All the Biscuits in Georgia Road Trip!

We just have returned from what has become an annual tradition, the Georgia Road Trip. These adventures have carried us along the coast, up into the misty mountains and now along the fields and now through the fields and forests of South Georgia.

While family fun is the ultimate goal of these outings, the overall outcome is growth. We learn about our state, our history, our heritage, the world around us and, through all of these, we learn about ourselves. 

And so I bring the concepts of this most recent trip, the thoughts and ramblings of a man fresh off a close-quarter encounter with the love of his life and his offspring. Over the next few posts I'll be sharing what we learned. I promise that it will not be a generic slide show depicting "what I did on my summer vacation." It will be commentary on what it all means.

By request, I'll address some issues that came up in discussions before the trip but that were very pertinent to at least one stop along the way. I'll throw in my commentary about what much of the information means for us today. And, yes, I'll be including some pretty candid confessions about my experiences with a couple of chief executives that I didn't care much for.

So, stay tuned! In the course of over 500 miles driven, 15,000 years of history, at least a dozen wars, three branches of military service and three presidential administrations and 5 school bus loads of watermelons I came up with some interesting things to say. At least I find them interesting. 

Besides, it's not every day that you encounter 5 bus loads of watermelons...

Declaration

Well, the 4th is upon us.

It seems sort of counterproductive to write about the 4th as I first sit down to begin this. After all, there was so much written that led up to the Declaration. Most of those writings are far better than anything you'll see on this blog and were written by men far more knowlegable and talented than I am, that's for sure.

And then came that night when the smartest of all Americans, Thomas Jefferson himself, sat down and drug his quill across the parchment and formed the characters

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

And then he wrote a scathing, although gentlemanly, critique of the most powerful man on the planet using concepts and grievances assembled by the most brilliant minds of those thirteen States. Some of them believed in unparalleled freedom. And others were Federalists. But they all had one thing in mind...the current government had to go.

The main team working on the Declaration was an interesting alliance. Thomas Jefferson was the young up-and-coming genius, well known for his brilliant writing. His good friend John Adams was a little older and sat at the opposite end of the political spectrum from Jefferson. Benjamin Franklin was sort of like the wise old uncle of the bunch. A genius in his own right, he offered guidance to the Congress and his wisdom was an invaluable resource in the founding of the nation.

Basically these men (mostly Jefferson, of course) laid out an organized plan: "All the people you are taxing to death and shooting holes in are angry - every last one of them. We have a God-given right to govern ourselves and if that government gets rotten we have the right to throw it away and start over. Here's a list of the absurd things you're doing to us, proving that your government is indeed rotten. We've begged you to quit and every time you just get worse."

And then the most glorious part of all. The best, most wonderful and awesome part of all. Too awesome for a paraphrase:  

"We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

See the "u" in "united"? Quite possibly the smallest "u" I've ever seen in all my life. Then there is the part about "Free and Independent States." S-T-A-T-E-S. Plural. Thirteen Nations, under God, Independent, with liberty and justice for all.

Watch each other's back but stay out of each other's business. Interesting concept.

Thus ends my Antifederalist rant for this article.

Back to the men with the ink. The amazing thing about the Declaration (besides it's unashamed endorsement of Antifederalism) is that it was written in the age of the Divine Right of Kings. This philosophy held that the king was the rightful ruler, ordained by God to lead the people. The Declaration was a total disregard of that philosophy and in turn professed that God's ordination rested upon each individual and that those individuals transferred that power to a limited government that would keep the basic order in society but otherwise leave men free to live their lives.

So these men assembled and composed this document to tell off the ruler of a plurality of the world while we can't clean up Congress in an election year. We have grown adults who have never lived under a Presidential administration that was familiar with the Constitution or at least one that obeyed it. Many of the usurpations listed in the Declaration are carried out daily by our current government and the founding fathers left us with the cleanest bloodless way of fixing that problem that the world has ever seen. I'm not making an endorsement this early but I will say that (as of this date) Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan & Marco Rubio are horrible, terrible, no good, very bad candidates. Do not vote for any of them in primaries or otherwise, even as a joke.

One other note, some 87 years, to the week, after the Declaration was adopted, those States met on the field of battle, this time as enemies. They fought, not over slavery like modern history books would have you believe, but over these very principles as laid out in the founding document. During those three days, two percent of the American population ended that battle killed, captured, wounded or missing. Adjusted for modern populations, that's six million people dead, injured or otherwise unaccounted for in a single battle in a single town.

And we make excuses. "Have you ever read the Declaration if Independence?" "Nope, TLDR". "Are you familiar with Gettysburg?" "Yep, that's where Lincoln freed the slaves"."What do you know about Thomas Jefferson?" "That he's old and doesn't matter anymore."

And then they gripe when their taxes go up or when the government is reading their emails or when some other usurpation of their freedom smacks them in the face.

“There is nothing which I have found to require a greater effort of patience than to bear the criticisms of the ignorant.” - Pres. Jefferson Davis, CSA

So it goes.

Here's a friendly challenge. Sometime over the next week, read the Declaration of Independence and take a moment to remember the men that fought at Gettysburg as well as the civilian casualties and all the bystanders that worked so hard to alleviate the suffering of all involved. Maybe even take a few more minutes to try to figure out what went on there and why.

Regardless, here's hoping you have a happy 4th from everyone here at AtBiG. And on this Independence Day, may God bless the fifty united States of America.

Notes From the Road

Road trip.

I love them. Well, mostly. Packing the car and following the asphalt ribbon out of town always builds a little excitement in me.

So I'll share some tidbits from the journey.

Let me just say that it takes a strong woman to share close-quarters lodging with four dudes. Don't get me wrong, we don't stay in those places that require a deposit for your bed linen and there's not usually a flashing neon sign just outside the window but sometimes you wind up in accommodations that aren't exactly Trump Tower.

I can tell you that a woman will hide in a corner under a blanket if you call for maintenance to bring a plunger. In a related story, the plunger wielder may or may not be tending the breakfast area the next morning. Also, a woman that shares a room with four guys is likely to claim that guys snore from both ends.

But that is just conjecture.

Specifics from this trip...

A sidebar in Macon. Got to take a quick peek in at Rose Hill Cemetery. Impressive population of residents. We're talking people with counties named after them, or at least after their parents. It was a quick visit so my impressions are from small amounts of evidence.


My thoughts?

They need a foundation, like Oakland in Atlanta. The condition of the house at the gate was sad, considering the beauty of the architecture. The grounds were in desperate need of mowing. When I'm standing in knee-deep grass between governors Alfred Colquitt and George Towns, it's time for a mow. These men were pivotal to Georgia history. They deserve better, as do the people that visit their memorials. There's a lot of potential here. The location and the setting are beautiful. It just needs a bit more attention.

That being said, the gravesite of John Basil Lamar is stunning. Sitting near the top of a hill with a beautiful view of the Ocmulgee River, the tomb of this soldier, writer and orator includes an impressive obelisk and appears to be well kept. Finding his grave has led me to learn more about him as I was not familiar with him beforehand.

And then there's Duane and Berry. By far the finest burial site I encountered was that of Allman Brothers musicians Duane Allman and Berry Oakley III. It is fitting that these men are buried here after they were tragically killed in almost identical fashion just over a year apart on the same stretch of road in Macon. The historic cemetery was a frequent hangout for the band and provided inspiration for much of their music, specifically Little Martha and In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. This site is breathtaking. Despite the fencing erected to deter vandalism and other damage, the site is beautiful. The grounds are maintained well. The grass and hedges are trimmed and the walkway was clean of any debris. It is a fitting tribute to Macon's lost sons. I'd recommend a stop for anyone who loves the music these men made.

In other news....

Interstate 75 will never be completed.

Ever.

I almost died in Turner County. I was assaulted by a medium-sized swarm of gnats that was lying in wait to ambush me at a rest area. In true North Georgia fashion, I mustered enough strength to break free of the fracas and flee to the safety of the car. Then we had to strategically remove the small swarm that made it into the car. This may or may not have been finally accomplished by one of the boys using chemical warfare. I think it was the youngest one. Any locals present were probably laughing at me while blowing from the corners of their mouths to deal with their own issues with the gnats. I think the average South Georgia diet is roughly 25% gnats, intentional or otherwise.

Anyway.

Chic-Fil-A is closed on Sunday. Even when you're on vacation and that's one of the two places you can get the picky kid to actually eat something.

There are few things in this world funnier than watching people tripping over themselves as they frantically trample from the wave pool in a water park to get out of the rain. Are they worried about getting wet? Really?

Florida (the "Flor-i-da" part) is this whole other place. We saw a girl in a Disney Resorts uniform sitting on a bench in front of Papa John's eating sushi with chop sticks. Never did find the sushi restaurant. Down there, a well-placed wrong turn, while frightening at first, could save you $1.50 if it causes you to miss one toll booth. Fire ants still list human shins and ankles on their list of delicacies.

Yeah....trust me, Interstate 75 will never be completed.

That's a quick take from this road trip. Summer is young, there's plenty more where that came from.