Anniversary Days

Another sunrise, a new day, another chance at it.

Today is another one of those anniversary days. I usually don’t give these kinds of days much thought until I’m feeling strange, then I remember, “Oh, today is...”. Well, today marks the 42nd anniversary of the day I was drafted into the United States Army. April 12, 1968. That’s a lifetime ago, isn’t it? Yet my body and mind remembers.

I wrote down some memories of this day a while ago. I’ll share excerpts of that writing today. Hope you don’t mind. It’s really all I have left besides a little dignity. I’m not down about it and it doesn’t conjure up all sorts of bad things or anything like that. It’s just the day I reported for military service. Here’s some of what I wrote a few years ago.

I was inducted in April of 1968. April 12th. The first in a series of dates and times of year that turn my life inside out every time they show up on the calendar. My health suffers. My stress level soars. I tremble and live on the edge. I didn’t know that was why until many many years later, but I know now why, around this date, I feel like crap. April 12th, 1968. I say it and I want it back. I can’t help but wonder how I’d handle it today.

I remember taking a bus, actually the same bus route we used going to high school when I was taking the bus to school, before I had a car. In those days, you rode the city bus to school for a quarter. That was the student fare. It was the regular Madison St. bus that went from my neighborhood in Melrose Park, past the Forest Park Armed Forces Induction office, and on into Chicago and downtown. This day, I got off in Forest Park.

There, we were given breakfast by a very nice bunch of old ladies. They weren’t really old, I was 18, everyone who was an adult was old. Moms, I’m sure, of other soldiers, or wives and widows, of Veterans, making sure we were well fed and sent off to war properly. I want to believe that they were crying for us on the inside. I want to believe they knew what fate lie ahead for us all. I still had no idea. I still have this shame for not knowing, not realizing, being so dumb, so out-of-touch with the gravity of it all.

I am jealous of those who actually thought about it beforehand and decided to go to college or dodge the draft all together by going to Canada. Even those who got married and fathered children, either on purpose or accidentally, knew more than I. Can I find peace? Can I get rid of the shame? Will I ever heal?

From Forest park, we got on a bus which took us to downtown Chicago and the huge draft induction facility. I think this was on Jackson Blvd. We got off the bus and got in line. A long day of lines and of doctors prodding, and a lot of time spent in your briefs standing around with a bunch of other guys in their briefs. All as natural as can be, all in order, all just the way it would become as the way the Army does things.

By the end of the day, I was in the Army. In one of the lines, we picked up this piece of paper. It was green and in a plastic sleeve. There were a few pink sheets interspersed with the green ones. You grabbed one as you passed by. Green, green, green, pink. Green, green, green, pink. I got a pink one and the guy behind me wanted to trade, he got a green one. I found out later the pink guys went to the Marines, the green ones were for the Army.

The day went on into night and by 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning on the 13th of April, we landed in Shreveport Louisiana. It was my first airplane ride. I don’t remember a thing about it. We were given a pill as soon as we got off the bus. We were told this was salt peter and it was to inhibit us from wanting to get laid. I wish I could remember if the Army had anything around to stimulate wanting to get laid that they needed to supress. I don’t know what it was really, probably was salt peter, or maybe just salt as the heat and humidity of the Louisiana swampland evaporated our nutrients and the Army, in all their wisdom, replaced our sodium level with a pill. By the way, saltpeter doesn't inhibit an erection. Being away from home and women does.

We had been up since early the day before. I think I might have dozed off a few minutes here or there but I don’t remember. All I do remember is that we had been treated politely up until that point. After arriving in Shreveport and getting on another bus, we were broken down to the lowest common denominator. Stripped of self esteem. Stripped of values. Stripped of our souls. Stripped of our clothes and hair and given a uniform to wear and a haircut that matched everyone else.

From that moment on, I can remember only a handful of nights when I have slept all the way through without the help of drugs, alcohol or exhaustion. Was the Army that smart to be teaching us and helping us to get used to the fact that we would not have one peaceful night after they send us to Nam?

Proof positive, here I am, it's four fucking AM and I'm wide awake. I read this and remember vividly standing out in front of this building, in a light rain, sweating profusely. It was muggy, even in April, and the months ahead would be brutal as far as muggy humid weather would be concerned. I was from Chicago, and weather there in summer is certainly hot and humid, but not like Louisiana.

We would sweat. The sweat made me feel wet and slimy. The sweat would dry and leave the salt of our own bodies in the pores of our skin to crystalize. It felt like needles pricking my back when the skin dried to the touch. We took showers at night, and the towels we used and hung over the ends of our bunk beds were wetter in the morning than they were when we hung them up to dry.

I walked, marched, for hours every day. I got up early and exercised. I lost a lot of weight and took six inches off my midsection. I made muscle. I took care of my own affairs as an individual, things like laundry and handling money, for the first time in my life. I grew up, so to speak, and learned how to kill people, with a rifle, aiming at them and shooting them down, and with my hands, in hand-to-hand combat training exercises using pugel sticks, but being told we’d be using our rifles if this were to be the case in a real combat situation.

After almost five full months in Fort Polk, Louisiana, I came home for a two week furlough. My folks, being empty nesters, moved to a smaller home, an apartment actually, and I felt very out of place, like a fish out of water. The restlessness started back then. The feeling that I needed to get out of a place in time.

Not much of a concern today, I guess, these memories. Not good ones though, like the memories I’ve had recently when my cousin sent me some pictures from 1958, ten years before I got drafted. I rekindled a relationship with my cousin when I saw her for the first time in 38 years at my Mom’s funeral. She sent these pictures of a much more cheerful contented time in my life.

So, today I’ll post a couple of pictures of my family. The black and whites were taken in May of 1858, over 50 years ago, the other is from Fort Carson, Colorado and taken in September of 1968. Private Spado, in front of my bunk in the barracks. Looks like I haven’t changed a bit!


That's me, with the hand gesture, with my cousins and Grandma Spado, my Dad's Mom. In Chicago, May of 1958


This is the entire Spado family, (except for my aunt who is probably taking the picture). All my aunts, uncles, cousins, my Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa Spado. Taken on the back porch of my Aunt's house in Chicago, May of 1958


Taken at Fort Carson, Colorado in Sept. 1968, soon after basic training. I stayed in Fort Carson for five months before being sent to the American war in Vietnam


Yours truly, February of 2010

Peace

Shadow Shot Sunday, April 11, 2010

When I started having Grandchildren, my life started to change. I never thought about that part of living back when, but realized something was happening when I was holding a new born child in my arms. The first was Anna in 1998. She quickly became the object of spoiling as her Grandmother and I did all the things Grandparents do. One of these things was to buy soft cuddly toys.

On one of my trips out West, I was passing through South Dakota. I wandered in to the infamous Wall Drug just to pass some time, use the bathroom, etc. As I browsed the rooms full of tourist compliance, I saw this stuffed buffalo and bought it to bring home to Anna. Anna loved this toy and still does at age twelve. This also got her interested in the real live buffalo.

A couple of years ago, I traveled with her to Custer State Park near Rapid City, South Dakota, and their annual buffalo round-up. The subject of today’s Shadow Shot Sunday are a couple of shots from that outing. I’ve included a few more non-shadow shots of that trip at the end of the post. By the way, Shadow Shot Sunday is the creation of Tracy’s over at Hey Harriet blog. If anyone wants to participate, just click on THIS LINK for the guidelines.

The first shot is a close up of some of the buffalo running by in front of us. They were on their way to joining the larger group. In the second shot, the large herd was headed towards the corrals to be counted, checked for disease and generally looked over by State Park personnel. This event takes place each year on the first Monday in October. If you go, get your lodging reservations in early. Over 14,000 people showed up for this event in 2009. They lined the tops of two ridges overlooking a small valley below. The cars, busses and RV’s were parked on the hillsides and the place took on an atmosphere of an NFL football game pre game tailgate party!





We took plenty of photos both on the way there and back to preserve our memories. One of these days I’ll get that film onto a DVD and post a YouTube. Seeing the buffalo stampede through the arroyo below us was quite a sight. The sound, the dust, the mounted riders, the beasts themselves and their shadows.

Enjoy.

Maybe not very photogenic in this one


Anna, at age 8, at a rest stop just outside Chamberlain, SD


The buffalo herd, kickin' up some dust


A bull waiting for the round-up to get started, but on his own time schedule


More of the herd coming over the hillside

Peace to all

Recipes for Summer

Okay, so it’s getting summery out. I’m spending a lot more time outside, and I’m staying busy as there are so many projects going on. That doesn’t leave a whole lotta time for meal preparation. Sandwiches are all right, but I get tired of the same old same old. I need something quick and easy.

I was making my own bread quite often over the colder months, but now that the weather is warming up, I’m buying bread. Mrs. Spadoman works right next to a Breadsmith shop. They have some wonderful hand crafted artisan breads. Check out their website and see the vast list of breads they produce. We like the simple French Boule’ or French Peasant. My favorite is something they call Multigrain.


A loaf of Multigrain ready to slice

Lately, I’ve been hard boiling eggs and using them to make egg salad. I love an egg salad sandwich on a good whole grain bread with a slice of tomato. I’ve been buying the tomatoes in the store that are on the vine. They are expensive, but up north, where the growing season is short, there won’t be any Farmer’s Market tomatoes until late Summer. I buy one or two and use them wedged for a salad or sliced in a sandwich.


Tomatoes on the vine seem to have some flavor this time of year.

I also like chicken salad sandwiches on the same whole grain bread. This is great with the same tomato slices and a thin slice of muenster. I make my chicken salad by pan frying the small chunks of chicken in a wok in olive oil. I use a top quality extra virgin olive oil that has been rendered by the first cold pressing. Since I am Italian, I use mostly imported Italian oil, but I have used Greek. The California stuff is good too.

I season the boneless skinless chicken breast meat with a granulated roasted garlic. I found this at a small specialty store. I think you can get some from Penzy’s spices. If they don’t have the roasted granulated garlic, the regular granulated will work fine.

I drain the chicken on some paper towels and chop up some red onion, celery and maybe some water chestnuts. I put everything into a medium mixing bowl and season it with coarse ground black pepper, a little more granulated garlic, a pinch of granulated onion and some Szeged brand Hungarian Hot Paprika.

Add some mayonnaise, mix well and it’s ready for the bread. I use Hellman’s Light mayo these days. The light is just less of the fat. Hellman’s Light has good flavor, and cuts a few calories. It’s the only fat in this recipe and you don’t need much to moisten the ingredients.


The "light" variety does fine in summery salads

My egg salad is pretty similar. I season that with salt, pepper and the paprika. There is regular (non hot) paprika available. It is a good source of Vitamins A, D and E. The Hungarian varieties are best and come in a wide range of flavors from very sweet to very hot.

One of the summery salads I like to make is a simple pasta salad. I use elbow macaroni, but any style of small pasta will work. Around here, the Creamettes Brand is common. I use onions, carrots and celery in this one, maybe a few black olives. It is also made with mayonnaise, but I spice up that mayo with Adobo sauce, a tomato and jalepeno pepper sauce made from roasted smoked jalepenos, or chipotle, (chip-oat’-lay). By the way, we call ‘em japalinos (Jap-a-lean’-ohs) around here.



I shred the carrots into slivers. I cross cut the celery into pieces not more than a half inch. I chop the onion in the usual way. If I use olives, I slice medium black olives in half. I don’t like canned sliced olives as they are too thin. I want a hunk of olive I can taste.


Boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can find these as free range organic if you'd like

I prepare some chicken the same way I did for the chicken salad, that is, pan fried in olive oil and seasoned with granulated garlic, salt and black pepper. After I drain it on paper towels, I add the chicken and the carrots, celery and onion into a mixing bowl.


Elbow Macaroni. A summer salad staple.

I make some of the elbow mac pasta. I drain it and rinse in cold water. If I made it earlier on, I take it from the refrigerator. I add this pasta to the chicken and veggies. Now, it’s time for my mayo concoction. I use the adobo sauce from a small can of chipotle peppers in adobo that I can readily find in the ethnic section of a grocery store, or in a Mexican foods market.


Chipotle in adobo sauce.

In the can are the small smoked japalinos bathing in this rich dark sauce. I spoon out some of the sauce and mix it with the mayonnaise. That’s it. Mix some together. It is hot and it can be quite strong, so, a little goes a long way. If you want, you can use a food processor and use the peppers with the sauce. Run them into a puree, then mix with the mayo. Either way, it makes the mayo and your salad come alive.

Mix some of this mayo in with the chicken and veggies, add the black olives and serve cold. A great side dish, or stand alone with some baguette with dipping oil. To make this a full blown meal, I like to slice up some Italian salame with cheese and crackers.


A small serving of my Chicken w/ Adobo Mayo salad

Whatever you do, it’s summer and it needs to be simple. Meals are lighter. These kinds of salads are easy to make and last a while. I like to have a few choices on hand. Next time, I’ll make my own version of the famous Waldorf salad and a Mango Salsa I like with tortilla chips.

Gotta get back to the yard, I’m working on the swing set today. I’ll be in for lunch a little later.

Peace to all.

Getting Ready for Summer

Summertime fun a few years back, at Lake Sissabagama, (sis-ah-bay'-gah-mah), near Stone Lake, WI


What a busy week I’ve had. Seemed like every day I was working on some kind of project, and yet the main remodeling project I have going is at a standstill! This ever happen to you? That’s been the case here in Spadoville this week. And today is no different, I’ll be headed to The Cities.

Yes, there is more than one big city. Minneapolis and Saint Paul over in Minnesota are right next to each other along the Mississippi River. Minneapolis on the West bank, and Saint Paul on the East. When out-of-towners travel to either city they usually say, “Twin Cities”. We locals just say, “The Cities”.


Saint Paul, Minnesota skyline

I'm partial to Saint Paul. That's where we landed back in the 1970's when we moved from Chicago. We've never lived in Minneapolis. Even though these two cities are right next to each other, they both have their own individual personality. If you're from this area, (and maybe even if you're not), you can tell you're in a different city if you were to visit or do business in either one. (I guess if you're not a local, you might not know which one you were in without looking at street signs.) Saint Paul is the Capitol of Minnesota, and in my opinion, it's just better. I call it a big small town. I'm always running into someone I know when I go there, and where I live in River Falls, WI, it's just a short 30 minute drive to downtown Capitol City.


And across the Mississippi River, the Minneapolis skyline

When I return from my errands, which will be a few stops at stores where I purchase things I can’t find regularly here in the smaller town where I live in Wisconsin, I’ll be getting ready for a short overnight road trip to Ashland, the city on the South shore of the Great Lake Superior. I really miss living up there. I still go back often.

I’ll be filling up my water bottles at one of the artesian well springs. You may remember the video from a trip where two of my Grandchildren helped me haul the heavy carboys into the van. We called it the Solon Springs Water Run. This trip, we’ll go to Maslowski Beach, just West of Ashland on US Highway 2.


Looking at the Great Lake Superior from Maslowski Beach, Ashland, WI. This is where one of the artesian spring water wells are located

My daughter will be going with me. She has some business to take care of in Ashland, and she’ll help me with the water bottles.

I tell you, as I age, not only do I get up very early every day and eat dinner at 3:30 p.m., I also have a hard time with heavy objects at times.

The help, and the company, will be nice to have. Besides, I need someone to talk about the pills the doctor gives me. (I don’t really, just practicing for when I’m real old).

I’ll return by early Saturday afternoon. Not sure how I’ll feel about jumping in to the downstairs bathroom remodeling project. Depends on the weather. If it’s nice, I’ll be riding that motorcycle. If it’s not, well, I hope it’s nice! Maybe on Sunday my friend Steve will stop by. He’s been away to Florida and I haven’t seen him in a while. We talked about getting together over the weekend. So I do have some half baked plans, but nothing pressing.

This week had me doing bicycle repairs. I fixed up a vintage Schwinn Stingray for Yoody. Found it on Ebay. It needed tires and the paint job was kind of raunchy. Yoody wanted it pink and purple, so, I took it apart and painted it and replaces the old tires with new tires and tubes. After some minor adjustment to the seat and handlebars, she has a new ride and loves it. It is an upgrade in size from her old 16” tired blue one.


The Schwinn Stngray I bought on Ebay and fixed up for Yoody, (before)


Yoody's purple fendered, pink framed Stingray, (after)

One of my stops today will be at the bike store, looking for some pink and purple handlebar streamers and a bell. My mission includes a John Deere or seed cap for Gracie for when she's farmin' in the back yard on her new ride. Some returns of the wrong size merchandise, a couple of items from the grocery, some cigar smoking and coffee drinking are also on the agenda.


Ahhhhh Yes, my only vice

The others needed bike repair and adjustment too. Then the littlest one, three year old Gracie Jayne, never got her conveyance when she had her birthday in January. We promised her something and this week we bought and assembled a John Deere battery powered tractor for the back yard. She hasn’t been around in a few days, and this weekend will have her here. We don’t expect her to have any problems learning to drive it as her brother and sisters all had these kind of Jeeps and Dora The Explora (Explorer, I know, it’s just how we say it around here) cars when they were three. Gracie will be familiar with the idea.


The first battery powered Jeep in 2001 when Anna turned three


This is Yoody's Dora the Explora battery powered car with big brother taking a ride. She was three in 2007

Our back yard is pretty big. I plan on setting the mower real low and carving a path of sorts around the edge of the yard and making it sort of a roadway system. I’ll use the large cardboard box that the toy came in, cut it up, and make some signage. I’ll use regular traffic symbols. I see a Stop sign, a Curve sign and a No Parking sign in my future. Looks like the downstairs bathroom remodeling will be on hold yet again.


The one I put together for Garcie Jayne this week looks just like this one, (No, these are NOT my Grandkids)

So you can see, bike repair and maintenance, assembly of a large toy where I had to read the destructions, (I know, instructions, that’s just what we call them around here), and regular day to day living chores have kept me busy.

Gosh, look at the time. I better get going. I have a lot to do.

Hope everyone has a great day, or at least the best you can, dealing with whatever you have on your plate. If I get some time, I have a few projects I’ve been working on. I’ll share them when they’re ready.

Peace to everyone

Ruby Tuesday 04/6/2010

For Ruby Tuesday this week, I’m posting a photograph I took of a bird house. There were actually at least a dozen of these, all different, all on poles, at an intersection on a county road scenic byway in Northwestern Minnesota near Fergus Falls. They made up a whole little town with a store, houses and this church here. As you can see, this church has a nice Ruby red chimney, so I used it here, but further down this post are some other shots I took while on this trip, and the Red Barn I posted last week was also taken while on this trek.

Have a great Ruby Tuesday

The Otter Tail County Scenic Byway is a figure eight loop and passes through some unique rural countryside. In the town of Vining is Nyberg Park. Seems like an ironworker with a hobby of welding scraps together has made quite a stir with his art. I’m showing the alien and the large coffee cup pouring out coffee, but THIS SITE has pictures of many more of the parks sculpture.


Think this Alien is lost?


Must have gotten cold being poured out like that.

Then there is inspiration point. A hill by most standards, but a high enough vantage to see the countryside in all its glory. To the west of where this was taken, lies the Red River Valley, (a reference to red, Ruby Red River Valley maybe?), and the flatness of the great plains.


The view from Inspiration Point.

The trip was a couple of years ago and happened on a spur of the moment idea to get in the van and go somewhere. We were living in Ashland, WI at the time, along the shores of the Great Lake Superior. We were already North enough, we just headed West through Minnesota and into North Dakota. When we got to Jamestown, ND, where we saw this larger than life buffalo, we got a room and took a walking tour of the old town. The buildings used to be miles away, but were all dismantled, moved, preserved and brought together for display to the public to create a tourist attraction for the people who were curious about the buffalo. The buffalo really is big and is touted as being the largest in the world at 26 feet tall and weighing 60 tons.


The largest Buffalo in the world!

Hope you enjoyed this little travelogue. I just felt compelled to tell a story along with my Ruby Tuesday submission. By the way, Ruby Tuesday is the creation of Mary T/The Teach who pens the Work of a Poet Blog. If you'd like to participate in Ruby Tuesday, HERE are the guidelines.

It’s fun to just get up and go now and then, without a plan, without a map, following signs and billboards. I wish I could do it more often. Or maybe I should just do it ore often. Either way, this is a little information about my Ruby Tuesday submission. The row of beautiful and whimsical birdhouses seemed pretty natural among the pines and oaks of Otter Tail County Minnesota. And I found a pretty good coffee shop in Fergus Falls called City Bakery. If you ever get out that way, stop in for a cup o’ java and a scone.

Peace to all

Shadow Shot Sunday, April 4, 2010

Shadow Shot Sunday is the Meme of Tracy who puts together Hey Harriet from Queensland, Australia. Check out the photographic submissions. There are so many talented people out there showing us some fabulous shots. If you want to participate, read how to do it HERE.
Right now, I want to talk a bit before I post my Shadow Shot for today.

It’s early Sunday morning here in Spadoville. In a few weeks, the shadows will be plentiful outside my window as Mr. Sun creeps North in anticipation of the Summer Solstice. I like the long hours of daylight in our North American Summer. Besides warmer more comfortable weather for outdoor activities, the sense that the day is longer than 24 hours passes through my mind.

Up here in the Northland, Winter sees darkness creeping over the land as early as 4:00 p.m. It’s totally dark easily by five. You have morning, you have afternoon. After dinner, the day is done. But in Summer and the longer periods of daylight, it seems to me that we get a whole extra day after dinner. I’m sure it’s just perspective. As I get older, the colder weather is harder for me to deal with, therefore I spend less time outside in it. Hence the end of daylight brings about the end of the day so to speak.

When I’m traveling, I like to watch the scenery. Both the naturally occurring geographical and the man-made stuff for sale on the side of the road, just inside the ditches in front of the houses. In Summer, I can keep truckin’ down the road well into the evening. After all, for me, it is the journey. I don’t enjoy a motel room for more hours than I need to shower and sleep.

The trips have been short. Day trips, or one nighters, lately. But I look back at the past year and can rattle off a dozen of what most folks would call a “long trip” that I’ve made. In fact, it’s time for another Solon Springs Water Run next week. All the carboys are empty!

Really long excursions take a little planning. Last Summer, I did two major motorcycle journeys, almost 8000 miles in all, and the big family vacation that pretty much took the whole month of July. This season, I’m starting early with a journey back to New Mexico later this month. I’ll take the Triumph and ride from here. Should be warm enough to ride out right from Wisconsin. Any earlier and I might hesitate as the threat of ice and snow might still be evident. I'll still have to be careful on bridge decks and overpasses, especially if I'm out early in the morning.

Another cycle trip for June then. I really want to ride those Canadian Rockies and see Yellowknife, Prince Rupert and Vancouver Island. So far, I’ll be traveling solo. Should be quite an adventure. I’ll do some camping and some nights in motels. When I re-enter the USA at Vancouver, the plan is to meet a friend from California and ride the mountains back towards home with him.

I’ve made many visits to Northern California. I had a place on the coast at one time. The shadow shot I have here is one I took while playing around the black sand beaches near Ferndale, CA. Where the mouth of the Eel River empties into the Pacific. There is a lot of driftwood there from small pieces to huge giant redwood carcasses. The wind and waves changes the complexion of these beached pieces daily. I thought this one looked rich.


Driftwood basking in the sun on the Lost Coast of California

Peace

Blog Against Theocracy, April 2-4, 2010

South Park Jesus

Theocracy in America is on the rise. Many want to use a model of Theocracy as a focal point in how America was founded and how it should be run. This weekend is the Blog Against Theocracy and I want to join in as I firmly believe in the separation of Church and State as described in our Constitution. This statement, and the South Park Jesus logo above, are from Tengrain, of Mock, Paper, Scissors. It is a simple declaration and I'll quote it here:

The theme [of the blogswarm], like always, is the Separation of Church and State — we are for it. But the variations on the theme are many...This is not a bashing of religion - peeps can believe what they choose, however they choose — but it is a reminder that the Government should keep out of religion, and Religion should keep out of the government.

This, and further information, along with many sites and articles referencing pro and con views of the subject, can be found HERE at the Blog Against Theocracy.

For me, I was inspired by my eldest Grand daughter just a day or two ago. In an interesting question and answer session in the early morning, my oldest Grand daughter asked me a few questions. The day this happened was Thursday, April 1, 2010. This particular weekday had something special that was going to happen. She was getting out of school at noon, and the next day, Friday, was a day off from school.

She asked me why they were having a half day and then a full day off of school. I told her that it was for Easter, and that Friday was Good Friday. Then the questions started in earnest.

“What is Good Friday?” She asked.

I told her what Good Friday represents. I was brought up as a Catholic and knew what they say about such things. I answered, “It is said that the death of Jesus Christ on the cross happened on the Friday before Easter Sunday, and it is called Good Friday.”

“Wow, wasn’t very good then, was it?” She responded in her best Monty Pythonesque voice, then went on to ask another question. “Why do we get religious days off of school? It’s suppose to be a public school, right?” (Ahhh the innocent vision of youth)

“Well, yes, that’s right, it is suppose to be a public school and a separation of church and state, but I guess the majority of students are Christian, so most of them would never complain about it, besides, most of the teachers are Christian too, I would imagine.” I answered.

This went on for a while and we discussed the idea of a truly separated church and state and how it is a masquerade at times in this country. I went on to explain Christmas and the long break from school surrounding that holiday. I also told the youngun’ that here in Wisconsin, they used to give days off for a multitude of special interests.

For example, the week deer season opens was off of school, as was the fishing opener. Then there was harvest time. Pop needed the kids home to help get the corn in. So, having a religious day off was no big deal to most people.

But on the serious side of things, I believe that because there are so many professed Christians, and the Christian values are so readily acceptable, (but not practiced by most except for an hour on Sunday morning, or Saturday night and you’re Catholic, so you can go out, get drunk, and sleep it off on Sunday morning), no one cares about the separation. They just want the day off. After all, the banks are open, the Post Office is open, Doctors and Dentists are busy and barbers are cutting hair! I tend to not mind the Good Friday and Christmas days that appease the majority. It’s not like they are making non-Christians do anything, they just are giving days off.

The real problem begins when the government gets involved and wants to use some religious philosophy or doctrine as part of the governance. No one, in a country that is said to be free, should have to do or say anything at any time, that would be religious faith based, for any reason. In fact, I get a kick out of all the Veterans groups that are offended when citizens not want money spent on religious decorations for City Hall around Christmas, then they go on to tout the fact that as Veterans, they fought so we could be free. Not so free when you are told to sit down, shut up and accept Christianity and that it is un-American to be against Christmas decorations.


This painting is by Pastafarian Milek from the Flying Spaghetti Monster website. I use it as my logo. As a Pirate in a former life, I insist that we can have our God, as we understand God to be, and not have your God forced down our throats! I'm willing to swashbuckle for that right!

Decorations are a starting point. It is the likes of people like Jerry Falwell Jr. who want to turn a tax exempt school, Liberty U., at Lynchburg, VA, into a partisan political machine. Or the Kansas School Board who wants to force the teachings of the bible, as in Intelligent Design, onto students. The Flying Spaghetti Monster had something to say about that!

When President George W. Bush told the world that he is attacking Iraq because he was told to by God, I wondered what God he was listening to. In Texas, the school text book controversy, is the attempt to force students to read about how we’re a Christian Nation, and puts down as fact that God created the world. I guess if you believe this, and maybe a majority of Texans do, it’s okay with you to tell the children. But if you are of a different mind on this theory and you have no chance to discuss another theory’s existence, then our freedom is lost.

It's in our Constitution. Keep forced religion and religious views out of our lives. True freedom is not having anything shoved down our throats and forced upon any man, woman or child. It is not only an American freedom, it is a human freedom. I’m one of those Veterans who answered the call and went to fight. If what they are telling me is true, that I fought for freedom, then let it be so. Let all people be truly free. End any movement towards Theocracy in America and the world.

For more information, see THIS SITE of the Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Freedom equals Peace.