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Sunday, January 17, 2021
History Lessons: A Day With Dad
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Monday, November 30, 2020
The Nouns: Time Is All We Have
This Thanksgiving, I road-tripped it out to my CA home in Amador County. With everything that’s happened this past month (well, quite frankly…YEAR!), I wasn’t going to go. I had a difficult time leaving responsibilities behind, unresolved issues, etc…but with so many friends and family convincing me that I had to go, I needed to go…I did, and I’m so very, very glad.
I love road-trippin’! Coffee…the open road…coffee…making stops along the way to visit friends…coffee…making new friends along the way…coffee…standing in line, six feet apart in a line of truckers at the Flying J and cracking jokes…coffee…eating greasy junk food and getting sick, LOL…coffee…stopping to soak in an amazing view, a sunrise, a sunset, a mountain, a valley, a star-filled sky…and coffee…
But what really convinced me to go was my very own Soul. Time really IS all we have!! If I had known that the very last time I’d see my Mom was the night before she was whisked away in an ambulance to the hospital, I would have broken every single freakin’ one of the “COVID rules”…ran up behind her, hugged her in the biggest bear hug ever and told her I loved her so very, very much. But the Time slipped away, like it does. We think “See you tomorrow” or “See you next time”…but there may not be a tomorrow. There may not be a “next time”. That changes you..it grieves you, riddles you with tons of regret.
So I spent Thanksgiving in California with my BFF-Sister, Tory, and her family and my son, Kevin…went to the Tree Lighting in Jackson, CA…shopped until I dropped in Sutter Creek…scheduled out an entire two days in order to try my very best to see as many friends as I could…just to spend some Time catching up with them. Just looking at them; catching that "mind-photo". Laughing and crying with them. Would it be the last time I see them? Who knows! But at least I wouldn’t have the regret of not running up to them, hugging them from behind in a great big bear hug, and telling them I love them so very, very much.
Road trips give me a whole lot of time to think about the Nouns in my life. People, Places and Things. I know there are so many People who hurt, in some way or another, and I want to be there to listen, maybe help in some way. There are Places to go, Things to fill the senses. There’s nothing like cranking my music/playlists, singing at the top of my lungs to so many tunes that trigger memories, good and bad. Good for obvious reasons…bad because of lessons learned.
Now the Christmas holidays are upon us. 2020 has been the year from Hell. Masks. Distancing. Isolation. Quarantine. After a year of so much toil, struggle and strife, I pause to reflect upon what is most important…
TIME!
Spend some Time with those you love! Spend some Time with your local small businesses who are and have been struggling to keep their doors open! Spend some Time in a soup kitchen, a food bank, a homeless shelter. Spend some Time with your family, loved ones, neighbors, friends…even if you have to mask up, even if you have to stand outside their window, 6 feet away, in the freezing Wyoming cold. DO it!
And when I say spend some “Time”, I mean giving it some thought. Maybe you just can’t spend Time at a homeless shelter, but...spend a few minutes giving a donation, no matter how large or small. Maybe you just can’t spend Time with your family and friends, but spend a few minutes sending a card, video chat, message or text that will show that you are thinking about them, that you love them, that you have taken Time, just for them. Maybe you can’t stand outside in the freezing cold for long to chat with a loved one in an assisted living facility, but you know what?
If that was going to be the very last Time you saw them…
No matter where you are on this planet called Earth...time is what we have. So make it about Love rather than hate. Good than bad. Strength than weakness.
I love you all...and I do mean, ALL!
"I'll be gone...in a day or twoooooo!"
Carol
NOTE: The reason I post this YouTube...is because it has a story behind it. At one of the lowest points of my [First] Life, I told myself that if I ever got to a point to where I had a convertible/sunroof in my car, sunglasses and a scarf blowing in the wind on the open road...I would open it all up and crank this song. I dedicate this to my BFF-Sister Tory. I love you!
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Coffee With A View: Failing By Default
“It
is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so
cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case, you
fail by default.”
-JK Rowling
I just watched "The Social Dilemma" [ironically, only on Netflix] finally, in its entirety...without falling asleep, LOL. None of it contained anything I didn't already know...yes, we're all just numbers made up of algorithms for advertisers, investors, etc. Yes, we are all traded as "human futures"....and "They" all need "a lot of data" about us.
Whatever. Blah, blah, blah. For those intelligent enough to understand that we are all being used, it's really not such a big deal. But for those who are ignorant to it, I can see how it can be an "OMG! The sky is falling!" Chicken Little eye-opener.
But
hey, Big Brother...can Your idiots grow a fantastic garden? A beautiful beefsteak
tomato? A crop of sweet, delicious corn? A ripe cantaloupe, ready for
breakfast?
Can
"You" knit or crochet a beautiful, homemade afghan?
Can
"You" write/co-write a song in a songwriters' circle and play an instrument that delivers that song?
Can
"You" make beautiful jewelry? Have "You" spent countless
hours doing intricate beadwork, with your own hands?
Are
"You" an Artist? Creating art that is meaningful and timeless?
Can
"You" make an awesome batch of venison jerky? An award-winning pot of chili? LOL 😉
Can “You” do my hair the way I want? Massage my neck, shoulders, back, arms/legs the way I really need and want?
Can "You" really escape to the lakes, the mountains, the tropics, Alaska...without WiFi/cell service?
Can "You" help a person on the side of the road with a flat? Help someone that needs their lawn cut, their snow shoveled? Someone who is in trouble and may just needs a listening ear from someone who is a live body, not some auto-bot "customer service"?
Can "You" really find me a true companion...a best friend...that is compatible for me, NOT just based on a dating profile or app? Swipe left or right?? (Lame.)
Can "You" even hear, taste, smell or touch?
Can
"You" ignore all of the political propaganda...the party hype...the
fake news, conspiracy theories, etc...without any thought of compensation, in
any form...monetary or trade...and bask in something that is called, um…HUMANITY?
I CAN!
I primarily use
Facebook because, quite frankly...most folks do...to connect with friends and
family, to share our lives...share our glories and triumphs, our mistakes and
failures...our thoughts and beliefs...reaching out for help, answering the
calls...
However,
I pretty much ignore the advertising and propaganda a whole HELLUVA LOT! Especially the
Left and Right party bullshit. (Sorry to say, you're all morons.)
I'm no fool. I know we're on the brink of a Civil War. I’ve known it for quite a while now. But it’s not about left or right politics, or about racism…it’s not about Trump or Biden, or who is in the seat of President or power. It is not about who has the loudest voice, clanging in our ears or burning our eyeballs out of their sockets, every f***ing day.
No, this has come down to a fight of good versus evil…and the "truth" that lies somewhere in the middle, lost in the chaos. If you adhere to a religion that helps you sleep at night, I can't blame you one bit. But for me, it's going to take a lot more than any belief system to fight on the front lines against what is right and good on this planet we call Earth.
I'm the Mom of two US Marines. They have both fought on horrible battle fronts that no one will ever know about. They won't talk about it, and I know why. I also work for our local EMS services. While everyone is decorating assholes above their heads, most of the ground troops "know" what it's all about:
Image.
While most folks think I'm a "fence-dweller" as a Moderate, I tend to think: "Good! Go ahead and think that." But...don't think for one second that a "Boston Tea Party" could never, ever happen again. Where will I be when that happens? Who knows. Most of all, what would it really mean, in the grand scheme of things?
We just finished up the Fall Harvest Festival in Riverton, Wyoming. We all came together as a community of families, friends, neighbors, tribes, politicians and businesses. We came together, despite our politics, beliefs, differences...and had a great time!
Proving, once again, that Life
is more than the addictions we’re being fed by “Them”.
Shame
on those who don’t think past the politics…corporate or governmental.
Shame
on those who are simply jealous of those who want and succeed at living their
lives in peace and prosperity...way past "high school" socialism.
Shame on those who think they “know” better than everyone else, just because they skim the “news” every day and share their biases…because quite frankly, they really don’t “know” anything at all.
They've already failed. Epic fail. They just don’t know it.
I am a human being. Not an algorithm.
And there is the Civil War.
Thursday, September 17, 2020
Coffee With A View: America the Hateful? Seeing the Elephant
I recently ran across an interesting post by my ex (David Harper) that caught my eye. For those who knew us when we were "us"...David and I were pretty much your atypical "American Family" (at least for a while). Both of us had pasts riddled with drama, divorce, financial difficulties, joblessness, homelessness, etc....several circumstances that went out of control at several points...but through it all, I am glad to say that we have remained friends. Enough of that (LOL)...
So here was David's post:
I don't know who wrote this but it sounds on
the money to me.
“Why do people continue supporting Trump no
matter what he does?"
A lady named Bev answered it this way:
“You all don't get it. I live in Trump
country, in the Ozarks in southern Missouri, one of the last places where the
KKK still has a relatively strong established presence. They don't give a shit
what he does. He's just something to rally around and hate liberals, that's it,
period. He absolutely realizes that and plays it up. They love it. He knows
they love it. The fact that people act like it's anything other than that
proves to them that liberals are idiots, all the more reason for high fives all
around.
If you keep getting caught up in "why do
they not realize this problem" and "how can they still back Trump
after this scandal," then you do not understand what the underlying
motivating factor of his support is. It's fuck liberals, that's pretty much it.
Have you noticed he can do pretty much
anything imaginable, and they'll explain some way that rationalizes it that
makes zero logical sense? Because they're not even keeping track of any
coherent narrative, it's irrelevant. Fuck liberals is the only relevant thing.
Trust me; I know firsthand what I'm talking about.
That's why they just laugh at it all because
you all don't even realize they truly don't give a fuck about whatever the
conversation is about. It's just a side mission story that doesn't matter
anyway. That's all just trivial details - the economy, health care, whatever.
Fuck liberals.
Look at the issue with not wearing the masks.
I can tell you what that's about. It's about exposing fear. They're playing
chicken with nature, and whoever flinches just moved down their internal
pecking order, one step closer to being a liberal.
You've got to understand the one core value
that they hold above all others is hatred for what they consider weakness
because that's what they believe strength is, hatred of weakness. And I mean
passionate, sadistic hatred. And I'm not exaggerating. Believe me. Sadistic,
passionate hatred, and that's what proves they're strong, their passionate
hatred for weakness. Sometimes they will lump vulnerability in with weakness.
They do that because people tend to start humbling themselves when they're in
some compromising or overwhelming circumstance, and to them, that's an obvious
sign of weakness.
Kindness = weakness. Honesty = weakness.
Compromise = weakness.
They consider their very existence to be superior in every way to anyone who doesn't hate weakness as much as they do. They consider liberals to be weak people that are inferior, almost a different species, and the fact that liberals are so weak is why they have to unite in large numbers, which they find disgusting, but it's that disgust that is a true expression of their natural superiority.
Here was my comment:
I moved back home to Wyoming, after being gone for about 35 years, most of that time (as you know) was spent in CA. As I agree with most of this, I personally have had to take a look at where I was in my Past, and now in my own Present and the people who are in it. I was born and raised in a conservative state; spent 25 years in a liberal state. I've learned a lot about people and their circumstances along the way, and how we all deal with our issues/problems. Politics and socio-economics aside...it all comes down to how we TREAT each other: With respect, or disrespect? I've known hateful people on BOTH sides, conservative AND liberal. But when shit happens…like a wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, stock/housing market crashes, etc. I have seen the goodness in people. People who will give the shirts off their back, but not only that…pull out an ox in the mire on a Sunday. So for every hateful person, thank the Universe that there are more loving ones who step forward in times of trouble. It doesn’t matter who the President is, really. It’s about how WE are in the communities WE live in that will make the difference. The fight between good and evil is real…and I’m not talking about anarchy, but I am talking about America as we envision it to be. Be good. Be nice. Be strong.
---
I think that perhaps many of us who call ourselves "Moderates" struggle (at least, to some extent or another) this 2020 Election Year. Besides the fact that we're called "fence-dwellers" and have been mercilessly ridiculed as such...the truth is that no one really knows anything except for...
How we were raised.
There are those who have been raised in wealth or poverty...or perhaps somewhere in the middle. There are those who have been raised in strict religious and cultural traditions. There are those who are "working class" and "high class" or "no class". There are those who are raised to be pridefully racist..and those who are raised to be respectful, tolerant and accepting. There are those who are Native Americans, and those whose ancestral heritages are United States Revolutionary...those who absolutely despised tyranny and initiated that "Shot Heard Around The World". For those who mock marches and protests by so-called "liberals", consider those Revolutionary roots.
I don't know what cloud has been put over peoples' eyes to blind them from the harsh realities of the human condition, but being "conservative" or "liberal"...a "Republican" or a "Democrat" is quite minute and laughable in the grand scheme of things. I muse at the social media postings, left and right battles and babbles. So many chefs in the kitchen...so many bad dishes being created and presented for human consumption to glug down.
Do we not all breathe the air? Drink the water? Eat the food? Work the fields, hunt the forests...mind our stores and shops, whether online or storefront? Give of ourselves, work ourselves to the bone? Wonder at the sun, moon and stars above us? How soon we forget where we came from...not only how we've been raised, but how we've faced the trials and troubles along the way.
And yet, do we not ALL have time, talents and treasures that we uniquely give to our families, friends, neighborhoods and communities, because "that's just the kind of people we are", regardless of race, color, gender, religion and creed?
For those who don't know...I was out for about a week from my day job because I had a couple of what was considered "COVID symptoms". Congestion, respiratory problems. I was eventually tested negative (shocker, LOL!)...and could finally return to work. Yes, I lost a few days of work. Yes, I was a bit frustrated with my employer at one point,, however...because I can see many sides of the proverbial "Elephant" (which, I must say, has been both a blessing and a curse throughout my life), I can, once again, move forward and contribute to the ups and downs and craziness of this thing we call Life...and know that it will all work out, as long as I am consistent in being good, being nice, and being strong.
This (to the left) is my very favorite coffee mug. I have 50+ coffee mugs that I've collected over the years, but this one has always been my daily tried and true. Would I be sad if it ever broke? Oh, yes. But Life would go on.It's a plain and simple mug. Nothing special about it, really...except that I love it. We all have treasures we cherish, for whatever reason(s). But...could we let them all go, at any moment, at any time? Better still...could we accept what is broken and find the love and strength within our own selves move forward and make things better?
Change is inevitable. Maybe we could see the Elephant in a way that will bring us together, rather than tear us all apart. Being better, not bitter.
In the mean time...my biggest worry these days is what to do with all of these potatoes. This garden has been out of control! 😉
Be good. Be nice. Be strong.
Friday, July 31, 2020
The Nouns: The School Closet (Anyone Want Zucchini?)
Sunday, July 19, 2020
History Lessons: Reunions
Sunday, July 5, 2020
History Lessons: We The People - Our Independence Day
"Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world, and you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind.
Mankind.That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom.
Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution… but from annihilation. We're fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice: We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive!
Today we celebrate our Independence Day!"