Tuesday 9th July

I was at the hospital this morning, we were expecting Pattisue at the chaplaincy, and at one point she rang to say she was on her way,  but a little later she rang again to say she couldn't make it, so I went round ICU, which she was going to do.    I think I probably walked a bit too much on the broken foot, and will take it easy for the next couple of days.    I had lunch at the hospital, which was nice, with Larry and three or four others.   I'm getting more and more conscious that Larry is leaving soon, on August 10th, and will miss him.   The chaplaincy just won't be the same.

I've been reading a novel, a real one with pages, not on my C-Nook.  It was very thick, practically the size of War and Peace, and it was based on the life of Laura Bush.   As soon as I finished it I downloaded a 'proper' biography to the C-Nook,  so I could discover, and separate, which was truth and fiction.  Some of the truth - which I thought belonged to the novel - surprised me.  The fact that Laura herself, and her family were staunch Democrats,  and she actually voted for the other candidate when George was running for President. Another surprise was  that when she was 17 she ran a stop sign and the motorist she killed, who ran into her, was her boyfriend.  A little while after that, the brother of the boyfriend made her pregnant and her grandmother quietly, without anyone else in the family knowing, whisked her off for an abortion.

One thing I find hard getting my head round in this country is the fact that every single issue in life has political overtones. 
Even abortion.  Republicans are dead against it, and are pro-life.  Democrats are all in favour and are pro-choice. So when Republican George runs for President, Laura's staunch Democrat grandmother - who hated the Republicans - informed the Press of the abortion.   Grandmother by then was 104 years old, obviously a very alert 104 year old.   I've had to lend the novel to Pattisue so she can fill me in - as a non American - on the background of what I don't know.

The murder trial is wrapping up, and increasingly it looks like an acquittal.   And after the acquittal will be the race riots as the shot teenager was black, and the defendant - although Hispanic - is regarded as white.