YOU COULD POKE YOUR EYE OUT WITH THAT!

"The character inherent in the American people has done all that
has been accomplished;and it would have done somewhat more,if the
government had not sometimes got in it's way"

Henry David Thoreau

There's a song by an artist named Jill Paquette titled,'Whodidthis' which seems most appropriate here. In the song, she talks about blaming all of one's woes and sorrows upon any and all but the one who looks at us in the mirror every day.
Blame the government, yo mamma, pookie and them, cousin ray-ray, and anyone else. Well, guess what. Each and everyone of them may actually be to blame or have some part to play. Even so, the whole mirror thing, while incredibly overdone on the part of song-meisters everywhere, is somewhat appropos here.
If we look at ourselves everyday based upon core beliefs, whatever they may be, we will believe our own press. This is what perpetuates ignorance and stupidity.
They say 'ignorance is bliss.' If this is so, then the world should, based upon that reasoning, be full of a bunch of blissful people. Am I right?
Bliss is defined as; " a state of extreme happiness, cloud nine, seventh heaven." Get the point?
Well I don't know about you, but the person who gets pissed off at me because I like driving the speed limit, is usually anywhere but on cloud nine. Unless of course, he gets off on leaving me in the dust after flying me the bird and honking at me, amongst other things. Is he/she happy? Well, could be. He/she could have just entered into their 'zone' as it were.
Yes, I'm going off on a tangent to make a point.
Take today for example. This woman who I met today, was ready to giver her NINE YEAR OLD SON A POSTER OF SOME SCANTILY CLAD WOMAN IN A BATHING SUIT. I crumpled it up in front of their faces and threw it away. (there's more to this story that I don't care to reveal, but enough to make the point here)
She was willing to allow him to grow up with at least the same sense of moral direction as she currently prescribes to.
Lest you accuse me of judging here, that's exactly what I'm doing. To judge means to; "form and opinion or pass or pass judgement on."
I am judging her actions.
He is a sweet little kid. Has that kind of face that looks like it should be in a movie or the like.
Not like me.
Made for radio, I think is my mug.
I digress.
This one action on my part will in no way stop her from ever doing following through with this.
One person doing even one thing to keep stupidity from perpetuating itself.
Call me as you will.
I am in no way elevating myself here by any means.
Just pointing out how the moral fabric is being un-raveled even as we speak.
Stop the madness.
more later.

If I live to see another day, I will, no doubt perhaps, wish it were not so. The political climate in this country is outrageous if not ludicrous. This group is saying this about that group and the other is airing all the 'dirty laundry.'
Is it me or are we ready for an upheaval?
All things good are not as they seem.
Good things last and are iconic in nature.
Take the Maytag man. Okay, maybe bad example as the latest, Gordon Jump, has now taken the dirt nap, and the one before him, whoever he was is now in the tv-land archives.
How about the Statue of Liberty? Saw that young lady in '76. Way cool. Saw the documentary about the refurb that took place. That's what I'm talking about. People putting millions of their hard-earned dollars to work for something that says, 'hey, we may be different, but you can come here and make it work.' The Maytag man is merely an actor doin' a gig for a company.
Lady Liberty represents what America is all about. 'Give us your...'
All the huddled masses are massing together seeking to undermine all that is good. Now, to set the record straight here, your version of 'good' and mine may not be the same. Hey, it's America, after all. We can take to the street and write an op-ed piece and hand out leaflets w/o the fear of reprisal. Though, this too has changed on the landscape of personal freedoms we once enjoyed. 9-11 took care of that.
I won't bother to rehash all that's been said up to now, but suffice it to say, my recent trip to the airport to pickup/drop-off my daughter was eye-opening, to say the least.
She was singled out and had to go through a litany of checks to be able to get to the gate.
Makes me not want to fly.
That aside, you could say that the terrorists were utilizing their 'constitutional right' to free speech. Obviously not candidates for the Martin Luther King hall of fame; take up the picket line/placard not the AK-47/Glock-9 sort of mentality.
Get my meaning here?
They, thinking they were Americans with the right to free speech, took it upon themselves to let the world know that we are the 'Great Satan.'
Well, perhaps we have strayed just a bit from the path of original intent that the forefathers had ascribed the foundation of this country to.
We take the 'liberty' part to extremes but forget that is was the death part that they were really talking about.
They, citing some 27 biblical violations regarding the tyranny that was England, said, 'No more.'
We want our freedom to worship, etc. and we're willing to die for it. With freedom comes responsibility. The had a firm grasp on the reality of this concept. This was not an overnite ,'I'm drunk and feel like pissing on King Georges' shoes' thing here. No, this was a 'I want to see my children grow up with the real freedom to choose.'
With freedom comes responsibility.
The right to choose where they will live and worship or not worship. But in doing so, not have the fear that zealots will come crashing down their door, dragging them before some puppet court/dog and pony show, that makes a mockery out of man's right to choose.
With freedom comes responsibility.
More on all of this later.
Think about the difference between rights and privileges.
One your born with and the other is earned or bestowed.
Constitution 101 class is now in session.
Please be ready to take notes.
And as always, your participation is greatly appreciated.

Got banned from ever replying to a particular blog based on my post. Jeez, get a life. While your at it, get nine of them. 'Cause I sure heard the claws pop out.
If you had read what was written and my reply, you would have either laughed at the blogger or agreed with me.Or not.
Either way, holy wackjob batman.
Ahh, the future of America.
Can't wait.
Guess I better go now and eat my worms.

What is it about a good nights sleep? I would have no idea as I rarely get one. Between my wife arising at 2:30am for her role as a workerbee and my dog insisting on sleeping somewhere, anywhere under the covers that she might purloin some of our much needed winter body heat. Why do I put up with it when I insisted that when we aquired the pup, she sleep on the floor. Ya, sure. Softy that I am, she quickly found her way into my heart. And bed. She's a short haired mutant mutt, not unlike myself, mutant-mutt part of it, that is. My family background reads like a who's who's not from Ellis Island. No one of any special lineage, to speak of. Just determined individuals coming from afar in search of a better life. Much like myself. In search of a better life. I'm hoping that my children will seek the same. More better than me.
May old aquaintance be not too forgot.
Wake me when the war's over.

Simplicity. Even the name conjures up visions of little else but the most mundane of existence. "I exist therefore I am." I think that was a Jungian phrase. Or one of those types.
The more I try to simplify my life, the more I seem to find on my plate. More irons in the fire, that sort of thing. A guy I know just finished the rough draft of his first 'book.' Hmmm. I'll spare you the gory details of it. Suffice it to say, I'm certain it won't make it to the New York Times bestseller list.
I digress.
I offered to type it up and edit it. My fee was going to be a percentage of sales.
I digress again.
Now, you say. Simplify my life? Yea, sure. I have to make the time to do this. Needing a creative outlet, I tell myself. Ever since giving up drumming, I have had no outlet whatsoever. This provides me such. How badly do I need to do this? Not need, want.
Life is not very exciting nor glamorous. Not that I need those things. However, anything to keep the old grey matter juices cookin'.
I can't say that I'm not good with words. Having grown up in the catholic school system, I came to appreciate the written word. As I grew, the spoken word. This merely being, in my mind, the logical extension of the former. When I learned how to talk, (don't ask) I found my voice. I have since 'edited' my voice as I have found the things I really believe in, very dear to my heart.
What does all this have to do with simplicity?
Being a drummer had it's ups and downs. (no pun intended)
Crashes and bangs.(pun very intended)
As much as I enjoyed it, it was very time consuming.In order to get good and then really good, I had to spend hours upon countless hours practicing. That's just on my end. When I was in a band, the band's practice. When we performed, more time spent. Etc. Etc.
You get the point.
I miss it terrribly. It was what I wanted to do with my life. For awhile, it was me. But I am not it. Not anymore. So, am I happy with my scaled back lifestyle? Sort of. Not very rewarding. But raising kids and working on my marriage, carries with it, it's own rewards. Different than that of being a drummer. But yet, still there are some parallels.
You can draw them yourself, gentle reader. I have confidence in you.
I have more to do in the category of simplification. Until then, I remain.......complicated.
Please turn out the lights when you leave.

Ever get the pink slip? Not fun. Wanna know y? Cause it falls under the category of the great unknown. If I knew I was gonna get the door, I would have prepared myself for this. Yea, right. Christmas just passed. No one, and I mean NO ONE, cuts loose during the holidays, RIGHT?(unless you work for K-Mart. They not only let them go JUST before Christmas, but to add insult to injury, the employees were not allowed to return to their desks and were 'escorted' out of the building by security) YIKES!
So, where does this leave me? Out in the cold. Like so many other Americans, I am joining the ranks of the un-employed. But, be of good cheer, gentle reader, all is not lost. 18 yrs. experience ought to count for something, right? Sure.
I am confident that I will prevail. In the meantime, I'll make the best of this and brush up on some aspects of my job that I've not thought about in ages. Or, maybe it's time to chuck it all and start anew. The problem with that, as I'm sure you're aware, is that after all these years, it's easy to command the big $$$.
An entry level position, is just that. Bottom of the scale. Though, many years ago, I secured a job at the tender age of 21 where I made more starting out than my coworkers did after years of service. I did not disappoint my boss. At least not until later on when the drinking overtook my better judgement.
That's for another day, dear person.
Suffice it to say, I shall live to fight another day.
(closing strains of Aerosmith's 'Back in the Saddle.')