The entire world knows that today is the celebrated 234th  birthday of America, and some may even know that today marks the 184th anniversary of the passing of two giants of American history.

July 4th, 1826, saw the leaving from this world of two of the greatest men, and free thinkers, that ever passed through the halls of legends. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died with six hours of each other on that day. These two men  were the closest of friends, the bitterest of enemies, and great admirers of one and another.

If that old saw about opposites attracting each other is true, then the Adams/Jefferson relationship is the poster child for that cause. Not just in physical stature, Adams being quite a bit shorter and a little rounder than Jefferson, but more strikingly, the difference in philosophical beliefs concerning self-government.

Adams was a born and bred disciple Washington's federalist vision, while Jefferson detested federalism and favored the Republican stylings. Yet both men were elbow to elbow as staunch patriots, not only at the signing of the Declaration, but as emissaries in Europe, and they both enjoyed a close relationship as friends.

That is until the presidential election season of 1800.

What craziness would drive a man to seek the office of President in succession to George Washington? Lunatic or not, the best man for the job won that position in 1796, with quite possibly the worst possible man hailing in at Vice President; Thomas Jefferson.

Adams asked his dearest friend (the only one closer to Adams was his wife Abigail) to join his administration as a co-partner in guiding the still young American government.

Now, some of you may know that I am not the greatest fan of Jefferson the man, but I believe his philosophies were sorely needed to balance everything out. Too much federalism tends to look and feel like a monarchy, and too much democracy takes on the mantle of chaos.

Almost upon the moment of acceptance, Jefferson began a secret campaign to undermine his friend's presidency and erode the credibility of federalism. Through his co-conspirator, James Madison, Jefferson set about to sling mud on Adams and his beliefs and policies in such a back stabbing fashion that it is appalling.

The secret campaign by Jefferson over the next four years became less secretive as time wore on,  because more of his closest agents became increasingly vocal. Some of those vocalizations were directed by Jefferson, as his ever growing veil of sub-rosa dissension became thinner by the day.

While Jefferson sat in Monticello denying any interest in seeking the highest office, almost to the day he was elected, Adams became more embroiled in the fight for the Washingtonian ideals and the attack on the integrity of his own self. This led to the worst policy move of his tenure as the nation's leader; the Sedition Act of 1798.

While the sedition act is used today as the foundation for charges of treason, at the time the law was written up, the act was to combat libel perpetrated against the American government, more specifically, the presidency, and Jefferson felt, possibly rightfully so, that it was directed squarely at him.

Mud slinging politicians of today ain't got nothin' on the ball of crap that went down between 1796 and 1800.

The culminating efforts of Jefferson were far worse than eroding ideals federalism; he succeeding in destroying a true friendship.

After Adams lost the campaign of 1800 to Jefferson, he went home to his farm. Upon arriving, he made a simple, yet characteristic observation:

I have made a good exchange; honors and virtues for manure

Adams  also never spoke directly with his one time close friend, Thomas Jefferson, for the reaming days of his life.

The next few years, the former friends used various publications to defend and mildly attack one and another publicly.

Adams was corresponding with long time associate Benjamin Rush, who was also trying to nudge Jefferson into contacting Adams. A move that Adams at one time believed had to be made before the two would write each other in exchanges of any length:

If I should receive a letter from him, I shall be prompt in answering it

But in the end, it was Adams who acted first. An act that began a twenty year exchange of letters; writings that are as legendary as they are important to American history.

Above all the accolades of legend and importance, the letters are an immortal display of true friendship.

The letters started out carrying the same messages that were publicly broadcast to a more privately intimate venue. Each side saying, "Oh yeah? Well you did...", but the letters never stopped.

No one got pissed, took their ball and went home.

From the outset, the exchanges carried an undertone of deep mutual respect and admiration. Adams always asserted that he loved Jefferson, no matter what dirty trick Jefferson applied towards him, and Jefferson, in his infamously elusive manner, would beat up Adams for his political views, but express a deep need of Adams' friendship.

As the exchange grew to be an articulate debate over differing opinions, the finger pointing grew less, and towards the end, both men realized they were dying dinosaurs among the next generation of American patriots. As their bright lights began to dim, they both began to revel in their friendship and the deeds of their youth.

Less than six hours after Jefferson' death, Adams stirred awake from his favorite reading chair to utter his final words, "Jefferson lives."

We Americans are often perceived as arrogant and shallow. Pushy and argumentative, but in the end, we are like every other person in the world; we are human.

We may debate that we are right, we may act in ways that are destructive to relationships, but we are forgiving of not only ourselves, but of everyone else as well.

Political, philosophical, and cultural divides will give way to  the basic bonds of human spirit; if given a chance.
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© 2010, Alex. All rights reserved.

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I was scared. Imagine that; me scared of the submit button. In the same token I was interested to the point of staying away from any cats that were around. I have no need to live through all that crap again.

So, I answered the call that Correen put out for the Blog Interview Game, and what I was fearing was the questions I was possibly going to face. But, I got five rather cool questions,  and I think I'll go ahead and be honest with answers to them.

Correen's efforts at the Beach have been unmatched in her penchant for fun and understanding, and this game is a prime example. Thanks again, Correen.

Before I answer the questions I recieved, I'll throw out answers to the ones I thought I was going to get:

1. Quite often it's neither.
2. Yes! For a large part of my life i both inhaled AND exhaled.
3. Hornitos
4. Nope. Not even in college
5. Johnny Depp

Now for the questions I received:

How about Extreme Writing Now in 55 words...

The Sure Thing

She is my favorite. If you look in my little black book, you’ll see I penciled a fifth star next to her name.

She waited patiently while I was out cavorting with the others, and she accepted me with open arms and no questions asked when I came back.

EWN, I think I’ll keep ‘er.

On writing! Many people are freaked out about picking up a pen and writing. Any tips?

I truly believe there is a writer screaming to be let out in everyone of us. But I think people fear rejection and in that they misunderstand why the best writing is ever done.

The writing that is the strongest is the writing that is  that which comes from emotions and experiences that are real.  Every great author writes a little bio in each piece they pen.

I will echo Natalie Goldberg and say, just write. Spend 5, 10, or 15 minutes a day writing without editing or lifting the pen from the paper. After a while the energy becomes raw, and you will end up in places deep inside your soul that you were hiding from.

Confront those, and you will win. Write about them, and you will soar.

On music! What do you think are the advantages and drawbacks that musicians of today face?

I believe that the biggest advantage that musicians have today is the path they are on was blazed by some awfully talented folks in the past. Take a look at the Delta Blues scene in the 1920's and 30's and look how revered some of those musicians are in the form of cover songs.

Another huge advantage is the technology is some damn awesome. Not just for the smoke and mirrors for the studio, but some of the instruments themselves are pretty damn cool.

Without a doubt, the biggest drawback has to be the 'instant celebrity' era we live in. Everyone wants there 15 minutes and they want it now. Unfortunately this leads to shortcuts like not driving your own band from gig to gi for 500 tour dates a year. I think experiences like those help mold a musicians heart.

On color! Help us explore the color white...

What is there about white that we don't already know? Chastity, pure, trusting, and honest.

A man who wears a crisp white dress shirt will automatically have people listen to him.

White goes with everything.

On the other hand, white can be the one color that makes me lose sleep. A blank white page or screen when I need to write can be the worst monster ever created in anyone's mind.

I always make time for...

Everyone else.

Why not play the blog interview game with the rest of us?  The first 5 folks who comment with 'interview me' will get 5 questions from me that they can answer at their blogs, just as I have done here.

For a complete rundown on how to play, visit Let's Play The Blog Interview Game.

© 2010, Alex. All rights reserved.

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Wordola. Yeah, I'm sure that's where we first started chatting. Mimi ran that game for a while and I sporadically played it.

Well, Wordola turned into late night chats between insomniacs in the nearly empty coffee shop that Twitter was back then. Talking with her was so easy because we seemed to have had similar childhoods that grew into a similar set of morals and ideals.

Somewhere in the time frame, Mimi crafted the lens A Throwaway Childhood , and I wrote a now inaccessible blog post about how I learned to drive a car when I was 10 because my father was an alcoholic.

This is when I realized that Mimi was my sister (older or younger, I ain't sayin').

Mimi has more grace and elegance than anyone I've ever encountered on the Internet, but let me tell you; holding that golden halo in place is a pair of impish horns that is just the right touch to make her a true southern belle.

All the proof needs on that score can be found in the first lens I read of hers, The Outhouse Remembered.

For all of her grace, elegance, and impish ways, I'll remember her most for the large quarry of compassion that is her heart. Her work to educate us about the importance of our children is monumental, but the one lens, the former number one lens, Homeless In America, goes beyond the art of the artist (Tome Stone) she features in the lens. That lens speaks to me in ways that I think Matthew Brady wanted to be heard.

There is a message delivered in that lens that forces us to take a good long look at ourselves and the way we allow homelessness around the world. Like Brady's photographs of the human carnage that was the sum of war, Homeless In America draws us into the story of the artists easel.

You may be a world of things to different people, but you will always be Sis to me.

Happy Birthday Mimi!

Oh...yeah.....don't get too close to the sock drawer, Mimi

© 2010, Alex. All rights reserved.

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I think I may be stumbling onto my 15 minutes of fame, and those precious few minutes are coming in the form a of a curse; Drifter's Curse.

Well, that's what my publicist is calling it.

I'm not talking some hex I cast through incantations or magic potions (okay...sometimes I do curse when I drink tequila), no I'm speaking of a curse similar to the Madden Curse.

The Madden Curse dictates that whichever  NFL star graces the cover of the current issue of  EA Sports' Madden football game, will be hit with a calamitous injury.

That's the kind of curse that I see taking hold of me. Drifter's Curse may be gaining steam at the stroke of my pen, and if you don't believe me, read on...

Freelance Writing Jobs Network Sold

On Sunday, June 13th, I wrote a grand review of the awesome freelancer's resource known as Freelance Writing Jobs Network at my favorite blog. Sorry Crab's Eye, but I love you too.

I woke up Monday morning, had my ritualistic five yawns and a cup of coffee, then I opened my tweet machine to see that FWJN has been sold.

SOLD???!!!??

All I did was say great things about the site.

Actually, I am sure that Deb Ng, the site's creator, did the right thing and made the best decision possible on who to sell it to. The resource will be wonderful hands, Deb wouldn't have it any other way.

Still, was my writing about the site one day and the announcement of it being sold the next day a coincidence?

If you think so, then consider this...

Big Butter Jesus Burns

About a month ago, May 12th to be exact, I wrote and published a post titled Big Butter Jesus, Bigfoot, and Other Crap. In that post, I mused about the six story tall statue of Jesus that stood in front of the Solid Rock church in Monroe Ohio,  near I-75 and about 15 miles from my house.

Yes, I said stood. Monday night, June 14th, one of Mother Nature's cynical thugs struck Big Butter Jesus and burned him to the ground. Yup, Big Butter Jesus is now Hot Butter Jesus.

As it turns out, the frightening likeness of Christ was an 8 ton upper torso made from foam and wood around a metal structure. That sucker burned pretty damn good.

I am told that some members of the Solid Rock church were seen hauling off chunks of charred foam pieces of the "King of Kings" statue (the structure's real name). I imagine we all will be able to bid at eBay shortly for  some of those chunks of Jesus . I'm going to hold out on bidding until The Miracle of Monroe gets listed.

Oh come on, you know there will be a chunk of Jesus that when held in the right light will show a heavenly piece of burnt toast.

The old saw , the pen is mightier than the sword, is true on many levels, especially if the pen is transformed into a pin; the pin of a voodoo doll.

I think I will give it one more incident of  Drifter's Curse before I start taking requests and hitting the late night talk show circuit.

What do you think?

© 2010, Alex. All rights reserved.

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A Friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of Nature

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am  Nature's curator.

A few days each year of a man's life, he is celebrated by his friends. A few days a year does a man celebrate his friends. But, not many are as fortunate as I. Not many get a chance to celebrate friends such as each and every one of you, every single day the sunrises before him.

I could make a list, but I'd need another three birth anniversaries to compile the list, and yet another three to detail the virtues of each name on that list.

I think you all know that I appreciate each of you as individuals and as a group alike. I feel comfortable in that assumption, because we are indeed friends. You fuel me, keep me in line (somewhat), and let me push the boundries.

You protect me, reel me in at the last possible moment. You know I am deeply grateful for this.

The unspoken understanding between friends, that is the greatest value friendships have. Between us, there are thousands of silent volumes dedicated to the knowing.

On this day, the annual anniversary of my birth, know that each and everyone of you have already paid the greatest tribute to me that any man has ever had bestowed on him. That is the gift of acceptance you give me every day.

Thank you, my dearest friends.

Alex

© 2010, Alex. All rights reserved.

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Seven years old. That's how old WordPress is now. Seven years is an eternity on the Internet, wouldn't you agree?

Celebrating last week's seventh birthday, were over 20 million WordPress fans. Now, I realize that 20 million pales in comparison to the 500 million plus FaceBook users, but we are talking apples and ugli fruit here.

If you are a devout blogger, you can still call yourself a frontiersperson. An individualist, so to speak. With a blogs, we are trying to build our own communities, not live on someone else's turf.

We have total control of our content, and how we wish to present our statement, and the WordPress users know this. In the last year, the last 365 days, theme downloads at WordPress.com were an amazing 10 million, while plugin downloads came in at...hold onto your hats...a whopping 60 mil.

All of this growth in the last seven years came at a time when the naysayers are claiming that blogging is dead. Blogging numbers are on the rise as people realize the freedoms afforded by blogging.

And WordPress is the king of blogging, even beating out Google's Blogger platform.

Just think, all of the awesomeness that WordPress brings us happens at the astounding price of free, thanks to all the tireless developers who love the codex and want to give back to the Internet users.

Happy Birthday WordPress!

© 2010, Alex. All rights reserved.

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I know I caught on late as to the somber reasons we celebrate Memorial Day, or the reasons we should celebrate the holiday.  Always too hung up in the official end of the long haul (the first 3 day weekend after New Year's Day), I was scrambling to either get an early jump on grilling, or a vacation somewhere.

During one of those vacations, while driving through North Carolina, my mind was buzzing as I was finally contemplating the reasons we celebrate the old Decoration Day.

There are a few facts about the American Civil War that really strike home with me, including the use of the Curtis-Lee property (land inherited by Robert E. Lee's wife, Mary Curtis) as a memorial cemetery to be a nefarious reminder to Lee for the suffering he caused, the very noble and highly chivalrous surrender terms U.S. Grant offered Lee to close out the hostilities, and the very first Decoration Day celebration.

Freed Slaves in Charleston South Carolina exhumed the bodies of Union soldiers who died at a prison camp and were buried in mass graves. The fallen combatants' bodies were then reburied in individual graves, a fence was built and the site was declared a Union cemetery.

On May 1st, 1865, less than one month after Lee's surrender, 10,000 residents went to the site for a day of celebration that including singing, sermons, and picnics.

This was the first Decoration Day.

That was a historical event I knew about when I was driving through North Carolina that time, and for some reason the entire impact of what happened on that May Day in 1865 struck me.

Those people were not praising the fact that the war was over, or the freedoms they  were rightfully gaining. No, they were honoring those who paid the ultimate price for an outcome they didn't know about. Those soldiers, and any soldiers that die for any cause, perished in the vanity of faith.

My heart dies a little every year on this day, a day that has become the most important holiday to me, not because of the fallen Union soldiers, or the Confederate soldiers who perished, nor am I saddened just by the loss of American soldiers.

Most combatants throughout world history  who die in battle, or as a result of war, do so while believing they fight for what is right.

Fast forward a few years, when I was a Pack Leader for a group of Cub Scouts. I had taken the boys to a Memorial Day ceremony at the Dayton Ohio National Cemetery. Children from all over the are gathered to put flags on the graves of nearly 42,000 fallen veterans.

When those children took off to plant a flag in each grave, it was like a massive foot race, but the race didn't last long as, almost to a child, the group slowed to a somber pace. They began to actually read the markers.

On the way back home, the boys asked about the graves and some of the wars. Every one of them expressed sadness about those that lay at each marker.

I can only hope that it didn't take a boring drive through North Carolina for those boys to realize the real reason we celebrate Memorial Day.

© 2010, Alex. All rights reserved.

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I have started and trashed this article several times, most likely because I'm just as fuzzy about Facebook as Facebook is about Facebook. It's just as fuzzy at the top as it here on the bottom.

At first, I wanted to defend the social networking iconic king during the latest privacy policy flap concerning user profiles. When I say latest, I mean just that. It seems the platform is in the news far more often that what it really is over a privacy policy, but this isn't the first time.

Old news, profile info was being sent to marketers...blah blah blah...

If we have public profiles, what do we expect? And then there is a belief that we are required to completely fill out a complete profile to become a user. I don't think that is the case. Hell, just last week I filled in what town I live at.

I could defend the platform for a lot of reasons; it's FREE, was started as a way for college grads to keep in touch with classmates, it's FREE, TOS explicitly states no one under 13 years of age, it's FREE, more teenagers are turning to texting.

I almost did stand behind FaceBook, even though I'm not a huge fan, but then there were these shining moments of arrogance; The initial reaction to the latest user panic was that there will be changes because we have heard a few complaints.

Few complaints??!! It has been widely reported that nearly 60% of Facebook users have contemplated account deletion because of the perceived breech of privacy.

Then there were statements from the top cat at Facebook that indicated shock and surprise at the the reaction. Apparently Facebook assumed that the users liked the 'granular' controls.

Why make that assumption? Because those controls were well liked by internal staff.

Who needs to ask the end user what they think?

On the other hand...

The controls that seem confusing are not as confusing as they are a bit of a play on our ingrained patterns. The big culprit was the choice to opt- out of public profile display as opposed to opt-in.

In effect, any info not checked, got displayed. This is an old trick used by many organizations. Heck, there is a European Government that uses this to get committed organ donors when driver's licenses are renewed.

As far as people crying foul when it comes to Facebook allowing children to use the site, read the TOS. No child under 13 is permitted to use Facebook, yet I know at least three 10 year olds and one 11 year old that have Facebook accounts.

Truly, I believe that all the egg belongs on the complaining users' faces. The site is free, the TOS are there for all to read, and no one is putting a gun to our head and telling us we must use Facebook, or else.

Maybe it ain't so fuzzy at the bottom after all.

© 2010, Alex. All rights reserved.

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I thought I'd just share some past musings from the twisted mind that hangs out in my skull bowl ...

Blackmailers Screw Up

Many, Many years ago, shortly after the book Chicken Soup For the Soul was a smash hit, I threatened to write my own version. My version was titled Chicken Soup For the Lap. One of the chapters I wanted to write was all about Blackmailers, the title of that chapter is tentatively called Why Blackmailers Screw Up.

The premise is that Blackmailers always, I mean without fault, go for the whole enchilada in one shot. That is fool's folly because they put their victim on a very hot burner.

I mean the guy is gonna go broke in one sitting for chrissakes. He  may even lose a source of income, and where would that leave the Blackmailer, besides filthy rich and most likely going to blow that wad on stupid shit.

I say the best approach is to use the victim like an additional source of income. Bleed them just a little each month and you get to keep him on a string and you with some extra goodies. Maybe a nice couch this month and a fishing boat next.

It's a lot easier to hide $10,000 a month than it is to explain away a $20 million one time hit.

After a time, your demands become a living expense for him, and hell, maybe he'll start calling you and asking what you need for the month.

If You Think It's Butter, But It's Not...

About 15 miles from where I live stands the world renown King of Kings Sculpture. Standing in front of the Solid Rock Church, is the 19m tall behemoth that appears ominously to any driver on the freeway, I-75, that passes in front of it.

I'm guessing the statue has scared the bejesus out of more drivers than it has lured Jesus into.

Touchdown Jesus, or as we all know it more affectionately by, Big Butter Jesus, seems to be missing half his body. One Tuesday night, over poker and tequila, I surmised that perhaps the best way to make it all seem right would be to put two huge sandal clad feet sticking up, out by the freeway, and somewhere between those feet and existing statue, a revival tent.

Look What The Cat Dragged In

Just last night...wait...why is poker night the source of many musings?...we were talking about that old piece of advice concerning killing someone who is trying to break into your home.

You know what I'm talking about. Kill them in the yard and then drag them across the threshold. That way it is clear that the perp was in your house and you were defending your life, property, and family.

Okay, if that supposedly works, then I should be able to kill that annoying asshole drunk at the bar I like to wet my whistle at, drag him home and across my threshold.

Shouldn't I?

Bigfoot Crap

I was talking to Carrie the other day about her recent Bigfoot post and brought up a valid reason why the creature does not exist.

All the Bigfoot sightings and tracking attempts fail to bring forth what should be the one piece of key evidence that would seal the deal.

There is never any poop.

A creature that big has to eat a lot of something, even if it's just leaves and berries, which I'd find hard to believe. That kind of consumption would mean some good ol' fashioned healthy dumps.

Those wanna be trackers ain't finding spoor, hell, they ain't finding old Sears catalogs or even newspapers.

They ain't found shit!

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© 2010, Alex. All rights reserved.

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