As For Me and My House

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I built a house.

In that house plan, I made accommodations for all sorts of visitors and guests.

No matter how long someone stays in my home, they will be allowed to roam freely but there are some things they cannot say or do.

My home has clear documentation citing rules, restrictions and guidelines. Some of these are flexible, depending upon circumstances; others are not flexible at all - like: I have guns in my house and that's all there is to that.

There is a Gym/Workout Room as well. It doesn't get used much these days, but it's open 24/7.

The kitchen is fantastic in my house. I carry every type of food and drink you can imagine. The kitchen is where "everything happens"; where people congregate and things get "heated" literally and figuratively.

In my fridge, you'll find fruits and vegetables, junk food, meat and bread, items that can be served hot or cold, single-serve as well as bulk items. It's all good - I tell all guests to have at it and enjoy to their fill. However, I do admonish them, gently (sometimes TOO subtly), that some food is better for them than others but remind them that they are still "free to choose".

However, as a good host, I often serve and steer people towards certain diets and regimens. It's my sovereign duty and the only guarantee I have that my house will always be full of guests. I know that if I left my guests alone, to their own whims and desires, my house would ultimately fall to ruin.

My guests can heed my advice or dispense of it without penalty, but it is always there for all to see and hear. It usually goes on ignored and I believe some have even forgotten about it altogether. I've even overheard some guests say that it never existed; that a lot of it is myth or simple philosophy. It amazes me because my very existence is proof!

My recommendations lean towards the "healthy" side. My buffet always contains most of the best nutrients but the "empty calories" seem to be quite popular. I offer them several opportunities to exercise the "not so good" off their bellies but the guests are often quite contented to sit on the couches and relax until the next mealtime, instead.

As my kids grow, and generations move through my halls, the "good old days" and my house's general history is muddied or forgotten altogether. It seems people get more and more distracted by the luxuries of my house; enjoying more and more "sweets" that seem to end up on my buffet table (even though I don't recall wanting or authorizing that).

As I get older, it becomes harder and harder to maintain my house. Over the years, those of us who built the place have marveled at it's popularity and the need to expand. It takes a lot of work to enjoy so much.

We have so many guests but we have plenty of room. We ask that people assimilate to the way we do things around the house because we know what works here and what doesn't. History has taught us all we need to know.

Everyone is free to dress up their own rooms as they see fit, but the house and grounds have a uniform appearance in order to differentiate from all the other houses that don't offer what we do.

Many guests have signed in and are accounted for; they pay their way in either doing chores or by fixing up things on the property. Some guests have even helped to add to the existing foundations and grounds.

Some guests bring in other guests - sometimes for just overnight and sometimes they stay longer. We are happy to have them all but there are systems in place to ensure the house stays balanced and functioning properly, so we need to know who they are and how many there are.

We are so popular, we even have "squatters". The Grounds Crew doesn't seem to be able to root them out.

My Grounds Crew is often off at the neighbor's house helping them "keep up" their property as I don't want them to bring down the value of my own. They are the best crew, but it doesn't seem to be working out very well at all. I never truly understood why my neighbors badmouth me, but keep coming over to borrow from me without hesitation.

I used to have Hall Monitors and Room Supervisors to help out inside, but nowadays, I find that: not only do I have to do more and more for my guests but that they, and the Monitors and Supervisors, are more than happy to let me do it all by myself.

I promote a way of life, including diet and exercise, without demanding it.

I encourage all to pitch in and help out.

I help my neighbors.

I stand on my own history as validation to my principles, not that of the world.

I ask that people stand up and be counted.

The house is America.

The accommodations and documents are the Judeo-Christian based principles used in the formulation of our country and government.

The kitchen is our Federal Government.

The halls and rooms are our cities and neighborhoods; the Monitors and Supervisors - State Government.

The Gym/Workout Room is opportunity, free reign, entrepreneurship and employment.

The Grounds Crew are our Armed Forces.

The promoted way of life is religious, with Christianity as the most healthy diet.

Christianity is supported and promoted without the overall house becoming a church or theocracy.

There is no king. No "divine" dictatorship. No state church or religion.

This is TRUE separation of church and state as it was IMPLIED (because it was NEVER actually written), as it is done and was always meant to be.

To be called an American, you have to BECOME an American.

To have an America, you must contribute in work and production.

To work, produce and move forward through self-sacrifice, blood and sweat is a Judeo-Christian principle.

- McDermott