A few thoughts about family, politics (maybe), religion and other stuff

Part 6 or You've been anxiously awaiting part 6

2018-09-26T14:01:00.001-07:00

How many of you remember part 5? That few? Well just scroll down and read it again. I know it's been a while so I'll be patient (patiently tapping my fingers on the table). ho hum.....

"We will start with the upstairs since you've seen much of the down stairs."

He led the way up the stairs to the upper levels of the mansion. As we went I noticed that there were more and more things just lying around. I don't mean like statues and paintings and art of any kind, unless you include Bazooka Joe bubble gum wrappers art (which I do but I'm in the minority in that). I mean there was used glasses, plates, flatware and trash all over the place.

When we got to the top of the stairs, we were nearly knee deep in discarded napkins, paper towels, milk cartons (oh look there's one with a picture of me on it and I didn't even realize I was missing). Wait a minute, I'm NOT missing, I'm right here, in the CLIMB Mansion taking a tour with our rather tall and Nordic looking host. I looked at the date that the carton said I had been missing since and found out it was today's date! I turned around and found that not only was I knee deep in trash but there were about 5 of those gray creatures (I'll just call them Abba because I liked their music and wished to honor them in some way so now all the gray ones are called "abba". As I was saying I had turned around and discovered 5 of those abbas were following us and one of them carried a long cylindrical device that, I'm sure I have no idea what it's used for.

Bob turned around and said "Oh don't worry about them, they are just used for moving things or well, people." With that, I started to feel lighter and stiffer. As I looked around I realized that I didn't want to be stuck in an undignified position so I tried to stand straight and tall but just as I was about to, I realized I had stepped in some gum and was bending over to remove it from my shoe when the stiffness became total. Just visualize somebody with one foot up on one's knee and a string of gum stretching from the shoe to the floor and a hand digging at the shoe trying to get the gum off and your face frozen like you were thinking "ewww gross" and you'd have a picture of me at that moment. Which also was the picture used on the milk carton, by the way.

The next thing I knew I was floating above the trash on the floor and by trash I mean trash, no like what some people call other people simply because they aren't the same as they are and I think I am beginning to confuse myself. Regardless I'm floating above the debris on the floor and Bob is calmly standing there about 3 feet above the mess and waving at the guests having a fine time with some looking at me and taking pictures. I wonder how long I'll be missing? Oh well other things to think about, like what is that one abba going to do with that shiny cylinder? Finally we float out an open window and into a room that looks like a laboratory. The abba with the cylinder approached me and stopped just as he was about to pull the seat of my pants off. The other 4 abbas all confirmed and decided to rip the seat of my pants off anyway but then they put it back right side up so my wallet wouldn't keep falling out of it. That seemed awful nice. Then the abba with the object (cylindrical in case you forgot) approached my bung hole (which if you google it you'll find it has something to do with a hole in a cask of wine or liquor and NOT what you initially thought. After all this is a family show.

Part 5 or "You have HOW many fingers?"

2018-08-20T10:26:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I added to this. Hopefully I'll update it on a regular or possibly irregular basis. As it's been irregular for the time being it will probably be that way for now. I do mean to finish this story and I truly hope this has been and will be entertaining to you. I hope it makes you smile even if you don't giggle like a school girl and all. Now, on with the show!

Part 5 or "You have HOW many fingers?"

Having resolved my wallet situation, i.e. using my front pockets rather than trying to put it in my back pocket and having to keep a hand on my bum to keep it from falling out and landing on the floor (my wallet not my bum that could be a serious problem).

After about 30 minutes of milling about our host finally appeared on the balcony overlooking the main floor.
He was a charming looking man and, if I might add that though I'm straight, he looked very handsome and I
could now understand why the women were all staring glassy eyed at him and a few were even drooling. I was not drooling, though I did catch myself once or twice. Anyway our host was tall, probably about 6 and a half feet tall with, what appeared to be a well toned body, blond hair and fair skin. He was wearing a suit that appeared to change colors as he moved and it was eye catching at the very least. He looked as I would assume to be Scandinavian. He was of course a Nordic. I see you nodding your head knowingly, but I don't think you understand. All the marvelous technology from the RSVP card to the car appearing and disappearing, the self-fixing body parts and clothes and most of all from the sparkling apple cider being served. Our host is an alien. No, not an alien from Canada or France or where ever hear on Earth, but an actual alien from a distant star.

Our host began to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen welcome to my mansion the CLIMB Mansion. I am your host Esdtjsate Ieouwaziou, which translated to your language or one of them you might understand so we'll use English Alvin Chipmunk." There were a few snickers from some of the older persons in the room but most of us had no idea why they snickered. "But", he continued, "you can call me Bob. I like Bob better and it's easy to spell and say and nobody snickers when I say 'call me Bob Chipmunk'. Please enjoy the party and if you drink too much, we have ways of fixing that." He gave a smile that looked menacing but it was probably because he wasn't used to smiling at large groups of people, or he had some malicious intent on his mind when he said what he said.

Everybody started clapping and forgetting they had flutes of cider in their hands, were sloshing the cider
all over the place, making a mess on the floor and on themselves and even on those standing next to them.As
for our host, he descended the stairs and started milling about like the rest of us. He actually came over
to me and said "Ah, Mr.. so good to finally meet you, I've heard all about your work and think it's a truly
marvelous job you're doing." He stuck out his hand to shake and I took it and thought this doesn't feel odd
at all. His hand felt like mine and even had the requisite 5 fingers (okay 4 fingers and an oposable thumb)
and his nails were well manicured. I graciously answered him saying "Thank you, though I had no idea you
were interested in medical billing software."

"Ah but I do care about what everybody does. How would you like a tour of the mansion?"

"That would be lovely sir, thank you."

He tapped the shoulder of one of the gray creatures (does that sound harsh to say "creature"? and spoke to it in a language I've never heard, though I've only heard English, French and Spanish. He could have been
speaking Greek for all I know. The little fellow looked up at me and I realized that all the gray people (is
that better) all appeared the same so to be impossible to tell one from another. Oh well, that's to be
expected I guess when you're dealing with a hive mind and all.

Part 4 - Well you make up a title!

2018-07-25T09:58:00.001-07:00

As I stood there in utter amazement as to what I was witnessing. People coming into the room hunting for a missing part, regardless of its importance to the body. Whether it be as little as a piece of clothing to cover one's bum or other unmentionable parts (though I could mention them but this is a family show after all) to one's head. Yes, you heard me right there have been a few headless bodies walking in and searching through the pile of parts for their head. To my continued amazement, the heads were calling out to their bodies and the bodies were following their head's voice. Of course once the body retrieved the missing head it was placed on their neck and fused as good as new. However there was more than one incident where the head was placed on the body backwards and had to be fixed. Those unfortunates were led to another room where upon hearing just a bit of screaming, the persons came back out with their head on straight.

I left the parts department (sounds like an automobile service department doesn't it) I was met by a small gray creature with big almond shaped eyes, what appeared to be slits for a nose, no visible ears and was absolutely naked, though there was nothing to see in um well either department whichever way you happen to lean. He, um it was holding a tray of champagne flutes filled with, what else, sparkling apple cider. Our host must be one of those who abstain from strong drink and, as I later heard, had to be convinced that sparkling apple cider did not contain alcohol and so it became the drink of choice.

I milled about acknowledging folks as I passed. Trying to be polite and I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and there was this fellow dressed in what appeared to be a black tuxedo complete with a top hat and cape. He had a thin black moustache that curled up at the ends. He was about the same height as me and he held out a wallet. "I believe this belongs to you, sir" he said.
"What makes you think that?" I asked then realized he probably looked inside and saw the id. Also the complete lack of cash or credit cards, not that he would have absconded with them, but nonetheless it was my wallet.
"Thank you sir, I hadn't even realized it was missing. "

"You are welcome and I think you should have another look at the rear of your slacks. Then it may dawn on you as to why you lost your wallet in the first place. Good day sir"

I reached behind me to slip my wallet into my back pocket when I heard it thud on the floor. Looking behind me I picked it up and spun around a few times trying to look at my backside as was suggested by the mysterious stranger, but I felt like what I imagine a dog chasing its tail would feel except I wasn't having fun. It did seem to be entertaining to a few people who gathered around me as I was spinning about. I took my leave of them and asked one of the gray servers where the men's room was. He, well I'm going to start addressing them as he or she or it at random times to just chill about it, pointed me in the right direction and when I got there I was able to see that I put the seat of my pants on upside down. Now I was in a bit of a quandry. Do I go to the room where they fixed heads to fix my pants or do I just put my wallet in my front pocket? I chose the latter as the former scared me too much.

The Messsiest Alien...

2018-07-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

just as a side note I'll try to keep these coming but sooner or later there will be a gap of time. Not because of the alien but sometimes I just lose my train of thought. Meanwhile enjoy.

Part 3 or Gee it feels a little drafty

It was 7:00 p.m. and I looked outside and the car that was destined to show up to pick me up appeared. Now when I say it "appeared" I mean that one moment the street was empty the next instant there was a car. The back door was open and somebody was inside the car honking. I suddenly remembered I had 5 minutes to get into the car ALL THE WAY in or unfortunate things may happen. So I ran down the stairs and flung open the door and raced for the car. The back door was open so I took a broad jump into the car just as the door closed and off we went. After a moment to catch my breath, I started to feel a draft. Shifting around I realized that the back end of my slacks had been loose enough and was not in time to make it fully into the car therefore my back end was feeling a draft.

I looked out the window and realized that what I saw was stars and what looked like a piece of material that appeared to be the same color as my slacks. I thought about opening the window and grabbing them, but I was warned by a phone call to my cell phone. "Hello Mr....please do not attempt to roll the windows down as the sudden decompression could be of a mild inconvenience to you. I say "mild" because it would not last long enough to be a major inconvenience. Please enjoy the trip and keep your arms and legs and all other appendages inside the car at all times."

So I had to settle to feel my bum sticking to the seat and the part that should be covering up the part of me that should be covered floating along with us to what hopefully will be a grand party.

We, well the driver, car and me, arrived at our destination, the CLIMB Mansion. there were cars appearing and disappearing right and left and so far no 2 cars tried to occupy the same place at the same time. I stood there in awe of watching the spectacle. My mouth open and a drip of drool leaking out of the corner of my mouth getting dangerously close to leaving a trail down my shirt. Which brings me to clothes. I had chosen my favorite black polo shirt and a nice pair of khakis, which, I'm sure you remember, was now missing a part of them. Looking around at least nobody was laughing and there were some folks a little worse off than me.

As I approached the front door I was approached by a butler looking gentleman and I inquired as to where I might find a pair of pants. He pointed to a room next to the entry way and said I may find what I'm looking for in there. "It's where all the spare parts go upon arrival" he said. He walked on by leaving me to ponder what exactly he meant. I opened the door and the room was filled with clothes, fingers, hands feet and you name it and all in good to pristine condition. I stood there looking around and a fellow who hd seemingly left his feet at home walked over to where the feet were apparently piled and found a couple and placed them at the end of his legs. They stitched themselves to his legs and he was ready to go.

I walked over to where the clothing was kept and after a bit of rummaging around with my bare bum in the air I found the remnants of my slacks. I placed them over my bum and soon my bum was no longer feeling a draft or getting looks and snickers

The Messiest Alien (part 2)

2018-07-11T14:19:00.002-07:00

Part 2 of my story of the Messiest Alien in the Mansion. Please forgive some overlap from the previous post. I'm trying to maintain continuity so I don't have to post the whole thing every time I add more to it. Enjoy.

"We just received your RSVP for the party and wanted to remind you that, while the card does not state what the dress code is, I assure you it's casual. Please do not wear anything that smells of livestock or any other creature except yourself and then only after you've showered and applied the correct amount of deodorant and other such smelly stuff you may wear on occasions such as this. That being said, have a great
and pleasant day and see you at the CLIMB Mansion on the 21st. " And with that, he hung up. I didn't even get to ask what does "casual" mean, let alone how he got my name and phone number. It could not have been from my RSVP card as I only just deposited it in the mail box not 15 minutes ago. I go to the mail box and try to look in and see nothing and it was at that instant the phone rang again. I answered it again "Hello?"
It was the same voice as before "Hello again Mr...as an answer to your question regarding the definition of
"casual" it is, for men, slacks and polo shirt are just fine. And to explain your RSVP card it automatically
acquired enough mass, after you dropped it in the mail box, to transport itself directly to us. Good bye again sir."

He hung up again. This was getting annoyingly interesting. I think the party should be as interesting as the
invitation.

It was a couple weeks until the party so I had plenty of time. I went to the local library to look up the
history of the CLIMB Mansion. It seems the word "CLIMB" didn't mean what we normally think of when we think of climbing say a mountain or ladder or aboard a train or some other ride. It stood for Cute Little Irish and I shouldn't complete the acronym because it could be offensive to some people. So it was abbreviated to CLIMB and most people don't know and don't care what it means. Usually if you get to go to the mansion as a guest, so I've heard, that you get treated like royalty and the technology inside is quite extraordinary and that makes me more excited thinking about it all. In fact it is difficult to concentrate on my job because of this party thinking.

The day of the party finally arrived and I was a bundle of nerves. Well, honestly, aren't we all? If it
weren't for the nerves we would not feel anything, but the good thing is nobody would be getting on them all
the time. Hm that could be a fair trade off. Regardless, the day arrived and I was informed, by the voice
on the phone, that a car would be at my house promptly at 7:00 pm and leave promptly at 7:05 pm regardless of whether or not I was in the car and the voice also told me to make sure I was COMPLETELY in the car as there have been unfortunate instances where, well to put it nicely, not everybody made it to the party in one piece.

The Messiest Alien

2018-07-10T13:41:00.002-07:00

The Messiest Alien in the Mansion

I got home and picked up the mail from the floor and started looking at what arrived. The first 3 items were automatic approvals for three different credit cards. I ripped them in half and tossed them into the "shred box". My shred box was so named because anything I throw in there will eventually get shredded into confetti. So far it's worked well, though I had caught some money that seemed to make it into the box. I guess that's what you get when you empty your pockets and see nothing but paper and instead of going through each item they make it into the box.

Back to my mail. Two bills came. The phone bill and the wireless phone bill. A bit ironic perhaps that I keep a house phone but use my cell phone 90% of the time. Oh well, just call me old-fashioned.

The next item was an odd looking envelope, it resembled a wedding or funeral invitation. It was made of that good paper they always use for such things. Hopefully it's not an invitation to a funeral, those things seem to just be dead and no life could ever be breathed into them. So I opened it and found out it was neither but an invitation to a party at the McKinney Mansion. "Now who do I know at the McKinney Mansion that would invite ME to a party." Looking at the details of the party it said nothing of required attire or whether or not it was a masquerade party. "I guess it's a 'come as you are' party." I filled out the RSVP card and dropped it in the mailbox stating that I will of course attend the party

What happens to the RSVP card when is marked and deposited in the mailbox? It automatically transports itself to the sender so the sender can call the invitee thank you for responding so quickly and the attire is casual, but be sure to wear clothes. We've had problems before when using the "come as you are" notation people took it literally and came to the party naked. We HAD to let them in since no clothing requirement had been established beyond what the invitee would, under most circumstances, have the intellectual prowess to wear clothes even if it were the clothes they spent all day raking out the horse stalls at the local race track.

Of course the phone rings and I answer it "Hello?"

"Hello, yes, have I reached..." (and he recited my phone number and name which I exclude here for privacy reasons, after all I don't want just anybody calling me at all hours of the day or night do I?)

"Yes you have reached me. Who is this please?"

"We just received your RSVP for the party and wanted to remind you that, while the card does not state what the dress code is, I assure you it's casual. Please do not wear anything that smells of livestock or any other creature except yourself and then only after you've showered and applied the correct amount of deodorant and other such smelly stuff you may wear on occasions such as this. That being said, have a great and pleasant day and see you at the CLIMB Mansion on the 21st. "

What I believe part 1 or Wow 2 posts in one month!

2018-06-14T08:52:00.005-07:00

Well, this is gong to be viewed as narcissistic, ho hum or, hopefully, something to trigger your thoughts on these same things.

Over the next few (1,832) posts, I'm going to express what I believe and try to communicate why I believe these things. Okay 1,832 posts is a bit of an exaggeration, but there should be nearly 20. Let's get started.

1. I believe in God. I believe there's a supreme being who brought all this into existence. Genesis 1;1 states "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light." Gen 1;1-3

There's this wild theory among the scientists who investigate creation and it's called the Big Bang theory (no, not the TV show, though it is a funny show). In this theory there is a singularity smaller than anything known to man and it suddenly explodes thereby creating the universe and providing the starting point for stars, planets, black holes and what ever else is out there that I'm not familiar with. To me and to many others, this theory and the beginning of the universe in Genesis is quite similar. Granted one is viewed through the eyes of scientists who may or may not believe in God and the other viewed through the eyes of religion, many of whom, not all, reject any scientific evidence that is out there. I think science and religion can coexist and the things stated in the Bible can be explained scientifically as well (well, I believe MOST things can be).

The first chapter of Genesis deals with creation from beginning through God resting on the 7th day. There's an argument, and I hesitate to bring it up here but I'm going to, that the universe is only 6,000 to 10,000 years old. One of the passages that support this is in 2 Peter 3;8 stating "But beloved,be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day." Using that as support God created the universe and everything in it in 6,000 years. God can do that. I don't dispute the faith in God that helps a believer to believe that. A teacher I once had in college said "You cannot put God in a box" meaning, to me, that you cannot limit God to just what you believe. I do, however, think that the verse is basically telling us that to God time is immaterial. He's not restricted by time. He invented time.

Some scientists would have you believe that this is all an accident of nature. I look around me at the trees, grass, mountains, oceans and all the creatures living and I just cannot believe the "it's all an accident or coincidence". There is a design to it all. A hand that shaped it all.

That's why I believe there's a God and He created all things.

As life goes on...

2018-06-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

Just an observation.

As we age, we begin to look at our lives and a couple things cross our minds (well at least a couple). One of those things is "look where I am now. Ready for retirement, the kids are out of the house, we get to see our grand kids on a regular basis and Life is good." I believe the other thing that crosses our minds is "How could I have done things differently. With regards to the children, work, education. How could I have blown the opportunities that came to me earlier in life when I was young and full for piss and vinegar?"

Those two things, I think, we dwell on. Well I do anyway, and I find myself regretting many of the moves I made in my life. I do NOT regret marrying my wife. She's the love of my life and always will be. But other things I did or didn't do I let those things haunt me. I start thinking about "what could have been" had I stayed on the course I was on. The only thing this thinking does is make me depressed and depression is not good. Not the depression that makes a person want to harm themselves, but enough to make me want to go back to bed and just curl up and sleep.

I don't know how many of you who read this, feel the way I do, but I know it's not healthy to continually swell on things that are now beyond your control. They call the past the past because it's passed. Another cliche is "Yesterday is gone forever, tomorrow may never come, today is forever" (I'm not sure about the "today is forever" part, but it sounds good). So the thing to do is to remember the good things that you have accomplished. And if you're at a loss as to what you accomplished, ask a loved one. They will remind you and if they love you, they will point out the good you've done and those lives you've touched. Remember the question I asked in one of my past blogs? "Will it matter that I was?" The answer to that question should always be "Yes"

It doesn't matter if you live in a mansion or in a dilapidated house as long as the ones you love are near you, you have a good life. It's always best to be around those you love and love you back.

If you're depressed or sad for some reason, I hope you feel better soon. Put a smile on your face for 10 minutes and see how you feel then. I hope this blog helps you get things in perspective and help you to think positively about yourself. It's difficult to see yourself through the eyes of another, but at least take what they say as truth about you and be encouraged.

Those of you who read this and know somebody needing a hug or encouragement, please do not be afraid to give either of those or both. It's good to encourage people and to help them see the good in themselves. (boy does that sound awkward).

Thank you for reading this. I feel better already.

A dream I had and yes, I was talking in my sleep...

2018-04-17T09:01:00.001-07:00

I had a dream.

In this dream I cannot say the great tribulation had started or not, but I will say that if the "rapture" happened then I apparently missed it.

The dream opened with me realizing that the time was near and I was praying and asking forgiveness mad accepting Jesus as Lord of my life. It moved to a scene where some body was ordered to kiss the wall. A shot rang out and, as near as I can tell since I didn't actually see it, some body died. Next thing I know it's me and another one or 2 people. Again a shot rang out but the bulled dropped cold into my hand. I held onto the bullet and found myself in an auditorium with what seemed to be lots of Christians praying. I touched a few and found a place to sit. Soon somebody came out passing out what appeared to be coasters to everybody, but me. I was at peace with it. Soon everybody had gone to get something to eat and this bad man approached me. He was smoking and at first I was scared that he would burn me with his cigarette. I panicked briefly and realized that he couldn't hurt me even when he put his cigarette out on my arms and chest. I thanked Jesus for keeping me safe. Then I found myself on my back a saucer and a tea cup or just a saucer was placed on my chest. Then water was being poured over me. It was cool and refreshing. The bad man was there and he was the one, I believe, that was pouring the water over me. I was at peace and continued to thank God and praise him for keeping me safe.

The scene shifted to my little room basically big enough for a bed and a little more space. I had some flyers on my bed about Jesus and God when a young man came in and asked me about how I could take it. I explained to him that it was God and my faith in Him. I told him that we all have sinned and that Jesus died for our sins and that we need to ask for forgiveness and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and he hesitated and I woke up.

Through all this, I was not agitated but rather at peace knowing that God was taking care of me and all I have to do is have faith and believe and everything will be fine.

Don't ask me what brought this on. I don't know. I wanted to remember the dream so I could write it down and share it. Maybe somebody will be helped by it.

Go in peace and Go with God.

Today's message to myself and anybody else it helps

2018-03-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. the earth was without form and void and darkness moved across the face of the earth and God said "Let there be light" and there was light.

several verses later, after going through the creation of the plants and animals and finally Adam and Eve, He created a garden. A paradise where Adam and Eve were free to do whatever they wanted EXCEPT eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They lived there for a while, the Bible doesn't say how long. Then the serpent came along and convinced Eve to eat and she gave it to Adam and he ate and their eyes were opened and saw that they were naked. So they covered themselves and hid themselves when God came calling them. They "confessed", that is they blamed somebody else for their sin. Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent. All were punished Adam and Eve were cast from the garden, from Paradise, to struggle to survive.

Ever since that time, man has been trying to get back to Paradise. Man cannot find Paradise unless he lets God lead him/her to it. And the way back to Paradise is through God's son who died for our sins and was risen 3 days later showing that if we confess our sins to Him, He will forgive us and cast our sins as far away as the east is to the west.

Now there''s a hitch to all this. You may have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, and you are destined to go to Paradise, but you still have to live IN this world and deal with the daily grind and hardships that we all have to deal with so you think "some Paradise. I'm still suffering, I'm still in debt to my ears and the kids don't listen and every time it looks like we are getting ahead, something happens to knock us to our knees again." You cannot help some of that. You may not be able to take care of any of it. Maybe all you can do is watch and pray to God that He helps you through it all. Guess what. He will. He hears our prayers, our groaning and pleas for help and He helps. All we have to do, as children of His, is to trust Him.

Through Jesus, we can reenter Paradise and it is through the Grace and Mercy of God that He sent His only son to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. If you have received Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, then welcome to Paradise.

Forgivness - Should I even be the one to talk about it?

2017-11-02T09:35:00.001-07:00

I'm trying to teach my grand children some values from the Bible. Even if you are NOT a believer, you have to think that the Bible is a good guide to living in this world.

One of the things I've tried, and will continue to try, to drill into their heads is the "Golden Rule". No, not "he that has the gold makes the rules" but rather "As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them". That's how I learned it. It sounds better like this: Treat others how you want to be treated. I think that's pretty clear. If you want people to treat you nicely, you treat them nicely. I know that when I'm treated badly, I tend to react badly and when I'm treated well, I react in a nice manner. When you''re at a restaurant and your server serves you well, you tend to leave a bigger tip. If you server neglects you and never checks on you and acts like he/she couldn't care less, your tip will be a tad smaller if you leave any at all.

All that to say, treat others well. It also goes along with Matthew 5:43-45

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:

That's a tough lesson to learn. It's very hard to love your enemies and to pray for them, but that's what we are to do. I'm sure we all have people who have hurt us and we consider out enemies. These are the people we need to pray for and to pray about our attitudes toward them.

Another thing I've just started trying to teach the grand kids is forgiveness. The Lord's prayer goes like this:

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matt 6:8-15

(emphasis is mine). Verse 12 says "and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors". I have read other versions of this and debts and debtors is replaced by trespasses so it would read "and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassed against us"

The point of that is though Christ died on the cross, was buried and rose again so we may have forgiveness of sins, we are also to forgive those who have done us wrong. Again, not an easy task. Especially if you feel like the person in question hurt you deeply. The only thing you can do is to ask God to help you forgive them and (going along with the previous paragraphs) treat them well, be kind to them. One of the things that cause people to have a negative impact on our life is the lack of a forgiving heart. Holding the anger, bitterness and wrath inside you can only have negative impact on your attitude and your health.

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Eph 4:31-32

I'm sure I can go further, but you get my point. Be nice to everybody, including your enemies, forgive everybody and trust God to take care of the rest.

God bless you all.

To quote a famous playwright "to be or not to be..."

2017-09-30T21:08:00.002-07:00

To be or not to be that is the question. I don't know the rest of this quote but I do, at least, remember that part which is the important part to remember in this particular entry. That seemed a bit long-winded don't you think.

Any way. As I learned in college, there were a group (or should I say "there is a group) of Christians who follow the thoughts and teachings of John Calvin. I don't claim to have read his teachings but I was taught that one of the things he taught was "predestination". Here's the definition I found online:

pre·des·ti·na·tion

prēˌdestəˈnāSH(ə)n/

noun

noun: predestination; noun: pre-destination

(as a doctrine in Christian theology) the divine foreordaining of all that will happen, especially with regard to the salvation of some and not others. It has been particularly associated with the teachings of St. Augustine of Hippo and of Calvin

Which means, basically and probably over simplified, that God knows what choices we are going to make in our lives. He knows who will take the gift of salvation and who will not. The thought then becomes, well if He knows, then there is nothing left for me to do, the decision has been made fore me. This takes out free will. Because God knows everything, then we have no choices in the matter. No matter how hard we try, we cannot change our destiny and that has been written in stone for us.

It sounds good in a way, because it means we don't have to think about it. We are going to do what we are going to do and the thinking and choosing involved is not necessary.

On the other hand others believe that we still have a choice to follow God or not. But how does that work with a God that knows everything?

It's simple. God gave us free will, yet still knows what we will do. In the infinite choices we make over the course of our lives there are many universes where we make other choices. The Creator of all things also made multiple universes and knows every choice we will make and yet we are free to choose those things or actions we wish to choose.

Some times my mind gets to thinking that because He knows all, that there are no choices for me to make. Yes I struggle with that at times, but I always come back to the realization that God didn't create just this one universe, but many. It's because of free will that He made all the universes. If we make a decision in this universe, perhaps our doppelganger in another universe makes a different decision. I'm comfortable enough in my beliefs that we have free will and we can make whatever decisions we want and God knows them and the path we tread when we make the choice. He does not hinder us, he simply sets the path in front of us.

I'm not a super spiritual or religious person, but sometimes I think God speaks to me and gives me insight to share. I hope that what I wrote here and in other postings, in some way inspires you.

Love you all in God.

So, here we go...

2017-09-01T22:33:00.001-07:00

Resuming my thoughts on money...

The problem with money is that we all need it to survive. When a person has a little bit of money, it's not unusual for them to want more. This is especially true for those who quite literally don't have enough to live on or barely enough to keep their heads above water. They have a tendency to need and want more, rationalizing that they need it to meet all their bills. They begin to pray for money to get things straightened out. They ask for specific amounts praying that if He gives them that money, the first 10% off the top goes to charities that do the Lord's work and the rest to getting some bills paid off. The problem then becomes a selfish request. Even though you are doing what the Word says "if you ask anything in my name, believing, it shall be done" (I think that's paraphrased a bit). Then you start giving thanks for everything hoping that God will reward you with more so you can get your bills taken care of. And when you see somebody in need and you have a couple bucks in your pocket, you give it to the needy person, in the back of your mind you're doing it for your own self absorbed reasons. That becomes a hard habit to break. You know that you have to genuinely care for the person you're giving money to and not think of what it will do for you.

These things I know first hand. I felt it, I know the thinking because I'm trying to break that chain in my life. I keep thinking that if I'm good enough, God will give me what I've been asking for. Jesus said something to the effect that you shouldn't worry about what you're going to eat. Look at the sparrows or what you should wear, look at the lilys of the field. I have to remind myself that the good samaritan did what he did not for what he can get out of it, but because it was the right thing to do. I've got to get past the needs I feel and concentrate on the needs of others. Even if it is only praying for them.

I am not sure how much I've said all this before, but I felt it needed to be said. There are others out there who feel the way I do. That have their minds in a rut like I do. Let's get out of this rut and do some good for our fellow man.

A hard thing to do

2017-08-30T09:55:00.001-07:00

    You know, one of the most difficult things to do is to give thanks for a situation that you're in that is not exactly the best situation. Sometimes you have to stop what you're doing and look at EVERYTHING.
    I was watching one of those pastors who have a huge church and what he said reminded me that the word says "be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known unto God.
    "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil 4:6,7 and "But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" Phil 4:19 One last one "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." I Thess 5:18
    These are hard things to do. To turn things over to God and trust that He's working on a solution. We cannot always see God working, in fact, in my experience, I haven't seen Him working during this whole situation we're in. Probably I'm not in the place I should be, but I don't know what place that should be. I've thought that I can get a second job, part time weekends and evenings, but so far nothing has opened up. I will admit that I've not applied to everywhere but places you would think would be good places (wal-mart, target, CVS) would be available, but so far none have been even during the holiday season.
    Well, here's the end of this. "In everything give thanks..." that assumes you have something to be thankful for or perhaps it's referring to "even though you're in dire straits and you feel like you;re drowning, thank God because when you get through it, and you WILL get through it, you'll be stronger in faith and God will be glorified. So here's my list of things I'm thankful for:

1. A roof over our head
2. a way to get to work
3. we still have electricity, gas and phones
4. our cars are paid for
5. we have family here even though they vex us at times
6. we have our jobs
7. God loves us and saved us
8. we have family all over who has helped us and pray for us.
9. I am especially thankful that I have a wife who loves me and puts up with me.

    I will admit it was difficult coming up with this list, but there it is. Pray for us that we might finally get through this and that we are doing what God wants, not what we want.

    Thank you my friends. Those I know who read this and those who I don't know who also read this. Thank you for your prayers.

Is money evil?

2017-08-22T10:37:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been a while. Have you all missed me?

Money is the root of all evil. Or that's what a lot of people say. But that saying is taken from the Bible and is quoted inaccurately. The Bible says "The love of money is the root of all evil." We are talking greed here. The desire for more and more money over and above what is needed on which to live. I cannot argue the fact that, in this day and time, we all need money to survive. Without it, we are homeless and starving. So we work for it. We do what we can to get enough to meet our needs and, I might add, plus some. Some may argue that having just enough money to meed your needs, that is, utility bills, food on the table, a roof over your head, gas for your car (though it could be argued that public transportation is there to replace the need for gas for your car). No provision is made (by some) for eating out once in while. Getting out of the house and the rut we all seem to find ourselves in. I maintain that money used for that purpose is nearly as important as the utility bills or mortgage, though you shouldn't sacrifice the necessities for a night out on the town, no matter how bad you need it. I guess what I'm saying is having money isn't evil and using it for your benefit and for the benefit of others is a good thing.

There are times (and Cathy and I seem to find ourselves in those times frequently) when you become preoccupied with money. These times are intensified when you don't get paid when you're supposed to and you caclulate it out and find out you're 7 weeks behind in getting paid. This kind of stuff wreaks havoc on just trying to pay the necessities. It is at these times when you HAVE to rely on God to provide for you. Believe me, I've begged and pleaded for the money to pay our bills and we don't always get the money in time to NOT be late on some of them. We've had the water turned off and then was charged $150 to get it turned back on. Power would be the same only the charge to get it turned back on would be around $300.

I'm not asking for anything I'm just trying to convey to you the idea that the love of money is the root of all evil, and yet there are times when, due to circumstances beyond out control, we are preoccupied with getting more money. You do what you can. You cut things that are not necessary, you talk to your creditors and explain to them what's going on, hoping for some compassion and leeway in getting them paid. One of the worst things is when you need to see a doctor, you have a high deductible that has to be met before the insurance company starts paying. Or when your car needs tires or service but, because of the inconsistant pay, you cannot take care of those things right away.

The love of money is the root of all evil, but all of us is aware of the necessity of having enough and how easy it is to get preoccupied by it. I'm learning (re-learning because I used to know this) that God provides for all our needs we just need to let go and let God. Faith is the key, though hard work and perseverance are not discounted.

So if you're in a tight spot, not enough bread coming into the coffers, and things are rough. Remember God knows how many hairs are on your head. He cares for the birds of the air and aren't we more than them?

God Bless you all.

Asking once or a lot?

2014-11-10T09:27:00.003-07:00

There are times when life is difficult. Lately, it seems like it's been difficult for years. The other day (okay it was probably a few months ago, but who's counting) I prayed and asked God if we hadn't suffered enough. I mean it has felt that there's just been one crisis after another popping up. We'd get clear of something and the car would break down and we would need to spend money that we could have used for something else on getting it fixed. Then one car would be okay and the other car would need something. Then my boss would be late with a paycheck that would make us late on paying a bill. It's gotten so bad that we feel like we are no longer living month to month or even paycheck to paycheck but from turn off notice to turn off notice..

Well when I talked to God about these things, He brought to mind a few things I've been seeing on television. First let me say this, lately, it started months ago, though we have not attended church, I've been tuning in to some christian programming on television in the mornings after my shower. Lately that's been John Hagee at 6:30 in the morning on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. He is pastor of a church in San Antonio. So, I've been getting fed daily, well at least during the week days, I've been getting fed. And He has brought to mind some of the things I've heard in the past. One of those things was that we should remind God of His promises

Any way, one of the promises I've seized upon is found in Matt 21:21-22

21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive

So, when I pray, I ask for forgiveness, I ask that my family be blessed and our houses and property is under His protection and I've started reminding God that His son said these things. So I've also been asking for God to bless my boss in his business that business would pick up and he would be able to catch up on our back pay and keep current and on time with our current pay. I ask every night, well not every night I admit that I don't pray every night, but I do pray often during the week, for those things and I wonder do you ask once and let it go or do you continually remind God? I mean faith is involved, but how often do you bring it up? Is it showing a lack of faith by asking every night? Does it show more faith by asking once and believing that's all it takes? Does asking often help increase your faith?

In Matthew 7:7-11 (also repeated in Luke 11:9-13)

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

What does the above passage mean? Does it mean only spiritual things?

Matt 18:19-20

19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

. I guess it comes down to the question of how often do you ask? I know that if my children asked me constantly for something it would drive me crazy. I realize that God won't be driven crazy by continually asking Him for help frequently, but does it show a lack of faith by asking over and over? We have an expectation of what should happen and when it should happen, but I also realize that God moves in His own time and that He acts when it's the right time. Though it would be nice to KNOW the details or at least a general date when these things would be done.

So what do you think? I'm kind of thinking that asking once is the sure way to show faith, but when faith is not strong, asking more often would be the way to go, until God says it's going to happen, just relax and expect it.

Thanking God

2014-07-28T15:21:00.001-07:00

Well, here's an interesting opportunity to thank God.

My lovey wife took the car to work, the on that has the a/c still working in it. At about 1130 or so, I got a call from her and she said the car would not start. I could hear over the phone that it was cranking, but not turning over. My initial thought was "great, fuel pump of fuel filter or even the injectors were screwed up. I have AAA so she got a ride back to her place of business. I went up to see her and the car. Pretty much praying the whole time because we couldn't really afford for something to go wrong (there's been other automotive situations recently) so I prayed. So, when I got in the car I tried to start it and sure enough just cranking no turning over. I took my wife back to her office and then called AAA. It was now about 1245 and probably a goo 104 at least outside. Fortunately she had parked at a bank and I was able to wait inside after I called for a tow. About an hour later, the tow truck showed up and the driver asked what the car was doing, so I told him. He asked if I had an alarm on it, I replied in the affirmative. I told him my wife had parked the car, gone into the bank then when she returned, the car would not start. He asked for the key and said the key got erased. That if you put the key in the ignition and turn it to on, then leave it that way for 10 minutes, it would reprogram and the car should start.

HE WAS RIGHT! Sure enough the car started right up and I drove it home. When I got it home I turned it off, then tried to start it and it started right up again.

I had prayed that God would help us with the car, that we couldn't really afford something go to wrong with it. I reminded Him that His Son Jesus said "whatsoever you ask in my name, believing, you shall receive it". Please don't ask me where that verse is, I think it's in Matthew or Mark. Regardless, it cost me nothing, though if I had the cash for a tip, I would have given the AAA tow truck driver a nice tip.

So, here I am thanking GOD for fixing the car for us and it not costing us a dime. Just my time away from work and some of my wife's time away from work.

So praise God! He hears His children and fills their needs.

What do you do?

2014-06-18T09:04:00.001-07:00

There have been some recent strife in my life. Depending on your point of view, it's not the worst thing that could happen, but then again it could maybe have been minimized had we all sat down and talked about things. We did try, but apparently some of the things said were disregarded later. Then things were said that were taken the wrong way and said the wrong way. Consequently the strife erupted Now, the parties involved are all on facebook and things get said that while are partly true, it's the things unsaid that could lead people to believe that all the blame for the strife belongs on a particular side.

I'm not one to air my dirty laundry on facebook. I think that is not the proper forum to discuss things with family members or friends. Email is better for that because it's private. I am trying to not say anything and cause more trouble. I hate strife especially when it is family related.

What I'd like to know is what do you do when there is family strife on-line? How do you handle your point of view and defend yourself when you feel the need to?

I suppose I could just respond here, but this isn't much better than facebook in that regard in that it's not private. On the other hand, I feel a strong urge to say something in response to a post or 2 by one of the offended parties in my family strife (I keep spelling "strife" without the "r" and having to go back to fix it). Should I just drop it and let the status fall off the wall or send an email asking the offended party in question to at least acknowledge both sides of the story?

Well, I'll let this set and maybe somebody will respond.

I hope that all of you who read this have a great and wonderful day.

Clean or unclean?

2014-01-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

Okay this question is for those of you who read this and are of a religious bend. I understand in the Old Testament, under the Law that God handed to Moses and the Jewish people were to follow, pigs were unclean so eating them was forbidden as is the animals you get from the sea that don't have fins and scales so shrimp and catfish and other obvious sea creatures without scales or without fins or without both.

My question is, when did God make these things clean? I recall a quote, though I don't know the reference where Paul says something about "What God has made clean, how can it be unclean?" That is not the actual and real quote but I think you understand the meaning. Did God make all things clean when Jesus died for our sins?

The reason I've asked this is I've been watching a channel in the morning that provides a daily Bible study and one of the things mentioned was that pork and catfish and shrimp are unclean and should not be eaten even by Christians. There are a couple other issues I have with the teachings, but I'd say 95% of what he is teaching is correct and good, I just have questions regarding that 5%.

You KNOW you can post a message in response to this and I hope somebody does (I bet I know one person who will post).

Are you one?

2013-11-08T11:14:00.001-07:00

Drama Queen as defined in the online Urban Dictionary

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=drama%20queen

"an overly dramatic person" That seems a rather simple definition. Somebody who blows things out of proportion. There must be a purpose to drama queens. I mean they exist everywhere. Most of us don't like the drama that comes from those drama queens. By the way, a drama queen can be male or female so just because it says "queen" don't feel like you're immune guys. The thing about drama queens is that you can't take them seriously. You have to take them with a grain (maybe pound) of salt. When they say something outrageous or post something on social media that is just absurd you have a couple choices. You can ignore it and move on or you can react to it and blow a gasket (thinking of changing my name to gasket, oops, sorry for that one it just slipped out). Personally I choose to ignore those social media postings from the drama queens I know. Some drama queens know they are one, but I don't think it's easy to turn off even if you're aware of the fact that you are one.

The one thing I ask for from those of you who KNOW you're a drama queen is restraint. When dealing with me and my family and my house and such, please DO NOT post your drama. That's what I mean by restraint. You may certainly post anything you want to post, I am just asking that you withhold the drama when it's involving me, my family, my house, cars or anything else that concerns me.

Anyway, I wanted to get that off my chest. Y'all have a wonderful day.

The Blame Game..

2013-10-01T14:17:00.002-07:00

Today, October1, 2013, the U. S. Government is on a limited shutdown.

I think it takes a man and character to accept responsibility for his own actions. President Truman had a sign on his desk that said "The Buck Stops Here" because he knew that ultimately he was responsible for what the government did. This president seems to think that "The Buck Passes By Here". He has accepted no responsibility for anything his administration has done. Instead he plays the blame game by blaming the previous administration or republicans. Following his previous tact, he gets on the radio and tv and blamed the republicans, specifically the Tea Party Republicans in the House of Representatives for the government shutdown.

So whose fault is it? Spending bills are supposed to originate in the House. So the House passes a spending bill that de-funds the Affordable Healthcare Act. The Senate passes the bill without the amentment on defunding the Act and it goes back to the House. The House inserts an amendment that delays the implementation of the Health Care Exchanges for one year. The Senate sat on it for a while and rejected it. Both instances, the President said he would veto the bill. So the House passes a bill that it KNOWS the Senate would reject. The Senate rejects the bill KNOWING that the House will try again, but offers no compromise. The President just talks. The President offers no compromises. He's allowed the businesses to delay their implementation until 2014 or 2015, so what's the problem with delaying the exchanges for one more year. Maybe it'd give it enough time for bugs to be worked out. Okay there's the argument that by delaying it, it would keep people who really need the coverage to be another year without it. There has to be a compromise that can be reached that everybody hates but it would be something. It would show that both parties can work together to do the will of their constituents. I heard that from 58% to 70% of the people in this country do NOT want Obamacare). If those figures are correct, then who is doing the will of the people?

I just lose respect for people who, while being part of the problem take no responsibility for their part in the situation. And that's regardless of who they are. I have respect for the Office of the President, but sometimes I have no respect for the man in the office.

I'm not sure that the above makes a lot of sense, but there it is.

***UPDATE October 2, 2013***

Apparently one of the provisions in the bill sent from the House to the Senate on September 30 was to force BOTH houses of Congress to abide by the Affordable Care Act. Meaning they (Congress and it's staff) could not get waivers to opt OUT of ObamaCare. The Senate rejected the bill again.

I thought that was interesting enough to add to this post.

He had a dream...We should all have that same dream

2013-08-28T08:39:00.004-07:00

On August 28, 1963, I was 5 years old. While I was old enough, I don't recall watching or hearing Dr. King's speech. Today, I went to youtube and viewed and listened to the speech. Here it is (the link anyway)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs

I am not qualified to say much about this speech. I will say this. Dr. King was a man for all people in this country. Not just the African-Americans, but whites and Asians and Hispanic and all people in this country. I believe that while there is still racism in this country, it's not something that condoned by the government as it was 50 years ago.

Enjoy the video.

You cannot click that link (apparently) so copy and paste the link and you will be taken to the video.

Okay I understand ...

2013-08-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

I may get some static for this posting, but you have to look at the logic behind it.

I understand that some people are wired as homosexual. It's beyond their control because that's how they are wired. But I have to question whether or not it's natural. I am NOT calling it a disease and I am NOT saying that homosexuals can be "healed". I'm only saying that it's not a natural state for humans. Humans can only reproduce through heterosexual intercourse. 2 men cannot reproduce and 2 women cannot reproduce. If being homosexual was a natural state then both genders would be able to reproduce. Although, the thought just occurred to me, perhaps the number of homosexuals is rising because the population of the Earth is reaching a tipping point. If the homosexuals do not reproduce that means there could be fewer people being born on this planet thus easing or at least slowing down the potential over population of the world.

I realize also that what is normal for me may not be normal for others. But you can't really argue with the reproductive system of humans. It takes both genders to reproduce. Yes I know, science has evolved enough to either artificially inseminate a woman and 2 men can adopt a child. But it still takes a sperm and an egg to make a human regardless of the sexual orientation of the humans in question.

By the way, God does NOT hate gays. He called 2 men lying together like a man and a woman an abomination, not the people involved. He loves the sinner, hates the sin and that applies to EVERY SIN AND SINNER and we are all sinners so I don't want you all to think I'm singling out anybody in particular. God loves me but not some of the things I've done. He loves the murderer, but not what the murderer has done. You get my drift.

Of course saying everything I've said, I think that the government needs to recognize same sex couples the same way they recognize different sex couples. It is against the Constitution of the United States to not apply the laws equally to all people (see the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States). That's where I stand on that (as if you couldn't tell from earlier posts).

If you're going to comment, please be nice, respectful and gentle. It is not may aim to enrage, but to discuss.

Something that may be controversial...

2013-06-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

But please everybody be civil and no hate responses.

Some of you may think I'm a heretic, but the question of gay marriage has 2 aspects to it. One aspect is the religious aspect that being gay is an abomination. I believe that the actual abomination is the sexual act of a man lying down with a man in the same manner as a man with a woman (look at Lev 20:13), but if you follow that law then you must kill the 2 men who laid together as a man would with a woman. Oh and you should kill adulterers. Leviticus, which is often quoted in the argument that being gay is a sin, states that many of the sexual acts that occur today are punishable by death. So the rightness or wrongness of being gay or lesbian or whatever is a religious issue and as we all know, the government may make no law regarding the establishment of religion or the free exercise thereof (first amendment to the Constitution of the United States).

While you may disapprove of gay marriage on religious grounds, can you separate the argument from the legal aspect of the argument? Because the Supreme court basically said, it's up to the people not the federal government and that the Defense of Marriage Act discriminates against a set of people in the land. If you look at it legally, the couples want the same rights that other couples get when they pay their taxes or dealing with estates or government benefits. If you're against same sex marriage, then you are saying (intentionally or unintentionally) that they don't have and shouldn't have the same rights as straight people. Under DOMA those rights were kept from them. Basically the Supreme Court said that congress over stepped it's bounds by treating one group of citizens differently than others and under the 14th amendment, all laws are to be applied equally to all people (unless you're a member of congress or the senate - that's just my 2 cents there). The supreme court did leave it up to the states and the people of those states to either have or have not same sex marriage.

One of the arguments made regarding the banning of same sex marriage is that it will undermine traditional marriage and traditional families. I'd like to see that argument.

Now the Paula Dean thing. I only have one thing to say "Let he (or she) who is without sin cast the first stone." Kind of funny that that's what she said on the Today show this morning (this morning being the morning of June 26, 2013).

Here's my disclaimer:
I don't condone the use of the N word nor do I necessarily condone the telling of sexist or racist jokes.

It was quite a trip.

2013-06-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know and most of you don't know and probably all of you could not care less, I went on a weeks vacation to visit my daughter Holly in Boston. The time I spent there was very nice. The weather was a bit on the wet side for the first 4 days or so, but it cleared up nicely for a jaunt through Boston on Thursday with some of that time spent among dead people and some of that time in a park where they used to hang witches. I did not actually see the hanging tree, but I was assured that it was there.We spent a good amount of time looking at the sights. Here's a picture of something that we don't see much of here in Phoenix, well I don't see much of it, if you water your lawn you may see some of it.

If my memory serves me correctly, that's clover. And look here's a huge shade tree. Okay, maybe not, it was coming out sideways and trust me, the tree was not sideways.

Anyway, we had a good time together. It was good to see Holly and meet all her roommates, who seem to be very nice people. It was good to meet Angie, who was kind enough to drive us anywhere we wanted to go. And Jason, who I got to meet. He seems to be a nice young man. And, of course Chris. I enjoyed spending time with Holly and Chris, both of whom seem to have a peculiarly strange sense of humor. I have no idea where Holly gets it, maybe she gets it from Chris? Could be. Chris is a nice guy who knows what he wants and is on the track to getting those things. I just hope I was not a burden to them with all my whining and my demands on their time.

Now, the visit there was very VERY nice. It was relaxing and, dare I say fun? The trip there and back was an adventure unto itself. When I had decided to buy the tickets to go to Boston, I made the decision that I did not want to have to worry about making connecting flights. While the trip there and back were not non-stop, I had made it so I did not have to change planes. Or that's what I thought anyway. On my way to Boston on the 8th of June, the first leg of the journey was Phoenix to Denver. The flight was uneventful from the aspect of the passengers, but apparently those who were in charge of flying this death trap, I mean airplane had a different view than we did. It really was NOT a death trap, sometimes I embellish things so you have to understand that "death trap" is merely and embellishment of the plane. Though under the wrong circumstances, it could be called a death trap after all you're thousands of feet in the air with nothing below you except the cargo hold. But I digress. Oh yeah, I wanted to start a magazine for those whose minds tend to stray called "I Digress", but my mind wandered and I haven't done that yet. Oh yeah my trip to Denver, rather to Boston via Denver. When we landed we were told that we needed to take our belongings and get off the plane as there were "mechanical difficulties". Such a broad statement. Does that mean we were about to lose our cargo hold (the only thing saving us from a firey plunge to the hard ground below us) or was a windshield wiper not functioning correctly? Personally I vote for the wipers. Any way, we left the plane and were told it should be 3 pm when we can get back on board and continue the flight of fancy to Boston. This was at 11 am so we had a nice 4 hour delay in Denver where you could walk around an see the sights inside the Denver airport. I was truly astounded at the lack of eateries in the area where our gate was. I believe there were 2 places you could get something to eat and one coffee shop and a store to buy Denver stuff. We were expected to land in Boston at something like 530 local time, but it turned out to be 930. It was a long flight and I believe I spent 12 hours in the airports or airplane that day. Surely the trip back would be different. And it was.
Leaving Boston was an adventure. The plane was due to take off at 530 pm and I would arrive in Phoenix at 930 pm with a brief stop in Chicago to boot passengers off and allow new ones on. We got on the plane and got pushed back from the gate about 10 minutes late. Eh, that's fine, what's 10 minutes, that can be easily made up in the air. We started taxing (taxiing?) to the runway and it started to rain. Now I had seen lightning flash while still in the terminal, but planes can fly in the rain (otherwise how would anybody ever get to Seattle?) While we were out there waiting for our turn to turn on the jets and take flight like a long metal tube just flung into the air, it started to hail. I could hear it, but I didn't see how big it was. We were ordered BACK to the gate to have the plane checked for damage. I called Holly and informed her that I was indeed, in Boston. We were informed that 3 other planes needed to be checked, but our plane was first in line and that it would be about an hour. Over all, we departed Boston about 3 hours late. Too bad for those making connecting flights in Chicago, but I was already on mine. At least I didn't have to worry about missing my plane. We got to Chicago without incident and kicked off many people and brought on many more. We took off in a timely fashion and sailed our way to Phoenix. When we got here, we spent a good 30 minutes waiting for the plane that had rudely taken our gate to move it shiny metal ass out of the way so we could move in. So after spending another 12 hours in airports or airplanes yesterday (June 17) I finally made it home around 130 this morning.

While the visit with Holly and her gang was a pleasant experience, out of the 10 days I was away from home, one of those days (24 hours roughly) was spent in the confines of an airplane or the airport. Makes me wonder if perhaps driving would be better.