Postcard from Little Rock, Arkansas

I was having a good time, recovered from my transatlantic flight and ready for a short Texas road trip (to the Swedish capital of Texas) with my Teddy. Then…I had a fender bender in a car park. Not serious, no-one was injured and we were both calm. Nevertheless, my mental health took a huge step backwards. I didn’t learn to drive until I was 45 and it doesn’t take much to make me very anxious. The road trip was in two days and I realized I just couldn’t do it. I also knew that my husband would be very disappointed. Yet more anxiety! After a little brainstorming I realized that I would enjoy a short plane ride to somewhere yet unvisited just for the weekend. We had enough air miles and hotel points for it all to be free – Yaaay. I usually plan trips with military precision but couldn’t this time. It was obvious that Little Rock was a very small capital city and the hotel, in the center, had a free shuttle to the airport and downtown. This is turning into a great FREE trip! It was a teeny weeny airport but lovely – Bill and Hilary Clinton airport.

Arkansas was everything I expected and a little bit more. It is significantly further north than our swamp and autumn had started giving the landscape a lovely golden glow. It was such a treat to stay in a very small city where you could walk everywhere on sidewalks – are you listening, Rick Perry??? We struck it lucky as there was a big free music festival on alongside the river Arkansas with lots of funky vendors. There were even some DEMOCRATS….they are an endangered species where we live. The landscape was so lovely alongside the river and it was really hot. We got burned because of a deceptively cool breeze off the river. Well…the Scotsman went red and Hiawatha went golden almost immediately. It was a perfect and unexpected trip so click on the link to see lots of lovely photographs and read the rest of our adventures. POSTCARD FROM LITTLE ROCK

The Forgotten War

My only memories of the Korean War are that it was immortalized in the series MASH. It seems ironic that we remember the series so well, especially the theme song, ‘Suicide is Painless’ much better than the actual war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M*A*S*H_(TV_series)

On our recent trip to Little Rock, Arkansas we stumbled on a beautifully serene memorial to the Korean War which lasted from 1950 to 1953. It was a complicated political situation after WWII and North Korea was annexed by the Soviet Union and South Korea was surrendered to the Americans from the Japanese who had invaded Korea in 1910. We know, all too well, today that this has not been a perfect solution and North Korea remains an unstable and worrying nation. I don’t think democracy is right for every nation but totalitarian dictatorship is the opposite of what most people desire.

This memorial really opened my eyes to the reality of the Korean War – how unfair it is that we have forgotten both the military and the civilians who were killed. Our hearts break when we see two very old relatives who occasionally get the opportunity to see each other after more than 60 years of separation. I was astonished by how many disparate nations worked together under the UN banner to achieve peace in Korea and dearly wish that we could come to some consensus on what to do about Syria. The global lack of decisive action has led to President Putin assisting the reigning, if despised, Syrian government and indiscriminately bombing Syria (and also Iran, accidentally).

We worry relentlessly that we will be infiltrated by ISIS terrorists if we accept more desperate refugees when we have much more to fear from domestic terrorism. There are many sensible ways for us to determine if refugees are legitimate but we react so quickly to media panic. Are we really still asking if President Obama is Muslim – AND WHAT IF HE WAS? There is nothing intrinsically wrong with a Muslim, Mormon, Catholic, Jewish or Atheist President. All they need to do is understand our constitution and abide by it.

I would never have visited this memorial if it were not for my friend GP Cox, fellow blogger ‘Pacific Paratrooper’ and I hope he enjoys it.
Click on this link to see the rest of the post. THE FORGOTTEN WAR

Kerry and President Obama

This was taken in the Presidential Holiday Inn in Little Rock. The lobby was like a little museum with photos, articles and other presidential memorabilia – both Republican and Democrat. My husband has a Flickr and Getty Images website https://www.flickr.com/photos/zeesstof/ Don’t look at his photographs – they are better than mine. 🙂 He often posts photographs of me and I was highly amused that he had to block yet another person who ‘liked’ me a little too much… He blocked the person (who was female!) when he looked at her R (X) rated site. I know I am wearing shorts (expensive J Crew shorts) but it was very hot in Little Rock. It was hardly ‘Reader’s Wives’!

Blue

This is a lovely shot of the William ‘Bill’ Clark presidential wetlands in Little Rock, Arkansas. http://www.littlerock.org/citymanager/billclark.aspx

The real reason for posting it is because it is an inside joke between myself and one of my followers. One of the many aspects of WordPress blogging that I have loved is getting to know new friends from all over the world who really know more about me than most of friends, relatives and acquaintances because I reveal my soul in these posts. I am struggling to catch up on travelogues and new anecdotes with some strange malaise. The last few weeks have just been too exciting for someone who struggles with their mental health and I just have to relax, chill out and catch up with reading. As some nationalities say, “I am out on a raft”. The equivalent Irish phrase would be “I am away with the fairies” 🙂

Să fii cuminte! I know you are all going to Google Translate…