Still holed up.

I haven't died, just been somewhat busy and haven't felt like writing. I'm guessing this is the point where a lot of blogs breathe their last. I will persevere.

No news---will give up on the casino job this week if there is no word. Who knows what happened. I'm considering no longer posting about job interviews or anything related to that, it turns things into a slough of self-pity.

I re-read CONFEDERATES IN THE ATTIC by Tony Horwitz, an excellent study of the Civil War as perceived in the South. Interesting that most of the attitudes about the War Between the States only became prevalent during the 20th century. General Sherman, for example, was not perceived as a villain by Southerners in the years immediately following the war.

As usual, this has caused me to seek out other books, and I have started with Shelby Foote's massive three volume narrative of the Civil War, around 2200 pages in total. Having a ball with it, there is nothing like having a sizable book that you are excited about reading.

Also interesting that the Ku Klux Klan that people are familiar with today is very different from the original organization, which was disbanded by Nathan Bedford Forrest when it started veering into the direction that people know it for today.
The behavior that people associate with the KKK these days was that of the "reborn" Klan from the 1910s onward. I will be interested in reading more about that as well.

Speaking of such, today is the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing [and indeed, as I write this, it is less than an hour from the time the bomb exploded, 9;02 AM Central time.] I lived in Oklahoma back then, and remember what a shock it was to hear on the radio [my primary source of news back in college, during my long commute to classes.]

I visited the OKC Memorial eight years ago, it was heart wrenching, all the more for the special exhibit they had at the end of all the rescue workers from NYC who had assisted with the recovery efforts, many of whom had gone on to perish on 9/11.

I know at least a few from my home state who have become irritated and feel "forgotten" due to the subsequent terrorist attacks, but I feel that is the wrong way to look at it. What is sad, though, is that that type of terrorist act seems much less shocking or unlikely than it did back in 1995, to the point where I doubt younger people might be able to understand why the idea of an American bombing their own government stunned people so much back then.