If Its Monday , It's John Barrowman Time !

Well..the hits just keep on rocking.

Electronics = 2

Us = 0

No, it wasn't life of death like..shall we say ...a pacemaker ..but nevertheless..

We will collectively be more careful in the future.


Meanwhile , back at the ranch...

We watched the first part of the Ken Burns series on the Roosevelts and I liked it, hisself for the most part snored on the sofa as is his custom . But..there was more than one point in the program when we were both awake ( who knew ? It's a miracle  ~ ! ) and we turned to each other and blurted out " Dayum..Teddy is just bat shit crazy ( BSC ) , isn't he ? "

Bear with me.  I have a great admiration for Teddy, Eleanor and FDR . Teddy in particular had some things to overcome that would have just felled a lesser spirit , but that is also part of the problem....and where the BSC comes in. Yes, he had asthma and was a sickly youth and like most people of that era , he was encouraged to tough it out, buck up, push himself into a physical shape that would defeat his conditions.  Men were men and manly men at that  , so this is what you did, you took no prisoners and vanquished your foe. You built yourself up and for some it made a difference. To a point this is effective but at the same time it tells me how very little was known at the turn of the century about various illnesses .Sadly when he was just beginning a career in politics, both his first wife and mother died within less than a day of each other....so he basically chucked it all and headed west. He got to the badlands and began to rebuild his life .

At this point the episode got really interesting because it dove in to Teddy's ego and shameless sense of self promotion. He didn't dress appropriately for various occasions, he had costumes made. His force of personality was such that eventually he won over the cynics. It also helped that he staged and had photographed some of his more daring and questionable exploits. Watching his behavior with the Rough Riders seemed to show a blantent disregard for the men under his command and clear moments of self destructive behavior. In todays world, one might wonder if he was in fact bi-polar.

And I wondered all of this before he became president after McKinleys death !

It was a different time and a different world true, but some of the excesses were just unbelievable.

We are recording all of it so this should be a hoot.

Tonights adventure on the way home probably involves a new phone.

Oye !

Have a great week.

Ciao,
Aunty Pol