The Sounds of Life

Sharp sounds of life pierce my ears

Mask the soothing melodies hovering near

Like hate overpowering love

Hate is dark and harsh

Love is bright and comforting

Loud voices of hate dwarf the whispers of love

Both powerful but love nourishes

Love’s the easy choice

Everyone agrees

Why then is hate so popular?

Look inside to find the answer

It’s up to us to choose

Women and Paint

     We all have hobbies to fill our free time hours. It's a way of relaxing while providing a sense of accomplishment. Some people play music, some do word working, some paint. I like to write. My wife, Mimi and many of the women in our family like to paint but not on canvas. Walls, sometimes cabinets but it’s mainly walls that are their go to medium.

     Our house always has freshly painted walls in one room or another especially around the holiday season. I'm told this is a way to "freshen things up" and it makes my wife happy so that's good. The usual design consultants if needed are Mimi's sister, Ann or my sister, Rose. I am frequently asked about a color choice but in reality I'm not sure what's wrong with the original color on the wall so I'm not the best person to give that advice.

     We buy high quality paint but I believe the reason for that is it's easier to paint with, not for durability because it's never on the walls that long. Mimi always seems to be on the hunt for a new paint color. It's like she has a 5-year paint plan. She seems thrilled when we are at Home Depot and she anxiously searches the cart full of "opps" paint to find paint for a yet unidentified project.

     I frequently ask "What are you painting with the "oops" paint."

     Her response is usually "I don't know yet."

     "Then why do you need it."

     "I like the color."

     I think her "Field of Dreams" motto is "Find a paint and the project will come." I certainly don't understand her fascination with painting but I'm sure she is just as confused with some of my hobbies. It's all good, we've only been married 41 years so I can't be expected to understand everything.

     Recently, Mimi asked me "Do you think the paint is too dark?"

     My answer was "Does it make a difference, since you will change it in 6 months anyway."

     Don’t take this post as negative. It’s just an observation. I guess if it were up to me the wall colors wouldn’t change until the drywall started showing through the paint. Many of more stories are fueled by Mimi’s activities so I guess you could say she is my inspiration.

20 Seconds

     "You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally, twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it." This is a quote from the movie "We Bought a Zoo." Benjamin Mee

     This is a very powerful saying with a simple message. In the movie, it's advice from a father to his son about meeting a girl. To me it means even more. It's a message on how to approach life. Twenty seconds of courage or compassion can make a difference. It's not a long time but it can change your life in and another's in ways you wouldn't expect.

     Time is more valuable than money because it is limited. We cherish our time and it's not easy to give it away in big chunks. But twenty seconds to help a stranger load groceries in the car, greet someone with a smile, offer your place in line or have a friendly chat with a stranger, seems easy. However, many people are unwilling to approach a stranger because of fear of rejection, embarrassment or harm. So for those people it takes courage to leave their comfort zone until it becomes natural.

     The holiday season brings out the best in some people but it is also a difficult time for others. Giving money is a great way to help others but giving time is appreciated just as much. So, I guess there's only one question left. Can you spare twenty seconds to brighten someone's day? "Just Saying...."

Flavored Chips

     I love to snack, you love to snack, people all over the world love to snack. Chips are often the snack of choice but lately the flavors have gotten crazy. Recently I heard there was a Thanksgiving chip, which tasted like turkey, dressing and gravy. That sounds disgusting. I love turkey, dressing and gravy but in it's natural form, not in a chip. I guess I'm just a traditionalist.

     This made me think. If there is a Thanksgiving chip there must be many other flavors that are just as surprising. So I did an Internet search and here's some flavors found. Chocolate, garlic Caesar salad, beet soup, pig in a blanket, grilled cheese and catsup sandwich, mac n cheese, wasabi ginger, butter garlic scallop, mint, chicken and waffle, cappuccino, blueberry, sausage, whiskey and some I couldn't pronounce.

     I guess you could have chips for every meal instead of the traditional food. Maybe chicken and waffle chips for breakfast with a cappuccino chip to get your day started. Of course you could choose a healthier breakfast with a blueberry (brain food) chip.

     There are many choices for lunch grilled cheese sandwich chip or a mac n cheese chip or a just a simple garlic Caesar salad chip. Dinner could be a butter garlic scallop chip (seafood is always a healthy choice) or maybe simply soup, like a beet soup chip. Not sure, why anyone would choose beet soup even the traditional style.

     Then in the evening after a long difficult day you might want to kick back with a whiskey chip to take the edge off. I guess it would have to be straight up not over the rocks.

     A few years ago while on the way to Wisconsin we stopped at the Jelly Belly factory for a tour and they had more flavors of jellybeans than I had ever imagined. Some flavors didn't even make sense like vomit, booger, dirt, earthworm and rotten egg. I'm sure any flavor could be made into a chip or a jelly bean, like mango, chutney and burnt hair but, why?

     So next time you see someone eating a chip and they say "Holy Cow, this taste like crap!" Maybe they aren't exaggerating but merely describing the flavor.  "Just Saying...."

Just across the street but a world apart

I see people that I know by sight but are blind to their life

We live worlds apart despite walking the same roads

The physical distance is immeasurably close

But the internal connection is remote and distant

Our lives connect and disconnect like freight cars

Without any permanence

We travel the same rail but see different things

Our problems are similar but we don't ask

My eyes are blind to others lives

As they are blind to mine

Oh! What we could learn if we only ask

Problems shared are problems solved

If only we could open our eyes to others lives
They may never close again

Manufactured Fears

     Life is interesting and it gets more interesting by the day. You and you alone can determine your future as long as you don't let manufactured fears rule your life. The results of the recent Presidential election has self-promoted experts force-feeding the pubic with irrational fears. Don't fall prey to these so-called experts promoting negativity.

     These experts look for problems because they are promoting their agenda. They may believe they are the experts but they fuel their pre-determined opinions by manufacturing fear. Forming opinions based on fear only will not lead to rational decisions.

     No one wants to be judged but those same people are now judging President Elect Donald Trump before he has been given a chance. The recent campaign was not one that made Americans proud. Both candidates said or did dishonorable things but this has happened many times before. That's not to justify it but to recognize it as a fact. Politics is not a clean fight. It never was and likely never will be.

     The election was fair and in the end the American public chose Donald Trump as our next President. To the Clinton supporters it's time to get over the loss and support our next leader and to the Trump supporters it's time to stop belittling Clinton supporters. Let's not make life harder by being hateful to each other.

     Every situation can have both positive and negative proponents. I am choosing to look at the positive as I have my entire life. You can call me naive if you like I don't care. Looking for the positive and steering clear of the manufactured negative fears has made my life better so that's what I'm sticking with. "Just Saying...."

Friend or Unfriend

     The last few months have been interesting to say the least. Each day we came closer to the presidential election passionate opinions heightened and people became agitated with others. Some people on Facebook unfriended others because their opinions differed. Really, what would you learn if you didn't listen to people with opposite viewpoints? It would be like living on an island without access to the world. Progress would be limited or more likely static.

    I'm puzzled as to why anyone would unfriend someone because of a difference of opinion. Maybe you weren't a true friend if you aren't willing to listen. Even more confusing are the meaningless threats heard from some, mainly celebrities, who claim they will leave the country if certain things happen. Guess what, no one believes you or even cares. Where would you go and have a better life than here in the United States?

     I will never unfriend you because you opinion is important to me. I may not agree but I will listen. Why? Because, I may learn something from you. You learn more from someone with differences than someone with similarities. If we're not learning we're decaying.

     I've learned a few things over my 68 years and one thing I know is that in political campaigns, candidates make outrageous claims to get media attention. They are rarely held to these outrageous claims. If you've been around awhile you know that. 

     At the end of the day, the president's job is to represent the American public, so it's important to let it be known what is important to us.

     Today is a sunny day and this country has a bright future. If you don't agree, that's fine because you are a friend and I will always be around to listen to your viewpoint. "Just Saying...."

You might be a Senior if...

You say what you're thinking without filtering your words

You take a nap after breakfast

You dress for comfort instead of style

It's not worth bending down to pick up a penny

You only use your cell phone for telephone calls

You don't understand what's wrong with gluten

You prefer talking to people instead of texting them

You are confused why Zombies are popular

You watch old movies

You think most people are too sensitive

You laugh too easily

You still play board games

You talk to strangers because it's fun

You are not in a hurry

You drink home brewed coffee

Your kids fix all your computer problems

You like your gray hair but call it light black

Your bones creak but that doesn’t stop you

You still have dreams on your bucket list

You are amazed by the progress that has taken place in your lifetime

You have hope for the future because of your children

You stand for the National Anthem

You like “The Three Stooges” & “The Little Rascals” even though it’s not PC

You like technology but you don’t let it run your life

……………

Feel free to add to this list and send me your best ones

Achieving Greatness

     Is it possible that you can achieve greatness? Is the world population limited on how many people can achieve greatness? What exactly is greatness?

     My answer is yes you can achieve greatness and I believe there is no limitation on how many people can reach this goal. The third question is harder to answer because people's perception of greatness is tied to fame and fortune. I don't buy that. People can do great things without being rich and famous. In fact, many rich and famous people are not great and in some cases they are the opposite of great. So, don't tie your achievement of greatness to money or fame.

     There are many people that cross your path throughout the day that have done great things. You may be one. What's interesting is that we are unaware of the great things we have accomplished. We think of them as routine, not deserving of recognition. Let me clear something up. If you are a diligent parent, loyal friend, dedicated worker, socially conscious, volunteer, caregiver, honest and fair-minded, generous in spirit, etc, you are doing great things. The list is endless.

     Be proud of your accomplishments. Don't envy celebrities: they have nothing on you. Celebrate your achievements and be positive about your future. Make everyday a great day with great achievements of your own. Give yourself credit for the positive choices you make, we can't all be rich and famous but we can all do great things. "Just Saying...."

Dreams need Action

     I saw a poster recently it said "Dream until your dreams come true." It's a cool saying but lacks substance. Dreams won't come true unless you take some action, so do something to make your dreams come true. We dream about many things, achieving financial success, winning an athletic competition, finding true love. You name it and people will be dreaming about it.

     If just dreaming about it was all you needed to do, then we would all be rich, famous and talented. I'm sure you've heard about those lucky few that win the lottery, but don't you want to have more control over your destiny than luck. There are lucky people but when you look into it, you find more often than not, the person worked hard to reach their goal. Luck may have played a role but it was persistence that opened the door. There is a saying that sums it up, "The harder you work the luckier you get."

     The dream is the end goal, but without the journey, it wouldn't be as sweet. That's why some people that achieve an unexpected goal without effort don't appreciate the dream. Your achievement of making your dream a reality is heightened by the journey that got you there. Overcoming struggles make you a worthy dream warrior. Your journey may even be more important than the dream. I've been on many journeys and I still have many dreams but my best memories came from my journeys. "Just Saying...."

     

A Dark and Scary Night

    It’s a dark night, that intense darkness that you might imagine around the turn of the century when only gas lanterns lit the streets. There is heaviness in the night air. The wind blows the leaves into swirling whirlpool along the river walk. Rain soaked streets, shine ominously from the reflection of the gas lanterns. Though it’s not possible, the wind, rain and cold make it seem darker than a starless desert night.

     With great anticipation I step across the threshold dressed in my finest Halloween costume. And I might add, the scariest one I’ve ever worn yet. I thought long and hard about whether I should don this deeply disturbing costume. Just wearing it paints a cloud of darkness over my usually cheerful spirit.

     It took many hours for me to decide which of the two costumes to wear. Each costume was equally as hideous as the other, but both with a cadre of admirers and haters. It was much too hard to decide so I cut them in half. I’m wearing Hilary on the left and Donald on the right.

     If that doesn’t scare the hell out of you, I don’t know what will.

Is it the End of the World as we know it?

     Is that how you think of life these days? There seems to be nothing in the news that talks about the positive things that the future holds for us. Is it because these are terrible times or is it because we are lead to believe these are terrible times? The Internet, newspapers and TV news media runs on bad news, actually it thrives on bad news. This has always been the case but we hear it 24/7, which wasn't the case prior to the Internet. I've always tried to be positive but it seems hard, when we are constantly bombarded with bad news.

     In truth everyday is the end of the world, as we know it, because it is always changing. But don't take this as a negative, because all change is not bad. In fact many changes are good even though we may not realize it at the time.

     I recently started reading a new book called Progress by Johan Norberg. The book takes a positive look at our current times, reflects back on "The good old days." The author points out ten reasons to be thankful for living in today's world. As it turns out "The good old days" weren't that good for many people. It's easy for us to remember the past with fond memories. I do this frequently but the mind is funny in that way, erasing the bad memories and pushing the good memories to the forefront.

     Although I've just started reading this book, I like the positive approach it takes. I feel like it has given me a shot of positivity that I needed. The book gives facts about the past that we may not be aware of unless you are a history buff. Looking at these facts it's not hard to see that we are much better off than our ancestors.

     There is one quote in the first chapter that seems particularly appropriate this year.

"Whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground, where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together." Jonathan Swift

     I believe this book, Progress by Johan Norberg should be recommended reading for all people that feel a little depressed with life at times. It might just be the right medicine you need to change your outlook. "Just Saying..."