Politicians Royale

By accusing their critics of playing politics,...our President and Vice President have played politics. By saying that those who do not agree with the war in Iraq and question the reasoning behind it should NOT SPEAK, they have made the most unamerican statement. Our country was founded on several basic freedoms, one of which was freedom to be critical of government officials without having our heads lopped off physically or rhetorically. They would rather those who disagree with their lack of strategy to exit Iraq keep their mouths shut. They say some of the critics were the ones who voted to go,....well, isn't there a time to regroup and rethink,....or do we just continue to headlong into a war where real American kids are really dying with no end in sight. It's as though we have given Bush and Cheney and the Iraqi people a blank check on our children's lives and they will fill in the number later. The time has come to look at our strategy and reassess. Bush claimed victory in Iraq long ago,...obviously too early,....yet we are still there. And we are supposed to just let that happen without some accountability? Now's the time to be accountable for the reason we got into the war and the intelligence utilized to support the action and for a sooner-to-be-implemented-than-later exit strategy and for the reason you didn't plan that before jumping into Iraq with both feet. If Bush claims his critics language against the war to be reprehensible, then his critics can call his language to get us into Iraq reprehensible as well. I guarantee his reprehensible language has cost us more lives that the reprehensible language of his detractors. Please don't misunderstand. I DO support our troops, I just don't support the guy who put them there or why he put them there(there are plenty of tyrants even with nuclear capabilities, yet we aren't rushing into war with them). I support our troops so much that I want them to respected and honored for fighting for MY freedom, not Iraq's( I will never believe that Iraq's freedom is MY freedom anymore than I will believe that their economy is our economy). I support our troops so much that I want them to live and come back to their families alive and whole and well. We must believe that our government leaders(Republicans and Democrats alike) are fallable humans who can and do make poor decisions,...otherwise we are only deceiving ourselves into a false sense of security. We the people have every right to voice our concerns and to hold ANY public servant accountable,...for every word spoken and for every action taken.

Holden's Psycho-delic

Just in Time!

Well,...it seems that winter has arrived before fall here in Texas. Oh,...I'm sure we have a couple of 80 degree days still out there somewhere. It was freezing in some areas last night, but who knows,....tomorrow we could be at the swimming pool. I brought in my three plants that I care about,...one was a gift for my birthday, the other two were on sale at Home Depot for $5. My basil I left on the porch and just covered them with a garbage bag. It seems to be on its last leg.

We had a blustery day Tuesday when this cold front blew in. At 6AM my car thermometer said 75 and at 715 AM, it had dropped to 55. The wind was strong, it seemed colder. I noticed my pine and my pecan trees had some loose limbs that had been dislodged by the wind and fell to the ground after being suspended from other limbs all summer long.

We had very little rain this summer. I gave up on my grass in the past couple months and stopped watering. My neighbor's yard with the auto sprinklers is lush and green,....an oasis compared to my Mojave wanna-be yard. I am sure my grass prays for a breeze to blow some of the mist from the auto sprinklers its way. I still have a strong stand of St. Augustine in the front, which is what I care about. I can now turn my attention toward next year and buy a big bag of Scott's Bonus S, the fertilizer made especially for St. Augustine. Maybe this year I will be self disciplined and improve my yard attitude and apply it twice, as the bag recommends.

The sans rain situation was so bad this summer that we have one less tree in the front. One of the ornamental large leafed evergreens croaked and I cut it down. It seemed like a small tree, until I started cutting it down. I always wondered why people hired men to take out trees in their yard, much bigger than the little one I removed. Now I know why. Well, maybe it will feel like Thanksgiving next week instead of Major League Baseball's Opening Day(though one year it was quite brisk on Opening Day). Here's hoping cool weather is here to stay for a while. (photo is from winter two years ago)

Smaug

Holden had to write a poem based on The Hobbit. He was able to illustrate a scene for extra credit and this was his illustration. He got a 110. I personally think this is worth more than 10 extra points, but I'm his Dad and who am I to question the grading system? I particularly like his stylized fire. I'm not sure where he gleaned that, but I think it's cool. I give him 200!

Pleasing my Dad

You never get so old that you don't want to please your dad. I still do and I'm 44 years old and at least 10 hours away. Maybe it's not so much pleasing him, but letting him know that you learned something from him and that you can do some of the same stuff he did while you were growing up,.....fixing stuff. It's sad, but if I need help on a household project I will call him and get his opinion. And if I am successful at one of those projects,...he's the first guy I call. To sort of brag. Like once our clothes dryer would spin but only blow cool air. I think I called him to diagnose the situation, which he said was the heater coil,...and sure enough, when I opened it up I saw the obvious break in the coil. I quickly looked up the nearest Sears parts store and called them and ran down and picked up a new coil and installed it. I think it was like $36.00. When I turned the dryer on and felt the wave of heat I was shocked. It had seemed so easy. I usually run into at least three snags in my pursuit of fixdom! So I celebrated like I had become a father again! And guess what I did next,....yep, made a call to Birmingham, AL to not only brag to Dad that I fixed the dryer in what seemed like record time, but to also discuss the considerable savings I had just made by completing the task myself and not hiring someone to fix it for me. The timeliness was also discussed, cause I guarantee I would not have been able to get someone out to the house before a couple of days. Yeah, Dad's the guy I want to impress, however, just looking at his record of fix-it victories, I don't know if he really is impressed or could be. My record is a little league record when compared to his major league record. But he still expresses his big league pride in me at 44,....just like he did years ago in little league,...over my trivial success,...but maybe just my call is his Big League success. Love you Dad.

Three legged Cat

Three nights ago we were filling my wife's van up with gas,....$2.19 per gallon. I was pumping gas when my wife comes around the corner with tears in her eyes asking if I had seen the poor three legged cat that was looking for food. She pointed me in the direction of a ditch into which the cat had darted. I went over caught a glimpse and it shot like a rocket across the ditch to a business adjacent to the gas station. I started down the steep slope to cross over the ditch to where ole tripod was,....and he dashed even further away toward a car dealer that was next to the business, that was next to the gas station. I still had compassion on the poor creature, thinking of my two cats, fat and sassy, probably picking their teeth in a lounge chair in front of the TV,...so I decided to break into their new bag of food I had just purchased and share the wealth with ole prong. As much as I could make of him/her(?)was it was a calico missing its right hind leg below the thigh. It didn't slow him down much. I grabbed two large handfuls of "IAMS for indoor cats"(hope it's not poison to an outdoor cat)out of the new 10 lb bag and started down the steep slope to place the food on a concrete sidewalk in front of the business next door to the station. It was steep, as I mentioned, but I made it across without much trouble,....mostly applying the breaks as I went down, but letting off enough to have enough speed to coast up the other side of the ditch to the sidewalk. A little awkward, but no problems, no dry cat food losses on my journey. I placed the food in a neat pile on the corner and looked toward the used car dealer, where I had last seen ole stump, but saw no sign of her/him. I looked at the pile of food and thought it didn't look like much. I wanted to get more, but needed to check on my gas pump,...it had probably kicked off because it was full. So I made it down the other side of the ditch, headed back, toward the steeper side, but I didn't have enough speed, so halfway up the steep side of the ditch, I stalled and began to notice that it was a little slick and muddy and I didn't want to put my hands down(though they had just been holding cat food). I started to lose my balance, but thought I could recover without putting my hands down. I felt my face flushed red with the realization that I could possibly be falling when my foot slipped out of the clogs I was wearing and began turning over, further throwing off my balance. There was a black guy sitting by the pay phone at the edge of the gas station lot in a beat up pinto watching the whole charade,...and I'm praying that it's not Alan Funt in disguise with his video camera. It was like everything was in slow motion, like in the action movies like The Matrix when the director wants us to see every blow of the fight. My arms were flailing trying to assist me in regaining my balance to make it the rest of the way up the steep side of the ditch without putting my hands down in the semi mud(in hind sight, I don't really know why keeping sanitary hands was such an uncompromisable position). Well, it seemed like 5 minutes, but was probably more like a split second, but I finally gained some footing and made a couple of steps forward and one more back and then the rest of the way up the steep slope and without getting my hands muddy. I had escaped a fall and injury,.....or so I thought. The next day, my back had a slight twinge of pain,...two days later it was more severe, three days later it was difficult to get out of bed without shouting expletives,....but I did(without shouting expletives). So, I took three ibuprofen(a miracle drug in my opinion) and the pain subsided greatly. I love Advil! So much so that I'm searching for an Advil t-shirt or baseball cap, bumper sticker, to proudly sport as this drugs biggest fan. I hope ole Hop-a-long enjoyed his lite snack,...I will probably look him up the next time I buy gas there, but I will definitley stay on this side of the ditch.

The Lone Turkey

Wife and son will be flying to Bama for Thanksgiving, but I will be staying here. I am saving my vacation for our trip to England this summer,...plus they are coming back on Friday, so I would only be there three days, not worth the large sum to fly for that short time,...and it seems like I have been driving since I got my car, a year ago Thanksgiving(well two days post), so I don't want to drive. I think I will just hang out with the cats,...in the air conditioning comfort of my home in 80 degree Texas Thanksgiving weather. Not do a thing. Cook a little turkey,...get a little can of cranberry sauce,...watch football if I want or a classic movie or a bawdy comedy or just lay on the couch and doze without someone reading off our schedule for the day. Last year we had Thanksgiving at home, just the three of us,...Ellie(our British boarder who has been with us three years,...she was family after the first month) was with her fiancee's family and will be again this year. The only thing I can't do is throw the football by myself. If you think you should invite a poor lonely guy for Thanksgiving, go ahead, only don't be surprized if he says, thank you , but I have plans. And don't be surprized if he turns around and invites you over later to throw the football.(Photo of my lovely smoked turkey from last Thanksgiving)

Fall has fell

Tearing Down a Wall

It's been my week to drive the carpool. I have two 7th graders and a 5th grader(one 7th grader is a girl,...just so you get the complete picture). Well, my son, the other 7th grader, sits in the front seat beside me. I think his main job is to select music on the multi-disc CD changer that I don't want to hear. He started to put in Nirvana this morning at 7 AM and tho I don't dislike the band,...it's got to be against some city ordinance to play music that even hints of a grinding guitar before 10 AM. Well, maybe that's a little paraphrased from the ordinance,.....okay, paraphrased a lot,.....okay, okay,...I just made it up! For Nirvana's sake as well as mine(it is a disrespectful to play Nirvana as a low volume level, it's like spitting on Kurt Cobain's grave). I relax the made-up rule when my son happens to choose something from my CD wallet. He has recently chosen Pink Floyd's THE WALL from my book. I can easily turn my head,...or a deaf ear, as it were, to the grinding guitar solos(which should not be compared to Nirvana, I know) from Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb(not the most grinding) since I remain in a college flashback throughout our journey to school while it plays. This morning the 5th grader began to comment about and actually sing along with "Crazy,...toys in the attic, he is crazy,...". He said it was kind of scary sounding. I could not disagree with him, since I bought it a year ago around this time and actually played it at Halloween as scary background/mood setting music. I then thought,...I wonder if he talks to his dad about what we listen to on the way to school? I wonder if he may someday hear a muzak version in an elevator and say,...."Hey, that's 'Brick in the Wall'!". So maybe my week to drive is a version of a music appreciation lesson. Maybe by listening to The Wall, I am helping tear down a wall revealing music history these kids may have otherwise never been exposed to? or maybe it's just good music that all generations gravitate toward, no matter their date of birth? (the photo is Pink Floyd's The Wall album cover rendered with Legos). Link to an analysis of The Wall: http://home.mchsi.com/~ttint/

My Life is a Blank Page

I just realized that I have a collection of blank journals in a variety of sizes. One of them is well used,...the others are not. I don't know why I feel the need to collect them, if I'm not going to use them. Kinda silly. Maybe there's some psychosis linked to this collecting. For the record, it's not obsessive/compulsive behavior,....I don't have a closest stacked to the ceiling with blank journals or diaries. I do have four in my office. I just brought a new one from home today. What's this fascination? Am I trying to achieve a look? Am I trying to be something that I'm not? Do I think that if I surround myself with these empty pages that I will possibly be inspired to write something brilliant,....or for that matter write at all or maybe sketch something? You know, I think I am afraid to write in them. Maybe if I make a mark in each of them that will suffice in "priming the pump" and I will begin to utilize them.

DO THIS:

The rules:
1. Delve into your blog archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions. Ponder it for meaning, subtext or hidden agendas…
5. Tag five people to do the same.

My 23rd post was about the irony of my son's football team's mascot being the cardinals and playing a catholic team:

"I instantly laughed and thought of a great t-shirt design that I'm sure would NOT be school sanctioned."

I guess I am a jovial person who is very visual and enjoys good design. I would like for those around me to be happy, so I share my laughter, maybe too broadly, possibly with people who don't care or want to laugh. I am also overly concerned about authority and what other people may think.

One HOT Poem!

I SHALL SEEK AND FIND YOU...

I SHALL TAKE YOU TO BED AND HAVE MY WAY WITH YOU...

I WILL MAKE YOU ACHE, SHAKE AND SWEAT UNTIL YOU MOAN AND GROAN...

I WILL MAKE YOU BEG FOR MERCY...

BEG FOR ME TO STOP...

I WILL EXHAUST YOU TO THE POINT THAT YOU WILL BE RELIEVED WHEN I'M FINISHED WITH YOU...

AND YOU WILL BE WEAK FOR DAYS...

ALL MY LOVE,


THE FLU

Now get your mind out of the gutter.............. and,...

GO GET YOUR FLU SHOT !

Baby's Gone

Conway Twitty sang a song about signs which indicated that his relationship with his wife or girlfriend was over called Baby's Gone(certainly there have been other similar themed songs in the country genre, but this is the standard by which all other Baby's Gone knock-offs are measured) I can't help but recall those words when I look at our 7th grade son and see signs of him maturing. Baby's Gone. In my thoughts those words don't express the same sentiment that Conway sang in front of a backdrop of crying steel guitar(my relationship with Holden is evolving but I think it's still in tact), but they just seem to fit as I see our 13 year old baby growing up and gettin gone. And there's not a damn thing I can do about it. Oh, this is no surprise to me(I'm not in TOTAL denial of reality) since I have regularly seen him reaching milestones in his life. But the reason it's such a fresh topic with me is that Holden just came upon another milestone on Friday. Probably not a major one(somehow they all seem major), but certainly another indicator that Baby's Gone. Holden had a friend over and they spent most of Friday evening and the next day talking to girls on AIM!!!!, an instant messaging center for AOL(hope it's not costing me anything, I'm not an AOL guy). In addition to that change is a bi-product annoyance: Where once I had a peaceful reign over our computer,...now, just since Friday, I have been demanded, begged and bribed off the computer just so he can see who's online. Peace has turned into a scheduling nightmare for time on the computer. I can see a second one in our near future. But this was just like every other milestone in his life. A flip of the switch. One day he's wearing diapers, the next he's potty trained. One day the training wheels on his little bike were rattling, the next they're off he was pulling away from my hand under his own power and control on two wheels. Thursday, he showed little interest in instant messaging, but with a flip of a switch, and Friday he's obsessed with it. Baby's Gone. I guess the training wheels of life have been taken off. Now I should, with a sense of pride and a prayer for his guidance, lovingly watch as he peddles away. Can he stay on, will he know how to turn, does he understand braking, how will he take the spots with bumps and loose gravel? All are questions, worries, concerns. Baby's Gone. It's bittersweet. But there's no reason that I can't ride along side/with him. Okay, I need to stop this sappy stuff or I'm going to be a mess. I have tears, but I am happy, too. I can see how his acceptance of new responsibilities at school have matured him just over the past 9 weeks. I am very proud of him and think he has adapted to the changes in his life well, with some minor bumps(I know this is just the beginning, but I'm a sensitive new age guy). Holden has been thrown into a new school at a difficult age and has had to make new friends. He has had to adjust to a new schedule with more school and personal responsibilities. And with some hard work, he has all A's and one B(again this is just the beginning, I know,...I hope he does too). He is playing football, which is yet another step on his own. But, I can't really help him much there. I only played basketball. Holden's growing up, which is the only acceptable alternative. Baby's Gone,...so please watch him like a hawk, God.

Your Silent Face
by New Order
A thought that never changes
Remains a stupid lie
It's never been quite the same
No hearing or breathing
No movement, no colors
Just silence

Rise and fall of shame
A search that shall remain
We asked you what you'd seen
You said you didn't care

Sound formed in a vacuum
May seem a waste of time
It's always been just the same
No hearing or breathing
No movement no lyrics
Just nothing

The sign that leads the way
The path we can not take
You've caught me at a bad time
So why don't you piss off

THE OIL SHORTAGE
A lot of folks can't understand how we came to have an oil shortage here in America. ~~~ Well, there's a very simple answer. ~~~ Nobody bothered to check the oil. ~~~ We just didn't know we were getting low. ~~~ The reason for that is purely geographical. ~~~ Our OIL is located in ~~~ Alaska ~~~ California ~~~ Oklahoma and TEXAS ~~~ Our DIPSTICKS are located in Washington DC!

A Unicef poster in France targeted at children with the message that "war is bad". Has Bush seen this? He might just get it presented in this format, on this level. I heard the U.S. version depicted the Smurfs bombing Gargamell delivering the message to our children that "war is good". When we need to, we can spin and counter-spin with the best of them.

SUCCESS:
At age 4 success is . . . . not peeing in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . having friends.
At age 16 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 35 success is . . . having money.
At age 50 success is . . . having money.
At age 70 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . . . having friends.
At age 80 success is . . . not peeing in your pants.

Politicians or Patriots?

Thomas Paine, revolutionist, writer, orator stated in his pamphlet, Common Sense on January 10, 1776, "We have it in our power to begin the World over again!", speaking of the convening of the second continental congress to change the way things had been done and to seek independence from Great Britain. In general, it seems that our leaders(and citizens as well) have lost that patriotic spirit: “to make things new again”. It is also true of every session of Congress today, that they have the opportunity, through their words and actions, to, in a sense, "begin the world over again", as Thomas Paine suggested in his publication prior to our independence. Yet, our leaders seem fearful now. Not afraid of losing their lives or placing at risk the lives of their families or fellow citizens through espousing radical ideas of government, as the patriots of 1776 did, but our politicians fear making a statement which, though right, may be unpopular, and may therefore jeopardize their political careers. And though their goals may not be completely wrong for our country, they are not devoid of personal or self serving gain. Their goals seem focused on securing public office and holding to that office as long as possible, by any means necessary, rather than fulfilling their roles as public servants. They have conveniently rewritten their job descriptions to include the tasks of getting re-elected and raising funds for their friends to be elected. And those tasks are not small. They seem to taint every decision they make, if not plainly impede the completion of their elected duties. It seems that they are working for their party rather than working for our country, the people who "sign their paychecks". And those two are NOT synonymous. Our lawmakers seem bound by their pride and their greed, bound by their desire for prestige, money and power, the very things actors moving to Hollywood could be accused of pursuing. Our elected officials seem more interested in maintaining a privileged lifestyle by pleasing campaign contributors than boldly stepping out for what’s right for our nation. They are all about preserving their careers rather than serving the public. I would fear what our country would look like if our founding fathers had had the attitudes of our government officials today. We all have the power within us to "begin the world over again" with every sunrise. It's not just the responsibility of our elected officials, for by their job descriptions, as I recall them being outlined by Coach Ivy in my 9th grade civics class, they are chosen by us to only do our bidding, to represent us, "we the people". It is also our responsibility, the common man, to not just pursue our personal goals to the detriment of our fellow citizens, but to view the common good as supreme. That is living in community. That is true patriotism.

"It's an orangeade sky,...."

LIVE BY THE SWORD?

No one should be surprised by the indictments leveed against Tom "the Hammer" Delay, including him. Is it a partisan political game? You betcha! I can't help but think of the words of Jesus,..."if you live by the sword, you die by the sword",....Jesus told Peter that while miraculously putting a man's ear back on that Peter had just sliced off in the garden of Gethsemane, before Jesus was taken to trial and ultimately crucified. Tom you will be tried but you may only feel like you have been crucified(consult your former political opponents to inquire as to how this will feel since many of them experienced this same feeling by your hand). Jesus also said earlier in his ministry, something like this, "the way that you judge others is the way that you will be judged."(I would think that the Republicans, especially Texas Republicans, in this Bush era should know these quotes from the most influential person in our President's life). Tom Delay plays the political game and "hammers" his opponents,...he has even been known to take measures so his defeated opponents can't get jobs as lobbyists after he is elected. Is this part of his duties as an elected official? I don't think any elected official has any responsibilities surrounding outplacement coordination much less impeding the employment of former political foes. It's malicious, petty and a waste of our tax dollars in paying you for doing something that is not in your job description. This man seems to be a huge player in the partisan political game and expects his opponents not to play the game by the same rules with which he plays? Come on Tom! On top of that, your smuggness endears you to no one. Not even to my conservative Republican parents! They think you appear guilty as sin, and in politics how one appears is essential, so much so that reality sometimes becomes secondary. My parents believe the Republicans have more honest seeming and less smarmy appearing Republicans to choose from lead the House. They see you as a haughty man with a condescending aire that makes them and everyone else think that you believe you're above the law. Again,....who cares what the facts are?! Just the way you come off,...the way you carry yourself, makes you unpalatable for the Republicans and definitely for the Democrats. Like a tough piece of gristly beef,....everybody wants spit you out. Nobody wants you on their plate. Take a bit of advice from a common man, now that you are kissing the canvas, don't bother to get up to try and go another round, even if you stop seeing those stars. Your opponents are forming a line and beginning to take numbers. Your corner is emptying of your supporters. Now, all the bets are against you. Now that you are a blight, no one wants you. Stay down. Even your coach is about to throw in the towel on you. You're fighting injured, your eyes are swollen shut and you can't see anything. You are damaged goods. Your career as a fighter is over. You have traded blows with your opponents and have had some KO's,...but I believe that you have met your match on this one, son. You have drawn a huge target on your back by your ruthless character in politics,....now everyone in politics that you have affronted with your no holds barred attitude is aiming for you,....ruthlessly. It doesn't matter what side you are on, pal,....everyone's lining up to take you on. Soon both parties will start taking cracks at you. So, don't delay,....do yourself and our country a favor,.....get out of government now! Retire to the ranch. But be confident that on the list of things you have accomplished, you may leave the box checked that says, "crooked politician" you may also leave the one checked "successful politician",....sadly in our country, those seem to go hand in hand.