Husband, Father, Neighbor... Patriot !

The word hero is thrown around all to frequently these days. An over-paid actor does some good deeds in a third world nation; hero. A spoiled athlete excels in his game of catch; hero. A local deli clerk slices turkey in expert fashion; hero. One may think that such haphazard misuse would sully the true meaning and affect when legitimacy is found. But when it is truly found it shines like a lapel pin of courage on the blazer of humility.

"Bobby I'm going to tell you to do two things I hope you never have to do again, tape the Cowboys game and fetch me an apron."

Hank Rutherford Hill stands for something. He stands for many things. God, family and the America we once knew. A humble, unassuming Southern gentleman who makes no mistake about what body part he will kick if you attempt to challenge any of these. Tolerating a know-it-all wife as only a real American hero could he turns the job of selling propane and propane accessories into a labor of love. And while he'd prefer a jock for a son he loves and appreciates the diversity that is Bobby. Usually.

"Fine. But I think you owe my lawn an apology. *pauses* We're waiting!"

A true conservative with a naive, ideal view of the world Hank likes things simple. A full green lawn, a beer with friends and the Dallas Cowboys. Always the voice of reason not only for his friends but for the town of Arlen and its hapless town council. He is who you want representing your values when the idiots of today start legislating.

"Did a woman ruin the Supreme Court? "Yes and that woman's name was Earl Warren."

A devout Methodist who has his squabbles with the new female pastor but doesn't concern himself too much with the traps of labels and theology. He's a Christian who thinks there's a right and a wrong. A good and a bad. A novel thought in our grey society.

Perhaps the best example of a hero's lesson comes as Bobby has taken to the trend of "cool Christianity" and loud "Jesus music" as a passing fad;

"Bobby, you see this box full of old stuff?"

"Yea Dad, that's all my old junk I outgrew and got tired of."

" That's right son, and I want to make sure God doesn't end up in this box."

" He wont Dad, He won't."

Thanks Mr. Hill. Thanks for helping us keep our lawns as green as yours.

Welcome Maria, Kip and Hanz- Leave your Liters at the Door

A few observations clashed today as I was running errands, gathering information, eating lunch and otherwise goofing off. One of these grand illuminations falls into my "I don't like it and you shouldn't either" category. More on that in a bit.
Tourist season is in full swing and part of that includes the myriad of events that are filling the streets with French speaking, Yankee lovin' , driving-impared, money spending idiots.
First up is the Cooper River Bridge Run this Saturday. 40,000 people exerting great energy to see their name listed 7,842nd in the paper. And the reality is 4 guys named Kip from Kenya will be finished and on a plane home before most people get over the bridge.

In a few weeks is the Family Circle Cup Tennis Tournament. Now this is a cool event. On Daniel Island, it has all sorts of venues , food and fun crap. The only draw-back in recent years is that all the top players commit and then half back out because of "injuries". This year 10 of the top 13 in the world are scheduled. Hopefully they will all appear. But more importantly , hopefully Maria Sharapova will stop her unwanted advances toward me.

Rounding out the early season events is Spoleto Festival USA. This is one of the biggest and grandest 2 weeks of its kind. Never really got into it but its a big deal for many and brings in people from everywhere. Of course the un-official motto here is "Don't bend over to pick up your wallet." I know, that's crass but I don't make the rules.
This brings me to my issue of the day.

While many of the visitors are international, here as well as New York, L.A. , San Francisco et al, we are still in America. And correct me if I'm wrong but didn't we reject the metric system many years ago? I've never put much thought into it until today. But while comparing post-brush tooth rinse (I figure some calcium dependant parts above my shoulders should be healthy) I noticed that they are strictly listed in milliliters. No ounces or quarts even mentioned.
Why do we keep up this charade? I'm sure Hanz from Belgium is very happy not to have to pull out his converter chart but this does you or me no good. I'm a bit miffed that we've idly sat by and let the Cola industry get away with selling us the ever-popular 2 -Liter. So help me I will forsake milk if they ever try and sell me anything other than a "Gallon". Maybe this is what's wrong with our economy. Perhaps a sternly worded letter to Bernard Bernake down at the Federal Reserve will open some eyes. This is also probably the problem with gas prices. How can we, as informed consumers, buy such a valuable product packaged in the ever-sensible gallon unit after we've been brainwashed by the metric nazis? The whole system is out of order. While we're on liquids, do you ever notice how people say "Drink plenty of liquids" when you're sick ? What else are you going to drink? ! Solids ? Gases?
Man did I just waste 20 minutes.