I am writing this early again, because I am going to be on a plane, or will have just gotten off of a plane, or am sleeping off the final stages of my trip back East to see grandson Jake, with a little side trip to see Alissa, Sam and Riley.
For me, the 4th of July celebration this year was special, in that we didn’t celebrate it. It wasn’t a political statement, it was a choice of staying a couple of extra days and spending almost another $800 on airfare, or flying on the 4th, when everyone else is celebrating and airfares are cheap.
Flying is always a literal pain these days…less leg room, no free food (water and a cookie), and the knowledge that any connection could turn into a nightmare of cancelled flights can turn a short trip into a nightmare, (which has the vibe of current headlines for some people trying to become Americans).
But, it is a great chance to reflect…and take stock of the Presidents we have in TSTO…even if they are all dead, and just retreads from past events.
I’m not going to complain about the lack of a NEW Dead President. And although Gorge HW Bush was actually on the show, and is now in the same place that the rest of the Presidents in our game are (no longer with us, as my Aunt used to say), it is too soon. If the game is still around a year from now, perhaps. But, not this year. Too soon.
However, we do have SIX great representations of Presidents in our game. All with varying values in real life, and all featured with tasks that represent who they were in real life. Kind of a mini-hysterical-history lesson, so to speak.
Going in chronological order…not in the order in which we got them in our games, makes more sense. It’s more accurate, and may explain something about our country. Or not.
It’s where Washington liked to go to check out British troop movement. Pretty cool. Nice place. I can see why he liked it. Washington. Great Man (and no…we aren’t going to go into the whole “he was a slaveholder bit). We’ll just say that he was late to that party.
One of my favorite books of all time is Doris Kearns Goodwin’s amazing “Team of Rivals,” which (according to WIKI) tells the story of Lincoln and some of the men who served with him in his cabinet from 1861 to 1865. Three of his Cabinet members had previously run against Lincoln in the 1860 election: Attorney General Edward Bates, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase and Secretary of State William H. Seward. The book focuses on Lincoln’s mostly successful attempts to reconcile conflicting personalities and political factions on the path to abolition and victory in the American Civil War. Kind of makes today’s inoperable, squabble instead of solutions congress look silly. But I digress…
This is heady stuff…and today, people seem more inclined to argue about who played the most golf while in office. This is a pretty funny site, dedicated to breaking down Presidential Golf. For the record, Obama played a healthy 333 rounds over his 8 years as President, which is far less than Eisenhower who played more than 800 rounds in two terms. But Woodrow Wilson is WAY out front on the Golf Leaderboard (at least for now) with 1,200 rounds over his two terms (average of 150 rounds a year). So…while it seems that Trump plays a ton of golf, as of today, he has played just under 200 rounds…in two years. So, way more than any other modern President, but way fewer than Wilson.
The most important part of all of this, is that if we are to ever get anything done, we need to be able to look back and realize that those who did the most, did so by working with people with whom they may not always agree.
And to that point…
Three years ago, a “peace treaty” was struck between two warring TSTO factions. While it is true that she and I do not always agree, and certainly not on politics, we DO agree on the value of family, friends, and learning to appreciate what is important in life. I treasure every minute since that day. So much has happened…including watching Riley-roo go from being an infant at our first meeting (one of the primary reasons that Alissa and I bonded again) and who she is today…. someone who gets “Mr. Pat’s” weird humor.
After lunch…she got ice cream with sprinkles…or Jimmies if you prefer. And in fact, Alissa and Andrew her husband don’t agree on this finer point. Alissa calls them Sprinkles….Andrew calls them Jimmies. So, in the interest of “working across the aisle” I told Riley that her ice cream toppings were almost ALL Sprinkles…but there are a handful of rogue”James” that might pop out of her mouth and onto her shirt! She spent the rest of the meal, having me check her mouth for James. Hilarious!
Differing Political Views? Pfffftttt…. Who cares when there are James to hunt?
Time to CELEBRATE the future generation…
During our visit, we checked a ton off of the “All Things American” list…including a bunch of swimming, little league baseball, and going to a minor league baseball game (the Somerset Patriots)…
And of course…the NEW 4th of July Tradition...Chasing Grandpa with the Light Saber that his big brother got at the Patriots game! (apparently nothings says American Baseball like a light saber with the team logo on it).
And finally…. our last breakfast with Jake before getting on the plane. This little guy re-energized his old grandpa with his ever-present smile, his open and friendly personality (he always gathers a crowd where ever he goes), and his big hugs.
The Tee Shirt Says, “I try to be good, but I take after grandpa” Perfect.
And finally…Jake may also end up golfing…and with this kind of determination, he too could end up as a President in TSTO someday….right?
The lessons we can learn from a bunch of Dead Presidents…
1. You can never play too much golf.
2. Life Currency is taken…not earned.
3. The Good, The Bad, and the Marginal may all end up as TSTO characters.
4. Be nice to one another…you never know when you may need to work together.