Monday means a civic . . . and generally responsible . . . mindset.

  

Last week of July already?!  

Last year at this time, I was in a bit of a panic getting ready to load up the truck for the trek to San Francisco for the ACC Show.  Unfortunately, this year I will not be able to freeze in August in that beautiful city (nor eat world-class Chinese food) . . .  instead, I will sweat while mired in Christmas right here at home (eating Special K -- bleh.)

I just wish the ACC would quit sending me emails every day to remind me that I am not there . . . a fact of which I am already painfully aware.  But we can't have everything we want, and sometimes other considerations plant themselves firmly in the way (read: family reunions).

All of which doesn't mean I'm not in a panic and getting ready to load up the truck! We are going on a vacation next week (hence the Special K)  and I HAVE procrastinated successfully enough and for a long enough period of time that I will be working on my nativity piece right up until the moment that I zip my suitcase!

It's nice to have things you can count on.

These days it seems one of those things is an ever-present political brouhaha in this great country. A mighty clamor about something or other --

Michele and Sarah vie for the media spotlight 

with both sides claiming to be ordained (in a spirit of cooperation!) to seize the baton-of-best-interests of "the American people" in one hand, and a giant flag in the other, for a sprint to the promised land our forefathers really imagined, bathed in the glory of Democracy and divine power afforded them by whatever mandate they imagine put them in office . . .

Sometimes I wonder who these "American people" are that they keep referring to, as if we are a tidy bunch snug in the back pocket of only some of our elected officials.  Because when I look around I see a whole lot of diversity.  And I voted, but I did not vote to be kept in the pockets of the people who seem to think they have me there.

Although Small Works  is a largely politics-free zone . . . in order to divert our attention from the potential smacking of our collective heads on the debt ceiling, I thought we could have some feel good patriotic moments on this Monday!

Leave it to Stephan Pastis to kick things off right:

I thought that cartoon was really funny . . . 

until I remembered this book I purchased a few years ago:

As I flipped through the pages, I couldn't really believe the flag-waving (propagandizing) that was being done under the guise of a reading primer . . .

But since listening to a few more news reports, I have decided perhaps it is just about time to return to some simple ideas.

I particularly liked number 5.  Minnesota could have avoided the longest government shutdown in history if Miss Hill (is her first name Capitol, btw?)  had given that lesson more recently than 1940.

We've gotten so smart and correct and modern and uppity these days, 

we can't seem to get ANYTHING done.

I'm considering packaging up the whole book and sending it to my elected officials.  Maybe Al Franken could get some mileage out of it in the House . . . 

And while Al's working on that, 
I guess I should take my own advice and review rule number 7.

Which means get off the computer and get back to work.
Or should I say, "begin work." 

Okay, okay . . . 

class dismissed.