Did You Know?

I maintain 7 blogs on a regular but not daily basis...

On the home page of this blog, on the right hand side, you will notice there are links to three other blogs:
Reflections:  White Scorpion
My Cancer Journey
A Bipolar Scorpion

BUT,
I also maintain three other blogs at:
Facebook
LinkedIn
Tumblr

Note:  There is "X" rated material on Facebook and Tumblr so visit those at your own risk...

Also,
I have added several pages to my Reflections:  White Scorpion blog that I will try to maintain on a daily basis as well.  Being retired, I have plenty of time.

The Art of Problem Solving

Staying at Home -- 5th Week

For my wife and I, we started staying at home March 16, 2020, and I remember when I went to my

monthly cancer treatment last month on March 26, I was wearing a surgical mask and disposable gloves and made a point of gargling mouthwash in my car before leaving the parking lot...  We postponed all our medical appointment until the month of June except for those that were critical to our health and for one I had a video teleconference...

Once or twice a week, my wife who has a better immune system than I do, drives to a restaurant for a take out meal so that we can support our local restaurants as best as we can.

From what I have heard on FOX NEWS, many Americans are having a difficult time staying at home because they are the most comfortable and relaxed when they are around other people.  I logically understand why it is difficult for those people while at the same time cannot identify with those feelings because I have never needed to be around people for my happiness or sense of self-worth or comfort.

What do I do each day?

First of all, I give our three cats their morning treats and then fill their food bowls which are typically empty from their nocturnal hunger...

Second, I watch FOX News for a couple of hours while drinking coffee in an effort to stimulate my body to have a bowel movement...  sounds crazy...  but, this has been a routine for me since 1966 and 99% of the time it works perfectly...

Third, I start writing...
I have a Composition Notebook in which I write each day.  It could be thoughts, feelings, concerns, a list of things to do, financial analysis of our future funds, recipes that I found on the Internet, counting my calories for a meal I want to cook, a political opinion, ideas for a novel, and possibly a poem which does not happen that often anymore.

I review my 4 blogs and make sure that something is ready to be posted for the day and if not, then I create a post and schedule it.

Fourth, I eat breakfast and take my 6 morning pills.

Fifth, I work on my chores either inside the house or outside the house.

Sixth, is lunch.

Seventh, is preparing article for my blogs which includes research.

Eighth, I cook something if I need to and if I don't I play with the cats.

Ninth, I eat dinner

Tenth, I watch something that we recorded on Cable or a series on Netflix until it is time for my evening pills and bed.

This is my routine and it never gets old.
I am comfortable being with my wife and cats and writing.
I want for nothing. 
I am content.

Easter Monday

Many Christians around the world celebrate Easter Monday as a day of rest, particularly in countries where the day is a public holiday. It is a day for many to enjoy the time outdoors in countries such as Australia and Canada. Easter parades occur in some parts of the world on Easter Monday. It is known as Dyngus, or Splash Monday, among many Polish communities where children often play water games.

The United States has its own tradition, known as the Egg Roll, which occurs at the White House. This tradition can be traced as far back as 1878, although it was not always held at the White House grounds in the earlier years. It receives media attention each year. Easter egg races are held in other parts of the world, including Germany.

Read entire article

Understanding Technology

BREAKFAST

Outside of going to a BRUNCH, breakfast is my favorite meal...  and, what I typically order for breakfast is an omelette and/or pancakes...  my omelette usually comes with pancakes and hash browns but I substitute the hash browns for pancakes giving me a total of 5 pancakes.  My omelette,typically the Everything Omelette although it has different names in different States or regional locations.

I eat half my omelette there and take the other half home for the next day.  I eat no pancakes there and take them all home to each for future breakfasts with either vege sausages or sugar free jelly, usually Strawberry.  Eating 1 pancake a day, I have breakfast for another 6 days.  Cost is around $12-$15 for 7 meals or right around $2 for each meal.  Drinks obviously are extra...

My favorite restaurant for this is PERKINS...  However, not all PERKINS are alike as they are franchised and it depends on how the franchised owner conducts his operation.  The Perkins franchise 7 miles from our house has been owned by a German man named Otto for over 40 years.  In a conversation with Otto several years ago, he told me that he started with Perkins cleaning tables, then became a waiter, then cook, then assistant manager, then manager, then OWNER...

There is two other PERKINS RESTAURANTS near us, one north about 60 miles and one south about 20 miles and neither one has the quality of food or service as the one hear our home.

My wife and I usually go to Perkins for breakfast every other Sunday and we always order the same meal.  I get the Everything Omelette and she gets the Magnificent Seven.

As a matter of fact, my wife just left a few minutes ago to pick up breakfast from Perkins since they only have "take out" because of the COVID-19 Pandemic and our State's stay at home order.  We usually ask for our senior citizen discount when we go, but decided not to ask for that discount this time...  since they need all the financial help they can get to stay open.  It may not be much but everything helps.

During My Lifetime... so far...

1950

Korean War
NATO created
McCarthy attack on Americans Communists

1960
Vietnam War
Space flight
Moon walk
Civil Rights Movement
Kennedy assassinated
Martin Luther King  Jr. assassinated

1970
Gay Rights movement
Watergate
Energy crisis - gasoline lines
Women's rights movement

1980
Berlin Wall comes down
Collapse of the USSR

1990
Cold War ends
Space Shuttle Discovery
War in Iraq
Gulf War

2000
Stock Market Crash
9/11 Attack on USA
Twin Towers Collapse
Dot.com bubble bursts
ENRON scandal
First Black President

2010
Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill
Osama bin Laden killed
Pope Benedict abdicates
Global terrorist attacks
President Trump Impeached

2020
COVID-19 a Global Pandemic



NOTE:  These are the events that caught my attention or when experienced influenced my life and do not represent all the important and/or major events that took place during these decades...

Diners... Drive ins... and Dives

Solving the Puzzle Box

My Writing Adventure

I have a passion for writing but that does not mean that I am a professional writer or that I am even good at writing...   I just like to write...

My writing journey began in 1972 after being discharged from the US Navy, I returned to college and began writing poetry before class in the student union while drinking coffee...

In 2009, I created a blog for the sole purpose of publishing my poetry, below is the link:

Reflections:  White Scorpion

Here are some examples of the kind of poems that I write...   and, if you do visit my poetry blog please let me know what you think...


We are shielded 
by the loose-fitting
clothes of our failures,
yet we continually 
change our dress to 
the seasons 
of our dreams...
circa 1977

Figments

morning is a figment of my imagination

or, at least that is what it seems to be,

since my thoughts have been stolen by

the very aspect of old age, leaving me

with a presumption of innocence from

not being able to protect them so well.

27Feb17

Available

how silly i am to wonder

as i do these mornings

when alone with my cats

I ponder the universe

and my place within it,

hoping to case purpose

and meaning to my existence

that, in my case, appears

to be a little misplaced;

still, we all have works to perform

people to meet and things

to accomplish resemble a

an answer to our pondering,

but still i wonder in a debating

playful way what it is precisely

for which i am here and available.

4Mar17

Vera Farmiga - the creativemind.net

IFFEN you wanna

know what

interests me, click here...

that is to say ME...
            not her  ⥤⥤⥤


Note:  If this is an old post, don't forget to scroll down after clicking on the link...

Listening

One of the first ideas that one learns

in a communications class is the concept 

of LISTENING...  

For many of us, I suppose, this sound overly simplistic, but at the same time profoundly true and a concept that many of also abuse because we do not listen and when we do listen, we hear on that which we want to hear, filtering out all the rest...

Our biggest problem in life is COMMUNICATIONS...

Be that as it may be,

I have spent the last few days listening to FOX News and their interpretation and explanation of the NEWS which has, for the most part, solely revolved around COVID-19...  and an occasional comment or two regarding how the Democrats are trying to fuck with President Trump again.  My personal feelings is that I hope America pay the Democrats back just as hard as they pay the Chinese back for giving the world this pandemic.

PAYBACK is not the best emotion to have but sometimes payback is the only course of action when behavior is witnessed that is inappropriate.  In this case, Democratic Payback is to take place at the ballot box, voting these Democrats out-of-office.

Netflix Series OZARK

Buying a House

I'M PREGNANT HON

Click link below

MAKING HOMEMADE DOUGHNUTS

Results of Couples Being Quarantined

Quarantined with Dog

My Anniversary

Twenty-two years ago on this day, sometime in the afternoon as I recall, my wife and I were married in Gatlinburg, TN at a small wedding chapel with no guests except the preacher's secretary or whatever else she might have been...

We were living in Morristown but we on our way to Chattanooga  and a couple of years later moved back to the Morristown area where we have been living ever since...

We don't do much for our anniversary except exchange cards (I typically write a poem) and go out to dinner...  I cannot remember if we ever exchanged gifts or not, but that does not really matter, does it?  It's the thought behind the desire to do something that matters.

Over these 22 years, both of us have forgotten...
Over these 22 years, both of us have been angry at each other...
Over these 22 years, both of us have said "stuff" that I believed we later regretted...
Over these 22 years, both of us have remained together regardless of what has happened...

We are not the same as we were 22 years ago and while both our previous marriages lasted 23 years, I have no doubts that we will remain together until we die.

Why...  do I think that?

We have survived the death of a son.
We have survived disappointments.
We have survived our families.
We have survived separation.
We have survived each other.
We have survived finances.
We have survived cancer.

Building Credit

Good Friday

Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of Passover. Wikipedia

Why is it called "good"?

"...according to Fiona MacPherson, senior editor at the Oxford English Dictionary, the adjective traditionally "designates a day on (or sometimes a season in) which religious observance is held". The OED states that "good" in this context refers to "a day or season observed as holy by the church", hence the greeting "good tide" at Christmas or on Shrove Tuesday. In addition to Good Friday, there is also a less well-known Good Wednesday, namely the Wednesday before Easter."

TINY HOUSE CREATION

Three Dogwood Trees

Twenty years ago, give or take, I planted 3 Dogwood trees, one white, one red, and one pink and planted them 3-4 feet apart intentionally, knowing and expecting them to grow together forming an umbrella that developed, more or less, like I had anticipated.  After these trees have bloomed and the blooms fallen off, it is almost impossible to tell where one begins and one ends...

Why would I do something crazy like this?

It was my intention from the getgo to create my interpretation of the religious trinity with each Dogwood tree representing a prong of that trinity:  Father - Son - Holy Ghost.  And, every time I look out my office window at those trees that is exactly what I think.

Stimulus Check Update

A Message From Walter

2020 Election

WELL NOW...    it looks like our 2020 Election will be between Trump and Biden with Sanders still hanging around trying to influence the Democratic Party to move in a more progressive direction which is nothing more than moving closer towards Socialism...

Socialism is a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

So...  what does that really mean for Americans?

It means that Americans will move closer and closer to COMPLETE EQUALITY, in that they will receive equal pay, equal medical, equal education, equal housing...  with the understanding that for all intents and purposes, equal means FREE.

This equality or FREE stuff will be paid for by the wealthy who essentially give their money to the Federal Government via increased taxes...

HOWEVER:  the Federal Government has historically been inefficient and unproductive in the way they have managed everything within their control.

First...  once this happens, the wealthy will find ways to legally hide their money...

Second...  once businesses are forced to pay higher wages, they will hire less employees...

Third...  once retailers are faced with higher wages, they will increase prices...

Fourth...  once people realize that healthcare is FREE, there will be a high influx of patients, jamming up the healthcare system, creating longer wait times for critical procedures...

Fifth...  we will still have numerous millionaires, such as:  professional athletes, professional musicians and singers, and professional actors and actresses...

Sixth...  Americans will NEVER be EQUAL...  no matter how important it is to Socialists...  equality it impractical and counterproductive and in some cases harmful...  thinking intelligence and IQ can be equalized...

Nighttime in the Valley

The weather man or woman or person told us today that there was going to be rain in our area and SIRI confirmed but it never rained although the humidity remain even after the sun went down and it got dark.

The Valley is peaceful...

The Valley is at ease...

The Valley is silent...

Everyone is at home following the self-quarantine order...

I am in my home office, sharing it with the cats and their bowls of food and if my Siamese knew I was in here, he would be howling for attention...  he would also be clawing me trying to get my attention.

Piper, his name, was not socially conditioned when he was young and does not trust humans as much as other cats; but, for some reason he has bonded with me rather than my wife.

The underside of all four of his paws is completely black with no splotches which we were told is an indication that he is a purebred Siamese cat....  he has a long body and long legs and literally HOWLS whenever he enters the room or in the mornings when he has decided that I have had enough sleep.

Piper is more affectionate than I would have expected but he still does not want to get that close to me after 7 years other than curl up on my lap.  Recently, he has been showing me a lot more recognition and attention.

Muggy & Humid

In the valley of Eastern Tennessee, between the Smokey Mountains on the right and the Cumberland Plateau on the left, I live in peaceful harmony with the environment and the climate as my old body adjusts from a mild winter to an early summer, staying inside to avoid the sun while sitting by the window to watch the rain pound the ground into submission as life as pounded me.  I am no longer the angry young man who wants to prove himself and make the world a better place, especially since that task is pointless and useless because the world must make itself a better place, not me...  in that, 80% of our global population is controlled by 20% of our global population that have accumulated the resources and wealth to manipulate the rest of us into voluntary and involuntary submission, just like the rain does to the land.

We live
We are schooled
We mate
We work
We raise children
We get diseases
We die

It is our cycle of life...  placed upon us by our CREATOR who gives us life and controls us by adjusting events to redirect our lives and the choices we make, especially since the CREATOR knows the outcome of all situations and scenarios until life ends completely for mankind.

REMEMBER...  your first lesson:  YOU DID NOT CONTROL YOUR BIRTH

MY BLOGS

I maintain several blogs on an irregular or daily basis besides this one.

Reflections: White Scorpion ⇒ is a poetry blog that was started in 2009 to publish the poetry that I had written over my lifetime.  Each poem is accompanied by a photo to draw the reader's attention into the poem's meaning.

We Were Just Wondering ⇒  is a blog that my friend Vic Adamus and I started in 2005.  Vic and I posted everyday until his death from colon cancer in 2015 and I continued for another year until I decided that it was a blog for the two of us not just for the one.  It is full of thoughts, ideas, and opinions that might be interesting to read from a reflective standpoint.

My LinkedIn Profile ⇒  https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-hutchins-bb8b8a2/  this is the link but I am not sure if you can actually see my profile unless you join for free...  I have published numerous articles on this forum that might be interesting to read.

My Facebook Profile ⇒ https://www.facebook.com/alan.catale.1   this is the link but just like LinkedIn, I believe you have to join for free.  My original Facebook profile was hacked and now belongs to someone else, so I started a new one under a different identity.

Other blogs that have active link on the top of the first page of this blog...
My Cancer Odyssey
A  Bipolar Scorpion