Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Unnecessary Stuff

Sometimes the things people do just don't make much sense.

A man was digging out the floor in his barn. It seems he had bought a mule and it was too tall to fit in the barn. Everything fit but the mules ears. Duh!

A man bought a pair of mules. He name them Joe and Bud. They were exactly the same size, weight, height etc. How do you tell them apart, a neighbor asked: 'The red one is Joe and the black one is Bud'. Ding!

An old farmer had a mule which he sold to his neighbor $500. Later, he needed a mule and bought the mule back for $500. He finished his work and sure enough the neighbor came bye one day and they got to talking about the mule. The neighbor ended up buying the mule again for $500. This went on for 'who knows how long'. Finally, the farmer sold the mule to a passing stranger. The next time his neighbor came over the subject of the mule came up. "Oh. I sold him to a passing stranger." The neighbor was upset. "What do you mean you sold it to a stranger. We were making a good living off that mule!" Whoah!

Two men went south and bought a load of watermelons. They paid a dollar a piece for them. Being new in business, they sold them at a bargain for a dollar a piece. One looked at the other and said, "We are not making much on these watermelons." "I know," said the other, "we need a bigger truck." Chuckle!

Serious:

A fox and a scorpion were at a creek wanting to get to the other side. The fox decided to swim but the scorpion could not swim. "I'll give you a ride, if you promise not to sting me." The fox said. "Oh, I won't sting you." The scorpion promised. The scorpion jumped on and the fox began to swim. Half way across the scorpion gave the fox a big sting. The fox got where he could not swim and with his dying breath he asked the scorpion. "Why did you do that? You promised not to sting me." "I couldn't help myself, "the scorpion said, "that is what scorpions do."



Analogy for the Young

First thing to ask is 'What does that ol' gizzer know?' if you are a young person full of energy and big plans. Plans which probably include at least the next 12 hours. A good thing to do would be to listen to people who are older and who have 'been there and done that' what ever it is. Life is a one time trip. Much of it is preparation. There will be time for fun but yielding to peer pressure to be popular is probably one of the most often mistakes committed by young people. Doing bad things will follow a person their whole life. It may be sealed away in a juvenile file but the marks on the soul will remain. The marks of causing parents to age before their time. The marks of doing harm to ones own body. The list goes on.

I thought of this little story and it might help:

Consider life a journey across a desert. On your end you have a bottle of water and a package of crackers for the first days journey. At the beginning of the next day, another bottle of water and package of crackers are there for that day. It is not much but it is enough to survive on. Beyond the desert is a different country, a steak dinner with all the trimmings awaits.
Do not waste the days provision or get off the trail. Each day requires the same diligence as the first. Don't go off with people who would tell you to forget the rules of your trail. You have this day to make the distance to your next provisions.
It is a long and dusty trip but the payoff comes at the end. All journeys seem long for the young. You may get tired of following the rules and want to get off course but do as some wise man once said "Take the long look." Today's journey is a step toward the things you want in life. Don't settle for a spot in the desert and just quit. Keep plodding on to the reward.
There are many dangers along the way so stay vigilant. Reach out and grasp wisdom that your years have not yet given you. Trust to those who have made the journey before you and who have provided provisions for this journey.

That's my little story. I hope it helps someone. As another wise person said, 'Keep your eye on the prize'. I would add and keep your integrity along the way.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

My Books

This shameless mention of my books is due to the recent event of getting ISBN numbers for three of them. That places them in the global market. Hint: http://www.lulu.com/countdown0

It takes about 8 weeks for the number to soak into the fabric of publishing but I'm half way there on the first one.

If you ever wanted to read a story without all the back alley talk but still grabs your attention, you might want to check out my book summaries. I think most everyone will find something to chew on in at least one of the books. I tried to get good coverage by writing about subjects ranging from westerns to genetic enhancement.

Make me famous and I promise to come off disability after the first million. :)

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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Getting Old

Well, I'm not real old but I have some health problems that make me feel and look like an older man. It is aggravating to have a young mind in a feeble body, well, I don't mean the young mind aggravates me...it is just that my ambitions get me in trouble sometimes. Yesterday, I went out to the car to look at the new radiator I was going to get someone to install. Before I knew it, sort of, I was carrying my old red toolbox across the yard and popping the hood. I figured to do a little work on it while I had some time. Pretty soon, I was catching anti-freeze and looking for bolts to take out. I finished the job, swelled up my wrist and hands, had to take off my wedding band and collapse on the bed for a while. It felt good to get some grease on my hands again but I paid for it.

There is a little wisdom that comes with age, you learn that hitting your finger with a hammer hurts every time you do it, that speeding often results in a ticket and that the payment thereof is a source of income for the government and not necessarily a result of their love for your safety. You learn than reasoning with a teenager is like telling a baby not to wet their diaper or telling a politician not to talk. You learn that there really are just a few primary important things in life and that friends do not always stay true. You learn to look for facts in the sad stories people tell you and to notice the ages of the people in the obits. You learn that just about every thing goes in cycles, from the weather to what society thinks.

When I was younger and more agile I never had a good lawnmower, my push mowers would quit in the middle of mowing and refuse to start again. I could pull that rope a hundred times back then before I gave up on it. Now, I'll give it four pulls and push it back in the building until next time. Clean gas and a new plug usually fixes that problem. Now, I finally have a good push mower (never had a rider) and I can't keep up with it...it is not self-propelled.

I remember when my son held his arms up and I could scoop him up to my chest in a swift easy motion. He passed away in Nov. The other day his son, my grandson was going to give me my goodbye hug and I was rocking in my chair to get enough momentum to stand, finally I reached up my hand and in one swift motion he pulled me from the chair to face him, well my face to his chest. Things do change, moment by moment, we ought not to let those moments escape us.

Times have changed, times are uncertain but I am glad to be here again today. A fine space shuttle is off to repair a telescope that lets us see into space. I remember our '48 Ford and the dirty road curves where we had to honk the horn to let people know we were coming. Most of the creeks have bridges now, I remember splashing through them hoping the car did not drown out. Matter-of-fact we did that on the way to the church where I was born again many years ago.

Getting old ain't so bad, especially for someone who never thought they would make 30. After all, there was a war going on. Guess I'm a sissy but I like flowers a lot more now and that little bird sure puts on a show sometimes. My doctor talks to me like a friend now, the nurse knows me as well as the secretary and the lady who takes my money. I only get upset once or twice a month now and red-faced mad about once a year, usually over poor customer service when I spend my few dollars for something that cost twice what it ought to. If I don't have anything to get mad about when it's time, I just think about D.C. for a minute and that always gets the old heart beating again.

We could tell the next generation a thing or two about how to make things better but like our generation, they got their own ideas. I'm afraid mostly its about the opposite sex and any improvements in the world will come as a sideline. So, what's changed about that?

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Monday, May 11, 2009

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Pakistan

If the United States ever had a number one priority, it should be stabilizing Pakistan to keep those nukes out of the hands of terrorists. Taliban will not hesitate to use them after they have bribed the world for all they can get. It is sad but the Taliban could be the government of the Mideast if something is not done quickly and strongly. I hope our leaders have the heart for unpopular action. These are not car bombs we are talking about.

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Tuesday, May 5, 2009

President

I guess it is just me, but I really do not want to see my president getting involved in every thing that happens in the world. That's like getting the last word first. He should trust his appointed leaders to deal with situations and step in only when it seems things are not working out. I use to never step in when my wife was correcting or instructing the children. I tried to never tell the children yes if she had said no. Sometimes they would snucker me or her. The only time I would step in was when they showed disrespect and then only to support her authority. For a president to step in every time a situation comes up is saying that those he appointed cannot handle the job. However, if a mistake is made, it seems we go back to 'an unnamed spokesman said'. Time will reveal..........

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