Ghost Stories in the Making

27 November
Thanksgiving in Scotland has passed. Shared a nice meal with some friends, both American and Scottish, in the palace. Of course we had to have some whiskey after dinner, to go with the selection of wine, fortified dinner wine and beers that we had been and were consuming. Good times. But don't let the amount of alcohol taint what is about to be told. Some of the folks weren't even drinking this evening.

There has been a lot more "unusual" activity in the house over the past week or so; since the students have departed to let the four of us live alone until the next group comes. I had the experience of going to my flat from the Dining hall to use the toilet. After leaving my flat, going through the Music room, back to the Dining Hall, I heard a conversation occurring, behind me, in the hall I just came from. I assumed it was Tim showing someone around or perhaps to retrieve a bottle of wine, but as I went back into the narrow hall, I see nothing, BUT, I hear the conversation occurring, behind me again; this time from the room which I just left. I walked BACK into the Music Room, and the conversation was still occurring, behind me--almost as if two men were have a heated discussion or perhaps an argument, however it was so muffled that I couldn't make out what was being said exactly. One final check of the sitting room in the flat, the narrow hall, the Music room and the George IV entrance demonstrated that there was NO ONE in the area. I ran back to the dining hall, and questioned the room and all the guests. Everyone in the house that night was present. Upon questioning them, everyone had been in there seats or in the room during the whole time I was hearing these voices....needless to say, I was a little unnerved for the rest of the evening.

Judy, one of the house guests, then proceeded to tell teh story of their evening the previous night. She said she heard someone in the women's toilet up in her area of the house, around midnight or half twelve. Considering that her and her husband were the only one's in that part of the house, and that the other three guests heard the story and stated they were not even close to that part of the house all night, leads to another strange occurrence.

But its not done yet. The following night, on Thanksgiving, there were 8 of us enjoying a turkey dinner in the Dining hall in front of a warm fire. Tim had ran down to the kitchen area, and upon approaching the "cage", where food is stored, saw the shadow of somebody walking around, as if they were IN the cage. When he approached the cage, there was nobody in it. There is no other door to the cage. The look on his face upon his return told everyone in the room that he had the scare of his life. He was a white as a ghost! That of course led to ghost stories that the guests had experienced during their lives, each person having a vivid memory of a little girl or an image in a bog or other sentiments and feelings that would make a ghost story writer green with envy. John and Mary then had shared that they were hearing voices in the house as of late as well. They both said that they distinctly heard somebody or something saying "hiya" to them while they were walking around the house. Throughout the course of the evening, the 8 of us, admittingly maybe a little on edge, continued to hear many noises--perhaps faint conversation or the sound of footsteps, for the rest of the night.

Note to Home

Good Wishes Everyone ~

It is time again, for a greeting and news from the daft American blokes in Scotland. Well it is approaching the Thanksgiving. As you can imagine, it is a holiday not recognized on this side of Atlantic. However, the wee Americans living in Dalkeith House are still going to cook a turkey. Tim and Mary and John are joining culinary forces to cook up a traditional spread for all of us and our guests this Thursday. What is Ryan going to do? He’s just going to look pretty, eat, drink and be merry that day ¬ hey, somebody has too!

Actually, I am going to the airport to pick up Randy, Cam and Stevie K at “half-eleven” in the morning. They are flying over here for a 10 day holiday; they are away on 5 December! We are very excited for the boys to visit. In addition to them, John and Mary have 3 friends from Wisconsin staying at the house, so we’ll have quite a large American contingent to help celebrate the day and be thankful for this great opportunity live abroad! It will be the first Thanksgiving for our Scottish friends joining us as well: Henry, the house chef, his wife Ann, and Richard and Cath, our catering company’s owner.

November in the UK does bring its own holiday, however. November 5 is Guy Fawke’s Day. On the 5th November 1605 Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several dozen barrels of gunpowder. Guy Fawkes was tried as a traitor for plotting against the government. He was sentenced to death. The form of the execution was one of the most horrendous ever practised –hung, drawn and quartered—which reflected the serious nature of the crime of treason. And, as many people in Scotland like to call it (as you can imagine, the Scots probably didn’t mind seeing the parliament almost burn down!), “Bonfire Day” is a huge national holiday. Actually, to be true to history, the Scots and the English had just merged crowns in 1603 under James VI (James I to the English) so, it did threaten the whole of Britain’s stability. Basically, children build effigies of Guy and their parents burn them on bonfires and let off fire works. Comparable to the 4th of July I suppose, in recognizing one’s national pride and identity. A cute little rhyme that is recited on the day:
Remember, remember the fifth of November,Gunpowder, treason and plot,We see no reason,Why gunpowder treason,Should ever be forgot!

Okay, the history lesson is over.

Scotland approaching winter is brilliant. The sunrises are later and the sunsets are earlier than I have ever experienced, and we are still a month away from the winter solstice; a day where we enjoy just a wee 4 hours of daylight. What difference latitude and location makes. Even at noon on a day like today, the shadows cast off the buildings and trees are long and looming, like something out of an Ian Rankin novel.

The fall 2004 WIS term has come to an end. The students celebrated last Thursday at the local Rugby club on High Street (the equivalent of “Main Street” in the states as EVERY town has a High Street). The party was a hit and Ryan, of course, set up a game to be played, as he does. I am sure you won’t be surprised that I sang karaoke. One of the students begged me to sing with her, so we did Shania Twain’s “Man, I Fell Like a Woman”. I’m sure you can imagine that every g-damn camera in the place came out for a picture of that graceless little moment. Reason number 37 why Ryan shouldn’t have too many pints of Carling with the students!! It was sad to see them go. Equally sad was having to get up at 6 o’clock in the morning to get them on the bus to the airport! Gu.

During the interim of programs, I will be looking for part time employment. I did secure a teaching position with WIS for the spring term though. I will be serving as an adjunct professor and facilitating a cultural colloquium. So, I’ll get a taste of working with college students in the academic arena. I am looking forward to that; it may tell me what my future has in store for teaching. I will also probably try to become a supply (substitute) teacher in the local schools as well, for extra income. (I swear to god, that damn American dollar can’t FALL any further! It’s ridiculous.) Subbing in local Scottish schools would certainly be an invaluable lesson on culture, youth, educational history and much more.

FYI, Tim and I will be travelling home for a few days in December. It will be a busy trip, but we would of course like to see as many people as we can. We will fly into Minneapolis on Monday, 13 December. (Randy, can you pick us up and bring us to our car? Thanks.) Of course we’d love to visit some of the old haunts (maybe Randy can arrange a gathering of people on say, a Thursday night too?) We will swing around to family xmas parties and of course I want to visit RHS!
We fly back to Scotland on Thursday, 23 December and will be spending Christmas and Boxing Day in Northumberland (England) with some friends. Hope life is treating everyone well. I know we’ve already missed some significant birthday parties and births and some special occasions, but we are with you in spirit!

Hope to hear from you soon and we miss you all very much. Take care of yourselves.

Love
Ryan

PS: Just a note, on the web site that I have created is one that allows only so many hits at time (a bandwidth issue I believe) so I apologize if it is not working when you check. Just check it again an hour or two later. Cheers just now!

PSS: I wrote a little poem to commemorate the holiday season! I know, I know, don’t quit your day job. Wait, Ryan doesn’t have a day job right now!?!

Can you figure out what the poem is about? Answers given to those you send me a hello!


It had been a fortnight since we had such a day
Piping hot neeps, tatties and mince
Several cold pints of lager to rinses
A wee dram of Glenkinchey to break up the chill
It was a grand old celidh

Aghast! The bevies kicked in,
Several lost their jumpers to kin
And the eve was a hit
This would not last, and I would soon be morose

As a trip to the loo found a treacherous queue
I stepped outside into nearest close

Suddenly a bin lorry as big a ben
Came rushing down the cobblestone glen
“This close isn’t a superloo and you’ll have to wait in the queue
just like everyone else”
so I pulled up my trousers and headed back in to find an even longer queue!
I searched and dashed and raced around caught in quite a jam
Finally I settled on an empty pram
Consider my chagrin, I moved outside the inn
Never to show my face again.





HAPPY THANKSGIVING
I am thankful that I had and still have all of you in my life. Your friendship and benevolence has been a blessing.

The News Scares Me... I should just stop reading it.

In a matter of minutes surfing the news agents in my favorites, I come across some seriously disturbing stories. The article discussing Scalia's vision about the court system does a nice job describing his judicial restraint and philosophy, but I'd like the reporter to go one step further and identify the kinds of unequal and sick treatment that the court "bettered" before a racist or sexist or and -ist state legislated equality. Brown v. Board? Miranda v. Arizona? Tinker v. Des Moines? just to name a few. Legislatures in the South and many other places were NOT giving blacks equality in schools and probably still wouldn't be today if the Court didn't serve as an "activist". I honestly understand the "strict constructionist" idea, I mean I get it, but what I don't get is how do you justify it as a rational approach to a government that is always changing? When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail. —. Abraham Maslow

Other acts of arrogance by aloof leaders comes from Prince Charles. In the article, it is revealed that he criticizes people who have "ideas above their station" and that schools are doing a disservice to students by convincing them that with a little effort, everybody can be "somebody". Hmmmm, I wonder what age Charles was when he realized that he WAS somebody and his teachers didn't have to lie to him and tell him that. Again, and he's a leader?

Religion Again

I know I harp on Religion a lot, and as I have said before, I'm not against religion (okay, maybe a little) but I am against the religious asking everyone else to live by "their" rules. And, the only reason for this post is because two pieces of religious humour crossed my desk and I had to share them.
One, a quote from the LONGEST running sitcom of all time:
"Marge, have you ever actually sat down and read this thing? Technically, we're not even allowed to go to the bathroom."
- Priest on "The Simpson's"

Got a love it. Second, this little "letter" never gets old.

Dear President Bush,Congratulations on your election victory and for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from you and understand why you would propose and support a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. As you said "in the eyes of God marriage is based between a man a woman." I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination... End of debate.However, I do need some advice from you regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how best to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanness - Lev.15:19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2. clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev.11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?
7. Lev.21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

In case you are curious, there is a nice little site that you may want to check out to see that No religion can be just as good if not better than TOO MUCH religion. I am not endorsing anything, of course.

The Rush To Canada

Okay, I got a kick out of the big hubub many people made after the election. But a recent article has made it sound quite appealing!
Just the top ten list they provided alone is convincing:

WHY MOVE TO CANADA?
Reasons to move to Canada, as cited by www.canadianalternative.com:
1. Canada has universal public health care.
2. Canada has no troops in Iraq.
3. Canada signed the Kyoto Protocol environmental treaty.
4. More than half of Canada's provinces allow same-sex marriage.
5. The Canadian Senate recommends legalizing marijuana.
6. Canada has no law restricting abortion.
7. Canada has strict gun laws and relatively little violence.
8. The United Nations has ranked Canada the best country to live in for eight consecutive years.
9. Canada abolished the death penalty in 1976.
10. Canada has not run a federal deficit since 1996-97.
Source: The Associated Press

However, I am more on the side of Communicopia employee who said tha moving to Canada should be plan B. We need to stay and fight for everyone's sake. Martin Luther King and Susan B. Anthony and did not move to Canada, so neither should the rest of us.

Lincoln was gay?

A new book suggests our "greatest president", Abraham Lincoln, our 16 President was gay. I don't think it matters either way if he were queer or not in how he acted as President, of course. There are a lot of closeted men married to women who are quite successful at their jobs. Lincoln was prone to depression, which is typical of gay men who are not allowed to live out their true feelings. Realistically, as the critics point out, because of the reliance on circumstantial evidence, we may never really know. I did have to search around a bit and draw some of my own conclusions. I found a letter that Lincoln wrote to an acquaintence about a daydream he had about love. One could argue that he wasn't successful in leaving the camp with the woman was because subconsciously, he wanted to be with a man!

Hey, a boy can dream, can't he? The letter is in full below. You decide.

LOVE'S AWAKENING
I always meant to write that story out and publish it, and I began once; but I concluded it was not much of a story- But I think that was the beginning of love with me. Did you ever write out a story in your mind? I did when I was a little codger. One day a wagon with a lady and two girls and a man broke down near us, and while they were fixing up, they cooked in our kitchen. The woman had books and read us stories, and they were the first I ever had heard. I took a great fancy to one of the girls; and when they were gone I thought of her a great deal, and one day when I was sitting out in the sun by the house I wrote out a story in my mind. I thought I took my father's horse and followed the wagon, and finally I found it, and they were surprised to see me. I talked with the girl and persuaded her to elope with me; and that night I put her on my horse, and we started off across the prairie. After several hours we came to a camp, and when we rode up we found it was the one we had left a few hours before, and we went in. The next night we tried it again, and the same thing happened-the horse came back to the same place; and then we concluded that we ought not to elope. I stayed until I had persuaded her father to give her to me. I always meant to write that story out and publish it, and I began once; but I concluded it was not much of a story- But I think that was the beginning of love with me.
Abraham Lincoln

Looking forward from the mess of Nov. 3--It doesn't look good.

Some post election analysis from the BBC, check it out. It's poignant and unfortunately true. Hammer the same SIMPLE message in again and again, and win. And I have to agree with him on the "The most important reason to re-elect me is so that Laura can be your First Lady for four more years." WTF? Because SHE has done so much in the past four years. I don't blame Theresa H-K for not knowing what Laura did for a living; we never saw her! And SHE's the reason we should've voted for Bush? Well, that seems to make sense in a Bush Logic. Vote for something your not going to get.

Looking to the future, lets hope Blair can hold this own this time at his next meeting with W.

"Mr Bush on Wednesday said he wanted to see Israel and a Palestinian state existing peacefully together and he wanted to play a part in ensuring there was a chance that could happen." Okay, we'll see. Arafat has passed away, and there will be a shuffle for power. How much do you want bet that Israel drags its feet makes new claims that the Palestinian leadership cannot be negotiated with (like they did with Arafat) and Bush will not have the skills to bring them together. For crying out loud America! You elected an idiot! Yes, war time president's always win, don't rock the boat, blah blah blah, but, there's some serious shit he has to work on and he doesn't possess the cognitive faculties (or patience, I'm willing to bet) to do such work!

"And the prime minister is being urged to persuade the US to back the Kyoto agreement on tackling global warming." Uh, Good luck with that Tony Blair. Let's see, we don't sign the treaty because it will damage our economy and because the developing country's don't have to commit to energy reductions... HMMM, #1, HELL, without the friggen environment you can kiss that damn economy good bye? K, a bit dramatic, but that's like saying: No, I'm not going to use sunscreen today, its just not in my budget. Okay, are you ready to spend at the beach? #2, the developing countries AREN'T the ones producing the damn emissions for chrissake! The U.S. produces ONE-THIRD of the world's greenhouse gasses and should own its mess. Again I say, Good Luck with that one Tony Blair.

It's a Good Thing That War is Over

It's a good thing that war is over. I mean, how many people have to die for dog's sake! (I stole that from someone, but I LOVE it.)

When will the powerful elite of Washington recognize that instituting a secular "democracy" in Iraq is not going to work? They are country that has wanted and seeks the guidance of a spirtual leader. Granted, Hussein preferred a more secular role in his Sunni faith and overall leadership, but the majority of the damn country is Shi'ite anyway, and they most certainly want a religious leader (ayatollah-like that of Iran)

It would be like someone invading the U.S. and saying, "Hey everyone, you don't want this crazy fanatical freak running your country. You'll thank me when I install this Other Guy who will install a secular democracy." Interesting how easily that works both ways these days, isn't it?

Anonymity :The "Divide" will only get bigger

I wonder how many people, on the various message boards or blogs and such are, when they say things like "quit whining you commie dyke" or "shut the f*ck up you facist pig" are actually, saying it to a parent, a sibling, a grandchild, unknowingly.

Leading up to the election, I thought I read and witnessed a lot of hostility, but, then Nov. 2 occurred, and it got 10 times worse. The chances of compromise and concilliation occurring are slim to none until people of all walks of life and political persuasions sit down face to face and discuss things with civility. Slurs, insults and swear words are just anger being tossed about and building on the ignorance wall that is being slowly built up between our nations citizens. And just in case I forgot to say it today, I love you dad, I love you grandma, and I love all of my dear siblings.

God, guns and gays

Markos Moulitsas , of dailykos.com, put it so well when he said that the Democratic candidates were "outclassed and outgunned by a GOP which ran on three simple tenets: God, guns and gays." I'm allowing myself one day of despair, okay, maybe two. But, this a battle, not the war. We lost, they won. 2006 and 2008 are the future libs need to look towards. By that time, Bush will probably have anihilated another middle eastern country and banned abortion and more than likely figure out a way to make Straight and Gay Only lunch counters. It's ironic that he could be the reason a Clinton/Obama ticket actually wins in 2008--the revolution has begun. It's Animal Farm all over again. Soon the "pigs" will become the enemy and the people will revolt. It's just a shame that we have to keep re-learning the lessons of discrimination, liberty and democracy every 30 or 40 years.

Read the novel, we'll win eventually.

Voting-Age Population

The numbers will speak volumes this year. Post election analysis will be crazy. And, since I have the luxury of being awake and at a computer 6 hours before the US is even awake, I'll register some predictions.
I am interested to see the turn out rate and what 'sliver' of the population makes the difference. From the census bureau, we know this:

217.8 million Number of voting-age U.S. residents.

• 153.9 million were single-race non-Hispanic white
• 26.4 million were black
• 26.3 million Hispanic
• 10.0 million Asian
• 3.0 million American Indian or Alaska native
• 647,000 native Hawaiian or other Pacific islander.

Presidential Election: 2000
111 million: the number of people who voted in the 2000 presidential election, short of the record high of 114 million set in 1992.
State Turnout Trends (At or about 70%)
The 2000 presidential election voting rates in the District of Columbia, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Maine and Minnesota, highest in the nation.
National Turnout Trends
60% Percentage of eligible voters who cast their ballots in the November 2000 presidential election, slightly higher than the 58 percent who voted in 1996.

My prediction (because I can--where does the innate desire to predict come from? Do we secretly wish we were fortune tellers or astrologists?):
The old and the young will make this election interesting. The young and cell-phone using only population that hasn't been polled and the older folks who probably have their phones blocked by the national no-call lists will turn out in large volumes to vote for what the young will see as their right to finally 'speak out' and the pensioners might see as a vote of 'wisdom' for a divided country. I feel like it won't be that close, that it will be a large enough gap to allow the next president to lead with some (maybe not a lot) comfort; certainly no overwhelming mandate, but I can't see the courts.

The numbers: 134 million people will vote, give or take 500,000. That should put us near the numbers hit in the 1960's, the highest this century. This is in sync with my belief that the 60's are going to happen again.
The states: MN will have record numbers (from 68.8% in 2000), again, as will Wisconsin (from 66.1% in 2000), but my random thought prediction thinks we'll see a crazy high percentages from states like Misouri, New Mexico and Pennsylvania. (these states turned out 57.7%, 47.4, 53.7 in 2000).

The black vote will obviously favor Kerry, but not like it did for Gore and Clinton. The veteran's will be the ones to watch this year.

More later.