I would like to leave you all with the following poem, one taught to me by my Father. It was one of his favorites, and I guess it was fitting since he passed away during the title month... Enjoy...
SEPTEMBER
by: Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885)
The golden-rod is yellow;
The corn is turning brown;
The trees in apple orchards
With fruit are bending down.
The gentian's bluest fringes
Are curling in the sun;
In dusty pods the milkweed
Its hidden silk has spun.
The sedges flaunt their harvest,
In every meadow nook;
And asters by the brook-side
Make asters in the brook.
From dewy lanes at morning
The grapes' sweet odors rise;
At noon the roads all flutter
With yellow butterflies.
By all these lovely tokens
September days are here,
With summer's best of weather,
And autumn's best of cheer.
But none of all this beauty
Which floods the earth and air
Is unto me the secret
Which makes September fair.
'T is a thing which I remember;
To name it thrills me yet:
One day of one September
I never can forget.
9.30.2006
9.28.2006
Second Chances
For as long as I can remember, I have always enjoyed history. I think that it is important to understand where we have come from so we can know where to go in the future.
Maybe the greatest capability of mankind is the ability to learn and to grow, and we do that for the most part by trying, and failing, and trying, and failing, until we learn from our mistakes and develop the ability to accomplish that which we are trying to do. In other words, we are learning from the history we create. And following that thought, the study of history is simply learning from mistakes made by others…
I remember talking once with someone who had the opinion that where we can learn from history, we can not go back and fix the past.
But maybe, on some occasions, we can do just that by making changes in the here and now.
A few weeks ago I went back to where I grew up as the annual Fall Festival was happening. An old friend accompanied me as we were going to meet up with yet another old friend for the occasion. I also happened to find out once I was down in the area that someone else very special to me from the past was single again and I knew that I needed to get in touch with her. As it happened, or maybe as it was designed, we ran into each other at the Festival.
She and I had only spoken briefly twice over the past eighteen plus years, and both times we were involved with someone else. There were issues that needed to be discussed from all those years ago, mostly on my part, as I had caused her a lot of hurt in the past.
However, over the years, I also knew that I had never lost my love for her. I was totally surprised during the course of the conversation to find out that she held similar feelings to my own in spite of everything, and in spite of all the time that had passed.
Since that night we have spoken daily, and at length, on the phone and in e-mail. The opportunity to reconnect has been quite marvelous and I know we are both surprised at how open and comfortable we are with each other after all of time we have spent apart. We are looking forward to all of the phenomenal possibilities that the future might hold in store for us both.
But how does this fix the mistake made in the past? Because this very special person was once my wife, and I feel (as does she) that, where our separation may have been necessary in order for us both to grow up and become the adults we are today, it was still a mistake for us to divorce and now we have the possibility of correcting that mistake and rewriting a future together.
Maybe the greatest capability of mankind is the ability to learn and to grow, and we do that for the most part by trying, and failing, and trying, and failing, until we learn from our mistakes and develop the ability to accomplish that which we are trying to do. In other words, we are learning from the history we create. And following that thought, the study of history is simply learning from mistakes made by others…
I remember talking once with someone who had the opinion that where we can learn from history, we can not go back and fix the past.
But maybe, on some occasions, we can do just that by making changes in the here and now.
A few weeks ago I went back to where I grew up as the annual Fall Festival was happening. An old friend accompanied me as we were going to meet up with yet another old friend for the occasion. I also happened to find out once I was down in the area that someone else very special to me from the past was single again and I knew that I needed to get in touch with her. As it happened, or maybe as it was designed, we ran into each other at the Festival.
She and I had only spoken briefly twice over the past eighteen plus years, and both times we were involved with someone else. There were issues that needed to be discussed from all those years ago, mostly on my part, as I had caused her a lot of hurt in the past.
However, over the years, I also knew that I had never lost my love for her. I was totally surprised during the course of the conversation to find out that she held similar feelings to my own in spite of everything, and in spite of all the time that had passed.
Since that night we have spoken daily, and at length, on the phone and in e-mail. The opportunity to reconnect has been quite marvelous and I know we are both surprised at how open and comfortable we are with each other after all of time we have spent apart. We are looking forward to all of the phenomenal possibilities that the future might hold in store for us both.
But how does this fix the mistake made in the past? Because this very special person was once my wife, and I feel (as does she) that, where our separation may have been necessary in order for us both to grow up and become the adults we are today, it was still a mistake for us to divorce and now we have the possibility of correcting that mistake and rewriting a future together.
I Resemble These Remarks
Ok... It's been awhile since I last posted, but I've been busy... And in a very good way... I hope to take a little time soon to post about it... But in the mean time, a cousin of mine sent me this and I thought I'd pass it along. I hope some of you reading this aren't to this stage in your life yet. As for the rest of us "older" people...
25 ways to know you have grown up
1. Your houseplants are alive, and you can't smoke any of them.
2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.
3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.
6. You watch the Weather Channel.
7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of "hook up" and "break up."
8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.
9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as "dressed up."
10. You're the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next door won't turn down the stereo.
11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.
14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's leftovers.
15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
16. You take naps.
17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.
18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.
19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and pregnancy tests.
20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer "pretty good shit."
21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.
22. "I just can't drink the way I used to" replaces "I'm never going to drink that much again."
23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congratulate them instead of asking "Oh crap - what the h--- happened?"
Bonus:
26. You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that doesn't apply to you and can't find one to save your sorry old ass. Then you forward it to a bunch of old friends 'cause you know they'll enjoy it & do. And now you know why I am forwarding this to you
25 ways to know you have grown up
1. Your houseplants are alive, and you can't smoke any of them.
2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.
3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.
6. You watch the Weather Channel.
7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of "hook up" and "break up."
8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.
9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as "dressed up."
10. You're the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next door won't turn down the stereo.
11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.
14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's leftovers.
15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
16. You take naps.
17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.
18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.
19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and pregnancy tests.
20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer "pretty good shit."
21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.
22. "I just can't drink the way I used to" replaces "I'm never going to drink that much again."
23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congratulate them instead of asking "Oh crap - what the h--- happened?"
Bonus:
26. You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that doesn't apply to you and can't find one to save your sorry old ass. Then you forward it to a bunch of old friends 'cause you know they'll enjoy it & do. And now you know why I am forwarding this to you
9.11.2006
9.07.2006
How It Should Have Ended
Real quick... If you find yourself with nothing to do and can't think of anything to do with the nothing to do time... Check out this site... I'm sure you'll find something to laugh at while killing some time.
9.04.2006
The Crocodile Hunter
As most of you will know by now, Steve Irwin was killed earlier today after being "...fatally pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while diving in Queensland's Batt Reef, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef."
I was saddened to hear this as I have always greatly enjoyed watching Steve bring nature into the living room in a very informative way, while at the same time doing so in a highly entertaining fashion. He ranked in the top three (in my book) of people whom I have most enjoyed watching that dealt with wildlife and discovery - Marlin Perkins (Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom) and Jacques-Yves Cousteau being the other two.
So Steve... It's a shame you couldn't have been able to say, "Crikey! That was a close one!," this time. We'll miss you, mate.
9.02.2006
Land Of Confusion
Anyone remember Phil Collins and Genesis? I would think it would be hard not to remember a group that managed to claim around 20 major awards in the 80's, not to mention about another 20 that Collins racked up on solo work.
In 1986, they released a video for a song called Land Of Confusion. Not only was the video great for its time {watch it here}, but the lyrics were well written, well thought out, and well applied.
Jump forward twenty years. This song has been masterfully re-done by the group Disturbed and the message in the lyrics apply just as much today as they ever did, if not more. But the true mastery is the songs video release. I usually wouldn't put a video tie in into my blog, but this is an exception. I hope you all enjoy.
In 1986, they released a video for a song called Land Of Confusion. Not only was the video great for its time {watch it here}, but the lyrics were well written, well thought out, and well applied.
Jump forward twenty years. This song has been masterfully re-done by the group Disturbed and the message in the lyrics apply just as much today as they ever did, if not more. But the true mastery is the songs video release. I usually wouldn't put a video tie in into my blog, but this is an exception. I hope you all enjoy.
Labor Day Weekend
First... I hope everyone enjoys the Labor Day Weekend.
Second... If it is Labor Day Weekend, what am I doing at the office working?!?
I think I want a new profession....
Second... If it is Labor Day Weekend, what am I doing at the office working?!?
I think I want a new profession....
Accolades Where They Are Due
Well… It pains me somewhat to do so, but I have to tip my virtual hat to one particular liberal that I usually have more contempt for than Bill (or Hillary) Clinton…
Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. Al Gore… Mr. Internet…
Al recently was in the land of my ancestors… Scotland. While he was there, talking his usual “green” talk amongst other things, he touched on something very important, very disturbing, not to mention very vital, about media and democracy. He said, “Democracy is under attack.”
His thoughts are directed at fears he has (along with a lot of other Americans, including myself) that too few people (or companies) are gaining a consolidated control of available media outlets, including T.V., radio, newspapers, etc. Al went on further to say, “Democracy is a conversation and the most important role of the media is to facilitate that conversation of democracy. Now the conversation is more controlled, it is more centralized.”
BAM! He hit the nail on the head and he is entirely correct. The media of today is too controlled by too few people with too few points of view. And, not to belabor the point, but the vast majority of the media is controlled and directed by those with a left side liberal point of view.
That is one of the reasons I spend very little time watching the TV for my source of news. By the time something makes it onto TV in the way of news, the liberal spin is SO heavy that it is painful to watch. Not only that, but I simply can not trust it because I KNOW it is slanted. It is biased… It is analyzed to death… Facts are not presented from an objective view point so you can make up your own mind… Your opinion of the event is GIVEN to you… Sometimes by a whole team of liberal spin doctors who already have it all figured out…
Look at several notable TV news personalities who could not (or would not) contain their liberal view points when trying to present the “news” to the rest of America: Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, Mike Wallace, Bryant Gumbel, and Connie Chung just to name a few. Then you have the type like Wolf Blitzer and Katie Couric…with liberal points of view, but who have a little too much air between their ears to be taken seriously.
Or, you have some Fox News (as much as I hate to say it because I still kind of like Fox) camera man who was captured by Islamic jihadists saying how “…he can’t condemn his captors…” because “…In some ways, I feel such sympathy for the Palestinian cause. You know, in my heart. You know, I can’t hate them for what they did…there’s a funny bit of me that’s sympathetic to them still.” WHAT!?!?!? What freaking drugs are you on man!!! Well… I’m sure he’s just suffering from Stockholme Syndrome. I mean, these are the people that cut other peoples heads off with dull knives while hiding behind head scarves yelling “Allahu Akbar” and taping the event. But he’s sympathetic to them… Right…
I’m not going to try to fit in newspapers and magazines at the moment, but they too play a major role in telling people what they should think instead of presenting facts and fostering dialog and constructive thinking.
So who is to blame for making this situation worse? The answer might surprise you… It wasn’t the liberals (who may have started it). It is the Republicans that may have push it all over the edge. Or, at least, it is the Republican controlled FCC. You see, a few years ago, this wonderful waste of our taxpaying dollars voted to make legal the ownership of up to three TV stations, eight radio stations, the local paper, AND the cable system in a SINGLE media market!!! One person or corporation can own it all now thus denying the majority of the local populace of what is needed most when it comes to democracy; differing dialog and debate without a single point of interference with regards to point of view. And it is this that Al Gore finds to be a problem and rightly so.
We need an independent press. We must have an independent press. But until journalism returns to its roots, forgets about trying to make the King, and turns away from seeing how much profit can be made by making news instead of simply reporting news, we the people are going to continue to have to muddle our way through events hoping that what it is we hear and read is actually fact and not someone else’s fiction.
And as for Al Gore? Good job… I’m with you… On this one…
Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. Al Gore… Mr. Internet…
Al recently was in the land of my ancestors… Scotland. While he was there, talking his usual “green” talk amongst other things, he touched on something very important, very disturbing, not to mention very vital, about media and democracy. He said, “Democracy is under attack.”
His thoughts are directed at fears he has (along with a lot of other Americans, including myself) that too few people (or companies) are gaining a consolidated control of available media outlets, including T.V., radio, newspapers, etc. Al went on further to say, “Democracy is a conversation and the most important role of the media is to facilitate that conversation of democracy. Now the conversation is more controlled, it is more centralized.”
BAM! He hit the nail on the head and he is entirely correct. The media of today is too controlled by too few people with too few points of view. And, not to belabor the point, but the vast majority of the media is controlled and directed by those with a left side liberal point of view.
That is one of the reasons I spend very little time watching the TV for my source of news. By the time something makes it onto TV in the way of news, the liberal spin is SO heavy that it is painful to watch. Not only that, but I simply can not trust it because I KNOW it is slanted. It is biased… It is analyzed to death… Facts are not presented from an objective view point so you can make up your own mind… Your opinion of the event is GIVEN to you… Sometimes by a whole team of liberal spin doctors who already have it all figured out…
Look at several notable TV news personalities who could not (or would not) contain their liberal view points when trying to present the “news” to the rest of America: Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, Mike Wallace, Bryant Gumbel, and Connie Chung just to name a few. Then you have the type like Wolf Blitzer and Katie Couric…with liberal points of view, but who have a little too much air between their ears to be taken seriously.
Or, you have some Fox News (as much as I hate to say it because I still kind of like Fox) camera man who was captured by Islamic jihadists saying how “…he can’t condemn his captors…” because “…In some ways, I feel such sympathy for the Palestinian cause. You know, in my heart. You know, I can’t hate them for what they did…there’s a funny bit of me that’s sympathetic to them still.” WHAT!?!?!? What freaking drugs are you on man!!! Well… I’m sure he’s just suffering from Stockholme Syndrome. I mean, these are the people that cut other peoples heads off with dull knives while hiding behind head scarves yelling “Allahu Akbar” and taping the event. But he’s sympathetic to them… Right…
I’m not going to try to fit in newspapers and magazines at the moment, but they too play a major role in telling people what they should think instead of presenting facts and fostering dialog and constructive thinking.
So who is to blame for making this situation worse? The answer might surprise you… It wasn’t the liberals (who may have started it). It is the Republicans that may have push it all over the edge. Or, at least, it is the Republican controlled FCC. You see, a few years ago, this wonderful waste of our taxpaying dollars voted to make legal the ownership of up to three TV stations, eight radio stations, the local paper, AND the cable system in a SINGLE media market!!! One person or corporation can own it all now thus denying the majority of the local populace of what is needed most when it comes to democracy; differing dialog and debate without a single point of interference with regards to point of view. And it is this that Al Gore finds to be a problem and rightly so.
We need an independent press. We must have an independent press. But until journalism returns to its roots, forgets about trying to make the King, and turns away from seeing how much profit can be made by making news instead of simply reporting news, we the people are going to continue to have to muddle our way through events hoping that what it is we hear and read is actually fact and not someone else’s fiction.
And as for Al Gore? Good job… I’m with you… On this one…
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