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From: Jim Niles
Date: 21 Sep 2007
Time: 08:16 AM
Howdy: I’m sitting here thinking about my grandmother and Robert Brown. Now how could those two people be connected? Like Bob, my grandmother was politically conservative. Unlike Bob and the majority of my classmates, she was also a scholar, with the discipline that must accompany such endeavors. Her theology was also sound and open-minded. She was tolerant of everyone. She taught school for over forty years. She went back to the university of Houston at 72 and got an advanced degree in English Literature. She also liked to argue with me about politics. When we were done, she would always say, “well, at least you’ve done your homework,” sort of like the ending of a Presidential Press Conference, with “Thank you, Mr. President.” Embarking on my own teaching, I asked her how to handle behavior problems. Her reply was, “What behavior problems; I’ve never had any.?” The only way I knew I had changed her mind was from the universal hatred held of me by some of the other relatives. Her oldest brother adored me, and my Aunt Patsy , who started the newspaper in Huntsvile was a great drinking buddy. Other than that, everybody was quite angry and jealous that my grandmother and I were best friends. I steadfastly kept my mouth shut around them and overheard them complaining about me once, saying that I must have supplied her with those “liberal” ideas. I can appeal only to a higher power for Reason, when it comes to the religious and political differences that abound in our country. My own generation is so far away from embracing anything pluralistic that it makes me shudder. If we don’t figure out how to communicate, we’re doomed. The Democrats want to run everything by consensus. That’s where some almost leader conducts mind reading exercises and comes up with a plan that satisfies no one and creates more bureaucracies. It doesn’t even rise to the level of compromise, which is at least voted on and hammered out on the platform of debate. Consensus is a form of anarchy and nihilism, which is best defined by such governments and populations as inhabit places like Mexico. The Republicans are so entrenched and have their heals dug in and their heads so far up their own asses that they refuse to agree about what we agree about, much less figure out compromises to some of the disagreements. Everybody is so angry that civility has disappeared. A generation that was required to do their home work, empty the trash, answer letters and write thank you notes, won’t even respond to an e-mail that requires no stamp. I am by-passing the normal chain of command here, because my polite questions have received no reply. Some of the apparent oversights on this website disturb me. There is no mention of our orchestra or music played by them. Even for a time when school systems had dual music programs in many places, our orchestra was one of the best in the country and spawned many All-State players. There is nary a picture. There is no reference to our class plays or pictures. Those productions required a vast amount of team work, both on stage and behind the scenes. While no one will dispute the excellence of the trumpet trio, some fine musicians played instruments other than those small brass ones–Gary Brown’s stunning Marimba and percussion work for instance. More than just three people contributed to the drama department, though our version of the Ballet Trocadero was tutuly delicious. Can anyone else think of some things we may have left out?