Guns at AA meeting?

Should not be, but it happens here. Usually the pistol is partially concealed, flashed just enough so everyone knows it's there, accidentally, of course, or so the gun carrier hopes they believe.  For the carrier it is another subterfuge,  an attention grabbing device aimed at feeding an ego desperate for attention. The result of this artfully but carefully exposed gun is supposed to make others think they have discovered he is a genuine tough guy; a formidable man who lives on an edge more exciting and interesting than the actual ordinariness of his life.

This urge for recognition and differentiation is typical of many alcoholics.  Most of those in recovery, however are well enough with sound enough egos to keep these urges in check. We also know that the ultimate aim in recovery is to happily become one among many, resting firmly on anonymity, the spiritual foundation, and all it's spiritually sound implications.

Trigger Happy

If you can't be sure you won't be too quick to shoot then it is best to leave your gun home.

Working Mothers are not Romneys

Being a mother is work; being a working mother is really hard work.

The issue over whether Ann Romney ever "worked a day in her life" is not resolved, however, by her motherhood.  The question is how many servants did she have helping her? 

For such a wealthy woman to aim for solidarity with the Nation's less fortunate, hard working mothers is bullshit. Real work is having to work outside the home while raising children, in many cases with no help at all. 

The super rich Romneys seem to want appear to be middle and working class. They are not; their attempt to appear so is aiming to be inauthentic and you would think they would abandon such a foolish effort. What they are counting on, of course, is the proven delusions of many in the middle class who are regularly hoodwinked by rich Republicans into voting against their own interests.

The authentic strength of America's workers comes from being tempered by the day to day challenges of surviving in, and guiding their children through, the economic minefield left us by Bush/Cheney and reinforced by the Republican loonies in Congress.

Mr. and Mrs. Romney, you did not earn that unique strength and those timeless values and you should not claim you did.  Attempting to appear  is not being.

If you don't know, don't do anything

With regards to Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin, the self appointed volunteer stogie chomper who patrols my neighborhood on a quad sometimes makes me nervous. He is legally armed with a 9mm 15 shot automatic.  He has a concealed carry permit (so do I). He is a prescription painkiller pill popper. He keeps an eye on things.  Maybe this is a good thing. In my wood stove heated neighborhood he notices chimney fires, for example, and is quick to call the fire department which can be helpful unless the volunteer fire fighters too eagerly chop holes in your roof prematurely.  Often chimney fires remain contained in the chimney and burn out by themselves. In my case the department Chief himself was on site and the crew were careful and competent and drama minimized.  Having experienced other chimney fires that were harmless and essentially gave the chimney a good cleaning, I likely would not have called the fire department,  but the neighborhood Patrol did not give me that option.  Quick reaction is sometimes good, sometimes not so I give the Patrol the benefit of the doubt and overcame my initial anger.  Usually, I am more afraid of officials at my house than I am of natural disasters.

On trawlers, I learned about the ambiguity that goes with quick responses.  Sometimes they work, even heroically. Sometimes they don't and actually make things worse. Nothing is less productive than the excitement and panic that spreads in an emergency where everyone feels the need to do something.

Once, when I was on a particular trawler for the first time, the Captain said to me: "Don't be first to anything until you get the hang of things. Hang back, don't rush."

What's new in the hood

• Phoebe's nesting above the back deck
• Wood Duck pair hanging around the creek, maybe nesting near by

• My dog Rowdy (above)  is on a diet of one cup kibble twice daily.  He's old, fat, and a glutton. (I am too)

Allen West is nuts

Looney tunes . It doesn't take much to switch from seeing the Republican Right as sinister and frightening to just plain silly, hilarious even.

Does Allen West know anything about Joseph McCarthy? His wild accusations about imaginary Communists (and too much booze) ultimately ruined him.  It is amazing that today anyone would even think of Communists as anything but an almost forgotten enemy. 

Well, there is no telling what nonsense these nutcases will come up with.  Next we'll hearing about the threat from the Kaiser to take over Congress, instead of the neo fascists (that don't recognize themselves in history) that really are a threat.

Memory lane: the dark side

I love seeing gannets.  When I was working on scallop trawlers, far off shore, I would frequently see gannets and was always delighted by their throw caution to the winds dives, wings folded, from high above hitting the water like a javelin.  Suicidal, I learned when I heard from others on the boat about how much fun it was to lash a fish to a board, send it out into the water and watch the gannets fold, dive and hit the board from 30 or 40 feet in the air.  Same guys, I figured, that I sailed with once, who, when the boat broke down passed the time adrift grinding shackles into crude hooks, tied to buoy rope, baited with fish, skates, whatever and hauled in shark after shark for no other reason than to slash open the shark abdomens and watch them swim, guts trailing, and continue for awhile to attempt to feed.

Frisco

Here's what I liked about Frisco, North Carolina in the first week of April:

No bugs
Dolphins just beyond the surf
Gannets diving among the dolphins
No traffic
Very few people on the (free) beach
No waits at restaurants and short lines for the (free) ferry to Ocracoke
60 degree weather
Quiet
No fast food joints, no chain stores
Ghost crabs
Wind just right for kite flying