Saturday, August 31, 2013

Good Morning

Peace 
I am constantly looking for a rush of words that will bring my emotions to a heightened state of euphoria. 
So I read a book, go out and view the early morning, scan the Internet.
 I am chasing a dream. 
I am constantly finding that peace, that state of being, that euphoria. 
Every morning I awake, every morning I search. 
Sometimes there is a moment where I just see like a child lost in a dream,
 Tomas did you hear me? 
The teacher comes by and says,
“ Tomas did you hear the question?” 
Someone please tap my shoulder. 
Awaken me from this moment of peace. 
Nothing would be done if we all found that moment of peace. 
No wars could be fought if we all found that moment of peace. 
Some of us can carry that moment thought-out the day. 
An aura of bliss carried on our shoulders like a comforting knapsack. 
We can dig the weeds, assemble the work, draw the painting, and write the word. 
All we need is the awakening moment, the reminder, the warm chill that emanates deep in our 
being to come forward like the blood that flows to our brain. 
We are constantly showing others our moment hoping that they will see it. 
Share it be part of it. 
It is a good vibration; a warm movement of blood; a good state of mind; it is peace. 
Peace


***





Standing Still For Peace

My daughter and niece talk in Christian terms; I cannot do that.


I have to think like Jesus.

I have to see the human being in front of me as seeing god or not seeing god.


I have to see.




***

The world is full of different paths to god and they all whisper or scream that theirs only is the true god; which is a truth.

I though about this and I thought about the Buddhist, Hebrews, Romans, Egyptians and the other religions of the world. They thought in terms of one god, many gods, I am god and I am. I was puzzled how can we live in peace and still believe as they did. There had to be a way to comprehend this puzzle.

***





When the United States was formed they knew why they had come to this new world they called America. So one of the freedoms that they put in the Constitution was that each of us had the freedom to worship as they pleased.

***





Life has evolved and I now comprehend the world of religion. Children are taught early in their lives how to think and how to comprehend their world of religion.





***

There is enough knowledge written about religion on this planet to comprehend peace and how it can be obtained.

***





Dream

A package of cards came in the mail in my dreams.
They were signed in large sweeping illegible script.
I awoke with a start, completely confused.
The package provided no clue as to where or of whom they were from.
The return address provided no clue as to where they had come from?
I am totally confused.
Today is the thirty first day of August and that dream is very disturbing. Not in a dangerous way but in the pile of mud it places before me.
Life is very clear, clean and crisp. The light shines in though the windows giving life. And that package of thought plowed to the top of my sleeping mind and awoke me.
Do we all see thoughts like these and do people really spit on our thoughts?
This is certainly not a thought that should be put online.
This is almost as disturbing as watching the war on television.
Where should my mind go?
There are clear places on the earth where life is simple, crisp and clean. And there are places that are encrusted with hate and that cancerous hate burns at the earth.
Will water and good sense heal the wounds?
Will the power of the Today's Spirit stop the violence?
Is this day only a day marked on the calendar to cease the violence?
Can this day of “Peace on Earth” be extended or do we have more pressing matters to attend too?
The choice seems to lie with the Muslin leaders of the earth.
The choice seems to lie with the Christian leaders of the earth.
Are they going to surrender to god and stand still for peace?

***

Standing Still for Peace.

A man watches the world. He looks intense, standing still, he is aware. He looks at every movement before him. He reads the signs of the day, he has not moved. There is an internal stillness, he is waiting, patiently, standing watch.

***

Your thoughts fall like golden oak leaves.
Like golden rain they carpet the ground beneath my feet.
I pick them up and use them.
I paste them on the line with wooden pins.

***

What are the parameters for peace on this planet?
One is the ability for all human beings to have faith in peace and how that is to be achieved.
To achieve peace we need our bodies to put the energy created by our adrenaline to good work. And if our bodies have a desire or rush to harm another human then there has to be something/or someone stronger to believe in that will put your body in the correct frame of mind.

***

Standing still for peace.
I sat on the plane writing this thought:
How many of us live in a safe haven? Our protective shell, our home in a nutshell. Peace and safety surrounding our being. How does this cave of modern times differ from the time of bears breaking into our cabin and confronting us? We still deal with earthquakes, rains and tides but our relative safety is quite good. How did we ever get to this place of comfort where the local government does not pry into our being? We hear about the rampage but the flooded waters move elsewhere.

+

As the plane landed a strange site appeared in my view. People were standing like statues looking like an abstract painting in orange. Some stood on bandanas, some on rifles. They were scattered about like droppings from a plane.

So what is going on I ask? Someone handed me a folded paper with writing on it. The paper said,

"Orders from a higher authority:"

The sun was hot. Heat wavered over the red earth. The shine of wet skin could be seen for miles. Our higher authority had given the order. The earth looked like hell. For as far as you could see they had come, so there they stood. Most were in agony. The physical and mental adjustments were excruciating. Bodies were shaking internally. They were ordered to stand still and at attention, so they stood. Acres of aches stood still. Emotion reverberated in their minds but they had orders. They would stand until they got it right.

A lifetime of hate was being forced to the surface. He was ordered to stand still. He was told that peace would come. He was wired like steel. He had the strength to endure this pain and he would. He was ordered to do so. He stood like a statue, with his weapon or bandana under his feet.

Peace and Goodwill Prevail.

These orders came from a higher authority.

***

They must stand still for peace.

You can go to work and slay beef, fowl or pork and not to many folks will say what you do is evil. You provide a service for the folks in your neighborhood. You can on occasion just decide you have had enough and call work and say, " I won't be in today." You take the day off and enjoy what life gives you. You made a decision, a simple decision.

The folks in the West and Middle East can lay their weapons down on the ground and stand on them at attention. They can contemplate peace. They can stand thirty soldiers deep. They can stand and think and do nothing but fight for peace in their solitude. They can stand erect until every muscle in there body aches for peace. They can let every killing emotion pass through their system of thought. They can stand still until peace comes over their bodies. Some will want to strangle the veined throat of their neighbor but they must stand still for peace. This is a very painful process as they look down at their killing weapons. They must follow orders they are now soldiers for peace.

They must stand still for peace."

***
"Confucius thought that a ruler who had to resort to force had already failed as a ruler",
so that is where the world is now. We are standing in the time-line of violence.
When one man stands still and ends the violence another man will shoot him off the pedestal of peace.
How many men will die for nothing?
This is what they can do.
They must stand still for peace.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

The World Has Talent


WWI
1914 to 1919

Poison gas was probably the most feared of all weapons in World War One. Poison gas was indiscriminate and could be used on the trenches even when no attack was going on. Whereas the machine gun killed more soldiers overall during the war, death was frequently instant or not drawn out and soldiers could find some shelter in bomb/shell craters from gunfire. A poison gas attack meant soldiers having to put on crude gas masks and if these were unsuccessful, an attack could leave a victim in agony for days and weeks before he finally succumbed to his injuries.


WWII
1939 to 1945
---------------------------------------------------
Agent Orange used during the Vietnam War by the United States.
----------------------------------------------------

President Saddam Hussein (1937–2006) pursued the most extensive chemical program during the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), when he waged chemical warfare against his foe. He also used chemicals in 1988 in the Al-Anfal Campaign against his civilian Kurdish population and during a popular uprising in the south in 1991.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 2013
Syrian President Bashar Assad wields command over the world's biggest stockpile of chemical weapons, Chemical Weapons used in Syria in the last two weeks.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Monday, August 26, 2013

I had a Great 72 Birthday

Good Morning,

Yes I had a great Birthday. My daughter and family came by to help me celebrate my birthday. All birthdays are special but by my point of view mine was a little different. 

There is some history involved which makes my life a little more complete as I move forward. I as a child was deprived of a section of life that is quite normal for most folks. That section is missing in mind though I am sure I was there, mentally it is gone from my memory (1 to 3 in age and the comfortable warmth of a mothers love during that time ).
Two young women saw it rather quickly at Tolstoy Farm and offered it to me right away. One was love from a woman and the other was friendship and her ability to see where I was missing the child development that only a mother could provide to a child. My friend read to me from A. A. Milne's, "Winnie-the-Pooh". It was a loving and comfortable time in my life. How she sensed this missing moment in time in my life I do not remember but it happened.
One of the reasons for being with my wife was her wonderful voice and her ability to tell stories.
Well one of the gifts I received was from my daughter's reading to her children and me from the A. A. Milne's, "Winnie-the-Pooh" book. It was amazingly fun, lovable and nice. Milne had a way with words that make you smile and my daughter's voice is as nice as her mothers (MotherKitty). 
We also celebrated my granddaughter's Birthday too. 72 and 12 were on the cake plus a swim in the pool and a great time was had by all.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

This is Formally known as Tin Can Beach. Barges of trash were taken out to sea and dumped into the ocean. If you remember that the trash from the tsunami came to shore in California.
I think at one time ships at sea dumped their trash overboard for the seagulls.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

At Lock 50

Tommy Carter at Lock 50


This is a true story. It was fall and chilly and the towboats were waiting to lock at Lock and Dam 50. It was always a sure bet that you would find your towboat there when you made a crew change. I was on duty at the lock and part of my duties was communicating with the towboats (before the cell phone and smart phone). 
A car pulled up at the lock and a deck hand said goodbye to his wife and came to the lock shack on the lock wall and asked me, “ CCCould yyyou CCCall mmmy tttow bbboat?” I noticed his stutter but I had stuttered until age nine so I said nothing and called the boat and told them they had a crew member at the lock. They said they would send a john boat to pick him up.
Tow boat crews work 6 hours then off 6 hours then on 6 then off 6 in a day.7days a week for two weeks, then go home for two weeks. And it was about 1 pm when we called the boat. Towboats have a Captain and a pilot and by 1 pm the Captain had gone to bed and would come back at 6:00 pm to work his evening shift.
For some strange reason I had to stay another shift so when that towboats time to lock came it was getting close to 6:00 pm. On the approach to the lock wall the towboat crew was making their crew change. I was standing at the end of the lock wall when I saw the Mate who had asked me to call the boat relieving the other mate in front of me at the end of the wall. The captain had not met his new mate as of yet. In those days they had hard wired speakers at the head of the tows to communicate with the pilot house when approaching the lock walls. 
And this is what I heard at the end of the lock wall as the barges approached the wall, “CCCaptian wwe aare aabout tthrity ffeet ooff the wwwall.” And then I heard the Captain answer on the speaker.



“Aare yyyyou mmakin ffun oof mme?”


My apologies to folks that stutter.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

I was told that when Global Warming went into effect that the ice up north would melt and cause the temperatures to cool as if going into an ice age.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

An Invitation to Speak

 I wrote a letter to our Senator and his opponent about the upcoming election for United States Senator inviting them to speak at our Fall Round Up. I normally write in a crude and blunt way and Laurel looked at the letter and immediately edited it to keep the emotions down and be a least cordial in my invitation.
Here is a copy of the letter my wife re-edited to be as least tactful. There are two documents one for each candidate that we were writing.
The purpose of this post is to generate publicity for NARFE and our cause to help Retired and Active Federal Employees who are being used as Scapegoats whenever possible.

Friday, August 9, 2013

US 60 Bridge

The other day Mom's Smart Phone quit. So I made plans to go to Paducah and get her phone fixed and while I was there I was to get a few things at Sam's and Pet Smart.
Well I remembered that you could reboot a Smart Phone just like you can reboot a computer and it would replace old software with new (stored) software.  So I asked her for her phone; her screen was just black and you could swipe your hand across it all you wanted and nothing would happen, it was just a brick. Anyway she gave it to me and remembering that I could reboot my Motorola MAXX two ways. One was a normal reboot which replaces software and keeps your stuff there and Two a hard Factory Reboot which makes it like new where you have to do everything all over again.
Well?
Since her Smart Phone was a brick what could I lose by rebooting it if I could? 
Remember she gave it to me. 
So I pressed the volume and start buttons together and held them in for maybe 30 seconds and nothing happened and then I see the Bright Red Motorola Logo pop up in the middle of her screen (it was a reboot). I let it reboot and after it rebooted I looked at it and then gave it to mom to examine it. If there was something terribly wrong it would soon come to flower. Nothing happened! Nothing abnormal so far and it has been a few days now since I rebooted her Smart Phone.

Anyway I still went to Paducah.

View from Ledbetter, Kentucky
There are 4 lanes but the guys are still putting up guard rails over there.
That was the reason for this post. I went to Paducah, Kentucky via U.S. Highway 60. I had heard that the New Highway 60 Bridge over the Tennessee River  was ready for traffic and open for business. I went across it and boy was it an improvement over the old bridge. It may not last as long as the old bridge but for now it is a big improvement.
It will take at least another 10 years for the highway to move to the new bridge but that is OK that is how we function in the Old West.

My computer mouse is acting strange (move, freeze, skip and where is it?) so I had better check the batteries. I replaced my batteries and my mouse works much better.

Happy Birthday Suzanne



Thursday, August 8, 2013

Good Morning


I think I will go outside and sit on the deck, use my fingers and write this blog with my Smart Phone. I hear the school buses moving at the school ( air brakes hissing and squeaking). Did you know that it is very steamy out here on the deck by this glass table. I will go in soon and get dressed, put on my old garden trousers and move my grass clippings into the garden at our foot path and around my peppers and cucumbers.
I also have more grass clippings to pick up later this afternoon.

We have one sun flower that is 11 foot tall.
Mom is out here on the deck with me, I had warmed up her tea pot. We sat for a while and then the sun came up and warmed things up, I guess it will be hot today. Another half hour and I will be out there moving grass clippings.
When I find myself procrastinating I turn on some music, get dressed and do what I have to do.
10:00 AM
I came back in to cool off. I mulched my peppers and cucumbers and our entry into the garden. Now I will mulch my tomatoes then pick up grass clippings and hopefully clean the pool which is only 80 degrees which is an all time low for August.
10:30AM
The mulching is done, now it is time to gather more clippings with my grass catcher. When that is done I will go into the cold/cool pool.
12:00 Noon
I just finished picking up the new clippings with my grass catcher; I will cool off, eat lunch then go into the cold/cool pool.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Good Morning


 I hear rain outside our home; I had planned to work outdoors but maybe later in the day?

I feel good this morning. I did get to mow yesterday and also went to town to get some supplies.
In the upper left hand corner of this blog there is a search box. You can search all of my posts there for any information you had seen at some other time. Just type in what you thought and see what you get. It does not work every time but it is a useful tool sometimes.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Good Morning

I feel good this morning. I will be printing out Western Kentucky NARFE Newsletter and personal letters to NARFE Members in Western Kentucky Starting this week. I may change the Newsletter as the weeks go by and update the online Newsletter.
The Newsletter is here: http://narfeky.org/1ANEWSLETTERJULY30_2013.pdf and like I said, It may change from day to day.
It will be used as a way to recruit new members as our Health Benifits keep getting busted down to lower levels of help from the feds (that's me, busting myself).