Ahhh…Memphis in May…you can have whatever flavor of Bar-B-Q you want. I used to work for a restaurant that competed at that event I’ve heard it’s a wonderful time. We’ve visited Memphis several times as well, but never made it to the BBQ comepetitions. I love southern cooking but have to admit, Louisiana has the rest of the south beaten though in the area of cuisine.

McClard’s Bar-B-Q it’s the only one left standing back home and the joy of family get-togethers as a child.  The small stucco building is an icon to Arkansans. I can nearly smell the smoke that pipes out of the building and hear the clank of the dishes audible while you eat just thinking about it.  The sauce is more spicy than sweet and a 1/2 of a hot tamale spread is muy deliciosa.

God Bless Evan and his memory.  Thank you Dana and wow for candidly speaking about Evan’s story.  There were two suicides in my son’s graduating class 2 boys out of 200 students died in such a way as well. 2 families faced the same grief as Dana.

People with bipolar, like myself feel and see the world amplified at times and the trials and tribulations of life magnified can become seemingly unbearable.  Only now with some distance on my last episode can I see that these emotions pass with time. 

There are at least six different types of bipolar disorder listed in the DSMIV and a wide array of treatments. I imagine it makes this very difficult to pinpoint how to help people like me, like Evan, like others and while I acknowledge the good intentions of psychiatry it often falls short in achieving its goals.  Just my opinion after reading bipolar boards online and seeing my peers functioning well below their intellect. The diagnosis carries the idea that one could be some sort of killer, stalker, hateful sort of person.  The reputation of having bipolar is akin to putting a person in a cage, one might become even be scared of themselves due to negative reports about people who may or may not have had the illness.  It’s scary to be told that you’re bipolar.

  I am certainly sad that Evan is not with his mother.  It is not her fault.

God Bless Dana and her family…thank you for sharing a most difficult story.

Politics of fear brought to you by the RNC

During this time of trial for the United States I am inspired to try and write and speak in a more straightforward and patriotic way.  I have no educational achievements, I have no money to advertise, I have only finger to type and ears to listen.  I am unsure where one would find a copy of our government health care proposal and must trust the media to read it for me…or are they trusting congressional aides to interpret it for them???  I don’t know at this point.  What I just saw on television alarms me.  It is the resounding beating of the same drums of fear I heard during the presidential election.   Please Republicans stop trying to scare the public into aligning with you, it makes me think that your party has no substance or ideas of its own and is therefore left to taking swipes at whoever may be trying to solve a problem.

Now, I will admit reservations about universal healthcare when the execution of such a worthwhile endeavor is not readily accessible to the average person.  However, it is not prudent to advertise and pepper the pot with pure fear then begin to stir.  Instead of making commercial perhaps republicans, should step up to the plate and contribute their ideas and concerns at their workplace.  I openly question your patriotism when it comes to this issue when there are so many citizens by birth and naturalization who do without any form of healthcare, and all you can think about is the Senate races coming up.  The RNC is still playing football with one third of our government process and the stakes are too high for this approach.  The RNC is a glorified pac group nothing more.

Now I must go and see if this chunky little document causing all this fuss is found on the internet.