Hello, my favorite Xangans! It's been too long.

  I have an opinion about the mosque which could potentially go in 'close proximity' to Ground Zero. At first I had heard that it was going in 'At Ground Zero.' A little different here but that is not the meat of this rant.

  No.

  The rant is that we, as Americans have First Amendment Rights which are unalienable. We are guaranteed religious freedom to go about it as we choose to do so. It doesn't matter if someone wants to worship a deity connected with the Hare Krishnas in temple surrounded by a commune as they do over in Dallas or a wicken community. It does not matter. We are free to worship and build community centers as we please without persecution.

  Do I agree about the possibility of building one.. I believe it is gosche but it is their privilege to go about doing just that.

   I base all of my opinions upon my personal experiences and what I've learned thru life's lessons. Here is my personal experience:

   Back in the 90s I had the experience of knowing Muslims as my neighbors. At first I was taken aback with their flashing brown eyes and covered heads. Compound that with the fact that they had a practice of dancing in the apartment upstairs. One day, I made mention of the fact that it seemed that they were rolling bowling balls upstairs. They smiled and apologized profusely. That was the start of my observations and friendships which spanned greater than 6 months until they returned to Jordan. The neighbors were part of a squadron from the Royal Air Force of Jordan and had come to learn the F-16 which was being build on their behalf by Lockheed-Martin. I learned a lot about their customs and their king, air force, foods, herbs, and had an invitation to visit Jordan. I also learned that they did not hate women, relegating them to wear burqas at all times and walk behind them. It was much the contrary. They respected women, most assuredly their mothers who were close to my age. Within weeks of their leaving, they spoke of how they did not want to be observed as 'tourists' because they were not 'tourists.' Meaning... they were not terrorists. They were Muslims who practiced their religion in a peaceful manner.

  For many years I kept a picture of a Muslim family who was fleeing the initial bombs being dropped on Baghdad. It was a picture of that I found in the newspaper. It spoke to me. A dad and three children, running away. It could have been my father fleeing or my son with his children.  It could have been anyone going about their business of raising a family. What I am saying here is... not every Muslim in the world is a terrorist. I've said it all along and believe that you will not see this in reports that come out of the Middle East. As my memory serves me, there was a mother whose husband was killed in 9-11 who happens to be Muslim. She felt anguish as did all the survivors. Is she and her grief just considered collateral damage?

  So, if the price is right, who are we as Americans to say that they should not build? Are you as Americans saying that we should review and rewrite those First Amendments?

   I've watched and not watched the oil catastrophe in the Gulf. Thankful that I stocked up on Gulf wild shrimp while I was down there. I don't watch the news when it comes too much to fathom. I take stock in the fact that I am better off worrying about my little world than the really big world. However, upon hearing the story of the spill I took pause to remember my trip down the Mississippi where it spilled out into the Gulf.

  I've always been fascinated with any place which hovers at or below sea level. Funny how that is because I don't swim, don't snorkel nor do I have any desire to go beneath the surface of the ocean. I do however, love cruising! So about 9 years ago, my traveling companion and myself took on a cruise which embarked from New Orleans. New Orleans is not right on the ocean. Instead you embark on the Mississippi River and cruise down to the Gulf of Mexico. It takes a river boat captain to maneuver those waters. Then once in open waters the ship stops and the river boat captain leaves the ship and the sea captain gets on.

  We got on the ship late in the afternoon, settled in and went for dinner and participated in all the mandatory drills. Once dinner was over, we went to my favorite part of the ship, the bow. I strongly suggest that if you ever cruise, take in the bow of the ship for a tantalizing ride with tremendous vistas. What I remember was snaking along the river. Although the river is vastly wide, the ship seemed tremendous maneuvering thru there. As we went further and further away from New Orleans, I became aware that less could make their home there. What I came to see were reeds jutting from beneath the water. Ever so often I say refineries with manmade roads leading to them for employees who worked there. All the time we snaked down that mammoth rolling river. I saw less and less human activity and my imagination lent more and more to nature and the delicate ecosystem of brack water.

  Now, pan over to my recent experience here amongst the gas wells here on the Barnett Shale. Once at a producing rig I got a gander at the subterranean crude which bubbled from the ground. At first it looks like nothing seen before. It is sludgy, muddy, muckity muck which is a mix of oil and gas. It's nasty and thick and stinks to high heaven.

  So imagine my sad horror when I became aware of the melding of those two memories and the devastation which I knew could take place. It's tremendously surreal to imagine the breadth and depth of this catastrophe. The bigness of it all. All at the hands of man.

  I know of it. I don't need to discuss and cuss Big Oil. We need it to keep moving. This is the reason I change the channel.