Going On The Account: Coming Together, Right Now, Over Me…

Funny how it all seems to run together at times:

So this is the 200^th anniversary of the War of 1812, known among the British as “that damned distraction keeping us from dealing with that Corsican bloke.”  This is something I’ve been confronting a few times this year between a recent trip to Fort McHenry and an upcoming trip north, which will include a visit to Ottawa.  In fact, one of the people we’re going to see in Ottawa forwarded to the Lovely and Talented Susan a link to the following spot running up north commemorating the conflict:

In between sojourns, we had a few moments to take in some of the local sights with our friends, including a visit to Sagamore Hill, the home of Theodore Roosevelt and the first “summer White House.”  While the house is not open while they go through an extensive renovation, they did have a museum open regarding the man’s major accomplishments, including discussing his first major book.

Yes, there is a reason he’s mentioned here:  His first book, published in 1882, was a work entitled The Naval War of 1812.  The book is available for download via Project Guttenberg and iTunes if you want to get a perspective on the war from a figure who goes on to make his own history later.

Which among other things included a run for the White House as a third party candidate, which this is the centenary of.  I’m going to leave the semi-obvious snide conclusions about parallels to more incendiary bloggers; it’s too damn hot outside to go into that much vitriolic detail…

Besides, I didn’t get that much sleep last night; all these coincidences may have had something to do about that dream last night where a bull moose chased after Laura Secord through the woods, heading north through the gloom…