and I was trying to sleep, Michele got this nifty picture of the eclipse.

Precious Mai  is an outside animal and I am a little jealous. During the day, if it is not raining, she is outside. She makes periodic, but pretty random,  sorties back into the house for feedings with the understanding that, once in the house, she will have to endure a full body patdown lasting for several minutes.

And she seems to be OK with that if it doesn't last too long; it is just that she would just rather be outside, thank you very much.

Anytime she comes in after 8:00pm, she is locked in. (Although she can go out on the deck overlooking the street [in the daytime she will jump off, but not at night].) When we are eating dinner, she  will just sort of hang out – in the next room – on our couch. Slightly disgruntled when awake but adorable when asleep.

I have not lost track of reality here, but I may have lost track of what is real – out there and  independent – and what is augmented by my projecting my interest in the Civil War; but it seems to me that we are going to celebrate the 150 year anniversary of the Civil War by re-fighting it. OK, re-arguing it.

There are people out there – probably nuttier about the Civil War than me – who will be following it on a day to day basis. The New York Times had an editorial yesterday on the start of the Civil War and then had another one today. There will be – shit, must be – websites set up to follow what is happening 150 years ago on any given day.

The 1960's were the 100 year anniversary. But this is also sort of the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights movement and that will color everything.

Fifty years ago, on February 1, 1960 black people staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter.Two days from now – 150 years ago -South Carolina votes to secede from the Union. Next year , in March – 50 years ago – northern student volunteers  will invade the South to push new laws that prohibited segregation in interstate travel facilities.

Today, the Senate repealed DADT. This should be a very interesting next couple of years.