^^^ Wrong letter

XTC

Who said I was human, you silly Melmacian.

My real pic wouldn't meet Mingle guidelines. Besides, this one provides some protection against becoming dinner for some alien.

The night George H.W. passed away, I posted a brief eulogy on my Facebook page.

I always respected Bush Sr. because he demonstrated a combination of good logic, empathy, and compassion. He also was soft-spoken. He didn't attempt to hype things up with unnecessary emotion. He tried to speak as plainly as the situation would allow, and he often spoke from the heart.

I know George Sr. wasn't a saint. When he was head of the CIA, he was involved in some shady decisions. But at the time he thought he was doing the best thing under the circumstances. When he was older, he realized that some of those things were mistakes. That factored into how he wanted to re-purpose the CIA after the end of the Cold War.

Was he a great President? No. He wasn't a bad one either. In hindsight, he probably wished he had tried to tackle the federal deficit. If he had done so, he might have won re-election. Instead, he focused too much on foreign policy because that was his forte. It cost him.

But there is one thing that makes him exceptional that nobody can take away from him:
His many decades of service to his country in several different roles.

Unlike other politicians, he didn't spend 30+ years in Congress. He was in the military. He ran for Congress. He was Director of the CIA. He was Vice President. He was President. He probably had a few more roles that I don't even remember. He served his country because of a desire to do good, not necessarily for the sake of power, as some would like us to believe.


Interesting side note...
I went to college with his nephew, Billy Bush. Remember him? The guy who lost his job on Access Hollywood over that interview with Donald Trump from back in 2006?

Billy was a year behind me in college. We had some of the same friends, which means we probably met, but we didn't really know each other. But he's still linked on Facebook to a couple of my friends. So there's a chance he might actually read the eulogy I wrote for his Uncle George.

720

Payday

And yeah, the candy bar would work too.

Damn...

Now I'm thinking about sleighs.

Knew I shouldn't have read before posting...

Ooo, dinner!

713

710

I've been up since 7 am, but this is the first chance I've had to pop online.

Trying to relax and win.

He's talking about in the U.S.

He moved here from Europe.

And the state where he lives is known to have pockets of racists and white supremacists. It's come up in the news repeatedly over many years. It's a very tiny minority, but those who do come into media attention are very hardcore bigots.

Unfortunately, here in the U.S., there is racism on both sides of the racial divide. That's a hefty part of why we never seem to get over it. There are people on both sides who just don't want to discuss the issue without pointing fingers. It's something that my friends of other races have actually recognized, discussed, and moved past. They had tough upbringings, whether because of family or neighborhoods. They've recognized how easy it is to get pulled into just pointing fingers and laying blame rather than working on themselves. So they've chosen to expand their minds beyond their backgrounds and experiences, and make friends of all races while talking out differences. In that respect, I'm blessed compared to some people. It allows us to learn from each other, to understand the different perspectives, factors, and experiences at play in our overall social dynamic.

I wish everyone in this country could reach that point. We would all be much better off.

709

Darn, I can't find a good tent-pitching gif...

708

708

Duncan N. Coffey

706

Don't look so shocked, KitKat. I'm still a guy, no matter how old I get.

707

708