JUST SOME POSTS

This is the second of the two I promised a couple of days ago. I actually had this one pop into my head first but the other "forced" its way out first. So with no further ado... I was thinking how we spend our lives going from beginnings to ends. There is the BIG beginning - BIRTH, and the BIG ending - DEATH. Then LIFE is what happens in the middle. But, life is really a continuum of beginning - middle - end; over and over. We humans, for the most part, LOVE beginnings. Think about one of our most celebrated personal days - the anniversary of our beginning - our birthday! We document, record, and celebrate other beginnings - baby's first words, first steps, first day of school, first date, first kiss, first car, first job, etc. We have such a love of beginnings that we keep seeking them all through our lives - just substitute NEW for FIRST. We have new jobs, new cars, new clothes, new loves, and so on. We move to new houses and neighborhoods. New is a good substitute ...

I actually have had two ideas for a post in the last 12 hours. Here is one, stay tuned for another very shortly. I was going to combine them, but I think not... We live in a FAST & NOISY world! All of us (at least in the U.S. and other "1st World" countries - a 3rd post just popped into my head) have a LOT of stimulation and demands on our attention and efforts almost 24 hours a day. Even television, which has been decried as a mind-rotting exercise in time wasting is now watched in binges and/or without commercials. We have our phones and data plans to never be out of touch. We are able to send photos and comments on where we are, what we are doing, and who we are doing it with (or to!?) Like they say - "it ain't real unless I post a photo"!  I profess that a lot of our problems (again, 1st World problems) are due to this. We are constantly irritated, aggravated, stimulated, or otherwise motivated to look, listen, compare, contrast, become outraged, bec...

Getting Old There are things I can’t remember, That I’m not sure I ever knew. There are places that I can’t recall, I’m not sure I’ve ever been to. There are people I can’t picture, I'm not positive I ever met. It can be hard to say if I ever knew, Or did I just forget.                                                                        “THE”                                               ...

We all know people that are intelligent, but cannot find their way out of a building. I have heard many, many people say of someone "they have no common sense". Intelligence is sometimes defined as the ability to acquire knowledge.  Knowledge  is really about facts and ideas that we acquire through study, research, investigation, observation, or experience.  Wisdom  is the ability to discern and judge which aspects of that knowledge  are true, right, lasting, and applicable to your life and how to implement it. Here are a few words of what I hope is knowledge tempered by wisdom: 1) Not everyone shares your beliefs or opinions. 2) There are over 7 billion people on this planet. That means there are probably well over a      million  beliefs and/or opinions on almost everything. 3) Your beliefs and opinions do not make you right nor them wrong. 4) Others beliefs and opinions do not make them right nor you wrong. 5) Although there are a...

I actually wrote this as a post for Christmas Eve/Christmas, then forgot to actually POST it! So, it was wait until next year or post it now.  Most of us have heard of the "famous" reindeer - Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen; and of course Rudolf TRR. But, have you ever thought about the other reindeer? I happen to have obtained some information on another one - Marvin. Marvin was another reindeer along the same designs as Rudolf - a bit of an outcast. However, he had no redeeming physical quality like a red shiny nose. He also was not liked by the other reindeer, you know - no reindeer games, etc., etc. He spent most of his young reindeer life trying to win the admiration, friendship, and/or affection of the other reindeer with almost reckless abandon. But, to no avail. Reindeer can be quite clique-ish and quite judgmental. Once shunned it is almost impossible to reintegrate into reindeer society without the Big Man's endorsement. Marvi...

Well, against the wishes of the authorities and my handlers, I ventured out into the world today to do some shopping. As is usual for me, I had an epiphany whilst walking through the grocery store - in the Toilet Tissue section to be precise. (for those of you that are unclear on epiphany and see the reference to toilet tissue - no, no, no. Epiphanies are mental. They can be messy, but all on the inside) We as a people, or most of us, well - some of us; are working towards a better tomorrow - Better schools, lifestyles, equality, lower prices, bigger portions, better tasting fish, WORLD PEACE! We don't have a prayer. We cannot figure out toilet tissue (or as I will call it going forward - TP) When did buying TP become a MATH PROBLEM?!? You look at a package and it says: 6 rolls = 8 (hmm, ok) Then, next to that is one that says 6 rolls = 12! (my, my) Now they look approximately the same, granted the 6 = 12 may look a tiny bit larger, but...! The only definite difference is the pri...

I have wanted to write something about the election, our candidates, and our “choices” in the upcoming election for a while. I waited as I watched, read, listened, and tried to get a handle on what I actually want to write. With that introduction, here I go. Every election since the1990s has been presented by one or both parties as “the most important election of our lifetimes. We are again faced with “THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION OF OUR LIFETIMES”! Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. The bottom line is, we have survived all the other votes and will survive this one as well. The real danger here, as I see it, is the lack of empathy, understanding, and acceptance of those with thoughts other than your own. I have seen more name calling and hatred in this election cycle that I think I have seen in at least any other two cycles. There has always been rancor and name-calling, but most were in understanding that it was an election, and life must go on afterwards. Now seems more of a “scorched-...