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.
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…
I wrote a little on this subject a few months ago…..I thought I’d bring you more of the same. To me, in the Fall/Winter part of my life, it seems just a little more pertinent than during the Spring period…..that being what I do with the remaining moments I may or may not have. I have trotted along, just like you, sometimes completely oblivious to the important and loving actions of others. I was either too cool, or too bored, or too stupid, or a little of each to really tally up the comings and goings of my own time here.
What I’ve found is we are pretty much looking for the same thing. How we get there and who with, who we step on, who we love on, who we cut out, who we lean on, and how we learn what we learn is the part that varies.
So today, I’ll give you some sentences of those who left for ‘their Heavenly Father’s house’ as is stated so many times in the paper.
They are not just words, my friends, they represent a description of life….just like yours and mine. How simple they may sound, a housewife, a husband, father, grandfather. Perhaps a volunteer at church, a gardener, a gourmet cook, and a golfer.
“Danny was a very kind, loving, generous man, who was always there to help anyone. He loved golfing and fishing and restoring his 1931 Ford Coupe.”
“Alex passed at age 90. He was born on Dec 6, 1922 on the high seas as he and his family were immigrating from Germany to the US.
He was in WWII, deploying to Europe and flying 33 missions in the B24 Liberator. He has 17 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great grandson.”
“Rollyn was a Vietnam War Vet. After his discharge he traveled the country living in Wa, Ca., Id.,Montana and Arkansas. He loved working with his hands as a restaurant cook and a carpenter. He was a drummer for Willie Nelson and the late Johnny Cash.”
“Betty passed away after a battle with Parkinson’s. She lived in Omaha, Ne. and got married on Easter Sunday, 1949.She was in Eastern Star. She was an organist. She retired from the Retail Clerk’s Union. She is survived by her husband…of 64 years”
“Robert was born in Uhrichsville, Ohio. He served for 20 years in the Air Force and then worked as a television Tech for about 35 years. He loved skating and that is how he met his wife Donna.
He was a great mechanic and could fix anything and loved to volunteer his time at a thrift store. He leaves 4 children, 4 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.”
“Harold was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He took great pride in his family and cared deeply for them. He was in the Air Force during the Koren War. Harold held steadfast to is Christian faith and was a founding member of Cross and Crown Lutheran Church, Rancho Cucamonga, Ca. He retired from General Telephone Co. after 31 years in engineering management. He and his wife started a ceramics company in San Jacinto, Ca. He loved music, wood working, painting, public service and keeping up with his grandchildren. In memory of Harold, his family asks that you donate your glasses to your nearest Lions Club.”
These are your friends, your parents friends, your neighbors, and for me, some are my idols. It’s time to live, love, laugh, and be happy my friends….for you, and yours. That is what God intended……for us to just be good to one another, to love our friends, our family and our country, to the best of our ability.
MMMMMmmmm what will my obit say….will I be proud to be listed amongst these….. who passed just a day ago, and in the big picture, just a few moments before me…….
I’ve been on a jury at least 4 times in my life….starting in Indianapolis, Ind when I was in my mid twenties….I’ll never forget what it was like and how I felt. A guy was on trial for burglary and attempted murder of a store owner. The owner had survived and was healing in the local hospital. The defendant had a long list of people who came forth to say he was nowhere near the scene….they included friends and family and former girlfriends and current girlfriends, etc. All of these people made statements under oath that were full of holes and none could keep their stories straight to even coincide with others. Still they needed to be heard. The defendant was found upstairs hiding in a closet, above the store, with the gun. The injured storekeeper was to testify, but suddenly the case finished and he was not there. A jury only can use the information it is given…..and so the judgement was guilty considering all the other information provided sans the poor man who was shot. (later, after we were excused, we found that the storekeeper had taken a turn for the worse, and was not allowed to come to court)….However, we did our job, and based upon what we heard and discussed he was found guilty. He did yell and scream and threaten us, but he was hauled off to prison anyhow.
I tell you this story, not because it was totally exciting or because everyone got a star, but because we were asked to be part of a jury in a democratic society that says you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. We all know that it doesn’t work perfectly….but being a juror does make it work compared to courts in other countries. Think of the girl who disappeared in the islands….think of the two going to court for murder in Italy…. then think of our jury system. Yes, it is tedious. Yes it takes away a few days from our wonderful jobs. Yes, we’d sometimes rather be doing something else, BUT THAT IS ALL BESIDE THE POINT!!
A juror is part of freedom…..a juror is an honorable way of being free. A juror is part of a fair and unbiased search for the right for people who have been wronged….on either side of the table in front of the judge. I am appalled at the excuses and statements I hear from those who receive the call for jury duty. (We’ll talk excuses later) Why do people creep away and hide with all kinds of excuses, when they look in the mirror every day and acclaim what fine upstanding citizens they are. They are the first to discuss right and wrong, politically miss-managed funds and departments, the lack of morals or being honorable in daily business people they deal with, and the way the ‘world is going’ because of unscrupulous people. BUT….when the call comes……they almost become the people they are asked to be a jury for. They are too old, they can’t get the bus, they work nights, they have a cold, they dislike anyone of color, they have a family member who influences them, and on and on. What a pity…….
And the courts have to listen to this every day….the courts, the servants whose job it is to give anyone a fair trial….continually have to endure these types every day. When did ‘responsible’ become such a dirty word? When did ‘slinking’ out the door after lying to the judge become such an honorable thing to do? I am appalled and amazed at the statements I have heard when some says they received a call for jury.
The courts have always treated us graciously….In California it is one day or one trial. You don’t even have to go to the court house unless your group number is called, and you can stay at home and check, every morning and evening. There are nice rooms to wait in, there are TVs and books and games, and food. You are given at least an hour and maybe two for lunch and have breaks. One is treated with great respect as a possible juror, not to mention in the court room. The judge is gracious, he/she explains fully the trial time and dates and length. Valid excuses are readily accepted and there is always a ‘thank you’.
When in court, you are the ‘chosen’…you are there to listen, to reason, to understand, to take notes, to ask questions of the judge, and to deliberate as a unit of fairness. There is no one more ‘looked up to’ than you, the jury.And still prospective jurors scoff .
Now we’ll discuss excuses……real ones……and some we have no control over….1. My job gives me a rough time…..what a shame, but true. Employers need to be fined for messing with their employees when it comes to jury duty. Pay is full, for as long as it takes, period.
2. The state doesn’t pay enough for me to leave work…..true…and that needs to be addressed….maybe by combining work and state payments.
3. No one else can do the job but me……I wish, but it ain’t true. I once sat by a fellow juror who mathematically helped plans fly full of baggage, people, and fuel, each and every flight. Someone did his job, when he was gone…(and I thought that was dang important)
4. I have a problem with people of color……GET OVER IT! and learn that right is right and wrong is wrong regardless of color. You might learn a lot from our fellow jurors on that!
Now school finals, and working each and every night can be valid, but don’t plan your vacation during your jury duty…..just to get out of it. AND, if you do have valid reasons, they court will be more than happy to give you another date that works for you!
So, in closing this soapbox one-sided discussion, I repeat, with all honesty. I have never felt more proud than to serve as a juror….to give the guy who is in the right, a reward for being right, and to serve a dose of “guilty’ to the person who wronged him. Maybe it doesn’t make everything perfect again, but it is the way Americans try to do what is right, each and every day, in court rooms all over this land.
Today, at a hospital in southern Nevada, a loving mother became my hero. I don’t know her… I respect her, admire her, and will remember her.
Who knows her background, her family situation, her lifestyle, her health… Who did she go to, to talk about the different avenues she could take, now that she was pregnant. Was it a friend, a parent, a girlfriend, a grandparent….who knows. Whoever it was, I salute you in your patience and your frank talks.
I adopted a little boy in 1970. The pregnant lady was engaged and she and her fiancée were ready to graduate from college. They came to the decision to give the baby up for adoption, and my husband and I became parents, just like that (after 3 years of waiting). A phone call changed our life path, and also changed theirs. He was just a few weeks old when he was given to us.
New parents and grandparents were ecstatic, aunts and uncles and cousins were joyous….because of this loving mother and her loving act.
So today, in a moment, at the hospital in southern Nevada, another birth mother followed thru with a same decision She gave up her 22 day old baby to the hospital. Thus begins a new life for a courageous lady, a new baby in wonderful care, and new unknown parents who don’t have a clue…
This law applies almost everywhere……a no questions asked situation where babies can be left at hospitals and fire departments. It is a life-giving, life altering law that is underused……and that is a shame.
Babies don’t need to die; babies don’t need to be in a situation where the biological mother and/or father cannot or do not want to care for them; babies are babies!
It is okay to not want to be a parent…..it is okay to make hard decisions about what to do. It is okay to give your baby to a hospital or a fire department. It is not wrong or bad…..there is no scarlet letter to carry. We have made arrangements for you to hand over your baby to a loving, caring, and safe environment….by law.
Your reasons for being pregnant are of no concern to us or to your baby. This wonderful law provides you with a new life, a new start, a second chance, a clean slate…….so take this post as an epiphany, an amazing opportunity to start anew.
No birth mother needs to think she is in a position where there is no way she can protect herself and her baby. She is NOT! She can be fine and her baby can be fine…..she needs only to do it.
Tragic circumstances occur daily because of fear, embarrassment, drugs, and not being educated……It is up to all of us to see how we can spread the word to pregnant ladies who feel lost and alone.
So today, I praise you, I salute you, I am so proud of you…….and there are many nurses cuddling a new baby in a hospital, in southern Nevada.
been looking at Greece and Syria, not to mention Africa, Mexico, and Iran. I apoligize for those who do not try to do unto others as they want others to do unto them. If I keep trying with my own neighbor, maybe it will spread to Greece and Syria
In the paper today, there is a quote from Margaret Thatcher…..”One of the great problems of our age is that we’re governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about thoughts and ideas”…..
I will add that it seems we are also veering from our values due to the sensitivity of our friends, kids, jobs, churches, and our own cravings. Hey! There is nothing wrong with saying “no”. There is nothing wrong with saying, “this is not right”. There is nothing wrong with saying “yes, we can get away with it, but no, it’s not right”. There is nothing wrong with saying “YOU ARE WRONG” when your values, morals, and ethics scream inside your brain.
When did we start going down this path? Did our little kiddies pull the wool over our eyes when we were vulnerable? Shame on us…Did our friends manipulate us into believing they would walk if we didn’t go along with the opinions and even their actions?
Now go look in the mirror……..Did you fall for it? If so…..shame on you!
Keep looking in that mirror and make a plan to make a change….starting now, not after you go to the game and yell obscenities, not after finance committee meeting concerning balancing the budget, not after you snicker at the less fortunate, not after you cheat on your taxes, but NOW!
ATTENTION…….morals, values, and ethics have not been modified to fit our lifestyle….I don’t care what the kids say……
BOTTOM LINE…….make the change…..be at the head of the line…..stand tall…
Sorry Herman, you must be getting too close to being a frontrunner. Time to call in the ‘dirt’ squad. Never mind if it is true or false….dirt can cause one to disapapear…..and that’s what the squad wants. more later on today
We love the mail most of the time….except when we receive THE NOTICE…….for jury duty, that is. In fact, I think that rates above all the bills, even notices offering 3 days 2 nights in Cabo, for a time share offer.
It doesn’t happen very often….in fact mine only come once a year. I don’t know if that is good or bad news, or if I am the norm. But I am absolutely amazed at the way people regard jury duty,the lengths they discuss it, and if truth be known, the hours of sleep they lose prior to the date.
To me, it is a priviledge and honor being selected to serve. Hear me out now… cause I’ll get to the negative side soon enough. However, back to the being a potential juror…..First, they don’t just pick anyone, and ‘they’ are the attorneys for the prosecution and defense. Even the judge gets a shot asking the questions to best define your fairness and ability. Each side gets so many ‘you may be excused’ choices,before having to seat the jury.
We all know we are just the greatest so it can be quite a surprise when some total stranger says we will not be making the grade. I mean, after we’ve made it all the way there, having made arrangements for school, work, kids, supper, crafts, vacation, voting, becoming racist, having a relative who is an alcoholic, and another who was abused, and yet another in jail for tax evasion, we still feel the sting of not making the list (on the inside).
But that is not really what it’s all about…..being called for jury duty is being called up to be an American, a devotee of democracy, a follower of freedom, and champion of rights. Men and women have fought and died for the opportunity to serve. A trial by jury, tho not perfect, sure beats what we read about in other countries…..Remember a high school grad disappearing from Aruba…..or another being sent to jail for a murder she did not commit and just now freed……Kind of makes a jury and a country who says innocent until proven guilty……and beyond a reasonable doubt, incidentally, sound pretty damn good.
Potential jurors are treated with respect and held in high esteem, by those who run the courts. They do, I repeat DO understand that your life has been derailed, as far as you are concerned, and they are most sincere in making your stay as painless as possible. All you really have to do is have your badge and show up. There is coffee, music, TV, movies, food machines, games,and plenty of breaks to help you wait. I have served as a juror in 2 states and both have treated us as distinguished guests, excluding having to be checked for drugs, guns, and knives when we came thru the front door.
I have been on 4 juries and, in doing so, have met men and women from all walks of life. They chose to come forward and participate, and therefore represent the American judicial system in its best form. They were rich, poor,and middle; retired, students,and working stiffs; handicapped, without cars, and living long distances…….and yet they came and stood tall.
The days can be long on a jury, and also tedious. It is a position that should only be held by those who are ready and faithful. They must choose to render a truthful verdict based on questions and answers submitted to them. Notice I did NOT say….what they hear on TV, what they assume happened, what Aunt Sally hears at the shop, or generally, just how they feel about it.
Being part of a jury is good…it makes one stand a little taller, even a pinch smarter, and above all, a better person, for having done what was right.( in spite of having that uncle who evaded taxes, in 1898).
The ‘protestors’ showing up in some major cities to complain, have used the word ‘occupy’…They’ve united in the word, but everything after that becomes a little messy in its interpretation.
The people protesting (for or against whatever or whoever) should take a good look at what occupy means……cause most of us think they should be protested upon for occupying. Those areas, sidewalk, parks, front steps, beaches, and street corners are owned by all and subject to fair use by all.
“To have, hold, or take as a separate space,possess, reside in or on, or claim”, part of the word definition occupy, is not what I have in mind as to what to do with my portion of the above. Now, they can use it for a little while, but I take a dim view of them camping on it, peeing on it, and trashing it, among other things.
The thing is, if I’m homeless, or loitering, or selling drugs, or drunk, on a normal, everyday day…….I am going to, sooner or later, get arrested. Even tho part of that open area is mine, I have to be good and ‘share’.
Another declaration of” “occupy’ is to be a resident of, a tenant of, or dwell in”. Now hold on…..I am a part of that description…..even tho I don’t use it 24/7. I don’t even monitor it. I don’t have a ‘list’ of people I allow….I pretty well say you can use it as long as you don’t abuse it! Aha!!!!
I bet there are homeless in Los Angeles that would take better care of my portion of the occupied territory, than some of those ‘occuppying’.
In fact I think the ‘occupiers’ are more in the description of “to take control and possession of, and to make one’s own”…..not nice, I repeat NOT NICE.
I understand your right to protest persons, places or things….(either proper or regular), however, do me a favor and do it 8 to 5. I’ve got places to go and things to do and I don’t want to walk in or amongst your signs, your dirt, or “f” words, or your dirty clothes, and your thrown together toilets.
Downtown business owners have bent over backwards to be good neighbors, and stewards. Local police have been patient in their actions, and regular people going about their daily activities, have tried to be understanding.
8AM to 5 PM please……and do so in an orderly fashion. Wear a suite and tie or, for women, a nice skirt and sweater. Check your spelling when preparing your signs. Bring water and a gallon jug to refill your 18 oz bottle. Take it home at the end of the day. Do background work on what you a speaking on….and don’t ask for Obama Money or something similar, just because you’ve heard it somewhere. Be prepared to debate without losing your temper. Be prepared to have proof in what you say. If you can’t do half of anything listed above……go back to school, live with mom, or watch Beavis.
seriouslyscorpio 