The young dead soldiers do not speak. Nevertheless, they are heard in the still houses: who has not heard them? They have a silence that speaks for them at night and when the clock counts. They say: We were young. We have died. Remember us. They say: We have done what we could but until it is finished it is not done. They say: We have given our lives but until it is finished no one can know what our lives gave. They say: Our deaths are not ours: they are yours, they will mean what you make them. They say: Whether our lives and our deaths were for peace and a new hope or for nothing we cannot say, it is you who must say this. We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning. We were young, they say. We have died; remember us.
Spooky Time Jingles is in Etsyville again for the next week or so. If you enjoy collecting original Halloween-inspired folk art, swing on over and check it out. And as always, you can swing by the regular website for all things Spooky and Jingly.
Remember our dog Jude, the happy-go-lucky, mischievous college dog turned country pup? He enjoys every second of being out in the boondocks with the crickets and the cows, and he happily goes about finding things to get into or something fun to chase. He also likes to destroy things and roams about seeking things to devour, which often happens to be someone's shoes.
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When he's not asleep (or eating shoes) Jude takes great delight in sneaking into our pantry for a snack or into the trash. He also enjoys making friends with the FedEx guy, barking at noises, chasing our other dog Cooper, chewing up my kids' homework, splashing in the mud, and he especially delights in scampering through the house with an unsuspecting house guest's underwear. For Jude it's all in good fun and he seems oblivious to the fact that others may find his ways less than endearing. He simply can't understand why everyone else doesn't enjoy his antics. However sometimes Jude senses that someone may be a little annoyed; that's when he simply turns on the charm and instantly hearts melt. He's like the Brad Pitt of the canine world.
Jude may be the closest thing to a furry tornado with teeth, but on the cuteness scale he ranks a perfect 10.
It's hard to believe this video was made 40+ years ago, and in some ways, it is a fairly accurate portrayal of virtual life here in the 2000s. The computer on the video, however, looks bulky and boxy, and it kinda reminds me of our previous home computer which finally died (thankfully??) a couple of months ago.
Our own "antique" computer was gi-normous, and the monitor, which was even older, was roughly the size of a small refrigerator. In spite of the computer's great size and its idiosyncrasies and quirky ways, the ole girl had been a good one, and had been with us through thick and thin. It had seen us through dial-up and DSL, through science fair projects and college applications, through Webkinz and Facebook, through Windows 94 and Word Perfect, through Homestar Runner and 1000 views of Single Ladies, and through at least 18 million photo downloads and edits. It had also been around to keep us informed about important stuff like Dolly the sheep, Octomom, the Balloon Boy, and the Brad and Jennifer breakup; and scary stuff like SARS, the Bird flu, Swine flu and two presidential election cycles. Most importantly, it had been around during most of my husband's 13 month deployment to Iraq (email and instant messaging were our lifeline.)
"Old Faithful" started showing its age a year or so ago. The disc drive was the first to go, and then the screen saver went black and it began to get very temperamental. Things really went downhill quickly around Christmas-time this past year; and after months of patience, cajoling, rebooting, virtual duct tape, computer CPR, and "happy, Pollyanna thoughts" it became obvious that nothing could resuscitate the sad hulk of ancient circuit boards and metal. The ominous Blue Screen of Death appeared and everything locked down-- a case of computer lock-jaw, I suppose. So after 15 seconds a respectable period of mourning, we went to the computer maternity ward at Best Buy and came home with a bouncing baby Dell. It's sleek and shiny and oh, so very reliable! It's had all its cootie-shots to protect it from the latest computer-communicable diseases, it doesn't get fussy when I download large files, and best of all, it is still under warranty. The only problem is that we like this new computer so much, everyone has to fight for computer time; and now my youngest kid has begun lobbying for her very own laptop. Maybe we should have brought home twins.
