One step forward, two steps back

Today I took a step forward and started trying to book the motels that I most want to stay at on our trip. Got the Munger Moss in Lebanon, Missouri booked online (although they’ll need to contact me for credit card info), got an email out to the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona, and what was most important (because everybody wants to stay there), the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico. The Blue Swallow sign is one of the most beautiful on the road (in my opinion), and the motel has been renovated and does great business. As I said, it’s probably one of the best—if not THE best—known motels on Route 66. I’m thrilled that I was able to book it!

What a shame that the Coral Court Motel in St. Louis is long gone. That would have been such a cool place to stay. At least they preserved one unit, and Shane and I got to see it at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis.

Completely different subject...I said I wasn’t going to write constantly about getting ready for our trip!

Yesterday, I watched “Meet the Press,” as I always do on Sundays. Because it was Easter Sunday, they had a roundtable discussion about religion and politics. (The clip is about 30 minutes, so be warned if you want to watch it.) A good idea, because the wall is eroding. However, not a one of the people was there to discuss the secular viewpoint, which is that you are perfectly free to practice your religion as long as you don’t inject your religion into politics.

Let me make something perfectly clear. That does not mean, as Rick Santorum asserted, that people of faith need to stay out of politics. That is simply not true, and that is not what is happening. The oath of office directs our elected officials to uphold the Constitution, not the Bible or any other religious text. While your faith may shape your outlook and form some of your policies or decision-making processes, you don’t legislate because of the Bible. Prime example: opposing same-sex marriage because “the Bible says so” just doesn’t cut it. That is simply not a valid argument. The Bible also says to not wear mixed fabrics, but I’m betting there are plenty of poly-cotton blends in the church pew on any given Sunday.

Anyway, they have this discussion. There were some good points made, but virtually all of it was from a religious viewpoint, including some of the panelists stating that morals and ethics can come only from religion. This is absurd. How I wish they would have had someone like Sam Harris on there to talk about the “moral landscape!” Morality, kindness, and decency are not the sole purview of the religious. I shouldn’t have to point that out, but it’s obvious that I do.

The height of absurdity for me came when Billy Graham’s daughter Anna, who had earlier stated that religious preference should not be a part of the discussion and that people should vote on policies rather than religious views, flatly stated that she “would not vote for an atheist.” I swear, I don’t know why her tongue didn’t jump out of her mouth and run screaming down the hall. Two giant steps back. This is the kind of disconnect that is so infuriating to me. There she was, sounding fairly reasonable when it came to not voting based on religion, and it’s like okay, that’s good. Then she turns right around and says but an atheist?! No way! It makes no logical sense whatsoever. But then I’m probably asking for too much if I expect logic. Or sense.

I was also very disappointed in David Gregory for not following up on such an irrational comment. For shame, David. I still love ya, man, but I’m disappointed.  

At least President Obama has mentioned that we are a nation made up of all religions...and no religion. The numbers of the nonreligious are increasing all the time. A recent Gallup poll on religion showed that 32% of Americans consider themselves nonreligious, stating that religion is not an important part of their daily life and that they rarely if ever attend church services. Almost a third of the populace is not an insignificant group, and politicians would be wise to take notice.

Judgment and condemnation

It was fascinating to watch Congresswoman Michele Bachmann on “Meet the Press” Sunday morning, as host David Gregory asked some really tough questions of her. One of the parts that really struck me was when he asked her about her views concerning same sex marriage and homosexuality. From the New York Daily News:

She stammered a bit on "Meet the Press" after David Gregory asked her if her view of gay marriage was the same thing she expressed in 2004 when she said being gay was "part of Satan."
"I'm not running to be anyone's judge. I do stand very--”
Gregory cut her off to say "you have judged them."
Then a bit flustered, she replied, "I, I, I don't judge them. I don't judge them. I am running for presidency of the United States."
Bachmann then went on to say that she believed marriage is between a man and a woman. When pressed further by Gregory, she continued the same slogan to say, "I am not anyone's judge … and I'm not standing in as anyone's judge."

Here, watch the video.

This gave me flashbacks to my previous marriage. Long story short, he became a born again Christian a couple of years after we got married; that would have been okay with me if he hadn’t decided that his mission was to convert everyone around him--including me--into believing exactly as his newfound Baptist brethren did. He would sometimes make pronouncements about how this or that person was going to hell. Jews, Catholics, homosexuals, people who listen to rock music (it’s satanic, doncha know)...you name it, if they didn’t toe the Baptist line, they were going to hell. Simple as that. I would try to reason with him and say, “That’s awfully judgmental.” Ohhh, that would piss him off!

Him: I’m not being judgmental! Only God can judge!
Me: But you just said that those people are going to hell. YOU said said that. That sounds like you’re judging them to me.
Him: I am not judging them! That’s God’s job!
Me: Then why are YOU condemning them to hell?

And ‘round and ‘round we’d go. There would be talk of whether the Bible is the literal, inerrant word of God, I’d say that it was written by men, blahbitty blah blay blue. (I’m not ridiculing the debate...I’ve just had it enough times to find it tiresome.) Needless to say, I couldn’t bear the thought of being around such pretzel logic the rest of my life, and I moved on. (There was more to it, but that was really the root of the problem.)

So believe me, when I hear Bachmann protest that she is not judging homosexuals, despite having called them satanic and stating that a gay couple with children does not constitute a family, she is doing exactly that. If telling someone that they’re going to hell isn’t judging someone, I sure as hell (haha) don’t know what is. I’ve been around such teachings all my life, and I was raised amongst them. I know that all Christians don’t think that way, and there are many tolerant denominations out there. However, Bachmann’s particular brand of fundamentalist theology is not one of them. When she says that the homosexual lifestyle is “part of Satan,” she isn’t dicking around. She really thinks that homosexuality is satanic and cause for banishment to the Fiery Pits of Hell™. She coyly states that her sole qualifications for appointing someone to her Cabinet or to the Supreme Court would be whether they support the Constitution, whether they are competent, and whether or not they share her views. If you think that means that an atheist or a homosexual (as David Gregory asked) or anyone other than a fundamentalist Christian stand a snowball’s chance in hell of ever making it onto her Cabinet or onto the Court, then I’m going to judge you and say you’re silly! But I won’t say you’re going to hell. Such a pronouncement is well above my pay grade.

Bachmann doesn’t seem to have any such qualms, and I would hope that most thinking Americans will not cotton to any politician who talks about this or that group being satanic. You may be in the top three at the moment, lady, but as more of this stuff comes out, I think people are going to start getting a little scared of you. Rightly so.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement…and next, a song!

Not really any commentary on this. I just sort of cracked up when I heard Senator McCain's response when asked whether he would support Governor Palin in a presidential run. (Please be patient. It might load slowly because it's from MSNBC. Thank you. The Management)

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

And now for some happy video. A while back, I mentioned this phrase from a song: "New York London Paris Munich, everybody talk about Pop Musik!" and said that anyone who guessed the artist would get a Silver Squirrel. I have to say, I'm very disappointed in you, young ladies and young men. No one stepped up to the plate and made a guess. [sigh] I do and do and DO for you kids, and this is the thanks I get? Oy.

However, I was cheered up tonight when I had a little exchange with Cousin Shane on Facebook. Shane put up a picture and played Guess the City, and just to be silly, I posted that phrase from the song. One of Shane's friends said that he loves that song, and I mentioned the Silver Squirrel award, if he knew the artist. Friend Matt correctly guessed the band M, and although I don't think Friend Matt is a blogger, he still got the Silver Squirrel. I say to you, Matt: Huzzah!

Although I was probably more into the punk scene than the New Wave scene, I still loved many of these cheesy New Wave dance songs. "Pop Musik" is a fine example of the genre (I said "genre." Haha.) and it's definitely got a good beat and you can dance to it! Even if it's that funky 80's dancing that all of us of a certain age remember doing. And cringe when we remember. It is burned forever in my memory banks: my ex-husband's mother's wedding...around 1985...a kegger at a park clubhouse...my pinstripe jeans, ankle boots, and suspenders...everyone forming a double line, and me and one of my brothers-in-law doing that Footloose kick-dance step down the center to the tune of...you got it, "Footloose"...and thinking we were just too hot and such cool dancers. O the humanity! I'm blushing! Wall of shame! Wall of shame! [smacking herself across the cheek]

Yeah. Anyhoo, I don't remember this video so much as the song, but dang, the guy is sort of sexy in a European kind of way, isn't he? Shooby-dooby-doo-wop!

Cleansing the palate

Okay, I need a little break as much as you all do. (Although I am watching the replay of "Meet the Press," which I missed this morning. John McCain just called Tom Brokaw "my friend." snicker)

Ken just got home, and we're looking forward to a couple of days off together. (We have things to do, including casting our early votes! Yay!) I've got a chuck roast in the crockpot (with tomatoes...sounds weird, but it makes a sort of tomato gravy), and I'll make some mashed potatoes.

Good grief, we've had some crazy winds here this afternoon! It seems to have calmed down now, but things were really whipping around for a while. (Note to self: take down the wind chimes for the winter.) There are still a lot of leaves on our trees, although there are some that have dropped them all. I took a few pictures of our place yesterday.

This is one of the paths that lead from the house to the driveway, and up to the road. Fall and winter aren't my favorite seasons, because I love warm weather. In the summer, this path has a nice cushy carpet of moss. I have to admit, though, that it's really pretty to see a different carpet (a throw rug?) on the paths in the fall. There are several small sassafras trees along here, and I notice their leaves the most. They're mostly bright yellow, and I like to think of the tri-lobed ones as Vulcan leaves. (My fellow Trekkies will get it!)

This is our driveway. It curves around to the right, which is where the new garage and the house are. No, it's not paved, and we're reluctant to do so. It reminds me of a country lane, and I like the lack of concrete or asphalt.

That's caused a problem or two, because rocks can get up into the snow blower and cause the shear bolts to break. Ken's learned to adjust, and not run the snow blower so close to the ground. And he makes sure to have a supply of shear bolts on hand, just in case! If there's a couple of inches of snow left on the driveway, that's okay--it's just the 8 inches and more that cause a big problem!

This is our driveway from out by the road. You can just barely see one of the sheds that Ken built, over on the left. That's where he stores the big lawnmower (the smaller one is in the new garage).

It looks very harmless now, doesn't it? Pretty little tree-covered driveway...believe me, there were a couple of times when I was trying to get to work (after Ken had left already) that I got stuck in this driveway, and it wasn't much fun! I got dug in so deep a few times that Ken had to pull me out with the truck. There were times when I wasn't able to make it into work, but most of the time, Ken was able to take me in the truck. Our country road isn't at the top of the list when it comes to getting plowed, so it isn't until 10 AM or later that we get dug out. Snow days still exist at Nutwood!

We're very fortunate in a lot of ways to live where we do. We aren't annexed as part of South Bend city limits, so we have our own well. We don't live in the city, but as part of the county, we have curbside recycling, even out here! This is a rural area, with plenty of wildlife, but in 5-10 minutes, I can be at a shopping area. I hope the city never annexes us, but I suppose we'll deal with that if we need to. At least we know that no one can build right next to us, or behind us, because it's our property. (Although as I like to say, we're only temporary caretakers of this land.)

I've lived in apartments and subdivisions, as has Ken, and after finding this place, we both know that we could never stand to do so again. I shouldn't say that...everyone does what they need to do, and I believe we'd be happy wherever we were. But here is where we thrive. We researched a few houses when we started looking, and did several drive-bys. We actually walked through only four. There was a century-old home on 2 acres, and that was such a neat place in so many ways. Gorgeous high ceilings, big huge rooms, a spooky old basement...but it needed a lot of work, including on the bathrooms, and we knew it would have been a money pit. (That's for you Indigo! wink) There was a smallish home a couple of miles away, on 2+ acres, and that was pretty cute, but there was a lot of moisture in the basement, and it was fairly close to the highway. We looked at a house down the road from here, also on 2+ acres, and it was kind of neat, too (Cousin Shane looked at it independent of us, and we both loved the 50's-era oven built into the wall!), but it didn't have a basement, just a small cellar that was filled with water when we looked at it. (In tornado-prone Indiana, I'm big on basements!)

The fourth and final place we looked at was right here. We parked close to the road, and as we walked down the driveway, it was one of those "This is it" moments. The house itself had mauve walls in the living and dining rooms; dark wallpaper in the kitchen; Barbie pink walls in one of the bedrooms (the one that became our bedroom); and stained carpets. But we saw the potential. Sometimes you have to look beyond the surface and see what can be. We had to do a lot of work here, but we are very grateful that we looked at this place and found our home. There's no place I'd rather be.