What to write about?

I usually have so much to say so its odd I have no idea what to write about lately. I was going to write about tax time, but I have a sneaky feeling that has been well written about this time of year. I was also considering writing about some of my worries or needs, but who wants to hear of another problems, we all have plenty of our own to deal with. So I decided to write about nothing at all, perhaps my ramblings may amuse any who stumble on this blog by accident, I still have no followers, so it would have to be an accident.

Nothing to worry about, well not really but in comparison with what the Japanese people have been going through lately it sure puts my problems into perspective. I would like to ask anybody possibly reading this to take a minute and offer a prayer for those poor people affected by the disaster they have suffered. Talk about a one-two punch, earthquake/tsunami and then nuclear radiation poisoning the very water they drink and the air they breath! How much can one people take?

Nothing to lose, well definitely if you are talking money. I have been so hard pressed to find work as a contractor lately that I am basically unemployed, bills are piling up and getting later and later, at least I will not have to worry about my credit rating, I guess its as bad as it could possibly get right now. Again this does not really set me apart these days, I guess there are those who are even worse off than my family, although its hard to imagine. 

Nothing to complain about, yeah that's a joke. I have so much to complain about, this change we received as American citizens is nothing at all which I care for. being broke, losing hope, panicking every day over what I can do about it. At least I have not lost hope.

Hope is actually all I have left, one should never lose hope. What a sad thought, to lose hope. I hope the economy gets better, I hope my finances get better, I hope my family and I stays healthy. I hope we get a new President who seems interested in doing what is in the best interest of America and American citizens. I hope Japan gets some relief. I hope the war we illegally entered in with Libya sees a peaceful resolution. I hope the rest of the world can come to peace, I hope there is no more wars for U.S. troops, brave selfless heroes that they are, have to risk their lives to engage in. I hope our politicians would appreciate and follow The U.S. Constitution for the benefit of our country. I hope that none lose hope, hope is the spark of faith that leads men to greatness, to allow them the inspiration to acheive, the fuel which drives innovation. Hope is eternal, I heard this once and never paid it no heed, now I know what it means and happy that with all that has been taken from me in the past two years that at least no one can ever take hope from me. Hope is truly a gift from God, we should never lose hope.

ed

Heart attacks and other stuff.

I labor for a living and am self employed and like everyone else these days it has been tough. This year I have heard of many customers of mine who have died of a heart attack. Some were friends and others were decent people, none deserved to go so suddenly. Life is fleeting, yesterday I was a kid, today I am an old fart, tommorrow.....

What is really bothering me now is the amount of people who have seem to lost hope, hope in the country I call home, America. This is especially disturbing to me as I am above all a patriot and I beleive in the goodness of America and Americans in general. We are a collection of souls, of races and ideals, sure we may not always be perfect but who or what is. The worse part is that the youth are attacking America on grounds of past mistakes instead of focusing of the good we have done and the good we are capable of doing.

Look what America has brought to the world, the overwhelming majority of it has been good. We have had missteps and have stumbled along the way, but the way has been a light to the rest of the world. Perhaps it is our current President and his policy of apologizing for America that has influenced the youth here. Where was China's apology for human rights violations? For that matter where have been the apologies of any dictator run country's apology for anything they have done to either the world or their own people? In America you do not become disappeared for speaking out against the government.

These youth should be called the " Gullible Generation ". Its fitting for a group who has been taught what to think, not how to think, they are influenced by movie stars, athletes  and musicians, people who have in many cases not even completed basic education, yet their word is golden as they " have money and access to truths we do not " I actually heard this point several times. I heard on the radio the other day that there is much interest in George Clooney running for President, besides being a womanizer what other presidential qualities does he posess? Mr. Clooney said in an interview he was not interested, but then stated that if he did he would first admit to all his past mistakes and the female who interviewed him gushed how he would be an honest politician.

Having the " Indifferent Generation " replaced by the " Gullible Generation " for shaping the future of the country does leave me with much trepidation. I have faith in America, the idea of America and American values but I am teetering on the brink of panic over the youth I see these days and the nonsense they spout. I listen to Sean Hannity occasionally and he has a man on the street type of segment where his staff interviews young people on the street, 95% of them do not know anything about their leaders or their political views or policies, yet they voted for them.  They say ignorance is bliss, maybe to the ignorant but to any who are capable of rational thought, ignorance on this level is horrifying.

ed

New Years, again.

Wow, its a New Year, yippee. This is the time of the year one is supposed to aspire to begin new challenges, weight loss, career change, self improvement etc. I think it may be easier and maybe even more realistic to promise just to do the best you can at everything you do. No half hearted attempts at some grandiose lifestyle change, just do the best at what you you do regularly. Be the best parent you can be, do the best at your job whatever that is, try to be happy with what you do.

Do you think the world would be a far better place if we all just did what we do the best we can? I am not asking for anyone to settle for less than what the feel they can accomplish, just do what you do and do it well. When one gives their best at any undertaking, whether it is their job or sports or even video games they have the comfort of knowing that they did not settle for any less than they could personally muster. What else is there in life?

I am going to do my best this year to be the best at everything I do, I will not worry if I am the best at everything I do but as long as I put the effort forth to be the best that I can possibly be I will know deep inside that I have tried.

Good luck to all this New Year, be the best that you can be and you will not let yourself down.

ed 

My wife accuses me of being middle aged !

My wife, God bless her, is one of those people who are perennially upbeat and positive while I am, lets just say a little more realistic. Its not that I see the glass half full, hell sometimes I do not even see the glass at all. We have a setback or a piece of bad luck and she says " something good will come from this ", while I say, well I do not want to repeat most of what I say at times like these, just assume its not what you would want the kids to hear.

I find myself aggravated at her optimisim most times, other times I find myself jealous of it. How does one stay upbeat when life is dealing you cards from the back of the deck? God forbid I would ever have anything serious like a real tragedy befall me, I would probably lose it, okay I would definetly lose it, I lose it over minor setbacks all the time. They say opposites attract, I guess its true, at least it is in our case.

You may wonder why I would get so upset when she is putting a positive spin on whatever setback we are dealing with at the moment? I guess the old saying " misery loves company " may be the answer. Sometimes you just want to set back and be miserable, blame everyone, blame no one, just be forlorn and relish in your own wretchedness, curl up in a ball and rock back and forth and wonder what you did to deserve this doleful state you have been thrust into. Yea, thats the ticket. Then I look over and there is ole happy face with her positive attitude telling me that it will be alright, sheesh, can't she just suffer with me like a normal person?

She makes it hard to enjoy a despicable situation properly, abandon hope all ye who enter here, my motto at times like these. Its people like my wife that inspired things like the Care Bears, all that wishy washy happiness and hearts and flowers. Makes me want to puke, maybe even do the projectile vomit thing and aim it at her, of course she would just take this a sign that good times were on the horizon.

The thing about being in a state of misery is that when you finally arrive at the other side, when goodness and plenty has returned and the sun is shining and your belly is full and the wallet actually contains some money that is not already spent is that is when you get to really enjoy it. Of course you have to keep in mind that abject sorrow may be just around the corner, but, I can feel better knowing that although she is still happy and upbeat she is not enjoying it as much as I am, I have the benefit of the contrast between good and desperation, while she is seems to be stuck with permanent euphoria, some people just do not know what they are missing.

Just the other day she was saying we should start taking care of ourselves better as we are middle aged, I am fifty years old while she is seven years younger than me, I explained to her that for me to be middle aged would require me to live to be one hundred years old, thats way to long, think of all the bad that could happen during another fifty years !

ed

Hey welcome to my blog, or not.

Touched in the head, this a term my grandparents used to describe someone not quite up to par mentally. The first time I heard it used was when I was riding with my grandmother to the five and dime store, what you never heard of a five and dime store you young punk, go ask someone with a little more life experience to explain it to you. Anyway, as we were on our way this guy stepped off the curb causing granny to slam on the brakes almost hitting him, he looked at us and waived his hands over his head, much like an orangutan I seen years later on some kids show my children were watching, he then started to cry and seconds later he looked as if he forgot what he was crying about and stepped back on the curb. I asked, granny what was the deal with him, she answered " son he is a bit touched in the head " Naturally this seemed like the perfect title for someone who decided to post words to a blog, especially someone who has nothing really important to say.

Naturally I just silently absorbed this as if I understood what it meant and later that evening I asked my mother what this cryptic term meant and she explained to me it was a polite way of describing someone who was slow or odd. She added that people who are not normal to society are those who are left out of life by the deficits they endure and these are the people that God love the most, therefore they are Touched, as if by God, in the head. This seems to me to describe the average blogger!

Take me for example, I am writing this stuff down not knowing if anyone will actually see it, or even if my writing will engage the interest of anyone who happens across this long enough to even read it, yet here I sit typing away with my typing finger, its too much to ask me to actually learn to type, you can't teach an old dog new tricks, and its even tougher to teach an old fat guy who is touched in the head a new trick so I rely on the one finger method of communication.

My advice to any soul who happens upon my newly created blog? If you want profound insights and truths, seek God. If you want entertainment you may be out of luck, if you want to waste a few minutes of your time you may just find something to laugh with me about, or even more likely you may find something to laugh at me about. I may even remind you of something long forgotten, like say Ben Franklins , Kresge's, or Woolworths and Murphys these stores were described as  five and dime stores, later the term developed into dimestore, damned inflation.


ed