A celebration of conservatism and grief of a major loss

I had first heard of William F. Buckley, Jr during my college years. Being a conservative Republican all of my life, I became more interested in the meaning of conservatism beyond Ronald Reagan. I heard about WFB and the National Review on a TV show and headed to the only bookstore in town, Books-A-Million, to take a peek. I remember buying my first issue and immediately subscribing. That was over 10 years ago and I have kept every issue. In the meantime, I was turned on to his fiction novels. If you like spy books, none can compare. In recent years, I began collecting his books and buying first editions of his earlier writings. I knew that he was a legend and that this collection would be of great value, at least to myself. I often said that Buckley was the smartest man alive. Anybody that has written their own lexicon (which I own) is brilliant. In fact, I printed off a list of his many, many books over a year ago to begin checking off the ones that I already have. That list sits on my desk right now. Today's news came as a big surprise and its reality hit me this afternoon. Some may find it a bit odd that I would grieve the loss of a man that I had never met (although, I had every intention of meeting him one day for him to sign a book). WFB was a man that conservatives could be proud of. He articulated his thoughts in such a way that they could not be argued. WFB is to conservatism as C.S. Lewis is to Christianity. His critical reasoning and intelligent responses made clear any questions that you have. I am thankful for his many writings that we can reference in the future and sad that I won't be reading his thoughts on this year's election. Of course, he probably left at the right time. I could only imagine the frustration this election season had imposed on him.
Mr. Buckley, thank you for speaking your mind and heart through your books to help me to understand what it means to be conservative. Thank you for being a man of faith and professing that faith without shame. Thank you for creating a magazine (NRO and NRODT) that is intellectually sound while being cleverly witty. It has helped to shape the woman that I am today and the leader I hope to be tomorrow.
My prayers are with the Buckley family and the NR family. Such a loss is heart breaking but the legacy he left is inspiring!

The Big 3-0

So, I got this idea today of a way to celebrate my 30th birthday. I have several friends that want to join me in running the Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon in September. I thought, "Wouldn't it be fun to get a house at the beach for the weekend and get together a group to run?" I have already called a few peeps to find out what they are feeling about it. I mean, it is an awesome accomplishment to run one and many people never consider it because they think it is out of reach. I am about to run my first in 3 weeks and I have thoroughly enjoyed the training. I just thought it would be a cool way to get some people fit and maybe even turn on some new runners. Is this a crazy idea? Amberly, since you are the ONLY person to read my blog, let me know. And if you are interested, let me know that too!

I did it!

In case you don't know, I am training for my first half marathon. Lucky for me, the race sponsor holds a distance series of races to prepare runners for the event. I only ran 2 of the races, but I completed the 20k race this weekend. Thank God for GU! I finished strong and felt good the whole time. Now, I only have to run .65 miles more at the half. I feel good about the race and I still have 4 weeks to go!

Potomac Primary

Well, tomorrow is my turn to cast my vote in the Virginia Primary. This has been the easiest decision and the hardest decision. Fortunately, I had already decided in my heart to support John McCain the day before Romney suspended his campaign and here is why:

Many people will claim to be make decisions that will benefit the country rather than benefiting themselves. Few will actually have experience to support that claim. Let us not forget the years McCain spent in the Hanoi Hilton. He could have chosen to cooperate with the North Vietnamese and return to a more comfortable situation for his own health and well-being. His commitment to his country and his dedication to the military kept him quiet and in pain. By the grace of God, he survived. And now the man that wouldn't "give it up" to the enemy many years ago is asking to be our President. Sure I don't agree with some policies that he has instituted but I have to remember where we are today, the world that we live in. We need someone that won't make a shady deal behind the doors of the Oval Office just because it may enhance their "status" or personal wealth. I am not confident that some others haven't in the past or will not in the future. This man has proven that deep inside he has the character to make the best decisions with the information that he has and the integrity to put his country first.

If you haven't voted yet, may I suggest John McCain?

On the other side of the aisle, don't be surprised if HRC actually pulls some of these states to her side. There is a GOP movement to vote for her to eliminate Obama. And since we are talking beltway folks, strategey is their middle name.

"Hillary Clinton is...America's ex-wife...and the whole Clinton administration is going to be like alimony..." - P.J. O'Rourke