My Easter Vacation and Stuff

For several years, I have been visiting a website named vote.com [go there]. The website runs some really good polls and surveys. I never miss participating. The current question is "Who will you vote for for president?" Twenty-eight candidates, announced and otherwise, are listed.

Well, I voted for Fred Dalton Thompson, because he and Newt Gingrich are the only two real conservatives listed and Newt is a little too radical for me. Mitt Romney is a good man. A Priesthood holder and a temple-recommend holder (as far as I know). An excellent businessman, planner and organizer. He'd be a terrific president except…..he isn't exactly 100% honest in his campaign literature and appearances. (Forgive me Risë.) Little things, perhaps, but his record with abortion and gay marriage make me leery. I know he annulled lots of gay marriages, but still, some things he said aren't exactly Mormon Doctrine.

O.K., there's another statement I need to explain. No, it isn't important that a man speak and abide by Mormon Doctrine to be a good president…unless he happens to be a Mormon! To be a good leader in our secular society, it isn't necessary to be of a particular religion, or any religion at all, but it is important to be honest. I won't let Mitt get by with things I'd excuse in Fred or Newt or even Hillary. I'll hold him to a higher standard because he asked to be held to a higher standard...just like all Mormons do!

O.K. Back to the poll on vote.com and Senator Fred Thompson. I sincerely like Senator Thompson. I liked him in Hunt for Red October. I like him in Law and Order. And I liked him when he was in the Senate. But I didn't think many other people would pick him as their candidate.

Well, surprise, surprise! Senator Thompson took 30% of the vote. The nearest competitors were Gingrich and Rudolph Giuliani who were tied with 18% each.

I found that interesting.

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Risë and I spent Easter with Justin and Vanessa in Athens, Georgia (a little east of Atlanta). It was colder than I have ever seen Georgia in April. Uncomfortably cold. (That Global Warming is so confusing!) But we had an outstanding weekend. We went to the Atlanta Zoo [check it out] and the Cyclorama [read about it] depicting the Battle of Atlanta in 1864.

The zoo was outstanding. Obviously not as large as the North Carolina Zoo [check it out], where animals are loose and people are constrained, but I really liked being in such close proximity to the exotic beasties. The pandas alone were worth the trip. Absolutely beautiful animals.

The Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum was breathtaking. I have heard of it all my life, but this was the first time any of us had visited it. Mind-boggling. At only $7 a person, one should never be in Atlanta and not visit the Cyclorama. (At $17.99, the zoo was a little pricey compared to $10 for the NC Zoo, but it was still well-worth one visit!)

The rest of Saturday we shopped. I want to tell you: there is some great shopping in Atlanta!

Justin and Vanessa: Thanks for a great weekend. Now I can hardly wait to visit you in Tucson.