Lexington KY to Quincy IL

Pretty much a toss-up between west through St. Louis and up, or up to Indianapolis

and over. We've been to St. Louis a lot, so we chose the northern route.

The Kentucky Vietnam Veterans' Memorial

Time to move on out of Lexington, westward. Although it's early, and it's cold, we can't depart Kentucky without a visit to the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, twenty miles west in the capital, Frankfort, oddly placed right next to the Kentucky Department of Corrections facility, but lovely in the foggy morning, with a view to the Capitol Building. It took a lot of trigonometry to design this memorial, in which the shadow of the gnomon--the pointer of a giant sundial--touches the name of each deceased Kentucky warrior, exactly at noon on the anniversary of his ultimate sacrifice. More than a thousand names are etched in the concrete there, and when you read the names and know the precise date when the shadow of the gnomon will underline their valor, it is hard not to adopt that person as part of you. In May and June of 1968, so many Kentucky boys and girls lost their lives that the concrete slabs can barely allow room for their names. My friend Chris O'Brien fell in Da Nang in May that year; perhaps one of these Kentucky boys was with him.

Mary F. stands beside the Gnomon of the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans'

Memorial. A lot of trigonometry went into designing this outstanding memorial.

A lot of names. And so many others, in so many other places:

Some of those lost to their Kentucky families in the summer of 1968

As seen from the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, the statehouse of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:

The Statehouse in the morning fog

Nearby, a fawn and her mother wander in the dewy early morning grass; mom didn't want her picture taken today:

She and her mom liked the mowed grass near the memorial.

When we were at home in Massachusetts, we thought the political advertising on TV this year was as disgusting as it could possibly become--the Supreme Court's utterly stupid decision to allow anyone to spend anything to bend the shape of our government to their ends has resulted in not just many times more political ads than ever before, and not just their ability to hide who the advertisers are, but in a sleaziness which would make our forefathers and foremothers sick at heart. As we cross this country, it's hammered home that it doesn't occur only in New England. The sickness of false, negative, outright mendacious advertising in this political campaign reaches all over the country, and may end up in ruining the careers of outstanding public servants, while putting into the seats of power some of the most ignorant tools of corporate and religious lobbies that we have ever witnessed (no pun intended.) Unfortunately, we may be on the verge of seeing the majority of voters get exactly what they deserve.

An "Oh, by the way" disclaimer

Oh, by the way, there are ads on this blog that sometimes we don't like. For one, a show on MTV called "Skins TV" looks like we're some kind of porn site. I wouldn't watch it and I doubt any of our friends following this would, either. Anyhow, blogspot makes these deals, not us.

Reaching our destination

A long drive across Indiana and Illinois, but in the end a spectacular view of the bridge over Ol' Man River to Missouri:

Twilight at the bridge from Broadway in Quincy, Illinois, into Missouri

And a most enjoyable dinner at this busy little tavern on Front Street, where the barmaid admitted she hadn't made many Martinis or any Cosmopolitans before, but they were wonderful; apparently it pays to read the recipe:

Kutters Bar and Grill, riverfront, Quincy, Illinois. Great martoonies.

Tomorrow: let see what's happening in Mark Twain country.