Andrew Jackson? Party of One?

You know, as presidents go, we've had some real characters out of the 43 individuals who've held that office. (Okay, I think it's actually 42 individuals, since Grover Cleveland counts as 22 and 24.) For example, Richard Nixon notwithstanding, I think that Warren G. Harding still sets the standard for corruption. 2000 notwithstanding, Rutherford B. Hayes stills sets the standard for election stealing. And all the others notwithstanding, Andrew Jackson still sets the standard for crazy.

He demonstrated his brand of crazy in more ways than I can count, but right up there at the top is that he, you know, killed people, and more often, threatened to kill people. (His killing did not take place while he was in office, and although most of it probably took place when he was a general, he didn't restrict himself to killing enemy troops.) But he threatened people all the time, attacked some, and has generally gone down in history as a man you did not want to be on the bad side of. A scary dude.

All I'm saying is that when people at a political rally shout out "Kill him! Kill him!" when the candidate is talking about the opposition, I really think it's kind of the candidate's place to put a stop to it immediately, and decry that sort of thing as despicable and un-American, as opposed to, y'know, smiling and winking.

I'm just saying.

Okay, so yesterday's alternate title, Fucking Salt Mines, works for today as well, and pretty much is going to work for most of the days that the SCM is there. (That's the silver lining in all the days he's taking off, I guess.) I just feel sad when I'm there. I won't go into everything because hey, that's what I pay a therapist to listen to, and I don't want to revisit it now that I'm home and all is peaceful and I have the kitchen odors of whatever the hell the Hubs is cooking -- I'm not looking -- to keep me company. The SCM and I barely speak, and only on business, so to speak, although we're pleasant when we do. Okay, enough of that.

I've finally begun to plan the little trip the Hubs and I are taking next month. I have the Thursday and Friday after Election Day off, so I'm taking Wednesday too, and we're going to Virginia for a few days. I've never seen Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, so we're going to spend a couple of days in Charlottesville, where there seems to be a lot to do, and then a couple of days in the Shenandoah National Park, along Skyline Drive, which is said to be one of the most beautiful places in the country, and we should hit the peak of the fall foliage there. I promise pictures.

House cleaning tomorrow, which, you can be sure, I am not doing myself. But I do have to straighten up first to get stuff out of their way, like the laundry basket in the living room -- I never win that battle for long -- and other things that just need to be put away. So I'll be busy all morning with that.

For those that do, I wish you an easy fast.


WATCHING FRIENDS :: ENTRY #1875
READING: My Lobotomy by Howard Dully and Charles Fleming