I just read about some of the Presidential Pardons that have happened over the course of our nation's history. Some I knew about; some I didn't. The significance of one in particular caught my attention as I was reading through the list at this site:
http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/7-famous-presidential-pardons?cmpid=Social_FBPAGE_HISTORY_20160731_529852693&linkId=27103832
" Richard Nixon famously resigned from office in August 1974 amid accusations of malfeasance related to the Watergate scandal. But while there was a possibility that Nixon could have been prosecuted and even jailed, he was granted a full pardon by new President Gerald Ford only weeks after stepping down. Ford’s offer of clemency came before Nixon had officially been charged with any misdeeds, and covered all federal crimes the former president had “committed or may have committed or taken part in” during his terms in office. "
And me, I'm going, 'What the heck. That kind of sets a dangerous precedence, doesn't it? Just in case somebody finds out something that somebody did, they can just have the president pardon them before anybody gets a chance to prosecute. Even if they did get caught and convicted, so what? Presidential pardons clear the slate. No wonder presidents want to hand-pick the next one, huh? Or to be the one hand-picked. Just in case, you know ... "
I wonder if presidents can pardon themselves for any crimes they ... “committed or may have committed or taken part in ...”
Sunday, July 31, 2016
An Angel Story
I have a number of 'Angel Stories' but for today my focus is on a point that needs to be made about one of them in particular. The whole story will come in another post; for now the abbreviated version will make the point.
A recent topic of conversation was about
angels; it reminded me of the reluctant angel I met when my vehicle overheated
on I-25 between Pueblo and Colorado Springs, the one who drove a red corvette
convertible.
I needed help and he helped me, confused as all get-out because,
as he told me, he just didn’t do stuff like help people because all people are
inherently bad, hateful, and generally mean. Nevertheless he helped me in more
ways than one and was on the receiving end of a blessing of his own.
He drove into the Springs to get the part my poor little beat-up
S10 Blazer needed, leaving me with my vehicle because otherwise it probably wouldn't be there when we got back, and I was to stay IN the vehicle (doors locked and windows up).
While he was gone, people pulled off of I-25 from both
directions to check on me. I’m not even kidding you a little bit here. I started
writing down plate numbers on the back of an envelope but stopped when I ran
out of room and lost count. More than FORTY vehicles pulled into that little
area, some of the folk choosing to stick around until my ‘angel’ got back with
the part, which took better than an hour.
The point I want to make here is not so much that there are
indeed an abundance of ‘angels among us’ (although that’s most certainly true
and I’m here to tell you so) but ...
Those angels showed up from all socio-economic
backgrounds (going by their vehicles and clothes) and from all the ethnic-cultural
backgrounds that the Front Range is home to, they were of all ages and both
genders – and not a one of them gave any of the others so much as a sideways
look, I’ll have you know.
Each and all of them had pulled off of that highway
urged by the exact same impulse, to help someone, and they all knew it. Grins
and waves from each to the other and they were back on their own paths for the
day.
Few of them would have known how MANY they were a part of on that day, but
I knew and so did a couple of the early stoppers who stayed to ‘stand guard’.
So it wasn’t just me who was blessed on that day, nor
just my reluctant angel (who was shocked enough to find a group of folks
waiting with me when he got back, let alone when we told him how MANY more had
stopped), but also all those folk who took the time out of their days and made the
effort to check on the well-being of a total stranger.
Do not ask me to explain because I flat out cannot do it.
Such a thing may never have happened before and may not have happened since and
may never happen again – but on that day it did I tell you true.
In today’s world we could have and would likely have
recorded the whole thing and it would have gone viral on line. As it is, the
memory makes me smile and having had the experience makes me believe very
strongly in just the opposite of what my reluctant angel told me about people
on that day.
Score one for the good folk!
From all walks of life, from all ages, from all
ethnicities, from all cultures, male and female they stepped up to the plate
and offered aid, support, good wishes, protection, and many a smile and/or hug
as well.
That I am still so impacted by that one short time speaks on behalf of
everyone who was there on that day.
I couldn’t tell you the name of a single
one of them except that I remember Ric was the name of the reluctant angel.
But
I will never ever in my life forget the message they brought with them, each
and all independently of everyone else.
‘I care,’ they said. ‘I am here.’
*sentimental sigh*
I totally love remembering times like that.
Friday, July 15, 2016
Special Room, Special Memories
The doors mentioned below all have the same brass hinges, knobs, plates, skeleton key locks (except the bathroom door). The interior doors are all five-panel.
Height: 83/84 inches
Depth: they're all about an inch and a half deep except for the entry doors which are closer to two inches
Width:
four 36” – entry doors w/beveled glass windows
300 each for the three painted ones; 400 for the varnished one
three 32”
200 each
four 30”
150 each
two 27” – they’re the double doors
300 for both as they go together
And trim:
Trim is about 1" x 4" for all of them – both sides (of doorway) except for the exterior doors/windows; the 'toppers' are all the same design
Trim for interior doors
100 each (seven sets); 150 for double door set
Trim (interior only) for six windows, 65” x 28” 'inside frame' measure
100 each
Trim for two front windows, 65” x 48”
200 each
Trim for double kitchen windows, 53” tall X 67” wide
200
Also:
Cold cupboard (was a kitchen window at one time) doors and trim
100
Two leaded glass windows, 48” x 19” (or so)
400 each
Clawfoot bathtub (sorry, sold)
100
Retro (1940s maybe?) kitchen sink with cabinet (IF I can get it out)
300
Small bathroom sink (wall mount)
50
Large double wash-sink from basement (IF I can get it out)
200
Assorted window screens
25 each
Two hanging light fixtures for living room/dining room (four bulbs each)
150 each
Two single hanging light fixtures
50 each
One double hand-painted hanging light fixture
150
Light fixture, gas to electric converted (so I've been told)
200
* There are also a couple of brass push-button light switches, the brass doorbell set (button by door and 'ringer' in kitchen), a few kitchen/bathroom 'accessories', some oil lamps of different ages, several very sturdy counter tops that came out of an old chemistry lab (2'x5'), a wardrobe trunk and camel-back trunk in not so good shape, a screen door, a pair of weights and pulleys from a window that was into a door, and a few vintage theater reels in varying values and conditions from poor to excellent together with two non-functional vintage theater projectors (very heavy) and some accessories.
More photos available on request to vignettes.house@gmail.com
Thanks for taking a peek - please feel free to share if you know someone who might be interested in creating a special room in their home for memories made with love and laughter!
Monday, July 11, 2016
The Bigger the Picture the More We Need a Macro Lens
If you're not a photographer, which more of us are not than are, a macro is used to zoom in and focus on the little things.
A friend of mine posted something about our votes not counting for anything and it made me stop and think.
The thing about voting is that when we look at the big picture it's WAY too easy to see the point about individual votes really not making the least bit of difference.
Once we start focusing on the smaller pieces of the puzzle, however, the dynamics kind of change.
It bothers me when people refer to the United States of America as a 'democracy'. The USA is not a democracy; it is a Constitutional Republic. There's a difference, believe me. Democracy is not designed to be successful on a large scale. A Constitutional Republic is.
But ... our government is a tiered kind of thing. As an individual I am responsible for governing myself. As a member of a family I (hopefully) have a vote in decisions that affect us as a family. As a member of a group of people, whether it's a club or organization or a bunch of friends or a school class, I have a vote in the choices we make within our group. As a member of a neighborhood or community, I have the right to speak and be heard and the responsibility to listen to others with respect. That extrapolates right up through the 'tiers' to our Counties, our States, and our Nation.
I'm not much of a photographer but I know some who are excellent at what they do.
I love the soaring majesty of the 'big picture' with all the enormity of our world's beauty stunning me speechless. It's an endlessly awesome world we live in, I tell you true.
It often feels 'too big to be quite all the way real' - at least to me. Of course I know it IS real ... but my own little life seems pretty small and insignificant by comparison.
So it's the close-up shots, those that you need a good macro (or incredible skill) to get into focus, that capture my soul just as effectively as those so-very-impressive 'big picture' shots.
When the big picture of the world in which we live in seems just too big to wrap my head around, it's the little things that are going to warm my heart and heal my spirit. I can kind of get that same sensation from the bigger pictures; but when it comes right down to it, there are times I really need to actually come right down to it.
In other words, if I'm feeling as though I have no control or say-so about the bigger issues, I may very well be right. Being discouraged at that level OUGHT to be making me take a bit of a tour down through the levels of those tiers until I get to one where there's less discouragement and a little more hope of feeling like maybe my Voice might actually be able to cast a meaningful 'vote'.
*laughing*
I don't know about you, but for me that point is usually the one where I get to make an individual decision about whatever has to be decided about within the context of my own individual life. That's the one tier of the whole ball of wax that each and all of us really can and do have the final say. All of the other tiers can and do and will mosey or flit or zoom right along with or without my input, or yours, or anyone in particular's.
How many tiers we choose to try to have an impact on is up to us as the individuals we are - but we all have to begin with that bottom line tier, the one that belongs to each and all of us alone.
Who becomes the next President of the United States is important.
But it's not nearly as important to my individual life on a daily basis as the choices I myself make every day.
It doesn't impact my personal life anywhere near as much as my family, or my neighborhood, or my community, or my County, or my State - all of which I do have a say-so about, one that matters.
When we're ranking the 'importance' of the tiers, I think we're too often doing it in reverse order.
To me, it's more important right this minute to make myself go to bed so that I'll have what I need to do what I need to do tomorrow.
In general it would make more sense (to me; maybe not to you, but this is my blog post) to change our perspectives a little (or a lot) now and then.
So, for this woman, on this day, I will make my own choices about things that are important to me.
I will follow my own rules, the ones I raised my young daughters by.
A friend of mine posted something about our votes not counting for anything and it made me stop and think.
The thing about voting is that when we look at the big picture it's WAY too easy to see the point about individual votes really not making the least bit of difference.
Once we start focusing on the smaller pieces of the puzzle, however, the dynamics kind of change.
It bothers me when people refer to the United States of America as a 'democracy'. The USA is not a democracy; it is a Constitutional Republic. There's a difference, believe me. Democracy is not designed to be successful on a large scale. A Constitutional Republic is.
But ... our government is a tiered kind of thing. As an individual I am responsible for governing myself. As a member of a family I (hopefully) have a vote in decisions that affect us as a family. As a member of a group of people, whether it's a club or organization or a bunch of friends or a school class, I have a vote in the choices we make within our group. As a member of a neighborhood or community, I have the right to speak and be heard and the responsibility to listen to others with respect. That extrapolates right up through the 'tiers' to our Counties, our States, and our Nation.
I'm not much of a photographer but I know some who are excellent at what they do.
I love the soaring majesty of the 'big picture' with all the enormity of our world's beauty stunning me speechless. It's an endlessly awesome world we live in, I tell you true.
It often feels 'too big to be quite all the way real' - at least to me. Of course I know it IS real ... but my own little life seems pretty small and insignificant by comparison.
So it's the close-up shots, those that you need a good macro (or incredible skill) to get into focus, that capture my soul just as effectively as those so-very-impressive 'big picture' shots.
When the big picture of the world in which we live in seems just too big to wrap my head around, it's the little things that are going to warm my heart and heal my spirit. I can kind of get that same sensation from the bigger pictures; but when it comes right down to it, there are times I really need to actually come right down to it.
In other words, if I'm feeling as though I have no control or say-so about the bigger issues, I may very well be right. Being discouraged at that level OUGHT to be making me take a bit of a tour down through the levels of those tiers until I get to one where there's less discouragement and a little more hope of feeling like maybe my Voice might actually be able to cast a meaningful 'vote'.
*laughing*
I don't know about you, but for me that point is usually the one where I get to make an individual decision about whatever has to be decided about within the context of my own individual life. That's the one tier of the whole ball of wax that each and all of us really can and do have the final say. All of the other tiers can and do and will mosey or flit or zoom right along with or without my input, or yours, or anyone in particular's.
How many tiers we choose to try to have an impact on is up to us as the individuals we are - but we all have to begin with that bottom line tier, the one that belongs to each and all of us alone.
Who becomes the next President of the United States is important.
But it's not nearly as important to my individual life on a daily basis as the choices I myself make every day.
It doesn't impact my personal life anywhere near as much as my family, or my neighborhood, or my community, or my County, or my State - all of which I do have a say-so about, one that matters.
When we're ranking the 'importance' of the tiers, I think we're too often doing it in reverse order.
To me, it's more important right this minute to make myself go to bed so that I'll have what I need to do what I need to do tomorrow.
In general it would make more sense (to me; maybe not to you, but this is my blog post) to change our perspectives a little (or a lot) now and then.
So, for this woman, on this day, I will make my own choices about things that are important to me.
I will follow my own rules, the ones I raised my young daughters by.
Speaking of big pictures ... there's a raven flying in that photo ...
... it's a perspective thing ...
... think on that for a minute ...
A skilled photographer like Henrik Nilsson, brings a different perspective:
In that upper photo the raven is nearly invisible. If you don't know where to start looking, you will likely have a real hard time finding it. By comparison, Nilsson's photo is up close and personal. You don't have to wonder if there's even really a bird in the photo, whether it's covered up by the printed words, or where the heck to look for it. That bird is right there, clear as clear can be.
The 'big picture' (in general, not this specific photo) is a true work of art, like the world we live in, and all of its space is easy to get 'lost' in. Enjoy the heck out of it because it is truly a beautiful picture, our big ole world.
But at least once in a while, please focus the macro lens of your attention on the little things.
Because, you know, the bigger picture is totally made up of all the little ones and would not exist without them.
So yeah, your vote counts. Use it wisely in things large and small.
Me, I vote I get some rest before the sun comes up so I can do what I have to do when I have to do it. I also vote that we all 'Remember the Rules'. Safety, Respect, and Kindness really do matter.
Sunday, July 10, 2016
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