Sunday, May 31
Black Lives Matter
What exactly does BLACK LIVES MATTER mean?
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| FIST OF VIOLENCE |
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is an international activist movement, originating in the African-American community, that campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards black people.
I am totally in favor of this movement... however, in order for BLACKS to show WHITES that BLACK LIVES MATTER, Blacks are acting like WHITE LIVES DON'T MATTER... and, for someone like me that is a TURN OFF regarding the entire BLM movement... I was on board and supporting the movement until violence towards white has ensued after 1 or a few white people demonstrate inappropriate behavior against blacks or in some cases actually KILL BLACKS for their own selfish, self-centered desires...
Ever since the Vietnam War, I have had the following belief:
MAN IS BUT HALF A GOD, HE CAN TAKE A LIFE BUT HE CANNOT CREATE ONE...
The taking of any life is SENSELESS and POINTLESS and should never happen under any circumstance... unless one is defending one's self or one's family...
It does not matter if one is: Black, White, Red, Yellow, Brown, Albino, Maroon, or Gold... all people are members of the Human Race and therefore ARE ENTITLED TO LIFE...
BUT, when you respond to violence with non-defensive violence then you are just as bad as the one who committed the first act of violence and I stop listening to what you have to say... and, let me tell you this one REALITY AND/OR FACT OF LIFE:
Our Federal Government cannot force me to stop being RACIST AGAINST YOU, nor can Our Federal Government stop you from being RACIST AGAINST ME...
If I wanted to, I could:
- refuse to let blacks ride in my own personal vehicle
- refuse to sit at a table close to blacks in a restaurant
- refuse to rent beach chairs next to blacks at Myrtle Beach, SC
- refuse to sit by a black at a movie theater
- refuse to act civil when talking with blacks
- refuse to be polite when passing blacks in public
- refuse to ride up an elevator if a black got on
How is OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT going to force me to act differently???
Will the police give me a public courtesy ticket?
Will the police lock me up in jail for the night?
I AM TIRED OF BEING BLAMED FOR SLAVERY BECAUSE I AM
THE SON OF A WHITE MAN
WHO WAS THE SON
OF A WHITE MAN
WHO WAS THE SON
OF A WHITE MAN
WHO WAS THE SON
OF A WHITE MAN...
Saturday, May 30
COMMUNITIES OF COLOR
FOX NEWS LIVEAround 10:10 am
MN Governor Walz (D) in a press conference this morning used the phrase: 'COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.'
What is wrong with this phrase... because the phrase is accurate... there most certainly are communities of color in America and in her States... in fact, I live in East TN and am very familiar with where the communities of color are located and that these communities of color, in most cases, are no different than those communities of non-color.
And... what I just wrote is what is wrong with this phrase... think about it... communities of color rather than communities of Americans...
- Black communities
- White communities
- Asian communities
- Hispanic communities
- Latin communities
- Jewish communities
- Irish communities
- Italian communities
- Catholic communities
- Baptist communities
- Middle class communities
- Wealthy communities
- Poor communities
- Cajun communities
- Retired communities
- Student communities
- Muslim communities
- Military communities
- Oriental communities
- Celebrity communities
And, now do you see what I am saying?
ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE AMERICANS...
Racism will continue in America as long as we see these various communities because that sight HIGHLIGHTS OUR DIFFERENCES...
Friday, May 29
My Old Circular Saw
Friday morning started off muggy, foggy, and overcast and it just looked and felt like it was going to rain, but it didn't and about 1:00 pm, my wife and I realized that the sun would probably be out in a cloudless sky for the rest of the day. We went outside to work and our hunch paid off.
I piddled around measuring, designing, and cutting wood for a two step stool with hand rails to make it easier for me to get in and out of the hot tub since these last few times, I have noticed me grunting more than usual. Arriving at a good stopping point, I turned my attention to finishing the top caps on the deck rails, as I had 5 more to go... and, not wanting to end up with a sore lower back again, I decided to cut and screw in 3 and finish the last two tomorrow.
As I was putting my tools back inside the storage shed, I had the realization that my circular saw was fairly old and decided to take a minute to figure it out. I left military service in 1972 and was required to serve in the RESERVES for another 3 years... one night a week from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm and was paid $100 a month. In the summer, I was required to spend two weeks on ACTIVE DUTY and do not remember how much I was paid for those 2 weeks.
I used my $100 each month to buy hand tools and other devices that I thought I might need sometime down-the-road rather than saving the money or taking the wife out to dinner. Three tools in particular I remember: an electric drill, an electric jig saw, and an electric circular. Several years ago, the drill was losing oil so I discarded it in the trash and I lost sight of my jig saw but my circular saw is still around.
STILL AROUND CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?
THE DAMN THING IS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 45 AND 50 YEARS OLD...
It's a CRAFTSMAN in case you are wondering...
I doubt tools made today will last 50 years... who's fault is this?
I piddled around measuring, designing, and cutting wood for a two step stool with hand rails to make it easier for me to get in and out of the hot tub since these last few times, I have noticed me grunting more than usual. Arriving at a good stopping point, I turned my attention to finishing the top caps on the deck rails, as I had 5 more to go... and, not wanting to end up with a sore lower back again, I decided to cut and screw in 3 and finish the last two tomorrow.As I was putting my tools back inside the storage shed, I had the realization that my circular saw was fairly old and decided to take a minute to figure it out. I left military service in 1972 and was required to serve in the RESERVES for another 3 years... one night a week from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm and was paid $100 a month. In the summer, I was required to spend two weeks on ACTIVE DUTY and do not remember how much I was paid for those 2 weeks.
I used my $100 each month to buy hand tools and other devices that I thought I might need sometime down-the-road rather than saving the money or taking the wife out to dinner. Three tools in particular I remember: an electric drill, an electric jig saw, and an electric circular. Several years ago, the drill was losing oil so I discarded it in the trash and I lost sight of my jig saw but my circular saw is still around.
STILL AROUND CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?
THE DAMN THING IS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 45 AND 50 YEARS OLD...
It's a CRAFTSMAN in case you are wondering...
I doubt tools made today will last 50 years... who's fault is this?
RACISM IN AMERICA
Ignoring racism in America allows racist ideas to flourish. Here's how to be antiracist.
Americans love the idea that you can avoid being racist by passively treating everyone equally. Ibram X. Kendi's new book explains why this is false..
Aug. 21, 2019, 4:30 AM EDT
By Noah Berlatsky
American University professor Ibram X. Kendi's new book, “How to Be an Antiracist,” begins with an account of how he once delivered a racist speech.
Kendi participated in Prince William County’s 2000 Martin Luther King Jr. oratorical contest when he was in high school. In his speech, he chastised black youth for being unmotivated and unambitious. "They think it's OK to climb the high tree of pregnancy!" he remembers telling the crowd. "They think it's OK to confine their dreams to sports and music!"
By Noah Berlatsky
American University professor Ibram X. Kendi's new book, “How to Be an Antiracist,” begins with an account of how he once delivered a racist speech.
Kendi participated in Prince William County’s 2000 Martin Luther King Jr. oratorical contest when he was in high school. In his speech, he chastised black youth for being unmotivated and unambitious. "They think it's OK to climb the high tree of pregnancy!" he remembers telling the crowd. "They think it's OK to confine their dreams to sports and music!"
Unless you are on a ventilator in the hospital as a victim of COVID-19, then you are aware of the senseless killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis... and yet, this is not the first time that blacks have been killed by white policemen in America... and, we have just learned that prosecutors will not rush to file any charges against the 4-5 law enforcement personnel who have been fired as a result of this senseless violence... either committing it or standing by watching it happen... There has been 3 days of violence in Minneapolis as a result of George Floyd's death.
HOW CAN THE GOVERNMENT FORCE WHITES TO STOP THEIR RACISTS BELIEFS AND ACTIONS AGAINST BLACKS IN AMERICA?
DIY Projects
It is a foggy morning in East TN and I believe it must have rained all night here as well since the deck out back still has puddles of water all over it, leaving me with 5 boards yet to cut and screw down to finish my handrails project. It took me 3 days to get this far which I suppose someone who knew what they were doing could have done it in 1 day... but, this is the price one pays when one gets old... but, it is also the price that one pays when one does not do manual labor especially any form of building and/or construction.
AND... this is the main reason why I returned to College and graduated so that I could use my degree working behind a desk with my mind rather than working somewhere else with my body, like would have been the case working on a construction site, building homes, or as a plumber, electrician, or carpenter, and... the idea was to make enough money to hire those people to do the work that I needed done; although, now when I attempt to perform work as a carpenter, I really don't know what I am doing.
However, there are many College Graduates working behind a desk with their minds that also have taught themselves DIY projects at home that involve carpentry, plumbing and electricity because they simply wanted to know how to do that as well... which I did not...
So... this foggy morning and wet conditions keep me from finishing my task and I will have to wait another day or two until conditions dry out sufficiently to cut the wood and screw it in... and, in a way I am happy because I am also experiencing extreme lower back pain from slightly bending over the cutting table and from standing in one place too long.This lower back pain from standing started when I was in the military and on guard duty and later discovered that I have a curved spine which "acts up" when just standing around or walking slowly... the condition must worsen with age.
DAMN I LOVE BEING OVER SIXTY...
Thursday, May 28
Over My Lifetime
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| I always write in the mornings with coffee... |
On December 26, 2001, I began keeping a daily journal that I referred to as DAILY PAGES for some reason and I was so obsessed with writing everyday that I filled up a 100 page (200 pages both sides) every 3 months... so, for a solid 18 years I have been writing my Daily Pages and keeping them and have all 70+ notebooks in a file cabinet in the basement.
In 2020, one of my new blogs JOURNAL OF DAILY PAGES was theoretically supposed to substitute for my DAILY PAGES but I still write in these notebooks but not as much because I have my online forum. These days, these notebooks record my financial calculations and calories for the various meals that I cook.
This morning, sitting out on the back porch thinking about my poetry, I began to calculate how long would it take for me to publish all my poems. According to my calculations, if I published 5 each day, it would take a little over 21 years or 10 a day would take a little over 11 years. These last several days and some are still scheduled to be published, I have a series where 3-4 are published each day and a second series where 13 are scheduled to be published...
I'm toying with the idea of publishing all my poems before I die or before I get too old to type...
WHY?
Vanity I suppose.
Just Cats
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Wednesday, May 27
Just Dogs
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Magnolia Trees
Some of the trees are wider and taller than others but that does not bother me near as much as the leaves that fall to the ground and have to be constantly mowed up to keep from killing the grass. Our acre of land is slightly sloped from the front to the back as is the land of all our 12 neighbors forming a low but angled area behind all the houses for proper water drainage... which over the last 20 years has worked perfectly. Sometimes, our grass in the back sloping area looks healthier than the grass in our front yard but I suppose that is to be expected as well.
Tuesday, May 26
Just An Opinion
Since I am not an expert in any field other than being retired, I am in a perfectly good position to offer an opinion about the current situation in the US of A and for that matter around the world as we begin to come to terms with this PANDEMIC that CHINA released on the rest of the world because of unsafe practices in one of their research labs... even though they do not want to admit it. Interestingly, what the rest of the world should understand is the simply fact that any country that does not have the FREEDOMS that one finds in the US of A is going to keep SHIT from its citizens because they do not want their citizens to know what it is that they are doing... HOWEVER and with that said, the US of A still does a pretty good job of hiding shit from its citizens anyway, especially if our government perceives that the citizens will have an adverse reaction.
I have this strange feeling brought about by recent events that AMERICANS will be back to NORMAL or back to a NEW NORMAL no later than JULY of this year even though it will take much longer for everyone to be re-employed as companies will move slowly and cautiously...
States will reopen
Cities will reopen
Counties will reopen
Companies will reopen
Schools will reopen
ETC...
THEN... in the FALL... ALL HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE... when the Pandemic re-inserts its fangs into our economy again because,
AMERICANS stopped taking precautions!!!Americans don't think they are going to have a heart attack until they do...
Americans don't think they are going to contract cancer until they do...
Americans don't think they are going to have a serious car accident until they do...
IN THE MEANTIME,
Americans act like they cannot be touched...
Americans eat whatever they want to
Americans drive as fast as they want to
Americans drink as much as they want to
Americans don't like preventive medicines
It does not take a BRAIN SURGEON to see that Americans are headed for one disaster after another... and, will never appreciate what they have, until it is gone or has been taken away from them... then and only then will they BITCH LIKE A STUCK PIG...
Monday, May 25
Vacation Time Has Officially Begun...
Like all HOLIDAYS having to do with the advent of WARM WEATHER (of course if you live in the extreme southern part of the USA, you are basically warm all the time... but, that is not part of my analysis), families and/or friends typically get together and GRILL OUT with hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, steaks, and maybe fish... with potatoes, baked beans, french fries, chips of all sorts, a variety of dips, chili, cold slaw, corn (off and on the cob), potato salad, vege casseroles (or whatever) and home made ice cream and a various assortment of cakes, pies, candies and cookies.
NO... I did not forget the ALCOHOL... which typically flows like Niagara Falls and includes all sorts of beers, wines, spirits (vodka, gin, bourbon, scotch) but also non-alcoholic drinks like: soft drinks, lemonade, tea (sweet and unsweetened), and water.
Games are also typically played at events like these and can include: softball, football, soccer, tennis, basketball, volleyball, horse shoes, bag or ring toss, pool, croquet, and bocce.
HOWEVER, this year, my wife and I were not with family or friends nor were we at any kind of public gathering hosted by the city or resort, but at home working in the yard since the expected rain failed to arrive.
We spread several bags of small white rocks around, emptied large bags of mulch and spread it around the flowers, dug up several plants to thin our the flower beds, put up a 2 foot fence made of lattice board around the tomato and cucumber plants, and replace rotten or warped boards on the floor of the deck. We started around NOON and finished around 5:30 pm. Tomorrow, unless it rains, we will spend a similar day outside.
Being retired... we both tend to forget about some of the holidays that we so much looked forward to when working... C'est la vie...
MEMORIAL DAY 2020
Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.
Sunday, May 24
Visiting the Cemetery
Today... my wife and I drove up to the cemetery where her son from a previous marriage is buried and I sat in the car while she walked the short distance by herself to put new flowers in the holder by his grave stone. Before she left the car her comment to me was, "I don't guess you are going since he's not your son... ya know, by not going you are disrespecting my son..."
I just sat there in the driver's seat and did not say a word, nor did I say a word during the ride back to our house... but, while I did not say a word, I continued to think about what she said and reminded myself that when we went to visit her mother's grave site, I did not get out of the car... and, she never said a word to me about it... and, I have not visited the grave sites of my parents after their deaths even though we have been to that area several times to visit my sister.
This has nothing to do with her son... I believe that she is finding one reason after another to find fault with me or criticize me to lay the foundation for divorce or for her to have an affair both of which I wish would happen so we can finally be done with this marriage. Ironically, our marriage turned SOUR almost immediately after she retired about 3 years ago... which says to me that we don't have enough in common for us to spend all this time together... it was easier to tolerate each other when one or both of us was working.
Sadly... and, this is looking back on 22 years of marriage (27 years of living together), we should have never gotten married in the first place...
This has nothing to do with her son... I believe that she is finding one reason after another to find fault with me or criticize me to lay the foundation for divorce or for her to have an affair both of which I wish would happen so we can finally be done with this marriage. Ironically, our marriage turned SOUR almost immediately after she retired about 3 years ago... which says to me that we don't have enough in common for us to spend all this time together... it was easier to tolerate each other when one or both of us was working.
Sadly... and, this is looking back on 22 years of marriage (27 years of living together), we should have never gotten married in the first place...
Ending or Beginning?
For some, this may be a stupid question but does Sunday represent the beginning of the new week or the ending of the old week?I guess my Bible training leads me to believe that it is the ending of the week because God made the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th day, giving me the impression that Sunday is the end of the week...
Yet, most if not all calendars have Sunday as the beginning of the week with Saturday ending the week... of course that could just be to separate the two "S" days from each other.
WHY EVEN WORRY ABOUT THIS SHIT, YOU MIGHT BE THINKING RIGHT NOW?
And, that is a valid question...
But... for me, it is still of concern because some of life's details influence the way I think and how the week begins is important, especially since the work week begins with Monday.
Monday begins...
Sunday ends...
CLEVER
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BOOGIE DOWN
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Saturday, May 23
Isn't It Weird?
How are the celebrities living during COVID-19 in their multi-million dollar mansions and their private jets that can fly them anywhere in the world?
These celebrities probably have cooks to prepare their meals or maybe all their meals are takeout and if they are can you imagine their food bill each month?
Do these celebrities have heated swimming pools some of which may be enclosed inside a protective all glass shelter?
Do these celebrities have ranches with horse that they can ride all around their 200-300 acre property or maybe 2000 -3000 acre property?
Do these celebrities worry about the bills that need to be paid at the end of the month since they are not working... I guess not, because they are living off their interest... hell, their monthly interest is probably more than the average American earns in a year.
I suppose that 10% of the American Population is financially WELL OFF, leaving 90% of the population TERRIFIED because the longer they remain out of work, the greater the risk that they will have to file bankruptcy or more out of their home or get their vehicle repossessed.
These 10% people are experiencing COVID-19 much differently than the rest of us are experiencing it... I guaran-damn-tee you...
Mending the Deck
There are 20 - 8 foot sections of railings that surround the deck in my backyard which surrounds an above ground pool, a gazebo, and a hot tub. There is a flat piece of decking screwed in on top of each of the sections and I am in the process of replacing those top pieces. Our deck is over 10 years old as is our above ground pool and hot tub and for all intents and purposes, all of it has lasted longer than I thought it would. We stain the deck every 3 years so I suppose that is why it has lasted as long as it has. While all those top boards do not need replacing, I am replace them all anyway so it will look the same when it comes to staining them next spring... it is best to let wood weather for a year before staining it, we've been told so that is what we do.
After the railing is done, there are 2-3 boards on the floor of the deck that need replacing but that is it and fairly amazing since the deck, as mentioned before, is over 10 years old.
EASY RIDER
1969 was the year and it was an important year for me in many ways because a few months before I had left college (end of Fall Semester 1968), enlisted in the USNR, gotten married, and was working a year before I had to report for active duty...
I was living in Burlington, NC and working for a company called Carolina Biological Supply Company (CBS) owned by the Powell's... paying a little above minimum wage, they were one of the largest employers in the area...
My wife and I were living in a two-story wooden house that we ironically rented from CBS but if something went amiss, CBS would fix it immediately. The rent we paid was consistent with renting a two bedroom house or a 1 bedroom apartment... yet, we had three times that amount of space. There was a huge open area on the second floor that I used as my art studio since I like to do oil painting and photography and it was there that I hung this exact same poster.
HULU
My wife and I decided to try a free 30 day subscription to HULU last week and while she is watching a sub titled comedy from South Korea, I am watching the X-FILES with Agents Scully and Mulder... There are eight seasons of the show, so obviously I started with Season 1, Episode 1 and amazed myself because I do not remember any of those shows... when it first started out, the shows focused on weird things happening and not totally on UFO's and alien visitors... which I would not have thought or believed if I had not seen these episodes for myself.
My wife and I like watching BBC Detective Shows and have watched many on NETFLIX before started enjoying DCI BANKS on HULU. I am not sure why, but I prefer watching BBC Detective Shows rather than American Detective Shows... I suppose because they seem more realistic in that they do not always work out where good triumphs over evil which to me is more real life. However, the accents sometimes are hard to understand and we are constantly asking each other what they said. Their slang terms are different than ours as well like flat for house and lockup for storage building.
Friday, May 22
Nine Twenty Darkness
chair up against the brick wall
table pulled in closed with my
Lenovo laptop sitting on glass
staring out into the darkness
at what I know to be there
but cannot see save the street
lamps blazing brightly beside
the homes on the other side
some of which have lights on
inside with the curtains pulled;
Panera's coffee cup sits beside
me full of decaf and two spoons
of Cappuccino Mix for me to
sip on before it cools down as
my Siamese visits me but leaves
again when my attention strays,
leaving me alone as before with
nothing but my thoughts of a
day that passed too quickly by
as they all do these days, and
me wanting to slow them down
so as to enjoy them more knowing
that enjoyment was fleeting for
a reason that only our Creator
knows but decided not to share;
a bowl of fake flowers sits in
front of me as it has every night
in which I have been out here,
thinking of what I need to say
and now I want to say it where
it has not been that way before,
and always realize that the way
I see and think never change
and what I see and think will
never change in my lifetime;
still, the darkness is enticing
as it has always been, even
when as I young boy, I used
to enjoy laying on the grass
on my back and looking up
at a dark summer sky, making
up stories about the stars and
where they all came from and
saw what I saw or thought
what I thought when all the
stars like people had different
points-of-view with which
we all had to contend or at
least this is way I thought
when I was so much younger;
but, tonight is a different night
as there are no stars in the sky
just a deep darkness that shields
the stars from my view and
limits what I think i see and
why I think I see it, knowing
that what I think will never be
proven as ever being true...
22 May 2020
What Is The Good Life?
One definition of GOOD is "to be desired of..." So, our question changes a little in that is should read: What is the desired life?
Obviously, this is different for each one of us in that what is desired by one is more than like not desired by another.
Some may want to be:
- wealthy,
- powerful,
- respected,
- faithful,
- happy, others not or don't care and if they don't really care then do they care about something else or just don't see that option as being that important?
I suppose that many of us see the GOOD LIFE as being gifted with the kind of life where everything just seems to fall in place... like,
- finding the perfect spouse
- working at the perfect company
- having the perfect boss
- raising perfect children
- having perfect health... but many us aren't that lucky if being lucky is the right phrase to use here because some of us believe that there is not such thing as having good luck that it is often because people are just better prepared than other people. And, I suppose that there is some truth to that, but I just can't help but think that luck does favor some people.
Experiencing the GOOD LIFE is also going to change with age and maturity and education and experience since all of those do in fact impact one's life and the potential luck that is associated with one's life.
Personally, I perceived the GOOD LIFE differently at age 25 than I did at 40 and differently again at age 60 and differently again at my present age of 72 because at this age, all I really care about is:
- being able to pay my bills
- waking up again the next morning
- having a bowel movement
- not feeling fatigued
- having the desire to write
- having unassisted mobility
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