Memorial Day

Today has been a great day off from work, but I have not forgotten the reason behind the holiday. As a matter of fact I have been thinking a lot today about an Uncle I never met. He was killed in World War II when his submarine was sunk. He had a young son and wife at home. My grandmother had a framed letter of condolence from the President that hung on the wall while I was growing up. I heard tales of this hero, my father's brother, as a child, but it was just a story, it wasn't real to me.

This is real:

John Leonard Anderson, Jr.

 

Rank/Rate	Motor Machinist's Mate, Second Class
Service Number	634 66 60
Birth Date	October 24, 1921
From	Louisville, Kentucky
Decorations	Purple Heart
Submarine	USS Herring (SS-233)
Loss Date	June 1, 1944
Location	Near Point Tagan, Matsuwa Island, Kuriles
Circumstances	Sunk by gunfire from shore batteries

http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/anderson-j-l.htm

Legal limit

I've been watching the news. I shouldn't. It makes me angry or depressed...or confused. Tonight I am confused. They are talking about lowering the legal limit for drinking and driving from .08 to .05. As I said before, I'm confused. Is a person impaired at 0.8 or not? If not, why lower the limit? If yes, why was that set as the limit? Surely, we KNOW when a person is impaired, right? It seems to me this is something that would have been thoroughly studied. I know, that the number of drinks to reach impaired varies from person to person, depending on weight and tolerance...oh, and drink of choice. That is where people get in trouble, they think they can handle it. They think they are fine. They are not impaired. They may drive for years without a problem...until they don't. Yes, I know, in a perfect world nobody would ever drink and drive...zero blood alcohol. But we do not live in a perfect world, far from it. They say that lowering the blood alcohol level will save lives. How? People that have always driven drunk will continue to do so. Will the casual, glass of wine with dinner folks not imbibe for fear of crossing an invisible line into impairment? The biggest benefit I can see from lowering the level a whopping .03 is revenue from fines.

Random thought

If there are a Heaven and Hell, I'm going to Hell just for sins I've committed against myself.

A weird thought to float around in my mind on the cusp of sleep. Usually, I am unable to remember these presleep thoughts the next day, but this one prevailed for some reason. I don't know where it came from, no connection to any part of my day...or what it means.