Thursday

                          Musings and History

Quote of the day:

“You are not a real star until they can spell your name in Pakistan.”

                                     Humphrey Bogart

The following is from a while back.

I guess all of you have read about people trying to interrupt Trump's meetings. One of the lunatics that was thrown out said that wanted to stop Trump. Stop Trump from what? Did he want to stop Trump from speaking because he does not agree with him?  All of that sounds like Nazis to me. I am not a died in the wood Trump fan but I am a fan of the United States Constitution. Trump and everybody else has the right to speak their mind. The police protect Westboro Baptist Church lunatics when demonstrating in front of a funeral for a soldier that was killed in combat. As much as I hate it, they do have that right. They do NOT have the right to go into the church and interfere with the service and neither does that jackass that tried to stop Trump at a meeting of his followers. All that obnoxious man has to do is change channels when Trump or anything offensive is shown...change stations when he is on the radio...and finally, do not vote for him or anyone else he/she finds offensive. But you know what, that demonstration may have been staged to make the Trump supporters more steely in their dedication...or maybe by the Republican Party “establishment” to derail down the Trump express, in any event it as NOT spontaneous.

                                        Heidi

This is the tale of Heidi. She is small of stature but had the heart of a lion. No one knows what her real name was because she was named Heidi by a receptionist at a doctor’s office. She was found roaming the streets near Lexington, South Carolina in 2005 by a citizen who called the officials to come and pick her up because she was crippled and barely able to move. Heidi was found and taken to a safe shelter for the time being. Little Heidi is a dachshund whose spine had been damaged and her hind quarters were inoperable. The Lexington County Animal Control called a member of Dachshund Rescue of America who lived in nearby Columbia, South Carolina. This dedicated member gathered up Heidi and took her to a veterinarian for an examination. The vet said that surgery would not cure Heidi’s affliction and she should be euthanized because of the lack of a “quality of life” in her future. It is the policy of this particular Dachshund Rescue group that before a dachshund under guardianship of a member can be euthanized, it must be voted on by the President and the Board of Directors. After the President had a conversation with the vet, it was decided euthanasia was not necessary. Heidi remained in this member’s house even though Heidi would move around dragging her hind quarters. As you might suspect, Heidi did not have control of her bodily functions so the member fitted her with children’s number 3 diapers and cut a hole in it which allowed her tail to stick out. I met Heidi and on out first encounter it was obvious that she did not know she was handicapped. She ran around playing with the other dogs and responded to any actions by the people there. In fact, there was an obvious touch of vinegar in this girl's attitude. She was advertised for adoption on the Dachshund Rescue website which is www.DRNA.org. Later on a lady from Canada admired Heidi’s obvious spirit and will to survive and adopted her. Through a series of transfers from one member to another, Heidi made her way to Canada and the ownership of the lady of faith. This fine person fitted Heidi with a small carriage with wheels that lifted Heidi’s hind quarters off the ground and allowed her much more mobility. The lady from Canada reported that when she took Heidi to a dog park she thought she was in command by running around and trying to herd up the other dogs. Heidi became a Canadian celebrity for her sheer courage and spirit. She eventually became a mascot that is taken from facility to facility that cared for crippled people and homes for the elderly to show that life is not over when a wheelchair is required. She is loved by all who has seen her. Her “wheelchair” has a checkered race flag and the word Heidi painted on it. She is an inspiration for us all. I am glad I got to meet her. By the way, the rescuer and guardian was my daughter Mardy, in whom I am well pleased as I am of all of my children.

Since I composed this Heidi's organs began to fail because of her age and she was mercifully euthanized...but the memory of her endures...thanks Margaret.

              This Date in History   March 16

1751 On this date future president James Madison is born on a Virginia plantation. James led a privileged childhood and attended the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) and graduated after only two years. After college in 1771 Madison returned home very ill and it took him until 1776 to sufficiently recover to return to politics where he became a member of the Virginia legislature. James was a drafter of the United States Constitution and was a chronicler of the Constitutional Convention. His notes of the Convention are the most accurate of any records of that immortal meeting. But Madison forbade any of his notes to be made public until all those in attendance had died. It was he, John Jay and Thomas Jefferson that authored The Federalist Papers which foster the idea of a larger government being better capable of the protection of individual rights. The most important of these was Federalist Paper No. 10 authored by Madison alone. James married Dolly Payne Todd who proved to be one of the finest hosts of all time in Washington. While James Madison was Secretary of State under the widowed Thomas Jefferson, it was Dolly that arranged and hosted the White House frivolities in behalf of Jefferson. After resigning from public office he became rector for Thomas Jefferson’s beloved University of Virginia. Later on he became the president of Virginia State Teachers College at Harrisonburg. The college eventually became James Madison University. Madison was yet another man that showed up at the right place in the right time in history with the right skills and determination to contribute to the success of this great experiment in freedom known as the United States of America. We need many more men/women of this caliber.

              Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow