elected President, in my opinion and that of many others the reason for the impeachment is pretty simple - HATRED. They hate President Trump because he is not "presidential", he threatens the political  way of doing things, he is not and has never been a politician, he is a very successful businessman worth many billions of dollars. The impeachment failed as everyone but the Democrats knew it would.

     While the impeachment was going on a virus called Codiv19 arrived on the scene from China. The virus was and continues to be deadly especially in the larger metropolitan areas or anywhere the people gather in large groups. There has been nothing like it since the Spanish flu of the early 1900's where more than fifty million people died worldwide. There is no known cure for Codiv19, it is particularly hard on old people and anybody with preexisting conditions like cancer, COPD, heart conditions, obesity and diabetes. The death toll in the United States stands at about 300,000, world wide deaths are running into the millions with 50 million people infected. The world is shut down as citizens everywhere have been ordered to stay home and only go out for essential errands. Businesses not deemed essential are closed, hospitals are overloaded with the sick and dying. Every where you go you have to wear a mask to keep from spreading the germs or to keep from inhaling the germs.

     Kay and I became hermits, all of our normal activities were canceled and due to my age Kay kept me bundled up at home. Kay would go out to the get groceries that she ordered on line while I stayed home. Our Sunday drives in the country became just that, we would ride around sight seeing but never stopping if there were any people, bottles of hand sanitizer were in each door of the truck and it was used anytime we got out of the truck. Our barber was closed so I didn't get a haircut for about four months and because I wasn't seeing anybody other than Kay, I decided to grow a beard. Daily life as we knew it no longer existed, a new term was coined "the new normal". 

     The virus seemed to run amuck for a while then new cases and death tolls would drop, the country would was lulled into letting down their defenses, mandates were relaxed, the rush to get the country back to work was on. Things were looking good.

     This is an election year, the Democrats are working hard to defeat President Trump and gain a majority in the House and Senate, the Republicans are working hard to defeat the Democrats. Adding to this fight is the fight for racial justice, several black criminals have been killed by police in several cities, protestors took to the streets and as usual there is somebody who wants to take advantage of situations so the protests would turn to looting, burning and assaults. The protest turn into riots with results in people on both sides being hurt, protestors are jailed, businesses are burned and looted. Strangely enough these riots seem to only take place in Democratic run cities and states. Riots in many cities have been going on now for more than 150 days with no end in sight.

     There is a movement that calls for the defunding of the police, mayors, governors and city council members restrict the response the police are allowed to give many times claiming the protest are peaceful. There are two new groups who appeared on the protesting scene - BLM and Antifa. The BLM stands for Black Lives Matter and people flock to them. I was believed the BLM was supposed to stand with black people and support them in their quest for racial justice, everyone thought it would do something good for the black community but the black community is waiting for that to happen, seems the BLM is more interested rioting, looting, taking over cities and tearing down statues they deem offensive. So far I have seen nothing good come from the BLM movement, their leaders are professed Marxist who are prepared to destroy our democratic society, they believe in socialism.

     Antifa is a left wing political movement whose stated goal is to disrupt the American way of life even if they have to become violent. In short they want to turn America into a socialist state.

     The presidential election has been held, it turned into a big surprise - a democrat was elected to the office of president, the House of Representatives remains controlled by the democrats and the Senate won't know who is in control until a run-off election for two Georgia seats takes place January 5th, 2021. Pressure is being applied to the citizens of Georgia to get out and vote, the Democrats are slinging the proverbial mud at the Republicans and the Republicans are slinging mud back at them. President Trump, even though he doesn't have the Electoral votes has refused to concede the election, he is fighting the results in the courts claiming fraud and mismanagement of the election system. 

     I'm seventy three years old, I can remember presidential elections back to the election of John Kennedy in 1959, he was the first Catholic President. This has been the been the election to end all elections. I have never seen such hatred the two parties have for each other, a hatred that has spilled over to the voters. The two parties no longer seem to want to work for the common good of the American people, each party considers their ideals to be the best for the country and each seems to be hell bent on dominance of the other - America be damned.

     In the mean time, the virus has reared it's ugly head again, the number of cases have started to climb as well as the death rate. The Democrats blame President Trump for many of the deaths claiming he failed to implement protective measures quick enough back in the first of the year and now that the virus has been revived they say he has again failed to take action by making nationwide mandatory regulations. Many, myself included, think that Trump has done all that he could do under the circumstances, under his watch the country has virtually been shut down. Unemployment has reached record rates, business closings have reached an all time high with many small businesses closing for good. In the beginning the country was ill prepared with needed medical supplies and equipment, President Trump had several big businesses halt production of their products and start producing the needed supplies and distribute them around the country and even to other parts of the world where needed. 

     President Trump removed Federal regulations so pharmaceutical companies could quickly develop a vaccine and get it into production. As of now there are several companies with an emergency approval of their vaccine from the FDA, millions of doses of a vaccine are ready to ship with inoculations to start in mid December.

     There is still another month of this year to go, I would say I'm ready to get off of this rollercoaster, which I am, but I'm worried for our future. Will the Senate races here in Georgia leave the Senate in the control of the Republicans, will the Democrats be successful in the pursuit of their programs of open borders, defunding of the police, support for late term abortions and raising taxes to cover the free programs they have promised. 

     Lincoln's Lyceum speech looms large in my  mind, the people of the United States are as divided now as they were in the mid 1800's prior to the Civil War. There is a division of the races and political parties, there are new factions whose sole purpose seems to be to widen the gaps of the divisions and hope that from the turmoil a new society will emerge, a society of socialism.

     Lincoln was right in that America can not be destroyed by the armies of other nations but it can be brought down by hordes of disgruntled citizens with an idea of a new and better form of government. Never in my life have I imagined such turmoil in America, I can only hope calmer minds on both side will prevail.   

The Legacy

     I have been writing this blog since early 2012, it has taken a lot of time to become comfortable on the computer, I have made lots of mistakes. Let's face it, technology is not something I excel in, but I try. I'm on face book which is another major accomplishment that also comes with problems that leave me frustrated to say the least.
     Face book was something Linda started mainly as a means to keep up with family especially after MJ was born. She seldom responded to any postings but she would sometimes call me in to look at something someone had posted.
     My sister got me started writing this blog, I wanted to put down all of the family stories I could remember before I forgot them, I wanted my boys and their kids to know where they come from  and maybe pass along stories to future generations. When Linda's health started going down hill I was determined that MJ and Matthew would know their Grandmother if only in my memories. I have come to think of this blog as my legacy to future generations of a family started long ago.
     I am face book friends with maybe 25 people including several cousins and one remaining uncle. I enjoy reading the postings they make and even go so far as to comment on them. One of the most interesting consequences of reading the postings of my relatives are the little tidbits of family lore that I pick up on from time to time.
     Case in point - Sister Vickie shared a story about our Grandmother Ruth Wade, Granny had a habit of saying "well I swan" whenever something would go wrong. This story brought back memories for me and I remember Granny saying just those words, for her it was a matter of upbringing, she was raised in a time when it was not nice for ladies to use foul language so when she might stub her toe instead of saying "damn" she would say "well I swan". Grand Pa could be aggravating at times he made her swan a lot. Uncle Paul is Granny's youngest son, he will turn 90 in a couple of months, his body is showing his age but his mind is as sharp as a tack, he recently commented on a post about going barefoot, he said that Granny would not let them go barefoot until someone brought her a butterfly, the theory is that if the weather was warm enough for butterflies it was warm enough to go barefoot. This little tidbit was news to me but thinking back it fits right in with the way people were raised in the 1930's, the main thing to remember is that this small look into the past would have been lost had not Uncle Paul responded to something he saw on the computer.
     I never knew that my Aunt Elizabeth was not raised by my Grand Parents, I remember seeing her and her family most weekends when growing up, I never realized there was even any strife in the family until a couple of years ago. My cousin Gayle, her youngest daughter, told me the story of how Aunt Elizabeth was sent away to be raised by someone else at a very early age. My Dad was always considered the youngest in the family but in fact he had a younger sister who became sick one day. The baby became so sick that Granny sent Aunt Elizabeth to a neighbor, down the road, to get the neighbor lady to come help Granny. Aunt Elizabeth was just a young girl herself, she became distracted in some way and didn't get to the neighbors house in a timely manor, by the time the neighbor arrived the baby had died.  Granny evidently was distraught to the point that she sent Aunt Elizabeth away, I understand this was not what Grand Pa wanted. This lady by the name of Bertie, raised Aunt Elizabeth and another girl to adults, on her death Bertie left everything she owned to Aunt Elizabeth and the other girl, for whatever reason Granny went to court to have the will annulled, she was not successful. This story was really surprising to me as this was not the Grand Mother I knew but it did answer a question I had never gotten an answer to - why did Gayle's older sister Jo Ann not want any Riggan's at her funeral. This story forced me to see my Grand Parents in a different light.
     Gayle had another tidbit to pass along about Aunt Elizabeth, it is a dash of wisdom one seldom hears anymore. Seems Aunt Elizabeth was fond of saying "if you can count your friends on one hand you are lucky, if it takes both hands you are lying to yourself".
     Getting back to Uncle Paul, I think I would have liked to have grown up with him as a friend, I can easily understand why Granny and Grand Pa had grey hair so early in life. He recently divulged that he lied about his age and joined the Tennessee National Guard when he was 13 years old, he could field strip and reassemble a Thompson Sub Machine gun in mere minutes. An earlier comment found him telling my niece Tina that he used to babysit her Dad and I when he was a teenager, said babysitting duties included the changing of dirty diapers.
     I think it is important that these little morsels of history be remembered and cherished for future generations, it would be a shame if they were to disappear with the passing of a generation.

What Do We Do Now

   









          A few weeks back I turned 73 years old, I thought that by now there would be no more surprises, nothing to get the old heart racing. Well I have been wrong before and it appears that I am wrong again, Mother Nature or rather someone who was tinkering with Mother Nature has decided to liven things up for this world we share with her. A few years from now history may tell us what actually happened, was somebody in fact monkeying around in areas they shouldn't have or it will confirm that a microscopic little bug that lived in the blood of animals took a leap to the human population.
         Whatever the truth may be, a virus that normally lives in animals is now running amuck on the worlds human population, we have even given it a name - "Corona Virus 19" or "Codiv 19". Like it's predecessors the Black Plague, Spanish Flu, H1N1 and others it has infected more than six million people world wide and almost four hundred thousand have died. This is a new virus and we have no vaccine and no known cure, it has infected people of all ages but is most deadly to older people and anyone with a pre-existing condition such as heart disease, COPD, kidney disease. You could have the virus and not know it, you can pass it along to someone else by sneezing or touching a surface that will sustain it for up to two weeks.
      With the travel oriented society of today it didn't take long for this virus to spread. We do know that this virus comes from China's Wuhan district  where coincidently there is a lab studying the Corona virus. Because China is a secret society we do not know for sure when it got loose, we are informed the first cases showed up in China in December of 2019 but some say that is a fluid date and those in the know seem to disappear, another quaint trait of China. By February 2nd there were 17389 cases globally ( 24 countries ) and 362 deaths, the US had 11 cases, nine days later there were 42,708 infected people globally with 1017 dead. So far the virus has invaded pretty much every society around the globe, there may be a small Pacific island that has been unaffected but all major countries around the world are struggling with the effects of Corona. As of June 1, 2020 we here in Georgia have just over 47,000 cases and 2053 deaths.
     Life as we know it is different now, we have learned new terminology like "shelter in place" and "social distancing". At first we were told to stay away from large groups, do not touch your face, wash your hands often no more hand shaking and stay 6 feet from the nearest person, work from home if possible. All major sporting events have had their season delayed or out right cancelled, conventions were cancelled. There was a mad rush at grocery stores, their shelves were stripped bare, people were hoarding toilet paper, bottled water, bread, hand sanitizer. Cities, towns and even whole states are mandating that people "shelter in place" in other words do not leave home unless it is essentially necessary. All businesses not essential to fighting the virus were closed. Nationally millions of people are out of work, unemployment in the U.S. has exceeded historical levels.
      Kay and I have been doing our part, neither of us have had a haircut in four months and because all of our usual activities have been put on hold I decided to grow a beard so I have not shaved in about three months. We have been good as far as staying away from people, I went about a month before I even left the house on my own, we don't dine out anymore mainly because the restaurants our closed, Kay orders our groceries on line and picks them up in the store parking lot. We do still go for our rides but we just ride, we don't stop and get out we just ride. We have hooked up the boat and gone fishing only to find that all of the laid off fishermen had the same idea.
       The virus has even effected the political arena, democrats and republicans are at each others throats with each blaming the other for the mess we are in, it is an election year and both sides are taking advantage of the virus to gain votes. Theorist are having a field day with their ideas of how serious the virus really is, some say it was intentionally unleashed on the American public because our economy was the best in our history. Theories about the best way to combat the virus or various cures are endless. One theory questions the real need for a vaccine as some believe certain sectors want to insert micro chips in the vaccines that would track our movements and push us into a new world controlled by a one world government, maybe George Orwell really was trying to tell us something.
     People are divided, a part of society says the virus is all a hoax while seniors and people who are most susceptible are running scared. Another new catch phrase is "new normal", many things have changed and may never be the same again. Online sales for everything from groceries  to furniture has soared, order your groceries on line they will tell you when the order will be ready for pickup. When you arrive at the store parking lot call and someone will bring your groceries to you and put them in your vehicle. Working from home was encouraged and has gone so well it may be that many companies will continue on a much larger scale.
     Wearing of protective mask is advised and in some places required but not everybody wears them. most store employees wear them but it seems that the customers are of mixed opinions - some do, some don't. Most restaurants offer drive thru or curbside pickup only, those few that are starting to reopen require a reservation, you have to wear a mask that you can take off after you have been seated, they will not seat more than six people to a table and only use every other table, oh and they ask that you not dilly dally around - eat and get out so other customers can get in.
     Going in to the month of June things appear to be getting better, the number of infected people is declining as are the deaths, we have "flattened out the curve". Some people are ecstatic while others are not ready to concede to the flat curve theory.
     Experts, depending on who you believe, say all of the precautions we took were useless, others say we are returning to normal too soon a new outbreak can happen anytime. People are tired of staying in place, tired of having no work, tired of stores that have little to sell or are closed because they are not necessary. They are tired of wearing face mask, tired of living in fear, tired of not knowing who to believe, which way to turn or what the unknown future holds for them.
     So where do we go from here, that is a big unknown, I doubt this is the last we will see of this virus, will it come back later this year, will it evolve into something worse ? Only time will answer those questions, only time will put people back to work and take away their fear. Only time holds all the answers.

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     Well here I am a little over a year later, as predicted the virus mutated into what is known as the "Delta" virus that is meaner and more deadly than the original. Infection rates have risen to epic proportions, the hospitals are again full to overflowing and the death toll is climbing. The majority of those being infected are younger between 30 to 55 years old and some even younger. Better than 95% of those infected have not been inoculated. There is a sector of society that are opposed to the vaccine and refuse to take it because they feel it is an infringement on their freedom or that the vaccine contains a tracking device that record their movements, they also refuse to wear mask for the same reasons. I am not one of the "never vaxers", I have been taking vaccines for one disease or another since I was a kid, I believe in them besides I don't believe in tempting fate as it has a way of jumping up and biting you on the butt when you least expect it. 

     Politically the Republicans are blaming the Democrats for the spread of the disease as President Biden opened the southern boarders to tens of thousands of illegal immigrants many of who are sick with the virus. the Democrats on the other hand are blaming the mishandling of the virus on policies initiated by former President Trump. Mask mandates have again gone in to place by many businesses, school boards and whole counties and yet many people are protesting the mandates again because it's an infringement on their freedom of choice. The turmoil over these issues is boundless, the nation is deeply divided.

     Many school systems opened up only to close a few days later after students tested positive for the virus. The infection numbers for younger children is climbing even though the vaccine has been approved for kids 5 years old and up.

     The hope is that the infection rate will peak in a few more weeks, I fear that if they don't peak the nation will go back into a mandatory shut down again and that would not be good for our struggling economy.

     I'm sure I will be back with an update hopefully one that has a more positive outlook.

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