Dress Code

This last week I had to wear a tie two times. Now that may not be important to many of you, but after forty years of wearing a necktie I decided to only do it when necessary. Been that way for about two years and can’t say I miss it. 
The necktie traces back to the time of the Thirty Year War (1618-1648) when Croatian mercenaries from the Military Frontier in French service wore their traditional small, knotted neckerchiefs. The French apparently went wild over the look and it became fashion.
 I decided that as much as I really do like the French, I didn’t need to continue the tradition.  Besides, I always thought putting a noose around my neck was not a good indication of how much I enjoy life. Just Say’n.
If you enjoy our blog, be a follower or tell your friends on Twitter and Facebook you “like” this blog. You don’t have to wear a tie if your a member, we are very informal. Just Say’n.

We the People

Listened to some of the debate the other night and heard a dialog about a person becoming sick and not having any healthcare. It was a good point until someone said they should just die because it was their choice not to have healthcare. Then, to top it off, some of the people in the audience applauded the idea.
I turned if off after that.
It is sad when a nation, formed on the idea that the words “We the People” actually meant something, has now become a place where we forsake so many. There are no easy answers to all our problems, but I just hope that “We the People” don’t forget that “We” is a term including all “People”.
I’m sure I will probably get some nasty email on this thought, but you know, that is ok. "We the People" can also disagree and still care for each other. Just Say’n


Share your thoughts and tell others on Facebook or Twitter. 

Anyone out there?

We had one of those beautiful starry nights last week, the kind that makes the sky so full of stars that you get dizzy looking. It is amazing when you think about the bigness and complexity of the universe. 
Most of the light we are seeing from those stars came about millions of years ago and we are just seeing it now. For that matter, a lot of the stars we see may not exist anymore. 

Then you can get a real brain cramp if you try to figure out where all of the universe ends. My finite mind just doesn’t grasp infinity. 

I guess the thing I ponder the most on nights like that is the question, “Is anyone else out there?” I really think we are being foolish to believe in the vast universe we are the only people around. 
Bill Watterson, the author of Calvin and Hobbes, once said that the surest sign that intelligent life exist else where in the universe is the fact it has never tried to contact us.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of truth to that thought. Just Say'n

Balancing act

Come to the conclusion that life is best lived if we see it as a balancing act. For example, today is a rainy miserable day outside. Now if I just stay with that thought, this will just be a miserable day. However, to balance that out I also recognize it is Friday, which is good news. Now I am back in balance.


If there is a left, there is a right. If there is an up, there is a down. If a front, then a back. Seems to be a lesson in those simple facts. If I just stay focused on what isnt working, I am out of balance and will probably fall down. However, no matter what isnt working in life, something is always working right.


So on this rainy miserable day,
which is Friday,
 I am going to go celebrate by having a ice cream sunday,
 which will put on many calories.
 Hmmmm. That didnt end up the way I wanted. Just Say'n

Send a message

Had to get a message to somebody the other day so I sent a text. Took me about three minutes to accomplish this task. 

Thought about how long it would have taken only twenty years ago. Probably have to drive to find a payphone, load in enough dimes to make the call, and then hope they were home. If not, then I would have to try again later, as there would be no machine to receive the message.

Imagine if you needed to send a message a few hundred years ago. Unless they were close enough to receive a smoke signal, it could take weeks before they got the message and even longer before you got a reply. If you ask them where a good restaurant was, you would die of starvation before they got back to you.

We complain about our phone being “out of range” or “dropping a call” like it is a great inconvenience. Remembering how it would have been a few years ago, makes us appreciate today. 
And the worst part about phones a few years ago was the fact you couldn’t play Angry Birds. Now that was a real problem. Just Say’n.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Feeling small

A few days a week, I journey into Manhattan NY. I do this to earn a living, not because I love Manhattan. I used to love being in the city, but those days are over. It isn’t exciting anymore, it is just busy, noisy, and really dirty. Some tell me it is because I’m getting too old to enjoy the city, but I think I’m just getting too smart to have to put up with chaos and pretend to enjoy it. To those who love the fast life, I am happy that you have a place to go.

Frankly, when I’m in the city I feel very small. There are probably ten million people all around me, most of them moving at a pace the defies undertstanding. Then the buildings preclude sunshine, which I am sure is not the best for the human race. 

Went to the Grand Canyon once and really felt small there too. But it was a good feeling of being awe struck instead of being struck by a taxi. Just Say’n

Going no place fast

Was watching a man in a kayak the other day. The tide was going out and he was trying to come in, without much luck.
He would paddle for all he was worth, and make some headway, then when he had to rest, he went backward to where he started.


I've been there several times in my life, not in a kayak, just in circumstances.


When I was younger, I used to think that I had to paddle harder, but I never got anyplace.
Now I pull over to the side, enjoy the day, and wait for the tide to change.
Seem to be getting where I want to go a lot faster and with a lot more fun.


Just Say'n


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The Day After

Didn’t closely follow the 9/11 anniversary yesterday. It was simply too painful. My wife had her office on the 16th floor of Tower One and my office was a block and a half away. Fortunately, neither of us were injured in the tragedy, at least not physically. 

The day after, we attempted to get into my office to get important records, but found the block cordoned off by the military. For months, the air was filled with dust and smells that defy immagination. But we survived, which thousands that day did not. 

Today, the World Trade Center is a construction zone, that now contains a memorial. At least we have that part completed, which is only right as a priority. 
However, across the street from the WTC is St. Paul’s Church, from which George Washington took his oath of office. In the back of the church is a cemetary with a beautiful group of trees. Some of them have been standing since Washington’s speech, survived many wars, and now the 9/11. 

Over all these years, they have grown, provided shade, produced oxygen, and given beauty. Never once did they fight with each other. May the trees also be a memorial to what creation can be if we try to simply be good to each other. Just Say’n.

Surfer dude

Long Beach, NY is the home of the Quicksilver competiton, which is a surfing contest for competitors around the world. It is also where we live, so we’ve been down to the beach with the surfing crowd these last few days. 
To me, an accomplishment in the waves is riding a boogie board and not getting hurt. Obviously, I am not a competitor in the Quicksilver meet. 

These surfers do things on a board that I wouldnt think of doing anyplace. One we watched rode the wave up in the air, turned his board around 360 degrees, and then rode it back down the wave.
On the way home, I stood in the sand on one leg for sixty seconds. I think that is equal to the skill shown by the surfer. Just Say’n


If you want to see the Quicksilver live here is a link. I’ll wave to you!

September

I start dreading September every March. To me March is the beginning of Spring and warm weather. Oh it may stay cold for a few more weeks, but there is always hope just over the horizon. Not so for September, there is no hope for anything but the onslaught of cold weather. 
Nevertheless, after many years of complaining about September I decided this year to be more positive. It is good to have a new season. The fall is really beautiful with its colorful leaves. Football starts in the fall. We can have fire in the fireplace. No more mowing lawn. 


Oh hell, I can’t do it anymore. I hate September.
Just Say’n.


Be a follower of our blog and we can spend the winter together trying to be positive. 

So little memory

Just got a new laptop that has about 200Gig of memory and 4Gig of Ram. I’m not sure I even understand what that means. 
My first computer was a dinosaur known as the Tandy TRS-80. It had 4k of Ram and could handle disks of 148k. My computer had two disk slots, so I could increase my work to 296k by switching the disk back and forth. It was so big that it covered my entire desk. With no internet, there was no need for connection. 


I figure to write this blog, get the information, load the pictures and keep a copy of the entire process would have taken about four disk, 8 hours and more problems than I can even describe. With my new laptop it just took about 15 minutes. 


When Radio Shack came out with the TRS-80 Series I, they figured to see about 1000 units. By the time they went to Series II (about a year) they had sold 127,000 units. Sometimes you just can’t know how good a thing is until you bring it to the public. All I know is the new laptop I have is a lot more fun than that old dinosaur TRS-80, but I sure loved the TRS-80 when it came out. Just Say'n

Much to do about nothing

The electric company came by to work on the wires around our house. When they came, the reason was we didn’t have electricity and they were working to restore the power. After they had been busy for a while, I went out in the backyard to see how they were doing. Of course, I wouldn’t have a clue if they were doing well or poorly, but out I went to check on things.
Looking up I spied this man standing on the power lines cutting away some vines on the other wires. I panicked! He was going to electricute himself if he stood on those wires. I was about to shout a warning when I remembered why he was there — the electricity was out. There was no power in those wires.


That wasn’t the first time I became overly concerned about a problem that didn’t exist and probably won’t be the last. Nevertheless, it does make you feel rather stupid for the moment. Just Say’n


Here is a good thought, join our blog family. Or even better, tell your friends on Facebook or Twitter you “like” our blog. See, I can have smart thought sometimes. Just Say'n

Dancing in the Dark

One of the byproducts of our recent hurricane problem was the loss of electricity. I didn't realize how dependent my life had become to the conveniences of modern times. Cell phone died, computer died, TV died, refrigerator died and of course, all the lights died. In all honesty, the only thing I really missed was the refrigerator which had a few hundred dollars of defrosted food. Looks like a major BarBQ is in order.


So last night, for the second night in a row, my wife and I walked on the beach. It’s only three blocks to the ocean, but we would normally have to watch our prerecorded episode of  "Top Chief" or "American Idol” or some other useless program. So with no electricity or TV, we rediscovered how much we enjoy the beach walks. 
Then we returned home, lit a fire in the back yard, turned on some battery powered music from Jack Johnson and enjoyed just being together. 


Maybe we have disturbances in our lives so we can remember how wonderful it is just to be alive with someone you love. Just Say’n


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