yeah, that's it... just pretend you're going to Disney-
land up and back 2.5 times. Piece of cake. As soon as my wash dries I can hop in the car and take off to Sacramento. 505 miles. I left about 11:30 last year, and got there at 9:30 with two generous stops. I'm just hoping no maniac in Hell-Lay will be sitting on top of a bridge threatening to jump, tying up traffic. Do that on your own time buddy. Sunglasses? check Contact Lens cleaner and case? Check. Toothbrush & Paste? check. Clean undies? Check. Battery charger and extra batteries? Check. Electronic gear? check Snack table? Check. Plenty of shirts? Check.
All the way up I can think of how best to formulate the response to Fr. Ray Blake's question regards U.S. "bloodlust." How little he realizes that it's precisely the opposite that impels a fierce protection of the right to keep and bear arms. I know the answer. But how to explain to the european mindset? Perhaps they "don't get it" - because they are not descended from people who were impelled to leave.
I will be once again seeing James Brennan perform in 1776 in the role of John Adams. Musical theatre doesn't get any better.
6 comments:
Have a safe trip. BTW, that looks a lot like our car :-) I also have an interesting email regarding gun control which if I can find, will email you privately.
Have a good trip Karen.
On the guns thing. I'm a Brit-so we've never really had guns. My dad used to shoot rabbits and my daughter shoots for sport.
It's not the lack of guns per se I object to here; it is the disallowing of self defense. Too many people get prosecuted for defending themselves or others.
I used to carry pepper after being followed and approached scarily when I finished work in the evening-but had to stop because I was told it was illegal. If I threw pepper at someone attacking me I would be arrested.
If someone tried to hurt one of my kids I'd attack with anything to hand.
It seems to me guns are only dangerous in the hands of idiots and criminals.
We had an 'idiot' situation here recently. a child shot and killed his best friend by accident. POOR KID! His dad had an air rifle loaded and propped up behind the fridge.
Kid borrowed it without asking to play outside and fired it.
I notice our police are being armed more and more frequently here.
I still have mixed feelings about guns...
Gem,
Eh, don't take it personally and don't try to change their minds. They are what they are, and they are entitled to their opinions.
For every person who has made broad, sweeping generalizations about the good ole US of A, there are 5 who just moon about the US whenever I post on 4th of July or something.
The UK cannot fathom our inner city problems, our crack problems, our gang problems, our general lack of restraint when it comes to, well, anything.
Oh, it's all well and good for some limpwristed royal to take out a few hundred foxes with a mean old gun, but an American hunting deer like some commoner is just unacceptable, I guess.
It's illegal for him to own a gun ALREADY, and there are 200,000 gun laws on the books right now.
Making guns illegal only affects, derrrrrrrrr, people who obey the law.
But you knew that.
Again, let them have their opinion. They're in a different country, and they can no more influence our gun laws than they can import their somewhat questionable cuisine to this great nation.
;)
(Kidding, Brits, I'm kidding!)
(But not about the limpwristed royals.)
Er, this is what happens when you edit something and then don't bother to re-read.
It's already illegal for crack dealers to own guns, being as they're committing a felony and using a gun in a felony is a crime in itself.
I didn't mean it was illegal for law abiding citizens to have one.
(The downfall of the Redcoats, by the way, was the armed populace. They would have LOVED it if we had just thrown rocks and sticks at them.)
Oh well...thanks for the good wishes everyone. When I get a little time I'm at least going to try and formulate a response that might give a little background. I don't think Europeans generally recognize that it's a combination of both philosophy (we don't come across as a philosophical people) AND the fact that virtually all of us (save US blacks and 100% pure "American Indians" are ALL descended from people for whom "somewhere else" wasn't good enough. And often they had either been put down and never were given a chance to shine by what they could accomplish by dint of their own efforts (the restrictive class barriers) or more importantly had suffered religious persecutions or in more recent times some czar was visiting pogroms upon them, some dictator was killing off their people by enforced starvation, some political uprising was taking place...etc. more later. But if you don't have a second amendment, your other amendments aren't worth the paper they're written on when push comes to shove. It ain't about huntin' or plugging your neighbor for the hell of it, when it comes down to it.
Oh, esther if you read this email to gemoftheocean@gmail.com
K.
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