Our Biggest Right And Responsibility

I don’t want this blog to become a forum for political debate. There’s enough of that all over the Internet these days. But way back when I was a youngster and volunteered to join the Army, there were a couple of things that really ticked me off. Among them was that at 18 years old my country could send me to Vietnam to fight a war, but when I came home, I couldn’t legally buy a drink or vote. A year later, when I wanted to get married in New York, I had to get signed permission from my mother and my commanding officer. The crazy thing was that my fiancée, who was the same age, didn’t need anything. At that time, young women were considered mature enough to make a decision like that, but young men weren’t. Crazy, huh?

Eventually things changed. The voting age dropped to 18, and I became old enough to drink legally. It only took a couple of nights spent hugging the porcelain throne and nasty hangovers to find out that I didn’t want to do that anyway, and I have not had a drink in almost 50 years.

But voting is something else. It is the biggest right and the biggest responsibility we, as Americans, have. Now there is talk of raising the legal age to vote back up to 21, and one Republican candidate for president, biotech founder Vivek Ramaswamy, recently proposed raising the voting age to 25.

This is nonsense. I don’t care if you’re a Republican or a Democrat, an Independent or a Libertarian, a liberal or conservative, you need to get out there and exercise your right to vote. If you don’t, you have no right to bitch about the way things are going in the country. There are issues that Terry and I are very concerned with, and we’re not afraid to show it. Which is why we got these new shirts just the other day from a place called https://www.womenspeak.shop/

In other news, I wrote another 2,000 words in my new Big Lake book yesterday after a delicious breakfast of Terry’s homemade overnight yeasted browned butter waffles. These things are absolutely incredible and I love them.

And if that wasn’t enough to tantalize the taste buds, during the afternoon she made a loaf of her wonderful banana nut bread. Yes, I know, I’m spoiled. 😊

You can find the recipe for the banana bread at this link, and email Terry at Travelinterry@gypsyjournal.net if you want the waffle recipe.

Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an autographed copy of The Search for Grandma Sparkle by Darlene Miller. This cozy mystery begins when Sarah Spoolstra learns that her grandmother Opal and niece Jessica are missing, and she decides to search for them. When their car is found with two flat tires, Sarah and her boyfriend travel up and down the rural roads and creeks of southern Iowa looking for her missing relatives. Because of a recent storm, would they have sought shelter in an abandoned barn, house, or maybe even a coal mine? Were they abducted? Who would have a grudge against the gentle woman who only tried to help people through her church’s SPARKLE Club?

To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books and audiobooks to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed. After 90 days, unclaimed prizes revert back to the drawing pool for a future contest.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Thought For The Day – If you want something different in your life you have to let go of the past. Remember, old keys don’t open new locks.