I am right. You are not. You can quote me on that.

Where to go from here? On to facebook? Yeah, but we really can't write our gripes and observations about life on facebook. That's more of "Here's a picture of my cute kid" sites....or, here's a picture of my left eyeball.
Me...? I like to gripe. I like too tell it like I see it. I like to pun and have fun with words and throw rotten apples when I need to. That ain't gonna happen on facebook.

Hmmm....I like to muse and contemplate.....and pitch a hissy fit every once in awhile. When I do, I want to be anonymous. I want people to say "Who the hell was that?".

I'll miss the Stream........

I was writing a long post in which I was lamenting on the media and the way our attentions are diverted from the really important stories and all of a sudden........everything I wrote disappeared except for the word "and" ........it was left at the top of the page all by itself.

I will write it again. This time I will comment on what the devil's been doing for the past 2000+ years. Surely You don't think he's been idle do you? I see his handiwork everywhere. Sadly, a lot of his work is applauded and lauded as "Fair" or "Civilized". He is quite adept at
"tweaking" the WORD so that the meaning is not exactly the same as it was.

Yes, we are responsible for our words.....Jesus said "every idle" word....I have a large amount of words floating around and right many of them I guess are "idle". Many of them are lifted in praise and many against the evil I see that is setting the standards for most of the world. I don't mind being held accountable for these words.

Unfortunately, there are some very clever people in powerful positions that have associates that specialize in "working the word". They know how to turn a phrase or start a rally. That's their job. That's what they do. "Word Turners" create causes.

We're sheep, and we do what they want us to, all the while thinking it's our own idea. When someone disagrees with one of them, they are labeled a troublemaker and shunned by most of the other sheep. No body wants trouble, not even the one disagreeing. We all, basically want to get along, but we never will.

It's just not how the devil wants it to work. He likes discord. He especially likes it when he can divert our attention to things NOT important while he arranges things behind the scenes. Instead of
discussing mental illness and the madman that killed all the people in AZ, we are arguing/discussing/accusing others based merely on words they may have used. Yes, words can hurt. They can incite. BUT....alone, they can do nothing. In the end, it's the madness of the youth that is to blame.

It's quite easy to have your attention diverted. If I'm talking to you and suddenly stop, point and say "Oh, Look! A red bird!"....you will turn and look in the direction I am pointing. While you are doing so, I could pick your pocket, lift your wallet or pat my ass and you would not be the wiser. I can always say "Oh, he flew away".

Do you honestly think that MILLIONS of people really cared about Anna Nicole? (Sorry for using her as an example, since I think she had some mental problems too).BUT, that how the news works. It's controlled news and we are led to the conclusion they want us to have.

Money. Power. Greed. That's what runs this country and every other country. Not sure that we can do a whole lot to change any of it, but we can pray. We can help where we see a need. And we can occasionally sneak a peak behind the scenes.

I read the book. I know how it ends.

Most of this was posted several years ago, but added to and taken from.
The time frame was 50's or so, and everyone that was around knows that parents were different then than they are now. I'm attempting to shine a light on a forgotten era and how my Dad saw his role as Father.

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Dad always paid his bills. There was never a bill collector at
the door, and he ALWAYS had an excellent credit rating. We never went hungry and found odd jobs as soon as we were old enough. He was proud of us for working and taught us to save a little, give Mom a little, and of course buy what we needed at school. We didn't mind. We were proud to be doing our part and enjoyed bringing home some exra candies to share with the younger children. We weren't the Waltons, but we came close.

He was a math WIZ, and could add up numbers as fast as you could call them out. He "understood" math deep down, and that is the key
to learning just about anything. This wonderful trait was not passed
on to any of us...at least not that I am aware of. Algebra was a struggle for me....never UNDERSTOOD it, just memorized a bunch of formulas. Have never had to figure out anything pertaining to a silo, but, I digress......

He was an excellent employee and a team player. He worked long hard hours and slowly moved up the ladder. I have a picture of him with Ted Turner, and Ted's father. My dad liked Ted's dad, but he didn't like the then "young" Ted Turner, and quit when Ted's dad died and
the "young nut" took over the company.

Dad was good at graphic design with simplicity being a key element.
His bell design is the same one being used by the telephone company.

He loved his parents and wanted to impress them with his achievements. In trying to do so, he came across as a braggart to a lot of his family, but there was NOTHING he wouldn't have done for any of his family. He loved them dearly.

Dad was a Mason, a Shriner, and a Kentucky Colonel.

At home he kept a wall up, and none of us ever broke thru. I think
he felt that showing emotions was a sign of weakness. I know his father was NOT a hugger nor much of a talker, so perhaps we learn good and bad from our parents. Makes me wonder what I have passed on. Hopefully they will "keep what is worth keeping and with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away".

I know he loved us and was proud of us. I don't think he told us to our faces, but I remember hearing him tell other people about "his" kids.

I never understood him, and in all fairness, never gave it a lot of thought. He simply "was what he was". He ruled the household, and
the mere thought that you had done something that he was going to find out about was enough to make your heart pound. He seemed larger than life, and could "scowl" with the best of them....He was also
pretty darn good at removing his belt while he questioned you...
"Why did you do that?" he would ask......the pat answer would be
"I don't know daddy"...truthfully, I probably didn't know why I did something, but whatever it was, I was smart enough to promise "I won't do it again daddy!".
After a few licks with the belt, aand a little crying, he would tell me to "shut up, or I'll give you something to cry about". He was a
hard task master.

Manners were extemely important to him, and we all "yes sir'd and yes mam'd" every adult we came in contact with. Now that I'm older, I appreciate it when I run across polite children, but I also look
in their eyes for that look I know so well. Children that grow up
with a hard task master have a certain look. Its like we recognize the pain.

All in all, he was a good provider, and believed children should be seen and not heard. He expected good grades...he expected and demanded respect....he expected complete obedience.....and he pretty much got everything he expected.

Things have changed, and parenting has done about 180 degrees. (This does NOT mean all of the changes were good. Some are TERRIBLE and will come back and bite you in the butt). I think it's silly to let children stay up late, stay in the house "googling", and let them think that EVERYONE wins in a race. It's the SWIFTEST runner that wins and the sooner they learn that the better. ( Once again I digress. Grannies do that.)

Back to Dad......
I don't think any of us children can say we really knew him, and he
never really knew any of us. One thing all of us KNEW....better not forget Dad on his birthday! He would have expected to have heard from all of us. Most men "pretend" that their
birthday is no big deal. Not so with Dad. He loved anything that made him the center of attention! Father's Day was extra special too.

So this is for you Dad...Happy Belated Birthday....wish we had known each other better, and Happy Father's Day too.

I never really liked the terminology "Old Farts" but this makes me feel better about it.

Old "Farts" are easy to spot at sporting events; during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner (or O Canada ), Old Farts remove their caps and stand at attention and sing without embarrassment.

They know the words and believe in them.

Old Farts remember World War II, Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal , Normandy and Hitler.

They remember the Atomic Age, the Korean War, The Cold War, the Jet Age and the Moon Landing.

They remember the 50 plus Peacekeeping Missions from 1945 to 2005, not to mention Vietnam .

If you bump into an Old Fart on the sidewalk he will apologize.

If you pass an Old Fart on the street, he will nod or tip his cap to a lady.

Old Farts trust strangers and are courtly to women.

Old Farts hold the door for the next person and always, when walking, make certain the lady is on the inside for protection.

Old Farts get embarrassed if someone curses in front of women and children, and they don't like any filth or dirty language on TV or in movies.

Old Farts have moral courage and personal integrity.

They seldom brag unless it's about their children or grandchildren.

It's the Old Farts who know our great country is protected, not by politician's, but by the young men and women in the military serving their country.

This country needs Old Farts with their work ethic, sense of responsibility, pride in their country and decent values.

We need them now more than ever.



Thank God for Old Farts!

1) Flowers...any kind, any time. My best memories of flowers were the buttercups clenched in the little "grimey" hands of my children,
and the memory of my grandmother as she busied herself in her garden.
I asked her "why she had flowers planted in with her vegetables", and
she stopped, looked at me, and said "You should always plant something for your belly and something for your heart. That way, both will be full".

I remember my first corsage and the nervous hands that pinned it to the chiffon gown. I think I kept that for 20 years or more. Crazy.
My 16th birthday party, my father gave me 16 long stem roses and I was a little embarrassed in front of my friends, but years later it became a treasured memory. Youth is so silly.

2) Fudge....not the kind you can buy in stores, but the kind you make following the Hershey's Cocoa recipe. Momma stirred the pot
until the drop in water was a soft ball. She always let us 'lick' the pot, and I usually got a big spoon and scraped the pot clean.
HOMEMADE FUDGE........anything else is a poor subsitute.

3) Felines....domesticated, soft and purring cats...like my Siamese!
I had an orange tabby that ate Cheerios at the table every morning
and played in paper bags all day. Her favorite toy was a clear plastic shoe box that she would crawl in and push all over the house. (We called it her car). Pets entertain and comfort us and that's a blessing.

4) Formals....first ones....like your first prom dress. Gads...every girl feels like a movie star, and all of us old women still have pictures that were taken when we were "starry-eyed princesses". Later there the bridal gowns and bride's maid dresses and though we are special in those gowns, the memory of that first one stays with you always.

5) First things...like first steps, first words, first grade....
something about every "first" step we take that opens up our world
a little more. I especially like being FIRST BORN... The way I see it, first born is the one that has to do all the struggling. They have to be the one to "set an example",
and the first one to DO everything. The younger ones learn from example, good or bad.

6) FREEDOM
First of all, it's NOT FREE. Sometimes you don't know what you've got till it's gone. I pray that never happens, but there are days when I can almost see it at the horizon. We have become fat and lazy. We live beyond our means and cannot wait and save up for something. Oh we pride our smug selves and our "polite political correctness" and complain constantly. There are few conversations, but a whole lot of talking going on. We are an insufferable group
and the pendulam only swings so far. I expect that dues will need to be paid. When that time comes, it will most certainly thin out the herd.