Ever test to see how old you are by trying to remember your earliest memories? Maybe I test myself a little too often to make sure my mind doesn’t forget them or maybe they simply are the most vivid ones. Man, kids can do some weird stuff.

I can remember getting my one and only cast put on by my dad. Not because I broke a finger or my arm, but because it was one of the last resorts in hopes of ending my thumbsucking habit. Cast from elbow to last joint on my fingers. Thinking about it, seems pretty extreme for the THUMBsucking, but maybe my fingers were really small back then and the plaster strips were huge and couldn’t avoid but cover them up too or probably a little extreme. I was so psyched, though. I finally had a cast! But in about 3 days I wanted to suck my thumb, so sitting in front of the TV I used my left arm and yanked it off my right. Showed my parents and put it in the toy chest to play with later. I think I sucked my thumb for another 3 years until I thought I had put it in unwashable roach poison after the exterminators visited and I would die if I ever thumbsucked again.

I am all about gathering to make your point of view noticed and heard. In fact, I love a good rally with a great cause. What I don’t understand is the term “Tea Party” used by some to rally against the stimulus money? I have gone back and read about the original “Tea Party”, which had a battle cry of “no tax without representation”. The stimulus plan was passed with every state represented in Congress so how does the “Tea Party” label apply here?

What it looks like to me is a case of “fireside moralists” in action. I learned this term as a child from my grandfather. He said, a fireside moralist is someone who grips about everything they don’t like about government to everyone that will listen but either does not vote to change anything or insists everyone should believe like them and has no intention or use for anyone who has a conflicting opinion or thought. I actually believe there are fireside moralists in both parties and we would do much better as a people to find a way to listen and take actions to improve our country and the world than to make up slogans and spin to get support from one side or the other. The only people that seem to benefit from this madness are politicians and the media. Think about this on this 4^th of July.

There is a way in which timber can be harvested which has less of a negative impact on local and global environments. Wood is actually still an excellent building material, and a renewable resource. But when considering purchasing wood or timber construction materials, ask a few questions about the source:

1. Is this wood harvested in a way consistent with neutral impact guidelines?
2. Is the timber of a sort that is being replaced at the same rate of new growth in the same geographic region?
3. Is the wood being taken from old-growth forests? (This is a major cause for concern).

Remembering these things will help you make an educated decision about the right building materials, whether you need structural elements or decorative items like fence post caps and finials.