As the death toll rises...

We're here at the Holiday Inn Express in Marion, instead of at home, because we've finally sold my late mother-in-laws house, and we need to get a few last things out of it. Since this same week we went to Branson is the only time we have to do it before closing, we decided to make this detour. On the TV in the area they serve the breakfast in, CNN is telling us about who has died recently.

First off, Gerald Ford, the only president never actually elected to the office. For you youngsters who don't know the story, Ford was appointed to be vice-president after the guy elected with Richard Nixon (Nelson Rockafeller -- or something like that) resigned after a scandal. When Nixon did the same performance a short time later, Ford became president. I'm sure this was probably something the founding fathers didn't expect, but that's the way it worked. At least during his brief tenure he didn't do anything wrong, and since having retired has kept to himself (unlike other not so dead presidents).

I feel good! (na na na na na na na), although it's probably a good bet that the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, isn't feeling anything. Although in all honesty, our number 2 man on the death countdown probably didn't feel anything a lot of times when he was alive. The hardest working man in show business was also one of the hardest hitting drinkers and wife-beaters you were likely to meet as well (although I guess the wife-abuse was mostly alleged). He was a great artist in his day (which was even before my time, for the most part), and his work influenced a lot of younger African American artists, even to this day.

Is there any one out there sorry to hear that Madman Saddam is dead? He certainly went out with the bravado of an Arab male. There will be people who will do violence claiming to be avenging Saddam's execution -- horse hockey! There will be people over there using any excuse to do violence, they'd start blowing things up if they let Saddam go. So for a change, a miserable excuse for a human being actually meets the fate he deserves.

Lastly, a US soldier (number 109 for the month), was killed today. No fuss made for his passing, yet his is perhaps the most lamentable. I hope that his death, and all the others, end up being worth while.

Killing Saddam was a good start...