Ten Days to Christmas

I must say I'm happy to have all my Christmas stuff out of the way now. All I have to do is enjoy the next couple of weeks. However, tonight we may get some ice. It is extremely early in the winter for ice here. If we ever have any, it is usually in February, which makes me wonder if we are in for a hard winter. I hope not.

I watched the evening news and I was amazed to find out a man has found a way to convert kudzu into ethanol. He's called it Kudznol and it does work. He said Alabama and Tennesse might become the "Middle East" of the US. Now, if you don't live in the South, you may not be familiar with kudzu. It is an unstoppable vine that can't be killed. When you are driving down the higway, you will see acres of land, including trees, covered in it. It grows 12 inches a day. There is no poison that will kill it and mostly people burn it but it comes right back. So it is amazing to think some guy in his garage found a use for it. I think they said it cost about a $1 a barrel to make. He makes it the way moonshiners make whiskey but the end product is ethanol. There is certainly enough kudzu to produce gallons of fuel and corn could be diverted back to use as food.

And watching President Kennedy talk about his unborn child on a short clip they'd found in the archives was touching, especially since he had high hopes for his child, whether it was a boy or a girl, taking responsibility as a citizen. I think he'd be proud of his daughter today and I hope she will do well as she joins her family in public service. Despite the terrible economic situation and two wars, I feel more hopeful for this nation than I have in several years.