Help When You Can. Know When To Stop

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Help When You Can. Know When To Stop
by McGregor Miller on Monday, August 1, 2011 at 7:45am

I have $1,000.00 in the bank. It's not a lot but it's there in case something unexpected happens. My friend John's car broke down. He didn't ask to help but I knew he needed that car to get him to work every day. It was costly but it had to be done. What are friends for?

My neighbor's house caught on fire and they were devastated. Their lives seemed hopeless now that everything in their life was destroyed in the fire. They needed immediate help before the insurance kicked in. With only the clothes on their back they were in desperate need for new ones. They were poor and could not afford a hotel room. Someone should help them. They can't help themselves.

My thousand dollars is no longer in the bank. As a matter of fact I'm living with a deficit.

I became distracted by other people's problems I found myself not able to pay all of my bills this month. I had to take out a small loan to get my bills caught up. The interest rate will eat away but it can't be helped. The money has to come from some place.

To make matters worse my friend was arrested for battery. He's got an attitude and is in desperate need for anger management. He needs bail money. If he doesn't get out of jail he will lose his job.

The United States had a massive bank account. Since we became the worlds humanitarian to help struggling nations for natural disaster relief. Unfortunately other countries are not as giving. Without their contribution to help we find the need to offer more assistance. If it were us needing the help we would appreciate other nations coming to our aid. I wonder how many actually would.

Our Country has decided to be the Top Cop. If a Country has a leader who does things that are not in the best interest of their country, it's the opinion of our country to remove him from power. We live in a democracy and this is the only life we know. However other country's know no other life than what they live. What right do we have to go in there and tell those people their leader is a mean person and we are going to find a better life for them?

This is no different than a Baptist telling a Jew he way of life is wrong.

Just because the man responsible for the 911 attacks fled to Afghanistan I see no reason in going to war in that country because he fled there. He becomes America's most wanted. You don't create havoc and destroy what took them years to build.

The wars in the east have lasted thousand of years. Who are we to intervene? Let nature takes it's course like it has for those thousands of years.

Our national debt is depleted. We don't have enough money to pay all the bills. Raise the Federal debt ceiling is the solution. That's until you find you will have to raise it again later on down the road. We knew this day would come.

If we spent the billions of dollars fighting all of these wars, and helping all of these helpless country's, ALONE, in time there would be no money for us. These billions of dollars should have been spent right here in the good ol USA!

Adequate healthcare for everybody. Jobs, jobs, jobs! Domestic oil! American made companies. Programs to help educate people for the workforce. A waitress going to college at night to further herself in life. If the United States were to invest more into ourselves we would get more.

We can't have these programs because we are spending your money to fight these wars.

The entire focus on this issue involves not having enough money to take care of ourselves. If we as a country focus more on our own welfare, worry less about others we would not be in the situation we are in today. I agree spending is the biggest issue. Let's start by getting our troops back home. The people from the east will continue to fight one another for as long as they breathe. I say we need to police less and help ourselves more. I believe the economy would be in better shape than what it is today. Today's action in my opinion just applied band aid on the problem. The problem will not just go away. We will revisit this situation again before the end of this year. We as people need to make noise in our dissatisfaction in being on all this foreign soil.

Just saying....my words.
Just call me mac.

Redneck Tuck

The Danville Dan's Were Having A "Redneck" Night At The Danville Stadium Last Night. The Danville Dan's Is A Collegiate Level Baseball Team That Is Situated In Danville Illinois.
The Above Photo Is Of My Brother Tuck. He Is A Part Time Stadium Announcer For The Danville Dan's. Last Night Was Redneck Night For The Evening. They Encouraged People To Dress Up Or Dress Down For The Occasion. Previously They Had A Hawaiian Night. This Time Tuck And Others Wore Shirts To Fit The Occasion.
It Ended Up Nobody Came To The Stadium, Redneck Style. Just Tuck. So There Sat Tuck In His Bib Overall's Hat With Braids, With Toilet Paper Sticking Out From His Behind. I Imagine The Majority Of Those In Attendance Had No Idea It Was Redneck Night. There Sat Tuck.
If You Know Tuck, Let Me Warn You How Shy He Is. Not!! Tuck Of Course Took The Non Compliance In Stride. He Must Have Been Stared At By Many Last Night. They May Have Wondered What He Looked Like Before He Dressed Up For The Ballgame.
Tuck Has A Great Sense Of Humor. He Knows I Would Never Laugh At Him, But Allowing Me To Laugh With Him Is Priceless!
You Made My Day Bro! The Years We Had Shared Through The Many Years Of Knowing One Another Would Give Me A Months Of Writing Blogs. Maybe Another One On A Different Day.
Yahoo, Mountain Dew?

Up Your Nose With A Rubber Hose!

I Use To Say That To Vent My Frustration. Today I Take Aim At Any And All Weather People. Included Are The So Called Meteorologist. How About Don't Pee On My Leg And Tell Me It's Raining.....
Ok, Let's Get To The Root Of My Problem. I Host An Outside Weekly Rummage Sale. I Depend On The Weather People To Do What They Are Trained To Do. I Don't Pay Attention To The Radio Stations Disk Jockey's Report Because It's Their Job To Read Whatever Is Put Under Their Nose. I Do However Expect A Certain Amount Of Professionalism From Those Who Went To School To Become A Meteorologist. All Of Their Fancy Equipment, Maps, Illustrations, Graphics, Are Useless If They Cannot Make A More Accurate Prediction. There Was A Time I Was Having A Sale When Out Of No Where Rain Began Pouring Down. It Was Not Predicted. The Weatherman Didn't Even Say,,,Oops!
I Have Cancelled Sales Because It Was Forecasted To Rain. Sometimes It Would Not Rain At All.
So You Think It's The Meteorologist I Am Attacking? Partly. I Guess One Of The Worse Situations Is When Somebody Approaches Me After It Did Not Rain. They Say, You know, It Did Not Rain. Yes I Know This. Your Point? You Could Have Set Up Because I Knew It Wasn't Going To Rain. Do You Think I Care If They Knew It Wasn't Going To Rain? I Rely On Trained People To Determine Whether It's Going To Rain. Certainly Not A Backyard Weather Predictor. If They Don't Get It Right My Frustration Is Pointed Toward Them.
Every Time I Sit A Week Out It Cost Me. The Sales Are What Bring Revenue In To Pay For Gas And Other Cost To Keep Me Going. Not Only Is It Frustrating, It's Very Costly When I Have To Cancel.
It Infuriates Me When Someone Rubs My Nose In It After It Does Not Rain On The Day I Cancel. Like, Hey I Told You So...
I Really Would Like To Have A Job With Cool Looking Graphics And Instruments Just To Tell You What The Weather Did Yesterday. Get Paid 60-70,000.00 A Year! That Would Be Fantastic!
Realistically I Would Prefer The Naysayers To Just Mind Their Own Business. I Seem To Get It From All Angles Throughout The Summer.
I Think From Now On When I Cancel A Sale Because Of Forecasted Rain, I Will Just Tell People I Didn't Feel Well. Maybe I Just Wanted The Day Off. I Don't Appreciate Being Proved Wrong When I Rely On Someone Who Is Suppose To Be Right!
I Have Been Playing The Rain Game For Years Now. The Bottom Line Is All Of That Stuff That Fills The Parking Lot Is Not Their Responsibility. It Takes Me 2 Hours To Set Up And 2 1/2 Hours To Shut Down. That Is 4 1/2 Hours Just Opening And Closing.
Starting Today I Refuse To Let Anybody Get Under My Skin When It Comes To My Decisions On Whether I Have A Sale Or Not. You Never Know, I May Decide To Have A Sale Just Once A Month. I May Decide To Have A Sale In The Middle Of The Night. Whatever I Decide Will Be My Decision And That's The Way It Is.

What's On Television?

I Can Remember Growing Up As A Young Child Watching A Black And White Television. This Was Before Cable Television. Our Outside Antenna Allowed Us To Watch 3-4 Television Stations. Back In The Day Whatever Was Being Broadcasted Was Delightful To Us Because We Were Thankful For The Technology.
Tonight I Was Looking Through The TV Guide Searching For Something Good To Watch. I Have More Than 100 Channels To Choose From And Could Not Find Anything Interesting To Watch. Can You Believe That?
Maybe We As A Society Need To Go Back To The Basics. If We Had Only Three Programs To Choose From We Would Select The Best One And Watch It Whether We Like It Or Not. Don't Get Me Wrong, I'm Not Complaining.
We Made It Better, Bigger And More Of It, Yet We Struggle To Find Just One Channel That Will Keep Our Interest. Is It Just Me?
The Solution, Watch Less Television. Read A Good Book. No Commercials....

Why Dogs Eat Dog Food

Meet Alaya. She Is A Miniature Yorkshire Terrier. She Weighs Only Three Pounds. For The Past Few Years She Looks Forward To Wednesday Nights. Wednesday Night We Play Euchre With Some Good Friends Of Ours. When These Friends Walk In Our Door Alaya Knows It's Wednesday. Every Wednesday We Always Have Pizza. This Is Why Alaya Loves This Night. We All Peel The Crust Off And Break It In Small Pieces For Alaya.
A Week Ago Yesterday We Decided To Break Our Routine And Order A New Sandwich Subway Had Been Advertizing. After Realizing It Would Not Be A Pizza Night Alaya Went Over To The Couch And Began Pouting. After Seeing This We Decided To Break Off Small Pieces Of Bread For Her. This Seemed To Satisfy Her And She Was Happy Once Again. After About 15 Minutes Into Our Meal I Noticed Something Was Not Right With Alaya. I Grabbed A Hold Of Her And We Inspected Her Mouth. On The Roof Of Her Mouth Was A Glob Of Dough From The Bread. Instead Of Swallowing, It Stuck To The Roof Of Her Mouth Which Was Cutting Off Her Air Supply. We Were Able To Remove It. It Scared Us And I Know It Scared Alaya Most. We Love Our Little Yorky And Would Not Want Anything To Ever Happen To Her.
This Is One Reason Vets Tell Us To Stick To Dog Food. It's Safe And Nutritious For Them. Alaya Brings Joy To Our Lives. We Love Her So Much.

How Hot Is Hot?

When I Was A Young Pup Growing Up On Franklin Street I Can Remember Some Very Hot Days. To Be Honest About It Though I Remember More Hot Nights Than Days. During The Day I Would Be Playing Baseball Or Riding My Bicycle Or Just Having Old Fashion Summer Fun. I Remember Once Complaining I Was Thirsty All The Time. I Asked My Mother Why. She Told Me It Was Hot And Our Bodies Need To Keep Plenty Of Water In It.
It Was One Hot Afternoon And It Seemed The Entire Neighborhood Was At Pappy's Gas Station Drinking An Ice Cold Pop. I Didn't Have Any Money And I Was Thirstier Than All Get Out. I Just Knew I Was About To Do Something I Did Not Want To Do. As I Stared At All The Guys Drinking The Tall Bottles Of Coke And RC I Sprouted Out The Door And Ran Home. Under My Mattress I Kept My Coin Collection. I Pushed Out A 1956 Roosevelt Dime. It's Value Then Was Not Very Much By Itself. However, By Removing It From My Collection Would Only Make It More Difficult From Having A Complete Series. I Knew Someday I Would Replace It. Even Though I Knew What I Was Doing Was Wrong, That Cold RC Cola Would Not Leave My Mind. A 56 Dime Was 90% Silver Which Meant It Was Valued More Than The Dimes Circulated Today. After That RC Became History I Wondered To Myself If It Was Really Worth It.
My Brothers And I Slept Upstairs And There Was No Air Conditioning. I Could Remember Sleeping As Close To The Window As Possible. The Fresh Aroma In The Morning Coming From Arnholt's Bakery Was Refreshing. One Morning I Opened My Eyes And There Sat Mrs Jacobs Swinging On Her Porch. I Wished Her A Good Morning Before Running Downstairs Where It Was Much Cooler.
I'm Not Into Keeping Temperature Records, So I Haven't A Clue If The Temps Were Cooler In The 1960's Than The Temps We Have Experiencing Into The New Century. Today We Have New Technology. We Now Have What They Refer To As The Heat Index. By Measuring The Humidity And The Temperature, It Gives You A Figure Of What It Really Feels Like. We Had The Same Thing Back Then, We Just Didn't Have A Name For It.
Bottom Line It Was Hot Back Then And It's Hot Today. However They Decide To Measure It The Result Will Be The Same. HOT!
After A Week Of Mid To High 90's, Pappy's Became A Regular Hangout. For Those Who Didn't Have Any Money, A Garden Hose Was Hooked Up In Back Ready To Spray. I Have Sprayed And Been Sprayed On The Hottest Days Of Summer Back Then. I Think My Very First Line Of Work Was When I Would Search For Empty Pop Bottles To Turn In For The 2 Cent Deposit. I Turned In 5 Bottles To Pappy's Which Will Earn Me 10 Cents. Pappy's Brother Willy Was Working. He Told Me He Was Waiting On Me. I Had My Hand Out For My Dime. He Placed That 1956 Dime In The Palm Of My Hand. He Said This 56 Should Pretty Much Fill Up The 1950's, Right? He Winked And Pinched My Ear As I Darted Out The Door With That Dime. The Crazy Thing About It Though Was I Wasn't That Thirsty After All.

Brenda's Mum

Last Summer I Attended The Woodard Reunion With My Son Bobby. When I Asked Him If He Wanted To Go He Said Turn Down A Free Meal? He Enjoyed Going With Me. During The Business Meeting My Parents And Siblings Were Presented With A Mum In Memory Of Our Sister, Brenda Who Passed Away On July 4th. It Was A Touching Moment.
A Couple Days Later Bobby Planted The Mum In The Front Yard. I Told Him Rarely Does A Mum Survive That Are Planted In The Fall. Mums Are Suppose To Be Planted In The Spring. People See Them In The Store, All Beautiful And Hearty. They Are One Of The Last Plants To Die By Winters Wrath. Mums Are Planted In The Early Spring So They Can Take Root And Become A Permanent Plant In The Ground. Planting Them In The Fall Doesn't Allow Them To Root Before The Ground Freezes, Thus Killing The Plant. Bobby Placed A Memory Stone Of Brenda Into The Ground Beside The Plant.
Bobby Was No Longer With Us To See The Results Of His Planting. Come Springtime The Plant Appeared Dead And Broke Off At The Ground Level When I Inspected It. I Told Billie And We Were Saddened The Flowers Didn't Survive The Winter.
A Couple Weeks Later I Was Mowing The Front Yard. I Saw A Little Life In The Area Where The Mum Was At. I Have Allowed It To Come Up And I Am Hoping For Blooms, Representing Life. I Will Cherish This Mum And Nurture It So It Will Remind Me Of My Sister. It Is My Hopes I Will Be Presented With Another Mum In Memory Of Bobby. I Will Plant It Next To Brenda With A Memory Stone From Bobby's Funeral. I Pray It Will Survive Next Winter So It Will Grow Beside Each Other From Now On.
If I Don't Receive One At The Reunion I Will Purchase One From The Store. Either Way I Get Enjoyment With Having A Story About A Tree, A Shrub, Or Flower. It Gives You Another Reason To Smile.

Dog Days Of Summer

Yep, It's July Alright. Temperature Have Sky Rocketed The Past Few Days. Forecast Call For Temps In The High 90's Until The End Of This Week. I Have Yet To Ever Cancel A Sale Due To The Heat. I Have Cancelled This Friday.
If We Were Just Dealing With High Temperatures It Would Not Be So Bad. There Is A Lot Of Humidity In The Air. Heat Index Figures Are Estimated To Be 110-115 Degrees.
Maybe In My Younger Years I Would Deal With It And Continue On As If It Were Any Normal Summer Day. No Way Would I Enjoy Life In Texas Or Arizona.
I Can't Imagine Not Having Air Condition. I Didn't Have The Privilege Of Having One When I Was A Youngster Growing Up.
Yesterday I Went Through Three Shirts I Was Wearing Outside In This Humidity. I Had To Peel Them Off. I Was Drenched In Sweat. I Pray This Humidity Will Be Gone Soon.
In The Meantime If You Don't Have To Go Out, Don't.

Facts Of Life

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE -
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning!"

My mother taught me RELIGION -
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL -
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

My mother taught me LOGIC -
"Because I said so, that's why."

My Mother taught me more LOGIC -
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

My mother taught me FORESIGHT -
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

My mother taught me IRONY -
"Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about."

My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS -
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONIST -
"Will you "look" at the dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me about STAMINA -
"You'll sit there 'till all that spinach is finished."

My mother taught me about WEATHER -
"It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."

My mother taught me how to solve PHYSICS PROBLEMS -
"If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you; would you listen THEN?"

My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY -
"If I've told you once, I've told you a million times - Don't Exaggerate!!!"

My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE -
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION -
"Stop acting like your father!"

My mother taught me about ENVY -
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do!"

My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION -
"Just wait until we get home."

My Mother taught me about RECEIVING -
"You are going to get it when we get home!"

My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE -
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

My Mother taught me to THINK AHEAD -
"If you don't pass your spelling test, you'll never get a good job."

My Mother taught me ESP -
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you're cold?"

My mother taught me HUMOR -
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

My mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT -
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

My Mother taught me about GENETICS -
"You're just like your father."

My Mother taught me about my ROOTS -
"Do you think you were born in a barn?"

My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE -
"When you get to be my age, you will understand."

And my all time favorite... JUSTICE -
"One day you'll have kids ... and I hope they turn out just like you!"

Let's Grow Old Together...

When I Was Just A Snot Nose Kid The Thought Of Growing Old Never Crossed My Mind. Anyone Who Was My Parents Age Or Older Were Old. The Kids I Grew Up With Appear Older And I Am Sure They Feel The Same About Me. My Beard Is Almost All Gray. My Hair Is Half Brown And Half Gray. The Middle Aged Spread Has Taken Over My Body. I'm Not Bothered By My Aging Process.
I Know I Have Lived Most Of My Life. Looking Back It Doesn't Seem That Long. I Can Remember Back When I Was Around Five Years Old. Sometimes I Wonder Where All The Years Have Gone.
When I Was Forced Into Early Retirement My Life Changed Dramatically. I Wasn't Prepared Mentally Or Financially. The 401 K Is An Amazing Financial Security, Yet The Amount Of Idle Time To Fill The Void Was My Biggest Concern. The Warmer Months Bring Me Joy. It Allows Me To Be Active In The Community And Try To Make A Difference.
Recently I Have Had Some More Health Concerns. I Am Hoping That A Simple Change Of Dosage Or Change Of Medication Will Better The Condition. In The Meantime I Am Committed By What I Do With My Life.
So Many Families In The Community I Live Have Been Facing Hardships Due To Loss Of Employment Or Other Factors. Whatever The Reason The Need Is Still There And I Want To Help If I Can.
The Biggest Significant Positive Change For Me Was When I Was Qualified To Have Those Who Must Serve Public Service Hours Help Me With My Cause. I Found As I Get Older I Am Not Able To Do The Things I Use To Do. By Having These People Help, It Allows Me To Continue This Mission. One Day The Time Will Arrive When I No Longer Can Continue. It Was My Hopes My Son Would Take Over. Since He Is No Longer With Us I Will Consider Grooming A Person To Replace Me Whenever That Day Arrives.
In The Meantime I Will Continue What I Do But In A Limited Capacity. The Services We Offer Will Never Be Effected No Matter What Happens To Me. The Mission Will Live On.

Bobby

The Calm Before The Storm?

Tomorrow The 13Th Of July Would Have Been Bobby's 30Th Birthday. No Matter How Hard I Try To Ignore The Approaching Date, Nerves Begin To Unravel. Not That I Would Ignore This Special Day, But The Days Leading Up To It I Was Not Expecting.
This Afternoon I Purchased A Rose Of Sharon Shrubbery. It's Beautiful! It Doesn't Have Any Blooms On It Just Yet And It May Not The First Year Planting. It Was Not A Tough Decision In What I Wanted To Plant. A Few Years Ago I Saw One And Fell In Love With It. I Wanted To Get The Multi Colored One But I Was Told They Are Rare And The Photo In A Flower Book Are More Plentiful. Anyhow I Decided On Pink. That's Not My Color, But Bobby's. Bobby Has Commented More Than Once That Real Men Wear Pink.
On July 13, 1981 At 2:32 PM Bobby Joe Miller Was Born To Greg & Billie Jo Miller. Precisely At 2:32 Tomorrow I Will Put Bobby's Shrub Into The Ground. I Am Sure There Will Be Emotions Flowing, But That's To Be Expected.
I Cannot Ignore This Day. If I Did Not Acknowledge His Birth Then No Reason To Celebrate His Life. I Had 29 1/2 Years With Him. I Thank God Today For That Gift.

People

I Am Amazed With People. Everybody Is Different. I Tend To Blend In A Crowd And In Most Cases Get Along With Most Everybody. I Don't Consider Myself Demanding Nor Rude Toward Others. However As A Person I Can Sit Back And Observe Others Without Them Even Knowing It. Apparently Some People Think Others Are Either Stupid Or Ni-Eve.
There Are Times In Our Lives We Make Choices And Make Sacrifices For The Sake Of Harmony.
I Have Always Considered Myself A "People Watcher". I Will Always Be Because I Find Watching Others Actions Amusing And Interesting.
Once A Person Establishes Themselves In My Eyes, It's Been Established In My Memory. It May Seem I Never Noticed. I Did And Never Let On.
I Don't Need To Have A Heart Attack TO Remind Me How Precious Life Is. I Got My Wake Up Reminder This Past December When I Heard The Dreadful News Of The Death On My Son.
This Coming Week Will Be A Reminder Of My Loving Son. He Would Have Celebrated His 30Th Birthday This Next Wednesday The 13Th. On This Day I Am Making Plans On What I Will Do Special. I Will Share This In Another Blog.
Tomorrow Is One Of Our Family Reunions. Bobby's Absence Will Be Noticeable For Me. He Loved Fellowship And Good Food. He Attended Both Reunions Last Summer. I Miss Has Laughter. I Will Never Forget What Family Meant To Him. It Was Everything.
Tomorrow Will Be A Reminder What Family Is Suppose To Be. We All Assume We Will See One Another Again Next Year. How Do We Know? We Don't. We Don't Know What Tomorrow Holds.
I Will Continue To People Watch. Unfortunatly There Are People Who Would Prefer Gossiping About Others. You Know Who They Are. No Relation To The Table Takers Or By The Book Bill. I Find Much Humor By Just Observing.
I Have Reached A Point In Time Where Peoples Opinion About Me Is Almost Meaningless. I Try To Be A Good Person. I Try To Be A Good Trusting Friend. I Cannot Accomplish 100% Friendship With All That I Meet. Realistically You Don't Like Everybody You Have Met. It Would Be Unrealistic If You Thought You Would.
When I Get Up In The Morning The First Thing I Do Is Look In The Mirror. I Tell Myself To Behave. Then I Wink...

Just A Branch On The Family Tree

For Years People Have Been Researching Their Family Tree. They Trace Their Ancestry As Far As They Can Go Back In Years. To Be Quite Honest About It I Have Not Had To Visit Court Houses Or Cemeteries. My Mother Done All Of This And Today I Give Thanks To Her. I'm Not Really Sure How Far Back She Has Gone In History.
Our Family Tree With All Of It's Branches, Stands Tall And Continues To Grow Throughout The Years. For Each Branch There Is A Name. Date Of Birth, Date Of Death. A Branch For Each Person. Most People Research It For Genetics Or Roots. In My Opinion Genetics Is Just An Obstacle For Truth. The Truth Of The Matter Is I Adopted A Little Girl. Back In The Early 1970's.
There Would Be A Time When The Family Tree Is Handed Down To The Next Generation. My Generation Is Forthcoming. After Researching The Rich History Of Notable Americans And Some Not So Notable. No Matter How You View It The Truth Lies Within It's Pages. A Child Born Out Of Wedlock. A Slave Has Given Birth To A Child Whose Father Is The Slave Owner. Just A Couple "For Instances" For The Record On The Family Tree. After Viewing These Tree's, I Have Come To This Conclusion. Few Of Them Contained Worthy Information That Would Change Anything Other Than Blood Line. Is This The True Purpose Of A Family Tree? I Prefer It To Be A Map Of Your Heritage.
My Sister Brenda Died One Year Ago Today. I Told Her Years Ago I Always Considered Her My Real Sister. Even Though Her Parents Were Not Mine, I Never Looked At Her Differently. Some Day The Torch Will Be Passed To Me. Once It Has, Let Me Declare The Listings Will Be Altered. The Purpose Of My Tree In My Life Comes Within My Heart. My Heart Says Toni Lynn, Daughter. It Will List Brenda Carol Miller Maring As A Daughter Born To Harvey & Shirley Rohrer Miller.
My Declaration To The Sister I Love And Lost, You Were Always Loved By Those Who Mattered. Some People Feel They Owe An Explanation In Order To Stay Politically Correct. In The End All Of That Never Mattered. The End Result Is Heritage. I Can't And Won't, Deny Heritage To The One I Love.
I Wish I Could Have Done This For Her A Couple Years Ago When She Would Have Appreciated It. I Knew Her Heart When It Came To Family. I Would Be Honored To Be On The Same Branch With Her On My Family Tree. This Is All I Can Give To Her So Her Legacy Will Live On.
Brenda Carol Maring-May 8, 1959-July 4, 2010.
I Love And Miss You Sis...

Boy, Is It Ever Hot..

The Second Day Of July And The Heat Of The Summer Is With Us. This Is Not The First Batch Of 90 Degree Temperatures This Summer. It Is My Hopes That The Hot Weather Starts The Season, Then Get's Cooler, And Stays Cool Until Fall. Today I Worked All Afternoon In My Hot Truck. Having No Air Conditioning Is Ok, But When I Get Out Of That Hot Truck And Work In The Back In The Big Box, It's Almost Intolerable. After I Am Finished My Clothes Are Soaked With Sweat.
I Remember As A Teen Some Friends Invited Me To Their Private Swimming Hole. They Had A Tire On A Rope That Swung Over The River. We Had A Blast! It Wasn't A Bad Fishing Hole Either.
I Remember Another Good Fishing Spot. It's Name Is Bryers Beach. Recently A Friend Mentioned Bryers Beach To My Surprise. Only A Handful Of People Knew Where It Was. It Had To Be The Best Fishing Hole I Can Ever Remember. My Uncle Introduced It To Me When He Worked For A Golf Course. You Had To Go Through Nearly Seven Holes To Reach The Spot. My Grandpa And Uncle Rick Taught Me To Be The Very Best Carp Fisherman. It Took Me Awhile, Along With Some Experimenting, But It All Worked Out. We Always Talked About Landing Big Bertha One Day. In My Opinion We Caught A Few Big Bertha's Over A Number Of Years. Never Ate The Carp. I Sold A Few When I Was A Teenager. My Grandpa Said If You Can Land A Carp You Could Land Anything.
It's Been Awhile Since I Last Fished. I Think I Need To Find The Time To Go Fishing Again. Last Time I Went I Got A Ticket For Having No Fishing License. Good Grief, It Was A Lot More Enjoyable Being A Kid. Someday I Wish I Could Go Back And Relive Those Days Again. Memories Are All I Have Left Of Those Good Times I Shared With My Friends. Is It Normal To Do So Much Reminiscing? Some People Call It Day Dreaming But I Find Myself Going Back In Time Often. Maybe Because That Is My Comfort Zone. I Go Back To A Period Of Time When I Felt Good About Life.
I Really Do Hope This Is Normal. It Comforts Me, So It Really Doesn't Matter If It's Considered Not Normal.
I Hear Firecrackers Going Off. That Reminds You Another 4Th Of July Is Approaching. Unfortunately I Don't Enjoy It As I Had In Years Past. I Never Thought A Year Ago I Would Dislike The Month Of July. There Are A Couple Dates That Stir The Emotions.
I Know It Will Be Difficult For Me, But I Will Get Through It.

What Tomorrow Holds

My Dad And I Talked In The Car While Watching It Rain This Friday Morning. He Shared With Me What His Childhood Years Were Like. I Thought Of Something I Wanted To Ask Him But Forgot. I Wanted To Know As A Child Did He Ever Wonder If Life Would Get Better. I'm Not Necessarily Saying His Life But Life As He Knew It Back In The 1930 & 40's. He Told Me About The 2 Room House He Lived In With A Pot Belly Stove For Heat. When It Was Bedtime It Was Warm, But He Piled On The Quilts And Blankets Because By Morning The Temperature Would Be As Cold As Outside. Having To Scrape Away The Snow From The Seat Of The Out House. This Blog Is Not About Poverty. It's About What Life Was Like Back In The 30's & 40's. Did They Wonder If The Automobile Would Get Faster Or More Luxurious. Did They Wonder About Space Travel Or Television?
Even Though The Great Babe Ruth Ended His Career When My Father Was Just A Tot, In His Young Mind There Probably Would Be Nobody Who Would Be A Better Baseball Player.
Today As We Sit At Our Computers Try To Imagine For A Moment What Life Will Be Like In 100 Years. I Predict Mass Air Space For Travel. The Roadways As We Know Them Will Someday Be Just A Memory. Of Course Only The Ones Who Could Afford It Would Be The Wealthy. However It Won't Be That Way For Long. Look At New Things In Our Past. New Inventions Of All Start Out With A Hefty Price Tag. It Eventually Levels Out Where It Will Be Affordable For All. No More Tax Money To Create Or Fix Roadways. Going To Grandma's House On Sunday In The Family's Flight Car. Kind Of Way Out There Eh? How Much Imagination Was Used Back In The Day? The Year Of 1911. Were There Dreamers One Hundred Years Ago? Dreamers Who Knew Man Would One Day Step Foot On The Moon. I Was 14 When That Happened. I Always Knew We As A Civilized World Can Become Better And Do Better.
How About The 2020 Cadillac People Laugh About When The Recall The Last Car That Traveled On Roadway. The Only Vehicles Using The Ground Are For Farm And Those Are Rare When Farmland Was Being Worked By Robotics.
You Can Continue Your Dreaming But Keep In Mind Dreams Can Become Reality. So Tell Me, What Do You Think Life Will Be Like In 100 Years?
While My Dad Was Using That Outhouse, Did He Give A Thought They Would Bring The Outhouse Inside Your Home?
Just A Thought.