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...."