Makes No Cents

Advertisers for manufacturers, like to make it look like we can't live without the junk they sell. The sad part of that is how many people fall into that trap. They run to the stores or dial some 1 800 number and buy everything they can and only end up in debt and with more to add to the junk drawers or trash.

My son has become one of those who seems permanently attached to his I phone. Then he complains to me that he never has a moment to himself.

I tell him to put the thing in a drawer and forget it for a while but he never listens... Wonder if I'd call and say that if he would hear?

He like many others has to have every gadget that comes out. Then they all spend more time getting those gadgets to work than they would working without them.

Me, when I see a gadget that may make work or life easier, I like to think about it and try and find out if it really would help. So many times I can see that it wouldn't. So I'm happy I never spent my hard earned money for it. Many others though are sad because they did buy it.

First question I ask me is, do I really need it... More often than not the answer is no. Next I decide if it would take longer to set up and use than it would to just do the job. There is also the questions of clean up and storage, I have enough junk being stored now and I despise having to clean up even more...

Then I start to look at the prices. Spending on junk is craziness, especially when so much of that junk is going to cause headaches and grief. When I'm out working, walking through the woods, on a beach or fishing from the boat I certainly don't want people calling me. That's my time and if anyone wants me, they will have to try and find me.

Most of the fancy kitchen gadgets I see, look like they will take more time to set up and clean than they'll save. I just recently bought a bread machine and look how long they've been around... But that too made me work. I had to adjust all my own favorite bread recipes so I'd end up with the same great tastes I had without one. But it is nice that I can set it up and come back to the nice smell and taste of homemade bread and it's not hard at all to clean up.

I look at a lot of the new gadgets and see stuff that has all been around before, even when I was a boy. The new is nothing but a remake of something that has been here before but with a new bell or whistle and different look. Of course the new will never last as long as the old...

Personally I'd rather not be a slave to all the companies that make and sell all the junk. I'd rather spend my hard earned cash on me, family and friends, all having a good time and enjoying life. Making the manufacturers of junk rich so they and theirs can enjoy life just don't make sense to me...

So today I'll smile because I have my cash and can enjoy...

Men Are Like Babies

First thing I'd like to say is “Achoo”, “Cough, Cough, Cough”, achoo and cough some more...

I'm sick, I have a headache, a fever and I feel like crud.

I've quite often heard the question, why do men act like such babies when they're sick... Well, it hurts. We feel miserable. We feel weak. We don't want to do anything but get better, but yah... we must. So we're going to whine, snivel, and act like babies. Everyone will hear of our plight and we don't care.

It's kind of a self defense mechanism. We whine and snivel and act like babies and no one wants to be around us. So just maybe everyone will leave us alone and we can go crawl in a hole and suffer our agony, in peace and quiet. If people don't leave us alone, they will just have to listen to us until they get the hint and leave us alone.

I can't speak for all guys, but I don't even want anyone taking care of me or trying to help when I'm sick. When really sick, I don't get hungry and can not stand the sight or smell of food. I don't like loud noise, so I don't want to hear anyone talking above a whisper and I definitely don't want to hear the screeching roar of a vacuum.

I just want sleep. I do not want to hear, are you OK??? NO! I am not. So please leave me alone. Do you want what I have just so you can give it back?

I did what work I absolutely had to get accomplished and now I have full intentions of checking my eyelids for holes.

When I was the daddy of two little children I did what I had to do for them but still found time to suffer in silence. It was almost magical that they understood dad was ill and would play nicely and quietly. They would however make up for it the few days following...

All day Sunday I felt bad. Sneezing, coughing and a headache that was out of this world. So today is the third day and it should break up and I should begin to feel better by tomorrow. That's the course this kind of stuff always takes for me and hasn't changed in over fifty years.

It was my dear loving son who first got it and passed it on to dear dad. I'll forgive him, but not until I feel better. In the mean time I'll sneeze as loudly as possible and cough as much as necessary all night long so he gets a bad sleep. That's just the nature of bad colds and that should be payback enough.

For now... I'm going to have a hot cup of coffee with my old friend Grand Dad and then go to bed and try and cook this out. I won't even ask please. I'll just say, do not disturb! Unless of course you have a really big desire to hear me choke, sneeze and complain.

Yes, men are like babies when we're sick and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

So you all go and have a really great day full of smiles. I'll get back to smiling tomorrow. 

Best People On Earth

Yes, it's Friday and my blog is late. Sorry!!! As you have surely noticed, I have not been doing weekend blogs. I, like everyone else, do like to have a few days where I don't have to do things.

So I have been a little busy today trying to prepare and write a blog about someone who is the most important person there ever was or is.

Mom !

Yup, this is the last formal picture of my mom that was taken. And mom, I really do miss that wonderful friend you became later in our lives.

Mothers have the most important job known to mankind. They carry the responsibility of the future in raising the children who will become the leaders and workers of society. All the good morals and thinking that will be passed down, will be passed by mothers. The health and safety of children depend on mom's watchful eyes. The skinned knees that are eased by a kiss and hug from mom. The care when a child is ill, that is given so lovingly comes only from mom. Mom's are the single most important beings of society.

Mothers are rare and beautiful like Orchids. Each has her own way of loving and caring.

Photo by, Karen Shaw. http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=238

Photo by, http://www.freedigitalphotos.net Admin.

Moms are colorful and intriguing.

Photo by, Susie B

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=179

Get a bunch of mothers together and they're as pretty as a field full of Dasies.

Photo by, Dan.

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=587

Yet as varied as a field of wild flowers.

But as the flower my mom loved so well,

Photo by, http://www.freedigitalphotos.net Staff.

the beautiful Rose... Mom's are intricate and it's fun to watch and learn them as their petals unfold while you get to know them.

To all the wonderful, perfect mothers of the world, I'd like to say,

Happy Mothers Day!

And thank you all for doing the job you do.

Impulse...

Had to make an unexpected trip to town yesterday afternoon, headache and all. But my son treated me to Starbucks so it wasn't all bad... Even though they do over charge for what they have it's sometimes worth it. While there we had the laptop running and even with a nice high speed connection my computer was running to slow to make me happy.

So after Starbucks what hair brained idea did I come up with but to go and look for a better computer. Went to three different places I shop for that kinda stuff. Finally went back to the first and bought one. Talk about over priced...

Now I probably have three or four days work just trying to get rid of the junk they have preloaded on that computer and downloading and installing the programs I like using. Gee, doesn't that sound like fun... Anyone want to help?

I'm not crazy about Microsoft's programs, I found Open Office much cleaner and easier to use. Not crazy about Norton security either. Used to use both at one time and even used McAfee on one computer. They were all fine at one time but seemed to get to bloated and want to control your computer.

I also like other programs that help clean out the pesky, hard drive slowing tracking cookies that so many sites take the liberty of adding to your computer when you visit their sites. Although with Windows 7, Microsoft's disk cleanup tool, does a pretty good job it still doesn't get them all. So it's kinda like taking a bath and not washing behind your ears...

There's other things I use on a regular basis so all that will have to be added too. Maybe even to many... But slowly I'll get it done and then remove all the games and other junk that I'll never use and most of which I wouldn't enjoy.

But if the weather keeps up it's ways and stays cold and rainy, I should have that new computer ready in just a few days. I just refuse to use it until I have it set up the way I want it. Yup, like many other things in my life I'll customize it to suit myself and make me happy.

Best thing is though, my neck has let up a bit and the headache is pretty much gone. How long though is any ones guess.

Got some new chicks a few days ago and they're eating like hungry wolves and growing wing feathers already. This is the first time I ever ordered them on line and was a bit hesitant. But my son in law wanted some too, so we ordered them all together. We were both like little kids waiting for them to come...

I'll try in a few more days to get some pictures here for you.

Kinda looks like the sun is coming up really nicely today so quite possibly I may not be working on that computer and will instead be outside getting some work done that should have been done a month ago. But that's life when you choose to do what I do to have fun...

Well, have a really great day and remember, make yourself happy and smile!

Headache

I have a really bad headache. That headache is coming from a messed up neck that has been a problem for years. I twisted it wrong a few days ago and it's been smarting ever since. I also have a messed up back. Hurt that from working, a few falls and some really dumb childish attempts to do daredevil things one shouldn't do. Flaws...

Everyone has a flaw or more than one. No one is perfect. Some have emotional flaws that are from being mistreated in childhood. Some have emotional flaws from things that happen while being an adult. Many from heartbreak. Hmm, I have that one myself.

I have known people who were so smart they would leave you shaking your head in awe at brilliant things they would say. Yet they were the people who felt they were the dumbest. Not one thing I could say or do to prove they were wrong would help. But often when I needed to know things they were the people I turned to. They could always be depended on for good sound answers and advice.

Most of the people I know with the biggest hearts who care for others live with the pain of a broken heart. Yet they constantly put theirselves out there by helping others. They don't even realize they have love and are sharing that love by giving it to others. These are the most wonderful people I know.

I've also known many big bad bikers. Many of them had scars that would make them feel bad. Some from childhood abuse who hid their scars and would not allow theirselves to talk about them. Some from actions they were forced into during their military hitches. Them too they could not talk about without breaking into tears.

Emotional hurt and pain leaves us feeling alone and hopeless. Physical pain leaves us feeling alone and hopeless too.

Yet there is not one perfect human being on this earth. We all have something that makes us suffer and we are not alone.

I wasn't even going to try and write a blog today, but I just felt a need.

Someone, somewhere, has a need to know they're not alone in their own pain. So even though this is a short blog I'm here saying, you are not alone and one day you will be feeling better.

We really are just all perfectly flawed.

Makes No Sense

Being a thinking person isn't always good.

As I was falling off to sleep the night of May 1^st, I heard that Osama was finally dead.

That was not necessarily all bad. On 9/11 the plane that came down here in Pennsylvania came down near the school my son was attending. I was many miles away watching the events in New York on a TV and feeling very bad that so many innocent people were being slaughtered because of this man. It was him that incited and gave the orders to the terrorists that lead to the murders and devastation.

I worried so much for my son and daughter and the ways that they could be feeling. I left where I was and didn't have a care that my life was taking a back seat to the lives and feelings of safety and security of my children. I drove straight to the schools they were attending and picked them up.

But when I woke up and turned on the Monday morning news I see that people are celebrating the death of Osama. Big celebrations at college's, big celebrations in the streets. I get on line and again I read about celebrations. I read some of what other people have written. I feel shame...

I am not totally against the death penalty. Some who do harm to others should be put to death. I'm not against sending armed troops after someone really bad who is killing people and trying to force their ways on others.

What has sickened me is the celebration of the death of another human being. He was not by any indication a good man, but still he was a human. The celebration of his death looks to me like we as humans have dropped to the same level as he and his terrorist buddies.

Honestly wouldn't it be the same as celebrating after an execution at a prison.

To see any human celebrating the death of another makes me wonder just what kind of civilization we are.

I'm very proud of and thankful for all the troops who have gone and fought against the terrorists and are trying to make this world a better place for all. I honor them and thank them. I thank the families who have lost members of their families who have served and to them goes my thanks and heartfelt sympathy.

I am glad that this man with his murdering ways who incited many followers to believe as he did is gone. No longer can he influence with his mouth or actions. But so many of his followers live on, is it over? 

Other people will find a reason to disagree without learning to accept that others are different. How long before another terrorist is born? 

I can not bring myself to “celebrate” the death of any human for any reason. Peace is not found by death, not even inner peace, only more loneliness.

Do Not Plan

Ever had a day that all you wanted was to lay down and take a nap?

I often wonder why it is that I can have nothing that has to be done and be sittin around the house being bored to death by the television and no one will ever stop for a visit. Not one sole will call either.

But let me have a busy day and all manner of folks will want to stop by and chat. These are also the days that someone will wonder up the road and try to sell something. Now I don't like to be rude so I usually stop what I'm doing and chat. Being polite is a nice thing to do and a good way to make friends. It's also a way to learn all the local news that the media will not air.

All the media wants to air is the big things that interest them and their advertisers. They don't care if Molly and her husband had that baby they were expecting. They could care less if little Timmy is doing good at little league baseball. They probably don't even know about arm wrestling and surely don't know that an old friends son was in a championship and doing well.

Maybe some would call that stuff gossip. I don't I call that the important news. Gossip is what that little old lady and her new beau are maybe doing behind closed doors. That I don't care about. If they are enjoying each others company, I'm happy for them.

But there are also those days when your just tired. You know there is some work to do that can not be avoided, but you plan to get those chores done and then kick back and take a snooze. So you get up and get dressed, walk out and feed the cows. Then fill up their water trough and try to pry open your eyes enough to make sure everyone is there. Turn around and walk back to the house and pour a nice hot cup of coffee. Watch a little news and check the e mail with plans to just take the rest of the day easy and maybe if your lucky, have a nice quiet nap. Or two or three.

I have come to the conclusion that one should never plan for a day like this. One should plan the day for plenty of work and then, just fall asleep. Don't say a word or tell a soul your going to do it, just keep your mouth shut and do it. Don't even consider in your head that you will.

My reason... Well I had my Sunday planned like that. I fed, came in and got some coffee. Turned the TV on and found some news to catch up and be sure the world was still out there. Even got on line and checked the e mail. It was still kinda early so I got off the computer and figured I'd catch that first nap.

Nope. The computer hadn't even finished shutting down and yes... The telephone rang. I had thoughts that maybe my dear sweet daughter was calling to ask if I would like to join her and her family for breakfast. So I picked up the phone.

It was not my daughter. Instead it was a great friend and neighbor. He asked if I was missing a cow. My eyes rolled and my mind went immediately into the thoughts of OH NO! He went on to say he was out riding his fields and saw one of our cows along his field and almost to his house.

So I yelled to my son and told him to get up we had to go and bring home a cow. Yah... He was just as excited as I was about running through a wet field in the cold and rain trying to convince a cow it was time to come home. But we did.

I first rode to where my neighbor saw the cow last. No cow. I rode the edges of the field back towards home looking for the cow. No cow. Well, I left for the neighbors to see if the cow wandered a little closer to his place. As I was passing by another neighbor I heard a yell. I turned the four wheeler around and went back. Our cow was in his back of his house visiting with his cow...

Now cows don't take kindly to being told their visit and play time is over and it's time to go home. So we had to chase and play for a while. Finally we trapped the silly cow and slipped a rope on. Hooked the rope to the back of the four wheeler and pulled a loudly mooing resistant cow home. With the cow safely back home we had the wonderful job of searching the fence for the escape route then fixing it.

By the time we finally were finished and back in the house we were both hungry like bears after hibernation. So we went to one of our favorite all you can eat buffets and ate. Now we live about 18 miles away from the big grocery and other stores so decided while we were near we would get the few other things we needed.

By the time we got home it was time to get back to work and get the rest of the Sunday chores done.

So I learned from all this. Do not plan for taking naps or resting. Plan instead to be busy and then just fall asleep.

Have a great day and remember... Smile!!!