tunnelslats

Here I am in sunny, scenic LaCrosse Wisconsin. Last time I was here there was a battle royale being waged over the city's right to put up a monument to "The Ten Commandments" in a park downtown. And no, I'm not talking about the Charleton Heson movie; I don't think anyone would complain about that!
Of course, neither side wanted to back down in the debate, and though I stopped following it pretty much as soon as it started, I just saw what is evidently the end result. There's a section of the park fenced off and covered with signs saying "private park." Inside this section, of course, is our beloved pro-Christian monument.
The whole thing, as you can guess, is butt-ugly. On the other hand, it looks like the city has decided that it's okay for "private" people to buy up sections of city parks and place whatever kind of monuments they please. Perhaps I should look into this and erect a monument to something that has spiritual value to me....

ps: overheard on the train on the way up:
Old Man: "So, have you ever been to France?"
Young Girls: "Yes"
OM: "What did you think of the French people?"
YG: "We, um, didn't meet any French."
OM: "The French don't like us Americans. They look down on us."

and:
"Nugent, party of one, please report to the dining car."

For the record, I HAVE met a bunch of French, and they were just as cool and curious about Americans as anyone else. No looking-down-upon whatsoever. Asshole.
And, I'm terribly disappointed that Mr. Nugent was being paged and it wasn't because of some stupid joke that I had perpetrated. Better luck next time.