This 'n That

Well, the toe is pretty much healed. There is a little blood blister there but it was pronounced as healed by the good doctor. If you remember the last of July it looked like this.

I do not have to go back for a month and that is great news. I will miss seeing Bridget and Mark but it will be a good miss because it will mean that I have been healed.

Cassie had a good day. She came in at 5:30. Ate and drank and then went into her basket in the back room and slept all morning. Then she came out and climbed up on my lap and slept there until my leg cramped and then she moved to the cushion which is really a dogie bed that she co-opted and slept some more. She gets up to go get a drink and is sleeping some more. I have heard the expression "it's a dog's life" but I think that cats have it pretty good also.

If you haven't read it Don has a long comment on Cassie is home which tells about his cat escaping. It is pretty amazing. Cassie came back in better shape than his kitty.

This week-end was a pretty busy Masonic one. Friday Night was our Specialis Procer Lodge #678 Festive Board and we had a first time guest. His name is Kurt as is our Worshipful Master so I took a picture of "the two Kurts" I think it is one of the best pictures of Kurt H that I have ever taken and he must also as he used a cropping of it for his Facebook profile picture.

It was an interesting evening and the pinch hitter speaker did a good job with his topic "A Point Within a Circle."

Saturday I had a meeting and a reception and on Sunday I recovered and got the Red Cross of Constantine dues cards ready. Thanks to Kurt for helping me with them. I stayed home on Monday with one brief trip out to eat and to mail a letter. I wanted to be here in case there was any word about Cassie.

I have been very disgusted with what I have seen this week-end by the ignorance and racism of the Tea party. In the video below by Chase Whiteside and Erick Stoll who were on the Mall on Saturday to interview some of the people who attended Glenn Beck's rally you can really see it. As Joe Sundbay from Americablog who posted it said "It's scary" As I watched it I was appalled. I don't mind honest criticism of the Administration. I am critical myself, but the lies and half truths that this is based on just infuriates me. I honestly don't know why I watched it. It is about 13 minutes of my life I can't get back.

(Speaking of criticism. I don't think Mr. Obama should ever address us from the Oval Office. He does not look comfortable and whoever writes his speeches should be fired. He missed most of the point as far as I am concerned. He should have said. "We have brought the last of the Combat troops home from a war which should never have happened. A war which has cost our country the lives of over 4,000 of our brave men and women. Soon we will bring the rest of our people home from there and I pledge that we will close our operations in Afghanistan by the end of my term in office. We will use the funds which we will no longer have to spend on the war by first ensuring that the Veterans will have a chance for the best education which our country can give them and also to build up the educational system of America's schools fairly and equitably without requiring any school system to "compete" for funds." At least that is what I would do with the money. He might also have said that he will go after the criminals who started the war which should never have been. )

One of the things which I did not allow in my classroom was the use of "you know" as punctuation. There is a woman towards the front of this video who says "you know" nine times in her diatribe. Just, you know, sort of, you know...oh you know what I mean.

As long as I am ranting I have one more. People who post on Facebook who do not use your and you're correctly. Also their, there and they're. Did they learn nothing in school? And the spelling on their signs. Ignorance shinning through. Does accurate spelling matter? No less a person than Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to his daughter:

"Take care that you never spell a word wrong. Always before you write a word, consider how it is spelled, and, if you do not remember, turn to a dictionary."

Oh wait, the Texas Republicans wrote Mr. Jefferson out of history.

Ok, here is the video. At least watch through the first part...

Speaking of Facebook I got a Friend request from someone I did not know the other day. We did have several friends in common so I said OK. I went over and scrolled down his wall. When I saw that he had liked the "No Mosque at Ground Zero" page I decided I did not need him as a friend. As you may or may not know one of the things I like about Masonry is that we are tolerant of all religions. As long as a man believes in a Supreme Being he may join the Lodge. The thing I like about my blog is that it is mine and I don't have to argue with anyone on here. I will let respectful comments post even if you disagree with me and if you have spelled things correctly and used proper grammar... But I don't have to. Can't do that with Facebook. But I can unfriend and also hide individuals who never put up anything. One of my former students went off the deep end and started attacking others on Facebook. When I called him on something he had written he said 'bite me" - Needless to say he has gone to the great unknown on Facebook, I don't have time for that sort of thing. The only thing I am intolerant of is intolerance. There I have gotten all that off my mind. Thanks for stopping by. Hugs. j