I hope you all had a great Mother’s Day! We certainly did. Because my wife’s birthday is the 10th, we had a combination birthday-Mother’s Day celebration for her on Saturday. Her two brothers and their wives came over, and we all went to a large animal sanctuary a few miles north of town.
It’s called the Carson Springs Wildlife Conservation Foundation, and they really do things right. They’ve got all the proper certifications and designations, and during our two-hour walking tour, we could see that they love those animals, and give them the kind of care they deserve. Their living areas are spacious, with appropriately sturdy fencing in a natural setting. (There are no concrete floors and jail-cell ambience here.) They’ve got lots of big cats, plus hyenas, lemurs, and a lot more.
I know that many people can go and see lions, tigers and cheetahs and still go through life as atheists or agnostics. But I don’t get it. I can’t look at an adult male lion without thinking of C.S. Lewis’ Aslan, or Biblical lion imagery (the Lion of Judah, roaring like a lion, the boldness of a lion, even the adversary, “prowling around like a lion, seeking someone to devour”).
And the story of “Daniel in the Weasels’ Den” would work for no one.
On the other hand, I can see how a materialist could still appreciate these animals, just for their ingenious fitness for their environment. The jaguar is so perfectly camouflaged. The cheetah can go from 0-60 in 3 seconds, and he looks like it, even when he’s standing still.
The hyenas aren’t as handsome, but are fascinating to watch. Our tour guide pointed out that their back legs are shorter than their front legs, which allows them to sprint backwards while keeping their eyes and teeth facing a pursuer.
In the SEC, we call that “a shutdown corner.”
Because: God and football, two essential parts of life.
That night I caught the SNL monologue – only because one of my favorite actors Walton Goggins was the host – and saw his very touching tribute to his mom. She was in the audience, and when he called her up on stage to dance with him, it was enough to make even a flinty stoic like myself get a little misty eyed.
(Goggins is in The White Lotus, which is too weird for me to watch. But he was in Justified, which is arguably the best series this century: amazing actors; characters and writing from the great Elmore Leonard; and fantastic Kentucky-ness everywhere you look.)
On Sunday I called my world-class mom. Regular readers know that she is beset with Alzheimers, but is still soldiering on. For the sake of new readers, I’ll re-tell the story that best sums up my mom.
She lives with my sister and her husband in Tennesee, and after she had a mild stroke two years ago, she was unsteady on her feet for a few days after she came home. My sister told her that she was going to sleep in her bed with her the first night or two, so that she could help steady her if she had to get up in the night.
When they had been in bed for about 15 minutes, mom rolled over and saw Rhonda there. Seeing that mom was confused – in fact, she’d forgotten the mild stroke already – Rhonda said, “Remember? I’m going to sleep with you tonight.”
Mom said, “Oh, okay.” Then after a moment, she said, “Did you have a bad dream?” THAT’s a mom: 86 years old, and still taking care of the kids!
When I called her yesterday, she said she’s doing great, because that’s her standard response. I thanked her for being a great mom most of the time – there is some controversy in the family as to whether she spoiled my sister too much 😊 – and she thanked me for being a great son all of the time.
Thus proving that her mind and memory are still strong!
Later this week, I’ll be going up to see her and my sister, on my way to Illinois and another traditional May trip with two of my cousins. (New readers can go to “Road Trips” on my website and read about our trip on Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica in a ’76 Caddy Eldorado several years back, followed by our “Lap the Lake” trip around Lake Michigan.)
(You can also see a 6-year-old picture of my mom and I there, in stylish headgear. She’s the one in the birthday hat; I’m the one in the turkey chapeau.)
This year we’re going to Harper’s Ferry, with stops along the way in Cleveland (for the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame), Pittsburgh, Gettysburg, Antietam and the Shenandoah National Park, along with anywhere else that we stumble across along the way.
All of that being said, I don’t have time to comment on all the good things that have happened in the world over the last couple of days. But ticking off even a short list should make us grateful.
India and Pakistan seem to have pulled back from a nuclear war. The Catholics have a new pope. There are positive signs on the tariff front. Letitia James is so panicked about the karmic arse-whipping she’s about to get that she has painted herself bronze and is trying to hide in plain sight on top of a pedestal in Times Square.
Trump has intimidated Hamas into releasing their last American hostage. (Though if they don’t immediately release the rest of their hostages, I hope Israel descends on them like the Lion of Judah, if the Lion of Judah had exploding pagers and groin-seeking missiles and whatever other weapons it takes to wipe every Hamas terrorist off the map).
By the way, you may remember that American hostage’s name from all the time the Dems spent wailing about his illegal captivit—
Oh no, wait. They haven’t mentioned his name, because they’ve been too busy rending their garments over wife-beating, human-trafficking, gang-banging illegal thugs like Kil-Mar.
Speaking of which, Democrat politicians never fail to keep failing, as four of them did when they tried to illegally force their way into an ICE facility in New Jersey last Friday. A Dem mayor got arrested, and more arrests are likely coming, as DHS reviews video of the incident. Which was exactly like The Great Escape (1963), except that instead of brave POWs trying to break out of a Nazi camp, it was a clot of bumbling, deranged commies trying to release a bunch of violent thugs into America.
Because: self-detonators gotta self-detonate!
Finally, I have to mention Maine high school teacher JoAnna St. Germain, who appears to be a miraculous agglomeration of the DNA of Jasmine Crockett, Ilhan Omar, AOC, and Lil’ Davy Hogg, all rolled up in one.
This “educator” took to Facebook to call on the Secret Service to “take out” the president and “every sycophant he has surrounded himself with.” She later clarified that she’s “not talking about assassinating a president.”
But wait. Didn’t she just— Oh, read the next sentence: “A president is a person duly elected by the American people.”
Get it? That thing in November wasn’t a legitimate election, because any election in which the Left doesn’t get what it wants is by definition illegitimate. Thus, Trump is a fascist dictator, and should be murdered.
She seems nice.
She’s got social media pics and posts that check ALL the boxes:
Crazy eyes? (You betcha.)
Odd hair? (Several variations, the most recent of which appears to be a shaved/very short ‘do. If she is undergoing cancer treatment, I sincerely apologize for the mockery. But… NOPE.)
Pics from protests featuring badly-made, hand-written signs? (Oh yeah.)
Do those signs have way too many words, heading off in multiple, incoherent directions? (Need you even ask?)
How about vulgarity? (If a big “F” bomb counts, then yes.)
Any pics of the rainbow flag? (Obviously.)
Does it have the big, ugly, triangular thing on it, indicating that just 5 or 6 made-up genders aren’t nearly wacky enough? (That’s a bingo.)
The Secret Service confirmed that they are aware St. Germain’s creepy posts, but no charges have been filed against her yet. On the bright side, she is probably now one of the leading Democrat candidates for 2028.
And “Crockett/St. Germain” has a nice “JD-Vance-walking-in-accompanied-by-‘Hail to the Chief’” vibe to it, don’t you think?
Have a good week! If you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favor and watch Justified, and if you’ve got a little donation money lying around and want to support some of God’s creatures, Carson Springs is a 501-C-3 non-profit, and can be found at http://www.carsonspringswildlife.org.
And don’t forget…
Hamas delenda est!
Martin Simpson 