A Brief Return to Sanity

DH decided it was time to get the old lady out of the house so we fired up the new wheels and took off. Shortly after having exited the driveway however, DH realized the OL had once again left the tank on empty. (oops) This was a particularly bad thing to have done because (a) when I returned from my trip to Columbia, I was whizzing past big signs on the I40 yelling $3.35 a gallon and ignoring them because I just couldn't wait to get home and I hate getting gas, and (b) Hurricane Ike was on this particular day threatening Texas so all those big refineries were buttoned up tight and (c) gas in our town jumped from $3.88 at the WalMart to $4.69 at the Citgo and so (d) there were long lines at all the ones below $4.69. oops. So we waited in line and for a reward, the Food City pumps were all out of regular, but gave us Premium for $3.88 anyway. Nice.

The drive to Greeneville was all beautiful farmland, forests, and occasional winding rivers, interspersed with breathtaking panoramic views spread beneath us. The town itself is a bright little gem (although much larger than what we are used to lately) with plenty to see in the way of old residential and commercial architecture. I noticed quite a few large tobacco warehouses and a huge co-op. There were some beautiful monuments around the town, which was the home of Andrew Johnson, our 17th President and the first to endure impeachment. He was acquitted, and rightfully so. He was a staunch defender of the Constitution -- we could have used him in this century, I think. We visited the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery where he is buried.





So we visited his gravesite at the top of a fairly steep incline (Signal Hill) and were struck dumb by the beauty and majesty... the very air breathed 'this is a sacred place'... we had it all to ourselves.

It was so quiet, as we read all about him I kept glancing at the humble spot of lawn beneath the towering granite monument and thought: there he lies, wrapped in the flag, a copy of the Constitution beneath his head, Defender of the Constitution. Could he ever have hoped for a more noble epitaph? I'll not soon forget this day of peace, carved out of the current stream of madness and hatred swirling over this country.

The contrast was shocking. We have much to be grateful for and I wonder, how long will there be those who try to remember or understand the people that built this place?

Another shocking tidbit: Andrew Johnson never attended one day of school in his life. Yet I have no doubt he could have wiped the debate floor with the likes of our current crop of celebutards, effete intellectual Marxist educators, and of course the fake "statesmen" who inhabit sacred places and tread hallowed halls they will never fully appreciate.

*sigh* Well thank you Andrew Johnson, for your service to what is left of a great nation.