Dear America,

First let's clean house a bit:

The opening page of yahoo, told of a different headline than what was really going on... declaring, oh my gosh... something that is terribly untrue -- oh, the shock, the horror, be still my broken heart.

Bristol Palin was not "out for revenge" on the "haters" -- and she did not think ill of Jennifer Grey winning the shiny sparkly globe of dancing jubilation, okay; when she said she had "the time of her life" it wasn't a dig, alright.  She was gracious and probably, very happy it was all finally over.

And you know, I really can't understand the controversy; when you have a show that allows voters to stem the tide, and sway a certain way, for whatever reason -- popularity or skill -- then you just have to two step with it; it's what it is.  You think Emmitt Smith got the big dancing ball by just his dancing shoes?   Against Mario Lopez? ...who were side by side with identical scores in the end? when it came down to "popularity" -- or who's got a bigger "fan base."  Pulleeze.

 America, we can't be a bunch of poor sports now, we've come too far, for too long, to have a bad attitude and snide comments get in our way.   Fair and balanced means anything goes, competition doesn't play  favorites, except sometimes, maybe it does!


Some could say, Jennifer Grey had a clear cut, pointy toe advantage  -- is that fair?  really? to have made history making the moves on our dear Patrick Swayze so long ago?  Who came from the family jewels of a rather famous father, a dancer and choreographer, Joel Grey, no less.  C'mon.

All is fair in love and dancing, especially when it is made for TV (and you know who really benefited, was ABC -- if anyone wants to get after somebody, how about we take a look see at the corporate media mogul over there sitting pretty on a table for what, five million, sipping champagne).  FYI, just guessing on how many people actually watched the series...I have NO idea, so don't quote me.

So, having said all that, I feel better; but let us move into other feats of journalistic wonderment, and review an article simply titled: FOUR IN 10 say MARRIAGE IS BECOMING OBSOLETE...November 18, by HOPE YEN, of the Associated Press.  Hmmm Hope, is that really what is happening?

Oh, and it's not just Hope who carried this drumbeat, much of the media picked this story up...kind of like a big mass of haters, sneering at the sacred tradition with contempt, as if marriage is soooooooo nineteen eighty-nine.

The article went on to note "in 1978, just 28 percent believed marriage was becoming obsolete..." after claiming it was "indeed, about 39 percent of Americans said...obsolete" only a sentence before. So in thirty two years, the idea that marriage is becoming obsolete is up by 11%.

after decades of divorce, Hollywood, and the ever so popular use of a cultural and relationship killing phenomenon -- none other than the arrow through the back by way of a sordid affair of the heart and soul, or after decades of children being raised with virtually one parent, trading weekends (myself included in this group) at about the rate of "29 percent of all children under the age of 18",  or after distancing ourselves from God, as a culture, slowly, recklessly, mindlessly, over the last several years to maybe an entire century -- the IDEA that MARRIAGE is becoming OBSOLETE is only up by about ten percent???  THAT IS AMAZING ...have God's grace on thee.

Personally, and being a half full kind a girl, I don't know how we did it.

I think that is remarkable, given where we have taken our culture, meandering the streets of dirty dancing, drugs, selfish ambitions, personal careers at the expense of family, greed, loss of spirituality and a connectedness to Something greater than ourselves, only to name a few.

Having said all that, Hope does make some alarming, but well thought out observations of the changes we are making, as a people: pointing out the effect of the "changing views of family are being driven largely by young adults 18-29, who are more like than older generations to have an unmarried or divorced parent...have more liberal attitudes when it comes to spousal roles and living together before marriage."

Hope also mentioned the number of people who would be sitting around the table this Thanksgiving could be in the range of about twenty people -- a family more than likely piecemeal-ed together with extended family, friends, step parents and siblings, and maybe even both parents -- but then again, maybe not (got about a fifty-fifty chance).

The thing is, not until you get about two-thirds of the way in do we discover a number that really counts:

"Still, the study indicates that marriage isn't going to disappear anytime soon. 

Despite a growing view that marriage may not be necessary, 67% of Americans were upbeat about the future of marriage and family. 

That's higher than their optimism for the nation's educational system (50%), economy (46%), or its morals and ethics (41%)...

about HALF of all currently unmarried adults, 46% say they want to get married. Among those unmarried who are living with a partner, the share rises to 64%."

You can read more at http://pewsocialtrends.org

Make no mistake, and let me be clear, now:  67% of Americans were upbeat about the future of marriage and family, according to the same survey, the same study, who declared Four in Ten say marriage is becoming OBSOLETE.  wow.

I guess it's all in how you look at it.

Funny could it be that the same haters of Bristol Palin (who really hate her mom) be in the same group as those declaring marriage as going away some time soon??  perhaps even, hoping and wishing and praying that marriage itself might meet it's ultimate fate, dancing off the stage, in a runaway bride sort of way, along with any and all family tradition whatsoever, in a warped Cinderella style Disney destiny...

Now, could it be that those who are upbeat about marriage and family --  the 67% crowd -- might actually be the ones who were voting for the underdog, in droves, that kept Bristol dancing, and smiling, all the way to the very end?  Just sayin'

And looky here, full circle, isn't this just a perfect week to give thanks and praise for what really works in society  (and what doesn't) in everything from marriage, to family, to faith, to humanity rising to the levels it really needs to be, in order to make a more perfect UNION...we can always strive AS A PEOPLE OF MANY OPINIONS and VIEWS to be better, in all we do, in all we say, in all we think about, as we go about dancing about in our own little world.

We can only hope, and give thanks,  and maybe even try a little harder from now on.

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

I'm not gonna lie.

I'm not gonna pretend I've been here since day one, when I have been clearly out of sight and out of mind.

I've been gone baby gone...for a couple of weeks now...

I can honestly say I haven't lifted a golf club, nor have I attended any concerts (unless of course you would like to count an 8th grade commencement ceremony jazz ensemble -- who were amazingly quite good -- Go, Earl Warren Middle School), but I have easily cheered on for America in the World Cup games, taken in a couple of my girl's Friday Night Lights Field Hockey games, watched a little Wimbledon -- while I even gathered the nerve to dust off the racket myself! 

We have slept in, we have stayed up late, we have read books, we have cooked, we have had family visit, we have had graduation, we have lived one day to the next on what appears to fall under one category, and one category alone -- SUMMER.  It is here.

Family vacations, taking a little time off, children running through sprinklers, fireworks, barbecues, lemonade, spending a long afternoon soaking up a good book on the beach, celebrating summer in each our own way begins to shape our days and nights, upturning the usual routine rather easily.

Of course, the world does not stop when the summer solstice hits, does it.  Just when you think you can slip into a sand dune and let the world go by... bam... Rolling Stone turns the tide faster than you can say Afghanistan in June.

Yet for me, I was still in the midst of reading my Newsweek from June 21st, surfing through it's usually cadre of left vs. right; never would have paid money for it if it weren't for the visit with the folks -- papa was drawn to "Saint Sarah" on the cover and that was all she wrote. Lucky for me, he left it for me to peruse.  But little did he know, it would be another article that would ultimately strike my inner fem fancy (not), simply titled "I DON'T THE CASE AGAINST MARRIAGE".  Oh joy.

Now that the worst parts over, and tying the serendipity of these two things together, I guess we can all be grateful that the Rolling Stone brought to light the irreconcilable differences -- and like any good divorce, it's all for the better.  And yeah, Petraeus!  Besides the obvious humor in the fact that our Commander in Chief returned to a general whom Bush handpicked to save the day in Iraq, watching the mercury rising in thin skinned Obama for a couple days could very well have been great entertainment -- if it weren't for the reality that we were still right smack in the middle of a war.

But that's just the way of the world these days, isn't it.  If things don't work out, walk away.  If you can't say something nice, say it anyway and carry on.  If the right thing for the whole is the wrong thing for a few, protest, light a car on fire, call each other names, ridicule and fall back on partisan politics. But in the end, oh we should be so proud, Rolling Stone, a magazine!, changed the tempo of a war! overnight!  Wow.  One might think there was a conspiracy involved, but that would be just juvenile, wouldn't it.

Things just weren't working out in dem dare hills of Afghanistan.  There were mounting frustrations, they were behind schedule, there were irreconcilable differences between civilian command and McCrystal, it was turning out to be the highest month of record in losing our troops, with a looming deadline only a year away;  a game-changer, an affair of the heart, a loss of loyalty's, a punch in commitment and faith, was just what we needed to turn things upside down and find a way out or a way back in.

Something had to give.  Something had to change.  Something had to bring new life into the arranged marriage that it is -- having nothing to do with McCrystal, but everything to do with the bigger picture, of America and Afghanistan; otherwise, we would lose all sense and sensibilities of the inherent relationship worthy of repair and the very reasons we were together in the first place.  The truth is, no relationship can successfully live on the brink for long -- for indifference kills whatever spark is left.

The "I Don't" article declares right up front,

"Once upon a time, marriage made sense.  It was how women ensured their financial security, got the fathers of their children to stick around, and gained access to a host of legal rights. But 40 years after the feminist movement established our rights in the workplace, a generation after the divorce rate peaked, and a decade after Sex and the City made singledom chic, marriage is -- from a legal and practical standpoint, at least -- no longer necessary."

Ah no need to read anymore.  It is done. Finished.  If you go on to read the arguments against marriage, it will not disappoint, surely, these two "educated, young, urban professionals, committed to our careers, friendships, and yes, relationships" have it all figured out.

Kind of like Afghanistan, America gets swooped off her feet, only to be left with still the majority of the house cleaning and chores, even if in fact bringing home substantially more bacon, shouldering way more than her fair share of the overhead -- and if that weren't enough, left alone to deal with the kids, or unscrupulous dictator, more often than not -- a raw deal, indeed. 

But with the high speed modern world, changing war tactics via the pages of a magazine, living in the new era of the "more educated and less religious" -- like Europe, as the case has us led to believe -- we can see right through the sanctity of marriage along with any other complicated commitments made around the world for what they truly are, as merely the outdated, war-torn, archaic symbols of domestic and foreign relations alike. 

We quickly deteriorate into a world where "egalitarian, independent couples" turn us into "egalitarian, global communities" intertwined not for tradition, culture and the strength of family, but for the social justice of a different kind; systematically and liberally tearing down the very institutions that have made us and have made us good.

The thing is, with the help of the due diligence made self evident in "I Don't", clearly feminists are to blame for society breaking down before our very eyes as we speak -- no it is not a mirage, it is true; bearing in mind that "41% of American births that occurred outside the marriage in 2008 -- the highest figure ever recorded", along with the 30-50% high school drop out rates from east to west, our children being raised in a sea of instability while under the spell of reality TV, scandal,  nonexistent parenting and liberal indoctrination, oh and let us not forget, the gluttony of the "less religious and more educated" re-framing and advocating less God and more Mao-ism mindset as the new way and the new truth and the new light....you're right, who needs the institution of marriage any longer, we are doing so much better the further we fall away from something so Betty Crocker like that.

I looked up on Yahoo Answers just how Atheists get married, just for kicks and giggles. It was the strangest thing.  Of course, there were the general responses, like "on the beach, at the park..."  Then a few others caught my eye, one telling of her own experience saying it was "outside in a garden.  The ceremony was done by a Christian Minister, but only because he is a friend of mine."  another one simply noted, "an Atheist Unitarian Minister" -- just how many oxymoron's do you get out of that?

Even when we crave to get so far away from tradition in this modern world, somehow we still cling to a courage of convictions of all that is real and true in the expression of our commitment; we cannot help ourselves, we still clamor to make wholly and right -- before friends,  family, the entire world, even if under our own terms and conditions.   It still has to feel like it means something.

"I Don't" gets one thing really right -- marriage is far more than economics today.  We are learning that perhaps the rush into marriage at a young age, for traditions sake, posed a few issues -- especially for women.  But has the adverse of the last 40 years served us -- women and children -- any better? 

Can we now wait to find our soul mate and tie the knot for all the right reasons, and grow families and have careers, without losing our ability to raise secure, thoughtful, compassionate, educated, spiritual creatures who grow up wise and wonderful, productive and happy, pillars of the community? 

Can we now settle down ...and figure out really, truly how to get it all?  Because if this is the new feminism idea of marriage being no longer necessary, this culture of what's the point,  commitment/contempt-ment , nothing really matters except my career right now, my kids are fine, doesn't matter what the Constitution says, the Declaration of Independence has nothing to do with Natural Law and unalienable rights endowed by our creator, it is just a piece of paper, I read it in a magazine, shall we continue?

As a culture, we will not survive.

While Afghanistan may be in better hands now -- with second chances coming by way of General Petraeus leading us into a renewal of our vows -- what about us? 

Borders mean something.  Boundaries mean something.  Commitments mean something.  Constitutions mean something.  Pieces of paper, embodying clear cut documentation of original intent,  all mean something.  And this world, our world, is testing this upon every level of society and living -- from the individual family, and extending far beyond, to the larger community we share.

What we have at stake in the age of enlightenment against the sanctity of marriage, as carefully laid out by Jessica Bennett and Jesse Ellison in a nutshell and in a magazine, is telling us far more than the life expectancy of the typical, and expendable, husband and wife scenario; but rather, the travesty of taking for granted that which we do not fully respect, j'adore, nor understand anymore as the "more educated and less religious" we become -- for it has ramifications.

Owning up to the ramifications will take more strength of character than every feminist put together; for it is not about you, your career, or who you hook up with, or for how long, is it. We do not do temporary living arrangements, short term commitments, multiple households, empty churches, broken children any better than long term soulless marriages from yesteryear.

As that reality sinks in, it should be mentioned that the secular custom of marriage, according to most every culture, was strengthened by religion as the modern world progressed; we, as a people, chose to bring in deity and ritual before God and family for a reason -- as we were made stronger, deeper and truer to each other in the process.  Not always; but contrary to one of the  "I Don't" boxes of note stating that "one in five U.S. marriages dissolves within five years" --  FOUR out of FIVE continue to proclaim I DO!

Oh it is good to be back.

Make it a Good Day, G

Dear America,

Here's the thing, I had in my head these last couple of days songs from Fiddler on the Roof.  I Was planning on the song 'Tradition' for your jump start this week, and then the more I thought about it, 'Sunrise Sunset' seemed more in line with my mood; what can I say, the sweet poignant melody won over the raucous Jewish papa trying to make a point. Not to mention, the prophetic moment in the movie...the love birds were just starting out and had absolutely no idea what was in store for them over the course of their marriage.  Crazy kids.

And speaking of kids, I think it is pretty rotten what they are doing to Christopher Columbus in school these days. Of course, my gripes over the loss of Columbus aren't anything new.  It's been a slow death over the years; little by little, any tradition that appears like we are holding to our guns and religion seems to have fallen by the wayside, like they've been tossed off the wagon lying dazed and confused, and poof, left in the dust!

Yeah, it's okay to abuse the C word to sell cars, or mattresses, or use as a fresh department store ploy to bring customers back in the door -- even banks and court houses are closed in honor of him -- but teaching our kids a little American folklore, fugetaboutit.  Using Christopher to make a buck, now that's American; but to make every attempt to bury the guy from the pages of history with new questions raised, or invalidating what was thought to be India in his mind, and turning just a small piece of our birth on it's ear, now that would be making a good impression on our kids --  and while we're at it, let's go ahead and change the day to teaching tolerance towards trans-gender students, or something like that.

As if this wasn't enough to send an American girl packing, the school calendar still has to account for some silly excuse for the day off -- in honor of the day we used to call Columbus Day.  To throw us parent's off the trail, schools get a little sneaky about it too; as my girl had the last Monday in September off, it was just far enough away from the actual day to be sure we wouldn't connect the dots, but we're onto them; while the best name they could come up with for use on the calendar was "Certificated Non-Work Day;" really, they did.

It is nice to know there are still some places, mostly on the east coast, who still carry on a Columbus Day Parade tradition --  hip hip hooray for that show of bravery -- and my bonnet off to you.  I wonder how long before the District of Columbia will change it's name?  Oh G, don't go there...

I have no intention to go into all the seedy details of why our dear Christopher has been thrown under the Nina, the Pinta or the Santa Maria, there are plenty of bloggers and TIME magazine articles to get your fill of that controversy a little more.  I'm not here to do that.

But in keeping with how I started out this morning, I ask you, does a marriage last looking back to all the bad times?  Does it manage to keep the ties that bind by constantly rehashing what doesn't work and what isn't going right?  Is that the way to preserve the tradition and celebration of the union of two people?  Nag, Nag Nag...that's all you ever do...

I think not.

Traditions last because they are worthy of the effort; and they ultimately become the force that sustains us as we go from day to day, sunrise to sunset, year in and year out.  We begin to piece together his traditions, her traditions, and make new family traditions, all the while keeping in concert with the season, elements of our culture that help bring us together in celebration year after year, through thick and thin. 

Yes.  It may very well be that Christopher wasn't a perfect gentleman; but in the day, his day, brutality was the way -- or else you may not have survived to live to see another day; the call for keeping things in perspective here, people, would be an understatement.  Not that it is an excuse for harming other people; but let's face it, the system today wants us to totally rewrite tradition simply because we have evolved -- and in doing so we assume to know more in all of our political correctness, and with that knowledge, choosing the best course for America appears to be working awfully hard at trying to discredit her bit by bit, silly traditions and all. 

You know, there are people who never wanted Chris to succeed, some even say that Queen Isabel herself was just playing with him; did you ever think about that?  The funny thing is, not believing everything you read, or everything you hear, was just as noteworthy then as it is today; so put that in your peace pipe and smoke it.

And speaking of Queens, you know our President had a date with destiny over the weekend; having a colorful audience march on Washington -- the Human Rights Campaign to further the rights of Gays and Lesbians-- reminding him of the promises he made to them only a year ago.  As reported, the audience was not necessarily all for one and one for all, in fact, they were almost split (would that be Bi?) in their loyalties to our President, as it would seem he hasn't done enough, fast enough.  Oh, I beg to differ on that one, but who am I to say?

Anyway, one of the group's chief beefs is with this "don't ask, don't tell" policy in the military -- signed into operation in 1993 by President Clinton.  So let's hold up for a moment --

Now, talk about tradition -- the military is one area that is built upon basic rank and file tradition, and make no apologies for it.  Matter of fact, if I may be so bold, the military probably survives BECAUSE of their traditions.  How they train, by enforcing codes of honor and discipline and exercises past on through the generations-- is based on tradition.  How they communicate on base with each other, by salute, by title, and on the field in special forces and secret missions -- is based on tradition.  The trust built between troops and leaders is built upon the strength knowing that someone has your back -- is based on tradition.

In the military -- unless you are on R&R or on leave (that is a whole nother level) -- it is never about sexual preferences at all, ever; it's about one thing, and one thing only, and that thing is making sure each man or woman is prepared to follow through with the duty at hand, the mission, the order of the day. Period. 

And don't you think it should be up to the military to decide its own policy -- wouldn't they know best?  Wouldn't preserving the commoradery and trust be the ultimate goal, while I may be stepping out of line must add, don't you think they know a little more about this than a President who has never served?

Yeah, yeah, I'm just a girl, so what do I know -- but I'd be willing to bet there have been gay men (and women) fighting in wars for, ooh I don't know, centuries; God knows, anyone read about the Romans and Greeks, hello?  The notion that there are real men, who also happen to be gay, who want to honor their country by joining the military is nothing new. 

But really, is it the right thing to talk about it?  What is so wrong with the "don't ask, don't tell", perhaps someone could enlighten me?  But isn't it more important to just know that the guy following your ass is a friend and not a foe -- isn't it more of a matter of being sure that no matter what, no matter who you prefer to go home to at the end of the day, that this guy has you covered?  Maybe that wasn't the best choice of words...

And I would also assume, don't you guys know anyway?  Don't you pick up on the signs?  And perhaps, when considering the importance of keeping the stability and loyalty factors on high alert, maybe this is an issue we really shouldn't be announcing, as if wearing pink fatigues.  I mean, come on, besides cowboys, this is probably one of the most manly professions of all time...just keeping it real.

And even though I am not one of those women who would find delight following in my father's footsteps in the Navy, it doesn't mean they aren't there; plenty of women join and are certainly fully capable.  They, too, have every right of becoming the best that they can be in the Army, or whatever.  Truth is, these days there are women who dig that, I'm just not one of them.

And yes, the military welcomes any new recruit; but lest we forget the structure of the military itself is all about conformity; nobody should step out of line and nobody should fall out of pace with the pack.  The military really doesn't have time to care if you have to come out of the locker or not --its nothing personal, its just business -- the business of protecting our nation and any other people in distress.

You know, as luck would have it-- and this may be a huge leap for some of you-- but I caught the end of a Rock Hudson and Doris Day movie on Sunday, a romantic comedy from 1962 in Lover Come Back. He's totally this Hollywood heartthrob, a yummy yummy man -- DD was kind of cute, too, but who cares about her, right. 

But let me ask you this, would Rock have been able to pull it off all those years if we knew he was gay?  Think about it.

Hudson worked as an aircraft mechanic in WWII for two years, do you think anybody asked?  Do you think he wanted to tell?  Did the war survive and more importantly, was the mission accomplished, without knowing which side of the fence he was hitting, of course along side anyone else of similar persuasions, or not? 

You know, Rock's Hollywood agent made him get married just to throw off the dogs, it's just what you did back then in order to uphold the image of every woman's dream and maintain a position of integrity on the silver screen; I guess that would also explain the moment when Rock pops out of bed the next morning, after a drunken stupor that leads to their demise in marriage, still wearing his pajama bottoms (that scene's been changed in Hollywood too)...anyway

If we could just take a moment to step back a bit and take a breath, without it appearing like we do not care at all (because we do), and see the bigger picture in all of this? Is there a chance for that?

What Americans have seemed to have forgotten is that tradition can serve us; and serve us quite well over the years in fact.  Dare I say, tradition has made or saved millions of marriages and won wars! 

Tradition can celebrate a hero of yesteryear with a parade down main street and kids making paper hats, reciting an old, enduring story --albeit romanticized -- surrounding the discovery of a new land (even though we know the Indians or Vikings were already here). 

According to my studies, what seems to work best with tradition is accentuating the positive and looking at the bright side--  finding the appropriate lesson to learn -- in spite of knowing, that even Columbus was human and made some mistakes;  to dig any deeper, we're likely to uncover just more dirt.  On the other hand, dig in the right spot far enough, we may strike oil, or a fountain of youth, or a civilization carrying the secrets of keeping the peace for over two hundred years and counting.

Honestly, the liabilities of taking a hard look down memory lane may downright send us all into a tailspin, if we're not careful.

The reality is, the ages have not been kind to anyone-- dictators, rulers, kings and queens, Indians and pilgrims, Christians and Muslims, communists and Jews, rich and poor, women and children, dinosaurs and cavemen, polar bears and all -- millions upon millions of lives have been snuffed right off the face of this earth from unadulterated brutality -- whether for the right reason or not, with or without rewrites -- history speaks for itself. Killing even so much as a fly, is still death.

America, the so-called evil, war mongering empire that it is, did not invent war, hostile takeovers, or anything close; after a painful birth, America was actually the first to bring real civility unto the world, and to this day tradition still stands as the symbol of hope and prosperity for all people.   

So do we have to lose our soul, the golden thread that binds, the stories that teach, and the traditions we hold dear altogether because of technicalities?  Does looking back to our faults and failures serve us?  Ultimately, will this new attitude build us up or tear us down? For me, it is just foolish to keep looking at ways that continue to polarize us, when at our fingertips are ways to meet if not somewhere in the middle, but perhaps find us, along with our baggage, even upon higher ground.

And speaking of accentuating the positive, how about this, how about we make an avant garde shift of our own making.  Not to diminish the professionals, the architects, the attorneys, the doctors, the designers, the chefs who also happen to be gay -- but what is it that we characterize most with the gay culture?  Come on...you can do it...

Think about it -- with all due respect in their inherent ability to never fail us --  we all know that anyone who is considered a total flamer knows three things very well.

• they make the juiciest cocktails
• they throw the most fabulous parties
• and parades, don't even get me started

Am I right, or what?  They are the party Gods, no less; and can turn anything into a festival, even under the stress of a total PR conundrum like Columbus Day.  I am most certain they can turn that ship around  faster than you can say, chrissy cocktail.

So you know what I'm thinking... I'm thinking drastic times call for drastic measures; a situation like this warrants a whole new department, a new Queen Czar if you will.

Gays should simply take charge of festivities.  Besides doing all the other stuff they do so well-- with flair,  flamboyance, in absolute perfection -- and how do you say, jeune sais qua -- they can also bring back the dip-pity-do, turn paper mache back into an art form, and pass out the jello-shots, teaching America how to make even hangover's fun on New Year's Day to ringing it all in again on New Year's Eve along with everything that comes in between, hell, maybe we can invent even more holidays under the new management (Rio, yo bettero y watcha yo backejo, si...)

The mission: ushering in a new era, and assuring a new nation, of a return to the day when America celebrated its traditions freely and openly, in schools and in neighborhoods, from sunrise to sunset, military bands and all.

For who doesn't love a parade, no?

make it a good day, this Christopher COLUMBUS day, hip hip hooray day,  G

You know if it works, the gays on parade force, maybe they can do something with cleaning up Hollywood too...aren't the old musicals on the big screen overdue for a comeback...imagine a Judy  Garland back to life. Or how about Paint Your Wagon with Clint Eastwood before Dirty Harry?  Or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or Oklahoma or My Fair Lady or White Christmas or all the Elvis Presley and Esther Williams movies ever made...just think about what the kids today are missing. That's what the modern evolved school needs more of...time set aside for Friday afternoon flicks documenting nostalgia, innocence and a time traditions stood still.