Goin' fishin'

I'm going deep sea fishing tomorrow with a group of about 15 friends and relatives. We'll be fishing for yellow-tail. I'ts going to be a blast!

What does the future hold?

Question. Do you think it is possible for God or man to see, or predict the future? I've wondered about this a lot and have come to some conclusions. How would one go about predicting the future unless the future has already happened? Or, how can you predict the future based on how well you know someones character?

Just to get an idea of how this might happen I've taken the liberty to add my two cents. But being they're made of copper and nickel, they might not be worth a damn!
   I have been married for twenty-five years to the same woman. So that goes without saying I know her pretty darn well in just that short period of time. In fact I know her so well, there are several things that I can predict she will do as a consequence of my actions. One little example. If I walk into the kitchen and love smack her on the hind end, I can predict exactly what she will say.

So one way this could happen is similar to this. Let's just assume we have been living with God for thousands of years,  meaning we are really thousands of years old. This is wholly possible because there is no such thing as time with God. No beginning, no end. Now if we are his children and are thousands of years old and God is Omnipotent and All-knowing, then he knows us so damn well he can predict exactly what we are going to do and how we are going to react to every event in are lives! And by knowing this he can enter this info into his "super duper quantum fifty trillion gig" computer and predict exactly what we will do and say every minute of every day for all our lives!

This is the only rational I can come up with......................Oh I did forget one thing. The only other way is some extra smart genius could invent a time machine and just slip right into the future and predict away...oops,  how could he predict away if the future hasn't happened yet?
 Which reminds me, Back to the Future was a pretty cool movie. And, The Time Machine.

Have you ever wondered about this?
Do you think God just fastforward's time and then rewinds to tell us what will happen?
Or are we just specks of dust in a giant universe and still in the "stone age?"

Conspiray Day!

   I decided to devote one blog a week as conspiracy day. I was always intrigued by conspiracies because there is usually some, if not a lot of truth to them. Also, the movie Conspiracy Theory was a pretty cool show. So today we'll discuss whether or not the big bankers are trying to control the world.

   Amschel Rothchilds made a statement that is now famous. "Give me control of a nation's money supply and I care not who makes it's  laws."  In 1910 president Woodrow Wilson went to a private meeting on Jekyl Island with the world bankers and planned the Federal Reserve Act which was passed into law in 1913. This act gave a group of private bankers the right to coin "our" money. "The Congress shall have the power to coin money and regulate the value thereof."  Article 1 US Constitution."
    "I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by it's system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the world… no longer a government of free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of small groups of dominant men." - Woodrow Wilson

    Now, these bankers loan the government "our" money every year for the national budget and "we" have to pay the interest on those loans, which is hundreds of billions of dollars every year to private bankers. Oh, by the way the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is a PRIVATELY owned bank!
    
    "Banking was conceived in iniquity and born in sin. Bankers own the Earth. Take it away from them but leave them the power to create money, and, with the flick of a pen, they will create enough money to buy it back again. Take this great power away from them and all great fortunes like mine will disappear and they ought to disappear, for then this would be a better and happier world to live in. But, if you want to continue to be the slave of the bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, then let the bankers continue to create money and control credit." - Sir Josiah Stamp, President, Bank of England (2nd richest man in England) 
Now that is an amazing statement by a bank owner."
  
    Every effort has been made by the Federal Reserve Board to conceal its powers, but the truth is that the Federal Reserve System has usurped the government. It controls everything in congress and it controls all our foreign relations. It makes and breaks governments at will." - Louis McFadden, Chairman of the House Committee on Banking and Currency!
   
    "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power of money should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs." - Thomas Jefferson


  I could go on and on with these facts, but for now we'll chew on these. I tend to believe our great forefathers like Thomas Jefferson and such.
What do you think about it?
Do you believe in any conspiracy?
Do you think this is all fabricated from the minds of lunatics?
Come on, let's delve into the dark conspiracies for some excitement!

  

Sayings. How did they evolve into such nonesense?

I made a comment on someone’s Blog and it made me think. What did I say that for? What does that really mean?

So, I decided to jot down a few common sayings and try to decipher them.  I'll start with the one I wrote in the Blog.

Funny as hell 

Did I hear anyone laughing down there? Who said Hell is funny?

Cold as hell

OK, who’s been down there and checked the temperature lately? I always heard about fire and brimstone, but not snow and ice.

 It’ll blow your mind

 Now that would be a disgusting sight I can assure you.

 You’re driving me up a wall.

I have never seen someone drive up a wall in my life, have you?

 You can’t have your cake and eat it too

Now this is a good one. Every year my wife makes me a cake for my birthday and…I EAT IT!  "Honey, here's your cake but sorry, you can't eat it. You have to go feed it to the chickens!"

Straight as a die

Do you even know what a “die” is? I can tell you this much, there’s nothing straight about it!

 Going out of my mind

I didn’t know you were in your mind in the first place! But please let me know how you got out.

 Slower than cold tar

OK, is “hot tar” fast or what? The only time cold tar moves is when it’s in the back of a speeding truck.

 She’s built like a brick sh*t house

I’ve heard this one from all you male ego’s out there. That equation is terrible! Who ever said ANY sh*t house was beautiful is LOCO!

 Dumber than a post

Do you have something against posts? I must be in the stone age because I didn’t even know posts had brains. They do their job just fine by standing there holding up the fence.

Scared the hell out of me

Why do we insist on associating “hell” with everything and everyone?

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink

Not if you have a stubborn horse. I’d like to see you pull a 1000 pound bucking bronco.

 Sicker then a pig

I have a friend who has a pet pig that actually saved his owners  life from a house fire. The pig sleeps in his bed with him and his wife!

Holy crap

What an oxymoron!

You totally cracked me up

Wouldn’t that be a sight?

Made you sit back and say mmm…didn’t I?

The Requiem. A true story of tragedy and sorrow.

     The pitter patter of soft little footsteps was heard echoing down the hall toward his bedroom. Slowly the door opened, its cold steel hinges creaked quietly as the little figure brushed by. A soft hand reached out and touched his shoulder, gently shaking him.

    “Papa, Papa,” a little voice whispered. “Papa, I’m scared, can I sleep with you?”

His big hands reached out and gently pulled her to him, cuddling her between him and Mama, her favorite place of all. With his arm as her pillow, her curly golden-brown locks tickling his face, she silently went to sleep.

    The sun slowly arose beyond the silver peaked mountains. Its beams driving away the darkness, filled the corners of the silent house with warmth. Little Jocelyn was the first one to spring out of bed, slightly pulling the covers off Papa and Mama. “Come on Mama, get up, I’m hungry,” the sunbeams paled in comparison to her bright smile as she shook her Papa awake.

   

    Jocelyn was the apple of her Papa’s eye. Her tender and happy spirit would bring a smile to his face even in the darkest of days. Just one minute with her hanging on to his finger and he forgot all his worldly woes. When Papa came home from work, she was there to meet him and would be his constant shadow. How could he not love her most of all? It is only natural to love those who dearly love you.     

    Today was a beautiful crisp February morning. The early morning stillness reminded everyone of how cold it could be this time of year. Eventually the familiar sounds of the small village coming to life told the tale of a new day.

     Known only to the great God above, this day would live in sorrow and despair for both Papa and Mama. Oh, what would we give for a small glimpse into the future? Yea if we could only foresee a small moment ahead of time. But alas it is not humanly possible because of God’s infinite wisdom.

    The terrifying scream of a mother in mortal anguish resounded throughout the small town. The man working on his truck stopped what he was doing and listened intently for a few minutes to be sure he had heard aright. Again the desperate scream. “Help me, oh please somebody help me!”

    Leaping in his truck, the man raced up the hill in the direction of the crying. “Dear God,” he prayed, “Don’t let this be as terrible as it sounds.”

    Bringing the truck to a quick halt, he sprang from the seat and sprinted to the scene.

    What his eyes beheld shocked him to the core of his heart. The distraught mother sat on the ground clutching a small girl to her breast. Her wild eyes and blood soaked clothing told the tale of something terrible and heart wrenching. In her arms, her beautiful curls now matted and stained with blood, lay her precious Jocelyn. Without touching her, the man could tell she had gone to another world. She was dead.

   

    The man bent over, his hands shaking in sorrow and tried to sooth the mother. She looked at him through eyes wild with fear and screamed. “Oh man, please help me, please wake my darling angel up. She is only sleeping, oh please wake her up! Oh dear God, my husband will never forgive me, oh and I will never forgive myself. Please let me die with her!”

    Over and over, she pleaded with him. But the man hung his head in sorrow. He felt as the autumn leaves that drop from their lofty places scattered by the wind, only to be crushed by the thoughtless footsteps of man, completely helpless.

    The mother would not move from her humble place on the ground, even less would she release her beloved child to the man. She refused to face reality, no it was not, it could not be true.

   

   “How did this happen?” said the man, his voice cracked with emotion. Through her cries, she explained she wanted to move the truck out of the back of her yard. She ordered her children to stay in the house and then went out the front door and walked to the back and began driving the vehicle out of the yard. Little did she know, Jocelyn and her toddler brother Kelvin had snuck out the back door unnoticed. She started the vehicle and began to drive forward, totally oblivious to the fact that little Jocelyn was now in the heroic struggle of trying to save her brother from the crushing weight of the tire by jerking him away. Instead, both she and her brother ended up in its path! The mother felt the truck lurch slightly and her heart pounded in fear. What had she ran over?

     Through her tears as she recounted the tale, she was reminded that her small son was also behind the house injured and alone. “Please go get my son!” she cried.

    Another friend ran to help him. He was injured with broken bones but he was still alert and alive. He would survive.

   

    The man then ran to his vehicle and drove for help. Many friends and family gathered to assist her but could not comfort her, nay she would not be consoled. An ambulance was many hours away in a distant town. Even Papa was gone into town several miles away. He was called immediately and told of the tragedy. His countenance turned pale as death itself. He could not force himself to even believe such a tale as he raced for home. 

  

    Papa drove up and quickly got out. In a daze, he hurried toward his house. The scene before him drained his body and soul of life. His blood soaked wife sat in the dust, holding her lifeless little darling to her breast. She looked up at her husband through her tears and screamed in agony, “Oh Papa, oh Papa, please forgive me. I killed our darling baby. No, no, no, she is still here. No she is not dead, she is just sleeping. Oh please, please dear God, take me instead! Why oh why don’t you take me instead?”

    Papa reached out through his glazed eyes and gently touched his little darling’s blood stained face. His arms reached out, wanting to hold her once more, to caress her soft cheeks again, but he had not the power to lift them, it was gone. His big heart broke as a terrible moan escaped his soul. Turning away he could not stand the scene any longer and wandered aimlessly about his yard. An ominous smell stung his nostrils. Nothing seemed true. Everything was gloomy and dark. His soul was on fire, nothing made sense, nothing at all.  

    “Why oh why did it have to be her…and like this?” the words tore through his tormented mind over and over.

  

     Mama’s cries echoed off the walls of the now silent town. Her mind would not relent. It would not concede. Her child was clutched in her arms. She was still there. She had to be alive. She was just sleeping for a moment. Besides, God would not do this to her darling baby; he would not take her that way. “Wake up my angel, oh please God wake her up,” she cried, again and again.

    An agonizing hour passed as she gently rocked her baby back and forth beseeching God to reverse time. Begging him that she was just in a terrible dream and her baby would awake in her arms. The hardened hearts of the helpless men who stood silently watching, were broken and wretched. The women sobbed uncontrollably. Tears fell like raindrops from heaven.

    Eventually Mama unwillingly released her beloved child into the caring hands of the mothers who tenderly washed her body and prepared it to return to its creator.

    Deep into the night, Mama cried bitter tears of sorrow and regret. She could not forgive herself for what she had done, no never. In her sadness, she reminisced of the many times when she was down and discouraged little Jocelyn would always come and tenderly say, “Mama, why don’t you go get washed up and put your makeup on and change into your prettiest clothes. Then you will be happy again.”

    Now, her own gentle words of wisdom were coming to pass for little Jocelyn.

   

    From up and down the valley they came. Papa had made many friends and now they were here to offer a hand of consolation. A small and beautiful casket was made in the only carpenter shop in town. Little Jocelyn, in her favorite attire was gently laid inside and the lid was closed. Then, the saddened hearts of friends and family followed her to her place of final rest. The little casket was lowered into the earth and soon the dust from whence it came enveloped it forever.

    The sun began to set, and presently the people wandered home to heal. Mama stayed and carefully planted a single rose bush between the mountain rocks adorning her grave. Every single day for years thereafter, one would find Mama with her gallon of water, faithfully giving life to the blossoming rose on Jocelyn’s grave.

    The sun rises in the glorious sky, then fades into blackness. Only time can erase our sorrows and wounds. And time claims the soul from whence it was born.

   

                                                    Somewhere in Time         

     An aged mother lay softly on her bed, clutching her pillow as a tear slowly fell from her cheek and gently landed among the folds. Her mind had wandered back to that fateful day her darling Jocelyn had left her. Many years had passed and her broken heart had never fully healed. A child’s voice is never forgotten. The soft touch of a daughter’s hand can not be erased. The bright smile and curly golden locks were forever imprinted in her mind. But now time had come to claim its own.

   

    An aged mother lay quietly on her bed, her life here was fulfilled. Her heart beat slowly; it was tired these many years. She slowly closed her eyes. The tears were gone now. Rest, ah it felt so needed, so tired….so tired.

                                                              

                                           An Ode to Joy

     The pitter patter of soft little footsteps was heard echoing down the hall toward her bedroom. The big wooden door softly opened, its cold steel hinges were silent as the little figure brushed by. A glorious sunbeam followed her past the big door, lighting the room with a soft glow. It was a new morn, a new day. A soft and oh so familiar hand reached out and touched her shoulder, shaking it gently.   

    Mama opened her eyes and rubbed them for a moment in disbelief. Had she heard right. Were her eyes deceiving her? She slowly reached out and took the soft little hands in hers as tears of joy cascaded down her cheeks. It was true. Her child was there beside her. She grasped her baby to her breast and gently rocked her back and forth once more. 

    “Mama, Mama,” a beloved little voice whispered. “Mama, don’t be scared. You can come sleep with me now.”

 

                                                            A New Beginning

This happened on February 3rd 2009 to a close relative in our town.

"The Man" was me.

May the "FORCE" be with me to remove this massive tree from my house!

I was just browsing through my pictures and happened upon this one and just had to post it. This happened to my house a few months ago during the most severe thunderstorm I've ever experienced in this valley. It was hailing like hell and the winds were almost hurricane force! Wow, it was exhilarating  to say the least. Lesson learned...don't ever plant Eucalyptus trees in your yard! The root systems on these trees are very shallow with no tap root at all. They also drop heavy branches all the time during windstorms and it's dangerous to be underneath them as you can see. It had been raining for three days straight so the ground was soaked, making it much easier for the wind to topple this beast. Of course it chose to smack my house. Oh no, it wasn't about to fall anywhere else. It crushed three trusses and the rainwater soaked through the drywall and destroyed the ceiling in the bedroom. Needless to say, it was a mess! It took me a week to clean it up and repair the damage. I had five of these trees planted in my yard about 20 years ago and regretted it ever since. The very next day all but one received a drastic trim job by Lafe the Butcher! I cut them down from 75 feet high to about ten feet. Don't want that to happen again I can assure you. My Uncle's house also had several of these trees around his house and a much larger one toppled over on his house! Didn't do as much damage though. The storm reminded me of the time I was in New Orleans a while back. I was sleeping on the job (All hotels in the city were booked full do to Katrina's aftermath) in the back of my truck when the tornado sirens started blaring. It was about midnight and the wind and rain were coming down in torrents. There was nothing I could do but wait it out and pray I wasn't in it's path. Soon the truck was rocking back and forth like an empty boat in the raging sea. Man was I scared! The rain found its way into the camper and soon I was soaking wet. At times it felt like I was going to be carried away truck and all but soon it settled down to just a steady hard wind and buckets of rain for the rest of the night. Next morning (after drying out) I drove down the street ONE BLOCK and in front of me was a swath of total devastation! A F3 tornado had touched down and left a swath a few hundred yards wide of flattened homes and business's! It was shocking to see. That was definitely the closest I've ever been to a live and livid tornado...and would ever want to be.

May we all have a sucsessful and adventureous new year!

Happy and healthy New Year everyone! I find it amazing how the older you get, time goes by much faster. It seems like only yesterday I was celebrating my wife's birthday and now it's just a few days away. I remember when I was a preteen, I couldn't wait for my next birthday and it always took forever to arrive. Then I reached 18 and I wanted life to stand still...except for the fact I couldn't get cheap insurance rates. At twenty-five, I started wondering if God hadn't put some high octane in the great time clock to speed it up a little because the days just seem to fly by at warp speed. At 30 I'm like, "Okayeeee, where did all my hair go," and "Wow, that six pack has turned into a twelve pack!" Now I'm 44 and time is going by at ludicrous speed and I'm like wishing God would throw a wrench into that old time clock and  put it in reverse or something. It's amusing how the circle of life goes. I call it The Stepladder of Life. You start out as a helpless little child. Soon you are crawling, and then walking and then you begin to climb the steps of that stepladder of life. All too soon you reach the zenith of your life at the top of the ladder right at 30-40 years. Then begins the long hard climb down the other side. The closer you get to the bottom, the harder it is to walk and then eventually you can't walk. Finally, six feet under is our only option and we leave this world somewhat similar to the way we arrived.
I always wondered why my parents would say "Time sure flies by fast." I would say to myself, "Yeh, for you maybe, but until I'm too big to spank, I think it needs to fly faster. Well, those are my thoughts for the day.
Good night my friends....sweet dreams.