I said these words on FB shortly before John McCain passed on. I meant every word.
An American hero is apparently going to depart us in awhile. Senator John McCain, a Naval Academy graduate who was shot down over North Vietnam and spent years in the Hanoi Hilton being beaten and tortured to the extent that he can't lift his arms above his shoulders even now. He later famously forgave his captors, which undoubtedly freed his soul. He was offered to be sent home early in his incarceration because his father was an admiral but he refused because he wasn't next on the seniority list of POWs, opting to stay with his men. This is true loyalty, displayed in the true American way (McCain embodies American greatness which has never gone anywhere, despite trite and mindless slogans).
Later he became a U.S. Senator from AZ where he served with honor and distinction, despite some political miscalculations (he always admitted his actions were never perfect and he made mistakes, a refreshing political attribute). He mentored newer senators, both Democratic and Republican, worked on campaign finance reform before the despicable Citizens United USSC opinion unleashed a deluge of corrupting dark money upon the U.S. political system.
Before this year, he's the only Republican I have voted for in this century, in 2000, because the Grand Old Party is now a stifled, merely self-aggrandizing and mostly corrupted party otherwise. Famously McCain defended Barack Obama as an honorable, loyal American citizen to mindless, misguided supporters of his even as he ran against Obama's candidacy in 2008.
Check out his concession speech after that election, a healing, uniting bit of elocution that I have always thought was under appreciated. I'm glad John is still with us and when he departs I will mourn his passing.
Showing posts with label Arizona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arizona. Show all posts
Monday, August 27, 2018
Monday, February 19, 2018
Putting aside Toys, p.2
. . . So I got up on my appointed day to leave on a cross-country trip to deliver my 2000 Toyota Tacoma PU to my friend in AZ to consummate the sale of it to him we had negotiated over the phone and went around the corner with it to my local used-car lot with it. I told them there (they know me) that I was driving west to sell the PU to a friend and what the price was, and I said I would eschew the trip and sell it to them if they matched the price.
Obviously, my price was low, but fair for my friend, because the dealer agreed to it, minus $200 for "gas consumption" on the trip (and motels because the trip would take days of driving, plus a flight back). Built like a tank, my friends described to me my very own single-owner 18 year old Toyota with 99,900 miles on it, and good for 150,000 more miles at least.
I hated to part with it, I loved that truck, and I felt bad selling it out from under my buddy out west, but he understood. He still gave me hell about it though, because he had used up some of his capital with his new wife to talk her into agreeing to accept such an old vehicle into the household as their second car.
She would get the BMW, see, with the automatic transmission and he would get the manual transmission 2WD pickup that was a little bit beat up but not to bad to drive. Boy, those Japanese make great, long-lasting cars and now I was down to only one vehicle, a 2015 Nissan 4WD PU.
Obviously, my price was low, but fair for my friend, because the dealer agreed to it, minus $200 for "gas consumption" on the trip (and motels because the trip would take days of driving, plus a flight back). Built like a tank, my friends described to me my very own single-owner 18 year old Toyota with 99,900 miles on it, and good for 150,000 more miles at least.
I hated to part with it, I loved that truck, and I felt bad selling it out from under my buddy out west, but he understood. He still gave me hell about it though, because he had used up some of his capital with his new wife to talk her into agreeing to accept such an old vehicle into the household as their second car.
She would get the BMW, see, with the automatic transmission and he would get the manual transmission 2WD pickup that was a little bit beat up but not to bad to drive. Boy, those Japanese make great, long-lasting cars and now I was down to only one vehicle, a 2015 Nissan 4WD PU.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Grand Canyon, Day Seven
Photo credit Jimmy.
Photo credit Barry.
Photo credit Barry.
Stairway to Heaven. Photo credit Barry.
Photo credit Barry.
Photo credit Dennis.
Photo credit Dennis.
Photo credit Harrie.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Grand Canyon, Day Three
Grand Canyon, Day 3. 
My friends shot lots of pictures of us rafting for eight days through the Grand Canyon. I have located those of Barry, Dennis and Harrie. I intend to post some of those incredible photos here. Four more days yet to come.
No, it's not Thelma & Louise. It's B and H. Did you have your coffee this morning with that backdrop? Photo credit Dennis.
Approaching Day 3's campsite.
This would be the last night on the river for two in our group of 32. Photo credit Barry.
My friends shot lots of pictures of us rafting for eight days through the Grand Canyon. I have located those of Barry, Dennis and Harrie. I intend to post some of those incredible photos here. Four more days yet to come.
We had a challenging hike to start off Day 3. Photo credit Barry.
The Utah company's boat went through the same rough water that we did. Photo credit Harrie.
Dennis merely labelled this photo "Wow." When that man speaks, I listen. Photo credit Dennis.
Approaching Day 3's campsite.
This would be the last night on the river for two in our group of 32. Photo credit Barry.
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