Ink Pen

     Have you ever taken the time to ponder the wonderful aspects of the ordinary ink pen?  Most people do all their writing on a computer using a keyboard and letting their fingers tap across the keys.  Instead for an instance take a pen in your hand and let it smoothly flow across the space of the blank page.

     Consider for a moment:  the feel of the pen in your hand is firm and the stroke of the letters is dependent upon the pressure you place upon the instrument as it glides across the page.  If you simply let your imagination go for a moment you can smell the ink as it is released upon the paper by means of the writing you are placing upon it.  Does the smell change if you are using blue ink, or maybe red?  Try to see if you can tell the difference. 

     If you listen closely you will also be able to hear the words as you apply them to the page.  Some will come upon you louder than others, but they all will fill a spot within your mind and perhaps within your heart.  As you listen are the words motivating the movement of your hand upon the page or is it your hand that supplies the words as your mind releases the thoughts that are to become reality in some sense as they are written down on the blank page?

     You can also hear the changes that your mind is making and instantly the movement of the pen changes so that new words are produced.  You could let the words linger in your mind and savor them as if you had to “drink” them in and let them roll around over your taste buds.  Consider those words that are placed upon the page that would leave you with a sour taste and almost making you want to “spit” them off the page and begin all over from scratch.  And then there will be words that flow across the page leaving you an unbelievable sweat and happy flavor on your taste buds.  It would almost be like you had eaten the most enjoyable delicacy you could imagine.

     All of these things become possible because of the tiny instrument that you hold in your hand and allow to flow, ever gracefully applying your thought across a blank canvas.  If you allow yourself the opportunity you will find that this small tool can be used to express your inner feelings and show to others your mastery over the English language.  It is true:  The pen is mightier than the sword.

     All the expressions and feelings that you can gain from taking the time to use this tool and return to a time when electronic “gadgets” were but a mere thought in the mind of “far-thinking” individuals.  Put aside your keyboard and let yourself become reacquainted with the powerful affects of using the ink pen to express yourself on the blank page.  You will enjoy all the emotional depths that can become available to you.

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Don't sit next to your best friend

and send them a text!"

Emotions

  Watching your favorite movie or perhaps only hearing the “theme” song or just a few words of dialog can bring back to your mind a flood of emotional feelings.  It almost seems strange and contradictory how a scene can reach into your heart and manipulate your feelings from excitement to anxiety and then almost immediately to a despair that you can’t imagine how low you begin to feel.

     This is the power of the words used in screen plays coupled with the tremendous acting ability of some men and women to put those words into an emotional roller coaster ride of feelings.  In almost an over simplistic statement Sean Stephenson (a professional copywriter) said:  “Speaking is easy.  Make the audience laugh.  Make them cry.  Change their lives.”  He almost makes you believe that just by opening your mouth you are able to change the lives of those who listen to you.  And in some cases this is exactly true!

     At times it’s not the great box office hits that provide the emotionally charged dialog that actually motivate a change in someone’s life.  Occasionally it’s that “quiet” movie that just plays on a basic emotion and twists your heart into a different direction.  I’m going to share one of my “emotionally moving” movies with you and I think you’ll understand what I am talking about.  If you ever get a chance (if you haven’t already) PLEASE watch this movie.

     First I’d like you to ponder what comes to your mind when I mention the actor Sean Connery?  Most of you (if you are of a CERTAIN age) will probably say:  James Bond!  And by many groups and individuals he is THE James Bond.  Of course, I’m sure you realize that he has appeared in many other wonderful productions:  Murder on the Orient Express and The Hunt for Red October, which are two of my favorite non-Bond movies.

     But for this discussion I am going to mention his appearance from a December, 2000 release of the movie “Finding Forrester.”  This is the story of the relationship between a sixteen-year-old, Jamal Wallace (played by Rob Brown) and a famous, but reclusive author William Forrester (played by Sean Connery.)  The development of this relationship goes from a defiant resentment to a heartwarming real love and affection between these two characters.   

     Forrester knows that Jamal has been offered a full academic scholarship from a prestigious private school, partly for his basketball skills and partly for his test scores.  Jamal learns that Forrester is the famous author of, “Avalon Landing” and that he has never publisher another book since that one.  As the movie unfolds Jamal is helped through several trials by Forrester and Forrester is helped by Jamal to rekindle in himself his desire to live.

     In the concluding scenes from the movie Forrester has decided to revisit his native land of Scotland.  About a year later Forrester’s attorney (played by Matt Daman) informs Jamal that Forrester has died of cancer.  The lawyer gives Jamal the keys to Forrester’s apartment, a package, and a letter of thanks from Forrester.
     The emotional ride of this movie is truly one that exerts a moment for thought upon anyone who watches it.  Sometime after I had seen this movie I began to desire to return to one of my former loves: that of writing.  When times passes and you find yourself enjoying putting pen to paper, even when there is NO financial gain, you realize that this is something your heart desires to do.  Then you realize that there truly is a great power that can be found in words.

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEMS

"Don't let a day go by without letting your 

family know how much you love them."

Stories

     I remember when my kids were growing up there was a crazy little book that they loved to read and to have it read to them.  My wife and I found out that there was an entire series of them published.

     The stories were written by Stan and Jan Berenstain and they have become a perfect way to teach children about bravery and overcoming their fears.  The beauty of their illustrations and the simple yet compellingly written stories helped in providing this valuable teaching aide to families all over the world!  The classic Berenstain Bears have been loved by children for decades and will no doubt continue to be so.

     One of the books that I remember that was helpful with our children was “The Berenstain Bears in the Dark!”  Within this publication you got to journey into Bear Country and see how Papa was able to help Sister Bear with the problem she had.  After reading a scary bedtime story, Sister Bear is too frightened of the dark to shut her eyes.  Thankfully, Papa has some good “psychological advice” and a nightlight that helps Sister conquer her fears!  What child at any age cannot empathize with Sister Bear and her problem?

     This particular book was first published in August, 1982 and although that was now some thirty-five years ago the basic well-written information is still very useful even today.  It’s only thirty-two pages in length and extremely easy for reading by all ages.  Now for over fifty-five years (since 1962) the Berenstain Bears have entertained and educated children with their antics and lives that touch our hearts with the ring of reality.  These characters become a part of OUR lives even long after we have left the years of childhood behind.  If you’d like to find out more information about the Berenstain Bear legacy and current activities visit their official site at berenstainbears.com.

     Another set of stories that my children loved (especially my daughter) were the “Little House” books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  However, I think most people would be more familiar with the television series that was aired from 1974 to 1984.  This series starred Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls (Pa) and Karen Grassle as Caroline Ingalls (Ma).  The star of the series Laura Ingalls (Half-pint) was played by Melissa Gilbert.  Although it deviated from the original books in MANY aspects it was set in Walnut Grove, Minnesota.

     Actually Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote a series of books based on her childhood in the northern Midwestern United States during the 1870s and 1880s.  Eight were completed by Wilder and published from 1932 and 1943, of which the last covers her courtship with Almanzo Wilder and one covers his childhood. The first draft of a ninth novel was published posthumously in 1971 and is commonly included in the Little House series.  The third book in the series entitled “Little House on the Prairie” is perhaps the most familiar because of the TV series.  However, this book actually covers a period from 1869 to 1870 when the family moved to Kansas.  It was here that they met the extremely polite Mr. Edwards (the character played by Victor French in the television series.)

     It was in 1874 when Wilder was seven years old the family moved for the second time and settled just outside Walnut Grove, MN.  Walnut Grove may be the most recognized name of all the towns Wilder wrote about in her books (although it is the only town she did not mention by name) because of Michael Landon’s television series “Little House on the Prairie” of the 1970s and 1980s which was set here.  Although the show depicts the family as living here through Wilder’s adulthood, in reality, they only lived in Walnut Grove for a few years.

     In 2013 my son and his family were living in Minnesota and my wife and I made a trip to visit them.  At that time we went to Walnut Grove and visited the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum.  It was very interesting but I was somewhat disappointed for several reasons.  First, many of the “facts” I had learned about the Ingalls family from the television series were NOT true.  Michael Landon had used great “discretion” in talking liberties with the information from the books.  And, second, my wife and I were very disappointed that “Pa” didn’t look ANYTHING like Michael Landon!  Besides the Museum, the town has various other activities during the year.  You can get more information by visiting walnutgrove.org.

     It’s interesting to think about the books that we read or were read to us when we were children and how perhaps, even today, they have an effect on our lives.  Maybe we could relive these treasures with our own children.  Take the time and enjoy all these moments if you can.  You’ll never have them over again!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"When you tell your children:

Don't ever let me SEE you do that again! ---

You WON'T"

Deep No 3 -- Parallel Universes!

     It’s that time again when I let my mind go REALLY DEEP and discuss a topic that will make you put on your thinking cap and ponder for a few moments.  So we get our topic for this blog:  Deep No 3 – Parallel Universes!

     Is our universe unique?  I like to think it is.  That no matter where you may travel because of our Creator’s design we are special among all the creation in the vast heavens.  I think the intricate design in the physical universe around us is such that there truly exists NO other place that can compare to His marvelous handy work.

    But from Sci-Fi movies and books the concept exists that wants to state otherwise.  We are merely one “bubble” that sits upon a network of untold numerous other “bubbles.”  It has been stated that within these “possible alternate” universes every conceivable action, thought, or event has happened.  As an example:  In “one” universe you may have walked down the street and TURNED RIGHT, in another you TURNED LEFT in another you WENT STRAIGHT and I another you never went down that street AT ALL!

     This concept was high-lighted in the recent “remake” of the “Star Trek” series in 2009.  The premise is that the Kirk and Spock portrayed by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto are in an “alternate time line” apart from the William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy versions of the characters.  Now the “changes” that happen in the new movie series don’t have to follow the pattern previously set by those movies already made.  But is such a thing possible?  Or is it truly just a “fringe” of science fiction that makes for “good” story, but could NEVER REALLY be possible?

     There are at least five theories why a multi-universe is possible, as a 2012 Space.com article explained:

1.       We don’t know what the shape of space-time is exactly.  One prominent theory is that it is flat and goes on forever.  This would present the possibility of many universes being out there.  But with that topic in mind, it’s possible that universes can start repeating themselves.  That’s because particles can only be put together in so many ways. 

2.      Another theory for multiple universes comes from “eternal inflation.”  Based on research from Tufts University cosmologist Alexander Vilenkin, when looking at space-time as a whole, some areas of space stop inflating like the Big Bang inflated our own universe.  Others however will keep getting larger.  So if we picture our own universe as a bubble, it is sitting in a network of bubble universes of space.  What’s interesting about this theory is that other universes could have very different laws of physics than our own since they are not linked.

3.      Or perhaps multiple universes can follow the theory of quantum mechanics (how subatomic particles behave), as part of the “daughter universe” theory.  If you follow the laws of probability, it suggests that for every outcome that could come from one of your decisions, there would be a range of universes --- each of which saw one outcome come to be.  So in one universe, you took that job to China.  In another, perhaps you were on your way and your plane landed somewhere different, and you decided to stay.  And so on (as I previously mentioned the alternate possibilities.)

4.      Another possible avenue is exploring mathematical universes, which, simply put, explains that the structure of mathematics may change depending in which universe you reside.  “A mathematical structure is something that you can describe in a way that’s completely independent of human baggage,” said theory-proposer Max Tegmark of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as quoted in the 2012 article.  “I really believe that there is this universe out there that can exist independently of me that would continue to exist even if there were no humans.”

5.      And last but not least as to the idea of parallel universes.  To go back to the idea that space-time is flat, the number of possible particle configurations in multiple universes would be limited to 10^10^122 distinct possibilities, to be exact. (I have NO idea what this number is?)  So, with an infinite number of cosmic patches, the particle arrangements within them must repeat --- infinitely many times over.  This means there are infinitely many “parallel universes” cosmic patches exactly the same as ours (containing someone exactly like you), as well as patches that differ by just one particle’s position, patches that differ by two particle’s positions, and so on down to patches that are totally different from ours.

     Still COULD IT REALLY HAPPEN?  When gazing into the heavens, scientists spotted what they refer to as a “cold” area of space.  It was observed some time ago, and explaining it proved difficult, but a 2015 study suggested it was merely an area of the universe in which the number of galaxies is dramatically lower than the rest.  Unfortunately, subsequent investigations couldn’t support that finding, and a new study by Durham University suggests the slim possibility that it’s actually evidence of parallel universes is still on the table.

     But, just because something SOUNDS possible doesn’t mean that it TRULY IS!  Perhaps we would like to believe that “SOMEWHERE” there’s a place where the “great catch” of our life DIDN’T get away.  A place where that IDEAL job REALLY became ours.  Or some other situation in our lives that we hoped would have been different --- IS!

     Who knows YOU may be sitting in another place, living another life, enjoying a wonderful time READING this SAME blog and wondering:  Is it REALLY possible?

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Bad circumstances have made some men jerks!

Others are self-made men!"

Worry

     There are many things in our lives that we have to worry about:  How are we going to make a living?  What type of work are we going to do? Where are we going to live?  Are we going to get married?  If we do, will we have children?  And the list could go on with these types of questions!  In today’s society we now have to add to that such concerns as: Is the person eating next to us going to jump up suddenly and start shooting everyone in the restaurant?  While walking down the street or when “out on the town” is someone going to decide to pull their vehicle onto the sidewalk and mow us down like bowling pins?  When we send our children off to school in the morning are they going to be safe, or will they have to face a massacre from the actions of a fellow student?  We can add numerous amounts of situations to these questions and we find ourselves worried all day long!

     Let’s face facts:  There are only so many things we can do to try and minimize the occurrence of most of these developments.  And we SHOULD do what we can to make ourselves as safe as possible.  But we can’t stop living because of what MIGHT happen!  Otherwise we constantly live in fear and WE become the prisoner of our circumstances.  And often these circumstances are only fabrications within our minds of what MIGHT be possible.  I am not minimizing the terrible atrocities that have happened and are continuing to happen on a daily basis, but often the mere POSSIBILITY of an event happening is sufficient enough to bring our lives to a virtual HALT!  And that’s not how we find real enjoyment in our lives.

     Franklin D. Roosevelt at his first inaugural speech said: “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.”  At that time he was speaking about the depression and the prospect of turning the U.S. economy around.  Actually Francis Bacon, an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, and author, said it about 400 years earlier.  In his “Essay on Tribune” he said “There is nothing to fear but fear.”  Winston Churchill later used a similar quote to the British troops.  It seems that politicians (and others) are constantly “borrowing” phrases from one another whenever they feel it is appropriate to do so.

     But the point being made is that on many occasions we contrive in our own minds an expected consequence of situations and, in effect, become afraid of the fear of what MIGHT happen!  I can best illustrate this with a true life experience in my life that happened when I was about fifteen years old.

     One day my cousin and her family came to visit us in Georgia.  She was about my age and we usually got along very well together.  On this visit she had brought along with her a toy:  a gyroscope!  It’s a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rotation is free to assume any orientation by itself.  You can even balance it on the end of your finger with a little practice.    The concept has been used in astronaut training and even “carnival” attractions.  But I digress from my story.

     As it turned out this was my cousin’s FAVORITE toy and she lacked NO words in telling me that I WAS NOT to play with it AT ALL!  Of course this made my desire to play with the toy even greater.  So during the day I made it my “obsession” to secretly follow my cousin around and I found out where she was “hiding” this wonderful toy when she wasn’t playing with it.

     After some time had passed on the third day of their visit, my sisters arranged to take my cousin shopping during the day.  I knew this was my time, but I had to plan my course of action in detail.  So I waited until about an hour AFTER they left and I knew I still had a GOOD couple of hours before their return.  My Dad and Mom had taken my Aunt and Uncle to visit some of the “old” places they used to frequent when they lived in the area so I knew this was the time to act.

     I slipped into the bedroom and “searched” through the lower dresser drawer that my cousin was using during their visit.  There it was!  All wrapped up in a cloth and safely tucked into the corner of the drawer.  I took it out and just stood there for a few moments simply mesmerized by the beauty of this fascinating toy.  I wound the string around the center axis and gave it a swift pull to start the rotation movement.  To my surprise there was a terrible clang, clunk, clink as the center piece flew out of the toy and bounced around the floor!  What had I done?  The most loved toy of my cousin was in pieces and I had been told DON’T TOUCH IT!  I quickly picked up the pieces, wrapped them back in the cloth and placed them securely back into my cousin’s drawer.  Then I headed for the back door and left!

     Walking away from the house my mind was racing with thoughts of fear and dread.  I knew I couldn’t afford to buy my cousin a new gyroscope and I also knew what punishment would no doubt be waiting for me when I went home.  So I walked!  And I walked!  My mind wouldn’t let me have a moment of peace.  I knew what I had done was wrong, but I feared the retribution that I would have to face.  In time, about three hours later, the tiredness of walking and the desire to have something to drink overcame the fear of what awaited me at home so I returned to face my punishment.

     Upon arriving back at the house I slipped quietly in through the back door.  I could hear the family up toward the front laughing and having a good visit.  As I made my way to the kitchen to get a drink there was my cousin sitting at the kitchen table reading a book.  I wasn’t exactly sure how to do this, but I knew it had to be done.  So I motioned for her to come over to me and when she did I said:  “Can we go back to your bedroom?  I need to talk to you in private.”

     As we got into the room I told her what I had done and retrieved the gyroscope from her “hiding” place.  I unwrapped the cloth and showed her the pieces as I had left them several hours earlier.  I wasn’t sure how she was going to respond as she took the pieces of the toy from my hands.  For a moment she was chillingly quiet and I thought maybe she was going to slap me on the head or something.  Then, to my amazement, she took the two pieces, snapped them back together, and said:  “It always does that, but you just put it back in!”

     My heart sank for a moment.  I had been out walking the neighborhood for HOURS dreading the punishment I would be facing and there was NONE!  She put it back together in two seconds and it was like new!  All my worries and my fears were for NOTHING!  I felt better, but I knew next time I was told to leave something alone that was exactly what I was going to do!

     Yes unnecessary fear can prevent us from living our lives.  It can stifle our joys and bring overwhelming anxiety to our hearts.  Let us use caution.  Let us prepare as we can.  But most importantly let us LIVE!

QUOTE TO CONSIDE

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Give and be happy!

and if you can't give --- take less!"

Different

     There was a day during my senior year in High School:  A day like every other day that year but it was different.  I went to school that morning as I had done all the other days during the school year.  Barely getting into my home room class before the tardy bell rang out.

     But as I went through the day to my classes it seemed that all the teachers and their assistants knew something I didn’t know.  It was really strange the way they were acting, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what the problem was.  I just continued all day to have this feeling that sooner or later I would be called into the principal’s office, but it never happened!  Everything just went along like a “normal” school day, but it just seemed different!

     After school, I got home, changed my clothes and went to work.  It was just a part-time position at a small local grocery store.  I had started there a few years earlier as a “bag boy,” but over time I had worked my way up to produce “manager.”  I thought the title sounded quiet impressive and it did come with a twenty-five cents per hour pay raise.  It hardly seemed like a “management” position when I look back on it.  I was the ONLY person I the department, so I guess all I had to do was “manage” myself!

     This too seemed like an ordinary day although my boss’s wife sure seemed extra attentive and helpful to me this day.  She continued wanting to know how school was going and if I had liked my job working there at the grocery.  Like I said it was much the same old normal day, just a bit strange for some reason.  It seemed like everyone in town had decided to come to that little store that day and make a purchase.  It made for a busy day, but it also made it seem to go by faster.  When I would restock the bins and come from the back storeroom there seemed to be an unusual amount of “whispering” amongst the customers, the boss, and his wife, but I just thought they had “adult” things to talk about that they didn’t want me to hear.  Then before I knew it, time had come to close up and go home.

     At home, it was almost normal too.  And yet I couldn’t seem to shake this feeling that something was different.  We had our diner, got everything cleaned up, and were watching a little TV before I was going to get busy on some school work.   Then the “boot fell” (as the expression goes.)

     My Mother sent my sisters out of the room telling them that she had to talk to me.  Of course this made them even more curious to find out what was going on and I knew they had their ears against the door as she began to talk.

     “I had a visitor at work today,” she said.

     Her voice was calm but I could only imagine where this conversation was going.  Still I sat silent waiting what I imaged was going to be a scathing denunciation coming from her lips.

     “Don’t you want to know what it was about?”  She asked.

     “Of course I do, but I’m a little afraid to ask.  This entire day has been “different” but I can’t guess what’s been going on.”

     “What’s been going on is the FBI has been interviewing people all over town today about your job application.  You have been accepted!”

     I sat as my heart felt like it was sinking, but also having a great relief.  I guess sometimes “DIFFERENT” can be a GOOD thing!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Do something today that may surprise your workmates --

actually WORK!"

Sometimes!

     My mind drifts back to an old TV commercial about candy.  Their little jingle had a line in it that went:  “Sometimes you feel like a nut!  Sometimes you don’t!”  I remember it very well.  I loved that candy (and still do!)  And yesterday I think it was being the “sometimes like a nut” kind of day

     Everything I have started yesterday (at least in my mind) had turned into a BIG scribble on the page or either had gotten crumpled up and thrown into the trash.  I don’t know exactly what it was, but that’s the way it had been going.

     I thought I could “take a break” and things would hopefully “reset” themselves and start to work out for the better.  So I got up from my desk and went into our kitchen where my wife was looking over some of the Instagram posts she had received.

     “What would you think about taking a two hour lunch with me today?”  I asked her when I entered the room.  She sort of gave me that look like “what have you done?”  You husbands know what I’m talking about.  “I’m just not getting anything done this morning and I thought a break would get me going again.”  With that comment she was agreeable to the invitation and told me to wait ten minutes while she got ready.

     TWENTY minutes later she came back and was ready to go.  Now I’m not complaining because she came back looking even more beautiful than when she left the room, but that seemed like the longest TEN MINUTES I had ever waited. We left and went to our favorite eating place, leisurely ordered our meal, and spent the better part of the two hours laughing and enjoying our company together.  When we got back home I returned to my office knowing there had been a complete turnaround from the morning dilemmas.

     However, I was wrong!  After three or four attempts to put my thoughts to paper I was already scribbling through the lines and throwing pages into the trash.  After about an hour and half of miserable attempts to get something done I finally threw up my hands in defeat and walked out of the room.

     Today I returned to my office and sat at my desk.  I picked up my favorite writing pen and began to watch as the words flowed across the paper as if they were being written all by themselves.  Before I knew it about fifteen minutes had passed and I had completed this short little article for my blog post.

     It’s true; it’s not like some of the more in-depth articles that I have posted in the past.  But those were THEN, this is NOW!  I guess it really is true:  “Sometimes you feel like a nut - - - and Sometimes you don’t!”

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Sometimes the intelligence of some people can only be measured AFTER they speak."

Cleaning Day

     I took some time today to clean out some files from my desk draws and try to create a little more space in my home office.  At times it’s hard to imagine how much you have let “pile up” that really is no longer needed or even needed from the beginning, but you had decided to hang on to it for some reason.

     I found some papers from 1999!!!!  Yes you read that right – 19 -- 99!  There were some notes on products and services that I had considered trying to get into operation.  Now the ideas alone don’t make any sense.  I guess it’s because I’d like to think that in the past 18 years my concerns about what I would be doing to create income have drastically changed over that period of time.

     It seems at that period I was considering more concentration in the area of mail order and producing some “captured on disc” products that I could offer to the public.  Now with all the advancements in the digital age they seem a little antiquated as to their ability to sustain a lengthy time period of producing income.

     There was one item I found that I thought was an early beginning to my current writing career in hopes of producing income.  I had prepared a 20 page booklet entitled “What Must Baby Think?”  It was a humorous look at some comments that we make as adults and what a baby might conceive in his mind upon hearing these sayings.  I had also included some crude illustrations trying to depict these things in picture form.  Upon looking over some of the pages I can see why I should stick to writing and NOT illustrating.

     On the left hand side of the page I would put the adult “thoughts.”  On the right side of the page I would put the baby’s “thought process.” I’m not going to bore you with attempting an illustration of the process within this blog.  (Remember I found out:  I’m NO illustrator.)  But I will try to give you a “taste” of what the booklet was trying to portray.

     The left hand side of the page illustrated a “grandmotherly-type” lady adoringly looking down in the direction of the baby and saying:  “He looks like he has his father’s eyes.”

     On the right hand side of the page was an illustration of the baby sitting on the floor with a puzzled look on his face and “thinking”:  “How can Daddy see if I have his eyes?”

     This type of “back and forth” went on for several pages.  After reviewing the little booklet I decided it was time to put this endeavor in the trash bag and continue with my efforts to get the clean up finished.  If I stopped for every piece of “old” attempts I had made  I’m going to be at this a very L-O-N-G time.

     But, wait!   Here are some of my attempts to prepare a wedding disc to record a couple’s special moment in time!  Ah!  What memories!!!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Trying and failing is better than never having tried."

Polls

     I’d like to think of my life as ordinary.  What I mean is that I consider myself smarter than some and somewhat less intelligent than others.  I feel I’m better looking that some and not so when compared to others.  My work environment is better than many, but I’m sure there is room for improvement when compared to others.  I have a better financial situation than some and I’m “dirt poor” when stood beside the bank accounts of many.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m pretty much “the ordinary guy.”

     Now what does this have to do with anything?  From my perspective I’m what the normal “man in the street” might be if there was such a creature.  My point of view and opinion is about the same as the average person.  I’d like to think that to some my voice might carry a little more weight, but I’m sure to the vast majority I have NO reason to believe that ANYONE would be listening to what I had to say and place very much credence to the fact that MY voice would be the one that would sway any popular opinion polls.

     However, this seems to be just the thing that many businesses are trying to find out about the general population.  They spend MILLIONS (maybe Billions) in advertising every year to find out what the “Average” person is wanting to buy and how much they are willing to spend!  It’s amazing how they continue to spend these vast amounts of money to be able to “out do” their competition.

     Let me give you an example:  According to “The Statistics Portal”:  The United States is, by far, the largest advertising market in the world. In 2016, more than 190 billion U.S. dollars were spent in advertising in the United States. This figure is more than double the amount spent in advertising in China, the second largest ad market in the world. Forecasts show healthy projections for the ad market in the U.S. for 2017, as media advertising spending is expected to reach the 207 billion U.S. dollars mark this year. Television has been the biggest advertising medium in the United States in the last few years, but is projected to lose the market lead in 2017 to digital. TV advertising revenue was forecast to grow from 73 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 to around 75 billion U.S. dollars in 2017 and 82 billion in 2020.

    According to a New York Post an article by Sydney Ember in December 2015 stated:   Television has lost its longtime grip on advertising budgets as digital ad spending continues to surge, according to some of the advertising industry’s most closely watched forecasts to be released on Monday.

     Television ad sales are expected to fall slightly this year, decreasing globally for the first time ever aside from a recession year, according to the Interpublic Group’s Magna Global.

     TV will account for 38.4 percent of the $503 billion global ad market this year and will drop to 38 percent of the market in 2016, according to the forecast.

     In the meantime, digital media will continue its meteoric rise. Digital ad spending will grow 17.2 percent this year, to nearly $160 billion, and 13.5 percent in 2016, and is expected to overtake TV as the biggest advertising category by the end of 2017, the forecast says.

     The race by public opinion polls will continue to increase with the ever increasing desire to obtain the mighty dollar by businesses of all types and sizes.  There will be always the desire to project into the near and distant future the wants and to create desires for the many products and services that will be produced by the businesses of the world.

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"When asked for your honest opinion - - - 

think carefully and be kind!"

Needed Change

     It’s a warm summer day in October!  Many are already wondering what has happened to fall. I mentioned the other day in one of my blogs hat we had our first COLD day with the temperature down to thirty four degrees.  But today it’s gotten back up to eighty degrees.  Here in Colorado I’ve heard the old saying for years:  If you don’t like the weather just wait a few minutes and it will change.  That really seems to be the truth.  Now it may be that way in other areas, I’m not sure.  But here in the Colorful State of Colorado it’s not an exaggeration!

     It just made me think that a lot of times there are people that are just the same as the weather.  At times they can be in a very light, happy disposition and then in only a matter of minutes they become a person that you DON’T want to be around.  Why is that the case?  Certainly there are those who have mental problems and need to seek professional help including perhaps medications to help them control these extreme mode swings.  I’m NOT making any references to these because they cannot control the swings in their attitude without some type of aide.

     No!  I’m talking about people who just because of their nature they choose to be this split personality.  And it seems when things are not going their way the swing is even more dramatic.  Apparently from birth they were never trained to realize that things cannot always be the way they want them to be and when they’re not there are acceptable and unacceptable ways that they have to deal with it.  You probably all know the type of people I am talking about!  When they walk into the room it seems that everyone begins to “walk on eggshells” as the expression goes.

    The truth may be even more drastic than we want to admit.  WE may be one of these people and others are just too unnerved to even attempt to try to detail it for us.  Or there may have been some occasion where a “friend” has tried to explain it to us “politely” and we haven’t been receptacle to grasping the idea that they were talking about US!

     Do we “wear our emotions on our sleeve”?  And they don’t want to experience the commotion that we may create if they try to tell us about the way others are viewing us.  Maybe it’s just their way of being kind to us and letting us continue to live in our own little bubble: oblivious to the reality of what is going on around us.  Or maybe they don’t really care or want to take the time and get involved in our antics.  Whatever the case, I think we can all see that the real chance of change in our lives is going to be slim and none!  If that is the case for us, can’t we see it would be the same for others that may need this change also?

     Really if we truly loved and cared about our “friend” and their relationships with others wouldn’t we be doing them a great injustice if we allowed the situation to continue?  Wouldn’t we instead be doing them a great service by making them aware of how they truly appeared to those around them?  Might they resent our actions?  Perhaps even no longer wanting to be our friend?  Yes, that is possible!  But to help another achieve a needed change in their life, regardless of what it might involve or how we may be affected by the action, is the greatest joy we may be able to obtain.  An old saying that was shared with me many years ago certainly applies:  If you love someone, TELL THEM!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"You can't change all the minds in the world,

but you can change ONE!"

Winter

     Today was our first “COLD” day of the season.  It makes me wonder how many more we will have in the days ahead?  It also makes me consider some of the days of the past.  I grew up in a small middle Georgia town and most of our winters could get a bitter cold.  We had very little snow, but about every five years we would “ice” over.  When the wind blew it was a terribly cold chill in the air.  By the old post office the road had about a five percent incline.  It was enough when the ice hit to make most cars slide and spin and many could not even get to the top of that little hill.  I remember an older gentleman, the name eludes me today; however, he would sit his tow truck at the top of the hill and wench vehicles up the hill for $10 a pop.  I’m sure on some days he would make a nice amount of $10 bills hooking up and pulling those vehicles up to a safe point on the road   I recall an incident in the early seventies when my home town got SNOW!  I think the “official” record was about TWO inches.  I was in the military serving in Turkey at the time but my Mother sent me a picture she had taken of the road in front of our house.  ALL the drivers of the vehicles had abandoned their vehicles right there in the street.  There were four or five empty vehicles just sitting empty in the street!  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

     That brings another story to mine when I was in Turkey.   I was living off base at the time and would have to take a bus from town to the base every day for work.  One morning that I got up and went to the bus stop I noticed that overnight we had received a heavy dew on the ground.  The streets only appeared a little wet.  After waiting for the bus for a little longer than I thought I should have another GI stopped and offered me a ride to the base.  After I got into the vehicle he explained to me that the buses weren’t running that day because of the “snow”!  I thought it was a little strange and we both had a good laugh about it while we drove to the base.  After getting to work, my Captain told me that most of the town had been closed because of the weather.  Later when we received the base newsletter it stated: “Community comes to stand still after being hit by the worst BLIZZARD in the past thirty five years!”  Again I could only laugh!

     Since moving to Colorado I understand a little better what COLD and SNOW are really about.  There have been several storms since I moved to this area which impressed on me what a REAL winter can be like.  In January of 1983the State was hit in some areas with some nineteen inches of snow.  Then only a couple of months later (in March) we were hit with another nineteen inches!  While being here in Colorado I’ve even seen it snow in JUNE!  Yes, I said June.  But what stays in my mind was the winter of 1997 (October).  Denver had over 21 inches of snow with drifts in some areas up to TEN FEET!  In our area in the southeast portion of the State I went to bed that evening expecting perhaps four inches of snow the next morning.  When we got up we had drifts over FOUR feet!  We couldn’t get our front door open and had to go out on the back deck and DIG our way around to the front.  Our van was covered with only about two inches of the antenna showing.

     So I sit here today with our first COLD air (34 degrees) of the season and I wonder what is this winter going to bring?  I guess I’ll have to be like everyone else and just wait and see!  If I could control the weather I’d be in a different line work and making A LOT more money!

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"The snow is beautiful when you can stay at home

and watch it out the window."

What's the Use?

     Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you have tried everything you can think of to make the situation better or solve your problem?  After you have done these things the situation changes but you are no better off than when you started --- maybe even worse!  You just want to throw up your hands and say “What’s the Use?”

     But that’s the funny thing about our human nature.  It seems when we are at our lowest this is when we begin to function at our best.  There’s something about NOT being able to solve a problem that makes us apply ourselves even greater in our efforts to gain a solution.  It seems that for a small percentage of the human population who develop the ability to refuse to accept failure there is a concerted effort to continue their progress on the path of gaining success.

     We can see this human persistence in the many decades of medical, mechanical, electronic, and space research that has been done.  In any of these areas when difficulties have arisen applications have been put into operation so that advancement could continue to move forward.  Sometimes this advancement seems to have been extremely quickly.  At other times the advancement was more slowly, but the advancement was continued never the less.  If we think back into history we can also realize that many, if not most, of the greatest inventions and discoveries came by the efforts of more than one individual.  Within their time of existence and with all the available knowledge and technology during their life span some individuals went as far as they could go with their experiments or inventions, but they could go no further.  Then, after years passed, other individuals picked up their work and continued to advance in their progress.  Or there are those circumstances where one invention is taken by an individual and given a new application to solve a new problem.  This happens more often than a person might imagine.  With these arrangements in place it all falls back to the tenacity of men and women who had the courage and the fortitude to refuse to accept failure as an option.  They continued to move forward to make the advancement of human kind the objective of all their efforts.

     But aside from great achievements throughout the centuries of human existence the human nature factor of mankind applies just as well in the smaller aspects of human life.  Consider the following fictional scenario as an example (although it could happen).  You and a friend have decided to take a hike through the mountainous country region close to your home.  After arriving in the area you set up your camp site and decide to take a brisk evening walk through the woods before night fall.  Before you realize it you are lost!  To add to the critical situation, your friend missteps on the side of the cliff, falling about thirty feet into a ravine and breaking his leg in three places. As you continue to reach your friend and provide him with medical assistance you realize that nightfall is quickly setting in and the temperature begins to drop drastically.  So, now you find yourself lost, with no contact with the “outside” world.  It is becoming darker and darker.  You estimate that your friends’ injuries are more serious than you thought and he is having difficulty staying conscious.  At this point you decide you have a choice to make:  You can throw up your hands and concede there is no happy ending to your situation and say “What’s the Use?”  Or you can access the possibilities and decide you are not going to accept failure as an option and fight your way to survival.

     We must NEVER forget that in EVERY situation we always have a choice.  We can give up or we can choose to move forward to a solution.  Maybe when we feel we are not getting the answers we need to our questions we need to re-evaluate:  Maybe we are asking the WRONG questions!  I’ve always loved the team motto from “Galaxy Quest” (great movie!  Look it up!):  “Never give up!  Never surrender!”

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEMS

"When life hits you hard - - - 

HIT BACK!"

Empathy

     According to the dictionary empathy is “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.”  I think if we were able to do this more fully we would all be better people.  However there are many times that we don’t consider what the other person is going through.  It’s probably because we can’t really put ourselves into another person’s shoes.  We try to justify our own actions and thoughts instead of considering everything that another person may be dealing with in their life.


     Let’s be honest:  It’s not easy to show empathy to other people.  We haven’t had to “LIVE” their life.  We don’t know all the “little” things that they may be trying to deal with.  We may “SEE” a young, healthy looking person, but can’t imagine the mental problems they are fighting against within their mind.  You may see a charming grandmother who is constantly smiling and helping all those around her deal with THEIR problems.  But if we only knew that she is shunned by her children who no longer want anything to do with her.  And her husband is slowly losing his mental faculties.  He can’t remember her name or any of the events they shared in their lives together.  Inside she is barely able to continue to function on a daily basis.


     We see these people every day.  We walk past them wherever we go.  Most people don’t show all their despair on their shoulders, as the expression goes.  So, perhaps we walk by or we see them while out shopping and we speak to them but they don’t reply.  Don’t make a BIG deal out of it, but assume there must be SOME reason that we are not aware of to make them unresponsive.  Or perhaps when we try to comment and they respond in a harsh and truly mean fashion:  again do we really understand WHAT they are going through.  Could we show them more compassion and empathy?  Maybe we could at least pause and be willing to overlook their response or even their lack of any response.


     Consider some we may want to show more empathy to:  the homeless, older people, our schoolmates or workmates, or perhaps our marriage mate or another family member.  Remember that “crazy uncle” that is in every family?  Maybe he’s just the misunderstood family member that perhaps others haven’t taken the time to really understand.  Maybe he’s not as “crazy” as everyone thinks he is!


     Of course one major reason that we would want to be empathetic to others is that we want THEM to be empathetic toward US!  Let’s be honest!  There’s not one of us that doesn’t have OUR moments.  We have MANY things in our lives that push us to our limit and sometimes beyond!  We need the support of others.  We need their love and their understanding.  So, we need to treat them (ALL of them) the way we want to be treated ourselves.  Never forget that we are all in this game of life together.  Let’s help each other as much as we can.

QUOTE TO CONSIDER

THOUGHTFUL GEM

"Don't judge people before you know them.

And when you KNOW them --- don't judge them!"