Blank Page

When I sat down this morning to do a blog post I had almost 2 hours to write something. Now I have 30 minutes, and you can see what's been done.

Some days there is nothing more intimidating than a blank sheet of paper. Just like a young life, a blank sheet of paper- or a blank computer screen- holds unlimited possibilities. We just need to make the right decisions to fill those possibilities.

The second question is always about the possibilities.

We can be anything our skills allow us to be. Yes there are some limits. If you are less than 6 foot tall I doubt you will make it in the NBA. If you are not mathematically savvy I doubt a career in engineering is in the works.

But those limits are internal, not external. No one will stop you from trying out for the high school basketball team because you are too short. You may not make the team, but you have the opportunity to try.

That is one of the great things about this country; we have the ability to try. We aren't guaranteed success, but we are guaranteed the try.

History is full of stories of the triers. We are most familiar with the succeeders, but we also know of some of the most spectacular also-rans. Like Samuel Pierpoint Langley; an also ran to the Wright Brothers. One of the most famous- and oldest- Air Force bases in the world is named after him. He did have some help becoming famous as an also-ran; he was the head of the Smithsonian Institute for many years.

How about Henry Clay? Best known as a brilliant Senator from Kentucky, he ran, unsuccessfully, for president 3 times. Eugene Debs is another well known also ran; he ran for president 5 times. As a Socialist.

The point is nobody stopped these folks from trying, multiple times. Just as nobody stopped the Wright Brothers. Can you imagine the audacity? Two self-educated bicycle mechanics from a small town in rural Ohio trying to do what nobody else was able to? Build a machine to fly?

That was 100 years ago. Today we would have a Congressional Committee, or even a whole branch of the Federal government set up to regulate who could try something like this. Trying to fly an unregistered device would mean jail time.

Would it be worth it to try, in this day and age?

Maybe not.  And that creates a lot of blank paper, and possibly blank lives.

Another Day

Sorry about missing yesterday's post, but yesterday was Easter Monday, and with my boys and their families it is easier to get together on Easter Monday. Besides, that way I get ham two days in a row, so I'm not complaining.

But with Easter being a late night and an early morning, and then the same on Monday, I just had no time (or energy) for anything.

And then today was a bugger of a day. My mind was ready to go on strike about 4:30, but we negotiated a short coffee break into the schedule and averted the strike until 5:00.

In my job I read a lot of court papers. Today I read one that made my blood boil, for a lot of reasons. I can't give too many details, but I can give lots of generalities.

Basically a women and her boyfriend had a child that required special care. So the women- no husband of course- signed the girl up fro SSI- Supplemental Social Security.. She claimed she had $300 in assets. 3 years later, when the claim was reviewed, same story; same $300. and 3 years later same $300 in assets. And then the boyfriend- who is the child's father- gets busted for dealing crack.

And they find him and her have over $100,000 in cash, in joint bank accounts. Just a jot and tittle over the $300 she was claiming, ain't it? But hold on; a little more investigation is required.

She also has a gaming card at a casino local to her, which over the last 3 years she has used a total of 175 times. To gamble away almost one million dollars, both in new dollars and lost winnings.

All the while you and I were paying to raise her child.

What got her busted? The report from the casino on he winnings and losses? The Social Security Administration checking up on her application and renewals?

Nope; after the old man got busted they found out what was going on.

So apparently when you sign up for SSI they just take your word for it that you are broke. No bank check, no check with the IRS on income. Just lie through your teeth and they are happy.

Government bureaucracy; ain't it a wonderful thing?

Speaking of government bureaucracy, did you hear about the idiots up in Oregon? Some dumb kid pees into a 38 million gallon water reservoir, so the idiots are draining 38 million gallons of treated water because of a quart of pee. Really? 38 times 4 is 152, so we have 152,000,001 quarts of fluid in the reservoir, one which we KNOW is human pee. But, seeing as how this pool is open to the sky, how much bird pee and poop is there in the water? What about other animals? My guess is there probably more than 40 quarts of foreign substances in that water that nobody is complaining about.

But because somebody caught this young hooligan with his.... well; watering the garden shall we say,  it will cost the water customers a small fortune.

Personally, you can dump a quart of chlorine into the water and call it square. Heck of a lot cheaper.

And I really don't think anybody would notice. 

You probably have more pee than that in your bottled water.

Didn't think about that, did ya?

Happy Easter!

Yesterday was a beautiful day, and every window in the house was open. I slept with the bedroom window open last night, and was blessed with a natural alarm clock at dawn this morning.

It sounded like every bird in the world had decided to rest in the trees around my window and explode into song the minute the first ray of light burst over the hill top. A wondrous cacophony of sound, punctuated by the rhythmic honking of a flight of geese.

It was if every voice in nature joined in to sing 'He Has Risen'.

And maybe they were.

Today we celebrate the day that Jesus Christ conquered death and gave all who believe in him Eternal Life.

Easter is the greatest day in the Christian calender. The day we celebrate as when Christianity began.

There are those who don't believe, for a variety of reasons, that the events we celebrate today actually happened. I'm fine with that. Faith is a very personal thing, and my Faith in something does not make your faith in something else, or your lack of faith in anything, wrong.

A huge percentage of the world's population will celebrate the founding tenets of Christianity today. They believe that 2000 year ago, give or take a decade, God sent his only Son to Earth, to live among men, to die for humanities sins and be buried.

Do you want to talk about Faith? How about being one of the Apostles, or an early believer that Jesus was God on Earth. To watch him be betrayed, mocked, tortured and then put to death. Did any of them see that coming? Were they prepared to watch a Man they believed to be the Son of God die like, and with, common criminals?

I do know they weren't prepared to find his Tomb empty 3 days later. They weren't prepared to find him appearing to them in the coming days, and even when some of the group accepted the truth, at least one did not, until he himself was able to personally see and touch the Risen Christ.

And then Thomas believed.

Faith is not only a personal thing; it is also an exploration. None alive today has seen God, in any of his manifestations, face to face. We can't touch the nail holes in his hands, yet we believe. Others are like Thomas; they only believe in what they can see or touch.  They won't believe because they see the stories not as truth of a fantastic life, but fantastic myths, invented by men and used to entrap the gullible.

I pity them, not only for their lack of Faith in God, but also for their lack of Faith in themselves. To not believe that our life on Earth is only a preparation for a Life Eternal means that we are no better than the grass I mowed yesterday or the ants I sprayed for moving in to close to my patio. A brief existence and gone.

I have more Faith in myself than that. I not only have a life on Earth, but a Heaven waiting on me. Yes, that Faith allows me to accept that there will be bad things that will happen to me. To accept that I will not always win, that I won't live a life of ease. That doesn't mean that Faith is an opiate; a drug to keep me insensate to what is happening.

It means I know, like Job, that God has a plan, this is a part of his plan, and I don't need to understand. I just need to have Faith.

So, this Easter morning I am not only wishing you a Happy Easter, but I am hoping you have the Faith to believe that 2000 years ago the son of man walked the Earth, died for our sins and Rose from the Dead to insure that my Life is Eternal.

That is something even the birds will sing about.

Snow Way; Tell Me it Didn't!

Well; that was big mess.

Woke up to snow on the ground. each little daffodil was wearing a cap of white. And it wasn't pretty. The grass was a brilliant green; with white accents.

My High School colors were green and white; something I hadn't thought about in years. Until the combination slapped me in the face this morning. Along with the 30 degree temperatures.  It was about perfect too. Well, the green would vary depending on who was painting the poster or signboard, and what shade of green was leftover from something else. Officially it was Kelly Green and White. Just like the grass and snow.

I had to take the granddaughter to school this morning- because of the cold weather; weather that we considered NORMAL a few weeks ago. Gives us one 70 degree weekend and we all get soft. Soft I tell you!

But there were some fantastic pictures to be taken on the way to work. I missed the best one, trying to get my camera turned on. As we were starting up the hill the sun, which had not yet decided to hide its face from the sight of snow on the daffodils, lit up a hillside of evergreens wearing a white dusting. It was  Christmas Card picture; everything was brightly lit, we had enough distance to capture the whole hillside- and hide the guardrail. But it didn't take long to lose the shot at 55 miles an hour. By the time I had the phone camera ready to shoot, the was nothing to shoot.

By then the sun had decided it had had enough and went off to play somewhere else. Probably Southern Florida.

I did take some pictures, but none were really anything spectacular. Like the one at the top of the page. Not a bad shot, considering it was taken from a car going 55 miles an hour. While I was driving with one hand and snapping random pictures with the other. Yes I'm kidding. Or not; depending on how you feel about strict adherence to goofy laws. If you think I am a scofflaw who needs busting; I am kidding. If you think my braking the rules makes me a civil libertarian, then I'm not. Pick the truth you want.

Wow; this had been a long administration; it's starting to rub off on me it seems.

This shot was all I could get of the perfect shot. The sun had left, the clouds, which moments before formed a brilliantly lit backdrop now looked more like a seldom washed wife beater. and instead of  panoramic view, it looks more like I am crowding my neighbor's yard.

Seconds; the difference between a immortal shot and and immaterial one.

 

A Spring Day

Today has, so far, been everything the weatherman promised. 70-some degrees; sunny, and with just enough breeze to keep things from getting sticky.

I just finished cutting the grass for the first time and now I am relaxing on my porch swing with a beer and my laptop. Blog time.

I have tried before to describe a day like this and failed miserably. I don't think it was my word craft that was at fault; I just don't think the right words exist. Its easy to describe things that comparisons exist for. Like cute as a bug, or busy as a beaver. Some one can be described as horse-faced and you instantly know the look.

How do you describe the blue hue of the sky on a day like this? It has a shade of blue both light and deep, that carries its own iridescence. It blue of the sky isn't covered, but somehow enhanced by the white and indigo of the clouds. If I was sitting under this sky I would swear i was part of the sett from the Wizard of Oz. Do you remember how when we were young- and color TVs were rare- when on Easter (i think it was) they would show the Wizard of Oz on TV? Remember how that shade of blue of teh sky when Dorothy opened the door in to Oz?

Yep; that sky.

And the grass has that shade of green reserved for early spring and movie sets. It s the dark shimmering green you only see this time of year. And in fertilizer ads. There are still patches where some of the blades are behind schedule, and if you look close you can see them stretching and yawning, trying to come to life.

Its not just the sights, but the sounds. every kind of bird is perched in one tree or another; calling greetings back and forth, with the occasion screeched curse thrown in for good measure.  The wind chime is joining the chorus, followed closely by the bark of an agitated squirrel and the distant slamming of a wood screen door; sounds that are the soundtrack of summer, but here in a supporting role.

And we can't forget the smells; what does fresh cut grass smell like? We all know the smell, and we know what it means. but what combination of ingredients comprise 'Fresh Cut Grass'? One of teh smells of summer we can't do without, but couldn't describe if our life depended on it. Intermixed are the pungent smell of gasoline, and the faint smell of daffodils. Flowers are the interloper they will be later in the yer; now its just a hint in the background of floral presence, like the hint of sugar in a glass of well made sweet tea.

There is also the smell of supper cooking inside. Potatoes cooking in the oven, and a thick steak cooking in the cast iron skuillet, adding a sound of its own as well; a sizzle and pop distinctive to beef on the heat.

How can we forget the tastes? Or right now, just taste? Cold Beer; a Rolling Rock; the only possible reward for a quality mowing job? Crisp; just a touch of tang to sizzle the tongue on the finish. Cold as last month; with a smattering of ice crystals floating on the top of the can.

When it is all said and done you can't describe a day like this; it has to be experienced. and once it has been experienced, nothing is comparable.

No Law West of the Pecos

There is a lot wrong with this story. Nobody comes away with clean hands, but the Federal Government's are by far the dirtiest.

It almost reads like one of the old pulp westerns I read so many of in my youth: Honest, hardworking rancher gets attacked by a hoard of villains who isolate his ranch, steal his cattle and beat up his children.

The only thing the haven't done yet is poison his well.

YET.

The trouble is, in the old westerns salvation always appeared in form of a few cowhands, some of whom helped out the rancher- and his pretty young daughter- while one rode 'hell for leather' to bring in the US Marshal; the only law in the territory. In this case, it is the law doing the terrorizing.

Not that Mr. Bundy is blame free; the story doesn't get into why he stopped/never started paying the fees for grazing on Federal land, but he did; that was the nexus of his current predicament. $1.35 a head per month doesn't sound like much, but with 1000 head that's $1350.00 a month; $16,000.00 a year. To graze on public land that the family has used for 130 years.

Fine; so he owes the Feds money. Do they come after him with a court order? A judgment maybe?

Nope; they come after him with 200 armed agents and proceed to evict his cows from the land. Do they run them back onto land owned by Mr. Bundy? Nope. They IMPOUND the cows. At an estimated cost of $3,000,000.

Yep; the Federal Government is spending over $3 million to collect on $300,000. Do you know now why we are TRILLIONS in debt?

But just like an infomercial at midnight; Wait; There's MORE!!!!!

Not content with wasting a small fortune to make a point, and not content with harassing a man and his family over what is essentially a trifle, they have also closed a public highway and the airspace over the ranch (that $3 million to impound the cattle is starting to sound cheap, ain't it?), but they have also co-opted the local sheriff (well, he was usually crooked in the pulp westerns too) into creating and enforcing a 'free-speech zone', so the folks protesting this atrocity can't get close enough to see what is actually going on.

But WAIT; There's STILL MORE!!!!!

This is just part of the story. They are also closing almost 187,000 acres of land to grazing permanently- one of the reasons for the bovine eviction- to reserve the ground for a 'critical desert tortoise'.

If you have been following the news lately, you know what has been happening to the price of beef. what do you think the closing of 187,000 acres of grazing land will do the cattle herds? And to the price of beef.

So the next time you hit McDonald's and your Big Mac costs more than your first car, remember what the Feds did to Clive Bundy.

A Small Project

The weather is starting to get warm and nice outside, so I have been wandering around the yard looking for projects.

Okay; that's not exactly true. I am wandering around the yard trying to figure out what project has priority and will fit into the budget.

That shortens the list considerably.

For instance, I would love to redo the front wall, but it would be a summer long project, and the wall is serviceable as is. Not perfect mind you, but serviceable. and there are other, more pressing issues to deal with. Rebuilding the wall is, in some ways, a vanity project. It would allow me to show my wall building skills, would be rather labor intensive and would probably be quite a work out. And would not be a budget buster.

I also need to divide my peonies; the only one of my perennials I didn't divide last year. It is something I need to do, wouldn't cost a dime and would improve the look and health of the flower beds. But any damfool can divide a bunch of peonies; I would rather build a wall.

I also have some brick edging to put in. I have the bricks and it would be a budget-less project. It would make the mowing and mulching easier, and clean up the line between lawn and bed. I had my sons do some of last year, and they proved, quite handily, that not every damfool can do a brick edging.

But it is pretty low impact really; it wouldn't do anything for the curb appeal, and is a lot of stoop work. Not like rebuilding that front wall. It would really have an impact. And I would only be bent over for the first few courses.

I do have to plant a few annuals. I usually work from seeds and don't go for anything flashy. Morning Glories; I like Morning Glories. Last year I harvested the seeds from my vines. I think (yes THINK) I had a heritage version, and not a hybrid), so they should grow. Time will tell.

Unlike the wall; which I am sure will grow, stone by stone as build it.

But I don't have the time for a wall now. I have to get things in the ground. Walls don't need time to grow and bloom; they are an all weather thing. Well; except maybe July and August. I don't think ANYTHING grows in July and August. So I better be sure my wall is done by then, right?

Maybe May and June. All of the hard work will be done in the flower beds; it will just be the occasional trim or weeding, and I should have time for a wall.

Of course, by May I may have lost interest in the yard. And will postpone my wall until next year.

Again.

Tempus Fugit

I have to apologize for missing yesterday's blog entry, but the weather was absolutely beautiful- about 60 degrees , no wind, lots of sun and no humidity. I haven't seen a day like that in 2 years it seems like. So I went outside and did lots of stuff, and then last night I celebrated  my son's 21st birthday. I took a day off; so sue me.

But I already had a blog planned out. I just didn't write it. It went something like this:

I have a tall case clock in my living room. I have to wind it by resetting  the weights, and usually I need to reset the time. I have been trying to get it regulated by adjusting the pendulum. About the time I seem to get it regulated the weather changes and I have to start all over again. That's the nature of a mechanical beast; temperature and humidity cause things to swell or shrink, and even if a gear only swells a small fraction of an inch, when you have a hundred gears the amount of change adds up; it is a cumulative effect.

This clock also chimes the quarter hour- 4 chimes; the half hour- 8 chimes; the three-quarter hour- 12 chimes, and on the hour 16 chimes plus it bongs out the hour. I'm not bragging about my clock; I'm explaining how we used to tell time. Back in the day a house would have one clock in it, and you would know the time without looking, as long as you remembered the last chime. Everyday the town clock would strike at noon (at least), and you would reset your clock to match the town clock, so everybody in the village would be on the same time.

Time was a flexible thing; Church on Sunday was just about the only thing you had a specific time for. otherwise, a few minutes one way or the other was not just common, it was almost expected. Time keeping was not an exact science.

Now think about today. What room doesn't have at least one clock? A clock that is accurate to within a minute a decade? How many rooms have three or more? How clocks do you carry with you? One on your wrist, and one on each phone. And then one on your computer. It is impossible to escape time. The modern world doesn't have the same flexibility on time older ones did. There is no being 5 minutes late for a meeting, or for work. Or Heaven forbid, lunch.

We are not just creatures of time, but slaves to it. We have marks to hit many times a day, and those marks are solid. Not all are work related; TV Shows, movies at the theater; basketball games and tee times are all hard points we need to hit or miss an opportunity. Our day is broken in to 30 minute, 60 minute or 120 minute blocks; each segment ending just as fast as the next one begins. Some segments are marked by alarms- like the end of the night, others by internal markers; knowing that if we aren't in the shower by 7:00 we will not make work by 8:00.

And we also know that there is nothing we can do about it. Even vacations are ruled by the clock, to a certain extent. Flights; checkout times; dinner reservations.

When was the last time you were able to spend two days without a clock?

Probably like me; the summer between 5th and 6th grades.

Rights and Freedoms

I saw something the other day that has been bothering me ever since. It said "Healthcare is a RIGHT".

Rights are things God gave each of us because we are alive. We have the right to be individual. We have rights that are God given and Constitutionally protected; Freedom of Worship; Freedom of Speech; the right to be secure in our property and papers.

You will notice that none of these rights require any action or participation from anybody but ourselves.

So what makes taking the labor of anyone else a right?

Why does a Lawyer have a right to a Doctor's services? Does the Doctor have that same right to the services of the Attorney? He has the right to representation certainly; any representation he can afford, or if he can't afford representation, then he gets what the County will provide.

Or, does a Farmer have the right to the Doctor's services anymore than the Doctor has to the Farmer's?

I mean; isn't eating a right as well?

Saying you have a right to something means you can possess it without payment. None of the rights guaranteed us in the Bill of Rights cost a dime to use. Neither do they cost anyone else for us to exercise them. Like the Free Speech right I am using now. I can write on Blogger for free, and you can read it for free, or not read it, as you choose.

But if I exercise my 'right' to healthcare? Someone has to provide that service. I am expecting another individual or group to use their time and talents to provide a service. I have no more right to that service than anybody else has a right to my services for any purpose.

We certainly are guaranteed a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but where does health come in? We are not guaranteed a healthy life; even the best, most expensive and most competent healthcare cannot guarantee a healthy life. Franklin Roosevelt is proof of that.

That is not to say that we cannot give of our time and talents to help our fellow man; in fact that giving is encouraged.

But the transfer of $5.00 from one individual to another can happen two ways; gift or theft. My making the conscious decision to give my services to another is vastly different than the other individual forcing that 'gift'. You making a conscious decision to take $5.00 from me is theft, no matter who facilitates the transaction.

Even if it is a 'lawful' taking by the government from one to give to another.

And that is not a RIGHT anyone has.

It's Here! Now Hand me a Beer!

Today is OFFICIALLY the first day of Spring!

Why is it official? Because I am sitting in my porch swing, blogging on my laptop.

Without a coat or gloves. That makes it SPRING!

I have been so tired of winter. Right now it is 70 degrees with a light breeze; perfect porch and beer weather.

This is the day that we have so few of it seems. Not too hot; not too cold. Not too windy; not too humid.

Just right in every respect.

Except for the 9-year-old dribbling a basketball a few feet away. On the porch. Where to noise echos and rebounds so each slam of the ball on to the concrete sound like the entire UK first string doing dribble laps.

In an empty swimming pool.

Luckily her attention span is only about 30 dribbles long.  Then its off to something else. Or its another question. Or its back to the basketball. THUMP; THUMP; THUMP.

'Hey Pap-paw; why does..... How does.... where is....' Right now all of the questions are answerable, although distracting. I can make a blog post, or I can explain how a small seed becomes a large plant. Not both. Especially when the weather is so distracting too.

This is the weather I dreamed about all winter. This is the day that kept me going in February, when the sunrise and sunset seemed to occur in the same hour. When stepping outside was an hour long chore, due to the dressing and undressing in multiple layers was required to avoid frostbite. When the sn** kept all of the grass hidden under a thick, white blanket.

That Feburary.

And now she wants to dig up the yard to look for dinosaur bones. Did I mention this week is Spring Break? 65-70 everyday for highs. And I will be at work. Everyday until the forecast says rain and 50 degrees. Yup. Saturday.

But I  suppose that is one of the reasons we value these days so highly; the rarity. 365 days like this may wear thin. As I read on James Lileks blog this morning; days like this are our reward for surviving the winter (I am paraphrasing of course).

I'm not sure it's a reward for surviving the winter, as much as it is a reward for BELIEVING we could survive the winter. I never doubted I would survive.

I just was never sure how many years older I would be when it ended.

The Past, on Paper

I think I may have mentioned that I have been collecting books for years. I have paperback books that I bought through Scholastic in the 1960's for $.60 (now their 5 bucks!). Yeah; that's a long time to hold on to a 3rd grade level book. But now I have a granddaughter who likes to read and is at that grade level, so maybe it hasn't been in vain.

I have received a lot of books as gifts through the years, and I have looked at every one. Some were not my style, and that look was rather cursory. Others were exactly what I was looking for, and they were studied a little harder.

So; do I have a point here or not?

The point is about the only room in my house where I don't have books is the kitchen. I tried keeping a few there, but they were promptly evicted. I sometimes think it is time to start paring down the collection. But I never get farther than thinking about it.

Which ones to sever my connection with? The ones that were passed down from my Grandparents? The ones I have had for 40 years? The ones I have been given as gifts? The textbooks which cost me dearly in college, and have been seldom opened, even when I was in school? I could probably come up with maybe a dozen to get rid of.

There were a couple a few years ago that were so poorly written that I couldn't finish them; they would be on the short list. And I have some old Almanacs that have become obsolete, except that the information in them cannot be corrupted by future events, so maybe they need to stay around.

Two things that keep making the news that I am acutely aware of; Hoarders, and Simplifying. I have sympathies with both. I don't want to be a hoarder, but does just keeping something that may have some use make me one? And I would love to simplify my life, but I have a hard time thinking about what I can do without. Some people become homeless, and live out of their Honda. I would have a problem living out of a semi trailer; no way could I pare down to just what I could fit in the trunk of my car.

How does that happen? Maybe there are folks who don't need tactile memories, but I'm not one of them. I have things in my collection drawer that would look meaningless to most people, but to me they are memory keys, and when ever I run across them I think about an event or person that doesn't normally cross my mind. That one little item can transport me back to some (usually) pleasant time in my life. How do people who have pared down their possessions trigger those memories?

My books are memory triggers too. Sometimes they remind me of who I received the book from, or where I was when I received or purchased it. Sometime the book will remind me of where I was when I first, or maybe last, read it. Or a combination of things; Like my Grandma's collection of Westerns that I read during the bad winter in January of my Senior year in High School; there's a twofer right there!

Each holds a special memory, and I couldn't imagine discarding any of them.

Or maybe I'm the only one who thinks that almost everything I've ever done is memorable?

Preparation May Not Actually Prepare Us

Well, Last night didn't work out as I had hoped. Interruptions last night caused me problems, and those same (here) nameless issues disrupted my entire day.

I don't know what I can say, or how much, but suffice it to say another sad family emergency has come to pass, and today's post will be short as well.

We sometimes think we are prepared for a loss, and don't believe a loss may affect us. We are prepared we think. This has been expected. This was a blessing; the troubles are at an end; he is at peace.

And we convince ourselves of that.

Until the event happens. and we discover just how unprepared we were.

Let's push the resumption of normal activities back one more day, shall we?

Sunday Slump

Today I had some duties I had to perform; ones I wasn't looking forward to, but ones that absolutely had to be done.

So I did them.

But the performance has left me drained. So this will be a short post.

It was a hard end to a hard week, and right now I am at what hope is the weeks low point.

It has been two weeks, but I am still suffering from the time change, too.

Hopefully a good nights sleep will make me feel better, but right now I have my doubts.

We'll both find out in the morning. If you see a full post up by 8:00 a good nights sleep worked.

If not; it didn't.

Dreaming Big is Half the Fun

Well, I did what I could.

I bought a ticket. I didn't win the big money; that went to Florida and Maryland. My wife threatened me with divorce if I spent another dime on lottery tickets and did not buy my ticket in Florida; it seems that's where they sell all of the winners anymore.

There used to be a show on one cable channel or another about how a big lottery win had ruined somebodies life. Week after week of disasters. Millions gone in a few years; crooked family stealing, begging letters form all over the world, looking for a free handout form what you were lucky enough to receive. DUI's divorces, bankruptcies; trouble up hill and down dale.

Maybe the lucky ones were the ones who didn't win?

Or maybe that is just the class of people buying lottery tickets? Those out for more money in an instant than they could earn in a lifetime? Those who were poor because they thought poor, and having millions didn't change their way of thinking; they just thought poor with more money to spend.

There were success storied too that I remember. One group of guys hit a big jackpot and split millions. 3 of them retired right away. The fourth was still working. Although he was driving to work in a new pickup.

For me, winning isn't everything. The dreaming I get for a few bucks is worth the expense. I also get a dose of reality with it.

How would I spend $400 million? Or; How would I spend the $200 million the government would let me keep? $400 million gets cut in half pretty quick, with the cash value of the annuity being the biggest cut. And the IRS and the Commonwealth of Kentucky getting a share. Reality first; fantasy second.

Next comes the Deal With God part; the portions you would give to each charity, if you win. Surely God will look more kindly on your numbers, if you agree to give a portion of it away? It may help. Just because it hasn't yet worked for me doesn't mean it won't work ever.

And the Family clause; each family member gets a slice of the pie; a slice that varies- like the Charity part- when you realize just how far $200 million won't go.

Then comes the Spend it on Me segment; New Car!; Wait- New Rolls Royce!; Wait; New Ferrari!, no Bentley, No Bugatti or Lamborghini or Porsche or Wait!

New House! on Land; lots of land, with 5 bedrooms, no 10 bedrooms, and a game room and a pool and a hot tub overlooking the lake I'll build so I can see one from the hot tub.

And then the next morning there are two winners; Florida and Maryland.

And you shut off the alarm drag your loser carcass out of bed and start getting ready for work. On the way there you stop for a donut and a cup of coffee.

And a lottery ticket.

How's That Again?

I received an email today that just confused me. It was to a email group, which makes it worse I would think. It read (redacted):


(THIS PLACE) is very good they use (THIS PRODUCT) which is a family owned business  that is no longer in business  because the kids were not interested in running it

Okay; What? I think I get the jist of what the author was trying to say, but, holy cow!

Based on the group I was in I believe the author to be fairly well educated and fairly well off. So where did this statement come from?

How much of a family business can if be if the kids aren't involved? How much a business can it be if it is no longer a business?

Or am I making a mountain out of a mole hill? 

Does this statement pass for viable English in today's world? After all; it does communicate the idea it suppose it was intended to, and performs the basic function of communication. But does leave plenty of room for improvement.

Not to say I am an English scholar by any means. I do my best, and hope my words communicate what they are supposed to; let those without sin and all that.

But anyway; I have some rather extensive plans for this weekend, and will most likely not be posting Saturday and Sunday. If I do manage to get a post up consider it a bonus!

That Was Then

 A few weeks ago my Aunt sent me an email that talked about how things were in 1910. All kinds of information, which I assume is correct. It sounds correct anyway.

Things like: The Population of Las Vegas Nevada was only 30!

Yeah; I'll buy that. Los Angeles wasn't much bigger.

Or how about: There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A. ! Yeah; I'll buy that one too.

But this one causes me to doubt the veracity of the whole thing:  Ninety percent of all Doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION! I can see where they would have not had a medical degree, but NO College? sounds fishy.

How about this one? There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads. By 1910 Ford had been producing the Model T for 4 or 5 years, and eventually built 15 million of them; 8,000 sounds awfully low. Especially since there were almost 8,000 manufacturers in 1910. Okay; that is a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.

The point of the email is how much things have changed in a hundred years, and questions how much they will change in the next hundred.

I have a different take (I'll bet your surprised!). Look at how much things have remained the same, and what will still be the same in a hundred years? 

We're still using the same clock and calendar; noon on March 13th, 1914 is still noon on March 13th, 2014. I can see noon on March 13th, 2114 as being the same as well.

We had the telephone then, and do now. The concept is still the same, even though the actuality is different. We still use a number to connect to whoever we want to talk to. We used to connect to a location, now we connect to an individual. I don;t see that changing in another 100 years, except that we each may be assigned a number at birth that will connect us for life, and be used for all purposes, from phones to credit cards to government IDs. I didn't say I want or like the prospect of it happening, but I can see it happening.

We have only added 5 states in the last hundred years; I can see not adding anymore in the next hundred, unless something changes that makes joining the US more advantageous than not doing so.

We had electric lights in 1914, and still have them. I can see them in 2114 as well. The source of electricity may be different, and the bulb may be something we don't have now, but we will still flip a switch to have light.

Recorded music and movies were around back then, and still around now. There may be some differences in how we record and film, but we still record and film. And will in a hundred years.

History is interesting, and we can always compare both positively and negatively in any two eras. What we view as negative or positive is always in the eye of the beholder.

So while I may view the fact that the 1911 Colt's design has lasted 100 years as a positive thing, others may decry the fact that we still have need of one.

Color Me Confused

I'm curious about this missing Malaysian Airliner. Now days your first thought when a plane goes missing is terrorism. Add in the two Iranians traveling with stolen passports, on one-way tickets bought with cash, and it really starts to look like 1+1=2.

But then, why no credible claim for the action? Why no wreckage?

All reports say the plane itself- a Boeing 777- is almost hyper reliable, and the pilot was the best of the best. So we can rule out pilot error or mechanical malfunction, right?

So what does that leave? Alien abduction?

Yes; I am kidding. Who was it who said all things are possible, some are just more probable than others?

Still; we have a plane that disappeared from Radar without a word from the crew. some reports say it was spotted on military radar, way off course, and also spotted, a gain way off course, flying low. But these reports are late, almost 'here's an excuse' late.

Still, even if it was way off course, why no wreckage; no oil slick if nothing else?

Unless it ran out of fuel and the pilots managed to land it on the water, a la Sully Sulzberger, and it sank whole. But why no rafts, no radio calls? And why were they off course so badly that none of the searchers can find anything?

Questions, questions, questions. Everybody has questions. In this case it's not the questions we need, its the answers.

The Calm Before the Storm

Saturday Morning; Ahhhhhh....

Sometimes I think I work all week just for Saturday Morning.  The rest of the week is scheduled by somebody else, not me. Occasionally my Saturdays follow someone else's schedule, but not very often. The whole family knows this is my time.

It's not that I sleep in; very rarely am I still in bed at 7:00. For some reason 5 days a week it is a struggle to drag myself out and kick start my day at 6:30-6:35-6:40/5...

But on Saturday I tend to get up easily around 6:30. Maybe its because I know I will not spend the next 2 hours rushing through a morning a morning procedure to be at my desk by 8:30. On Saturday I know That as soon as the tea is hot I'll will be relaxing with a hot cuppa at my desk at home. Reading the comics instead of emails; surfing the net for something interesting, not searching the database for an answer to some question. Or I can fire up Netflix and watch a show or two. My choice.

The other part of Saturday morning I enjoy is the solitude. I am just about the only person in the house who doesn't think sleeping in is the way to start a Saturday. Occasionally there is a straggler, escaping over the wall from Slumberland to meet a commitment, like work, or I will get a visitor from Sleepytown on an errand for personal business, before they return to the comfort of their beds.

But for the most part is is just me and the dogs, and even they are usually slumbering; taking advantage of me being up to slack off on their duty to keep us and the house safe, and taking advantage of the quiet to relax a little more deeply than usual.

Today we are starting to get hints of the future; days in which I abandon the desk and computer for the porch swing. I don't know who invented the porch swing, but I sure hope they were properly rewarded. He (or she) was probably an early riser too. It's hard to imagine that the porch swing wasn't invented for Saturday morning. Especially one in Spring.

Sitting out there with a hot cuppa tea, slowly swinging back and forth, seeing and hearing the world come awake around you, as you are beginning to gather your thoughts and collect your senses, preparing for when the world is awake and assaulting you from every angle.

The sights vary with the countdown to summer; trees starting to bud out in leaf; the daffodils first poking up a thin green shoot and to suddenly burst into flower. the grass turning greener almost by the minute.

The sounds vary as well, but less so. There is always the bird noise twittering and calling as they start their daily chores. And there is always the sound of a distant screen door, banging back into it's frame, followed by a car starting and then the crunch of gravel as some neighbor starts there Saturday differently than I do mine.

But that is the future. Today I enjoy the quiet of the household. A silence so deafening I can hear the ticking of the clock in the living room. A quietude broken only occasionally by the creak of a bed as the occupant stirs, or the snort of snore from a sleeping dog, or the regular quarter hour chiming of the living room clock. And, of course, the rhythmic clicking of my keyboard.

But then above me a floorboard groans, protesting being rudely awakened, and then the stairs join in the chorus, each adding its own note to the sudden symphony of sound of a slumbering house slowly but surely coming to life.

The solitude is over. Life begins again and I am forced to join in.

And wait seven more days for Saturday morning.

Were They Irish, I Wonder?

Have you ever thought about the concept of "LUCK"?

First a definition is in order. According to one of Wikipedia's definitions, "Luck is "a purposeless, unpredictable and uncontrollable force that shapes events favorably or unfavorably for an individual, group or cause"".

Yeah; I'll buy that. In general.

To some folks luck is finding a twenty dollar bill in a Cracker Barrel parking lot. To others, its finding $28,000 in their backyard.

Must. Be. Nice. I don't even have the $20 kind of luck.

And then, the $28k is only face value; in total they maybe worth Ten Million Dollars. Now that is luck with a capital L.

These coins may have been buried as much as 100 years ago. Who ever buried them either forgot about them or died before he could reclaim them. No matter when they were buried they were a fortune. A large fortune at some points; somewhat smaller at others.

And talk about luck; how would you like to be related to the folks who buried- and then lost- this fortune?

There has been a lot of speculation about by whom and why these coins were buried. Personally, it think they were buried in 1933; when FDR was in the gold confiscation business. I can see someone burying their life savings instead of turning it over to the government. I guess they figured it would only be a couple of years before the country came to its senses. No such luck; it took until 1974 before a US Citizen could legally own gold not in his teeth or wedding band.

By 1974 our alleged hoarder was probably long dead, or at the least senile, and the location of the gold was forgotten.

Until some folks stumbling around their backyard hit a jackpot.

All I ever stumble over in my backyard is sports ball of one sort or another and bikes.

It seems I have been forced into a different definition of Luck than some other folks.

Need a Rocking Chair?

I'll bet he doesn't.

This video makes me feel like I have spent too much of my life sitting still, and I am few years short in age from the hero of this video.

I don't use the word hero lightly. Heroism isn't always a single instant; sometimes it is a lifetime.

A blogger I visit regularly- Sippican Cottage- tends to find videos like this; maybe he has time to hunt for them. 

Go ahead; watch the video. I'll be here when you get back.

Here we have a man who is working daily, just as he has for more than probably 80 years. Still going , and not intention of stopping. Working at a physical job. One that men 50, 60 even 70 years his junior wouldn't do. He has made a living working hard. He probably isn't rich by Wall Street standards, but he probably is by Arkansas standards.

He has a job he loves- I can't imagine doing something I hated at his age, and family around him.

There is a commercial I have seen on TV once or twice that talks about retirement, and defines it as paying yourself to do what you want to do, by saving for it now.

And then you run into Mr. Bump, who, at the age of 95 is still letting somebody else pay him to do what he wants to do.

Now that is what I would call an embarrassment of riches.