For All Who Struggle with those pesky monsters

  Did you ever have a nightmare?  Did you ever feel threatened, chased?  Me too....  Teddy Bears are cool.
  At what point do we become too old for teddy bears?  Or, more to the point, what point do we no longer need to feel loved, to hold someone or something dear and give love to it?  At what age is it that we come to no longer fear the things that go bump in the night?
  I am often wakened with those things that go boom.  I never know if they are real or in my mind.  I usually look to the dog, and if she isn't worried, I figure I'll be fine.  If nothing else, that dog isn't going to let anyone hurt the one who feeds her in the morning!  
  So, I guess I don't have a teddy bear.  I have a Gracie Dog.  And for some reason, this pic Scottie sent to me is way too accurate!

  May all our dreams be wonderful!     Hugs!

 

The Unfortunate Need for Regulation Demonstrated.

Hello All;

  Over the past few years, my father has worked in his retirement with the local zoning board.  It has really been an education for me.  I'm more the "leave me alone to do my thing on my property" type of guy, but his time with the zoning board has been an education for us both as he tells me the ways and whys of decisions.  As a result of that education, I am grudgingly in agreement of most of our zoning laws, at least those he has demonstrated to me, because at the center of them is the need for us all to work together with a certain set of rules so we all can enjoy things in safe and cared for manners.
 
  Having said that, I read this horror story of the chemical spill spoiling the water for some 300,000 residents of West Virginia.

And, what I can't help but to notice is that once again, this concept of calling oneself a patriot is supposed to make any action acceptable.  If no other example than below shows, wrapping oneself in the flag would seem to be the first mark of suspicion in my book.  And, hey... just for kicks, I looked to see if Fox and Friends covered the story.  Not sure if they did or not, but I sure couldn't find any mention of it.

  In the end, having some restraints upon a person or business is necessary if painful.  When what I do effects my neighbors, I do have a responsibility to make sure my actions are safe and respectful.  Objecting to regulation is almost knee-jerk, but it frankly is the mark of civilization.  It is the mark that we do not live at the strength of our own arm alone but as a community, and as a community that cares for all involved.  And yet, the very people who routinely advocate for less government oversight and ever greater removal of the constraints that allow such horrors as this spill to occur are the same who have no problems with denying my rights to love who I choose.  Hmmm, a bit of an odd thing, huh?

The Support of Prejudice

Hello all;

  I read something a short time back and it made me laugh.  It talked about how the entertainment industry dumbs down things to make them more palatable.  The primary example is the show "Duck Dynasty".  Now, I have to tell you, I didn't enjoy the show before that asshole spouted his puke, so now find it quite easy to find something else to watch.  The other example used is the comedian "Larry - the Cable Guy".  Now, I never did understand why he was a cable guy, but the point is, these all were clean cut folks who only found fame when they put on a persona of being a dumb hick.  Personally, that should be offensive.  It's similar to the old days of using black face.  The irony of it, though, is that it's usually the same people being made fun of that seem to love these shows.  Somehow I don't imagine those made fun of in the black face days felt the same.
  The reverse of this, the very ironic face of this is this pic stream.  It made me laugh.  Hope it does for you as well.  It also reminds us that looks can be deceiving in many ways.    hugs

 

Why do we live?

Hello Friends;
  I heard this on a commercial just recently.  Normally, this would bring about a hatred in me for the producers so brazen as to defile greatness with capitalism, but I was too appreciative of the reminder.  I loved this movie, though I must admit I didn't understand it near as well as I believe I should have.  It remains a movie I will see again and again in the future as I am more prepared to see it.
  Perhaps not quite central in the maker's eye, but certainly well nigh the core of this movie is the confrontation of romance and practicality.  I guess the latter - a denizen of old and tired men worn from worry and hopes flown; and the other - faere ground of youth when dreams are still possible and even real.

  Is it romantic to find some things worth the hope and the fight?  Maybe, and maybe that is why old men and those who have lost the ability to dream and seek the possible hold so tight to the certainty of imagined control.  And yet, as I remember the old saw that naught is certain but death, those who seek the certainty of control seem to only find the deception and vanity of momentary wealth while at the same time giving aire to hatred and vitriol to those who seek the romance of love, of equality, of peace.

hugs

For all who struggle a bit, and for my friends especially!