Jine the Cavalry

CHORUS:
If you want to have a good time, jine the cavalry!
Jine the cavalry! Jine the cavalry!
If you want to catch the Devil, if you want to have fun,
If you want to smell Hell,
jine the cavalry!

We're the boys who went around McClellian,
Went around McClellian, went around around McClellian!
We're the boys who went around McClellian,
Bully boys, hey! Bully boys, ho!

CHORUS

We're the boys who crossed the Potomicum,
Crossed the Potomicum, crossed the Potomicum!
We're the boys who crossed the Potomicum,
Bully boys, hey! Bully boys, ho!

CHORUS

Then we went into Pennsylvania,
Into Pennsylvania, into Pennsylvania!
Then we went into Pennsylvania,
Bully boys, hey! Bully boys, ho!

CHORUS

The big fat Dutch gals hand around the breadium,
Hand around the breadium, hand around the breadium!
The big fat Dutch gals hand around the breadium,
Bully boys, hey! Bully boys, ho!

CHORUS

Ol' Joe Hooker, won't you come out of The Wilderness?
Come out of The Wilderness, come out of The Wilderness?
Ol' Joe Hooker, won't you come out of The Wilderness?
Bully boys, hey! Bully boys, ho!

CHORUS

God, I love this song! A rousing birthday salute to Confederate Cavalry Commander J. E. B. Stuart, born on this day in my hometown, Ararat, Virginia, in 1833. He died at the incredibly young age of 31. Read more about Jeb and his followers at freestateofpatrick.com, hosted by our buddy Tom Perry. (Image at top by Don Troiani, the 4th Virginia Cavalry; inset, J. E. B. Stuart)

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Weather, Whether or Not

. . . we like it, we have it. Yet another snow is falling and EVERYTHING is closed. For my comrades back home in the Blue Ridge, they rarely close schools here, nor do they clean the streets. We merely slip and slide to our destination. But after last night's snow falling into today, not only are Topeka schools closed, but Washburn University and the University of Kansas have cancelled classes. We have 10 inches on the ground. Outside my window, I can see the winds are gusting . . . . It's going to be an interesting day.

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Crash

One of Noel's friends was in a terrible accident and remains in critical condition at the KU Med Center in Kansas City. Sammi Becerra is a little bitty thing--I'll bet she doesn't weigh over 85 pounds, but just full of fun and personality. She was thrown from her vehicle as it rolled over and suffered a broken pelvis and internal injuries. She and Noel are in JR ROTC together at Topeka High. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sammi and her family as she recovers. The photo was made at their Marine Corp Ball in November. Noel is third from left; Sammi is fourth from left. http://www.cjonline.com/stories/020608/loc_244189446.shtml

Free Speech Falling All Around

It's snowing again on Collins Avenue. Noel and I went to Cracker Barrel this morning to use a gift certificate and watched a woman fall on an icy patch in the parking lot as we were enjoying the roaring fire in their stone fireplace. The neighborhood roads are horrible. Main roads are fine.

So much news this morning! Ron Paul decries Lincoln and Will Smith finds the goodness in Hitler. The reaction? Folks act as if the earth had shifted its axis. Could Lincoln have avoided the Civil War as Paul said? Perhaps he could have. It is a valuable learning tool for us to consider the possibilities. Was there an inkling of good in Hitler? I tend to think, like Smith, that there is good in everyone and we are all, and each of us, capable of incredible good or bad.

Sometimes I'm ashamed to be a member of the press. Good reporters understand context and to twist Smith's remarks is inexcusable. Likewise, to paint Paul as patently wrong because he questions the actions of an icon is small-minded and ignorant. I'll be back at Fort Leavenworth in January as a part of media training, and I find myself on the hotseat defending the role of the media. I absolutely and steadfastly believe that the Freedom of the Press is our greatest protection, but defending the profession isn't always easy, especially when ridiculous headlines like the one involving Will Smith's statements are spread across the screen.

Free speech is hanging by a precious, thin, thread.

Snow, Snow, Snow

It seems like an endless weekend here. . . .

We had the weekend, then the ice storm, school was out, so it was like another weekend, and now tomorrow is Friday, another weekend. . . .

We have been so fortunate. Our power went out night before last but was only out for about 12 hours. Noel and I played a game by the fire and lamplight. It was a nice time. But as the night wore on the house became colder. By morning, it was pretty chilly. We went to McDonald's for coffee and when we got home, the Christmas lights on our fence were burning brightly. Oh what a blessed sight! So many folks still don't have electricity, though it warmed up today and quite a bit of ice melted. Temperatures drop again tomorrow and they're predicting snow. Some reports say 1-3 inches, some say 3-5, some 5-7. Snow will be a nice break from ice. You can't make snow cream with ice. . . .

These incredible photographs are REAL snowflakes. Kenneth G. Libbrecht of Caltech figured out how to photograph them and you can see more like these as well as reading some very interesting facts about snow at snowcrystals.com. Is it really true, for example, that no two flakes are exactly alike? Maybe yes, maybe no. . . . As I'm stirring up the snow cream tomorrow night for yet another weekend, I'll scrutinize more closely. What an incredible winter we've had, and it hasn't even begun!