22 posts from 2007

How can one not love my family? 

They are generous to a fault.  Always willing to share whatever they have...especially GERMS and VIRUSES.

As we were preparing to leave for home, someone asked why we were in such a hurry to leave.  What were we going to do at home that we couldn't do here?

I told them that I would go home and then see what my poor, old body gives birth to in the way of afflictions I had most certainly been exposed to for the last few hours.

They take none of my subtle hints seriously.  They see me as some old grouch that is always complaining about something.

I've been sick with one kind of bug or another for the last two months...gone through two courses of antibiotics that were not very affective against these new super-bugs. It's enough to put anyone in a dismal mood.

Anyway, I didn't want to be there when the Police arrived to investigate what all the neighbors were calling them about.

YES!  They left the exterior speakers on once more while they were doing some Karaoke.

HEY! Those uppity, rich folk don't put up with any crap like that.

It's Christmas Eve for Christ's sake...and I mean that just the way it sounds.

I can hear them now:
"Those Hillbillies over on War Admiral Drive are at it again officer."
"You can't give people like that enough money to afford a house in this type of subdivision."
"Those trailer trash types are going to ruin things for the rest of us."
"There's pick-up trucks parked everywhere you look."
"One of them has a set of mummified Bull testicles dangling off their trailer hitch."

I'm rolling on the floor, laughing my ass off as I think about that last comment.
It's very difficult to type in that position...take my word for it.

The food was good and the company was better.
I can hardly wait for New Year's Day when we usually do it all over again.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

How I love me some low-down bluesy guitar playing.  If you like it too, turn on your speakers and crank up the volume and click on the video screen.  My God this man can play.

Who am I trying to kid?  She's not going to stop working.

Today is my wife's last day at work.  After it she will officially be "retired."
She has worked for this company for 37 years.
It's one of those milestones in life we think we will never live long enough to experience and yet...here it is.

Every day this week, she has come home carrying a shopping bag filled with gifts and cards from her friends.
Today is the day of the "BIG PARTY."  I hope she needs a truck to haul it all home.

I wonder...will there be enough tissues to dry all the tears?
Her friends have been crying all week long.
That says something about this woman...don't you think?
I've always known she was special.  I'm glad so many others got to find it out too.

Yesterday temperatures were "seasonal."  Around here, that's in the mid-forties.  I just happened to be outside, looking around our little plot of earth after returning from getting the mail.  I noticed my good neighbors from up the street as they came out for one of their spur of the moment, get it in while you can before heading out to work walks. I called out to them so they would wait for me.  They did...and the three of us set out for a tour of the subdivision.

We hadn't walk but a short distance when I noticed that Sharon was turning around, looking back down the street toward their house.  I asked her why she was doing that...did she expect to see the house burst into flames or something?  She didn't have a reason for doing it...she simply did it.

That set me off into a long-winded tirade about how all we hillbillies have a habit of "Looking Back."  Bob agreed with me that he does it too but he didn't know it was because he was a hillbilly.  I said "Oh Yeah!...it's in our genes...we simply can't help it."

I confessed that I almost NEVER get out of my car, lock it and head into a store or whatever it was I had driven to without pausing and looking back at my car.  I believe I do it checking to make sure that I didn't leave my lights on or something.  Whatever the reason, the habit is so deeply ingrained in my character or personality, it's impossible for me NOT to do it.

As I sat here thinking about what I was going to write about looking back, it came to me that someone has written a song, recorded it and it was played a lot on the radio stations locally.  It was called "Looking Back."
It went something like this:
"I was looking back to see if you were looking back to see if I was looking back to see if you were looking back at me."

It was a silly song, a novelty tune I suppose but it was "catchie"...one of those tunes that stayed in your head in that annoying way that certain songs have a way of doing,  Even as I write this, it's in my head now and it will probably be there for a good while.

Sorry if it's in your head now.  It was a dumb thing to write about anyway.

I seldom have anything to say about most sporting events.

I do have a few opinions about one or two that I know a little something about however.
This morning, I came across another's opinion about the Cowboys / Eagles Game that I did happen to watch over the weekend.  It was a female fan and I'm the kind of man who usually listens when any woman expresses herself.  If she just happens to be commenting about any sport then I am more than interested.

Chrissy, who writes the "Warm Puppies" Blog

I've been wearing "transition lenses" in my glasses for almost a year now.
Just in case you ever find yourself considering to switch to them any time in the future, allow me to share the good and the bad aspects of doing so.

They scratch much to easily.  NEVER try to clean them "DRY."  They tell you this when you purchase them but you may be tempted to do it out of necessity at some point because they get smudged up and dirty easier than any other lenses I've ever tried.

During the spring and summer months, the fact that these lenses darken whenever you are exposed to bright sunlight is their best selling point. What you may come to find out and not like about them is they do not change back to clear lenses as quickly as they darken for some reason and during the cooler months of fall and winter, there are times when they seem to take forever to clear up.  I can only assume it has something to do with the temperature.  I've had to resort to removing them when I come inside after being out in the cold because I can no longer see through them and then I place them over a register opening if the heat is on and air is flowing from it. That seems to expedite the transforming quality of the lenses.

It may be my imagination but these lenses seem to exude some type of oily substance when in use and even if you had just washed your hands, touching the lens surface will instantly cause an awful smear that only spraying with a cleaning solutions and wiping dry with a VERY CLEAN soft cloth will remove.
Don't ever think your shirt tail is good enough when they need to be cleaned.
That will only make it worse and you will rue the day you tried it.

You will be better off to wait for a special glass making offer from a local lab where you can get a free pair of prescription sunglasses with the purchase of a regular pair of glasses and need to swap them when in bright sunlight conditions than to go with the transition lenses.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking with it.
Go ahead and try them for yourself if you don't believe me.
You will be sorry.

What follows here is an email I received from a nephew whom someone has gotten stirred up.  I may not agree with every word he had to say but I will defend to the death his right to express himself in public and become an enabler by publishing it here.

"Are we fighting a war on terror or aren't we? Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought it to our shores on September 11, 2001?

Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans, not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan , across the Potomac from our nation's capitol and in a field in Pennsylvania?

Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn't they?

And I'm supposed to care that a copy of the Koran was "desecrated" when an overworked American soldier kicked it or got it wet?...Well, I don't. I don't care at all.

I'll start caring when Osama bin Laden turns himself in and repents for incinerating all those innocent people on 9/11.

I'll care about the Koran when the fanatics in the Middle East start caring about the Holy Bible, the mere possession of which is a crime in Saudi Arabia .

I'll care when these thugs tell the world they are sorry for hacking off Nick Berg's head while Berg screamed through his gurgling slashed throat.

I'll care when the cowardly so-called "insurgents" in Iraq come out and fight like men instead of disrespecting their own religion by hiding in mosques.

I'll care when the mindless zealots who blow themselves up in search of nirvana care about the innocent children within range of their suicide bombs.

I'll care when the American media stops pretending that their First Amendment liberties are somehow derived from international law instead of the United States Constitution's Bill of Rights.

In the meantime, when I hear a story about a brave marine roughing up an Iraqi terrorist to obtain information, know this: I don't care.

When I see a fuzzy photo of a pile of naked Iraqi prisoners who have been humiliated in what amounts to a college-hazing incident, rest assured: I don't care.

When I see a wounded terrorist get shot in the head when he is told not to move because he might be booby-trapped, you can take it to the bank: I don't care.

When I hear that a prisoner, who was issued a Koran and a prayer mat, and fed "special" food that is paid for by my tax dollars, is complaining that his holy book is being "mishandled," you can absolutely believe in your heart of hearts: I don't care.

And oh, by the way, I've noticed that sometimes it's spelled "Koran" and other times "Quran." Well, Jimmy Crack Corn and-you guessed it-I don't care !!

If you agree with this viewpoint, pass this on t o all your E-mail friends. Sooner or later, it'll get to the people responsible for this ridiculous behavior!

If you don't agree, then by all means hit the delete button. Should you choose the latter, then please don't complain when more atrocities committed by radical Muslims happen here in our great Country!

And may I add:
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem" -- Ronald Reagan

I have another quote that I would like to add AND.......I hope you forward all this.

"If we ever forget that we're One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under." Also by.. Ronald Reagan

One last thought for the day:

In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the Anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England's Prime Minister Tony Blair's words during a recent interview. When asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America, he said: "A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in.. And how many want out."

Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you:
1. Jesus Christ
2. The American G. I.
Important for us all!!!!
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO PASS THIS ON,
AS MANY SEEM TO FORGET BOTH OF THEM. AMEN.

Yes! I do watch "The View" from time to time.  Being a man in this world, I figure I can use all the insight about women I can acquire.

Today's show was interesting because Whoopi Goldberg asked a question of the whole panel, "What do you think about this new trend in relationships known as having friends with benefits?"

You say you are not familiar with the trend, that you don't know how the expression translates in common language?  I'm sure you are not alone. I had heard of it before and I did have a tenuous grasp of its definition.

Basically what it means is a certain type of male/female relationship...WAIT!
Am I putting limits on the definition of the practice?  I suppose it could be female/female or male/male in today's world and few would consider it weird or strange or outside the limits of social acceptability.  Today is seems there are no limits when it comes to sexual relationships.

Friends with benefits is a way of expressing a certain relationship in which two individuals of any gender combination interact with one another in a variety of ways without have any strings attached.  In other words, there's no commitment required of either party.  NOW that's what I call real friends.

The women on The View arrived at the conclusion that it was a good thing for anyone into that sort of relationship.  I figure most men would just eat it up, accept its establishment with great zeal and gusto.  Actually, it's what many men have been seeking for eons and simply could not talk any woman into.

There no commitment...absolutely NONE.  There's no living together, no obligation felt that requires one to call or visit or write or email or instant message or text message or use any form of modern communications. You simply call or visit when it is convenient for both parties and end up doing whatever is agreeable between the two.  You can go out to eat (each pays) or take in a movie or just hang out till one or the other has all they need at the time and then you go on your merry way until the next time the two feel the need to come together again.

Call me a serial skeptic but I need to see such a relationship in action before I can judge if it is actually possible and will grow in participation or acceptance by the masses.  As I said before, most men would welcome such an arrangement with open arms.  Its the woman's role in such a friendship that I have trouble accepting as do-able.  I don't know of any such modern thinking woman yet.  I'd like to meet one just to see how it feels to say I know such a person.   Talk about equality!  Man!  That would be it to the maximum.

No gifts or flowers to buy.  No obligation to purchase Birthday cards or gifts, no Christmas presents to exchange.  No candy, no lingerie, etc. Just two people enjoying the company of and bodies of the other in any way that is agreeable for the moment.  You can bump uglies, do the horizontal mambo (add your own sexual innuendo here) and think nothing of it afterward other than both of you were just being "Friendly" in your own special way.

What I'd like to know is where was this kind of thinking when I was a young man? I'd have never made it this far with all that going on in my life.

Sooo...What do you think readers?

This is a copy of my most recent post on my old Blog.

Perhaps you are one of those that like to procrastinate, always waiting until the last possible moment to do something you intended to do.  Just in case that describes you, I thought I would post another reminder today.

If you are one of the regular readers of this Blog and it would make one iota of difference to you that you continue to read whatever it is I may post when I DO post something on the Internet, then you should go ahead and place the URL of my new Blog in your list of Favorites or add a submission into your aggregator, regardless of which one you prefer to use.

Here it is MY new VOX Blog.

While you are there, checking it out, why not read the last three entries I have posted there?  There are two entries after the one about how life is like a roll of toilet paper that I composed on the subject of Christmas.  They are seasonally appropriate topics. You may enjoy reading about my special Christmas memories and my thoughts about Christmas in general.  Stranger things have happened.
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Switching gears now..............................

Just in case you were not aware...."Saving Grace" the TV Series has returned to your cable network with a new season of episodes.
Do not confuse it with the recently released movie by the same name.  I've read reviews about the movie and it doesn't appear to be much in the way of good entertainment.  I may add it to my Netflix Queue today so that when it does come to video, I can check it out and see if you people were correct or if it is only a matter of taste in movies.

My friend Lilium of Approaching Glory recently watched one of my favorite movies (Dances with Wolves) and only gave it a 3.5 out of a possible 5 rating.  I was shocked.  I would give it a 6 out of 5.
It's not that I think Kevin is such a great actor and he was the reason I liked it so much.  It was the whole package.  The process used to record the vistas presented by the vast prairie scenes, the color reproduction, the music, the story, the authenticity of the Indian language involved and what I perceived as the historic accuracy of the material that composed the creative totality of the film.  It was all that.  I accused her of not giving it her full attention while viewing it.  She like to knit at such a time.  A multi-tasker to the extreme and if your life was as busy as hers, you too might find it necessary to utilize her methods.

Back to the TV series "Saving Grace"....
Holly Hunter is "The Star" I suppose but it's not her I like most.  It's Earl, the last chance Angel played by Leon Rippy.  Now he's special.  Holly Hunter is so boney.  Somebody get that woman a Quarter Pounder with cheese and a large fries.  Is it just me or does she talk out the side of her mouth?  Did she used to be a model on a runway somewhere?  Besides, I hate her character's sense of morality.  She's a home-wrecker and a selfish one at that. Self-centered and uninhibited to the max. Enforces the law the way she sees fit, unlike the partner whose home she is playing so freely with.  When he allowed that distressed father to assault him repeatedly, understanding the degree of anguish he was experiencing because he had just lost his only child in a school bus accident, not objecting to being pummeled like that and reacting to it by reaching out to the grieving man, drawing him into his embrace and holding him in such a compassionate way, a super sensitive person, I gained a new respect for him.  Now, if Grace can leave him alone in the future. 

I hope you will check it out if it comes to your TV set via some means.

I saw this statement on another Blog today.  It was included in a regular list composed by many Bloggers that they identify using a day of the week and a number...something like "Thursday 13."

I've been trying to express the way I personally feel about life at my current age in many ways.  This group of words does a bang-up job.

Life is like a roll of toilet paper.  The closer you get to the end of it,
THE FASTER IT MOVES.

I have great empathy for any "older" person that MUST continue working a regular job after they reach "retirement age."

A word of truth as viewed by myself in the same vein as the toilet paper comparison...If you want to enjoy the fruit of living a long life, DO NOT purchase any green Bananas.