"08 in Review

Here is a clever little flash film that pretty much tells all about this last year.
I can't wait to see what happens this year!

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Grandpa 1, Xbox 0

"Jaden...What do you want to do today?"

"Grandpa,! You're blocking the TV!"

I had heard this one way too often lately, So I turned it off and shut down the Xbox and said, "Jaden, Get 'yer shirt on, we're going on a road trip."
Jaden put his shirt on and headed for the door. There was a little protest in his manner. It actually looked like he was wrestling with his shirt to get it on, but he won the battle and we jumped in the car, setting the controls south for Maalaea Harbour.
There is an aquarium there called the Maui Ocean Center. It has what you'd expect from an aquarium, tons of displays about the ocean, turtle tanks, eagle rays, hammerheads and schools of fish swarming. We made our way through the maze, spiraling down to the basement level. It was almost agonizing. Jaden could not wait to get through the whole thing, get back in the car and go home to his beloved Xbox, when all of the sudden, you enter this long, deep hall with a bluish glow dancing on the far end. It really looked like the glow from a Television emanating from a room down a dark hallway. It took a minute to get to the source of that glow, which shimmered upon the walls as we approached it. We turned the final corner and the small corridor opened up to a cavernous viewing room with a huge glass wall that looked in on an undersea world of wonder.
He sat there for half an hour and did not speak a word, lost in amazement.
The picture speaks for itself.
The score: Grandpa 1, Xbox 0.

Georgers Are Cool...

I have met two "Georgers" that have kindly taken the time to visit this blog and assure me that Georgers just aren't motivated by hate. I thank Michael and Angel Eyes for their sympathies and for bringing Georgers to my attention. A simple Google search brought up tons of pages, articles and pictures of good people who have made a hobby out of tracking dollar bills. I think it's cool. I always liked the idea and tracked a few before, but it was never this personal. I am going to seek out Georgers and learn more about the ins and outs of the hobby and see if I can find some interesting bill tracking stories. I bet there are a few cool trackings. Here is a link I found that I urge you to try for fun: http://www.wheresgeorge.net/
There is a lot to learn there and it is amazing how many people have become Georgers.
I learned that since 1999 over 80 million bills have been tracked to every corner of the world.
Amazing.

Proof there are great Americans still out there

Michael said...

"Stevan, I want you to know that I am the one who marked this bill for the www.wheresgeorge.com website, I did not place any of the other marks on it. I am deeply sadden by the fact that one of my bills was defaced by a racist. I am truly sorry this happen to your grandson and yourself." November 26, 2008 4:32 AM

I just wanted to thank Michael for leaving these comments. It is proof that people are out there that really do want to see this horrible behavior of man eliminated. Thanks Michael, I was careful not to point a finger at you because I had a feeling that it wasn't you. Thank you for your reaffirmation that we must end this now.

Your comments had an instant effect and they are going to pay this sentiment forward to everyone willing to listen or read--that we aren't going to take it anymore.

BSH said...

"Wow. I think it is really spectacular that Michael has taken the time to remark on a bill he originally marked! This is a positive example of what can happen even in the midst of a bad scenario - here people who may never have known each other before are able to commiserate and come together in the shadow of an ignorant act. Thank you, Michael! And thank you Stevan for providing the opportunity for me to witness this exchange! I hope everyone has a warm Thanksgiving!" November 26, 2008 7:05 AM

This does show me (and should show all of you) that the Where's George program is an interesting tool to use to find out more than just where a $1 bill is from.

Thanks again to Michael and BSH for their comments.

Ignorance and the First Amendment

I just can't seem to express my feelings about this dollar bill that our Grandson Jaden handed me the other day. He is six years old and just loves life, but has no concept of the value of money. He can, as it turns out, read. And read quite well, but just as he knows what money is but doesn't understand it's value, he also lacks the vocabulary of an adult. And thank God for that! When he handed me the bill, he wanted to offer it to help pay for his dinner at the pizza place he likes. He pulled it out oof his pocket with a struggle and when he finally wrestled it free, he held it up high in the air and proclaimed "Here GrandPa, this will pay for it".
I told him to put it back in his pocket and save it for later and that is when he read the scribbles on the bill left by some idiot. He asked, GrandPa, what does "nigger" mean? Before I could react, I caught myself because I could see the word clearly scribbled across the back of the bill. You can see the bill here in the blog. I didn't want to show it, but I think it illustrates my frustration. I grabbed the bill from him and asked him to forget about it. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it or scare him or scold him for saying it. You see, young Jaden is black, the wonderful son of our daughter Brandy and an African American father. He lives in a world, as far as he knows, that is devoid of color, race, religion or any of the trappings of us adults and our prejudices. He simply does not know his ethnic history yet and has no clue that there are people out there that would harm him because of his skin color. Personally, I can't believe it myself, but they are still out there, like a disease that won't go away. I flipped that bill over and read the front. It had one of those "Where's George" bill tracker stamps on it. It came to Hawaii from a guy in Auburn, Nebraska. Doesn't mean he wrote on it, but he has tracked over 8oo bills according to his profile. Then I noticed something even more repulsive. There, over the serial number was a rubber stamp, so perfectly matched to the green ink on the bill, that I did not notice it before. You can see it on the bill's face. It says "STORMFRONT.ORG".
This is a massive White Supremacist website dedicated to ignorant fools who believe in such things. Here, just a few short weeks ago, we were jumping for joy that Barack Obama finally got into the Whitehouse and now we are reminded that the road is a long road, but a road that we must finish building. I am doing it for Jaden. Who are you doing it for?

A Memo from GW

Well we couldn't resist making up this memo that probably IS getting circulated around the White House this weekend. GW, Cheney and Laura are probably sprucing the place up a bit in anticipation of Barack Obama's visit on Monday. I can't wait to hear how that goes. I mean, Obama blasted GW for nearly two years and to finally come face to face? On GW's turf? I would love to be a fly on the wall for this one. They are mature adults and professional politicians, so they know the game. If you play in that arena, you take the good with the bad, but come on folks, I wouldn't be surprised if GW gets a digg in or two. I wonder what their first words will be when they are finally left alone in the Oval office together? After the secret passageway & red phone tour is over, these two are going to go at it behind closed doors. Maybe GW has a few parting shots lined up that he will reveal, like pardons and special favors. I am sure Cheney could make use of a "get out of jail free card". Whatever happens, it will be a crowning moment in the history of the United States of America.

I am not saying that GW is a bigot or is prejudiced in any way, but I've been to Texas and some folks down there are still kinda fighting the Civil War. Which is what I want to shed light upon.

I want to reprint here a 100 words from a letter written by Louis J. Wortham, from his lengthy and very informative narrative, A HISTORY OF TEXAS: FROM WILDERNESS TO COMMONWEALTH, Volume 4, Chapter LX, Worthham-Molyneaux Company, Fort Worth, Texas 1924. (Note that it was first published in 1924).

I wasn't so aware of the huge role that Texas played in the Confederacy. Over 70,000 men from Texas fought in the war. Someone from Texas was in nearly every battle of the Civil War. If you are up for a good read about it, the complete text can be found at this link:

http://www.texasmilitaryforcesmuseum.org/wortham/4345.htm

Here is that excerpt...

"Texas played a part in the war of which this and all future generations of Texans may be justly proud. Its people gave their full measure of courage and devotion to the cause. The commonwealth which, in the short space of forty years, had developed from a little group of three hundred families in the midst of a complete wilderness, sent more than seventy thousand men to the defense of the bonnie blue banner of the Confederacy. One hundred and thirty-five officers above the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Confederate army were from Texas. Among these was one full general, Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, who fell at Shiloh in April, 1862; one lieutenant-general, John B. Hood; three major-generals, Samuel B. Maxey, John A. Wharton and Tom Green, the latter killed at Blair’s Landing in April, 1864; thirty-two brigadier-generals and ninety-seven colonels. Of the thirty-eight generals of the above grades, thirty-three were promoted during their service from lower rank. This fact in itself is a tribute to the mass of the soldiers from Texas, for it was the exploits of the men which won promotion for the officers who led them. Besides this, Texas contributed an enormous quota of military supplies and provisions for the armies of the South. The state government spent more than three and a half million dollars at home for military purposes and paid more than thirty-seven million dollars of taxes, in Confederate notes, to the Confederate government. The whole population was put on a war basis throughout the conflict and all of the state’s resources were unreservedly drawn upon to the limit to support the cause of the South".

If you read the entire text, you find out that Texas paid a heavy price in human loss to this dreadful war. I wonder if Barack Obama knows his Civil War history? He loves to read up on Abraham Lincoln, as he does quote him often. I feel that if he were current on this Texas Civil War history that he could make certain distinctions during his conversations with GW Monday. I can't be sure that GW even knows his history. But, the two of them may draw parallels from the historical facts to today's conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Texas was only a State in the Union for 14 years before they decided to join the Confederacy and it wasn't until late 1866 that President Andrew Johnson gave them a shot at getting back into the Union fold. It was actually not until President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation submitting the Texas Constitution to the voters of the state that Texas would begin the official journey back into statehood. Another interesting fact is that when the war ended in April 1865, Texas was still considered to be in revolt (the last battle of the Civil War was actually fought on Texas soil after the surrender at Appomattox). Texas was the last one to comply with the surrender.

Now that the halls of the White House are soon to cleanse themselves of the Bush family, perhaps forever, it is fitting that President Bush recedes back to Texas. It is time for him to build a library, write a memoir and fade into the night that will become history to the following new day.

Now, it is President Barack Obama's day.

What does the future hold for his legacy to come?

And the Winner is...

Folks, that must have been an easy question. But, the Country that lies directly beneath Detroit Michigan is C A N A D A ! Believe it or not. It just sort of slips in there. Canada just slips under Detroit across the Detroit River to the South, between Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie (See that map above). Our Louisa IS the winner of the MauiTime magazine Barack Obama cover issue from this week. It goes out with a bag of maui's finest beans for her work on the earlier contest as well. C O N G R A T S !!! Tell your friends to visit tomorrow for another great contest and prize!