The Terrible Catsafterme

I may have a hard time convincing you otherwise, but contrary to popular belief I am not a cemetery lurking kind of guy. That was just a rumor started by all of the photos on this website of me with various graves across the country. But honestly, I get no morbid fascination about cemeteries, no yearning to see the grave of just anyone remotely famous, and have no interest in talking to most of the dead people lying under the sod. So why do you frequently find pictures of me with stone slabs engraved with the names of the famous? Read the rest of this entry »

If I were to ask the average person to tell me everything they knew about President Grover Cleveland, the most common answer would probably be that he was the guy who was President – twice! Yes, Cleveland served two non-consecutive terms, the first being from 1885-89 (the 22nd President) and then from 1893-97 (the 24th President) – confusing everyone up to and including President Barack Obama as to the actual count of the number of Presidents who have served our country. That’s right…one term wasn’t good enough for this guy. Read the rest of this entry »

I wasn’t quite as slow to stir on the morning of Wednesday, May 13, 2009, but I still wasn’t breaking any records. I awoke a little before 8am, got on Facebook for a bit, and ate that bag of bacon chips that had been calling my name. Sarah got up not long after, we got ready for the day, and headed out for next day’s walking tour and adventures in Florence just a little before 10am. Fifteen minutes later we were arriving at the Bargello National Museum. Sarah had a student pass that got her into all the museums for free – but for the average tourist the cost was 7 Euros. Florence knew that tourists would basically have to pay whatever they charged.

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History has not been all that kind to our nation’s 15th President, James Buchanan, who served from 1857-61, for just one desired term. As the chief executive who had preceded Abraham Lincoln, general consensus is that he came to the job reluctantly, sat idly by as the issues of slavery and secession passed him by, and then with relief exited the Presidency – which he had promised that he would do during his inaugural speech – and left the momentous job ahead in the hands of his successor. In nearly all regards, he deserted the sinking ship and is today regarded as one of the worst of U.S. Presidents. Read the rest of this entry »