It is the twilight of 2006... A new year is only a few short minutes away… As is normal with life -- with time -- change is a constant. This year has been no different for me, for you, or for the world in general.
It is a given that each year events will unfold… Some will be good, some will be bad, some will simply occur leaving us neither better or worse off than we were had it never happened.
This year has seen, from my own perspective, more change in my life than might be considered usual. It has not been as dramatic as some years, but it will last in my mind as more memorable than many of years past. Again… Some for the good, some for the not so good…
I am ready for the new year to begin and I hope it is one that sees more of the good than of the bad.
My best wishes to you all… Happy New Year… May it be a good one…
12.31.2006
12.26.2006
Observations…
I couldn’t help but notice over the past few days some of the following that is going on in the world:
James Brown died: “I’m going away…” were his last reported words…
The death toll in Iraq has exceeded the 9/11 casualty total…
Once again, the people of Somalia are suffering but the Islamic forces are being driven back…
Hamas is still causing strife in the Middle East…
American forces take down a top Taliban leader in Afghanistan…
An oil pipeline exploded in Nigeria: 200 dead…
Pakistan is building a fence, complete with mines, on part of its border with Afghanistan…
Yet another car bomb attack in Baghdad… 23 killed, 105 wounded…
…and the 21st century continues.
12.22.2006
The Christmas Story
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us).
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him."
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.'"
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him."
When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.
Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."
And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt have I called my son."
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men.
Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more."
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead."
And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee.And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene."
12.20.2006
Wishing It Were A Winter Wonderland
It is days like today that make me regret ever moving back to the mid-west from Colorado. I have been reading, with great envy, about the snow storm currently piling all of that lovely white snow, now measuring in feet in various parts of the state. (NOTE: The PIC is from a web cam very close to where I used to live in Denver.)
I was just having a conversation about snow, or rather the lack of it, here in Indiana last night and we both agreed that it would be nice to have a white Christmas. Well, if we were living out west we’d be having one.
I have fond memories of several of the snow storms I went through while living in Colorado. They were fantastic! Not quite what we had here in the mid-west back during the Blizzard of ’78, but good enough. I even went through one “thunder snow” storm while living in Denver. The lightening was red and purple…
Four years ago, here, on Christmas Eve we had a very nice storm come through which left 9 to 13” in various parts of the area. That was a great Christmas morning…
Alas, according to the forecast for next week, we won’t be having a White Christmas here. So… Enjoy all of you denizens of the Great Plains! Maybe next year…
And to All! A very Merry Christmas! …and a Happy New Year!!
12.13.2006
Tis’ The Season…Of The Herd
Of the many ways to enjoy and celebrate the “holiday” season which stretches between Thanksgiving and New Years, shopping to me has become the antithesis of Joy & Good-will.
Maybe it is due to one very simple fact… I have a great dislike for people. Not to say that I am not quite fond of some individuals, for I am… But people… That collective of wasted DNA which so often provides the ultimate display of utter ignorance… I really can’t stand to be around them, let alone find myself within their midst.
However, since I do not have a mass stockpile of the basic items required these days for human existence, I find that I must venture forth from my sanctum sanctorum on occasion during this time of the year, even knowing that I will have to face my great nemesis; again…and again…and yet…again.
My most recent foray into the realm of the objectionable was last night. On my way home from work, I had the need to visit the local Meijer store (i.e. Super Wal-mart type store) for a few items. I knew that it was not going to be a pleasant experience even before I had managed to creep along the parking lot to a place to park the car. Already, the people, here forth noted as, “The Herd,” were wandering back and forth with all the rush of a herd of turtles crawling through a dust storm.
Once inside the store, my situation did not improve… I had been encumbered by The Herd while still in the parking lot, but once they found themselves within the confines of the store, they became paralyzing. I simply had to stand for awhile watching as The Herd, with glassy eyes, attempted to figure out which way they should lumber off to in search of whatever it was they were searching for. Given the slack jawed, glazed eyed, befuddled appearance on some of the faces I saw, I would surmise that many were there simply to be there without any true notion of what they were seeking, or even if it could be found within the store.
As I finally managed to make my way through towards the back of the store where I needed to start my shopping, I had many occasion to pause and observe the same look, the same response, the same pattern, that The Herd shared wherever they were encountered.
To make a long story shorter… I finally, and I might add without turning any of The Herd into jerky, managed to get everything I wanted and made my way to the check out lines. If you think that things couldn’t have gotten any worse, you would be mistaken. Out of almost 30 check out lines, there was a grand total of 4 open for business. (I discount the check it yourself lines as I had too many items, and they had already been swarmed en mass by The Herd.)
I watched for 25 minutes as the cashier (undoubtedly culled from The Herd) slowly, oh, EVER so slowly checked each and every item before passing it over the scanner… She displayed all of the speed of frozen ambergris as she went about the performance of her duties. Once she finally started checking my items, she haphazardly dropped the items into plastic bags, not even once looking to see where the items were going. On the second bag, as she released a box of angle hair pasta, the corner of the box hit the side of the bag on the way down, causing a rip in the bag. Of course, the box continued its path through the rip; followed by the second box of pasta, and seven other items. Again, all of this was missed by this Herd reject as she continued along her mundane way. She didn’t even pause to observe, let alone question or assist me, as I picked up all the items and placed them into a new bag.
Finally… Finally it was OVER! I paid!! I started my escape… Only to hear her say, “Have a good evening…” I didn’t bother to stop and try to explain to her why I KNEW I was going to have a good evening… After all, my torture was over… Rest and deliverance was at hand… I was leaving The Herd in my wake and returning again to the peace and tranquility of my abode.
Maybe it is due to one very simple fact… I have a great dislike for people. Not to say that I am not quite fond of some individuals, for I am… But people… That collective of wasted DNA which so often provides the ultimate display of utter ignorance… I really can’t stand to be around them, let alone find myself within their midst.
However, since I do not have a mass stockpile of the basic items required these days for human existence, I find that I must venture forth from my sanctum sanctorum on occasion during this time of the year, even knowing that I will have to face my great nemesis; again…and again…and yet…again.
My most recent foray into the realm of the objectionable was last night. On my way home from work, I had the need to visit the local Meijer store (i.e. Super Wal-mart type store) for a few items. I knew that it was not going to be a pleasant experience even before I had managed to creep along the parking lot to a place to park the car. Already, the people, here forth noted as, “The Herd,” were wandering back and forth with all the rush of a herd of turtles crawling through a dust storm.
Once inside the store, my situation did not improve… I had been encumbered by The Herd while still in the parking lot, but once they found themselves within the confines of the store, they became paralyzing. I simply had to stand for awhile watching as The Herd, with glassy eyes, attempted to figure out which way they should lumber off to in search of whatever it was they were searching for. Given the slack jawed, glazed eyed, befuddled appearance on some of the faces I saw, I would surmise that many were there simply to be there without any true notion of what they were seeking, or even if it could be found within the store.
As I finally managed to make my way through towards the back of the store where I needed to start my shopping, I had many occasion to pause and observe the same look, the same response, the same pattern, that The Herd shared wherever they were encountered.
To make a long story shorter… I finally, and I might add without turning any of The Herd into jerky, managed to get everything I wanted and made my way to the check out lines. If you think that things couldn’t have gotten any worse, you would be mistaken. Out of almost 30 check out lines, there was a grand total of 4 open for business. (I discount the check it yourself lines as I had too many items, and they had already been swarmed en mass by The Herd.)
I watched for 25 minutes as the cashier (undoubtedly culled from The Herd) slowly, oh, EVER so slowly checked each and every item before passing it over the scanner… She displayed all of the speed of frozen ambergris as she went about the performance of her duties. Once she finally started checking my items, she haphazardly dropped the items into plastic bags, not even once looking to see where the items were going. On the second bag, as she released a box of angle hair pasta, the corner of the box hit the side of the bag on the way down, causing a rip in the bag. Of course, the box continued its path through the rip; followed by the second box of pasta, and seven other items. Again, all of this was missed by this Herd reject as she continued along her mundane way. She didn’t even pause to observe, let alone question or assist me, as I picked up all the items and placed them into a new bag.
Finally… Finally it was OVER! I paid!! I started my escape… Only to hear her say, “Have a good evening…” I didn’t bother to stop and try to explain to her why I KNEW I was going to have a good evening… After all, my torture was over… Rest and deliverance was at hand… I was leaving The Herd in my wake and returning again to the peace and tranquility of my abode.
12.11.2006
Auld Lang Syne...
Aside from the fact that the song Auld Lang Syne is so well known in the world, there is something about the melody that sings within in my blood. Maybe it has to do with the origins of the song and some imprinted memory hidden deep in my blood, but whatever it is, I can not help but start thinking about things ‘…old long since.’
I am once again listening to Christmas songs via web radio, and this tune started playing. I found myself immediately thinking about various memories I have from around this time of the year:
I’m not sure how old I was, but I remember going out with Dad to cut down a Christmas tree one year. It was cold, and there was snow. We went out east and south of where my grandparents lived (on my mother’s side) and found a small cedar tree. I know both my grandparents were still alive at the time, so I had to be somewhere between 3-5 years old. Of course, this was also before we found out I had allergies, so there went real Christmas trees…
I remember another year when I accidentally set fire to a Christmas decoration in the east room of the old house. It was something Mom had put together with cotton to represent the snow. There were candles… I knocked one over… Poof! I remember Dad putting it all out with a bottle (still 16oz glass at the time) of Coke. I think I was 5 or 6 at the time.
I remember one year going out for a drive with Dad on Christmas Eve and when we got back home, I found out that Santa had come early that year!! Of course, later in life, I found out that Mom and Dad had done that because they knew a large snow storm was encroaching upon the area, and Dad worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation, so he knew he was going to have to leave later in the night and be working on Christmas…
…But that started a bit of a tradition for our family as we started having Christmas on Christmas Eve from then on out. Most of the time Aunt Zelda (my mother’s sister) and Uncle Marvin came in to celebrate with us. As my grandparents were all gone so early in my life, they ended up being more like my grandparents than just an Aunt and Uncle.
In 1977, about a couple of weeks before Christmas, I ended up just about taking off the middle finger on my left hand while out knocking wood loose on the wood pile. We had an ice storm, so the wood was all froze together. I had went out with mom and was tapping it loose with a sledge hammer, when I somehow managed to get my finger down over the edge of the wood and hit it with the hammer. I was OK until I got up on the porch and took my glove off and saw all the red. We tried soaking it in cold water for a little while, as I was watching "Frosty The Snowman" on T.V., but Dad realized very quickly that we were going to have to head over to the hospital… Which was almost a thirty mile drive… On icy roads… And I really didn’t like the idea of stitches. But, that is what had to happen. I remember the doctor saying how lucky I was that the damage hadn’t gone just a couple of mille-meters more or I’d be missing most of my middle finger.
Another year, I can remember walking around town with Dad looking at all of the flood water after heavy rains had hit the area. I had a short sleeve shirt on since it was in the low 70's!!! For the mid-west, that is just SO wrong on Christmas day!
I remember Christmas Eve of 1988. It hadn’t been a very good year… I really wasn’t looking forward to the holidays. That morning, I happened to stop by the local tavern and run into one of my cousins. Well… We started out having just a couple of beers, but ended up spending most of the rest of the day bar hopping. Needless to say, by the time the evening rolled around I was seeing the vapor trails off of Santa’s sleigh. I still hear about that one from time to time… Not something I’m exactly proud of either…
Christmas of 1989… I was living in Denver. I had an apartment by myself that was small, but decent. I couldn’t afford a trip back home that year, so I ended up having a simple dinner with an Uncle (on my Dad’s side) who lived there as well. I had a very small tree that came with lights set up on one of my stereo speakers and had set up some Christmas cards for my holiday decorations. All in all… It was one of the hardest Christmas times I’ve had.
Maybe the hardest Christmas was in 1995… I had gone through a divorce, and my ex had fallen off the face of the planet with our daughter. I didn’t have the money at the time to hire a lawyer to pursue legal options. I didn’t have enough money to come home to try to be with anyone. And even though I had some offer from friends to spend time with them during the holidays, I just couldn’t bring myself to go anywhere. And… It was also just three months after my Dad had passed away… I got up Christmas morning and listened to the "Christmas Story" on the Charlton Heston Presents the Bible CD. Later in the day, I’m sitting there flipping through T.V. and I come across "The Music Man" on one of the channels. That was just about my Dad’s favorite musical (and one that I like very well) and it was at that moment that pretty much all of the events of the year hit me like a ton of bricks…
Christmas of 2002 saw over 10” of snow of the ground from a storm that had passed through the night before. It was a good Christmas day, and just two days later, the best Christmas present ever came along… My son… And he has continued to make Christmas a joy.
And this year, I think Christmas will add additional great memories as well with a blending of the old and the new, forming a new Beginning of sorts full of wonder and excitement with all the possibilities of the future in place.
I am once again listening to Christmas songs via web radio, and this tune started playing. I found myself immediately thinking about various memories I have from around this time of the year:
I’m not sure how old I was, but I remember going out with Dad to cut down a Christmas tree one year. It was cold, and there was snow. We went out east and south of where my grandparents lived (on my mother’s side) and found a small cedar tree. I know both my grandparents were still alive at the time, so I had to be somewhere between 3-5 years old. Of course, this was also before we found out I had allergies, so there went real Christmas trees…
I remember another year when I accidentally set fire to a Christmas decoration in the east room of the old house. It was something Mom had put together with cotton to represent the snow. There were candles… I knocked one over… Poof! I remember Dad putting it all out with a bottle (still 16oz glass at the time) of Coke. I think I was 5 or 6 at the time.
I remember one year going out for a drive with Dad on Christmas Eve and when we got back home, I found out that Santa had come early that year!! Of course, later in life, I found out that Mom and Dad had done that because they knew a large snow storm was encroaching upon the area, and Dad worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation, so he knew he was going to have to leave later in the night and be working on Christmas…
…But that started a bit of a tradition for our family as we started having Christmas on Christmas Eve from then on out. Most of the time Aunt Zelda (my mother’s sister) and Uncle Marvin came in to celebrate with us. As my grandparents were all gone so early in my life, they ended up being more like my grandparents than just an Aunt and Uncle.
In 1977, about a couple of weeks before Christmas, I ended up just about taking off the middle finger on my left hand while out knocking wood loose on the wood pile. We had an ice storm, so the wood was all froze together. I had went out with mom and was tapping it loose with a sledge hammer, when I somehow managed to get my finger down over the edge of the wood and hit it with the hammer. I was OK until I got up on the porch and took my glove off and saw all the red. We tried soaking it in cold water for a little while, as I was watching "Frosty The Snowman" on T.V., but Dad realized very quickly that we were going to have to head over to the hospital… Which was almost a thirty mile drive… On icy roads… And I really didn’t like the idea of stitches. But, that is what had to happen. I remember the doctor saying how lucky I was that the damage hadn’t gone just a couple of mille-meters more or I’d be missing most of my middle finger.
Another year, I can remember walking around town with Dad looking at all of the flood water after heavy rains had hit the area. I had a short sleeve shirt on since it was in the low 70's!!! For the mid-west, that is just SO wrong on Christmas day!
I remember Christmas Eve of 1988. It hadn’t been a very good year… I really wasn’t looking forward to the holidays. That morning, I happened to stop by the local tavern and run into one of my cousins. Well… We started out having just a couple of beers, but ended up spending most of the rest of the day bar hopping. Needless to say, by the time the evening rolled around I was seeing the vapor trails off of Santa’s sleigh. I still hear about that one from time to time… Not something I’m exactly proud of either…
Christmas of 1989… I was living in Denver. I had an apartment by myself that was small, but decent. I couldn’t afford a trip back home that year, so I ended up having a simple dinner with an Uncle (on my Dad’s side) who lived there as well. I had a very small tree that came with lights set up on one of my stereo speakers and had set up some Christmas cards for my holiday decorations. All in all… It was one of the hardest Christmas times I’ve had.
Maybe the hardest Christmas was in 1995… I had gone through a divorce, and my ex had fallen off the face of the planet with our daughter. I didn’t have the money at the time to hire a lawyer to pursue legal options. I didn’t have enough money to come home to try to be with anyone. And even though I had some offer from friends to spend time with them during the holidays, I just couldn’t bring myself to go anywhere. And… It was also just three months after my Dad had passed away… I got up Christmas morning and listened to the "Christmas Story" on the Charlton Heston Presents the Bible CD. Later in the day, I’m sitting there flipping through T.V. and I come across "The Music Man" on one of the channels. That was just about my Dad’s favorite musical (and one that I like very well) and it was at that moment that pretty much all of the events of the year hit me like a ton of bricks…
Christmas of 2002 saw over 10” of snow of the ground from a storm that had passed through the night before. It was a good Christmas day, and just two days later, the best Christmas present ever came along… My son… And he has continued to make Christmas a joy.
And this year, I think Christmas will add additional great memories as well with a blending of the old and the new, forming a new Beginning of sorts full of wonder and excitement with all the possibilities of the future in place.
12.08.2006
Tis' The Season Of Solstice
I am of the opinion that the “winter doldrums” may have arrived early for me this year. Of late my mind is sluggish, I am prone to not feeling like doing much, and I feel as if I could use a good 18 hours of sleep. Of course, it could also be that I’m still trying to rid myself of whatever little nasty bug I ended up picking up a week ago.
I keep thinking that I would like to come up with something meaningful to blog about – like a post I was contemplating yesterday to mark the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and yet, as I was getting ready to type, my mind refused to cooperate, so I ended up posting nothing.
Maybe I just need a vacation… It has been almost two and a half years since I last took a real vacation, and I’ll admit to being more than a bit burnt out with work. So, some time off doing something enjoyable might be in order. However, with Christmas fast approaching, and still getting over the recent move, and everything else, I tend to think it will be awhile before that might occur. Maybe during the Spring Break…
At least my most favorite day of the year is fast approaching, that being the Winter Solstice, which will officially occur on December 21 this year at 7:22 p.m. EST. There are a couple of Winter Solstice events in and around the area that I’m aware of this year which might be interesting to observe. It’s always fun hanging out with the Pagan’s.
I keep thinking that I would like to come up with something meaningful to blog about – like a post I was contemplating yesterday to mark the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and yet, as I was getting ready to type, my mind refused to cooperate, so I ended up posting nothing.
Maybe I just need a vacation… It has been almost two and a half years since I last took a real vacation, and I’ll admit to being more than a bit burnt out with work. So, some time off doing something enjoyable might be in order. However, with Christmas fast approaching, and still getting over the recent move, and everything else, I tend to think it will be awhile before that might occur. Maybe during the Spring Break…
At least my most favorite day of the year is fast approaching, that being the Winter Solstice, which will officially occur on December 21 this year at 7:22 p.m. EST. There are a couple of Winter Solstice events in and around the area that I’m aware of this year which might be interesting to observe. It’s always fun hanging out with the Pagan’s.
12.05.2006
The Joy of Web Radio
There is one thing I really enjoy about web based technology... The ability to find just about anything you would want to list to any time you want to -- on demand.
Take for instance today. I'm still feeling wasted with whatever it is that has been going around and finally settled in our household. So in order to try and brighten my mood a little and lift my depleated spirit, I decided to log into laucnch.yahoo.com and listen to a little Christmas music.
There are several different "stations" to choose from, including a "Scrooge Toons" selection. For myself, I always prefer Traditional. So, I will sit here and listen to Bing, and Frank, and Doc and try to be reposed for awhile...even while listening to Tony Bennett
Take for instance today. I'm still feeling wasted with whatever it is that has been going around and finally settled in our household. So in order to try and brighten my mood a little and lift my depleated spirit, I decided to log into laucnch.yahoo.com and listen to a little Christmas music.
There are several different "stations" to choose from, including a "Scrooge Toons" selection. For myself, I always prefer Traditional. So, I will sit here and listen to Bing, and Frank, and Doc and try to be reposed for awhile...even while listening to Tony Bennett
12.01.2006
Tired And Feeling It...
I know I haven't been posting in almost two weeks and I thought I'd take the opportunity today to do something about it but now that I'm here I find myself too tired of mind to really try and blog about anything useful so I guess I'll simply leave things about the way they are for now in the hopes that sometime in the next couple of days I'll feel more like saying something.
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