HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IF I win...you lame blogger arses.....those that have taken moments of their precious time to read/comment/e-mail me......you're all going to have an all expense paid (plus) trip to NEW ENGLAND (better than the original) to Eat, Drink and Be Merry. I will make it work. And YES, Cape....you WILL be there!

Dumb Ass Mistake Number (?) and still counting......

As I stated previously, my oldest daughter and my granddaughter have moved home. You know the story. Bad relationship gone bad. She needed to pull back and get the proverbial shit together. We have been telling her for months that the door was open. I know that this has been a stressful decision for her.
She has had a run of bad luck. Moved into a bigger place. Took a new job (off the books) at the insistence of her boyfriend; who then proceeded to leave her. After she paid her bills, she had less than ten dollars left and a little one to care for. Also, she bought a 1996 Neon last spring with her income tax refund only to have the head gasket go and make it non drivable within a few days. She has been without a car since. Because she bought it from a dude in New Hampshire, there was no lemon law to protect her. She had it fixed and made payments until it was paid ($1300 on top of the $1500 she paid for the car) so that she could take it home. Once home, it would not run. I checked the computer codes and found that it needs an EGR valve and a sensor unit. So, it has set in my drive for the summer because of the lack of $$ to fix it. The mechanic who fixed the head gasket says that the EGR failed because it had sat so long. (in other words, if she had paid her repair bill sooner, the car may have been okay. I don't think so) So, she has given away or sold (mostly given away) her accumulated items. She and her sister and daughter have managed to squeeze into a 12 x 14 room with the bulk of her leftovers going into our basement.
This is the Dumb Ass Part.....
I labored to load her stack able washer/dryer into my pick up and with the help of several bungee chords I strapped them in. We packed other stuff destined for inside the house all around it. Once home, we unpacked the stuff and I drove around the back of the house to unload the center and the washer/dryer into the basement.
I pulled out into the road so that I could pull around and into my back yard when....the bungee chord unit slid off the back of the truck and smashed into the road. I forgot to close the tailgate. The entertainment center broke into many pieces in the middle of the road with the stack able unit landing on top. All in all, you would have thought that I was speeding for all the damage that was done.
My daughter loved these two pristine pieces for their lack of scratches or dents and proceeded to throw up after watching the slow motion action of the three units falling out as one.
I drove the truck quickly to the side and watched the many cars swerve around me and my pile of junk. No one would stop to help. They just slowed down enough to avoid hitting anything. My son, upon hearing the commotion and the crash of the prized possessions, just walked in front of the cars daring them to hit him. By now it seemed, the rush hour was on. Coming both ways.
One elderly gentleman stopped to assist us and helped me upright the washer/dryer and make it to the side of the road while dodging all the frantic traffic. Not sure if he recognized me or not. I have a rather uncanny ability to never forget a face. I recognized him as a "Past Master" from the Fraternity of Masons. I've only seen him at one lodge meeting before. I have no idea how long ago that he was a Worshipful Master of my local lodge. He asked if he could be of any more assistance. After thanking him profusely, I could hardly look at my daughter for at least an hour.
Of course she blamed herself and told me to not feel bad. Isn't that awful?
It turns out that my home owners insurance will cover their replacement. That is, of course great. But I felt lame. I so want her to feel better. To feel safe. Not to loose what little she has due to a dumb mistake made by her unfocused father.
Dads and their little girls!
You never want to feel like you let them down. That you weren't there for them. That you failed or showed weakness in any way.
She has seen more and more of that from me these past few years.
I resolve to try harder in the future. To be there and be strong and wise and fatherly.
And that I will do.

I was thinking about Elvis today. I know that the anniversary of his death was a week or so ago. But today, for some reason, I thought about where I was when I first heard the news of his passing. I just moved back in with my parents after having explored the possibility of my having a career in the Christian ministry. Instead, in Martin Luther form, I went to prepare a place for me and my soon to be wife. In my early twenties and feeling the angst of perhaps going against my calling for the love of a girl, I moved home, found a job and as is always the case, I seem to stand out like a sore thumb.

I am an individual. Never follow the crowd. And not unlike Elvis perhaps, I have had some copy my personal trends. Don't forget. I am the inventor of the mullet! I didn't attend my graduation of high school or college because pomp and circumstance makes me ill.

So, I started this job at a furniture factory and smoked pot for the first time in several years. I had just stapled my left hand and a fellow employee helped me pull it out. Someone came by and announced that "they" had found Elvis dead.

I remember feeling that Elvis got in over his head. I thought that perhaps, given the chance, I could have gotten through to him. I felt bad knowing that he, like anyone else, can easily come to a point of clinging; a point whereby we seek to hang onto and manufacture what we were and ingnore the we of the present moment. Like dancing a dance. We dance from the start to the finish of the song. We don't just stop and try to hold onto just one note or a short refrain. No, we dance through and along with the music. But even at close to 300 Lbs, ladies were throwing their underwear up onto the stage. Not a bad deal! But he was far from happy. Money. Fame. Babes. How could he be unhappy?

Easy.

I knew what he was feeling. Free of charge. Brother to brother. I was willing to kick his lame Karate ass and say, "What the Fuck, man!"

I never had the opportunity. And although I did work for several years within vocational rehab and as a mental health advocate, I wish that I had the chance. Just the chance, to say, "You stupid Mutha-Fucka. Shit it all out and go your own way. You'd be better for it."

But Elvis I suppose, just like the dance, was meant to burn out. Better to burn out than just fade away?

We took the four plus hour ride back from mid-state Maine leaving shortly after noon. I knew that the roads would be busy. I'm never afraid of a little traffic but this was ridiculous. A four plus hour ride turned into a six plus hour ride.
I know that people are on vacation. My foray into Maine was family business, wrapping up the estate of my wife's grandparents home. Knowing that what we experienced on I-95 and 295 and 495 was being repeated in just about every major state highway system in the country is rather sad. Gallons and gallons of gas and millions of cubit feet filled with carbon monoxide.
There were back ups for miles. Even when the highway opened up and returned the masses back to their 20 mph over the actual posted speed limit, it was still one large moving parking lot for as far as the eye could see.
Travel is good. I don't discourage it. But there are wonders right in our own back yard that are worth seeing, that for many often go undiscovered.
I'm planning once again, to introduce some new friends to a day trip into the Connecticut River valley not but an hour away. The scenic drive is filled with the greatest examples of what New England has to offer. Rivers and streams with wooded hills and forests. A visit to the top of Mt. Sugar loaf. A visit to the Buddhist Peace Pagoda. The fertile farmland produces grand crops of potatoes and squash and corn and is also well know for its outer leaf tobacco used by fine cigar companies throughout the world. Wrapping up the day with a great pint of ESB or a Guinness with a little food and conversation makes for a great day.
It was nice to see the family in Maine but the cost was high. Next time I'll take the midnight run and travel in the company of the stars and a bright silvery moon.
That would be much better company.

"A wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can from a mountaintop."

Ah. My arrogance is showing again. But I say, "It takes one to know one."

Its always been about the power. Kings and Popes; Business and Politicians.

How blindly men follow and die for the cause. Raise the royal banner!

The framers of the Constitution knew very early that their idealism was more an experiment than a reality. Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?” “A Republic, if you can keep it.” (Thanks, Dr Franklin)

Beat down, assimilate and Christianize the Red man. Check
Flood the country with cheap Opium, addict the masses, Christianize the Yellow man and exploit all available resources for their own good. Check

The stage is set. The ground is fertile. Is there anything we cannot do?

We forgot George Washington's warning about "entangling alliances." The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes twelve percent. (pre WWII) But war-time profits – ah! that is another matter – twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent – the sky is the limit. All that traffic will bear. Uncle Sam has the money. Let's get it. (Butler)

U.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK

The estimated population of the United States is 302,698,778 so each citizen's share of this debt is $29,643.69.
The National Debt has continued to increase an average of$1.47 billion per day since September 29, 2006!

Our view on the world has been spoon fed to us most often by the use of smoke and mirrors. There is no truth known besides that which is discussed behind the closed doors of our current Kings and Popes.

Bin Laden was for us, now against us!
Saddam was for us, then against us! Now he is dead. (Hooray for Democracy!)
All the while we are being sold off piecemeal to China.
And all the congregation say, "AMEN!"

And what plagues me most is;

If I am angry
or
sad
or
politically active
or
apathetic,

Is there a reason to be anything more than resigned?

Baaaaaaaa. Baaaaaaaa. Lead me good shepherd. Kill me when you're hungry. Fuck me when you need release. Shave me when you need what I have.

And by the way, I sincerely believe that JFK was an inside job.