Hey Kathy! I’m at the airport now, not being anywhere near as constructive. Good luck on the paper clearing, shudder Pat

Oh, that's brilliant, thank you from all of us! Reading is so very important. I've been working with elementary kids and it's a joy watching them realize they can read.

I think they just don't make desks big enough!

Thank you for the recipe suggestion. Ill look it up! Ive about given up baking because so many of the ingredients have changed over the years. Butter doesnt have the fat we used to have. Crisco is totally different. And the results are disappointing! We probably dont need to be eating all that fat anyway. ;)

Fun! Although we always have fruit salad for Christmas dinner--it was a good use for the apples and oranges that landed in stockings. ;)

ahh, so I'm probably reading the wrong recipes, excellent! Cake should be moist! But I looooove rice pudding! Hmmm, maybe I should consider making that a New Year's Day tradition.

that's good to know because the recipes I read didn't sound much like cake at all!

Beautiful--and a gift to which we could all relate. Glad you had the time to share!

I love the idea of erecting counter-statues! Its probably more expensive than moving the old ones, but I really love putting the history out there. Thank you!

since many statues are of local figures, we probably ought to keep them local, but if a museum is available, by all means!

Thank you! This has been an exceedingly erudite discussion, to my relief. I think everyone has come away with food for thought. I, too, mourn those gardens, but nature is ephemeral, I suppose. But art... that one's tough.

Oh now, that is interesting! A catalog of monuments! But the ones I remember looked like the actual men (and their famed horses, this being horse country). So I guess there's all kinds. Still another argument for forgetting monuments and giving the money to where it will help!

Thank you. I don't know why the people who erect statues and choose schoolbooks can't appreciate the fullness of history or its lessons. But we have to keep preaching and never give up.

LOL on the Yankees and Red Sox! This is an issue that simply needs to be discussed in a civilized manner in as many places as possible, but not everyone is qualified for writing the words as carefully as our readers have these last few days. I'm hoping everyone will take these thoughts into their communities and speak them where they can. Word of mouth can do wonders, as authors are in a unique position to know. And if people are shy about speaking, they can just point fingers at us. ;)

You are essentially saying what I was implying. I wanted open discussion so I chose to show both sides as best as I could in a limited way. I do believe we need to respect the people who suffered and still suffer from bigotry. And I'm not entirely certain that honoring flawed men of any ilk is a wise idea. But the statues are history. So compromise should be sought in their placement. As someone else mentioned above, our concerns really ought to be about our history books and what we teach our children!

Completely agree. I suspect there was a lot of political manipulation happening. The Daughters of the Confederacy were romantically honoring men they'd been taught to revere, perhaps, but the men choosing the places to plant those statues were far more likely to have meanness in mind. I'm sure there was a little of both in both genders, but if you read the article about the woman who quit because the statue wasn't art-- there's the silly mindset involved.

LOL, yeah, I followed what you were saying through the typos. I'm glad Baltimore didn't destroy the history either. Choosing where to place the statues and building new bases and placards takes time. I do hope they give a better explanation of what the statues represent.

We have opposing sides now as we had then. I understand the political arguments. But resorting to violence to force the issue is not the answer. But given the current voting situation in this country alone, I'm not entirely certain where the answer is. :(

Very well said! Unfortunately, it seems our populations wants comic book heroes, doesn't it?

Yes, this, exactly. Maybe we should just quit erecting monuments and build shelters and feed the hungry in their names.

you're not saying anything we're not thinking. But I don't know how we can change the system so only people who want to help us are chosen.

Now that is a fascinating viewpoint. I think the quote is those who didn't LEARN from history are doomed, and these continuing wars certainly an example of that. But if we could wipe history out of their minds so they don't know what they're fighting about? Wow, I see a fun fantasy coming on!

I LOVE this! We should start an uprising--we want history placards on all statues! And please, do not get me on the subject of sanitized history books. It will not be pretty.