Our beloved Uncle Girard passed away yesterday morning. He taught me several lessons in life and for that I am greatly indebted. As a young person I was able to look at Girard and see many adult male attributes which I wanted to mimic. He was social with everyone and could be very funny. He also worked hard on his farm and was involved in his community through his support of the local schools, colleges and universities.
The summer visits between our families are among the most vivid memories of my youth. Often our visits to Washington coincided with the harvest and the sight of those big machines working the golden-hilled fields was unforgettable. We'd join the crew for lunch out in the big country openness and later get to ride the combines as the crew got back to work. Most notable in my memories are Girard's father Asa Clark, Sr. and his brother Asa Clark, Jr. and of course Girard himself. All combined a confident friendliness and openness that was kid terrific and is somthing worth emulating.
Goodbye Girard. Godspeed to you! THANK YOU!
Love, David
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
In this post I am attempting to upload a photo to use as my avatar. My photo site and web site are both disallowing me to post a URL connection to use as my avatar which is kind of disappointing and makes me wonder why am I paying to have these!
I was not able to make this work and so my blog shall remain avatarless
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
We are in a state of semi-suspense tonight as we anticipate feezing temperatures tonight with the possibility of icy roads tomorrow. I've read where Oklahoma has had several deaths while having been hard hit with icy winter weather and this reminded me of the time Debbie and me had to travel through that state under similar circumstances.
The year was 1978 thru 1979 as the new year turned just as we began to encounter some serious ice. We were on a highway and did not realize that we were on an upward incline except that the car wheels would only spin but gain no traction whatsoever. This required me to push the car and then to chase after it as to do otherwise would have put us into the same spin/no traction scenario we were trying to escape! It was while chasing after her Camaro that the new year was rung in. For some dumb reason both Debbie and I felt a pressing need to get back to Missouri, so we decided to press on.
This turned out to be my worst winter travel experience ever! We made it safely through about 30 miles of intensely icy conditions though it must have taken us close to 6 hours to cover that distance! There were very few houses along the way and very few travelers so we had a dreadful sense of isolation. We encountered both black and white ice which were equally treacherous and on several occasions turned the car sideways even though we were only going 5 miles per hour and did this once as we approached a bridge which of course made for a frightful panic! When we encountered white ice the roadway was difficult to decipher from the surrounding countryside, you kind of just had to stay on top of a crown of ice.
At the time, front wheel drive vehicles were just coming out of Detroit and were much talked about. These cars seemed to have a much easier time dealing with these conditions and I do remember being somewhat amazed when one of these cars passed us by early on in the jouney. But then an hour later and perhaps 5 miles down the road we of course saw this same car run off into a ditch
Anyways, I'll always remember this journey and I am thankful that we made it through!
The year was 1978 thru 1979 as the new year turned just as we began to encounter some serious ice. We were on a highway and did not realize that we were on an upward incline except that the car wheels would only spin but gain no traction whatsoever. This required me to push the car and then to chase after it as to do otherwise would have put us into the same spin/no traction scenario we were trying to escape! It was while chasing after her Camaro that the new year was rung in. For some dumb reason both Debbie and I felt a pressing need to get back to Missouri, so we decided to press on.
This turned out to be my worst winter travel experience ever! We made it safely through about 30 miles of intensely icy conditions though it must have taken us close to 6 hours to cover that distance! There were very few houses along the way and very few travelers so we had a dreadful sense of isolation. We encountered both black and white ice which were equally treacherous and on several occasions turned the car sideways even though we were only going 5 miles per hour and did this once as we approached a bridge which of course made for a frightful panic! When we encountered white ice the roadway was difficult to decipher from the surrounding countryside, you kind of just had to stay on top of a crown of ice.
At the time, front wheel drive vehicles were just coming out of Detroit and were much talked about. These cars seemed to have a much easier time dealing with these conditions and I do remember being somewhat amazed when one of these cars passed us by early on in the jouney. But then an hour later and perhaps 5 miles down the road we of course saw this same car run off into a ditch
Anyways, I'll always remember this journey and I am thankful that we made it through!
Sunday, January 7, 2007
Saddam's Execution
The execution of Saddam Hussein was wholly disgusting. Gone is the chance for Iraq’s new regime to demonstrate its ability to govern in a judicious manner. We had hoped that Iraq’s Prime Minister al-Maliki would somehow have known the importance of symbolism when he signed Saddam’s the death warrant. The Iraqi people needed to see their government exercise a solemn and righteous power over their country’s ex-tyrant. The trial and execution could have resonated down through many generations much as the Nuremburg trials after World War II have done for Americans. Instead, Saddam was executed before an angry and vengeful mob. Even the conspirators in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination when hanged were attended by an at attention military picket.
Symbolically, al-Maliki has made it known that grievances throughout Iraq can be settled in any manner desired. The executioners were dressed as civilians and they harangued the prisoner as they readied him for execution. A chant of “Muqtada, Muqtada, Muqtada” was shouted from at least one witness to the execution. Muqtada al-Sadr is a power-wielding cleric who operates a rogue militia that has been implicated in the death-squad and torture tactics that now terrorize Baghdad. Security at the execution site was so slack that people with camera phones were allowed to record the actual hanging.
We are left to ask whether these oversights were intentional or were they a matter of gross incompetence. Either supposition dims our chances at a hoped for resolution in the Iraqi conflict.
Were the theatrics of Saddam’s execution intentional then al-Maliki’s message is to be viewed as a trenchant threat to unleash the fundamentalist Shiite militia against all Iraqis who would dare to object to the commands of Shiite cleric leader Muqtada al-Sadr. An impending Shiite pogrom against Iraqi Sunnis and Kurds is a real possibility that has been overtly encouraged by Saddam Hussein’s execution.
Symbolically, al-Maliki has made it known that grievances throughout Iraq can be settled in any manner desired. The executioners were dressed as civilians and they harangued the prisoner as they readied him for execution. A chant of “Muqtada, Muqtada, Muqtada” was shouted from at least one witness to the execution. Muqtada al-Sadr is a power-wielding cleric who operates a rogue militia that has been implicated in the death-squad and torture tactics that now terrorize Baghdad. Security at the execution site was so slack that people with camera phones were allowed to record the actual hanging.
We are left to ask whether these oversights were intentional or were they a matter of gross incompetence. Either supposition dims our chances at a hoped for resolution in the Iraqi conflict.
Were the theatrics of Saddam’s execution intentional then al-Maliki’s message is to be viewed as a trenchant threat to unleash the fundamentalist Shiite militia against all Iraqis who would dare to object to the commands of Shiite cleric leader Muqtada al-Sadr. An impending Shiite pogrom against Iraqi Sunnis and Kurds is a real possibility that has been overtly encouraged by Saddam Hussein’s execution.
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