State of America

We have been and are going through some hard times in America. It seemed very gloomy a year ago and with good reason. It was mostly because of greed on Wall Street and in huge banks. There they play with money like it was never going to go away. They reward each other with big bonuses and claim it is because their talent is so valuable. I cannot see the value in managers who let their companies go under and who take chances with other peoples money.

They did not learn their lesson last year as evidenced by their actions now. The money is flowing again thanks to the American people. Still people are getting kicked out of their homes. Where is the promised help? I think the attitude by Washington and Wall Street is to just let it run its course and make what they can off the situation. There is no compassion, only words.

One banker said 'it's complicated' like the American people are too ignorant to understand. We understand alright. The government and big banks are like vacuum cleaners made for the sole purpose of sucking all the money they can get out of the American people and the economy. If it were blood, we would be down to just enough to sustain life. Of course, they think that is all we need since we are too ignorant to know what to do with more.

I think it is time for everyone in America to go local. Bank local. Buy local. There is not much we can do about Washington DC. They will take what they want, by force if necessary, to run their pet projects. They will soft-soak us with 'support the troops' (like we would let them down) then proceed to waste money on junk.

My country is very dear to me. This is not criticism of America. It is criticism of those who think America is their own gold mine to take out what ever they well please. It is money they want, so, let us deny them that money. I think most can do without credit cards. It is a ripoff. They let you use their money then charge you gangster interest on it. It is nothing less than a title pawn or a payday loan. When Americans learn to live within their means, Americans will not be so easy to scam.

Snow2010 SomewhereInAmerica

Picture January 2010

Old House on a Hill

It is gone now, that old house on the hill, but I remember it well. There were tragic events there and more pleasant ones.

I remember my first sweetheart. I use to get flowers off Mama's flower bush and cram them into my lunch poke (sack, bag) and give them to her on the bus. We never talked at school, just on the bus. Her dad was the bus driver. I remember she was the only one who beat me in handwriting competition. I might have won except I had been outside playing and got some sweat and dirt on the paper. I am glad I lost though.

My sister and I use to have us a playhouse under the front of the big high porch. There was a dug out area where we could stack up rocks and generally get dirty. Someone said later that there were snakes under there. Guess we had protecting angels watching over us. It was there that we made an Indian tee pee out of canes and cardboard boxes. We also tried to sell green beans down by the road.

Our outhouse was on the other end of the garden. Early one winter morning while the ground was frozen I was making my dash there when my foot slipped and I fell hitting my chin on the ground. I guess I had my tongue out for I bit a hole through it. The scar is still there.

It was at this old house where I chased a rooster through the woods and under the house until I caught it. All because Mama wanted to have chicken for supper. It was the story of that chase that got me an A in English and was probably my first effort at creative writing.

My tricycle broke there. It was a big fine machine that I could ride on two wheels when I wanted to. The big kids sat on it and broke it. I still remember it sitting in the yard all broken down. I never got another one. I had an old bicycle later but it was a hand-me-down and did not have brakes. I just coasted to a stop or hit something.

A truck driver lost control and died there when he came down the hill beside the house and crossed the busy highway in front of the house. I remember the blood.

The 'goat man' use to camp across the road. He pulled a wagon with a bunch of goats. We could smell when he arrived and when he left.

My brother practiced the guitar with a neighbor. My other brother found some blasting caps and put them in the heater. I got stung by red wasps and cut my foot on a broken coke bottle.

It's a shame children don't remember better. Oh yeah, Mom and Dad seemed in love then and Grandma Goins came to visit. She played army trucks with me.

Avenger by Frederick Forsyth Book Review

Avenger by Frederick Forsyth of The Day of the Jackal fame. 340 pages. 2003 St. Martin's Press.

My book review. In a phrase, 'It is a good book.' I was not disappointed after remembering the suspense when I discovered and read The Day of the Jackal. I sometimes have my doubts whether an author can do it again but Forsyth did. But he doesn't need my praise at this late date, the cover is loaded with praise from high-powered people who probably got free copies.

Avenger pretends to be a mild-mannered lawyer. He is pretty good at that job. He was also a tunnel rat in the war. A job that I would rather be shot than do. He suffers a loss while he was a powerful city lawyer and left that life for the country. Secretly, he has another life. I think you will enjoy discovering his other abilities and his code of honor.

Seven years Later

Seven years ago I went someplace, the weather was better then. Now where was that? I have experienced the worst interstate weather since my military days and the major snow fall of the 1970 winter or there abouts. Imagine snow, ice, rain the windshield freezing over and nothing but trucks and a car with up and down mountain roads. Well the rest is personal but I do understand why vacations are traditionally taken in the summer.

Book Review - Breathless by Dean Koontz

Breathless by Dean Koontz is a fictional novel of 335 pages. Bantam 2009

I finished reading it last night. I call it a very entertaining read. It is a cuddle up book where you can just get lost in the story.

Mister Koontz managed to capture the nature of humanity as a group in the vivid detail of his characters and brings those characters together magically. All this while telling the story of something new and something adorable.

The rest of what he did can be revealed by reading the book. :)