It's a Jungle Out There
04/10/14 08:18
We hope to hear from him every Sunday but that is not always the case. Ev is otherwise busy with other things I suppose so we don't get our collective knickers in a knot over an occasional missed call. It's always good to hear from him whenever he calls. Nancy and I agree that this year seems to be a better year than last for Evan and we base that solely on the characteristics of the conversations that we have with him. He seems to have a bit of a spring in his step this time around judging from the tenor of the conversations that we have with him so we think that is a good thing. It is also a good thing that he is getting on with his suite mates, and we're not entirely sure that he isn't referring to them as "sweet" mates when we talk to him, but that is good nonetheless. It's funny how parents take comfort in certain things where their children are concerned. He told us early on that he was playing chess regularly with his roomies and when we learn that that hasn't change we take comfort in the fact that he has established routines that involve things like playing chess. I guess if he is playing chess then he is likely not mainlining heroin and he is probably taking care of himself so we're good with that. I think too that his roomies, deeply religious and devout Islamists as they are, are good role models for Evan where keeping on the straight and narrow is concerned. Unless they go radical on him, and that is unlikely since he is not and has never been a Christian in any real sense of the word, he will be just fine. But you know how malleable children of his generation are so it is worth keeping an eye on. Suffice it to say that we'll not be including any prayer rugs in his stocking this coming Christmas.
He and his roomies went down to the NYC campus recently and Ev seemed to find that trip a bit troublesome. It had less to do with the campus then it did with surrounding environs which he referred to as "dangerous." Not sure where those Jihadists took him but it scared the bejeezus out of him. He even commented that the "Smith's" would never survive down there. That was a reference to his friend and his family who live nearby here in New Hampshire although we didn't press him for more details. Did Ev feel threatened? What threatened him? Was it the cultural mix? The street vermin that never sleeps? Was it the absence of trees and the overwhelming visual of poverty and desperation? Maybe it was the stench of cultural and societal stagnation that is apparent wherever and whenever big government and its liberal policies are there to lend a hand. Nothing robs a man of initiative and creativity faster than a handout be it from government or the local drug dealer. Both are enablers in their own insidious ways but the end result is plain to see. Leave your rose-colored glasses at home for this tour. It's better you see this in black and white. The contrast will open your eyes. Maybe the Jihadists were intentionally pedaling a political message that day but I would tell you that was probably lost on Evan. He is ready and wanting to come home soon if only for a few days to "drive through Portsmouth" or so he says. A return to normalcy. A reassuring return to normalcy. Home sweet home.
Has the world gone crazy? Two weeks ago we were continents apart from Africa where the deadly Ebola virus is on the rampage. It is a killer disease where you bleed from your eyes and vomit relentlessly until you die. It is a virus that is spread through contact with infected people and is not as yet an airborne disease. Two Americans returned from Africa in the last month or two after contacting the disease and both have recovered after receiving treatment. And now, because of our government's unwillingness to protect our borders and because of their apparent collective guilt over what our ancestors did when they engaged in the trafficking of slaves which essentially created hell holes like Sierra Leone and Liberia, it is now somehow our responsibility to see to it that we assist with that problem. When no other country in the world is sending their people in to help we are sending in 5000 American soldiers where they too will become yet another statistic in the war against this dreadful disease. Is Obama so disdainful of our soldiers that he would expose them to this unbelievable threat? And in the last few days, yet another case of Ebola has arrived on our shores and there are at least 100 people with whom this Nigerian national has come into contact so the contagion is now on the march.
An enterovirus, now spreading like wildfire to the children in our country, is a form of polio and one that is otherwise indigenous to populations in Central and South America. It is here now paralyzing and killing our children because of the express intent of the Obama Administration to flood our borders and fill our country with "dreamers" who have marched uninterrupted across our borders in the hundreds of thousands over the last 12 months. This is the democrat's natural constituency and one that will ensure that they remain in power for the foreseeable future if done right. Just the other day, President Obama rallied a group of Hispanics boasting about having driven from the White House to the rally with two "dreamers" (illegal aliens) and that his audience should get out to vote come November to ensure that their interests are protected. He has also made his intentions clear about what he plans to do after the elections which is to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. He has been warned by members of his own party that to do so before the election would surely end up delivering both houses of Congress to the Republicans. If the Senate goes Republican, you can be assured that articles of impeachment will be immediately drawn once the President has used his "pen and his phone" to grant amnesty. I'm not sure that articles of impeachment won't be drawn even without the amnesty issue. Time will tell.
He and his roomies went down to the NYC campus recently and Ev seemed to find that trip a bit troublesome. It had less to do with the campus then it did with surrounding environs which he referred to as "dangerous." Not sure where those Jihadists took him but it scared the bejeezus out of him. He even commented that the "Smith's" would never survive down there. That was a reference to his friend and his family who live nearby here in New Hampshire although we didn't press him for more details. Did Ev feel threatened? What threatened him? Was it the cultural mix? The street vermin that never sleeps? Was it the absence of trees and the overwhelming visual of poverty and desperation? Maybe it was the stench of cultural and societal stagnation that is apparent wherever and whenever big government and its liberal policies are there to lend a hand. Nothing robs a man of initiative and creativity faster than a handout be it from government or the local drug dealer. Both are enablers in their own insidious ways but the end result is plain to see. Leave your rose-colored glasses at home for this tour. It's better you see this in black and white. The contrast will open your eyes. Maybe the Jihadists were intentionally pedaling a political message that day but I would tell you that was probably lost on Evan. He is ready and wanting to come home soon if only for a few days to "drive through Portsmouth" or so he says. A return to normalcy. A reassuring return to normalcy. Home sweet home.
Has the world gone crazy? Two weeks ago we were continents apart from Africa where the deadly Ebola virus is on the rampage. It is a killer disease where you bleed from your eyes and vomit relentlessly until you die. It is a virus that is spread through contact with infected people and is not as yet an airborne disease. Two Americans returned from Africa in the last month or two after contacting the disease and both have recovered after receiving treatment. And now, because of our government's unwillingness to protect our borders and because of their apparent collective guilt over what our ancestors did when they engaged in the trafficking of slaves which essentially created hell holes like Sierra Leone and Liberia, it is now somehow our responsibility to see to it that we assist with that problem. When no other country in the world is sending their people in to help we are sending in 5000 American soldiers where they too will become yet another statistic in the war against this dreadful disease. Is Obama so disdainful of our soldiers that he would expose them to this unbelievable threat? And in the last few days, yet another case of Ebola has arrived on our shores and there are at least 100 people with whom this Nigerian national has come into contact so the contagion is now on the march.
An enterovirus, now spreading like wildfire to the children in our country, is a form of polio and one that is otherwise indigenous to populations in Central and South America. It is here now paralyzing and killing our children because of the express intent of the Obama Administration to flood our borders and fill our country with "dreamers" who have marched uninterrupted across our borders in the hundreds of thousands over the last 12 months. This is the democrat's natural constituency and one that will ensure that they remain in power for the foreseeable future if done right. Just the other day, President Obama rallied a group of Hispanics boasting about having driven from the White House to the rally with two "dreamers" (illegal aliens) and that his audience should get out to vote come November to ensure that their interests are protected. He has also made his intentions clear about what he plans to do after the elections which is to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. He has been warned by members of his own party that to do so before the election would surely end up delivering both houses of Congress to the Republicans. If the Senate goes Republican, you can be assured that articles of impeachment will be immediately drawn once the President has used his "pen and his phone" to grant amnesty. I'm not sure that articles of impeachment won't be drawn even without the amnesty issue. Time will tell.