I'm reading Jane Eyre and I absolutely L-O-V-E it! I don't think I can ever go back to normal - well, what's normal anyway? - books. You know, the kind that you don't have to turn your brain on to read. I like those books, but man... Charlotte Bronte can write! Everything is so beautiful. It's a sad story, but written with such lovely language!

Continuing with the random information:
I went to a hearing today. They're trying to decide whether manure should be labeled as a hazardous material. Hmmm... yeah. How about that. Way to go Waco. It was very interesting, but at the same time very frustrating. Random two: I get to go to the CHC weekly meeting tomorrow and very excited about that.

Arrrggg... I think my office wants everyone to have a backside the size of Mount Vernon! They keep buying candy. What's your fancy? Snickers? Got 'em! Milky Way... oh they're there too! Pretzels, Nipps, Three Musketeers, chocolate covered popcorn, Hershey Kisses, Twix, Carmel, Hershey bars.... Grab 'em while they're hot, er wait, fresh, er dag'nabb'it, here :O). Goodness! I have learned a lot the past couple of months I've been here, but self-control is still on my "yet to do list." Maybe it's time to realize that dream :O). It's so hard because the candy sits on my desk and is located right in front of my face.... the face that loves chocolate :o).

I went to Philadelphia last weekend. We drove up early Friday morning (HOORAY for our nation's veterans... and not just because we got a day off!) and spent the day in one massively historic place. Wow, I learned I don't know anything about our nation's history. Texas history I know....
State bird: Mockingbird
State song: "Texas, our Texas, all hail the mighty State. Texas, our Texas so wonderful so great. Boldest and grandest, withstanding every test. O Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest. God bless you Texas and keep you brave and strong. That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long. Ba ba ba ba ba ba BAAAAA."
State tree: Pecan
State insect: Monarch butterfly

Did I know anything more about Benjamin Franklin other than he was a man of many interests (inventing, politics, scientist and musician) always full of clever quips and was pretty instrumental in the development of our nation? Nope. Do I know now? Way more than I knew before. I learned "way more than I knew before" about a lot of things. For instance... the Liberty Bell. I didn't realize just how important it is to our nation's history. It was given its name by abolitionists. They used to put bells on the slaves' heads back in that time. The "Old Statehouse Bell," as it once was called, got a new name as a reminder of the freedom we have. It's just a pretty awesome thing.

I'm not sure how you're supposed to feel when you're witnessing history. I tried to put myself in a state of mind where I could feel and imagine what it was like or what this could mean to someone else different than me. There's something.. oh I don't know.. stable yet unstable about it. It's like, these people did _(blank... rebelled for a cause, risked death, were ostracized....)__ to make our nation like it is today. They provided us with a democracy... but now it's our job to keep it. You know? It makes me a little nervous. I think our generation is up for it, but we don't react to challenge very well. I read an article that described our generation as a group that was never told no. We were praised for
everything. We were handed everything. There's not a lot of fight in us. But, sorry, that wasn't the point of this post. Just doing the whole, update.

I saw Betsy Ross' house where she sewed the flag. Saw where Ben Franklin is buried. Saw Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed. It's also where the Constitution was debated, drafted and signed! Oh- and something else really cool. In the FFA opening ceremony, there's a roll call of officers and as the position is called, the officer gives a little spiel about their responsibilities. The Vice President articulates the President's role. Well, part of the Vice President's responsibility is to, "preside over meetings in the absence of our president, whose place is beneath the rising sun." The question is asked why, and the VP answers, "The rising sun is the token of a new era in agriculture. If we will follow the leadership of our president, we shall be led out of the darkness of selfishness and into the glorious sunlight of brotherhood and cooperation."

Well, the president's chair.. the one on which George Washington sat while presiding at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall... has the rising sun emblem on it's top! Isn't that way fascinating?!? AAAH! I loved it. To give you a quick quote by Ben Franklin about that chair-

“I have often and often in the course of Session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that sun behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting sun.”

Oooooh, I really liked it. Too bad they didn’t have one in the gift shop :o)