tao1776

August 2nd is my birthday. Although I do have documentation that places that wonderful day on August 3rd. May have been adopted. I'm the only blue eyed, fair haired of the bunch. My last name never set well with me. It was always with a measure of unease that accompanied the stating of it. Still does. I did learn in my late teens that my last name was not a name of lineage. My great grandmother died while giving birth to twin boys. The two boys were given up to two separate families that gave them their last names. So my last name comes through adoption and not by bloodline. It was four years ago that me mum died. It was rather unexpected. I think we buried her a day before my birthday that year. Six months later my position as a company manager was eliminated. During this period, my brother and sister (I'll exclude the younger sister) had fits regarding the estate. My older sister wanted me to make a stand with her against my brother who was named the executor of the estate w...

"Pepe'! Pepe'" She yelled, using the French Canadian word for grandfather. It was assigned to help my grand kids distinguish me from all the other grand-dads and great grand-dads. "He's soooo cute"! I came out from under the hood of the Ghia to see her pointing to the side of a tree. "Get him for me". There was a hefty caterpillar crawling up the tree. She loves bugs and worms and caterpillars. Especially caterpillars. She has a terrarium that she keeps her finds in. Creeps her mother out though. The last straw came when was Brielle placed two or three caterpillars upon her pillow and watched with glee as they climbed towards her mother's face. But as the Spring turned to Summer, the caterpillars turned to moths and her fun soon came to an end. Last Tuesday I was mowing the lawn and discovered to my delight, a young and vibrant Hoppy Toad. I called for Brielle to come and inspect my find. "What is it"? "A Hoppy Toad. Hold hi...

Did I ever tell you about date night? We began a tradition over ten years ago of having our Wednesday supper with candlelight and a bottle of wine. In the beginning, the remaining kids at home protested. No lights, music. No t.v. In time, the kids began to invite their friends. Soon, friends began to call asking if they could to date night. Flash to last night. A close friend of my youngest daughter, who likes to visit us as much as possible, asked if he could come over and prepare an eastern European dinner for date night. After we said yes, the numbers grew. We had to prepare more food. The kids did, that is. Two casseroles, the beef and egg noodle east European thing, hearty bread, and New England's famous valley corn. I had a catch in my throat as I gave the toast. Three out of my four kids were present. My youngest daughter had over two of her friends and her boyfriend. My oldest daughter had over a date as well. The two guys are both Iraq war vets and both have residual effe...

I have come to the conclusion many years ago that life has no purpose. What I mean by that I guess, is that our life is like a dance. Or the movements of Tai Chi. You don't analyze (though some do) every move that you make on the dance floor. You dance. Mind you, there is a period of learning Tai Chi, or perhaps dancing, where you do break down all the moves into "movements" or "forms" with the ultimate goal being that you "forget" the movements and forms and you just dance. But I have of late (for the last 4 freakin years!!!!) have seen my dance evolve into a very messy break-dance sort of routine and I thought that maybe this kind of questioning might lead to something. So here goes! by goodlifezen The following fifteen questions led me to find the purpose of my life. You may find that they work for you too. . It’s best to work your way through the questions one at a time, coming back to the task again and again, until you have completed all fif...

I've been having some very serious discussions with the few people that I can really talk to. Many people listen but very few hear. I've been stating how important it is that I change my thinking. As a subscriber to Buddhism and a lazy follower of the Tao, I am well aware that it all begins with me. We are responsible for changing those things that we are able to change. No magic bullet. No pill. No hand of God. I realize how much of a curmudgeon I have become. I have been pissed off at this one and that one. I have whined and complained about my lost job, my lost wages, my inability to meditate and my overall lack of energy. I have come to believe ( and it is true) that if I could return to my practice (daily meditation) then my mind would fall into that natural rhythm of the universe. Back up the truck!!!! Many of you already know that I am diabetic. I'm not fat, really. Just got myself a small butt and extended abs. I'm 5'11" and 210 lbs. I should be under 1...

I sometimes like to believe that I'm still somewhat the stud! After my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter Brielle had her way with placing stickers all over my puss, a picture was in order. I thought after viewing this, "who in tha hell is this old guy"? The guy that everyone always thought of as several years younger, has turned seemingly ancient overnight! Well, as I always say, The only constant IS change. No one is ever a stud muffin forever!

I was walking past the mental hospital the other day, and all the patients were shouting "13! 13! 13!" The fence was too high to see over, but I saw a little gap in the fence and looked through to see what was going on. Some bastard poked me in the eye with a stick. Then they all started shouting "14! 14! 14!......"