I NEVER take my freedom for granted..I have lived, and traveled in lands that do not have such a treasure and it makes one acutely aware of it.  I vote regularly, men died to give me that gift, I try to participate in the dialog as much as I can, I served in our great military( USN), and I have raised my children to appreciate what they have.  I am proud to be an American who cries freely at the playing of our National Anthem, the Navy Hymn, ( and really all the Hymns), I weep when the flag is raised, I am transfixed at Arlington,  where I have several family member interred,  and the changing of the guard at the Unknowns takes my breath away.  I am an AMERICAN, and mighty  proud of it!

My little Lillie is 12 years old, her older sisiter Poppie, died at 14, and Heidi before lived to 16…longevity is part of the wee dog makeup.  These girls are long haired miniature Dachshunds, and I would have no other breed.  Yappy, bossy, stubborn and DIVAs..all.. but I cannot imagine my life without them.  Last year we added Jack, our first male..what a joy, even Lillie likes him and he loves her too.  She has lost some sight due to cataracts and he will bring her a toy and wash her face.  She groans with pleasure…but..let him misbehave and her fire comes up and she sets him staight PDQ. I love my "kids" and am a better person for it.

OMG…I never would have believed it, but I actually agree with Kelly in Texas on something!!!  Michael Jackson, maybe through no fault of his own, was way out there after Billy Jean I think!  No matter who they are, a grown man does not have, and more importantly is not allowed, to have "sleep overs" with young boys..innocence be damned, it is not healthy!  Period!!.  I loved the music and the dancing, but SOMEONE should have put a stop to the madness years ago and stopped the enabling,  gotten some help for him.  But , as has been said in other posts, he was the cash cow for so many, including his ugly awful father, that they didn’t want him to be stable, not so valuable then, maybe boring and not a money maker!!  Sad, sad..now see Kelly, I said what you said but nicer.

Sorry Elle L…Robert Redford has not had "work" done..he is as rugged as they come and proud of it!  Nice to hear from you over in Britain though, makes  for interesting reading on WoW.

Well put Karleen….I agree with what you said! Amazing how many on the far right, not just politicians, but clergy etc, have real trouble keeping the zipper up after haranguing the public about " sinning" against God and Country, then skulk away to a rehab of sorts to begin again!

Farrah should have the right to die in her own time without Ryan O’ Neal working through his grief publically.  It smacks of icky!  God bless her, I assume if what we read today is so, she is unaware of all the little circus outside the ICU.  My hope is that she goes to her "light" and finds peace and pain release.  None of us can ask for more,  this hideous disease should have had a cure  by now if we stopped diddling around with social/political falderol like donating MILIIONS to political candidates every four years…take that money and fund more research facilities..the public would be better served!  Donate to the cancer fund of your choice, I cannot lose another dear one to the sourge of the land!

Sweet Jesus!! We haven’t cleaned up the double wars yet and some would have us trotting over to Iran, sticking our nose in and potentially having to back up our interference with more of our wonderful military as cannon fodder!  Have we NEVER learned?? Kudos to Obama for having something we have not seen in years(8), restraint!!  If the GOP ?leaders?  want to march on  Tehran, buy them a damned ticket and let them go!!

After I changed my soiled knickers, I would politely decline!  I have no interest in outer space, we have much to do on this here planet, and I am afraid of heights!

I believe there may be a vision problem there..be patient.

I suspect we have DONE  something already!!! 

Joan, I actually have had four Kipness limited prints for 35 years.  As I said earlier, his stark landscapes always reminded me of my beloved Maine , at least in my memory.  I have not seen his oil work but plan an attempt at researching it.  Thirty years ago it was much harder to research artists, poets and authors, now we have this amazing tool at our finger tips and I intend to use it!

I am also very happy to hear from someone who knows him and admires his work.  Thanks for the post.

I own two exquisite watercolors by Joy Chase..but I would have Goya’s "Naked Maja" if I could..a scandalous piece in it’s day…I also would take Andrew Wyeth’s last work, "Goodbye My Love"..for sheer sentimentality..while not thought of as a "real" artist by the snobby elite, I am joined by millions to whom his works speak eloquently!  I hate to be greedy but Gustav Klimt is also a favorite, and I would welcome any of his works as well…There is also an artist named  Kipnis that I am fond of, his works are variations of black and white, stark landscapes that remind me of Maine where I was born .    Way to many choices to narrow down to one really.

I am so sorry Eileen..that site is www. our scotland.com…not MY..selfish me!! Hope you will use it, I think you will enjoy all the photo contributions and the site owner is very appreciative of interest.

Hi Eileen,

I would start in Edinburgh of course, go to Glasgow, Inverness, Skye and stay awhile  at Mull.  I have been researching cottages and crofts, my one worry would be driving, on the other side of the road, I am a bit of a nervous nelly about driving even here.  However, if I can find a cottage near enough to town to walk, well, I may just take the leap.  My roots are Scots and English with Swiss on my father’s side, and I would dearly love to spend some time in Scotland before I leave this mortal coil as the Bard said.  Have a wonderful trip, and think of me whilst you are tripping thru the heath.  There is a web site..www.myScotland.com, that has wonderful pictures of Scotland and environs…try that and get inspired.

I would pay off my childrens outstanding debts, invest a chunk, book a flight to Scotland and stay until i wanted to leave!!