Day 4575 - Independence Day

Our summer heat wave continues. It got up to 102 degrees today and there wasn't a cloud in sight. It was already in the mid-80's when we took Dawn on her first walk in over a week. The temperature didn't bother her this morning. She was eager to walk. Dawn has become a different dog now that Janet has returned. She's bolder, more energetic, and her tail wags a lot. It's pretty clear that Dawn views Janet as her companion and me as some sort of kennel attendant. 

It all makes sense in a weird way if you know about Dawn's past. She was born in a puppy mill and lived her entire life there as a breeding dog until she was rescued. A couple owned the kennel, but the wife died at some point, leaving the kennel operation to the husband and their son. I think that Dawn liked and trusted this woman, but was mistreated by the two men after she died. It's really all she knows. Even after several years with us, this is still all new to her. She trusts me a lot more when Janet is around. Probably the kennel was run better and the dogs received better care when the man and his wife owned and operated the place together. I'm just guessing here, but the couple might have even been responsible breeders when they were younger. That was a long time ago though. I'm glad the puppy mill was finally shut down and the remaining dogs were given a second chance. If anyone deserves a second chance in life, it's Dawn.

I'm not the world's most patriotic person, but I do have some thoughts about Independence Day. I find it terribly sad that some in this country seem to hate what the founding fathers created and actively want to tear everything down and start over. I don't think many of these people understand the differences between a republic and a representative democracy or the founders belief that that individuals should control the state rather than the state controlling the individual. If these leaders were alive today they would seem more like libertarians than democrats or republicans. They believed in very limited government and created a republic rather than a representative democracy specifically to prevent the federal government from becoming too powerful. I guess you could call me a libertarian as well. I still think that the people who started this country had a brilliant idea that has lasted for over two hundred years. Our government has become too powerful and you are not going to improve things by making it even more powerful. You can tear everything down if you want, but a phoenix is not going to rise from the ashes. All you will be left with is a hollowed out empty shell. 

I tried to take care of a few things in the yard today but it was probably a mistake. It was just too hot to be working outside. I tried to get rid of all the wasp and mud dauber nests under the eaves of our house. I almost got stung several times. There was actually a hornet's nest inside the step ladder I was using. After I sprayed, the wasp and hornet spray got all over the windows and then I had to clean the windows. I watered the Japanese black bamboo in the atrium as well as the small tree in our front courtyard. I forgot the name of this tree. It's not a crepe myrtle or a dogwood, but it's about that size. Jeez.  It wasn't that long ago that I knew the names of all the plants in our yard.  Now I'm forgetting everything.

Forgetting bills is worse than forgetting the names of ornamental trees. I forgot to pay my storage warehouse rent this month. Luckily I remembered the bill on my long walk this morning and I was still within the grace period so I didn't have to pay a penalty. I probably should set everything up on auto-pay, but I like to pay my bills at the last possible minute and most companies prefer to suck the money out of your account as early as possible. 

I did take my long walk this morning, but I'll probably just go to the gym for the rest of the week. It's going to be even hotter tomorrow. A short sunrise walk with Dawn is all the outdoors we need until things start to cool down again. I'm starting to hear fireworks now. I'm not a big fan of fireworks, but luckily Dawn isn't afraid of them. The only noise that seems to bother her is the dishwasher.

Matao is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 4210 - Independence Day

It was unusually quiet for a major holiday. The streets were empty. Neighborhood cafes didn't seem busy. Even the park wasn't very full. It really felt like the entire city had left and gone to the beach. Bad weather or the pandemic certainly weren't keeping people indoors this year. They were just someplace else. I have a feeling that every lake, sandy beach, and National Park was pretty crowded today.

The weather was actually very nice this morning and we tried to take advantage of it. Dawn got a nice early walk after we got up. We slept in a bit this morning, but it was still cloudy and cool when we left the house. I'm glad that Dawn is eating normally again. It makes life a little less stressful. When we returned from our walk, Janet and I had a holiday breakfast of pancakes and bacon and then took Dawn for her Sunday outing. Dawn expects this trip now and gets really excited as we get ready to go. Janet works on Dawn's training exercises while we are walking and I can already tell that Dawn is getting better. We both think the training class has been good for her. She is becoming much more confident now. 

When we took Dawn for her ice cream cone on the way home, we were the only customer. This was really strange because the place is usually packed on weekends. As we ate our cones in the car, we didn't see a single car go through Andy's drive through. Today was perfect ice cream weather too. Where did all the people go this year? It felt more like last year's lockdown Fourth of July than a normal Independence Day.

I still think Independence Day is worth celebrating. If you read the Declaration of Independence and think about what it says, it is a remarkable document. The founding fathers were brilliant and thoughtful men who were able to create something that has lasted for over two hundred years by recognizing that individuals should control the state rather than the state controlling the individual. If these leaders were alive today they would seem more like libertarians than democrats or republicans. They believed in very limited government and created a republic rather than a representative democracy specifically to prevent the federal government from becoming too powerful.

The United States has grown and evolved over the years, but the goal has largely remained the same. There has been a strong desire to provide equal opportunities that would allow individual exceptionalism to flourish. Individualism is what made this country great. Individual states and individual communities were free to chart their own path as long as they operated under the umbrella of a rule of laws that were outlined in the constitution. It's a shame that all this is in jeopardy now. There are those who want to diminish the importance of individualism and substitute the collective will of the state. There are those who think equal outcomes are more appropriate than equal opportunities. I find this very sad. When you destroy the individual and reduce everything to the lowest common denominator you basically destroy civilization itself.

It isn't surprising that people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are almost desperate to get off the planet and start over. They know what's coming. There are too many people in the world and globalization, along with a benign world government run by the United Nations will only makes things worse. Global corporations would love to turn the entire world into affluent consumers. The more we consume the quicker we all become extinct. The planet simply cannot support a world full of affluent people cutting down all the trees for homes and eating all the fish in the sea. Why don't people understand this? If your spirit animal is a unicorn, you're doomed. Humanity's goal should be reducing the population rather than increasing opportunities so everyone can consume more. Ahh, but maybe somebody does understand. Maybe the pandemic was just a practice run. Maybe the next one will wipe out everyone except the Chinese. The Chinese win the long game you know. They don't have to deal with this messy little moment in time that the founding fathers created. Have a happy Independence Day.

Matao is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 3845 - Independence Day

I guess I'm sort of a lazy patriot. I never served in the military. I seldom fly a flag, although we did have one on our house for a while right after 9/11. I'm proud to be an American though. I like it here. I've visited and worked in other countries and none of them even comes close to this one. I really hate to see people tearing this country down for things we either did or didn't do in the past. You've got to put historical events in context. Everything happens for a reason. The journey from the Stone Age to the Rolling Stones has taken us three million years. Humanity has only been keeping track of this journey for around five thousand years, but still that is a lot of time. When the founding fathers wrote the Declaration of Independence they had already learned from the Mesopotamians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Italian Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, The Protestant Reformation, the establishment of parliamentary democracy in England and much more.

It's not really fair to condemn the founding fathers for owning slaves. The practice was commonplace at the time and in fact has been commonplace throughout human history. You can throw a dart at any civilization and you will find slaves. The Romans had them. The Aztecs had them. Many countries still have them today. It was commendable that John Quincy Adams rejected slavery, but he was the exception rather than the rule.

I think we should remember Washington, Jefferson and the others who signed the Declaration of Independence for their brilliance in creating a system of self governance that has lasted far longer than most. The history of the world is mostly a history of war and revolution. Generally the citizens haven't ruled. When you look at the United States through the lens of history, we come out looking pretty good. The founding fathers designed a system that was durable and flexible enough to adapt to a world that none of them would have recognized. Hey, we only had one civil war. The French had at least four.

While I'm sitting here musing about history, everyone else seems to be outside shooting off fireworks. It sounds like a war zone in our neighborhood. I don't know what it proved to eliminate public fireworks displays this year. Everyone seems determined to have their own. I think fireworks became cheap and abundant this year when so many municipalities decided to cancel their public displays because of the coronavirus. Apparently people have been shooting off fireworks every night in major cities for weeks now. I think this is happening in Dallas too, but I live far enough away from the city center that I don't hear what goes on downtown. I'm sure Dawn hears the fireworks, but she certainly isn't bothered by them. She's just sleeping calmly on the bed now.

It was a little cooler today and the park wasn't as crowded as I expected. There were the usual Saturday morning runners and cyclists, but there weren't many picnics and barbecues. Actually Fourth of July celebrations have been declining for several years. Cinco de Mayo is the big day for picnics in the park these days. Sign of the times I guess. Independence Day doesn't get as much respect anymore.

I removed the remaining water from the roof today. I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow. My gym has been open for several weeks now, but I think I'll wait a while before returning. Gyms still seem to wind up on the list of most dangerous list of things to do while walking in the park appears to be the safest.

Matao is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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