I erred yesterday in saying Tropical Depression 4 had formed in the Caribbean. The storm, now Tropical Storm Dean, is in the Atlantic headed for the Caribbean. It is still moving westerly but is a long way off from me for the time being. However, there is a tropical wave out in the Gulf that the weather gods tell us may bring us some rain. If you notice what I said yesterday … I guess you should be careful what you wish for especially if you wish to end your sentences without prepositions.
A depressing thought
It is time once again to look toward the tropics. A depression has formed in the Caribbean and moves west, thus all of us along the Gulf Coast have to put in the back of their mind that a hurricane could be headed their way. After Rita in September 2005, I think I don’t need another one just yet. Some tropical wave or depression might cool things off but no, I don’t believe I can use a hurricane at this time.
The chicken hawk factor
World-famous chicken hawks: (l to r)Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney and Bill O’Reilly.
Being bored, really, really bored, a few nights ago, I switched the channel to Bill O’Reilly’s TV show. I can take him for maybe five minutes at the most. On this particular show he was browbeating his guest, an Iraq War veteran who spent nine years in the military. This guy belonged to some organization that is trying to get military recruiters off school campuses or something of the like.
Perhaps it is the Navy veteran in me that makes me think that kids should have access to recruiters in order to make their own decisions about their lives, or deaths in some instances. The armed forces isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But it can be beneficial for those who join and want to make it a rewarding experience. Unfortunately, those who do sign up may have to go to Iraq, Afghanistan or whomever we are fighting this week and face the possibility they might come home in a box.
Also being a veteran, I feel people have every right to protest whatever they like. And if someone protests the war in Iraq, which I also think was a gigantic mistake, they have every right. I would say that especially someone who had served in that war has more than earned their right to protest.
So it was infuriating to hear O’Reilly who is really good at bullying and not letting anyone whose view is different get across their point. Perhaps I should not feel this way, but it is very irksome to hear those partisans who are the biggest cheerleaders for our involvement in Iraq and never served a day in uniform say how much they support the troops yet dismisses those veterans who protest the war as pond scum. Chicken hawk-ism is the epitome of condescension. It is reminiscent of “Ol’ Massa” looking out for his chattel.
Make no mistake about it, I do not think that everyone who supports the war and have not served in the military is a chicken hawk just as I feel everyone has the right to disagree and protest those matters that so drive them. But I do feel that those who have served their country have earned a little respect and not a little “pat on the head and away now.”
Okay. That’s my rant for the week.
Good lie trumps bad truth
All hail the Father of Cool
If you live in places such as Southeast Texas during months called “summer,” then you should get down on your knees and thank Willis Carrier.
Everyone hears names of companies such as Ford, Sears, Carrier, Citibank and may or may not know that these corporations were named after real people. James Citibank, for instance, was the son of a Cherokee chieftain named Chief Citibank. People say he got the best interest rates on his loans of anyone they had ever known.
Be that as it may, Willis Carrier is a.k.a. “The Father of Cool,” as he invented the first modern day air conditioner. This was one of those inventions that just didn’t come from nowhere and end up in your living room, such as the Frisbee or the Pet Rock. But Carrier is why we now sweat our arses off when we step outside into the August heat in places such as Texas.
Air conditioning does sort of make it difficult for many to sustain hot temperatures. Those who grew up without air conditioning, as I did, know A/C is both blessing and curse. But on days like today when a little rain comes along and then the 90-degree heat and sunshine knocks the wind out of you, then you truly can give thanks to Willis Carrier.
I think we should have a holiday for him, don’t you think? Perhaps it should be in August and everyone should do things indoors, such as drink a lot of that cold, green beverage with the Mexican name (I am in the public library again and the name of this drink is censored) on the rocks, no salt.