Thoughts About Presidential Pardons

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 ...”

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.

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!

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.

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.

Eli the Enigma

http://shielabransonfamilysearch.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2012-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2013-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=9

Eli the Enigma

Let's see if the link works. 

New Characters For Us To Meet

Beginning with the eldest, we'll start with one we do already know: Ullin of Iona.

While yes we do know him quite very well, we perhaps do not know him as well as we think.

In 'Come Hell and High Water' we will get to see a side of Ullin that even our Characters will probably never know about. He has kept many things to himself over his very long life. Some he might one day share with others; some he may never reveal ... even to us.

We know him as the mentor, protector, and friend of our fictional family.

He is probably seven feet tall, very slender (okay downright skinny), very Powerful, and very bald. There's an ungainly grace about him that endears him to us - and a strength that seems to have no bounds. He carries his authority almost carelessly but there's never been any question about it being quite very real. Ullin of Iona bears the Staff of Authority by the grace of the Holy Trinity and the Mother Spirit in particular.

So what are we going to learn about Ullin?

We're going to find out what is maybe his most personal secret, and we are going to find him at a time in his life that nobody really ever knew for sure even ever existed.

Enough about Ullin.

We've got a whole slew of other Characters to get to know.

Attitudinal Alia of Tarnos, for one.

Alia is the daughter of LittleEthan and his pert little wife Julia of Tarnos, as you might recall from Mamm of Dunnottar. She was only a baby when we met her; now she is a very old woman, although true to her name. They don't call her Attitudinal Alia for nothing. Ruler of the Tarnos holdings, she will brook no challenge to her authority. Not that anyone has ever tried to challenge her that we know of. She raises the colts and fillies of Red Rogue the Unruly and Ordha (just as unruly) with the love and discipline she would have spent on her own young ones had she had any. Her husband was reckless although charming and loving. He was chasing a bandit or some such and chased him right over a cliff, if I remember right.

When little Alianora Lairdubh (called simply Lairdubh as there are already enough Alianoras to try to keep track of) was born Keeper of the Faith, to follow Alianora of Dunnottar (see? three right there), old Attitudinal Alia of Tarnos chose little Lairdubh as her heiress.

Little Lairdubh has a Destiny to fulfill and it isn't going to be an easy one. She will one day wield great Power but must first learn to curb her own little tempestuous self.

On the day of little Lairdubh's birth Ullin of Iona shows up in his 'official' fancy dress robes so everyone knows there's something extra special about this little one. They are all called on to help keep track of her (she's an Alianora, after all) by Hart who is her designated Guard and Protector.

Hart was brought by Ullin as a newborn, some twelve years or so back, where he was sheltered for a time. Ullin 'adopted' him as his protege and teaches Hart a lot of Druid things that a lot of people don't know.

At any rate, Hart too has a Destiny to fulfill. He has a dozen or so battles to fight and a leadership role to play. He is our 'Arthur' Character, if you're wondering, although not so's you'd notice really. His life hasn't got much in common with the traditional version of King Arthur.

Hart is of an age with the Young Ones of Dunnottar. These are four cousins born in the same year as Hart: Colum, Saorsa (means 'freedom' in Scots Gaelic), and Marra and Mamm the Younger who are red-headed twins. The five of them grow up knowing each other pretty well as Hart is always with Ullin who is often at Dunnottar.

Colum, Saorsa, Marra, and Mamm the Younger take their early training on Dunnottar itself. Their parents are fully capable of training them, plus they've got the brothers of the Old Ones, Dedan and Saba, to help with that. Because Dedan and Saba have powers of their own that are a surprise the few times they wield them, these four Young Ones of Dunnottar get more of an 'education' than just about anyone else in the world. They wind up with powers that Dedan and Saba have shared with them and can throw fireballs and make snakes and such appear and disappear.

The four of them are ... well ... 'wild child times four' I guess might work. They get into all kinds of trouble but get themselves out of it by being kind, generous, creative, and more charming than the law should allow. Everyone loves the dickens out of them - when they aren't wanting to flay them alive.

They're all tall and slender (actually slender, not skinny and bony like Ullin) with long long legs. Colum is dark haired and dark eyed; Saorsa is blonde and blue eyed (or is it green?); the twins have red hair, and the deep blue eyes of Alaric. Our OWN Alaric, not Alaric II who had no business bearing the name but that's another story altogether and we're not going to go into it here.

When the Young Ones are about twelve or so the New Younglings start coming along, led (sort of) by little Lairdubh. These are the children of the original Younglings of Dunnottar, although one of them is the son of one of their close friends, Comgaill of Dal Riata. Most of them belong to Dothann and Rua, and Brann and Andras (of Cornwall) - a half dozen redheaded girls with dark eyes and a half dozen blond green-eyed boys who are like clones of Brann. Four come from Diann and Corrbed, two girls and two boys. 

Yep.

And that's just the 'Dunnottar Folk'.

The other half of Hell and High Water's story line has to do with a really ancient time. Not dinosaur ancient, but mammoth and saber-cat ancient is still pretty long ago.

We've got the first (that we know of) Mamm character coming into our story. She is Mamm of Phi and is in line to be Queen but we don't really pay much attention to that as her 'queen-dom' isn't exactly a part of our story in any real sense of the word.

In escaping a horrible event, at least the initial horrifying part of it, she rescues a little boy and the pair of them hook up with Danann of Phi (who is a true Danann as he's big, strong, smart, and maybe a little arrogant). These three Phi Survivors make it out of the danger zone of *North America* and get to *Australia* where Old Dan teaches them a thing or two or three about survival and then sends them on their way to do what they have to do when they have to do it by being where they're supposed to be when they're supposed to be there.

They stop in Morocco to pick up Clara whose people have been so devastated that only a few of the young ones choose to even try to rebuild.

Then they head to Andorra where they add Etan and Ellae to their group. Etan is the son of a smith (silversmith) and this is one strong and skilled little boy already. Ellae is the eldest daughter of a brood, and has a magical smile.

It is at Andorra's Gateway to the Realm of the Gentle Ones that the above group comes to join with another group of survivors.

This second group has been hanging out with the Gentle Ones for a while; before that they were at Orkney, which hosts a school of navigation that lots of folk come to for training. 

In this second group, we find our own Alianora and her husband Drustann of Dunnottar. They have gone deep into the past in search of the true meaning behind the Faith which they will be passing on to little Lairdubh, the next Keeper, and they landed at Orkney.

There they met Elder, Coinne, and Deene - these are the figures of Authority at Orkney. Coinne and Deene are Star Folk come home to teach and to learn. Elder is an old man with cheerful eyes.

Also from Orkney are a pair of brothers who are Drustann look-alikes. They are Dru and Brod with whom Alianora has a love-hate thing going. They're as annoying as any brothers could be but look so much like Drustann (and have good hearts) that she can't help liking them.

There are two others who show up at the Gateway of the Gentle Ones at this meeting of the paths: Lann and Birchta of the Southern Forest (which has burnt to a crisp and is no more) have been rescued by the Gentle Ones and brought here to connect with the rest of this growing group of survivors. 

Poor Alianora about has conniption fits when she sees all these people who look so very much like members of her own family.

Birchta and Lann look just like her youngest sister Aine and her husband Kalann.

Mamm of Phi looks just like Mamm of Dunnottar but has sea-eyes instead of green ones.

Danann of Phi looks just like Wally of the West, one of the brothers of Mamm of Dunnottar.

As they continue their journey, the group has to stop at the shore of the North Sea while they figure out how to get across to Orkney.

This is where our final Character, Maggie, joins them. She has been saved and kept safe (from the destruction got that the rest of her people) by the giant Eagles of the area.

And so ... the above is our Cast of Characters for Come Hell and High Water.

Welcome to our Story. Find a hearth to sit in front of and we'll tell you the Story as it unfolds. If you don't want to wait for this one, try this link to get you started on (or continuing with) the books before this one.

THE BEST ACCESS LINKS

Part One - New Cover, Additional Content !!!

CLICK HERE to learn more and get a copy if you want  :)