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Posted on 08.24.10 by K. Daniel Glover @ 9:55 pm
After finding my book, I wandered back to the children’s section to see what our kids were doing. The older two, the ones who know how to read, were looking at their favorite series of books; our youngest, 5-year-old Catie, was at the “Thomas & Friends” station. That’s when it hit me that our last toddler won’t be a toddler much longer. She starts her first full year of school at the Glover Home School this week, and soon she’ll be reading and shopping for books. She won’t have any interest in the “Thomas & Friends” display at Barnes & Noble that has been a part of our family for the past decade. Kimberly and I used to fuss over which of us would stay at the station to watch the kids play while the other shopped for books. Now that my baby is about to be a big girl, I wish I had spent more time with all of the kids. I blinked, and now those days are almost gone forever. I’m thinking we should make Barnes & Noble a regular stop over the next year or so. I’ll let Kimberly shop for books the whole time while I enjoy my baby girl before she gets too big to care about Thomas and his locomotive friends. Filed under: Books and Business and Family and Parenting Comments: None |
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Posted on 04.16.10 by K. Daniel Glover @ 2:21 pm
Like most of America’s official recognitions of God, the National Day of Prayer now at the center of a legal dispute is rooted in the spiritual heyday of the post-World War II era. The day was first celebrated in 1952. I revisited the history of such “ceremonial deism” (the Supreme Court’s term) in my 1999 “Congress Back Then” column for IntellectualCapital.com, and I am reprinting it here to offer some context for the current debate about the National Day of Prayer. Congress Back Then: America’s Spiritual Heyday Earlier this year, policymakers, pundits and people on the street reopened a uniquely American (and seemingly infinite) debate. In the wake of another incident of school violence, this time a mass murder at a high school in Littleton, Colo., they pondered a familiar question: Just how far should our nation go in trying to maintain a clear separation between church and state? Congress debated the question in mid-June and decided that perhaps we had gone too far. More specifically, House lawmakers saw a need for a greater religious presence in the public schools, so they cast a series of votes designed to give new spiritual direction to the nation’s youth. The most-publicized decision: They sanctioned the posting of the Bible’s Ten Commandments on school walls. The primarily symbolic votes topped the news of the week, not at all surprising in an era when Americans are sharply divided on the relationship between religion and government. But four decades back, the votes might have gone unnoticed, an unremarkable act at a time when Congress added the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance, and made the phrase “In God We Trust” the national motto and a mandatory slogan on all U.S. coins and currency. All of that religious posturing, and more, happened during the presidency of Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower and in the early days of a Cold War that most patriotic Americans apparently saw as a battle between Christian America and the godless, communist Soviet Union. Filed under: Books and Culture and Entertainment and History and News & Politics and People and Religion Comments: None |
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Posted on 02.21.10 by K. Daniel Glover @ 1:18 pm
I still remember the strip that hooked me as a Calvin fan for life. Calvin burped, prompting the typical adult reply from his mother: “Calvin! What do we say after that?” Here’s how the conversation went next:
Classic! Calvin was a redneck through and through. So was his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, who came to life in Calvin’s imagination and the strip. But their creator is an enlightened redneck.
I sure do miss Watterson’s work, which ran for only a decade. So do millions of other fans. Filed under: Books and Entertainment and Human Interest and Just For Laughs and Media and People and Redneck Humor Comments: None |
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Posted on 02.05.09 by K. Daniel Glover @ 10:04 pm
A decade ago, a trio of beavers decided to make Washington’s Tidal Basin their home and the capital city’s prized cherry trees their late-night snacks. The National Park Service had to remove the critters. That real-life story inspired me to write a children’s book called “George Washington Beaver And The Cherry Tree.”
I’m feeling the inspiration again. Today’s news about raccoons invading the White House grounds sounds like a good reason for me to assume my alter ego as Mister Critter, wannabe author of children’s books about American history.
Can you think of anyone better to write such books than a long-time Washington journalist who owns the pen name Mister Critter and calls himself “The Enlightened Redneck”? If any publishers out there are reading this blog, give me a holler. Let’s talk. And if anyone wants to read the legend of George Beaver, I sell an e-book version and companion e-coloring book for $9.99. It’s a fun way to teach your children and grandchildren the history behind America’s first president. Write me at danny@enlightenedredneck.com to place an order. Filed under: Books and Business and History and Human Interest and News & Politics and People Comments: 1 Comment |
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Posted on 01.18.09 by K. Daniel Glover @ 5:11 pm
I used to love driving to Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah Mountains every fall and not just to see the fall colors. The real treat was driving by Cooter’s Place in Sperryville, Va., and seeing Ben Jones, a former congressman, chatting it up with the locals and the tourists, with the infamous General Lee from the TV show right there on the lot. Cooter’s Place closed in 2003. The driving tour west just isn’t the same now, but I’m glad to see Cooter is in the news again for his book, an aptly named one at that — “Redneck Boy In The Promised Land.” I have to get a copy. And Cooter, if you’re reading, I’d love to interview you for this blog. Filed under: Books and Culture and Entertainment and Government and People and Rednecks Comments: None |
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Posted on 01.11.09 by K. Daniel Glover @ 8:54 am
(Hat tip to Watts Up With That, via Don Surber) Filed under: Books and Government and Just For Laughs Comments: None |
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Posted on 01.09.09 by K. Daniel Glover @ 3:30 pm
I haven’t yet read “Ted, White And Blue: The Nugent Manifesto,” but it sounds like a good read for an enlightened redneck based on this description as part of a Human Events ad:
Maybe I can get Nugent to grant an interview with me for this blog. Any PR-types out there reading? Filed under: Books and Government Comments: None |
