Philosophy--Fact---Fiction

Lets say that you could choose one quality in a friend & the qualities that determined your friend's life were Philosophical, Factual or fictitious, which quality would you want in your friend?
If you choose philosophical, your friend would have philosophies about life but may indeed be a thinker & not a doer.
If you choose Factual, your friend would make decisions based on facts & there would be no fictitious or philosophical decisions. There would be no spontaneous decisions based on instinct or feeling.
If you choose Fictitious, your friend would live their life in a fantasy world & wouldn't use any facts to support their decision. There would be no substance to anything they did.
As I thought about this & tried to think of what I would want in a friend based on these three traits & I chose philosophical because this person would think but would be willing to explore new ideas & hopefully those new ideas would include action to achieve the tasks they thought about.
There is no right answer, simply food for thought. VBS

Old Friends

I have a pair of hiking boots that have taken me hundreds of miles over the most insane parts of the Sierra Nevada Mtns & although I no longer use them for backpacking, I love these boots & every time I put them on to run an errand or do chores around the house, it is like a spiritual experience, remembering all the hardships we faced together. Quit laughing because I know you are. I am not obsessed with these boots, I just have respect for them because they carried me when I was beyond my physical limits, so the thought of what we have done together becomes memorable & floods my mind with incredible experiences.
These hiking boots are like good friends, you don't have to see them every day or every year but if they are true friends, you will reunite as if no time has lapsed between the last visit. You will remember those incredible experiences shared & the feelings you have for each other.
I have found friends recently that have been lost to me for over 30 years & it is as if time stood still because I remember vividly, those experiences & relationships as if they happened yesterday.
Somebody recently told me that if we can have but one real friend in our lifetime, that we can share everything with & help us regardless of the outcome, we will be very happy & very lucky. I thought about this & wasn't sure I agreed because family can take the place of friends. As I had the experience with my boots & reconnecting with my dear friends, I now believe friends & family are different & that we really are fortunate to have any true friends in our life, that stand beside us no matter what & are always there for us. Family relationships are sometimes cumbersome because family members feel they are entitled by blood relation to give you advice whether you want it or not & family is always there, whether you want them or not. Family is crucial to a happy life but are infinitely different than Friends who are not family members.
To those I have recently reconnected with, thank you for being great friends & for helping me to mold my life with incredible experiences we have shared together in times gone by & hopefully we can have more adventures in the future.

We Need a Hero

As I sit back & watch the increasing chaos surrounding us, it would appear that we as a Country spend more time waiting for a hero to fix all of our problems rather than taking a chance on our own ingenuity. What is a hero? I can give you the dictionary definition which includes admiration for work well done or a person that becomes a beacon of hope.
I have been thinking about this & realized that as far as the dictionary definition, many people could be considered hero's but as far as the world sees hero's, they are two different things.

A hero for today's world has some of the same qualities as the standard definition but today's hero also must promise hope for a new way of life regardless of the outcome, be a great athlete, make a lot of money, be famous, promise you more even if others suffer & fight for your rights by saying what you want to hear for a price. This type of hero bothers me because it sheds light on who we really are & how lazy we are as a people. We want more, we will give less, we complain more, we want our problems to go away by having somebody else do the work.
What is a hero? A hero is what you want them to be, a hope in somebody you feel greater than you, a person of great accomplishment that gives you hope of having the same success as them, a person that fights with no hesitation for others regardless of their own well being & I think ultimately, a hero gives us hope & lets us know that we can be great while never being alone.
Regardless of what you believe, if you find comfort in the future & mankind through another, they are a hero & it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about it. Our hero's are for us as individuals & nobody can tell us who our hero's should be because only we can decide that.
As for me, a hero is any great humanitarian that sacrifices for others, a person that does great things in the sight of fear, a person that gives me hope in a better way of life by the example they set & the confidence the have. A masterpiece of work whether in art, music or dance is admired but I wouldn't call a master of trade, my hero although I will be in awe of their greatness & probably humbled by the flawless beauty.
A sports hero is fine but what makes a sports hero? To me a sports hero needs to be great in the presence of stress & hardship. Brett Favre could be such a hero as with 8 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter throws a 45 yard pass in the end zone to win the game while the reception was great in its own right, Brett Favre has played great, played poorly, retired & come back for "love of the game". He is criticized by many but when the game was on the line & nobody expected him to do it, he became great in light of fear. He & others can on a daily basis show signs of heroic effort but a heroic effort is only heroic if it makes us better for being part of it. Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kurt Gibson, Mary Lou Retton & many others have given us heroic moments along with countless others but a heroic moment if not shared or felt by others is simply a great moment.
My hero's will always put others first while being considerate of everyone as they make great effort to help mankind or on a battle field risk their life to help others & keep me free. or a person that puts fear out of their mind to help their team or themselves do something great & live their life in a manner that shows respect for everyone.
Throwing a touchdown pass is great, hitting a home run to win the game is great but great feats don't make great hero's unless the heroic effort was done with humility & respect for others or unless the person can be looked up to as a role model both on the field or court & in their personal life.
When we make fame our hero we are destined to fail because we are all great at something & are capable of doing something great in our lives but fame itself is not heroic. Power & fame don't make the man but the man makes him self by what he or she does in their life & the success of ones life is determined by those that were made better because of their existence so be careful of the people you call hero's because in fact, they may just be bad people that have done something great or famous people that care only for themselves.

We Are Programmed

I was fixing a cup of mint tea this evening & my grand daughter was all concerned because she said that tea is bad for me. I explained that mint tea is good & is good for you but she wasn't going to give in on this argument & since she is 4 & I am 51, I knew she would out live me & eventually would have the last word, so I being older & wiser thought I could change the subject. Not a chance. I said I was putting honey in it & that honey is good for you, she said yes it is but the tea ruins it & makes it unhealthy.
I told her she has sugar in apple pie & many cereals & that sugar is bad for your teeth. She said it's not as bad as tea. Her mom walked in & said she likes honey in her herb tea & my grand daughter looked at her with incredibly quizzical eyes & then a look of bewilderment. She took a moment to digest what she heard & then she said, Tea is bad for you & I won't drink it no matter who does because I was told it is bad & it is bad.
The point is, how do you argue with a child & why would you make such a ridiculous attempt because what is programmed into a child's brain is the rule, the law, the gospel & you won't convince them otherwise so be careful what you teach a child because they won't forget, good or bad.

Reality vs Fiction

I am more of a reality person but when it comes to books or movies about fiction, I want the good or happy ending. If we are talking reality, let it happen the way it was, good or bad.
Which world would you rather live in, a fictitious world or a reality world?
Most of you will say reality but when you think about it, you live in a world of fiction. We believe we can do more than we really can, we believe our opinion is the right opinion, we believe that we are not afraid of the dark, being alone, bugs, snakes, health problems or any number of other things that come to mind. So you see, it is fiction that drives us, not reality.
Reality is something we deal with every day but the "reality" of it is that we live life the best way we can & the "realty" is that most of our life is spent in fiction.
I had somebody recently tell me that they are very comfortable with them self & wouldn't change a thing but in the next breath, they said they are afraid of eating fresh fruit because of many reasons, afraid of most insects, the dark, being alone, most foods at restaurants because of what the chef could do to the food & on & on.
I contemplated the conversation & realized that there are a couple scenarios, 1st is that this person is very confident in being afraid of most things in life & that this is a reality. 2nd is that this person lives in a world of fiction but because of self induced brain washing, they believe this is reality. 3rd is that this is all a lie & the world is all about denial for fear of rejection.

I believe there are people around us & it probably is the majority, not unlike a house dog that believes he can conquer anybody because he lives in a sheltered environment, that are living lies. They shelter themselves or surround themselves with what they are comfortable with so as to keep the evil world out & in some way make them self feel invincible.
Is this reality or is this fiction. I ask the question again because I think their perception is fiction but that this has become their reality. Just a thought.

Road Rage Reality

Don't say you dont do this, you haven't done this or you haven't caused this because if you do, you are telling a lie because if you don't think you have done this you are oblivious to your surroundings & are for that reason the very person that causes road rage.
Have you ever been late for something a come up behind a car that is going so slow that you can't believe they are moving forward & are putting their brakes on for every corner even though the corner sign says 55mph & they are going 30mph?
When this happens, I honestly try to go to a quiet place in my mind, I put on calming relax music & I think of relaxing things but what seems like hours & is probably only minutes all of a sudden erupts into rage, especially after they just passed their 2nd passing lane & I couldn't get by.
I have to say, I have calmed down over the years but once an opportunity arises, so that I can pass, it is like the start of a NASCAR race & the accelerator is floored & I am planning my worst possible anger face to show as I pass the car but then it happens. You get side by side with the car & realize it is a friend of yours, your family or a kid learning to drive with his parent in the passenger seat.
You realize that you are a horses ass & that you should quietly leave the scene, so as to heal your bruised & humbled ego. I have put myself in some crazy situations because of my aggresive driving style & I am sure, in fact I have no doubt that my wife prays for cars to pull over on the highway if they are ahead of me & for policemen to be in front of me or behind me.
Regardless of how you drive or how you deal with idiot drivers, think before you act & always remember that the dork ahead of you or behind you may be having a bad day, may be sick, may be somebody you know or may be somebody that is learning to drive so chill out & realize that this may be you one day & pay back is as they say, a *****.

Liberal or Conservative

I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday & the subject of conservative & liberalism came up. He said that he was very liberal & then asked me questions about popular social & political points of view. He said that he was for legalizing pot & prostitution & then gave me a list of reasons why. He asked my views & I told him that I was against legalizing pot & prostitution & then gave him my reasons why.
The conversation rapidly but respectfully began to jump from topic to topic while both of us listened as the other expressed their point of view. He then said what do you think about gay marriage or same gender relationships? I told him that I don't believe in same gender relationships but that I love all people regardless of their lifestyles or ethnicity & that I won't judge others for their beliefs or life style. He said he felt kids should have the right to believe whatever they want & shouldn't be indoctrinated by parents or adults. I said that I agree & disagree because I feel that a parent that believes a certain lifestyle will protect their children or give them a better life, has to teach that philosophy but that when appropriate, the parent should also teach their children that there are many lifestyles, ethnic or religous groups & social or political philosophies that should be considered in life & that all people should be respected & loved regardless of what they believe as long as it doesn't hurt others or impede their rights to do the same.
He told me that he was a liberal but that he was against the degradation of the traditional family values & didn't believe in gay marriage or the liberal standards on television. He also said that he didn't feel society should give money to people who don't deserve it or are lazy because the people who really deserve it are overlooked & are left to struggle alone.
So my question is, What is Liberal & what is conservative? It is becoming more clear to me that other than some fringe differences on certain social or personal choice issues, that most people are somewhere in the middle. If we could get past the B.S. political bantering & name calling & voting down party lines we would probably agree on most everything.
So my closing thoughts are this, Be respectful of everyone & lets find a middle group & kick out all the self rightous politicians that care nothing about anybody but their own greed & power.
These politicians preach one thing to get elected based on polls & then do something else when they are elected & then it is to late to stop them.
The new party could be called "REPUBLICRAT"
Just a thought, you know how my mind wanders? vbs

Normal is What Normal is?????

I was a having a conversation with somebody earlier, when we began talking about people taking advantage of the system, other people or the community they live. We were trying to figure out why or how somebody could manipulate the well fare system, unemployment, friends, family or any other group or agency, only to have personal gain at somebody elses expense?
The conversation evolved into what becomes normal or accepted by some is what becomes a lifestyle. Those that take advantage of others become lazy & manipulative but to them it is normal. To those raised in this enviroment or working for or hanging out with people that do this, it becomes normal. I have worked for people who doctored documents & charged extra to be paid more. I have seen people & know people that defraud insurance companies & file fraudulant law suits because the system allows it & this becomes normal while they strut around like everbodys friend doing things I can't afford to do because of time or money & these people are taking my money to do it (grrrrrrrrrr).
As I have thought about this, I think that the more dependent society becomes on dishonesty, laziness or handouts, the more we expect it & the more normal it becomes. I find that those that live their life this way are really screwing those that don't because those that work hard & are honest have to pay for those that aren't. Those that defraud the system vote for politiceans who promise more handouts & the problem gets bigger & bigger while those that are honest get poorer & more discouraged.
The sad thing is that those that take advantage of the system, don't care & this is normal to them which goes somewhat in line with what I used to say about being normal. Normal is the majority view of those where you live or where you work or way you play.
In other words, in Africa its normal to run around naked & eat bugs or creepy crawly things, in the middle east its normal to eat certain food on certain days because of religous beliefs & to have women's faces covered when outside. In Hollywood it's normal for insecure actors & celebrities to think they are better than other people even though they are putting plastic in every part of their body & sucking fat from the rest. You see, normal is what is accepted by the majority in the area you live.
As far as those that defraud the system & make me pay for their lazy ass lifestyle because it is normal to them, you are pathetic & it's time you get off your lazy butts & do what NORMAL people do, get a job or help somebody in need. You might actually feel good about your miserable life & these thoughts are NORMAL to me.

Are You Keeping Up With This

I can't help myself because I am lagging behind & need to know if you are having the same problem. Since Obama has been in office, more money has been pumped into dumb ass programs than at any time in history, all in the name of stimulating the economy. Does building forest trails with mostly volunteers equate to full time jobs? Or research on desert turtles, or funding other countries research, or funding abortions or building vacation trains from LA to Vegas or funding Companies that are to stupid or to greedy to stay in business & then give each other huge bonuses with the bail out money. You have so much money being spent that we can never pay off the debt in history. I'm not a genius but can figure this one out. I tried to buy some bullets for a gun I have & Obama has froze all ammunition for hand guns. You have to go through finger printing & a host of other back ground checks which make it a 3 week or more process just to see if you qualify to buy ammunition even if you have done it when you bought the gun which we all have. This is done every time you try to buy ammo & the gun stores say that they have orders that are back ordered for 6 months. You have all the terrorists in the world wanting to play the "dating game" with Obama because they love his philosophy on terrorism (the love everyone & take them at their word philosophy). The terrorists & hatred in the middle east was going on before Columbus set foot in AMerica but Obama is going to give them a kiss & a hug & they will quit fighting. (puke)
Health care, bank bail outs, car company take overs by the government, hatred amonst many people toward other people, no jobs, High taxes, high interest, property prices down the toilet, Acorn, Tides foundation, Apollo, George Sorros, Power, Politics, Democrats, Republicans all corrupted with greed & we the people being bantered around like ping pong balls & manipulated like puppets.
Now for my qestion again. Do you get it? Really?are you sure?How did you get that opinion? Do you trust anybody in a political office? Why? are you sane or insane?
I don't know about you but I am ready to kick everybody out of office & start over. I don't trust anybody in office & I don't get what they are doing or why & I think that if you say you do or support what is going on, you are insane because the people making the decisions don't know what they are doing so how can you.
Just food for thought & ideas to help you sleep better at night, or not. If you do understand what is happening to our country, please let me know because I really want to know & I am not keeping up with all the changes or what is going on & I am worried.

When to Tell

You just received some "juicy gossip", "confidential information", "shared opinion" or any other type of information from any source. When is it ok to share it, who is it ok to share it with & when is it not ok to share it?
While you think on this, I will ramble on some more about, I don't know, "random stuff". I have been caught in this trap/situation more times than I care to remember & I would say that for most of the time I get it right but on those occasions when I don't, I screw it up bad.
Your friend tells you that they did something illegal or harmful to somebody else, do you tell anybody?
Your friend tells you some personal information that may jeopardize their standing in the community & perhaps lose friends, trust & their job, do you tell anybody?
You hear from somebody about an incident involving people you know but who arent friends that involves illegal activity or an action which may harm somebody. Do you tell anyone?
Here is one of the grand daddy dilemas that we have all found ourselves in. A friend or family member tells you some juicy gossip about somebody else. Do you say anything?
There are so many more scenarios & examples I could give but don't have the patience to continue my single finger typing, to mention them all nor do I really care to give more examples because I think you have the idea?
I can't say when it is ok to repeat something you hear or observe but what I can say is that when we say it, there is no way to take it back. You may have the best intentions, you may be trying to protect somebody, you may be trying to hurt somebody or you just might be trying to have something to say because your boring life doesn't allow for any substantial conversational information.
Once again, I don't have the answer & I have no advice except what I previously have said, so good luck on making this decision on your own. Just remember that the phrase "Don't Kill The Messenger" wasn't made up, it actually is a reality because you can put yourself in the middle of something you are not part of & even if you think you are helping somebody, you will probably be the one that gets hurt because you started blabbing about things you werent involved with.

Differing Point Of View

A comment came up recently that made me pause about debate or differing points of view. Do we shun those we disagree with or do we enter into lively debate with all sides being expressed or explored ?
I know of people which have done both scenarios but I also have known people & I myself have been lured into the whirlpool of opposing points of view while finding no way out, when once I stepped into the abyss, to only find myself tossed around like a limp rag doll with no ability to verbally fight back because of the emotions & passion which overtook me.
I believe that lively debate is positive because it grasps us out of our comfort zone to explore new ideas & points of view which can strengthen your own point of view or it can help to change what we believe on a certain issue.
The down side to fighting over an issue is that you can alienate friends & find yourself standing alone with no opportunity to accomplish anything or to forge alliances with people that will support you & help you.
The saying that I use a lot lately (overuse in fact) is that we need to "agree to disagree" & if we can do this, we will be able to get past differences to find common ground that we can fight together on.
So once again, do we debate, argue, fight, leave, give in or alienate our self from others when opposition is placed before us? Only you can answer this but for me, I am just posing the observation & the question & will keep my thoughts to myself in case (somebody disagrees)wink.
OK I can't stand it, my thoughts are that we need discussion on oppsing points of view because as I mentioned earlier, it can strengthen us or it can help us to see the err of our ways. I know, you are all perfect & make no mistakes! I am gagging right now because we all make mistakes.
One of my favorite people in the world that I enjoy as much as anyone & she happens to be my cousins daughter disagrees with me on a regular basis & we talk for hours about everything, some things we agree with & some we don't but I love our discussions & I love her for sharing her thoughts with me & accepting me for who I am. You see, out of trial comes triumph & out of diversity comes unity. Although there is one catch & it is a stumbling block for many. Don't think you know it all & listen more than you speak.

Connected

Other than standing beside somebody 24 hrs per day, can we be more connected than we can with the communication devices of today? My Space, Face Book, E-mail, Chat rooms, Web Sites, Cell Phones, Traditional telephones (& I know, most young people dont know what a telephone booth is), mail, pagers, texting & lets not forget tweeter & twitter.
This is crazy. You can talk to hundreds of people in a matter of minutes while having a conversation with somebody on the other side of the world. You can watch events happen instantly while purchasing a home & playing a game with people from all over the world. You can send pictures of your kids activity instantly after it was done.
we are able to talk, eat, pay bills, watch a movie & listen to music at the same time while getting instant updates from people who want to stay in touch.
Do we have to much information & to many vehicles of communication? Do we simply abuse these vehicles of communication? Would we be better off not knowing things as soon as they happen? Would it be better to have patience & a little mystery about events taking place that really arent life altering?
I don't have the answer but I can make a pretty strong case of having balance in our life & not abusing anything because when we get out of balance with anything----WE ARE SIMPLY, OUT OF BALANCE.

Watch What You Say

I am always saying something that gets me in trouble because my mouth was faster than my brain or because what was said was taken out of context or because I just spoke before I thought. Regardless of which reckless form of mis information I speak, I have learned a few things about what & when to speak. For example. If the newspaper asks you for a comment, you tell them you are busy & then call them back when you have something written so you can be prepared or simply fax or e-mail your comments after you have proof read them many times.
If you are in a verbal sparring contest, you need to back away & take a deep breath before you make yourself sound like a babbling idiot. Nobody in a passionate verbal debate wins, nobody.
I was in the kitchen awile ago & my grand daughter was playing at the table of which I didn't think she was aware of anything except what she was playing with. I soon realized the contrary, she was listening to everything because my wife sang one line of a song & then left the room. About 10 minutes later my grand daughter Lily, began singing the exact same line of which I am pretty sure she had never heard that song in her life since it was from the 70s.
The point is, watch what you say at all times, with kids, with adults & with everybody because sticks & stones may break your bones but words can be remembered forever.

Only a man would attempt this

I read this & had to share it with you, hope you enjoy---Just try reading this without laughing till you cry!!! Pocket Tazer Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife. A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Tazer for their anniversary submitted this: Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse- sized tazer.. The effects of the tazer were supposed to be short lived, with nolong-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety....?? WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however,that if I pushed the button and pressed itagainst a metal surface at the same time; I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. AWESOME!!! Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave. Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy,thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right?There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target. I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised.. Am I wrong? So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tanktop with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and tazer in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries. All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference; pretty cute really and (loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, 'no possible way!' What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best... .? I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, 'don't do it dipshit,' reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and . . HOLY MOTHER OF GOD . . WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION . . . WHAT THE HELL!!! I'm pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs? The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room.. Note: If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a tazer, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself! You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor.. A three second burst would be considered conservative? IT HURT LIKE HELL!!! A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so from where it originally was.. My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching.. My face felt like it had been shot upwith Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs.. I had no control over the drooling. Apparently I pooped on myself, but was too numb to know for sure and my sense of smell was gone.. I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head which I believe came from my hair.. I'm still looking for my nuts and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return! P.S... My wife, can't stop laughing about my experience, loved the gift, and now regularly threatens me with it! If you think education is difficult, try being stupid !!!

Cant Have It Both Ways

I watch the news & mix it up a little to see who is saying what & hopefully between the different news sources I can get a straight answer or news story but what I have found through the news & through listening to people is that we want it both ways. You are asking what this means & let me explain.
Some people want us out of Iraq, Pakistan & anywhere else we have troops but in the same breath want us to stop hunger in Darfar or other 3rd world countries. If we go in a fix the problems it would be through government or military & this would be contardictory to pulling out of Iraq or Pakistan. You can't have it both ways. We either help everyone or we help no one. I don't personally like having my son in law in Iraq right now but know he is protecting a people that would be basically slaves to wicked self rightous dictators if we weren't their.
There are those that say we have to have green energy & that we can stop global warming but are one of the only countries in the world that talks about it & we can't stop anything unless everyone buys in. The second problem is that we can't do anything about global warming because the earth has cycles of heat & cold whether man is n the earth or not & that is undisputed. But wait a minute, think of the people who are screaming about this? They are making fortunes by scaring you & are driving their suvs & flying their private jets. Come on, you aren't sheep, so get your heads out of your dark place & wake up. Quit being little insecure sheep, following the shepherd to slaughter.
If you want to help people around the world it takes diplomacy, if that doesn't work, it takes force. There is no 3rd option but one thing that is a fact, "YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS"

American

I am proud to be an American & will do whatever it takes as did my forefathers to take it back from tyranny. My challenge is for anybody that reads this, that the time for sitting on the sidelines is over because you are in the game whether you like it or not & have to choose a side.
Choose wisely & be not deceived by greed, power or those who say they are for the people with their lips but take freedom away with their actions.

Summer of 2009

I am so bad at keeping my journal up & like this blog, when I try to catch up, it takes hours. I can't get it all in but will throw some stuff out there & see where we end up.
We knew this was going to be a crazy summer but as we got into it, more events came up which only added to the crazy schedule. For example, Bryce got out of basic training, went to Georgia for communications training. Elise & kids wanted to be with him until he deployed overseas so she rented house out & took off on road trip to Georgia. I was busy with school stuff so I flew to Phoenix & the trip was on. We spent 3 long yet incredibly wonderful days traveling across America & quite honestly, getting to know each other for the first time since Elise was a child. The kids were great even under the intense amount of time we spent in a car. We stayed in Georgia for a couple days & visited Bryce & then I flew back.
Summer had a baby on April 15 in Provo UT, so Mona, my mom & I took off one afternoon because I had more school meetings & drove through the night. As we got into Nevada about 10:00 PM we started to have snow flurries. What was mild snow became the worst blizzard in Nevada or Utah for the year. There were hundreds of cars & trucks off the road because you couldn't hardly see & the roads were not plowed. I tried switching off driving but after a few minutes we realized that i was the better driver for the snow (dang). We couldn't stop because Summer was having the baby about 1:00 PM the next day. We drove through the storm & got to the hospital about 2 hours before Summer delivered the beautiful baby Sephi. Honestly, Summer looked like she was going out for a date just 10 minutes after the baby was born. I can't understand how that is possible. I had to be back for an important meeting the next night so we stayed the night & my Mom & i were going to leave at 5 in the morning but when I woke up before 5 it was snowing extremely hard so we slept for a couple hours & left at 6:30. It was snowing but not as hard. We passed cars all over the road but kept going & then just After the Nevada border the snow let up & was clear for the rest of trip.
It was a quick & extremely difficult trip but was so incredibly beautiful & emotional.
We were back for a short time & then went To Kauai, Hawaii for the wedding of Monas Niece Melanie Pierce. Heather, Summer & family met us & we had a great time. Mona & I backpacked the 11 mile Nepali coast & were picked up by a friend of Mona's brother in his 4 bedroom sail boat. We had an incredible hike & met some very unique people, one named Bill Summers, a former Marine , who for some reason has decided to maintain trails & help wayward travelers on their journey of the Nepali coast. He lives about 7 miles in & although the State doesn't acknowledge his efforts, we found him to be extremely helpful, informative, friendly & compassionate to those who don't abuse this fragile area. We were grateful we met him & decided to spend the night close to were he lives so that we could learn more about this incredible area.
We got home & a week later left for a 36 mile backpacking trip south of Mammoth on the JMT--PCT, we loop around & stayed next to some very hidden yet incredibly beautiful hot springs that are a moderate difficult 12 mile hike from reds Meadow.
We got home & 2 weeks later we went with Kati Kress & some of her family & friends, to climb Mt Whitney which is 14,505 ft tall & is the tallest mountain in the lower United States. We camped the night before to acclimate at 9,200 ft & then we left at 1:00AM to begin the 11 mile east to west trip to the summit. This 11 miles is all up hill except for about 500yds which was close to the top. It was an incredible experience that had us back to the start at 5:00PM. thank you Kati, you are such an incredible friend.
We didn't spend the night because of a work meeting the next day so I drove the 6 miles back home (on auto pilot), literally, i don't remember hardly anything from Monitor pass to Murphys because I was so tired. I know I should have stopped but needed to get home for the meeting at 7 AM.
WE were home a week & then we spent a week at pacific valley camping & doing day hikes out of that area. the 1st day we hiked about 6 miles, the 2nd day we hiked about 12 miles & the last hiking day we did about 16 miles from Highland Lake down to Wolf Creek & then up Bull canyon to Noble lake & then back to Highland lake. We don't normally car camp but this was fun because we didn't have to carry all our junk for camping & had softer sleeping pads although I forgot my sleeping bag in my backpack & had to sleep under a tarp & light blanket from my truck. this wouldn't have been bad except it was 38 degrees for a couple nights. i had a work meeting on Wednesday so I brought my bag back for the last 2 days & what difference a sleeping bag makes. haha.
We got home & the next week, Elise & the kids moved in with us from Georgia because Bryce was deployed to Iraq for a year. He wasn't supposed to leave until end of year but he is gone. & they had their house rented out so they will be with us for a few months. this is a new experience but very rewarding because we have been empty nesting for a couple years & now we have kids running around. I forgot how much fun kids are but how much energy they have VBS.
Kenny came home from school & spent 3 weeks with us & it was the best experience we have had with him in a couple years. He hung out with us & was a pleasure to be with. I Love You Kenny. I coached 7/8 girls softball with Bri who got married this summer & the wedding was beautiful. Playing softball, meetings, life & getting older.
Well there are many details that I left out but think I covered the main points.
Peace & Love.

9/11

What more does one say? We all know what it means & the affect it has had on all of us individually & as a Country. This one event has done more to unite us & then divide us, than any other moment in American history.
I don't know what your views are on the war & quite frankly, I could care less but the fact remains that there are people that die almost every day because of this war & what started as a unifying moment has split this Country into massive breaks that seem insurmonuntable because all of us have retreated to our own little self proclaimed islands of opinion. We dis allow anyone of opposing points of view on this island & we proclaim ourselves all knowing. We stick our heads in our self absorbed life to watch the Terrorists who did this to us laugh their butts off because they are winning & are no longer bombing us on US soil. They have fractured us & divided us into sub groups that won't talk & don't care what anyone else says. We fight with ourselves instead of fighting for one cause.
Remember how you felt when this happened & use those feelings to help unite this Country to make us Great again. Politicians can't do it but people can. Those that have fallen for us & because of terrorism would want us to remember them in unity not in anger toward each other.

Chaos in America

I can start by saying how screwed up America is right now but I don't think that would be a fair statement because America isn't screwed up, it is the idiots that are running it or in this case, the idiots that are ruining it. There name is politicians, special interest groups, unions, lazy people & greedy people that profit from chaos & fear. If we had the backbone to allow democracy determine what we do, we wouldn't be in this mess. The majority chooses politicians but the minority determines policy & law. How on earth is this right? It is absolutely wrong & backward of a democratic society. If you don't like what the majority wants-----LEAVE
we do more to help other countries than any other country yet we are demonized. have you ever wondered why this is? It is because they are jealous--DUH
remember the popular kid in school or the attractive kid that had all the friends or the kid that aced all the tests without any effort? America is that kid & if other countries can't be like us, they will try to destroy us. Its a no brainer.
I just listened to Obamas speech on health care & almost fell off my chair, which is a hard thing to do since it was a plush sofa, when he said his health care plan wouldn't cost anything or he wouldn't sign the bill. Are you nuts? Does he think we are stupid? the most in effective group of people in America is the Government & everything they touch turns to crap & is out of control expensive. Perhaps someone out their is dumb enough to think the Government can add more jobs, add more impact on the health care system & it won't cost more. If you believe this, our country is screwed because you are a voter & shouldn't be.
I don't care what political party you affiliate with but it's time you get your head out of your dark place & find out what is going on because you can't trust any (bought off) news organization, bought off politician or greedy union or company.
America is great but it's time to take it back from the politicians & greedy self interest groups.