Tossing Salt Presents:
A Day of Dougie
Life, General Lee, and Losing My Religion
DougMaynard.com
Doug Maynard

Welcome to a Day of Dougie. Yeah, I haven’t done one of these in quite a while, but my head is spinning, and I have so much shit that I need to reflect on that this seems like my best option. So, no rambling about this, that, or anything else. And, no drawing topics from the Infamous Magic Bag. I may try and do some of that later this week, but for now, I need to overthink it out loud. And since this is cheaper than a therapist.

I’ve changed significantly over the past year or so. And more changes are coming. I’m just going to address some of those changes, both past and forthcoming, and well, we’ll see how it goes.

And just as I’m starting to try to write, I can hear the dog in the other room starting to whine. I love that dog, but at times, I literally find myself shaking in anger and frustration just due to his mere presence. He doesn’t deserve it. He’s a good dog, but it often seems as if he deliberately tries to annoy me. But Mom and the cat do it too. Maybe I’m just too sensitive and on edge? The slightest noises or interruptions can set me off so quickly. Aerosmith called it Living on the Edge in one of their songs. And, damn if I don’t believe it.

Life…

Where should I start? An update on everything going on in my life. I won’t bore you with the details, but I can provide the Uber Cliff Notes version. My foot is still healing, slowly but surely. Mom was in the hospital for a few days. Blood clots and kidney pain. She’s doing much better but has an appointment to follow up tomorrow. Terri is still in that Nursing home in Pembroke and hates it. She’s lost over 45lbs but has been diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. I’m still an idiot and all alone. And we have a kitten, Fuego, who has taken up on our back porch and wants to join the family. I only leave the house for doctor visits, maybe once a week, but I did go by the ABC last week and chilled with Maria for a few minutes.

And I guess that’s everything. If you want details about any of that, or anything else for that matter, call or message me and I’ll fill you in. And guess what else? Since I’ve got more time now than I realized before I have to go to the doctor’s office, I’m going to pull out the Magic Bag and tackle a couple of topics of discussion. Why the hell not?

And I’m reaching into the bag and what are we going to talk about? I have General Lee and Losing My Religion. Okay, this shouldn’t take long.

General Lee…

As we all know, General Robert E. Lee was the commanding officer for the Confederate States of America, aka The South, in the United States Civil War. Did you know that President Lincoln offered Lee command of the United States Army when the war was just beginning, but Lee declined because of his loyalty to the State of Virginia? Well, now you do. Lee was a dedicated soldier and military leader, and while often portrayed as a traitor to the United States, I see him more as a conflicted man put in a very bad situation. And once he decided what he had to do, he gave it his very best. He was a better General and leader than his rival, General U.S. Grant, but the limited resources of the Confederacy, plus the overwhelming manpower of the Union troops was just too much to overcome. And his heart wasn’t in it. Lee owned no slaves and did not believe in slavery. He believed in the Commonwealth of Virginia though and that ended up placing him on the wrong side of history.

But enough about the military leader. I know of another General Lee. The car was driven by Bo and Luke Duke on the Dukes of Hazard. Just two good old boys, never meaning no harm. I’ll play the song about them here. And if that show was made today, it’d be Bo & Luke driving a KIA called the Dollar General Lee. Yeah, 2025 sucks. Let’s move on.

Losing My Religion…

A great song by the band from Atlanta, GA, REM. And it’s how I feel about most churches. I read the bible. I pray daily. And I believe. Hell, I’m even a legally ordained minister. I got bored one day in 2001 and contacted the Progressive Universal Life Church. And it’s legal. But organized religion and most churches are corrupt and full of hypocrites. I know many men of God, but can only think of two preachers that I absolutely trust. And both of them have passed away. I do believe, but I think I lost my religion a long time ago.

And there you go. I think that’s enough for now. I’m going to go ahead and wrap this up. If I get to the doctor’s office early, I can hopefully get out of there early. And I have to go to Walmart this morning. Just shoot me now! Thanks for reading and thanks for the continued support of the site. It’s essentially all I have left anymore to keep me relatively sane. And with that, I’m out of here. Be good, my friends.

Ubuntu!