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Good afternoon! We are back from Richmond's Rally for America. I figure there will be a thread about it and pictures later. And Glenn Beck will talk about it tomorrow.

It was pretty incredible. Jr. and I went right after the first service. So we were there ahead of most of the crowd, which was estimated at....drumroll please....10,000!!!! That's just incredible for Richmond. They delayed the start because traffic was backed up for 2-3 miles just tryin' to get in.

It was a great day. Great weather. Here are my favorite parts:

They had veterans representing all the major wars/conflicts, all the way back to a Pearl Harbor survivor! The Korean vet's story was amazing. His unit was attacked, he was shot, but was the only one to survive. When they found him he was frostbitten, starving, dehydrated and bleeding to death. Then they airlifted him out and his plane was shot down!

The Vietnam Vet (I'm sorry I'm drawing a blank on his name)was the soldier whose story was the basis for We Were Soldiers.

The father of one of the victims of the Cole was there (he lives nearby and campaigned successfully to get a Virginia U.S.S. Cole license plate) was there.

And they left an empty chair for those currently serving.

Glenn Beck was great, but my favorite part was the re-enactment of Patrick Henry's speech. The actor that normally does it here in Richmond at St. John's Church (where it was originally given) did it and it was incredible. AND, the speech was initially given on March 23, 1775!

Rosie, I thought of you and wished your family was there. A family orchestra came and played for the pre-show. They obviously had talent, but not much common sense. They played Sousa...on the strings. And when Jr. said the drummer (the Mom) "sucked" I couldn't say she didn't so I just said "you shouldn't say that."

OT, The Virginians the local barbershop quartet group sang As Time Goes By. I figure it was a divine message that, if I watch anything tonite, it will be Casablanca. I just don't care about the Oscars this year...

The dwarf rises for a moment of personal privilege...

Would you all join me in a glass of RC Cola (or your favorite non-alcholic beverage)? My Dad would've been 74 today. He passed away in 1978. I still miss him.

When Jr. asked me why we were going to the Rally today, I told him that one of the reasons was out of respect for his grandfathers. My dad, who served in Korea. And his Mom's dad who was with the occupying forces in Japan and who earned two bronze stars.

I still miss my dad. There's a lot of stuff I had to figure out on my own because he wasn't here.

The non-alcholic part is in recognition of his personal struggle.

When he was drinking the heaviest (before he quit) I didn't want to be around him. By the time he quit, I was a teenager (Jrs. age...HA!) and didn't want to be around him. When I got to college and we started being friends, I lost him.

You know that last scene in Field of Dreams when Ray goes out to talk to his Dad? His Dad asks "Is this heaven?"

Ray responds, "No, it's Iowa," and his dad turns to go.

Ray stops him with "Dad? Wanna have a catch?" I can't get through that scene (or writing about it apparently) without tearing up.

Thanks for letting me say that. We now return you to your normal programming.

(I have to go pick up Jr. from choir. See you later)

Thanks for your posts about life going on! - This was a pretty bad day for morale here at home! I need all the fabulous stories about rallies, new dogs, flower beds and all that.

I am pretty exhausted, but peace and normalcy has returned to my home. My friend and her daughter who were here are really 'emotional' people! - All highs and lows, and while I watch this stuff and feel pretty overwhelmed and speechless, they shriek and cry. Not a judgment about that, just acknowledgement that my Norwegian Minnesotan ancestry tends to be more emotionally constipated, and can't handle all this dramatic expression!

And there were just so many animals! In addition to all my own and the new kitten, she has two Jack Russels, one older dog and one very young one who is nice except for his complete refusal to be caught. He darted out the door, through my hotwire fence and he was *gone*. I had to chase him when he took off running. next door, into the street, where ever the little demon wanted to go! Darting around, back and forth! Needed a tranquilizer gun (or worse)! I tied a 20 foot line on him when we finally got him caught and said the line was not to come off while he stayed in my home. I don't want to be present when the little twit gets run over. That is their cross to bear not mine. I can't catch the %&#$*!$ little snot, but I can step on that line when he whizzes by!

He isn't a bad dog, but her husband's method of 'teaching' him to *come* is to call him, and when he doesn't come (which is always, now) run him down and beat the crap out of him. Now "come" means "Run for your life because here it comes"! My friend says, "he just needs to be trained" and I said, no dear, he is well trained. He has been trained that for whatever reason, you guys will from time to time yell "come" to indicate you are about to run him down and beat the crap out of him. I showed her how to try to fix him, the dog wants to do the right thing, but he runs out of survival instinct. I told her that her husband needed to know that he caused this, and that no matter what, a dog never gets a beating for coming to you. Yes, even if you have chased him for two miles before he allows himself to be caught, he gets praise for being caught. You can't correct the running by punishing him only when it stops. The dog has no idea what 'come' was supposed to mean, only what they taught him it means. Sorry for venting all this to you... It really ticked me off to chase the little twit for half an hour in traffic.

I gave her two hours worth of advice whether she wanted it or not.... The most important of which was to leave that line trailing behind him for the foreseeable future. If he hangs himself on something, at least you can catch him.