It is Cinco de Mayo, which, for me, has only the significance of being May the 5th. Mexicans are flocking in record numbers to this country, leaving behind one that has harsh laws for those who would emigrate there, and its emigres demand the right to move here and stay here and bring their relatives here, as some stand on our soil and wave Mexican flags, chanting slogans like, “Make America Mexico Again.” I thought it was Mexico they were wanting to get away from.

I don’t wish immigrants any bad luck. I hope that when they come to America, they will make America their home, since it seems to be one of the foremost places people aim for when emigrating. There is a reason for that, and it is has little or nothing to do with the place one emigrated from. Happy Cinco de Mayo for those of you whom it has cultural significance. My day is July 4, as the nation and I share the same birthday.

I read an interesting Op-Ed from Victor Davis Hanson, whose Op-Eds are always interesting, about sanctuary cities and states that refuse to enforce or assist in the enforcement of Federal immigration laws. Hanson pointed out that if states, cities, and other political subdivisions are viewing international borders as morally non-existent, ignorable, and have no place in modern, civilized society, then by what logic do they think their own state borders or city limits have any validity? Chew on that and feel it re-hydrate in your mouth like a Sunday barbecue gone bad, as it swells up in your mouth and gets too large to swallow.

Enough of that. I set out to write something, having not written for a while, and the world seems so out of kilter that there are many things which are worthy of remark. Others seem good at it, and I have fared better not paying quite so much attention to the news. One can become obsessed with things one can do nothing about, which merely leads to despair. I see this despair occurring among friends who are addicted to Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, though I daresay that if one looks at the ratings, CNN and MSNBC are bound to have little impact on anything. TV is TV. It is there to get the ratings to bring in the revenue. When that cannot be done with hard news, it will be done with what superficially appears to be hard news. There is a big difference. Some have not learned this.

The internet is worse. I have been the victim of clickbait too many times, but am learning. It is the most intriguing headline that has the least substance. I am looking for substance, but it is elusive. It can be found, but only by separating the things that seem to be facts from their surrounding embellishments, which are also presented as facts. We are always getting what someone else thinks, which may be as skewed and distorted as freshly painted traffic lines driven over while the paint was still wet. The intended line is in there somewhere. Good luck on finding it, though it is most likely right where your experience tells you it should be.

I go to Houston in mid-May for my annual checkup. I am not apprehensive about it. It will be what it will be. I have been collecting complications which ebb and flow in intensity, but have been manageable, mostly. On the days when they are not manageable, I simply do what I can and stop when I can’t. Thankfully, this is only the occasional event, though I have noticed my days get shorter, as if I am on an 18 hour day cycle. The 18 hour day loses 6 hours of real time each day, and puts me on a rolling cycle of when I am active and when I am not. I try to cram more into the shorter periods before my energy level just tanks. My body demands that I work by my own internal clock, which I am mostly able to do. I am thankful for that. We all work within a set of limitations. Mine have not been completely proscribed, yet. It is good to ignore the limitations from time to time to remind ourselves what we are still capable of doing. The result can be that our work output is more than we thought possible, and even more than those with fewer limitations.

Some things do not require interpretation. Some things are obeying natural laws that are not subject to our personal interpretations, though we’d best get our personal interpretations right, else we rudely and abruptly discover their wrong-ness. It was very rewarding to watch this awful power pole come down on the campus at Ole Miss. It was far too old and too busy, and in a location that the manner shown, the old-fashioned way, was the only way it could be reached. It took months of work to get to the point that this pole could be retired and demolished. I am thankful to be able to work with men who are as capable and dedicated as the ones shown in this photo. They have my highest respect. Salute!

Now, I am back to sleep at 3:00AM this Cinco de Mayo, 2016.

©2016 Mississippi Chris Sharp