I grew up in the south and they tended to focus more on, "Battles were fought right here in X-town!" Slavery was not a focus.

Out of curiosity, when you first were taught about the Civil War in school were you taught that it wasn't really about slavery? I recall from third grade that I was taught that and it really wasn't until in college when watching a documentary that I realized that it really was all about slavery.

It was about slavery as far as the people in charge were concerned. I think the soldiers, most of whom owned no slaves, were primarily fighting because there were armies of Union soldiers marching into the South and shooting at people. But much of the economy of the southern states was built around slavery, and pretty much everyone with real power was heavily invested in that system continuing.

I think the soldiers, most of whom owned no slaves, were primarily fighting because there were armies of Union soldiers marching into the South and shooting at people.

According to Encyclopedia.com and the National Park Service sites, at the outset of the Civil War, the south had more volunteers than they could equip, and had to turn away 200,000 men. The Union didn't march into Virginia until a month and a half after the war started, and didn't get past southern ports to actually march into any other southern states until well into the next year. By 1862 the Confederacy had to turn to conscription due to a lack of volunteers.

So I think the Confederate rank and file were pretty invested in the goals of the Confederacy at the outset, and those goals were centered around keeping a slave-owning economy and culture.

So the job interview I have on Monday? The dress code is business professional. It's been decades since I've worn a suit, so I had to buy one. In order for it to be ready on Sunday, I had to go in today, while limping and with gauze in my mouth.

I feel like I really adulted today.

Also, my boss was impressed how quickly I was back home and at work after the extraction. (When he had his wisdom teeth extracted, he was under general anesthesia, so he was expecting me to be out of it for most of today.)

eta: Yay! I'm done with the gauze in my mouth.

This hasn't been a good week for the phalanges.

Saturday night featured a trip to the Emergency Room due to me tripping and ending up with a dislocated middle finger. Unfortunately the good right hand.

FORTUNATELY the hand surgeon says I wont need him but its a long haul to healing.

Everything is so tiring and inconvenient while Left tries to cope with the routine duties of life.

At least I don't have tu put on a business suit.

Hi. I'm caught up in here, yay! I love you guys, reading all these posts in a big chunk has been wonderful.

We had a most excellent eclipse experience. The farm that my nephew's D&D compatriot friend has that we lucked into was great. The weather was stupid clear. Traffic was surprisingly easy both going and coming. Eclipse glasses worked, Mom's pinhole cards worked, Mom's hat shadow worked, interlacing fingers worked, the colander that the guy camping behind us brought over to show us when he saw us doing the finger interlacing was very cool, and moving Lee's cot into the shade to better show the dancing leaves shadows with their crescent bits of light worked. Birds made going-to-sleep calls and crickets got loud as we approached totality. We had to put on jackets and carefully observed the changes in the quality of the light. My sister observed that looking at the crisp shadows with the dim sunlight was like having a streetlight on at night. Saw the diamond ring, Sirius, Venus, and shadow bands. It was awesome and joyful.

We didn't even run into bad traffic coming back to California except the one spot where a car fire had us at a standstill for a while, but even that was only half an hour or so. Unfortunately there were no hotel rooms to be had so I just kept driving with a couple of naps in rest areas, but that was okay. Slept for about 10 hours last night and feel pretty well-rested today.

Of course, as soon as I said that I was hit with an enormous desire to nap. Couple of hours more at the office, self. You can do it.

Also, I think I am approx 60% phlegm. Oak trees were one of the surprise positives on my last allergy test and we camped underneath one.

Timelies all!

I think I was taught the Civil War was about slavery, but I was born and grew up in CT.

Some slavery/ some states' rights/power of fed gov. I'm okay with that, I think, but the place Arizona really failed me was the near-total absence of labor history. Like, I think we had one day on the Triangle Fire and one day on like all of Samuel Gompers and them...pretty pathetic. It took me years to realize that I didn't know my own working class white person history.