Sunday, December 28, 2014

2014 And 2015

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Last year, at this time, I made a series of New Year’s Resolutions.
  1. Keep up my personal log/diary as well as writing my blogs - I had ignored my personal log/diary since 06/25/11|
  2. Be less anal to the extent I can wear sweats in public, store DVDs out of chronological order, etc…|
  3. Call friends more|
  4. Treat people better|
The first one is a habit I’ve been pretty diligent about.  I sometimes amuse myself by picturing people pouring over my journal, after my death, and thinking, “That’s what he thought?  Man…”

Number two is one I apparently nailed better than I’d thought I had.  While I’m still particular about the filing system for my movie collection, I’ve become known for appearing publicly in sweat pants, something which was UNTHINKABLE pre-2014.  I can be certain of my success in this endeavor since more than one person felt I needed new sweat pants for Christmas.

The third & forth goals are ones I still have to work on.  I have the bad habit of focusing on projects and forgetting about the outside world.  Thus, I’ve lost track of a number of people I shouldn’t have.

2014, like most years, has been a mixed bag of ups & downs. 

Best Part of 2014:

Even with the myriad of publicized glitches, “Obama Care” has helped 10,000,000 people get access to health care.  I personally know one lady who’s finally receiving help for her chronic back pain, after years of suffering with no way to get relief.  If only 10% of the newly insured have similar stories, that’s 1,000,000 people who are suffering less, today, than they were suffering one year ago.

Worst Part of 2014:

Thanks to a few careless officers, and some even more careless rulings, many hard core liberals have vilified the police.  This, to me, is sickening.  99.99% of police are men & women who put themselves out there in order to help others and do the right thing.  Yet, many of us have allowed a few bad apples to spoil the reputation of the collective whole.

2015:

Taking both the good and the bad into consideration, I have high hopes for 2015.  At our best, our society, or the majority of it, has made helping the medically needy a priority.  At our worst, even though we’ve demonized a few too many public servants, it’s, at least, been made clear that citizens can’t be victimized, by abusers of authority, without the public taking notice.

Next year, our society has some work to do.  Not only do we need to protect the progress we’ve made in assisting the neediest among us, but we need to learn how to curb our reaction to travesties by making sure we only blame those who are directly responsible for such crimes.  Of course, once such offenders are identified, we need a system which will hold them accountable.

On a personal note, I have my work cut out for me too.  Like last year, I resolve to keep in better touch with people and to treat people better.  Additionally, I need to research the possibility of self-publishing my novel, write SOMETHING everyday, and find a way to cope better with my physical pain.

No one knows exactly what 2015 will bring.  However, with a bit of concentration, hard work, and luck, there’s every reason to believe it will be a good year.
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Thursday, December 18, 2014

Metamorphosis Of The Season

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As I've said before, I'm a touch on the frugal side. Don't misunderstand, I don't hoard cash and deprive myself by limiting my diet to nightly broth and bread the way a certain Dickens character did. I like to eat well and enjoy life, but I hate to waste money in silly ways. Mass produced Christmas cards are things I hate spending money on, especially with the knowledge they'll be stuffed in boxes or thrown in trash cans just after the beginning of the new year. Yet, I feel its important to remember the people in my life during the holidays.

Fortunately, I'm creatively inclined. Thus, for the past 20 some years I've been making my own Christmas cards complete with a new Christmas poem. Last Saturday, I finished the poem for this year's card. Hope you like it.

Candle Candle


Metamorphosis Of The Season

A tiny star once hung against an ebony night sky,
Three kings caught the glimmer from the corner of their eye.
Upon camels they followed the light to stalls of sheep,
And found a new baby lying in hay, fast asleep.

An angel came from on high and blew a mighty horn,
To let bystanders know the king of the Jews had been born.

Today crooners sing of jolly times and cold weather,
As hordes brave traffic bringing families together.
Roasted chestnuts and eggnog wait for us by the fire,
Wrapped packages sit beneath the tree for us to admire.

What began with a birth, a holy gift from above,
Morphed into a season of joy, merriment, and love.

Candle Candle




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Saturday, December 6, 2014

I Don't Wanna Grow Up

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This week I watched NBC’s live presentation of J.M. Barrie’s classic tale, Peter Pan. Sadly, I cringed every time a character stepped across a “body of water” on the cartoonishly

Photo courtesy of Amazon's Affiliate Program.
painted set, and scoffed at the silliness of a poison cake. Every time Christopher Walken, as Captain Hook, ordered someone to walk the plank, I pictured him helping Robert Wagner give a similar sentence to Natalie Wood in 1981.

I was mid eye roll when I caught myself being hyper critical of the play. It was SUPPOSED to be a cartoon-esc fantasy for children, and I was knocking it for being what it was supposed to be. I was acting like a closed minded……. well, like a closed minded grownup.

I remember thinking, “I’m not like this, when did I get old?” Considering that fact that my home office looks like the inside of a comic book shop, my cantankerous reaction to the expertly choreographed and performed presentation was baffling. Then, I watched the NEWS.

Reports of; anti-police protests, ISIS perpetrated violence, and people stealing UPS delivered Christmas presents from porches; flickered across the screen. I realized I’d allowed such stories to rob my spirit of some of my youth. I’d allowed being informed to make me jaded.

Perhaps, I should take a lesson from Peter. Sure, we need to be responsible, but maybe there’s room for the magic, especially during this time year. Perhaps, if more of us believed in fairies, and embraced a bit of silliness, we wouldn’t be putting people in illegal choke holds and stealing packages from porches.

Do you believe in fairies?
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