Nov 29 - Machine Guns in the Morning

It's been a long time since I've been awakened by machine gun fire. Come to think of it... I've never been awakened by machine gun fire. Except for this morning. The sharp staccato bursts were unmistakable... clearly machine gun fire. But why?  Who was creating all this ruckus?

Scanning the news, there was nothing about new civil war activity (remember, the first Civil War did start in South Carolina) or an escalation of tensions between Republicans and Democrats. No news about the nut-jobs and wing-nuts in the tea party. There was nothing at all to explain this unusual wake-up call.

But Cousin Deb had the answer. Her place, our current parking spot, is very close to Fort Jackson, a basic-training base for the Army. Depending on the day it's possible to hear all sorts of booms, bangs, pops, and yes, even machine gun fire. Well, that's OK by me... as these men and women need to be trained somewhere. I just wish their talents and training could be used closer to home instead of pissing-off people in the Middle East or trying to turn Afghanistan into a democracy. I think that's all I'll say about that for now.

We've delayed our departure. We're planning to spend some of our time in Georgia at the F. D. Roosevelt State Park near Warm Springs. Turns out that State Park is closed for three days starting Monday for a "managed hunt"... I'm guessing that means culling the deer herd. If we can't get in there until this next Thursday, we have time to lollygag. Looking at the GPS crystal ball, we'll probably leave here on Sunday and find another State Park between here and FDR to linger until Thursday.