Spiritual

Before August 29th, 2005, if someone asked me what I immediately thought of when I heard the name Katrina, I would reference the Walt Disney animated short film, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and say that the name always made me think of Katrina Van Tassel, daughter of the wealthy Baltus Van Tassel.  Following the hurricane, for the next five years I would immediately reference Hurricane Katrina upon hearing that name.

I've noticed lately that I've started thinking about Katrina Van Tassel again.  I think that's a good sign.

In four days it will be the 6th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and we presently have Hurricane Irene bearing down on the eastern coast of the United States, expected to make landfall in North Carolina.  I sincerely hope no serious damage results and nobody is harmed by the hurricane or its aftermath, in North Carolina or anywhere in range of Irene.  To those of you in this region, my heart goes out to you and I hope you and your loved ones remain safe.

I still get depressed.  I used to tell ghost stories for a living, and I did it well.  Well enough to support a family, and live in the old French Quarter of New Orleans (albeit sans automobile).  Well enough to live where walking out the front gate would lead to Royal Street, where a jazz parade might be passing by.  Where down the street one could find an old French patisserie, a cafe or a famous bar.  Where further down musicians might be performing on the corner, where people dressed up like statues would be posing, and nobody worried too much about how you looked or the way you chose to dress as you wandered through the streets.

Where I used to be easily recognized by a fairly significant number of locals.  Would they still easily recognize me today?  I'm not so sure.

But overall...life is good.  I can easily acknowledge that now, and feel it.  I used to talk about how lucky we all were to have survived the entire ordeal.

There are a few different references out there about everything going to black, or everyone being covered by darkness, during the apocolypse.  There are also many people who think that is what happens when you die, athiests chief among them.  For most people this is a frightening concept.  In a brief discussion with Brigitte, however, I came to the sudden realization that the loss of sight would be of great benefit in the long run to human beings as a species, provided that this loss is accompanied by the acquisition of another sense, empathy being my preferred sense among the possibilities out there.

Empathy is the ability to sense the mood, feelings, and presence of others around you.  In my mind, this would be superior to sight, which is fallible to distraction, manipulation, and misinterpretation, which causes all sorts of problems.  To be clear, I'm not ready to lose my sight, because as we all know there are certain significant benefits to vision that I'm not quite ready to give up just yet.  But to reiterate - it is much easier for someone to be fooled into believing that they saw something, when in fact they did not.  Performing magicians exploit this regularly through their performances, using a variety of techniques designed to fool someone's vision.

Empathy, however, would be beneficial to everyone because it would permit them to have a closer understanding of the world around them and everything in it.  People would not be as interested in inflicting pain because they would be forced to share it.  People would have a greater sense of other living things, and even things that are believed to not be alive, yet still possess a certain level of sentience.  You would be aware of your environment in a way that no human currently is - you would "feel" the trees, the plants, the rocks, and all the various animals, insects and other creatures around you, in addition to all of human kind surrounding you.

With this level of connection with your surroundings, nature, and "fellow man", it would be difficult to continue our raping of the earth.  We would be less inclined to strip mine, to deforest, to pollute.  We would be less inclined to hurt, maim or kill.  We would have a greater understanding of one another, without needing to use words to explain to each other how we feel.  And it would be impossible to use words in deception - it would be impossible to tell a lie.

I believe empathy is the best path of human evolution.

Looking for answers in the wake of today's tragedy prompted me to make some realizations on the way to work this morning.  There are a lot of shocked and upset people, and an outpouring of sympathy and support for Japan in the wake of the 8.9 Richter scale earthquake which spawned a devastating tsunami that struck the island nation, sweeping away houses, cars and more in its wake.

There's more than enough media coverage on this at the moment, and as someone I follow on Twitter pointed out, watching some of these videos is akin to watching a snuff film.  While I would hope the majority of humanity is not taking pleasure in watching the tsunami footage, the point is still important - help is more important for Japan right now.

Japan, as a nation, is filled with strong people who are survivors.  Any country that could overcome two nuclear bombs detonated on major cities (courtesy of the United States at the end of World War II) can survive almost anything.  But this tsunami is just the start.  A nuclear facility no longer has functioning cooling as a result of the earthquake, and has had to evacuate the immediate area.  They have no immediate solution to address this problem.  There are going to be infrastructure problems leading to loss of communication, transportation and therefore food and supply shortages, especially in heavily populated areas that were affected.  Many people are lost or otherwise unaccounted for.  This tragedy will continue for months to come, and will be a part of Japan's memory for generations.  They need help from the rest of the world.

I know this, because I experienced the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.  I was trapped in a flooded building with my family and very limited supplies.  We had to take significant risks in order to escape the city.  The danger was not just the flooding, but also other people who were desperate enough to do whatever they thought was necessary to survive, regardless of the cost to those with whom they came in contact.  And we were the lucky ones - there were many who lost their loved ones, were brutally attacked, raped, or murdered, or simply couldn't survive the lack of supplies combined with temperatures above 100 degrees F and insufficient shelter.

I don't expect that sort of behavior from the people Japan, but rest assured there will be a period of chaos and danger.  There will be some who will take advantage of the current situation.

The biggest factor in all of this, however, is that this is just the warmup.  You may be sitting in the US right now, not at all worried because you are nowhere near Japan.  But that doesn't mean that we will never see similar activity, in our country.  I predict we will notice an increase in seismic activity in the US over the next several months.  There are two major fault lines that run through the US, one along the west coast and one from the south through the mid-west.  There are volcanoes in Washington, and there are already earthquakes being reported in Arkansas - not just in California.

If you follow the news you already know that New Zealand has suddenly had significant increases in their earthquake activity as well.

There are no 100% safe places, but that doesn't mean you cannot be prepared.  Stay informed, keep supplies handy and have an escape route planned in advance.  Keep the gas tank full if you know something might be coming.  Make sure you have enough cash for when the power goes out, the phones don't work and the banks are all closed.  Above all else, don't panic.

Disclaimer:  I am not affiliated with any religious organization (including Atheism, which based on the zeal of its members falls under the category of one as far as I am concerned), nor do I belong to any other organization which deals in magic, the occult, mysticism, etc.  I do, however, tend to think "outside the box" in terms of what is considered acceptable by certain popular religious organizations who will remain unnamed, and therefore if you are uncomfortable with this statement you may wish to stop reading right here.

After 35 years on this planet I would like to think I have a decent grasp on the nature of reality (I do not, by the way).  Even though I continue to affect a stoic stance in the face of the unexplained, however, there are still things that keep cropping up that are somewhat awe inspiring.  

Of late these events have been increasing in frequency of occurance, which to me implies that something is getting ready to happen. Precisely what that something is I only have the vaguest idea.  

Bear in mind that we are rapidly approaching the end of the Mayan calendar, and while the idea is scoffed and ridiculed by the majority - and an entire movie was released recently in the highest form of satire by creating what can only be termed as "cataclysm pornography" - there is reason to believe there is some credence to the claims posed by those who believe December 21st, 2012 marks the beginning of the end of times. Bear in mind that end of times can also be translated into new beginnings.  

In Tarot one of the most notorious cards is "Death", which does not actually mean that someone is going to die 99.999999% of the time (I suspect the 0.000001% of the time is what inspires all of those lame horror films).  Rather, the "Death" card is a sign of dramatic change.  Everyone (except the Atheists) believes that death is merely a transition to something new - an afterlife, a reincarnation, or some combination of the two.  Therefore I tend to subscribe to the idea that the End Times (while likely to be a rocky transition period) are probably going to result in Better Times for those who make it through that transition. Boy I hope I'm not seriously, critically wrong there. 

To get back on track - what originally sparked this post was the observation that has been postulated elsewhere that we are all living in a 3d holographic illusionary "matrix" for lack of a better descriptive term.  Our existence is not exactly like the movie - but there are aspects that were brought up during the movie that seem to coincide with what we experience here, especially in the categories of the unexplained.  

Scientists have recently observed a holy man from India who did not eat or drink for over a week without suffering from any of the expected ill effects.  Even though "nobody believes in that sort of stuff" there are still rampant stories of UFOs, extra terrestrials, and older things such as the Mothman, ghost stories and more. These could all easily be explained as "glitches" in an otherwise perfect system.

What makes all of these observations paramount is that in our current society we are now using technology for the purpose of communication to a degree never seen before.  Computers grant us access to email, instant messaging, and more recently social networking granting us immediate access to photographs and video of our friends and family members who are not necessarily close by. These computers are being made smaller and more portable all the time - with the advent of the iPhone and similar smartphones (my smartphone of choice is currently the Motorolla Droid), cellular internet access via tethering or data card, netbooks and the iPad for those who need something larger than a phone but not too large to carry around - we're all constantly connected and updated as to what is going on in our virtual ecosystem that transcends our physical ecosystem.  People who do not live in the same state, or even on the same continent, can see what you have been up to almost in a real time basis.

So if we are already in a matrix, and we have found a way to utilize the matrix to our own design, because that is effectively what we have done - we have tapped into this virtual existence in such a way as to be far more aware of the entire matrix than we ever were before even with the advent of television.  It's one thing to watch a news show on the television - it's another thing entirely to watch almost live video footage posted directly to the internet from a smartphone.

This is not just about entertainment, although that is a driving force behind the adoption of this technology.  It is about the collective unconscious beginning to touch the surface of consciousness. The grid is lining up for something big.  Make no mistake - it doesn't matter if it really happens on December 21st, 2012 - or earlier - or later.  Something big is building up and anyone who notices that Spring doesn't seem to last as long and summer has been much hotter than it used to be and the trees are losing their leaves sooner than they ought to or are budding again with new growth when they should be losing their leaves for the Autumn season, confusing the wildlife that ought to be migrating south in anticipation for the winter, which for some reason no longer arrives with the same number of snow storms that this area used to experience - the grid is changing.  The Earth is changing.  

Fifty years ago we might not have noticed that it was a worldwide phenomenon and we would have huddled together in our small communities praying that it did not keep happening.  Now we know that it is worldwide and possibly (debatably) caused by the industry that produces the technology that we use to keep tabs on how they are raping the planet.  (make no mistake, plastic is an oil byproduct, therefore your iPad and your netbook and your PC and anything else in your home made of plastic which is a very long list of items is a byproduct of the oil industry)

Okay, so this has turned into a bit of an ecological rant - how do we change?  The consensus is that to change we must give up our ways.  Do I foresee 99% of humanity changing their ways back to the old way of doing things before the advent of the industrial revolution in the 1800s?  Not so much.  A good answer, yet an unrealistic one. Can we produce technology in a way that does not continue to exploit the planet's natural resources in a harmful and unsustainable manner?  I think it is possible, but I don't foresee corporations who have a stranglehold on the government being willing to forego their usual profit margin in order to accomplish this goal.  At least, not until it becomes profitable.

The good news is, green is currently profitable.  The market is making the switch, even though it is at a premium and they are often missing the mark.  Not everything that is labeled "green" is necessarily safe for the environment.  But it's a start.  Can the green movement push us past the brink of self-destruction and anarchy?  That remains to be seen - there are those who believe it is already too late.  

But there is still hope. The technology is here, use it.  Keep in touch with your loved ones, your friends and your family members who cannot be close by. Use it to determine when and how this change will occur.  Be informed.  Read the news, but keep your own council.   Observe your surroundings, be thankful for what you have, and enjoy life to its fullest.

I had a bit of an adventure last night - went to my 6pm appointment at Professional Touch in Lima, OH with Yo-Yo.  Great guy, great artist - I highly recommend him if you are in the area and looking for an awesome tattoo.  I've checked out other artists and studios in the area and never felt entirely comfortable until I checked this place out.  Everyone who works there is very cool and laid back.

This tattoo was started in 2005 at a studio in Ada by Nick.  Also a cool guy, but I think he bit off more than he could chew with this piece and I was not entirely satisfied with the result after three sessions - plus the owner of the studio was not my cup of tea - interrupting my 3rd session to demand payment.  Needless to say I didn't go back, but I was stuck with a half-finished tattoo that had some minor issues that needed correcting.

Yo-Yo spent a little over 3 hours redoing the linework and then adding a new set of wings covering up the original ones that didn't really jive quite right (the last photo at the top is what it looked like before he got started).  The end result is an amazing improvement - the photos above were taken a little less than a day later.

On the way to Meijer to pick up some Bacitracin ointment for the new tattoo, my front passenger tire blew out.  At first I thought it might have just gone soft and needed some air, but when I pulled over to check it the tire was coming part of the way off the rim.  Because it was after 10pm on a Saturday I got permission from the really awesome ladies working at the Meijer gas station to leave my car parked there overnight until I could get it towed over to Firestone today (Firestone being one of the only places open on a Sunday for service & repair).  The ladies there also were kind enough to lend me a cell phone to try calling home and ultimately to catch a cab back home.

Got the van in at Firestone today, took care of a way overdue oil change, got a chance to check out breakfast at Subway (not bad, but not as good as McDonald's breakfast - probably healthier thought).  Did some window shopping at the mall while waiting and was satisfied with the final charge.  All in all, not a bad weekend.

A Sunday morning fastly eroding and soon to be afternoon and it will be once I finish this composition of this missive.

The days, the weeks and months now just fly by.  They say it has something to do with getting older, perhaps.  I'm also hearing alot that time or our perception thereof has accelerated greatly as the vibrations in the universe increase and more galactic waves push through our galaxy in preparation for the paradigm shift.  I've heard it said now that our typical day is now that of a 16 hour one.  The clocks still measure the same 24 hour day, the sun rises and sets on the same times as it did centuries ago.  Now if it feels like you can't get the same amount of things done in a day as you did 20 years ago??, this is why. I know I can't and no it's not because I'm moving slower with age, I'm not that old, yet!  Time is basically all relative with just us humans really the ones that measure it out in increments and how our minds perceive it in this three dimensional realm within a multi dimensional universe or multiverse.  Yes time has sped up and will continue to do so exponentially now.

As I compose this missive it's now past Mid August and my most favorite time of the year is rapidly approaching that being Autumn. I'm already planning Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas or the more Pagan variations thereof. Planning on how to observe it more in tune with my Pagan beliefs.  Seems like last week I was out bike riding on Memorial Day weekend planning the 4th of July. Feels like a couple days ago it was July 4th, the day was filled with magic. I have the photos that captured that magic and it was one of the best I've had in my adult life. I always know that once the 4th of July passes the rest of the summer is a blur and such is being the case.

Labor Day weekend now just 3 weeks away.  My favorite time of the year is autumn. Maybe I'm what is known as an "Autumn" Person. My favorite colors are Reds and Oranges, browns and yellows, I love the warm spices of cinnamon, allspice, cloves.  Labor Day weekend I'll go to the shed out in back of house and lug out the autumn decorations and adorn the house inside with the festive colors of autumn leaves and dried floral arrangements. 

Living in the Florida Keys the summers here are regarded as many northerners regard winter. Northerners are glad to see spring/summer after the drab, harshness of winter, the warmer days mean more activity outside up north in spring/summer. Reverse that for the Florida Keys.  Summers here are wickedly brutal with torrid heat and humidity.  Yes you can do everything out of doors but expect to be drenched with sweat, get dehydrated.  We look forward to the cooler days of autumn and winter as folk up north look forward to the warmer days of spring and summer.

As much as I abhor commercialism and capitalism I still look forward to the store displays that mark the turning of a season none other than autumn.   The first signs clearly evident with the Back To School merchandise but that's only a small part.  Suddenly one day you go into the grocery store and you see those familiar orange, yellow bags of candy popping up in a display. It's just a small section at first. A closer inspection reveals this to be Halloween candy and that should start appearing in the next couple weeks if it hasn't already.  Suddenly those candy displays and bags like a virus multiply. What was just  a small section or two of shelf of a few assorted bags mushrooms and envelops an entire store aisle. Suddenly like mushrooms after a rain a store display erupts with candy and then Halloween decorations.  Now the stops are pulled as commercialism makes the best of the coming months.  It's all mental programming for the BIG HO HO (Christmas), get you in the spirit. Think about it.  First the candy and then you start seeing Halloween decorations for sale.  Suddenly you notice the baking supplies making a prominent feature on store end caps and eventually a section of store relegated just for the upcoming baking season.  That is probably the most favorite for me of the season is the baking, I just love food and sweets and its all comfort foods.

Notice that one day in the coming weeks you will enter the grocery store and immediately your eyes will be greeted with the autumn decorations of the colors associated with the season. What is more noticeable is those Cinnamon scented brooms and that spicy aroma permeate an entire section of the grocery store. It more often burns ones nostrils and makes the eyes water it's so strong.  Nothing gets ones mind thinking more about autumn and the Holidays than Cinnamon.  It's my favorite smell on the planet. I keep our home filled with Cinnamon essential oils year round.  I think because it's a strong comfort smell to me.  Capitalism knows this also to use as a form of mind control basically to get you revved up and nostalgic.  A building crescendo commences with the colors, sights, sounds of autumn.  As days grow shorter, the nights cooler and the trees change.  The stores proudly display the autumn harvests of colorful gourds, pumpkins. Entire sections are relegated to Halloween.  You are thinking Halloween is still aways off but you notice something else that is looming amongst the autumn displays.  This usually happens in the shopping malls first and like a plague it spreads into the chain stores.  Suddenly trees sprout among the shopping midways adorned with the gaily colored lights of the upcoming Saturnalia still months away.  The jolly fat man in the red suit starts appearing. You think to yourself. Gee let's at least get Halloween over with first. No wait.  I'm still in shorts and sandals in New York let me have a couple more barbeques, a weekend out on the lake before I even have to think about Halloween that is still yet such a long ways off.  Not in the accelerated pace of time.  The youngins will be yelling trick or treat while you scratch your head thinking we just did the 4th of July and oh wait that pile of dirty clothes has my summer shorts still in it. Yep I better wash them before the whole damn laundry pile walks away on its own and put them away for the winter, clean?? that's an option.

I personally look forward to Labor Day.  My mood and focus immediately shifts to Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Fall TV. lineup. It's the first sign that cooler weather will be coming. I look forward to the upcoming baking season, the house filled with the smells of baking and the colorful decorations that undergo the same process in our home such as the commercial stores.  Some autumn decos festooned throughout, an explosion of Halloween adornments and even more so out in the yard. Quickly replaced by Turkeys, Puritan figures and cornucopias. That can't be swept away fast enough to get ready for the grand finale of Saturnalia, The Big Ho Ho or Christmas.  We hold onto these traditions as they are comforts. Comforts to most of our youth, of happier and or simpler times.

As I grow more in tune with my Pagan roots and beliefs I shift my focus more each year away from the commercialism and celebrate the season itself.  I won't adorn our entire front yard into a massive spook yard.  Awesome yes I must admit. Too much work and effort for just a dozen kids to come and see. Then I have to take all the crap down and put it away! I still have open plastic totes of unused fireworks from the 4th of July sitting on the treadmill and floor of the garage. My Excuse? It's just too damn hot to mess around sorting and organizing. I don't like going into our garage this time of year. Its average temperature hovers around 100.

I will still observe Halloween though but more along the lines of Pagan custom of All Hallows Eve or Samhain. I'll still buy some bags of candy just for us two adult kids in the house. I'll still carve a jack o lantern or two or three and sneak a few decos up in the yard. I just have to remember I have to take all that crap down!!!. Then Thanksgiving.  Wow where else do you spend what you would on an entire weeks worth of groceries and more if you entertain for a meal that takes days to prep for, hours and hours to cook, minutes to eat and is all doing down the toilet the next day.  We however give in and do it.  Yes I do enjoy Thanksgiving it's on my list of favorite holidays, I enjoy it immensely. I keep saying each year I will simplify. Each year I try but it just don't feel right unless you go full tilt, overboard.

What gets me is the Thanksgiving turkey is not even cold yet and many Americans are heading out to the stores to stand in line all night for Black Friday.  A Commercialism nightmare, one of the biggest snake oil scams the greasy wheels of Capitalism has going.  You think your getting a huge bargain?  Just remember where this stuff is made that cost pennies on the dollar to mass produce, has a HUGE markup then put the word "SALE" on it and sell it while still making a HUGE profit because now you are selling mass quantity.  I have no part of that day at all.  I have no desire to stand in line all night nor get mowed down in the screaming stampeded while going in the doorway. I don't live in the north so couldn’t imagine standing outside in 30 degree weather.  Ya know I wonder though?  That Thanksgiving meal folk gorged on?? A gut load of food now digesting.  You know the saying, food in, poop out.  You’re in line for the sale of the century. That Wii Play station that will be on sale for $50 bucks, the store only has a limited amount, Your freezing your you know what off and "Duty Calls"  Most parking lots don't even have porta potties and you don't dare step outta line and loose your spot. Folk are out for blood for that SALE, that spirit of giving and being nice is already in the toilet ahead of your bowel movement when it comes to messing with getting that latest deal.  I even hear of some "Hard Core" shoppers wearing adult diapers.  I draw the line there. No Thanks. I'll stay at home and be very entertained by the You Tube clips of the fights breaking out, the mayhem, and the people squatting behind whatever gives them a sense of privacy to relieve their bodily functions for all to see on the World Wide Web.

Yep no thanks.  My partner and I stopped buying gifts for that one day, spending money we don't have. Instead we have Christmas year round. You just surprise one another with something when you get a little extra money during the year.  I think I will put up a small tree this year, one of those table top jobs just so I can puts some of those high tech LED Christmas lights on it.  I used to go crazy decorating. It looked like Santa puked inside and outside the home of everything/anything dealing with Christmas. Talk about over kill!!  I am a person that takes things to the extreme.  I think the last time I put Christmas lights up outside I lost count when the lights got near the 100,000 mark.  Let's see that would be 2006. Yep I remember. I almost burnt the garage down on Christmas when I overloaded the garage circuit trying to reroute extension cords.  A line of thunderstorms was moving in.  Most of my outdoor outlets were GFCI type. Rain, extension cords and GFCI's don't get along and not conducive for Christmas lighting.  I was scared shitless when I saw the scorched outlet when I unplugged everything in January.  I'm glad the circuit breakers in the main box kept tripping and I wasn't a fool to try and over ride that!  Christmas night of 2006 our yard was mostly dark as heavy rains pounded, GFCI's had all tripped. Weeks and weeks of work putting it all up, fretting over burnt out stands in the meantime. All for one day and the night it was most important it didn't work.  About had a bowel movement in my pants come January at the sight of the electric bill also.  Then what goes up must come down.  I think I wound up taking all the stuff down somewhere around Valentines Day or was it St. Patrick’s Day of 2007.  As a matter of fact there are still about 800 white twinkle lights now a tangled mess in our orange tree as of August 2009, Screw It!!.  I keep it there to remind me not to undergo the yearly madness of giving into the madness for just one day.  Nope I look most forward now to having the Yearly Yule bonfire in the yard, observing the Winter Solstice rite with ritual, followed by some small feasting.  This is where the whole birth of Christmas stems from even the birth of Jesus. Ask me sometime I've done the research.  Halloween comes from Samhain and alot of lore, legend and tradition to get taken by the conglomerated, convoluted grubs of commercialism.

Nope this year I look forward to observing the true rites in accordance to my Pagan beliefs and Spiritualism, the way it's meant.  Talking too and thanking the Spirits/Creator, keeping it simple.  If I do want some nostalgia to remind me of my youth and bring some comfort I keep it small and simple. Remember... I have to take it all down!

It all seems so far off but really isn't, it's coming and very soon.  I talk about this now because before I know it I'll have to write it in the past tense.

My first post here to this group. Thanks to fil for inviting me. I sit here wondering where a year has gone. Trying to recollect all that happened in 08. Some of the things only being from a couple a months to a year just seem like a blur, some seem so long ago and yet some things like yesterday. Funny how our minds perceive time. A year ago on this very night a bitter cold airmass spilled into the Fl Keys like a damn bursting. New Years Day 2008 we had temperatures of 90 degrees. The morning of January 3rd the 2nd coldest temperature of 37 degrees was recorded for Key Largo. I distinctly remember a year ago tonight. The north winds howled almost to gale force and temps plummeted into the 40's. As all things seem relative. To my norhern friends this is a balmy day in January. In the tropics this is considered bitter cold and it sure felt it. I slept in my jeans, tshirt, long sleeve thermal shirt and quilted flannel shirt and my cap on!!. I had just about every dog in bed with me trying to snuggle up and keep warm. It was short lived and by the weekend it was back in the 70's. My next recollection of 2008 was April when I was feeling really good. I was at a crossroads at making a career change. Went up to the local construction company, filled out an app. I was prepared to do anything at that point other than landscaping which I was so tired of. Going through mid life crisis sucks. You wake up one day and suddenly you realize your own mortatlity. You realize that some of the things you used to could do you no longer can and that opportunities that were always there are now behind you and becoming increasingly outta reach. You realize that you can't keep starting over. My hard hat in one hand, wearin an orange hi viz vest I liked the look on me. It definitely fit me. Had this been 20+ years ago? I would have jumped at the chance and dove right into working heavy construction. Where would I go at age 45. I have no CDL licences and by the time I learned to operate heavy equipment and become proficient at it I'd probably be too old to jump up and down off the rigs. So mowin lawns and trimming hedges, manicuring yards it is. I realized if it ain't broke dont go tryin to fix it. So hey.. I still wear my hard hat and orange vest doing yards. At least the "Yard Guy" is clearly visible. Watch out for those falling coconuts!!! they will knock you out, not me!!! LOL. One nice thing is there is a new federal law that all people workin on federal, state right of ways must wear a high viz vest..you know those fluroscent orange or yellow vests with the gray reflective stripes?. Hey there the in thing for 2009..LOL I'm a little eccentric anyways so who is gonna pay a never mind to the yard dude wearin a hard hat. Never been asked as to why and if I was I would tell them the truth, I'm having a mid life crisis that would stop the conversation..LOL Be that as it may I stuck with the business. March was a tragic time loosing our 10 year old Rottweiler "Drake" to bone cancer. It was a very aggressive cancer and we only had 1-2 months left with him and made the best of our time left with Drake. Soon even the pain meds weren't working, his quality of life was no longer quality. He was in pain and it was time to send him home. It was my parnters dog so I did't have to make that decision. That day came in March when we said "till we meet again Drake" I was numb for days afterward. Picked myself up by the bootstraps and carried onward and forward. Soon summer was upon us and that dreaded heat and humidity had set in. We didn't know if we would have a home one month to the next just stayin one step ahead of the Foreclosure process, no money for back taxes, property taxes. We was at wits end and continuously fighting, bickerin which was not at all produtive. What worked out with a family member getting us a loan at the last minute, temporary band aid fix but kept the roof over our heads so far. July 2008 more tradgedy hit. My beloved black lab of 12 years "Pedro" had congestive heart failure. He was an aging dog and his health deteriorating. My guides spoke to me many months before and said "Enjoy the time you have with him now" That I did. One day in early July I heard a commotion during the night. Thought Pedro was having a seizure, he had a heart attack. The following day he lay listless, breathin fast and shallow. I knew the time had come and now it was my decision what to do. He was in pain, he was non responsive. I knew the following day it was time to send him home with Drake. It was the hardest decision I EVER had to make in my entire life. I knew there was no hope for recovery, he was suffering. I spent the night on the floor with him and we talked and he communicated telepathically. He told me thank you for a wonderul and fullfilling life. He said it was okay to get a new boy, he would pick him out for me and I would know. Pedro said "Look for me dad in the new boy" I was devastated having to put Pedro down. 3 weeks later a friend took us up to the pet store in Miami. We decided to get a new Rottie pup and a new Black Lab pup. We thought it be fun for them to grow up together. That good friend used her 'stimulus" check to get us the puppies as otherwise we could have never done it on our own. When I met "Rebel" our eyes locked. He was so excited as if he knew I came just for him. He was just over 3 months old and we bonded INSTANTLY. My black lab pup was perfect in every way. That day Kriten (The Rottie pup) and Rebel both came home. There age only seperated by 2 days. Double the trouble, Frick and Frack and the Monster Pups. Never regret a moment, depsite holes chewed in dry wall, throw rugs eaten, pillows, cushions destroyed and quite a bit of landscaping becoming chew toys. The one thing Pedro used to do was at feeding time he would bark. Bark just to be obnoxious as if he was saying. ME FIRST, FEED ME FIRST!!!.. the barking was incessant until the feed bowl was placed on the floor. Rebel a 3½ month old black lab puppy on his 2 nd day in his new home we was preparing breakfast for them. Rebel started barking incessantly. The hairs on my arms stood up and tears in my eyes. Pedro did tell me during his last hours "Look for me in the new boy, You will know it's me" The barking!!!. None of our other dogs bark like that at feeding time, only Rebel. The hurricanes came and went in 2009. Everyone threatened us and everyone missed us. Yeah we got some winds, rain but getting so used to these things I really didn't pay it a no never mind. There was no danger of life/property so we took it in stride. Yeah it made a mess of branches, leaves but getting so used to that anymore.. I never totally lifted outta the funk I got in right after July 4th. I let things go around the house, the yard, everything. Living was just existing day to day. The new pups was the only thing that kept me going from day to day. Make matters worse I came down with a serious lung infection (Walking Pneumonia) and a persistent, constant, dry cough, hard to breathe. No anti biotics would knock it out. Phooie on antibiotics. Got ole fil's Colloidal Silver making device out and started making colloidal silver and took it sublingually, sprayed it up my nose every 1/2 hour to 1 hour and 10,000 mg Vit C a day. In a weeks time it was totally knocked out of me after 3 non stop months and at times I was very sick to the point in bed. That depressed funk finally started lifting in December. It was as though the dark storms clouds had finally parted and were clearing. Once again I have regained my productive self and ways. Things are back in order again and I feel like the old me or new me. Christmas came and Christmas went. Didn't do a thing in regards to celebrating this year. Havin no money it just didn't make sense to celebrate it. So here we is exactly one year later. What a year it's been. The highlight being the 2 beautiful pups that are turning into very large puppies that are so full of love. Where will 2009 bring us?, What will it bring us?. I know time is speeding up faster and faster as we rapidly approach 2012. I look forward to the coming year. Look forward to new opportunities. Despite the doom and gloom with the ecnomoy which we all know HAS to come. This will be a good and better year. Well hope I didn't do too bad for my first post here. Glad to see you fil, matt, brigit (sp?) JD

I'm not always a very communicative person, but there are times that I take advantage of my Aquarian side and rail against what I consider not merely injustice, but plain and simple hypocrisy and ignorance.

Tomorrow, millions of Americans will sit down with their loved ones around a table filled with various foodstuffs, and most of them will consume turkeys.  Our oven has a bad burner coil, so we're hoping that tomorrow we'll be able to have turkey dinner, but that depends on someone else cancelling their precooked turkey dinner order from the local grocery store.  Otherwise we may just head out to the local Chinese restaurant.  But I digress.

Brigitte, Willow and I (and probably before the day is out tomorrow Autumn can be included in this list) know full well that Thanksgiving, as described to us in Elementary school by our first and second grade teachers, is a complete and utter farce.  We give thanks to the native people of this land (and most people also give thanks to God) for helping the first colonists of North America survive their first winter in a strange new land after they arrived to colonize, deforest and ultimately steal away this land from its former inhabitants and caretakers.

See...that's the part they don't teach you in school.  The part where white man, who fled Europe and came to the Americas to be able to live in a place where they could practice their religion and beliefs without fear of prejudice and tyranny, subjugated an entire civilization that had dwelt in these lands for centuries simply because these colonists believed they (the colonists) were superior beings.

These white men (and women) believed the native people who had lived in harmony with this land, in such a way as to not upset the delicate balance of nature and to ensure that their children and their children's children and so on would be able to continue to benefit from the bounty offered across this North American continent, were mere barbarians who were uncultured, uncouth, violent, aggressive and stupid.  These same "barbarians" shared their food and game with these white strangers who were too superior to ensure they had proper food supplies of their own to survive the harsh winter season, and in so doing sealed their own fate.

"No good deed goes unpunished," is one of my new favorite phrases, and I've certainly got enough experience to prove that statement correct.  Out of kindness, the Native American people doomed themselves.

Of course, there is no way to know whether the first colonists of North America might have survived without the help of its native people.  There is no way to know whether their death would have ended North American colonization, or whether it would have merely delayed it.

Regardless, these kind people, their children, their children's children and so on are still being punished for their kindness.  So while you bite into that turkey leg, remember the descendents of those who offered such kindness deserve our respect, and our sincere apologies for the actions of our "founding fathers", in return.