Back from an Adventure

I'm back from another blogging break, this time due to the crapping out of my computer.  It's been ailing for a while, and finally gave up the ghost.  I'm now on a borrowed computer for a borrowed amount of time until I decide on a new one for purchase.

I'm also back from a small adventure.  I took a few days to attend the Restoring Honor rally put on by Glenn Beck in Washington D.C.  Depending on what news organization you choose to watch, no doubt reports about the event have varied wildly.  I've already seen a few of them - part of me can't believe the inaccuracies that have been reported, and another much more cynical part of me isn't the least bit surprised.  All I can accurately report is what I saw and heard.

Like many Americans, I've been bothered by politics the last few years.  Things just seem to get worse - from the corruption, the ever-widening gulf between Democrats and Republicans, the fact that most politicians see no need to listen to their constituents, and most especially the increasing venom and hate being hurled around with wild abandon.  Personally, I don't like being called a hate-monger or a racist or downright stupid simply because I don't want to be a backdoor Socialist, I don't believe in the principles of Marxism, and I do strongly believe that the ideas and principles that our founding fathers put forth are still valid and applicable today.  So, instead of sitting on my duff and continuing to complain about the state of things, I heeded Beck's call to rally.  I needed a positive experience, and like a great many people, I was tired of feeling helpless.  I wanted to DO something.

So, I went to D.C. for several days with my mother and aunt.  It was surreal - walking in the shadows of iconic buildings and monuments, seeing the wonders of the Smithsonian, and meeting countless crowds of people excited about attending the rally.  We encountered so many people that we started to worry about getting a decent spot on Saturday.  Since we depended on the Metro Rail for transportation, and were staying way too far from downtown to consider walking, we were extra worried since the Saturday Metro didn't run until 7:00 a.m.  Even though the rally didn't start until 10:00, we got a little antsy...antsy enough to get out of bed at 11:30 p.m., get dressed, and catch a Metro to the Lincoln Memorial in the middle of the night, armed only with a blanket and backpacks full of water and snacks. 

We found several thousand others had the same idea, and we joined in and staked out an area to wait out the night.  (Actual camping on the mall is not allowed, but park rangers allowed "waiting.")  Talk about surreal - I can honestly say I never thought I'd spend a night under the stars, under the iconic cherry trees, beside the reflecting pool, moonlight the only thing illuminating the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument - but strong convictions will make you do some strange things.  We chatted the night away with people around us who were from all over - Ohio, Pennsylvania, Montana, South Carolina, Florida, Minnesota, even California.  About 5:00 a.m. I got restless and took a walk, and ended up sitting for more than an hour on the top step of the Lincoln Memorial, listening to the gentle but growing murmur of more and more people joining me on the steps and the mall quickly filling up as the crowds streamed in.  Once I watched the sun come up, I made my way back to our "camp" to eagerly await the start of the rally.

Our campout turned out to be a good thing - we heard reports of Metro lines the length of football fields, and people waiting hours just to board, not to mention gridlocked traffic even keeping taxis from getting in.  We also had a fairly good view thanks to our long night's wait, though the folks with the REALLY good views had been there since Wednesday.  Rally-goers were a pretty diverse group, despite what any press may report.  I saw young along with old, and all ages in between.  Black as well as white, Hispanic, and Asians.  Speakers were all colors and backgrounds, starting with a prayer given by a Native American.  And, I'm not sure, but I think I was sitting next to two gay guys. :)

I won't give minuscule details of the whole rally, but it was honestly the most amazing event I've ever attended in my entire life.  The speakers were wonderful, including Sarah Palin, who spoke only as a military mom, not as a politician.  Alveda King was simply unbelievable - it's astounding she's currently enduring death threats for the message of peace and unity she gave.  And those were just a couple.  Other speakers such as Marcus Luttrell (the "Lone Survivor") and ballplayer Albert Pujols also blew us away.  There were many other speakers, singers, and performers equally as inspiring.

Beck ended the rally, which was an overall homage to the military and an distinct call to peace, unity, charity, honor, and honesty, with his presentation of the new Black Robe Regiment - a group of clergy from multiple faiths who have pledged to preach about individual God-given (not government-given) rights and personal/individual responsibility.  Christian preachers linked arms with Muslim Imams, linked with Jewish Rabbis...and on and on - 240 representing his thousands of church clergy, male and female, who have made the same promise.

In the very end we were treated with special patriotic singing from Jodee Messina and a couple other Nashville stars.

On our very slow way out with the masses, I couldn't help but notice how clean everyone was leaving the grounds.  All trash was picked up and put in bags next to trash cans - everyone stayed afterward to clean up after themselves.  Crossing the mall we encountered the first rally protesters - a guy and girl with a megaphone, yelling pretty hateful things.  I won't repeat any of it, but all the rally-attendees simply ignored or smiled at them.  Apparently they didn't listen to the rally.

I know not everyone agrees with the rally, or is receptive to the message.  You may be smirking your way through this whole post, having decided that I'm just another Conservative cheeseball.  Just the fact that it was put on by Glenn Beck is enough for some people, despite the positive message of peace and unity, and the fact that $5.5 million dollars were raised for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides college educations for fallen special ops soldiers.  But, for me it was a wonderful, life-changing experience, and that fills me with hope.

Running Update

It's been a few weeks now since I posted about my newest quest to get in shape through barefoot running.  I'm very proud to say, despite the broiling temperatures, I've actually managed to stick with it.  Running with the Vibram FiveFingers has been hard to get used to, but lots of stretching and a little patience is the key.  I'm now up to a strong two miles, even able to sprint the last tenth.

Best of all - no shin splints!  For me, this is a small miracle.  In addition to no shin splints - no achy knees, and no painful hips.  I've been studying a bit about proper running form, and of course - in years past I've been doing it all wrong.  Running without shoes has made switching to a more "proper" gait easy and natural.

If you visit running forums, you'll see not everyone agrees that barefoot running is all that great.  I agree, it's probably not the answer for everyone, and if you're a habitual shoe-runner already, it's going to be hard to make the switch.  In fact, if you're running successfully in shoes with no issues, there might not be a reason to fix what isn't broken.  I'm just judging from my own success, and for me, I'm not going back to shoes.

My next step - to get off the track and on the trail.  The track is getting boring.

Moving is Hard

I've been resisting the urge lately to whine in my posts, but I think today the whine is going to win out.  I may just have to get some cheese to go with it. 

Moving is hard, in a seemingly infinite variance of ways.  Large home improvement jobs, such as painting, laying floor, and making repairs eventually give way to smaller repairs, unpacking boxes, and trying not to get stressed and overwhelmed by the fact that we have WAY too much stuff, and where is it all going to go?  Now we're getting down to the parts I really find annoying - replacing switch covers, installing trim, and trying to keep up with housework and laundry while cleaning up construction mess and unpacking boxes of things I don't really need.

And, while the inside of our house is coming together slowly, the outside living areas are still a major disaster.  The decks are in bad need of a powerwashing and coat of stain.  The two storage buildings are a wreck.  The back yard is mostly dirt peppered with some sickly Bermuda.  The walkway from the back porch to the back gate where we park is an obstacle course, since someone in the recent past decided to make the walkway out of those ugly concrete paving stones, held in place by ugly white landscape rock, which have since washed out all over the yard, leaving the paving stones sticking up ready to catch a toe.  After the major work of redoing this house nearly single-handedly (husband has helped where he could, but has recently been greatly preoccupied with pre-deployment training and working insane hours), I'm worn to a frazzle, and I can't quite stomach the thought of tackling the major work of making the outdoors presentable.

My goal of a nice garden with a few chickens is getting farther and farther away, and it's hard not to feel a bit down-and-out.  Being stuck in the bubble of Camp Robinson doesn't help, seemingly forgotten by some busy friends I could really have used over the past few months, if for nothing but moral support.  I'm starting to agree with the notion that Facebook has ruined the idea of real friendship.

So, just bear with me - I'm just in a funk.  I'll keep plugging along.  Maybe I just need copious amounts of chocolate.

Who Needs a Spa?

I stole this video from Stephanie's Pointed Meanderings blog (Stephanie I hope you don't mind!).  I'm not usually a blog thief, but this video was too awesomely sexist to pass up.  Finally, someone has found the key to relaxation...making your husband the perfect cup of coffee.  Here I have been stressed over getting our house in order, finding a job, living in the city, anxiety about being able to make new friends, and most of all - hubby's impending year-long deployment - when all I really need is instant Folgers.

(By the way, instant Folgers tastes like feet.)

Too Hot to Blog

I know that's not a good excuse, but holy cow.  This summer is sucking my motivation faster than an egg can fry on the hood of my car.  I really hate being one of those people complaining about the weather, but I'd hoped against hope that our past weekend's slight reprieve from three-digit temps would be an indication that the heat and humidity was subsiding.  But the bright side - it is August, and the Bass Pro and Cabelas hunting catalogs in our mailbox remind me that cooler weather is that much closer. 

Instead of incessant griping, I'm posting this video of a dog who has the right idea.

It's Hot.

Last night during a phone conversation with my brother, he aptly described the absolutely insane heat and humidity blanketing the south:

"It's like being stuck in the Jolly Green Giant's armpit."

So True...