The Manlius Formation

I just finished reading Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief by James McPherson. One thing to note right away – the majority of civil war histories I’ve come across tend to focus on military campaigns; they generally only mention the political and national strategy of the government as background or context.^[1]

In Tried by War the author does the reverse. He merely mentions the primary military campaigns and focuses on how they affected – or were affected by – Lincoln’s leadership. In that respect, this book is an excellent complement to “typical” civil war histories.

Although he didn’t necessarily present new facts, McPherson did an admirable job of examining them in the context of Lincoln’s role as commander in chief. I particularly enjoyed the way McPherson described Lincoln’s leadership at all levels – from the highest level of setting policy down to the lowest level of military tactics. In doing so he makes apparent Lincoln’s understanding of how politics affected the military cause – and vice versa.

Tried by War was definitely worth the read. However, having the background from reading more in-depth treatments of the military campaigns – and the generals who led them – definitely added to the experience.

1. If that’s what you’re looking for, I highly recommend Battle Cry of Freedom, also by McPherson, or the three-volume The Civil War: A Narrative, by Shelby Foote. [back]

Daniel’s Cub Scout tiger den visited the Manlius firehouse today. They learned about what the big trucks do and how they work. More importantly, Captain Pinsky donned all his firefighting gear to show the kids what their rescuer could look like if they were stuck in a fire.

The kids learned a lot and had a great time - especially since they got the chance to ring the bell on the truck!

Daniel has been struggling to get a song out of his head for the past few days. I don’t know the song – he heard it during an assembly at school. I have, however, become intimately familiar with the one line that he sings.

Over and over again.

All the time.

The same line.

I’ve got a gratitude attitude.

It seems that he’s had enough of this song and will not rest until his brain releases him from its grasp. In fact, he has been engaged in heated arguments with his brain throughout the day.

He conveniently uses different voices during these discussions so eavesdroppers can distinguish the actors involved. His brain sounds eerily like Burgess Meredith’s rendition of the Penguin. Here’s the latest conversation between Daniel (D) and his brain (BM):

D: I’ve got a gratitude attitude! Man! Why does my brain have such a hard time listening to me? Brain, can you try a little harder?

BM: Sorry. I’ll keep trying. Wah, wah, wah.

D: I’ve got a gratitude attitude! Hey, brain… are you there?

No response. Daniel reluctantly turns his attention back to his vanilla ice cream / raspberry sorbet dessert.

Every now and then, George Will writes a piece that isn’t a) about baseball, or b) totally incomprehensible to me. Today was one of those days.

He wrote a great commentary that points out how America’s long-standing “surreptitious socialism” (his term) is intensifying of late. He gives several examples of how temporary government intervention to help a struggling industry is rarely temporary or helpful. Heck, even the struggling part is dubious.

He also asserts that conservatives are as complicit as liberals, and he’s as worried as I am about the near-term possibility of even more “help” from Washington.

I don’t often agree with his positions but I think his analysis was spot on.

Well, my car (2001 Toyota Camry) began sounding like the Canyonero a month or two ago, and it was only getting worse. It was idling high and made enough of a racket when the accelerator was depressed that I suspected the exhaust system.

I discovered much to my dismay this weekend that the exhaust system section containing the catalytic converter was holding on by a paper-thin sheet of rust. The gap was letting in air which threw off the O2 sensor and caused engine to apply more fuel - hence the high idle. Replacing the offending section lowered my idle and quieted things down dramatically.

I’ll be interested to see how the repair affects my mileage. I already know how it affected our bank account… ouch…

Still, after 7 years and over 80K miles, we haven’t had to put that much money into the Camry. And I’m generally satisfied with its performance and minimal maintenance requirements. So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.

So Daniel made his first lasagna last weekend. Not exactly a Spartan rite of passage, but a milestone nonetheless. At the very least you should enjoy the photos of us in aprons.

If you’re reading this and you’ve already voted – nice job!

If you’re reading this and you haven’t voted yet, go to the Start menu on your computer, select “Shut Down,” push your chair back from the desk, lean slightly forward, flex your quadriceps (you should now be standing), slowly rotate your torso towards the door, and proceed in an orderly fashion to your polling station!

Vote based on your exhaustive research into the record and policies of each candidate. Vote a straight party ticket. Vote based on a favorite single issue. Vote for the best-looking candidate. Vote for the worst-looking candidate. Vote for the candidate who will do the most good. Vote for the candidate who will do the least harm. Vote based on how your kids voted in their mock election at school. Vote for the candidate who will provide the best fodder for SNL skits.

What’s that? Don’t be silly – of course your vote counts!

VOTE!!!