Oh damn, still in this dream.

Spoke to Louis today.
He called me back. I'd left a message of commiseration on his answerphone. Told him about Dad, which he hadn't known about.
Will call him again in the New Year. We have lots to talk about.
Chris and Carol's for lunch. 
As usual, C & C very hospitable and kind. Chris promised me footage of Dad's 80th birthday, which he videod - he'll burn a dvd for me, from which I can make further copies for any who so wish. Good lad that.
I'd like everyone to have a happy New Year.

Fingers crossed.

Morphine Sulphate appears to have stablised Dad. A good thing. Am precluded from helping in any way by illness, which is completely crap, actually. But the Doc reckons if Dad'll only start eating again, Christmas is a good long bet. But not if I breathe over him, or mum either.
Nurse coming in, in half-an-hour.
Mother worked off her feet (and rising to the occasion with a certain elan, if that's the word).
Neck hurts. Wrists hurt. Will go to bed.
Happy Thanksgiving.

My birthday.
Thus far, so good.

Dad's been having a bad time. Doc says probably not gall stone: probably liver. They've upped his meds.  Fentanyl patches that last 72 hours. By all accounts he may do more sleeping. His birthday's Friday and that looks ok. Christmas is a whole other ball game though.
Across the pond it's Thanksgiving on Thursday. Hope the cousins and family are all healthy, happy, and as contented as it's possible to be in these times. Hope the poor guys on patrol get back to the turkey supper without harm.
We don't make too much of Harvest Festival, and it's at a slightly different time of the year, but then again, we haven't been rescued from starvation by a bunch of friendly natives taking pity on the poor settler.
Of all festivals, Thanksgiving should be the friendliest, and the one that attempts to bridge cultural gaps.
The USA has enough myth and legend in its founding as most cultures build up over centuries. And lots (if not most) of them are myths with the value good.
Like The UK, the US has a lot to live up to, and much to live down. But 'twould be nice to get each of our acts together round about as-soon-as-possible, if not actually now.

The Old Man is stable for the time being. Visitors have been trying not to tire him out, which is thoughtful.
Took my amps into John Kelly's workshop without too much of a hitch, though I did get caught in a yellow box due to traffic. If I get a fine, so be it, dammit.

I've been thinking about the 'Clash of Cultures' worst case scenario.
I can't imagine even the most hardened Al Qaeda Islamist really wants a complete and total war against the west. A von Clauswitz total war (the whole of the West's economies and societies given over to the military objective) against Islam would effectively wipe the religion from the map - & with all it's holy sites crisped in the process. (A total war may well include nuclear weapons, especially if terrorists use them first.) The horrors (& expenses) of interning all moslems living in the west, conscription for all able bodied non moslem males leading to perhaps 20-30 million men under arms,  the complete occupation or destruction of Islamic capitals and thereafter Islamic culture - all these are horrific, by anyone's standards. I cannot believe that even Al Qaeda wants a total head to head, even if they say they do, and even if they think they can win such a set of engagements with the one or two nukes that Islamic countries might be able to build and use before the inevitable armageddon.

GWB's neocon advisors have tried to portray Islamists as fascists, conflating the terms into one: 'Islamofascist'. If we go down the WWII route, we will have to defeat them utterly, with all that implies. I can't see destroying the culture that returned Classical Greek to us and has given us the basis for much higher mathematics as being a good thing, merely because of the actions of a few madmen and zealots.

By definition then, if they are not mad, they have more limited (& achievable) objectives, else they would not be pushing us even this far. If they are mad, the moslem community should cauterise them, and quickly, before they tip the balance and everybody loses, but Islam loses even more.

If they have limited objectives we may be able to see just how far those coincide with ours. If not at all, then it's back to square one, but we always have further positions to adopt, right up to, and including (in extremis) all out war. And they (the 'bad guys') have the same choices. I'm sure there are sane Al Qaeda top brass who know what they want, and who also know what would satisfy them in the real world. But I may be wrong.

I know GWB's screwed the pooch over this, but I'm sure we can find a way out before we need to use 'Von Kreige' as our textbook. There should be about a hundred steps before we get to the worst case scenario, but again I may be wrong.

Of course, if I'm wrong, the only decent thing to do would be to join up myself. I rather hope that doesn't happen, as I'm pretty Bolshie and don't take kindly to orders given by idiots. However, I might prefer that to orders given by an Ayatollah: but it's only going to come to either if both sides are completely stupid. Nevertheless H L Mencken might have something pertinent to say about my optimism, or alternatively my belief in human beings rising above such stupidity.