seriouslyscorpio

thoughts of the moment and of my life

Author Archives: seriouslyscorpio


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FERGUSON, MO. AND OTHERS….. (TOWNS & PEOPLE)


Ferguson is just one of the towns in this United States that needs to feel better about itself.
Towns grow and stop and some even fail. Years change the people, the jobs, the drive, I’m sorry to say. They breathe with history but become sickly when families, factories, schools, volunteer groups, health care, and dreams wane.

However, that seems to be the least of problems for some towns….because when anger, miss-trust, and the ‘you owe me because I can’t have what others have’ belief becomes an everyday occurrence, it is a sentence of eternal strife…never growing, never going away, just stagnant.

The life of any village is its people, and their striving to achieve. They are proud, they are caring, they are determined, and they respect their history. How many towns do you drive through that are 500, 1000, 4000, 9000 people….and have been for 150 years!!! They did not come to this moment without working, believing, creating, bonding, and achieving in a united way.

Attend city council meetings all over and you will see people….working, planning, and looking forward to successfully helping each of residents. Of course you will hear different opinions of how to complete these goals….but, in the end, (most of the time) all will benefit.

Go look in the mirror……it starts with you, then you and someone else, and someone else and so on.
It starts with realizing basics….abiding by the law, respecting family and neighbors, realizing that you must do your part, that your parents, family, town, and state, no longer want carry you!

Did those people burning Ferguson care about Ferguson? Don’t think so…..How many had finished high school….and if unable, how many had gone to vocational training, or joined the service of the USA. How many had seen to it that their folks were okay that day, that there was food on the table for their kids. How many had sought jobs, any job. How many had seen to it that their birth control was taken care of, or that of their sons and daughters that chose to be ‘free’ with sex.

When looking for work, how many sought assistance in knowing how to look, how to speak, how to respect the job offered, regardless of how menial. And how many took the job, because it was a start, to a better place in life, regardless of how difficult the climb.

If you did, I and many others salute you….If you did not….begin today to better your life….In doing so you will better your family, your reputation, and your self-esteem. Will it be easy? Hell, I say Hell no! Will you enter into a new phase and be proud to look in the mirror. Hell, I say Hell YES!!

It is time….right now…Do not disrespect what others have died for…..you have this wonderful opportunity to carry on the living history of your life and your surroundings.


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FERGUSON AND ME…..IN THE 50’S AND 60’S


If I lived in Ferguson, Mo…..was any age, including over 18 and lived at home or close by, there would have not been a chance in hell I would have been allowed to participate in that brawl. I don’t care if they were 100% right, I would have been at home! My parents would have announced to anyone under their roof that they were to stay at home, stay out of the mess, ‘downtown’ and if they didn’t,mmmmm…mm…mmmmm, if ya know what I mean. Let it be known that my parents never beat me….and were never abusive. However, there were times when the fly swatter was not used for flies.

I was taught that being in a mob….defacing anything, (and that included soaping windows at Halloween), yelling at people, using bad words, and in general, embarrassing the family, was totally out of the question.

I was never told, but ‘asked’ when I would be home when I went out….I said a certain time and I was home by then. If something occurred (legally), I called….they respected me and I them. Didn’t have to, but I did.

Don’t tell me my parents didn’t have control….regardless of my age. At first it was the law, then control, and then it became respect. Respect for my family, my neighborhood, and my town. My friends and I say, of course there was a certain amount of fear….there has to be. Fear came in to play when I was little and continued til it became respect and the ‘right thing to do’. That doesn’t mean fear of pain…it means fear of being a fool, and making your family look foolish.

If I would have done the least of what those kids did….I would have been down there first apologizing, then with my broom picking up the mess, then with my money replacing all that was damaged, then with my body working there to pay anything else off, and then, under my mother’s guidance, putting an article in the paper saying how sorry I was to have hurt the people and businesses in the town I lived in.

Parents of those in Ferguson, Oakland, or anywhere else destroying becomes the way to ‘fix’ unrest….get out the broom. If you don’t want a 100% white police force, work in your city to get a majority black police force. If you think there is no work…finish school and be marketable. Showing yourself like last night will certainly not get you hired where a good reputation counts. Wear clothes that make you ‘classy’ instead of ‘assy’. No one should be without wonderful clothes….there are racks full in great thrift shops. Oh yes we do….buy stuff there for us and our kids.

Work in your church….for nothing….get out the broom again, keep the grass mowed, help those who have less, have more.

Notice I haven’t said anything about staying out…drink’in, drugs, etc. Give me a break, if you are doing what you should be, you won’t have time.

My mother-in-law said ‘Nothing good ever happens after the sun goes down’……amen


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Jonathan Gruber….what do we do with him?


Jonathan Gruber…..what do we do with him….what do we do with his statements? Sorry to say, we listen and listen closely. Correct what should be corrected….pay attention to how the system has worked in the past and see that it changes. People like Mr. Gruber are not new to the scene. However, people who come clean are—-no matter what the venue.

I’m sorry to say it is my opinion that ‘yes’ some people are stupid. Stupid hurts just like breaking the law of morals and ethics hurt.

Mr. Gruber should be asked how all of this came to be….then heads should roll….and new ‘Mr. Grubers’ should come to fix it. When I mean ‘new Mr. Grubers’ I mean those men and women who are smart, able in their profession, with honorable thrown in. His actions should be examined and he should be forthwith when it comes to solutions to those actions. Don’t toss him…..bring him around to the side of what is in the best interest of all US citizens. If he (or anyone else) comes to the conclusion they cannot be part of that solution, it is then time to move them out.

Voters need to pay attention, starting today, of what their vote does. Behind the scenes employees should be culled if they are doing wrong…..Look at VA….it will take years to clean up that mess….unless laws are changed to let superiors release, fire, or layoff those do a bad job….

A lot of officials start out in our local city and county….and some rise higher than their level of responsibility. Just because the name is familiar in your county, state, or government does not mean they will work on your behalf. Start to read, listen, notice the small print, watch how they voted and what intelligent, stupid, or responsible statements they make in front of the camera, to get the next vote.

Sorry voters, it is our stupid, uneducated, or just plain lazy way of watching over our democracy.
Begin today to be accountable….and to hold those you vote for, accountable.


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EBOLA…….ARE WE STILL IN THE DARK AGES?


There was an age, it seemed, when discovery was slowing…Reptiles had lost control of the earth, weather had calmed, and man had begun to focus on being, instead of surviving. Sure, there were still wars and strife, those being in control wanting to keep it, and those ‘outed’, wanting it back.

Most of the ordinary had come to terms with enjoying childhood and adulthood. It was a good time because people were finally getting a grasp, however, small on what our existence could really be like. We could have it good…..and for those who had never reached that height, it was marvelous. Good was wonderful. Dark times were a thing of the past.

Parents watched over their siblings….Adults watched over their neighborhoods….governments watched over their countries. Discovery was taking an upward and exciting turn, as science looked to conquering the deadliest and even the most ugly of chronic diseases. Sure, it cost money….discovery and safety always do. Companies grew, ideas were born, and it was still good, or better than ever before.

Travel left two feet and rose to thirty-thousand. Fast super-trains whooshed across country and countryside as the world grew smaller and more responsive to faraway lands only seen in books a few decades ago. Commerce grew among countries almost as fast as between local cities.
Oil was sought after, diamonds were a premium, and the stock markets rose and fell in milliseconds.

Still, no one realized the importance of the worrisome word they left behind in their daily chatter…..surviving. Business continued its reign in the world market as did the pleasure of cruising ships and luxurious air travel. What once was a ‘memorable moment’ became an everyday and very boring occurrence as we entertained ourselves across the seas, never wondering or even realizing who had sat or slept in our spot only a few hours ago.

Sure there were ‘clues’, but c’mon, we had made it, the dark ravages of centuries before us were far in the past. Products made us comfortable. Aids was now chronic and not deadly. And drugs, there was something for everyone and everything…almost.

And then, oh so quietly, ebola woke up, in the middle of lonely outposts of wavering civilizations….Only the bravest, the most devoted visited there, in those tiny villages of raw sewage and painful living. And so it grew, one by one, until some one noticed. It was so far away we thought, them—us. Someone will get a handle on this and we’ll all be fine. But it seems no one has….what is 250 or 2500 with a 50% death rate. The other diseases always faded away.

But now it is here….among us, the ordinary, not the survivors. And we are worried. Who did I shake hands with, who sneezed on me, who sat in my seat with a sweaty and perhaps feverish body… Who?

And here is the hard part….still no one worries……Companies need a better bottom line; parents need to visit kids in Europe or Africa or the US, product needs to be shipped so bills can be paid. Commerce has to go on, period.

How dark will this age be…..will drugs control disease, will planes stop traffic from affected areas so containment can be established; will people concede travel plans should be denied. Will pleasure cruises refuse passengers who have been in or near affected areas for at least 6 months? Will countries close their borders to stop death? And if so……when

Sur3e there


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HERNIA ALERT IN SO. FLORIDA!!!!!


Can’t stand it, have to open my mouth once again…..WINK news in So. Florida has an article wherein some of the garbage men are complaining and actually getting hurt by picking up too heavy of a garbage can….they show 3 cans….the middle one is the one from Waste Management…IT IS MADE TO BE PICKED UP BY A TRUCK!!!! NOT A GUY!!!

I have Waste Management in my town…..3 cans, different colors, garbage, green, recycle….all picked up on the same day, maybe even by the same truck!!! Dang!! Novel idea…. C’mon S. Fla….get with the program. There are plenty of palm trees and bush cuttings that will keep the garbage men picking up stuff that can’t be put in the can…..

I could go on, but I won’t……


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NFL……can’t govern jack….and for sure, doesn’t worry about jill!


just can’t pass this one up……how sad it is that an organization of the NFL’s so-called caliber cannot count on it’s own morals and ethics enough to respect women…and to prove (not improve) its position.. has to employ/acknowledge the very center of conflict….in order to “relieve” its own stupidity to the public…….CHOSEN LADIES…..go to women’s shelters every day before negotiating….Remember the eyes of the children who live in fear….and the ‘lost’ future of the women who seek asylum there…


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LIV’IN IN THE HOOD….OUR CUL-DE-SAC


Most of us just bump along in this life. I’m not saying life is boring…it’s just that we get caught up in the ordinary….I’m as guilty as the next person in that regard. I am doing my best to snap out of it cause there should be no such word as ordinary in this or any other language. Maybe the best word for me is ‘comfortable’, as in happy to be where we are.

Our neighborhood is a wonderful example of ‘comfortable’. I guess it is an old neighborhood, like 25+ years. I remember the day my hubby and I found we could buy this home. It had been $30,000 more than we could afford and we would look at it longingly when we came to visit our friends one street over. One Sunday afternoon our friends called….it seemed the developer wanted to add another section and couldn’t make it happen with the bank, unless he sold the ones he had…..our neighborhood, our house, was now affordable, dropping $30,000 that sunny afternoon and we drove out to buy it.

We watched it being built, still in disbelief, and on a special week in August, we joined total strangers to create a close knit community, called our cul-de-sac.

Families with kiddies of all ages began to unpack and make a house their home. Some came from 100 miles, some just newly retired from 1000 miles, and everything in between. Ages were just as varied.

You know when neighborhoods are first created, it is all by chance. Ours was surely that way and it was magical. The blend was perfect. We all began to ‘spruce up’…..front yards were planted but not the back. No back steps, no patios, no trees, no bushes, just lots of dirt and trust me, loads of weeds. Whoever found a knowledgeable ‘micro climate’ advisor, a mulch company, and especially a concrete guy, became the ‘go to’ person of the hour. We learned quickly this area did not lend itself to the plants we brought from the cooler areas on the California coast. But what we did learn was that our beloved ‘coast’ plants brought snails…and snails and more snails. Dang….and we did it our selves. I must say, however, after 25 years, the snails have gone elsewhere….the climate just being too dry for them to enjoy themselves. (thank goodness)

So these years have flown by….little kids became high school grads, then out of college and on their own. Parents became grandparents and aunts and uncles, but still the cul-de-sac remained ‘comfortable’….Cookouts were common when second or third families moved in. July 4th brought families of families and Halloween brought hot cider for adults and pets dressed up as Godzilla…. And it continued to be ‘comfortable’.

Now, all of a sudden, it is more than 25 years later, and 1/2 of us are still original owners. The ‘newbies’ have either conformed to our ways, or we have to theirs. It is still warm to come home….to see friends/to wave goodbye as they go off on vacation, or when they come back from church. We smile as we remember teens being teens, running out of refrigerator room during the holidays, or even using another’s oven when it became crunch time.

We have had our sad times when those in our circle have moved on, and today my heart is teary as a great family has decided the same. It is and will be good for them. Change is good, even when it makes us stretch our ‘comfortable’ life. It will be a new chapter for the cul-de-sac family as well. They will take their laughter, their Christ led family, their extended family, and our love with them, and all will be well…..in their new neighborhood, where life will, once again, be ‘comfortable’. Miss’in you already…..


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ME AND THE TOUCH, ETC– ETC– ETC.


I do not have an I-phone, Android, etc., etc. I have the old flip-phone, AND IT’S NOT BECAUSE I’M OLD!!! (well, maybe a little bit) However, the problem of touch is the real culprit. You see, when others show me their kids at school, their friends in the bar, the latest cake, etc., on their phone and I am instructed to just move the pictures with my finger….nothing happens! I repeat, nothing happens. They repeat the request, over and over again, then it becomes a task, ‘press gentle, press and slide, push lightly and slide’ and on and on. Then they just TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME like I’m a little kid, and do it themselves!

I don’t consider myself THAT weird, at least I didn’t until I found that none of my friends, or relatives suffer from the same malady. They can take their wonderful phones and go anywhere in the world with just a gentle shove, push, touch,… whatever. I am grounded to my flip phone, which serves me well, except when I have to constantly remember what series of the alphabet is on what number when I text. I type over 100 words a minute, on a computer….not my phone. Now I do know and admit that when I wear some watches, they stop! My mom had the same condition, or talent. I cannot curl my tongue, I cannot wiggle my ears, and I cannot trill. I guess this will follow me all the days of my life…..and I will dwell in the darkness of ‘flip’ land forever.

I am damn good at writing backwards and upside down, however!


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MY FLAG LOOKS WEARY……


Didn’t remember to purchase a new flag for the 4th, so the one we had is on display. It joined all the others proudly flying in our cul-de-sac.

I began to think what it has meant to live in such a neighborhood….for all these years. Most of us have been neighbors since we all moved in…1986, in the same week. We came from varied walks of life and different parts of the US. We were moving from the ‘city’ (Orange County, Ca.) to the burbs…or the ‘country’ as our kids called it. Some moved to begin retirement, a new doctor to begin his practice, a newly retired Marine moved is family here from Hawaii, and on and on.

The kids ages were new to 15. Schools were bulging with new students and churches were meeting in condo meeting rooms, day care centers, and offices. The town had one stop-light and the nearest Home Depot and Mall was 30 miles away.

But there was promise…..new beginnings. It was exciting and scary at the same time….New homes, new town, new work, new bills, and yet we all were gloriously happy to be here (except for the teens who longed for South Coast Plaza).

Now we are ready to celebrate another July 4, 2014….in this cul-de-sac. A few have moved, many have grown and married, and the youngest is now in college. We have survived…the move, the job change, the lay-offs, and a couple of recessions. Our little area is a lot like the world…..New people, backgrounds, varying beliefs, shapes, sizes and ages….and we became united. None of these differences or backgrounds mattered…. we became a family because of it. We had our differences, with our priorities, and in our politics, but it didn’t matter, we were united.

This morning, when I looked at our flag. it looked a little weary… I know it is because it has not been retired from service, and that is my fault. However, as I felt the guilt of its appearance, I wondered if the whole country is not just a little weary as it begins to celebrate this most important of holidays. The wind of anger and war has made my flag a little frayed. Her citizens are working so hard to end distress within the her boundary and do so in the best possible way, by referring to her laws. Yes, we are sometimes very fatigued as we test drive the roads of freedom. Some of our citizens are irked at the happenings in Congress, while some think the roads to a better society are better for all. And yes, from time to time, our flag looks tired.

But not to fear, for even one second, because it has been weary, even shredded and burned before…..it will survive. Our flag flies at this moment to represent freedom, democracy, good laws to provide for all, and the opportunity to believe without fear. It stands as an open door to all who come in fairly, with an understanding that we are the UNITED States of America, and not about to change.

I’ll bet that some of you are weary….as is my flag….but no worry. We are, as my cul-de-sac is, united, united to care for one another, to stand for what is right, to live as good neighbors, and devoted to protect our country. Happy 4th


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IT’S OKAY…IN THE GARDEN


It is okay in the garden….my friend went to walk with Jesus a few days ago…as a soul experiencing the glorious moment of being and feeling ‘home’. My loss is that he will not be sitting at a dinner table with our group, discussing ‘affairs’ of the world…and trying to solve them all in the time of one meal. But I am no fool…..I would surely bet he IS sitting at our table, whenever he chooses to, laughing, tasting the wine, and giving opinions, as only a soul can do.

It is an honor to know you, Roger, now and forever….see you later, my friend.