Blowing Off Steam

I've been trying all weekend to think of something I could say that would cheer up Uncle Ken. I didn't come up with anything until just now when I read Old Dog's question about pressure cookers. Sometimes a diversion is what you need to get yourself back on track.

My hypothetical wife bought a pressure cooker the year we tried home canning. That was back in the 70s, and I don't think she's used it since. My mother had one, though, and she used it a lot, until it blew up on her. I was off in the army at the time, but I heard about it when I came home. The kitchen was trashed, but no one was hurt. As luck would have it, Mom was the only one home, and she had just stepped out of the kitchen for some reason. Pressure cookers all have some kind of safety valve that intermittently vents off measured amounts of excess steam, and this one must have gotten stuck.

The United States of American operates something like that. We have built in safety valves that allow people to blow off steam, more or less harmlessly. I say "more or less" because some people get carried away at times but, except for the Civil War, we've not had an uprising that threatened the very existence of the republic. We came close back in the 60s and 70s, but only in selected locations. Most of the country went about their business with a minimum of disruption. People went to school, went to work, went to the military or didn't, got married, and had children, although not necessarily in that order. I don't know about everybody else, but I think the reason I was able to remain somewhat detached from the frenzy was that I hardly watched any television back in those days. I still don't watch it as much as some people, and I seem to be better off for it.

That's all I've got for now.