Did I watch the debate last night?

Well, yes I did!  I was a little late getting into the house so I missed part of it.  My first few moments were spent watching Mitt Romney and the moderator parrying about whether his time was up and should Barack Obama be allowed to make his point.  Sorry.  I very quickly decided that this was too much chaos for my little mind.  Two minutes is 2 minutes any way you look at it.  Aren't there rules?  Something like you get 2 mnutes and then he gets two minutes and then you each get one miunte for rebuttal.  That is what I want to see.  Yeah, order out of chaos would have been good.  After that is it down hill. 
And something else that bugs me is this Mr. Obama and Barack Obama.  It is President Obama and Candidate Romney.  President.  I was taught way back when I was barely big enough to pee hard on the ground, a little thing called "respect."  Whether it war President Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Richard Nixon, or Clinton, they were always prefaced with "President."  I remember mom and dad listening to the radio which was a precursor to television.  They would stare intently at that little box and await words from our leader.  Vaguely I can remember the one announcement that announced the end of World War II.  "The war is over.  The allies have prevailed. The world is at peace."  It was my president speaking.  I had no idea what he looked like at the time, nor if those were his exact word, but he was the leader of this United States, and he was speaking to me.
We have come a long ways to end up on such familiar ground with Barack and Mitt.  The respect is gone.  They stood before me last night two men, debating or argueing, what ever, and I was saddened that the world has come to this.  Not only did I grow up with President Harry Truman and President Dwight Eisenhower, but the principal at Nickerson Elementary School was Mr. Houston.  My music teacher was Miss Barkiss.  The man next door was Mr. Rienke.  That was how it was.  Anyone who was our elder was called by something that showed respect.  Well, almost everyone.  The exceptions were Whittlin' Joe and Johnny Carson over on the highway and Hank Windiate, the old guy up the street.  Those guys were characters.  So does that mean that the President of our United States and the man opposing him in the election are now relegated to become "characters?"
Now follow my train of thought here for just a moment.  Could it be that this is one of the reasons our great country is in the shape it is in?  The man who is head of our country today was elected by the people of this fair land.  Doesn't he deserve any respect for that?  I was in court yesterday and we had to stand up when the judge came in.  She was referred to as the Honorable Judge of such and such.  Then we could set down.  The plaintiff called her "Your Honor."  Slap that fellow with contempt if he doesn't.  Just goes to show that we know the terms, we just don't use them.  I think we need to get back to some of the basics and I rather suspect we should teach our children this little thing called "respect".
So this is my rant for the day.  I shall get ready for the next debate between President Obama and Candidate Romney.  Maybe Washington has turned our leaders into objects of ridicule and that is sad.  I just wonder if we will ever be able to return to any semblance of what was long ago normal?

 

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This is the novel I have for sale.   Do not be confused by the title. Chapter One simply means this is my first book. There may never be another, or there may be many more. I am very proud of this endeavor and guarantee you will enjoy the book in it's enirety. Lou Mercer

From the back cover

Chapter One...Loose Ends
Lou Mercer

Meg Parker led a simple life.  She was a widow of three years and lived on a chicken farm at the foot of the mighty Rockie Mountains.  Life was good and her little store on eBay made her extra spending money.  But snow and wildlife were not the only things lurking in the forest above her house.  Nor did it stay in the forest for long.

Marshall Purcell came home a wounded veteran from vietnam.  He still had his dreams, but they were of an incestuous past that threatened to consume him.

When Meg and Marshall met it seemed an inconsequential meeting, but it changed both their lives forever.  And change is not always a good thing.

This is adult fiction at its best without all the sex.  Well, maybe just a little bit. 

About the author.  Lou Mercer was born in Nickerson, Kansas. She came to Pueblo, Colorado in 1977 and is now a product of the majestic Rockie Mountains

50 years ago or was it yesterday?

Yesterday  marked the 50 year anniversary of John Fitzgerald Kennedy being inaugurated as the 35th president of our fair land.  The newscaster noted that only 30% of the people alive today would remember that event.  I am among the chosen few!  I realize this dates me, but oh, well.  Facts are facts.

I remember so clearly that period of time.  It was amazing that a Roman Catholic of Irish descent was elected to the highest office of the land.  If I recall, he is the only Roman Catholic to ever hold the Presidency.  Correct me if I am wrong.

He was the most drop dead gorgeous thing and his wife was beautiful and every inch a lady.  Caroline was cute as a button and rode a horse named Macaroni.  As I recall, son John was born after the election and prior to the inauguration.  "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country!"  " The torch is passed to a new generation."  "Tear down this wall!"  "I am a Berliner!"  Every word the man uttered was carved in stone!

He was a family man all the way and every day.  I stood with millions of other young women with our noses pressed to the window watching the whirling couples dip and sway in a land called Camelot.  We all knew what and where Camelot was because John and Jackie taught us.  We learned about touch football from the Kennedy's on vacation in Hyannis Port.   From 1959 to 1963 we dreamed a dream and we loved our government!

We loved our government and tried to be good people.  We could envision a future for our children that had not been dreamed of before JFK threw down the gauntlet and his beautiful wife cheered him on to victory.  In that short period of time, I married and had two children.  I prayed as John and Jackie stood vigil over the crib of their premature son in 1963 and wept as they buried the tiny coffin. 

And I stood with my second child in my arms as I watched the motorcade wind through the streets of Dallas.  I watched as Jackie in her pink dress splattered with blood tried to help her fallen hero.  I flinched as Jack Ruby fired a point blank shot into the stomach of Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who had taken our dream away.

It was a magical time.  It was a time of hope and aspirations that had never been seen before and will never be seen again.  Who knows what the future would have been for this man with the funny accent and his perfect family, so clouded with tragedy and triumph?  I do not know.  What I do know is I am so blessed that I am part of this 30%.  It is a period of my life that gave me hope to make it to this point in my life.

I look at our government now and I look at how little respect we have for our chosen officials.  Fresh after the mess in Tuscon I look back at how we treat our heroes.  One person, whether it be Lee Harvey Oswald,  James Earl Ray, Sirhan Sirhan, or the guy in Tuscon, can wreak so much havoc and destroy so many dreams.  I do not know the solution, well I do, but no one wants to hear it.  It is in a song that goes like this...."What the world needs now, is love, sweet love!  That's the only thing we have too little of." 

That is all I know.  The Camelot years are gone, but not forgotten by 30% of the nation today.   I only hope I never forget the euphoria that gripped our nation at that time!  I hope I never quit clinging to the dream of a better life and time.  I do not want to ever give up the optimism that I cultivated at that time.  Camelot will always live in this woman's mind!