Mother Didn't Drive a Car

What? You say...yes, my Mother never drove. When I think about this I shake my head and sigh. I do not know why and never really questioned it growing up. Her parents never owned a car as far as I know, and they lived "downtown" in Richmond so perhaps they never saw the need.

By the time I was six there were three children and my Dad was stationed in Okinawa for a year leaving us in Richmond. Now I ask you, can you imagine having three small children, your husband away and not driving an automobile? My grandfather (Papa) would pick us up and take us to the store, but otherwise we were trapped. My mind cannot comprehend not being able to get in the car and go...go anywhere, by yourself, or just taking the kids to the park, or mall, or to see animals, whatever.

I have assumed my Dad never wanted her to drive; he seemed to always be glad to take us where we needed to be. Perhaps he feared his cars would be damaged. It was always pandemonium when one or all of us missed the school bus. My Dad would already have gone to work and would have to come home, get us and take us to school. You would think that would happen once and to the DMV my Mom would go. Nope, never. Was there conversation about this? Don't know.

When I think about my own life, there is no way I can imagine not driving. It will always be one of the mysteries of my childhood as to why my Mom did not jump into that mist green Buick Riviera and drive into the modern era.

Yes Elizabeth, the blog is back.

When I was asked at a party on the 4th of July if I still posted on my Blog, I was a bit surprised that anyone even remembered that I wrote a blog. So yet again I have decided to resume "Life in the Pitt". Katrina has gotten so lazy and has informed me that she will appear on occasion and only when there is something really important to say, but I will pontificate on anything from the mundane to the all important ACC basketball news.

As with all the other resumptions of LITP, an update is in order. December 2012 seems like an eternity ago and much has happened here on the edge of the Triangle. The recession seems to have ended and Pittsboro is the talk of the economic world here in the Piedmont of North Carolina. A group of investors has been given the go ahead to build a 900 acre live/work community adjacent to our little city. Chatham Park will change the flavor of this corner of the Triangle. There are many who  fear Pittsboro will loose it's quirkiness and small town atmosphere; we will just have to see how it all plays out. There is development galore on the 15/501 and traffic actually exists.

Politics has become pretty grim here in the old North State since 2012 with the most oppressive voter restrictions in the country, an outright war on public education, and somewhere in Raleigh Galt's Gulch has been created. Our neighbor Randy Voller is no longer the mayor but has become the head of the NC Democratic Party. The Party has been in chaos since he took the helm and there is much apprehension about November 2014. LITP will have much to say about that.

The Chatham County Courthouse has been rebuilt and is beautiful, but there are still a few unsightly buildings and dwellings that should be condemned.

So...The Pitt is back.

Really!? And I thought the corvette was a penis thing.

Perhaps it is 1968 backwards!

We have come through a very strange and complicated election, one that will be seen as a watershed much like 1968. In 1968 the Democrats had moved so far to the left and Americans rejected the over the top rhetoric and behavior that called for bombing Wall Street and outright revolution. Nixon's contention that the "Silent Majority" would prevail prevailed, and the political pendulum began its swing to the right. The last four years have witnessed a right wing version of 1968. The "lunatic fringe" (gotta love Hofstadter) of the Republican Party has moved into the driver's seat and driven the party right off the proverbial cliff. This does not mean that the GOP will be willing to embrace Obama's agenda so do not get excited. After Humphrey's defeat in '68 the Dems continued to embrace a very liberal platform...remember McGovern (may he rest in peace), Dukakis, and Mondale, all outside of mainstream. So do not expect the wingnuts to go away. The pendulum will begin its slow swing to the left and finally the rabid rhetoric of the radical right will recede (how do you like that alliteration?).

Well, Mamie was furious! And so was IKE!

Blogger has gotten so sophisticated!  I have just realized that you can track the traffic to your blog and there was a HUGE spike to this little blog after the election. Wondering what the mad maniac had to say about the 2nd victory of Barack Obama were you? Well, I am not sure where to begin. The previous post was a facebook comment by a former student (from the 70's) and really gave me reason to pause. I wanted to be sure to capture the message...our first lady should be blond and white and all "ladies" should look like this. I saw this as sexist and racist and it infuriated me. What would Mamie think? After all, she was a beloved First Lady and does not look anything like the blond, plastic Ann Romney. If you look at the facebook post you should be a bit surprised at the females who agreed with Rusty none of which look anything like Ann. ?

This election brought out the worst in our society; hate, racism, ignorance, xenophobia to name just a few. Yes, Mamie is disgusted and Ike cannot believe what the Grand Old Party has become...more later.

Woof!

Rusty Pate

Well, this is what a lady should look like, in my view. And wouldn't be bad for a First Lady, as well. Just saying....

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  Gail Abel Doggett, Patti Boswell Sexton and 2 others like this.
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  John Godbee Let's keep praying that we pull this one out.

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  Bobby Fountain Beautiful ,Elegant and Smart true qualities of a First Lady

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You have got to be kidding me! In order to be First Lady you have to look like Ann Romney? Mamie Eisenhower how do you like that?!

Yikes, I have spent my day on the deck.

You ask why? Do you live under a rock? The ACC Tournament! Carolina was playing the "Semiholes " for the championship and Jane was about to bust a gut. I mean really. She is ridiculous. The Heels lost but Jane's attitude changed a bit when they got a number 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament...phew, I could not take anymore ranting. But, Murray State is a 9 seed and that did set off a bit of a tirade. I hope they lose in the first round just for my sanity. Now I have to listen to all the rambling while she fills out her bracket...she has already determined that Harvard will beat Vanderbilt. Oh well, what can I say, here we go again...she does this every year.

Jane made me post this

http://gawker.com/5891366/whitest-family-on-earth-sings-about-rick-santorum-bringing-justice-for-the-unborn

First of all Thomas Jefferson gave us the Bill of Rights. Jefferson was a Deist and did not advocate organized religion. He also is the person most responsible for SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE! God may have liked the B of R's, but he didn't write them.

Conservatives need to actually read something about Ronald Reagan....the real Ronald Reagan, not the mythical creature that lurks in their mind.  Did not go to church; was a terrible family man...didn't speak to several of his children, didn't see a couple of his grandchildren until they were 3 years old; ran up the highest deficit in history; conducted an illegal war in Nicaragua violating numerous laws and defying the will of Congress; pulled out of Lebanon when 241 American troops were killed when their barracks were bombed; slept through Cabinet meetings; didn't even know that his Secretary of the Treasury and his Chief of Staff had changed jobs.

Love the earrings on the left girl.

And they didn't even leave the TV on!

So Pat and Jane leave yesterday afternoon to go to Chapel Hill and find a place to watch the Dook/Carolina game. The last one caused such a trauma with Rivers' (now referred to as Stream by Jane) final shot and I was really hoping that I would not have to listen to all the gnashing of teeth again. Now here is my gripe...Jane almost always leaves the television on when she leaves so I will not feel so alone; not this time. Just shut the thing off and go. I missed THE game. They come home screaming and yelling, whooping and making fun of the poor, pitiful performance that played out in Cameron Indoor by Dook. I just stared at them in disbelief with my beautiful brown eyes. Day after day I am left to endure the MSNBC drivel about the radicalization of the Republican Party, nothing but dark silence last night.

Thank goodness they were not the oldest people in Kildares again and evidently, if you believe them, their age group was fairly well represented on Franklin Street.

Jane, you ignorant slut

Okay, you have to know that when screaming goes on I retreat to the landing on the stairs (I used to go upstairs and get under the bed, but noooo, there is now a gate that blocks me. Jane said she was sick of me butt skidding on the carpet up there), Evidently some cretin (not my word) has called a poor Georgetown law student a slut and a prostitute just because she wants her insurance company to pay for contraceptives. This unfortunate three day attack on the poor woman has ignited a major screaming fit in front of the TV. And that's not all, Jane is signing petitions, writing emails, and swearing to never use products that advertise on the cretin's radio show. Of course she has no idea what those products are because she never listens to the cretin.

By the way, I butt skidded behind the door in Jane and Pat's room the other day...put a gate on that lady.