You can't believe the news media?

ABC Owned by Disney – Some of the corporate holdings are in broadcasting and cable, film, music, theme parks, internet, toys and clothing.

In 1998 their chairman had a ten year contract which paid $750,000 a year along with a maximum $15 million a year bonus for financial performance, PLUS shares worth about $550 – $600 million.

While at Disney World the starting salary was $5.95 an hour, after 3 years $13,541 a year. At Disneyland Paris France an average yearly salary of $13,000 - $15000. Also while people in Haiti toiled to make the clothing for Disney they were paid an average of .28 cents an hour. And how many other countries are they in in some way! And there is much more, find out for yourself.

CBS, CW Owned by CBS Corp., Warner Brothers, Westinghouse – Yes from light bulbs, batteries, electric motors, TV's, ceiling fans, lighting fixtures, flashlights, garage door openers, heating, ventilating, air conditioners, solar panels and even books, to providing nuclear energy worldwide, they are involved. Not just the Radio Television news and sports. And there is much more, find out for yourself.

NBC Owned by General Electric, Comcast – Not just Radio and TV, but aviation services, transportation, financial services, real estate, GE Americas. GE Asia, GE Europe, GE Middle East and Africa, Power Electronics, Power Components, Critical Power, Power Conversion, Digital Energy. Gas and Oil, GE Power and Water, GE Appliances, Electronics, Lighting, Electric Insurance Company, GE Health Care. And there is much more, find out for yourself.

FOX Owned by Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. – It's just so much easier to say, what don't they have their fingers in. They own the news worldwide. Their fingers are in Technology, Food, Pepsi and Coke, McDonald's, Wendy's, Wal Mart, lighting and electronics, building automaton, security systems, medical solutions, power generation, transmission and delivery, transportation, General Electric, just to name some. And there is much more, find out for yourself.

All American Multinational Conglomerates.

All big corporations with many more holdings who only care about dollars and how they can get more. NOT about who gets hurt by their filthy greed and NOT about those who struggle trying to make ends meet or who struggle to put a meal on the table...

How can we even begin to expect they will tell us unbiased news without a filter in place to ensure we believe they have nothing to do with the whys? Have nothing to do with the reasons people of other countries think bad of us here in the US?

Look deep enough into their holdings and you'll find gas and oil.

Gas and oil are what have us in many other countries. The rich and powerful of the oil companies went into the other countries and convinced the powers there to take away the land of the people who wouldn't cooperate in taking their oil from under their ground. Eminent Domain.

The left behind citizens revolt and we have war. Wars that we are now involved in because our rich have something to loose and have ?donated? big money to politicians for their campaigns. Politicians who now vote in favor of bills that will benefit the big money donors who helped them. Like it or not, it's bribery. It's selling your soul to the devil, and to hell with the people you represent.

These are not the principals our country was founded upon. This is where we the people have allowed our country to be taken to.

WHO IS YOUR POLITICIAN SELLING OUT TO?

Don't just listen to their words, seek, research and look deeper behind the person and find the truth.

And with the battle that's going on here in the US, with some saying drilling for gas and oil is bad for the environment and research saying it's not.

Who is starting the this?

My truth seeking cynical mind fears a time coming when the big companies take away our land through Eminent Domain to take the oil and gas at a higher profit. And of course, with the governments blessings.

I knew of this from living my life, but I started this writing with only an idea.

I researched before writing.

That research and this writing only took about two and a half to three hours.

Please don't let time be an excuse for you not to seek out your truth. Thanks to the internet it really doesn't take as long as you might fear.

Who AM I ?

What a question! Who can answer it?

I've never met anyone that has a reasonable answer if any at all. I'd guess that each and every one of us if we could find an answer, would have a different answer to that question.

Myself, well I can only say I've spent a lifetime only really seeking peace and happiness. Some days I feel both, some days not. Many days I only find moments of both or even moments of one or the other.

Why must it be so hard a task... I was in a really good place for a long time, but several years ago I lost that. Those who did regularly follow and read here can probably figure out why and I am not going to get into it. At least for now.

So for the past two years I've really only been existing and trying to get out of a funk I allowed myself to get into. (again...) I've been pondering life, pondering love and pondering myself. Just going through the movements of life, stumbling along and existing. Trying to have fun and entertain my weary being.

What have I come to discover and learn? Much that I had learned before but lost sight of.

Peace can not be found without contentment.

    Life is like crossing a log over a stream. On one side is a calm, peaceful pool of water filled with happiness, on the other are rushing waters full of turmoil and sadness. The quicker we climb back on that log where we are content, the sooner we can continue on our path of life. Our journey.

   Falling off of the log of contentment just happens. There can be no happiness without sadness. Without sadness we wouldn't be able to recognize happiness. Without happiness we wouldn't recognize sadness.

    Staying in happiness too long makes sadness tougher to deal with, we become complacent. Staying in sadness causes us to become mired in self pity which causes us to miss out on or not thoroughly enjoy moments of happiness.

    Striving to stay in contentment helps in accepting whatever happens in the moment.

Nothing lasts forever, and everything is changeable.

We are able to give up desires.

Self control is not a punishment. Self control is not torture.

    Learning self control is freedom.

    Freedom to be able to see, learn and understand.

    Learning self control helps to learn the world doesn't revolve around us and

    our expectations of others are always too high.

                                   (They are in their world, I am in my mine.)

    Everything we get from others is only temporary. What we get on our own

    lasts, even if only through what we've learned.

                         (I must find for myself what we I am looking for.)

All ambitions can be abandoned or changed.

    Our past is our history.

    When we get quiet and alone we can examine and question the past to learn

    how to shape and change the future we want.

        (I've found that being alone in nature helps me best when meditating.)

I am not my past, I am not the world around me. It is myself that has the ability to shape and form my life.

Things Learned

The path to what you want begins right beyond your excuses.

If you really want it, you need to step over the excuses.

Like what I'm learning

Where my home is, winter is a beast.

It wasn't so when I was younger. Winter never bothered me. I enjoyed being out in a snow storm plowing snow, shoveling snow or playing. Very seldom did I ever have to really bundle up. The cold was something I could laugh at.

As this body has aged, been beaten up by me and has broken down in some ways, that same cold now causes pain. Pain in the joints and pain in my mind.

So some time back I had decided to start looking for somewhere to spend my winters. Somewhere not quite as snowy or cold, yet somewhere not too warm.

When I was in Southern Indiana before I fell in love with the rolling hills. Liked the people I had met and those I talked to in passing.

Asked people here about their winters. What they explained, sounded like the worst of my spring and fall back home.

So I finally decided on my adventure. A adventure to seek a place to spend my January's and February's away from my normal winters. Also a trip and time away from the normal to see if I could once again discover my mind and myself.

This being the absolute worst winter in many years may have made this an insane idea. But in my pea brain it made sense. If I find the worst and can tolerate that, I can certainly tolerate anything better during normal winters.

Well, it's down right cold here. A whopping 27 degrees this morning. Slight wind too. So I finally had to don more than a short sleeve sweatshirt. I had to put on a long sleeve shirt underneath.

Hey, it's above 0 degrees! Less than that is what I left. This feels great to me.

I may not get much more fishing done while I'm here though because the ice won't melt from along the river banks. And I have no desire to fall. I did have a slight slip on Tuesday which had me looking for a chiropractor yesterday. With what's left of my back that is nothing new for me. Yet pushing my luck challenging ice wouldn't be a good idea.

I had the time to check out a cave where the guy who started this town stayed with his family when he first got here. It's not so much a cave as a deep hollow cut into the rock cliffs. Yet I can understand how it would have made good shelter and protection. It does have a wonderful view of the river also.

I'm hoping today to find some access areas along the river with good accessibility where maybe I can fish and not have to challenge steep banks that are muddy and ice covered.

I've already felt the affects of my escape on my mind. I'm feeling more relaxed, more open already. Maybe creativity will return. Maybe desire will return. Maybe, maybe, maybe...

I'll be leaving here in a few more days and heading farther to the south. Will that be the area I find I like more? Who knows, but instead of fighting the old, I am attempting to understand the new and build on that.

Ball Shadow? Smile

So the groundhog saw his shadow...

Well when I left home early yesterday morning it was in the 40's. No snow, no rain, no clouds. I guess it could have been possible for that rodent to see his shadow. With all the lights from the cameras on him, how could he not see his shadow?

You can check out Phil's site at groundhog.org

On the way out of Pennsylvania I did find some rain. Didn't mind that since there was a lot of salt to be washed from under my SUV. Then almost to Columbus the weather got dry. It was still overcast which I appreciated. It's nice to not have bright sun blinding you.

It was great until I passed Louisville. It really greeted me to Indiana.

Ha, ha! Here drive in a snow globe.

I drove around after checking in at the hotel to make sure I still remembered my way around since the last trip here.

Amazing! I do.

Heck I even made a turn and thought I went the wrong way but quickly found what I was looking for anyway.

It's definitely warm here as compared to home. I e-mailed someone I know here to ask about some backroads I intend to travel on and ask about their condition during the winters. Got the answer I had figured on. Mud rut city. This should be fun!!!

The ball went well.

Danced a few slow dances with my grand daughter and then chatted with the other dads and grandpa's while the young girls were busy dancing with each other.

I am still trying to decide whether or not to put some pictures here. Something inside is telling me no. Maybe it's because she is so young. Maybe it's just something that will come to light in the future. I just don't know why I'm feeling no. But I've learned to listen to that voice inside.

Well, I'm off to play in the mud and snow and see what kind of orneriness I can find to do today for some smiles.

Teach a while and make a smile

My daughter who is alone now, raising two children by herself, needed a new light hung above her kitchen sink.

Normally my son helps his sister when she needs something done. He was working when she called so feeling this bad case of wintertime blues I knew I had to leave the warm comfort of home and do something.

When my son helps he's like many people and does it for her.

I on the other hand believe in the old saying:

“Give a man a fish and he eats for the day. Teach a man to fish and he eats forever.”

So instead of just doing it for her, I had her come and help. Did what I could to teach her as I was doing and left her do much of what I felt she could. All the while she watched, helped and learned.

Some believe women can't or shouldn't do home repairs and remodeling.

That is just not true.

Over the years I had women working along with me while running my business. After teaching them, they often outworked men. Did a nicer job and were cleaner while working. Paid much more attention to detail.

When tasks demanded strength I'd ask them to use they're minds to figure out how to handle it. Sometimes I'd help them along while learning to use their minds instead of their bodies. I'd enforce what I believe in.

“Anything the mind can conceive and believe in, can be achieved.”

Need to lift a heavy item that is too cumbersome for one? Levers and blocking, raising one end at a time is the way to go.

There are times when it takes two to move some things. Then is when you seek help. Of course there are times when help is handy that you simply ask for that help to move the job along faster.

I and my son are still here to help but by teaching her, should the time ever come that she needs to do something alone she can.

Why do for, when you can teach how?

Teaching and helping others helps builds their self confidence. Along with that self confidence comes a healthy attitude and smile.

Teaching your daughter helps show she “needs” no man, but can have one if and when she wants. And that she doesn't have to settle for a sorry excuse of a man just to have one to do things.

That too should allow her to keep a smile.

A Ball?

Six days before I leave. Wouldn't you know it would have to get so cold the grandkids have no school! And of course, who gets to watch them.

I have preparations to make, bags to pack, fishing equipment to finish getting ready, arrangements to make and who knows what I haven't thought of yet.

Oh well, there is still some food that needs used up before I leave. Wouldn't want to come home in a month to things growing in the refrigerator...

I was planning to leave the last day of this month, but a very pretty young lady asked me of all people to take her to a ball. 

A BALL!

Me who doesn't even own a pair of real dress pants let alone a torture suit. Hasn't looked at his hangman's nooses in years. Had to wipe years of dust from his dress shoes. At least they still looked good under their protective coating of dust.

I promised myself many years ago I would never again don clothes I couldn't feel totally comfortable getting dirty in.

But oh no, a cute little girl had to come along and make me break that promise.

Yet what can a guy do when his grand daughter asks for him to be her date...

So it was off to torment shacks err stores, to look for and buy new clothes. Clothes that I swear will only be worn once!

Hunting through styles that look goofy for five hours until I finally found something acceptable.

Maybe I really did outlive my lifetime...

Why can't I just wear a T shirt and jeans? What's wrong with my comfortable black Nike's? Why in the name of humanity do I have to put on a hangman's noose to choke my Adams apple and make my neck itch?

Grand daughter, that's why.

Somewhere out in the cosmos there is a gang of angels laughing. Holding their stomachs in pain from the laughter. All dancing around singing “We gotcha, we gotcha, ha ha haa ha haa ha.

Yes they knew there was no woman who could convince me I ever had to dress up again. So they blessed me with a wonderful grand daughter. A sweet young thing with a smile that could light the darkest night.

And she even delayed my escape from the bone chilling cold and my fishing trip.

Ugh, wonder if I can still remember how to dance with anyone but myself while out in a field when the mood strikes to nothing but the music in my head!

Oh well, she'll only be young once.

So smile as you imagine an old, broken down fool on a dance floor.

I will be : )

But she'll have this memory and smile forever.