The Wandering Minstrel

The Better Half’s Warthog - Miss Piggy - all decked out for Christmas. Clickable image.

According to SNOPES, the notion that the Friday after Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day is an urban legend. The fact is that there is a spike in sales on Black Friday and then the numbers drop afterward and sales steadily increase throughout December until Christmas. The four busiest shopping days are the weekend days just before the holiday, with the last Saturday being number one in sales. Black Friday is in the top ten sales days, but never number one.

Thank God all of our shopping is done. We’re staying in today and since the weather is so crappy, we’re making pasta é fajioli, a nice Italian bean and pasta soup.

The animation shows the countdown until midnight December 24th.

I imagine the Pilgrims would have used something like this . . .

Have a great Thanksgiving!

This Veterans Day, I would like to remember our two very special veterans. My Dad, Jack and The Better Half’s Dad, Bill. Both of them are gone now, but we remember and thank them for their service and for their devotion to their families. The photos of Jack (left) and Bill were taken in 1944 and 2004, respectively.

Jack was aboard the USS Brooklyn, CL-40, from Casablanca for the east coast 17 November 1942. Between January and July 1943 The Brooklyn made three convoy escort voyages between the east coast and Casablanca and then steamed to the Mediterranean where she carried out screening and fire support duties during the invasion of Sicily.

On 15 August 1944 the USS Brooklyn furnished part of the heavy naval gunfire which preceded the landing of Allied troops on the coast of southern France. She remained on duty in the Mediterranean until 21 November 1944 when she departed Sicily for New York, arriving 30 November.

Bill, served in U.S. Naval Aviation. He was stationed at Gibraltar in 1948 where Navy Patrol Squadron 26 had a detachment in those days.

The Cold War was fully in progress, and Bill’s Squadron was right in the thick of it all. Bill was a flight crew member and flew missions on the Navy version of the old B24 - the PB4Y-2 ‘Privateer.’ He flew missions all over the Mediterranean, Europe, the North Atlantic Ocean and back to the US for logistics and repairs.

We’re proud of all of our veterans and salute them on this day. And we’re especially proud of our Dads.

Image background - Grand Canyon Yavapai Point View - Clickable image.

Like millions of free Americans, today, The Better Half and I will be barbecuing outdoors. Our menu is ground brisket hamburger patties grilled and topped with a slice of Havarti cheese, lettuce, tomato and thinly-sliced onion, served in a hearty hamburger bun. On the side, we will have macaroni salad.

This cartoon, found at The Patriot Post, says all we need to know about the Memorial Day holiday.

Saturday, February 6, 2010 marks the 99th birthday of President Ronald Wilson Reagan, one of three great presidents whose birth is celebrated this month. Washington and Lincoln were born in February and it’s fitting that Presidents Day is also celebrated on the fifteenth of the month.

Image - President Reagan fielding questions from the White House press

Rather than trying to describe this great man to you on this anniversary, I’ll let him speak for himself by offering some of his most famous and endearing quotations.

On the second amendment . . .

“You won’t get gun control by disarming law-abiding citizens. There’s only one way to get real gun control: Disarm the thugs and the criminals, lock them up, and if you don’t actually throw away the key, at least lose it for a long time… It’s a nasty truth, but those who seek to inflict harm are not fazed by gun controllers. I happen to know this from personal experience.”

On entitlements and Government control . . .

“I would suggest that no one should have a vested interest in poverty or dependency, that these tragedies must never be looked at as a source of votes for politicians or paychecks for bureaucrats. They are blights on our society that we must work to eliminate, not institutionalize.”

“It is not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work - work with us, not over us; stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.”

On conservatism in politics . . .

“Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors, which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?”

On American Pride . . .

“We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free.”

“Why should we be frightened? No people who have ever lived on this earth have fought harder, paid a higher price for freedom, or done more to advance the dignity of man than the living Americans, those Americans living in this land today.”

And then there was always his sense of humor . . .

“Republicans think that every day is the 4th of July, while Democrats think it is April 15th.”

“You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jellybeans.”

“Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.”

“Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born.”

“I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I’m in a cabinet meeting.”

“Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.”

“Détente is what a farmer has with his turkey until Thanksgiving Day.”

From the 1992 Republican Convention . . .

“And whatever else history may say about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty’s lamp guiding your steps and opportunity’s arm steadying your way. My fondest hope for each one of you — and especially for young people — is that you will love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism. May each of you have the heart to conceive, the understanding to direct, and the hand to execute works that will make the world a little better for your having been here. May all of you as Americans never forget your heroic origins, never fail to seek divine guidance, and never lose your natural, God-given optimism. And finally, my fellow Americans, may every dawn be a great new beginning for America and every evening bring us closer to that shining city upon a hill.”

And Finally,

“I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph, and there is purpose and worth to every life.” — Epitaph, Tomb of Ronald Reagan

Cross-posted at CB&D