Harper's Ferry and Duppy's Very Fancy Pants

                                              
Sunset Report: Cloudy, gradually darkening horizon.

I recently mentioned Duppy's fancy pants, but I know that many people reading my blog won't be able to wrap your mind around how a Duppy has fancy pants. The above picture, taken by Karen yesterday, aptly depicts Duppy's fancy pants in a posterior shot replete with bull's eye. I know it's kinda too much info so maybe I'll go for a side shot next time, but I thought it was a terrific shot that shows Duppy at his foofiest. Way to go, Karen! Doggie porn.

Harper's Ferry is something that has resonated throughout my life, but with no tangible knowledge why. Karen, Mike, Duppy and I went there yesterday. It is the northern reach of the Shenandoah Valley where the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers occurs. It is more than one event, one date, or one individual. It is multi-layered – involving a diverse number of people and events that influenced the course of our nation's history. Harper's Ferry witnessed the first successful application of interchangeable firearms manufacture, the arrival of the first successful American railroad, John Brown's attack on slavery, the largest surrender of federal troops during the Civil War, and one of the earliest integrated schools in the United States. John Brown actually attacked the Federal armory to make off with rifles to arm a slave uprising he planned to lead. Not much of a strategy, and he was hanged for being stupid.


The Civil War had a profound and disastrous effect on Harpers Ferry, leaving a path of destruction that wrecked the town's economy and forced many residents to depart forever. Because of the town's strategic location on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley, Union and Confederate troops moved through Harpers Ferry frequently. The town changed hands eight times between 1861 and 1865.


I didn't know that George Washington established two federal armories - one in Springfield, Massachusetts, and the other at Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, in order to make the weapons that guarded American freedom. That the United States no longer has federal armories is telling, and I feel our American freedoms slipping away in a rush of political correctness, restrictive firearms laws and Obamamama socialist legislation. I'll stop there since I don't want to rant on my blog, except to say that the school system where I used to work in was planning on integrating autistic students to regular education classrooms and eliminating advanced classes. Maybe I'm just a dinosaur, but it seems wrong to me. Too much PC.


Karen and Mike are celebrating their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary this weekend, and I wanted to take them somewhere nice for dinner. They knew of a very nice restaurant overlooking the whole valley and Harper's Ferry, but it was closed! Rats! We went to Long John Silver's instead because Karen heard me say I'd never been after seeing a commercial that made it look good. My curiosity is satisfied, and I won't be looking for another Long John's. I had the Lobster Bites plate, which tasted more like plastic than lobster. Duppy, however, had no complaints and ate heartily and happily.

Duppy, who's never been a fan of other dogs, save Margo, has been getting along fine with both Monkey and now Dexter. Dex is a seven-month-old poodle, and while I'm not a poodle guy, I am a big Dexter fan. Ever at my feet, he does doggie things like dig in the yard, chew on sticks, fetch whatever anyone is willing to throw and looks forward to the ritual walks Karen takes him on. He slept with Duppy and me a few times throughout the past week when, during the course of the night, he ate my belt and two checks out of my checkbook without destroying the whole thing. How is it that a seven-month-old puppy removes two checks from a checkbook to munch on? I don't have an answer to that question, but I'm glad I don't have to order more checks!

Aside from peeing on stuff, Duppy doesn't really do much "doggie" stuff unless it involves bones. Well, he does have the German Shepherd "service animal" act down to a tee so that people comment on his excellent behavior. I love it when mothers struggling with rugrats ask me how I get him to behave so well.

It's all about the love.