Not much today

I don't have much on my mind this morning. I finished my Facebook farming, watched a select few videos or YouTube and watched a little TV. It is a beautiful fall day in rural West Tennessee. I guess it's just up for the rest of the day to shape and see what happens.

VA still sucks

I recently returned from Iraq. I needed to file a claim for compensation. I got a letter in the mail a few weeks ago informing me of an appointment at the VA hospital in Memphis for a doctor to look me over. So, this morning I drove three hours to get there and was seen in about 30 minutes. Not too bad. You wait that long going to just about any doctor. I go in and sit down and this doctor asks me about a scar that I had on my head that I had gotten 20 years ago. I showed it to them, they noted it and even took pictures.

I had some more serious conditions I needed them to look at but the doctor said that i wasn't scheduled for anything except that scar. I would be getting different appointments to discuss those. Yes, but I drive 3 hours to get here and this is all you are going to do? I'm sorry that is all. She was polite, concerned and knew that it was not the best answer to give me, but that is all she could tell me. I went to the travel office and cashed in my travel voucher.

For my three hour drive, I got $97 and a few pictures. I have to go back in three days for some x-rays and an ortho appointment AFTER another 3 hour drive. It is a good thing that I am relatively healthy. I can't imagine how some veterans get to their appointments just to run into a similar problem. VA may be better, but it still has a long way to go.

America's Religious Hatred

There was quite a stir when the Delaware senatorial candidate Christine O'Donnell admitted to dabbling into witchcraft. No one would have cared if she wasn't running for office, obviously. Christian American's have such a fear of any one running for political office that isn't a Christian. They, American Christians, say that people of other faiths have no moral values. They say this after they are getting dressed from sleeping with a woman who isn't their wife or talk to a lawyer because they got caught stealing. Christians demand their 1st Amendment Rights but work to take them from others. Hypocrisy is alive and well in American's Christian churches.

There is a fine line between being a Christian and being an American. It's hard for some to separate themselves from one the other. If you are a Christian, then you cannot be a good American because you are too busy trying to deny others from their religious rights. If you are an American, you have to settle with the chance that a non-Christian will trample your rights. I am an American first and a Christian always. I know the fine line. You can be a good American and a good Christian. Some need to just work at being better Americans and better Christians.

A Dark Passion Play

For most Americans, music is Europe is largely unknown. Often times we equate music in Europe as being decades behind. It is time that we looked again. I have discovered a band that has been touring Europe since 1997 and had produced some of the best rock music I have heard. I know that a most people who might run across this blog have never heard of the symphonic metal bang from Finland, Nightwish. If this is the first time you are seeing that name, then you need to get their definitive album "Dark Passion Play." Once you hear the combination of metal and orchestra, I think you will be hooked.

There is no band in America that comes close to the music produced by Nightwish. Metallica's "S&M" is the closest thing that the US has that could even come close to Nightwish's power.

Happy Columbus Day!

Yeah, a guy begged for some money and took a trip. He found a few islands then went home. End of story. Actually, it was much more than that for Columbus. We know that he discovered something that was discovered at least twice before, the Asians around 10,000 BC and the Vikings around 1000 AD. But, Columbus had something they didn't...a PR campaign. Good PR makes all the difference in the world.

Enjoy your day off, government employees.

Not Forgotten Families

I have been doing genealogy for 30 years. There have been ups and downs since I started. That is the way of things. It came to my attention yesterday, that I had not done any research on the step families. I was embarrassed. All of my step family have been truly wonderful and I cannot imagine life without them. Make sure you cherish ALL of your family, steps and in-laws included.

I never knew Hobart Melton. I only knew of Roy Green Ellis as my great-grandfather. I remember his patience and how he took care of my grandmother. Neither did I know, very well, Collis Scott, my grandfather. I only know of James Bouldin as my grandfather. He taught me all I needed to know about horses. Without these men, I would be a lesser person.

The Genealogist

No one gets up one morning and decides, "Today, I am going to research my family." It usually starts by someone asking a question about a grandfather or aunt. From there it explodes in to a lifelong passion. I mean 'explodes.' It has developed into something more a kin to looking for the Lost Dutchman's Mine than just collecting pictures and a few census records. While genealogy isn't wandering through a desert with only a mule for company, you need to spend a few hours looking through pages of a microfiche reader or driving down country roads looking for a lost cemetery. But, I love it! You should see the stuff I have collected.

I got started looking up my family's history in 1979 when I had to do a paper for high school and needed a project. It was easy. I asked around and got dates of birth and, at that time, seemed an endless list of names. I knew most of the people on my list and heard stories about those that had already passed on. Suddenly, I wanted to know who I was and where I came from. As I said, it 'exploded.' From then on it was no turning back and so far I haven't. There have been times when I would spend months or years without giving it a thought. It never takes long before I am back at it bothering people with questions.

There are fears and worries that go along with the research. My greatest fear is that in the future, all of my research will be tossed or allow to decay due to lack of interest. How does one get their kids involved enough with your life's work to carry it on? How does one show how important it is to keep the records? What does one do with the past in the future? Memories are precious. They are tangible and irreplaceable. I have found that the greatest loss is not being interested enough in our elders to sit down and talk to them about, well, themselves. I know from experience that I have let opportunities pass by that will truly never come again.

Truly, it isn't about me. This isn't my hobby. I do what I do for everyone that has come and gone. I do it for those who will come after me. I wanted to know where I came from. Tomorrow, someone will ask the same question.

Like all good topics, this one has an ending befitting an Oscar win. I want to thank everyone, living and dead, for all the effort given to helping me accomplish my life's work. It would be futile to try and list everyone. You know who you are. Oh, did I say 'accomplish'? I am in no way finished.