[at-l] Red, white and blue 229th birthday

[spiriteagle99 at hotmail.com (Jim and/or Ginny Owen)]

I'm not gonna answer anyone particular here.  I just think it might be 
appropriate to note several things here -

1.  that all the angst over the election result has exactly the same root 
cause as the majority of "incomplete" thruhikes --- unrealisitic 
expectations.  As I posted once before - you have a right to vote - that 
right does NOT extend to any reasonable assurance that "your" candidate will 
occupy the WHite House.  Elections are a "process" - and part of the process 
is that not everyone "wins."  And that life still goes on.  Welcome to the 
real world.  For anyone who's interested, Richard Cohen (a Liberal's 
liberal) had something to say about this -

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35436-2004Nov8.html

2. that there are thousands of your friends and neighbors who are in harms 
way today.  Many of them are Marines.  And this is their collective 
birthday.  I found the following link this morning - I think it's worth 
reading even though it has little, if anything, to do with hiking.  But it 
has a lot do to with the reason why we all have the freedom to hike.

http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/005872.php

3. For Chainsaw - Thank you.  It's always nice to hear from you.

4. For Red - where is Shannon?  And how is she doing?  Tell her I said 
"Thank you."  And Semper Fi.  Us Marines need to stick together.

5. Finally - just so I don't have to use time I don't have to start another 
post ---- I've quietly supported Weary's Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust 
for the last several years - in fact, from the beginning.  I will continue 
to do so as long as I'm working (For those who understand this, there are 
still 513 bottles of beer on the wall).  My rationale is this - what I give 
to MATLT may do some good, it cannot do any harm.  And as long as I'm 
working, I can certainly afford it.  Even if MATLT goes bust - I won't have 
lost anything that I can't afford to lose.  But if I don't give, MATLT "may" 
go bust - and I'll have failed to do something good.  YMMV but if you won't 
put your money where your mouth is, then who do you think you're fooling?

Y'all have a good day,
Jim