I’m in and out of town lately, up until school starts so I’ve pulled this post up from the comment section.  Steve Randolph is the resident historian: 

The old Brentsville C.H. was in news recently because of reported
ghost sightings there and there may be some, but the most famous
local ones I know of are connected to the War Between the States.
In fact, if your dishes shook and the dog started barking very early
this morning it might well have been because today is the 147th
anniversary of Stonewall Jackson’s raid on large Union
supply depot at Manassas just prior to the Second Battle of Bull Run.
“Jackson had spent the night of August 26-27 at Bristoe
Station, but he had no intention of holding that insignifigant
wayside and called for reveille at dawn … a little way ahead lay
Manassas Junction … as Jackson’s men crested the ridge west
of the junction they beheld a sight that boggled their hungry eyes.
Boxcar after boxcar, warehouse after warehouse – spread before
them.” (Return to Bull Run by John J. Hennessy)
Of course, with a large Union army forming quickly nearby,
Jackson and his troops had to eat and run and move west from
what is now Old Town Manassas to the battlefield.
Please note that local groups are planning to now to observe
the 150th anniversary of the events three years from now.

Was at the beach for a couple of days.  Nags Head has, over the past few years, gotten religion about providing walking/biking paths.  I mean, the place is lousy with them in the morning.  It’s almost to the point where it is dangerous!  Just kidding of course.

There is about a 10-12 mile stretch where they have a seperate path from the road.  Farther north, near Kitty Hawk, the path melds back into the street as the dunes have been pushed so far back that there just isn’t room.  To the south near mp 15-19 it turns into a wide concrete walk.  The sandy substrate makes the joints somewhat uneven so riding a road bike on it will knock your false teeth out but the speed limit that far south is 45 so discretion is the better part of valor.

Anyway, I took my road bike so I couldn’t ride on the actual beach but there were some people that were.  I wouldn’t mind trying that but I bet it is hard work.

Interesting goings-on at the Town Hall meetings being conducted all over the country.  MSNBC and others are blasting those who dare to speak sternly to our leadership class as though they were equals as mobs organized by right wing talk radio (or some other shadowy outfit).  FOX sees them as heroic defenders of democracy and (rightly) ridicules those who insist that somehow this isn’t right.

I expect there is some truth in the accusations that someone has had a hand in coordinating the opposition but that doesn’t make the debate any less valid.  We have, in the past, had large organized groups in Council chambers who were mad about an issue.  It wasn’t comfortable and sometimes it was less than amicable but I would never dismiss them out of hand because they are organized.  If that was the case, all the trade associations and lobbyists in the world should be sent into exile and I don’t see that happening any time soon!!  I would like to see the debate conducted in a somewhat more genteel manner but sometimes that ain’t in the cards.  Having the government take over health care (or some significant portion of it) is a big deal and a debate that big isn’t always clean.  In addition, from what I see, it’s clear that some significant portion of the lawmakers who find themselves in these meetings aren’t entirely clear on what is being proposed.  On the Senate side there isn’t a bill so that might make some sense but overall I get the impression that the dorks on the Hill aren’t quite sure what they are debating.