Review: Rawhide Down

I've read a number of politically oriented books, most of which were biographical or autobiographical in nature. Most modern narratives of this sort seem designed to either put the subject in the most positive and noble light possible, or they aim to utterly destroy the subject in the most heinous of ways. I tend to buy books that do the former, not to avoid the reality of history, but rather because I find it easier to be objective and see through a narrative that puts a positive spin on a subject than to suffer through the inevitable demagoguery and intentional misrepresentation offered by those authors bent on character assassination.

A well researched narrative is often at least somewhat balanced, despite any predilections of the author. But truly, in the end, a look inside the lives, ideas, and events of some of our political figures always illustrates one primary truth: they are people. Men or women with virtues and faults, some trying not to lose their way in the morass of politics and power, others relishing both and becoming unrecognizable in the process.

I own a few books on Reagan, including the ones containing excerpts of his diaries. As I sat down to read Rawhide Down, however, I was looking for something different: a glimpse into the history not widely shared, but revealing of both the person and the personae in one of the first political crises in my young lifetime (I was nine when, on March 30, 1981, John W. Hinckley, Jr. took aim at President Reagan outside the Washington Hilton Hotel). Rawhide Down tells the story of that momentous day.

We see up close the key actors in this high stakes drama. The Reagans. Hinckley. The Troika (James Baker, Michael Deaver, Edwin Meese). Casper Weinberger. Alexander Haig, who so famously muffed the presidential order of authority and succession. Agent Jerry Parr. Drs. David Gens, Benjamin Aaron, and Joseph Giordano. National Security Advisor Richard V. Allen, whose secret recordings of dialog within the Situation Room that day were made public not all that long ago. And several others.

The narrative flows like that of a suspense thriller, stringing together events and characters from several key settings as the drama plays out. As these characters are introduced, we are treated to simple but relevant backstories using the common flashback device. Indeed, there are a couple of places in the story where you remind yourself that these are real people living through and coping with real events. Rawhide Down is not exhaustive, nor do I believe it was intended to be. But it was clearly and meticulously researched, as the nearly 50 pages of notes and citations at the back of the book will attest. Rawhide Down puts on display the events of that day in a manner that is detailed, informative and accessible to the layman.

In some of the reviews I read after reading the book for myself, a few critics took issue with what they perceived to be elements of hero worship in the narrative. To be sure, in the decades since Reagan left office, there is more than a little of that in evidence, especially in conservative circles. But from my own recollection, as well as the common lore, Reagan very much conveyed a confident humor and charm that enchanted more than a few on both sides of the political aisle. It stands to reason that the public personae of the man closely matched the man himself, and therefore the recollections of numerous doctors, nurses, agents and other players close to the situation should not be summarily discounted as hero worship. Indeed, I feel certain that if something distinctly negative about the President's demeanor had been offered by one or more of these witnesses to history, we would know about it.

My personal recollections of that day are understandably weak. Rawhide Down does an admirable job of filling in the gaps and broadening the canvas of an event that involved far more than the fate of a man. As it is with so many other pivotal moments, the turning points of history can be measured in inches.

Political Humdrum

I'm tired of politics. There, I said it. Let me say it again, with feeling. I'm tired of politics.

There is politics on TV, on the web, and in my chicken sandwich. It fills every gap in every minute in every day with memes and insinuations and blather that seeks to disguise the vapidity of the message (and the messenger). When a nugget of truth on a matter of import actually rises to the surface, a hellish fury of denunciation and hyperbole is unleashed upon us all, the aim of which is to devour and distract and to pull closed the shade, thereby snuffing out the light and the opportunity for serious reflection.

I am a political creature. I still pay attention, because I care about what is going on, where we are going as a nation, and what we will leave behind. But this season, I cannot find much enthusiasm to write about politics and the upcoming election. Suffice it to say, I am a fiscal and social conservative with more than a dash of libertarian seasoning. It is no secret where my vote will go, even though I hold no party affliation.

As I have said before, I am not an activist when it comes to politics. I observe, and periodically offer my observations. I have strong opinions and beliefs on issues, and I periodically offer those too. This blog has plenty of posts that reflect my sense of events, and I don't shy away from those views. But there are more important things in life than engaging in the electioneering play-by-play, and therefore I find it unnecessary to assume any sort of mantle or responsibility toward trying to persuade people to vote one way or another. Those voices are ubiquitous. I see no need to add to the cacophony.

My only advice is this: Do what you can to filter out the adolescence, and listen for the grown-up speak, if there is any.

Back to the grindstone.

Videos: Basement Taking Shape

The ICF framing for the basement level is underway! First step, of course, is to place all the forms. Once all these are set, they will be filled with concrete. We're not there yet, but we're on the way.

Miles In My Shoes

Someday, long in the future, I will sit down and write the stories of our recovery following the loss of our home. I haven't yet, because sometimes I wonder if people aren't already tired of hearing about it. I am more certain than ever that recovery is a slow, exhausting process, and continues long after the event fades from everyone else's memory. Every time I drive up to the property where our house once stood (and will stand again), I find myself haunted by the still obvious change in landscape. The memory for me remains raw, and fresh. But I digress.

There are many great stories, and a couple that are not so great, but perhaps are illustrative anyway. Perhaps the most pathetic story I expect to tell often in my old age has to do with my shoes.

Shoes? Yes, shoes. For you see, the shoes on my feet right now continue to be the only pair of shoes I own. The only reason these shoes were not lost in the tornado is because they were on my feet when the storm hit. A single pair of New Balance cross-trainers. Almost two years old, these shoes are on the verge of falling apart. The sole is tearing loose, the tread on the bottom wearing thin, the cushion insets worn and flat, the fabric crusty with unwashable mud, drywall dust, house insulation, you name it. My feet hurt at the end of each and every day, and I have a desk job.

So why do I continue to wear them? Why do I not simply go to the store, try on some shoes, and buy them? Money is not an issue. What is so hard about taking a little time out of my day to do something that, truly, is not that hard to do? I have no good reason, no response that can justify continuing to wear the same, dirty, falling-apart pair of sneakers. Is it laziness or procrastination? Do I really have better and more important things to do that preclude a side trip to the shoe store? Some days, I think about putting an end to this podiatric pounding, and yet I decide that I can't be bothered with it.

It shouldn't be this hard, you know. But every now and then, I do make things harder than they need to be. There are any number of choices I should make that would promote better mental, emotional and physical health. Making those better choices means changing my habits, and stepping out of the typical fallback patterns that serve up only excuses.

The truth is, my feet hurt, and there is nothing comfortable whatsoever in maintaining the status quo, especially with regard to these shoes. My feet are not a "comfort-zone". These shoes need to be replaced.

In the end, there is only one answer: Just go out and buy the blasted shoes. Maybe even two pair. Or three!

And I will. Eventually. Maybe even tomorrow. If I have time.

Curiosity: The Movie Trailer

Okay, this is cool. The Curiosity landing with a Hollywood flair. All it needs is a voice over by Gary Sinise.


Courtesy NASA Video Gallery.

JPL Does it Again

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is on a roll. The Mars missions over the last decade, although not problem free, have been simply remarkable. From the twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and now mega-rover Curiosity, JPL continues to show what NASA is capable of accomplishing even in this age of shrinking budgets. Early this morning, Curiosity was set safely on the surface of Mars:

PASADENA, Calif. — In a show of technological wizardry, the robotic explorer Curiosity blazed through the pink skies of Mars, steering itself to a gentle landing inside a giant crater for the most ambitious dig yet into the red planet's past.

A chorus of cheers and applause echoed through the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Sunday night after the most high-tech interplanetary rover ever built sent a signal to Earth. It had survived a harrowing plunge through the thin Mars atmosphere.

"Touchdown confirmed," said engineer Allen Chen. "We're safe on Mars."

...

It was NASA's seventh landing on Earth's neighbor; many other attempts by the U.S. and other countries to zip past, circle or set down on Mars have gone awry.

The arrival was an engineering tour de force, debuting never-before-tried acrobatics packed into "seven minutes of terror" as Curiosity sliced through the Martian atmosphere at 13,000 mph.

In a Hollywood-style finish, cables delicately lowered the rover to the ground at a snail-paced 2 mph.

There are plenty of other places to go to satisfy your, uh, Curiosity. Here is a gallery of images from NASA, the JPL Homepage, and one of my frequent web-stops, Universe Today. Here is a video on YouTube that condenses the live feed from mission control, showing the excitement from before and after confirmation of touchdown, complete with a simulated animation (which runs a little ahead of the live action).

These folks are going to have a lot of fun over the next several months, and longer. Funny thing, though. Everytime we go to Mars, it seems, this guy shows up.

More Footer Action

As mentioned in the previous post, we had a design meeting on Wednesday with our builder, the windows and doors guy, the site manager, and the framing and truss designer for our house. During that two hour session, we went over in great detail the design plan for the basement, main floor, bonus room over garage, and other considerations. While we had toyed with the idea of a bathroom next to the bonus room upstairs, we decided that the complication it would introduce to the roof truss design not to be worth the cost. So this means we are sticking with the original design and leaving the closet to the bonus room, so that it can be counted as a bedroom.

One feature that could be "new" is an expanded deck in the back. In the original house, we had a screened deck with just a small landing able to hold a grill, with stairs down to the ground level. Now that we have lost our "tree house" view, due to the fact that 22 trees behind the house have given way to an expansive view of the cotton fields to the east, I have become enamoured with the idea of a sitting area outside that would allow us to enjoy an unobstructed view of the night sky. I've asked for conceptual renderings of the idea; we'll see what the cost turns out to be.

In the new basement design, we had decided to add a wall running north-south, to separate a storage space from what we envision to be the open family space. One of the things we had asked the builder to review was a better placement of the support posts at the basement level. During the meeting, he came back with the recommendation of making that proposed wall load-bearing, which along with the use of a floor-truss design instead of standard i-beam joists, will allow us to span the family space without support posts. That, and we can run duct work through the truss, better hiding the climate control system. Of course, to make that wall load-bearing, that means we needed another cut in the pad for a new footer. And, since there weren't other footers under that particular space, they had to run it longer than the wall will be, all the way to the south wing wall footer.

All I need now is a small camera strapped to the back of a toy X-Wing Fighter.

The new footers for the new storm shelter have already been poured. The tractor is sitting inside where the shelter will be.

All things considered, it's been a pretty good week out there.