It's Almost Funny...

...almost.  It happened again today.  The trash collectors left our receptacles right in the middle of the driveway so no car could enter.  Michael parked in the street and moved the can(s) out of the way.  I can only assume that the guys do this on purpose--it happens so often and to many in our neighborhood.  Maybe not, though.

After finishing Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (Allen Guelzo), I'm left with many impressions, most as one might guess, positive ones.  I think Guelzo is even more of a Lincoln fan than I am!  (I almost wrote "even more of a Lincoln apologist than I am."  But I don't think Lincoln needs any apologists.)  That was good to see/read.  It was cool to read of Lincoln's somewhat uneven signature on the EP.  Many have said it was because he was hesitant, almost losing his nerve at the last minute in issuing it.  He had no intention on going back on his word.  The unevenness of his signature, "Abraham Lincoln" which he rarely used in place of "A. Lincoln," was due to the January 1st handshakes for several hours at the White House.  Some have suggested he shook hundreds of hands that day, maybe as many as 700.  I think that might cause a hand to act up a bit.  I was also very glad to see Michigan's own Zachariah Chandler figure so prominently or, at least, far more prominently than he is usually depicted.  Chandler was a giant among the abolitionists, the Radical Republicans, but is most often ignored or subjugated to a lesser role than that of, say, Thaddeus Stevens, Ben Wade, and Charles Sumner.  (Chandler, a Detroit hardware store owner, was sued in the 1850s by one U.S. Grant, who was stationed there.  Grant fell on the slippery walkway in front of then Mayor Chandler's house and won a judgment of $5 (?). Grant held no hard feelings apparently, as he appointed Chandler to his Cabinet in 1875.)

I was repeatedly struck by the irony of this:  Southerners constantly argued that freedom included their right to own other people, their slaves.  Abolition, then, was stealing freedom from white southern slave owners.

I'm not a big fan of George McClellan, the Union general.  In fact, I'm no fan at all.  One of my favorite Lincoln comments came in the face of McClellan's notorious reluctance to engage the enemy.  "If you're not going to use the army, could I borrow it for a while?"  I've always considered McClellan one who likely lengthened the Civil War, leading to more casualties. (Of course, it's hard to prove things that don't happen, but......)  Guelzo paints him in an even darker light, almost a traitorous one.  And he includes some of McClellan's staff.  He cites threats of courts-martial and even some cashiering of officers.  Hmmm...... 

For whatever reason, I've thought about something I've not thought about--maybe ever.  Would I enjoy living in a city like New York or Boston?  I think in many ways, urban life in either of those two places is different from, say, Detroit or Chicago.  Living in the brownstones, able to walk through and shop the ethnic neighborhoods, etc., almost seemed compelling--almost.  How different such a life would be from the suburban lifestyle!

Another article in an ongoing series about life in the neighborhoods of Detroit depicted a far different image of the city's so-called "rebound."  Residents were interviewed and they cited the squatters and druggies living in abandoned houses, leading to robberies and shootings.  "It's not safe."  I know crime statistics, numerically, are down in Detroit.  But although murders were the lowest there in about 40 years, the population is barely 1/3 of what it was then.  As a percentage of population, the rate was way up.  Perhaps getting the downtown and entertainment areas will soon allow the city to devote more attention and resources to the neighborhoods.  I hope so.  I remember a great, great Detroit, a wonderful city to grow up in and near.

One last thing, how does this happen?  I am, I sheepishly admit, up about 10 pounds from my usual weight, even at this time of the year when it usually climbs a bit.  Yet, my trousers all a looser around the waist?!?!?!  In light of that, 10 pounds seems like a lot.

As usual, please forgive any typos and misspellings.  I'm too tired to proofread today.