A Capitol Idea?

When I saw this headline my gut reaction was WHAT???   Then I stopped to think about it for a minute, and here's the thing: I don't think they should have been singing there, either. I don't care what they chose to sing, or how spontaneous it might have been, or how sincere they were in their patriotism -- the rotunda of the Capitol has got to be one place that is pretty high on the list for vulnerability to any manner of unpleasantly disruptive behaviors, and the Capitol police are sworn to protect not just the edifice but the visitors and those conducting the not unimportant business of running our country there. Look, I know these are nice kids. Nobody at the Capitol was suggesting otherwise, either. For Pete's sake, it's not like billy clubs came unholstered and handcuffs were slapped on. The officer didn't even interrupt -- he merely told them after their performance that they could not continue without a legally required permit. You want to teach a group of young folks how to be law-abiding citizens?  THEN OBEY THE LAW. And if you inadvertently break it and are gently reprimanded, then don't hit the airwaves coming off like you just got off a Greyhound bus and were beset by armed police officers, attack dogs, and water hoses.

I can guarantee you that WSFA news wasn't just hanging around the rotunda looking for a story. Somebody who represents this group contacted them and they ran with it -- for what purpose?

I am watching this thing go viral on Twitter and Facebook, and what astounds me are how many highly educated people are completely up in arms over this.

The group did something they likely were unaware was not allowed. They were permitted to complete the National Anthem, at which point an officer stepped in to ask them not to present an encore since to do so would violate a permit issue. They apparently later attained a permit to sing elsewhere (it must not be all that hard to do), and did so to what I'm certain were delighted tourists.

So, lesson learned?  Let's hope it's not the one that says that if you get your feelings hurt you have been harmed enough to notify the media.

That's the way I see it, anyway.

(Long Overdue) Garden Report

Because I am so far behind, I thought I'd do something a 

little different this time.

Enjoy!

Garden Tease

I wish I could turn back time, to those years when seeing a mess of beans like this meant sitting on the front porch at the lake with my Mama and my Nannaw. There'd always be in a big old pot full of beans or peas to be snapped or hulled, and we'd set to work with a colander in our laps and a brown paper bag between us with its top edges turned down just so for discards. 

I know I likely complained bitterly about having to do this, but it was always after a morning swim when the sun was bearing down too hot for water to be much of a relief. We'd get up in the morning, jump into our bathing suits, and they pretty much stayed on all day. Having to do this sort of stuff in a wet suit, wrapped in a towel seemed, I'm sure, like so much joy-killing, but it was in the quiet of these moments that I watched and listened and learned. Not about beans or peas, mind you, but about the women whose best gifts I hope I got at least a middlin' share of. 

When our work was done, the work of our hands would be tossed in a pressure cooker, a device that always filled me with fear and trembling. I can tell you with certainty that if I could conjure the sound of that pressure valve rattling right now, though, I'd also be able to summon the smell of cornbread and the taste of my Mama's iced tea, poured from old mayonnaise jars. 

I lack a lake these days, but I do have a porch and a granddaughter, and a colander and some brown paper bags. There's no pressure cooker here, either, but we've got nothing but time.

Wordless Wednesday

Sunflower, fixin' to happen.

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Wordless Wednesday

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