Month: February 2014

 

As I walked out on my front porch several days ago I was feeling like I had accomplished something by looking at the new chicken coop and yard. The 15 baby chicks that usually are kept in a large box inside the chicken coop shed, in an old speaker box, were brought out into a new and larger container. I replaced one of the sides of the container with chicken wire so that the chicks could see outside the box and look at the bantam chickens in a chicken yard. Why was that important, I don’t know but it seemed like a good idea at the time. My wife and I were sitting in our chairs watching the chicks while the sun was shining. For short time, all seemed to be well.

Then the charge of all four of my dogs towards the chicken coop, they ran directly to the new container that the chicks were in. It seemed more like a Calvary charge, led by two small dogs and followed by two large dogs. That is when the pandemonium began. One of the large dogs went crazy trying to get to the chicks. My wife and I went from calling his name, Grady, to screaming his name and telling him to get away from the chicks. He was like a dog possessed and kept trying to put his nose through the chicken wire to get to the chicks. The other large dog seemed a bit confused about what he was supposed to do and so he ran around copying what Grady was doing. My wife and I went from being angry into a panic mode. I tried several times to hold Grady and stop him from attacking the chicks. But each time I try to control Grady he slipped away. He’s about 90 pounds of muscle; I am 200 + pounds of non-muscle. Finally, as I was almost totally exhausted, I was able to grab one of his paws and use my 200 pounds to hold him in place while my wife grabbed the container that the chicks were in and she dragged it into the shop and close the door. This cut off the dogs from the chicks. Then almost like Grady woke up, he calmed down and as I called his name he came to me with this tail wagging. Both the big dogs followed me back to the backyard and I closed the gate. I was totally exhausted; it felted like I was in a wrestling match. I use every bit of strength and strategy I could to keep Grady from getting through the chicken wire and killing the chicks. As I looked over to my wife she was experiencing shock and was crying while her whole body was shaking due to the experience. My dog Grady never tried to bite me nor did he growl at me while all of this is going on. If he had he it would’ve been his last day. But all he did was his best to get out of my grasp and go to the chicks. Directly after the event both I and my wife were so angry at the dogs that the thought crossed are minds to get rid of them. But after recouping and catching my breath, I realized it was more my fault that this happened.

When we first moved into the house I put up a temporary chain-link fence with several gates along the fence line. It did not have any latches on the gates; instead I use some bungee cord to pull the gate closed. For almost a year that has worked and the big dogs never pushed the gate open, which wouldn’t have taken much effort. I think what happened was that one of the little dogs realized they could push the gate open and when the big dog saw that, they followed suit. So if I would’ve done a better job and putting the gates in the fence line, this would not have happened. I felt awful that my wife had to go through that experience. It took her several days just to talk to the big dogs again. So I put several pipes into the ground to blocking the gate from opening and began correcting the situation.

This meant that, first of all, I had to change the gate situation. Secondly I needed to put up a perimeter fence around the chicken coop. I needed to do this so if the big dogs every escaped again they could not get near the chicken coop. I started the project by putting in a perimeter fence around the chicken coop. This took three days to accomplish, working at least eight hours a day on finishing the project. I went to the local Home Depot (when I say local I mean 25 miles away) and purchase some four foot tall welded fencing, and some more chicken wire along with six bags of cement. I knew that I didn’t have enough T post to cover the area of the perimeter fence. So I cut down some cedar trees and use them as post.

Before you get excited about the issue cutting down cedar trees I need to give you some background information. While creating a management plan for the tree farm the local forest ranger advised me to cut down and eliminate the cedar trees on the property. Cedar trees soak up well over 30% more water than other tree. And many of the Cedars grew in an area almost connected to the trunk of the oak trees. Since we have gone through a drought condition many of the oak trees on my property have died. One of the ways to manage the growth and the condition of the oak trees, and the pine trees is to eliminate the cedar trees that are next to or close to the other trees. And so as I looked on the property I found that I have probably 25 cedar trees of different height and ages next to the trunks of the oak and pine trees. And so I cut down six cedar trees that are located next to or near the oak and pine trees. I have several red oak trees on the property; they are huge and must be very old. During the drought three of the large red oak trees died, maybe because of lack of water or maybe because of the disease. I know that I want to keep the remaining oak trees as healthy as possible. So as it is about springtime and rain is starting to come down, I want to make sure that the remaining oak trees survive. So at the advice of the forest ranger and as part of my management program for the tree farm, I cut down six Cedars and will probably cut down s’more.

What I didn’t realize is that cedar trees are very heavy for their size. They’re fairly straight when you cut off the limbs and they seemed ideal to be used as a post. I put four of the cedar post on the edges of the fence perimeter and then cemented them in. I went back to the gate that the dogs got out of and took it out of fence line. Took out the gate and now there is just chain-link fencing where the gate used to be. I had to dig a post hole next to the house and then cemented in a metal pole, so that it could be an anchor pole. I drilled into the brick siding on the house and created an anchor to attach to the poll. This should make it able to handle the pressure that will happen when using a fence puller to tighten the fence.

All in all this is has taken me three days of hard work so that I can redeem myself from being so lazy when I put in the first fence and gate of the backyard. This also will guarantee that if the big dogs get loose again they cannot get near the chicken coop.

So, today as I walked out on the front porch with my coffee in hand I once again had the feeling of accomplishment. And if something should happen I know that I will work hard to make it right. I’m going to try to attach a couple pictures to this blog to show you the chicken perimeter fence and chicken coop and I will also add a picture of the end of one of the cedar trees that I cut down. The tree has a beautiful red color to it and I know why many people you cedar to build furniture.

 

Here’s to another day.

Pops

As I walked out on the front porch yesterday morning I was met by overcast skies and the cool breeze from the North. It was a rather gloomy start of what became a gloomy morning. I was setting at my computer and looking out the front window at the new birdhouse we had just put up. It really stands out in the fact that it is a blue color, Smurf color, with a white roof.

As I was thinking of what thought to address for the log, I saw my wife quickly walk back into the house. She had been out at the chicken coup as a part of her regular morning routine. As she got to the room I was in I could see that she had been crying. She informed me that one of the chicks had died. And she asked me if I would remove it from the box that contained all the other chicks. I felt so sorry for her because she had always believed that all the chicks would survive to be full-grown chickens. It has been my experience that usually when you buy a bunch of chicks, not all of them make it to be full-grown chickens. My wife did not want to believe that and so when she saw the dead chick laying in the sawdust is hit her hard. So I went to the chicken coop found the dead chick and took it to the back of the property and gave it a burial, including a small prayer for the chick.

I bring this up because my thought for today is that when someone or something dies there is pain and grief that accompanies it. And that heartbreak must be felt so that you and I can get on with life. In this case, having chickens, you’re going to have to accept the fact that not all chicks will survive to be full-grown chickens. But that does not mean that you shouldn’t feel the pain or heartbreak if they die.

 I have found that I must take time to grieve when someone or something that I care for passes away. Certainly this happened when my father, my mother and my brother passed away a few years ago. Because of my training as a policeman and my time as a soldier, I have many times found myself in the presence of death. I can remember as a soldier watching my fellow soldiers die in battle as well as viewing the bodies of the enemy’s soldiers. As a policeman I was called to many scenes where death was a part of the scenario. Whether it was death by violence or death by natural causes, each scene brought with it the heartache and pain felt by the people who cared for the person who was found dead.

After the death of a fellow police officer and while at his funeral I found myself crying uncontrollably. I was so bad that the deceased officer’s wife came over and consoled me. It was the first time that I had allowed myself to grieve over the death of anyone. I had become so hardened or use to seeing death that I’ve found myself unable to cry. I would not allow myself to feel the deep pain and experience the heartbreak brought by death. At that funeral it all came out at once. After a couple hours I felt a little ashamed that my inability to control my emotions was so fully on display. Since then I have been able to grieve at the loss of my family members and my friends. I’ve also found that I can grieve and feel heartache when someone, I do not even know, has passed away. I think it is because you know that the people who cared for that person will have to go through that heartache and grief. But I also know that they must go through this heartache and grief to be able to get back to life.

No Matter how important you were or how great you were, you will eventually pass away. Many people find themselves unable to believe that the person that they worshiped or love has died. I’m sure that all the great presidents of the United States made millions feel the pain of their death. Life goes on and you should take the time to grieve and you must get back to living. The feeling of grief and heartache can be experienced even if you’re just watching a play or television. Even the opera can make you feel happy and sad and even grieve a little in the telling of their story.

Many of us who have pets and, yes, even chickens can feel the loss and grief when they die. I know they are not human beings but we still give them our love and our attention while they are with this on this earth. Some people who have lost a pet are unable to get another pet. They do not want to go through the experience of the heartache and grief and the loss of a pet.

My thought for today is that everyone must learn to grieve and handle the pain that occurs when death appears in our life. When a husband dies or wife dies, I think that after some amount of grieving the remaining spouse should find someone else to enjoy life with. I do not believe it is an insult to the memory of the person who had passed away, but rather a way of living longer. Not everyone can get over the loss of a spouse. But it would always be my hope that they do find someone that can fill the void or create new joy.

The loss of the little chick was followed by some tears and some grieving. But life goes on and all those other chicks still need somebody to take care of them. And so my wife still tears up a little when talking about the loss of her first chick, she also realizes that life must go on. I’m sure if another chick passes away she will grieve. I’m also sure that she understands that this happens, no matter what she tries to do to keep it from happening.

I cannot stop death from invading my world on so many levels. But now I’m capable of grieving and feeling the pain of the loss. I can also wake up in the morning and know that life must go on and I will feel happy once again.

Feel the grief and then get on with life.

Pops

 

As I walked out on my front porch this morning, I was greeted by warm weather and sunshine. Hurray, the bitter cold of winter has passed by for a while. It will be hard to keep me inside the house with weather that feels this good.

 I haven’t posted a blog for while due to some computer problems. And if you’ve ever had a computer you know that there’s always something that comes up. It is usually a virus brought to you by some program you downloaded while trying to perform a task. I’m sure that’s what happened to me. So I began the long journey of contacting tech support for help with my problem. In my case I am unable to download any program from the Internet. Since I thought this was a virus I went to the Internet and purchased an antivirus program to download into my computer to get rid of the virus. In my mind I was buying a CD that I would put in my computer. Instead I received a card that gave me a product key to use while going to the Internet to download the program into my computer. The problem is that my computer will not allow me to download any program from the Internet. So I started the journey of trying to find out what the problem was with my computer. I’ve had the computer for a long time. I started out with Windows XP then to Windows 7 and finally to Windows 8. It was after downloading Windows 8 that I began to notice the problem. I was sure that after downloading Windows 8 I did not have an active antivirus program in my computer other than what window 8 provides. That is why I went on the Internet and purchased the antivirus program. But no matter how many times I tried, I could not get it to download and install on my computer.

So I started with going to the Microsoft website for Windows 8. After having to read several pages of advertisement for Windows 8, I finally found a way to contact their office. The first option I tried was with the chat line. This would allow me to type in my question and the tech would give me an answer. After talking to the tech for several minutes he wanted to download a program into my computer so that he could look at my computer from his site. But the problem that exists, my computer will not allow a download from the Internet. I then had to call the 1-866 phone numbers for windows. After about a 10 minute wait I was able to speak to a tech. I was surprised that the tech I was speaking to did not have any kind of heavy accent as if he were from a foreign country like India. He spent about 45 min. on the phone trying to find a way to solve my problem. When there was no success he suggested I call the antivirus program company’s technical support. So again I went to the Internet and spent several minutes to find a way to contact tech support. This time I called the 1-866 number and waited for about 15 minutes to talk to a technical support person. The person I spoke to had the heavy accent and after a short time he revealed that he was in India. Undeterred, I spoke to the tech and after several times of asking him to repeat what he said he disclosed to me that he was unable to fix my problem. During both the conversations with the techs, they suggested several manual ways to look at my computer. And so I spent approximately 8 hours; that was four hours a day for two days, researching Internet websites to find an answer to my computer problem. Of course there were several times when I saw a website which appeared to be a by Microsoft Windows or the antivirus program company. And the person that answered my phone call sounded exactly like the person from Microsoft. But before long I would find out that they wanted money to fix my problem. On one of those occasions I went to a website and used a chat line. After about 20 min. chatting to a technician he said he could fix my problem for $249. I promptly told him I cannot afford that, thanked him for his help and hung up the phone.

I know that I am not a computer technician, but I’ve been using computers for years and years. With more and more companies and information being provided on the World Wide Web, Internet, I thought things would get easier. But that is not necessarily so. There are a lot of companies out there who disguise themselves as being a part of a company like Microsoft and after you spend a lot of time talking to them you find out they are not associated with Microsoft. I can remember while I was still using Windows 7 I spendt a lot of time trying to download a file only to find out that there was a fee for the help. If this was a company in my town or state I could report them to the Better Business Bureau or to a local or state government agency for misrepresentation. But most of these companies are not in our country. There are no laws to keep them from doing harmful things to the computer user. I know that most people think that senior citizens are not tech savvy. But many of us are, it was our generation that really started the ball rolling by starting to use computers. But what bothers me the most is that it looks like there’s a lot of wolves in sheep’s clothing out there on the Internet. Given the chance they will fleece you of your money. The two companies that I did speak to that were legit, like Microsoft, take a lot of time to get on the chat line or on the phone. And it seems like the people who answer the phone are not truly experts. They had been schooled on how to answer frequently asked questions. There were many times while talking to that first person on the phone they had to put me on hold to call an expert. This is disconcerting because I thought they were the expert.

So while still frustrated I will continue to search for the answer to my computer’s problem. I do not want to sit down and wait for 15 minutes or more for someone to talk to me. I am guarded about contacting the Internet to find the owner of the program that I’m having trouble with. I know that the simple answer for me is to get a new computer. But I found out one of the problems in getting a new computer is that I also have to buy new programs. Most computers will come with operating programs and I can always copy the existing files in my computer. But I have at least 20 programs including the one I’m using to do my blog (dragonfly) and I have to repurchase each one of those programs for the new computer. So even though the price of the actual computer is not extreme the price of buying all those programs are expensive to put back into the computer.

My thought for today is to just keep working on the old computer and exhaust all efforts to get it up to date and working properly. Now that I live in the country I use my computer and the Internet to purchase a lot of items that are delivered to my door. I have to travel at least 30 miles to find some of the basic stores that I use. I Have to travel about an hour to find the big-name stores. Therefore I save money by purchasing the item online and having it delivered here. I use Amazon a lot and I’m happy with that service. But when my computer does not work it throws my whole world into a tizzy. So even though I know I can survive without the use of the computer I still want to try to make this computer work, as I cannot afford a new computer let alone all the programs that go with it.

I’m sure many of you have experienced the same frustration when confronted with a problem in your computer. And if you can afford to have someone else fix it that’s great. But if you are like me you have to try to make what you have work.

As I used to say, just keep on trucking.

 Pops

 

As I walked out on my porch this morning I was once again greeted by 32° weather and a cold chill from the North wind. Winter is still here and that, combined with the overcast skies, makes me feel a little depressed. To overcome that feeling I watch the Winter Olympics that I’ve recorded the night before.

There’s something about the Olympic Games. I can remember that I started watching it on TV. The program was the Wide World of Sports and started off with a ski jumper falling at the end of the jump. It spoke of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. I had no idea that I would still be watching the games even in my senior years. I think the feeling of hope and excitement of the moment are the keys that keep me watching the games. The winner Olympic Games introduced me to sport like hurling, figure skating and short track ice racing. In the beginning I was transfixed by watching the people figure skating. And I also think it was the excitement of the announcer, Jim McKay that got me excited. There was the bobsled racing, from a single person to four people. I like cars, particularly fast cars. But the bobsled looked really exciting to me. I soon found the excitement of watching the downhill racers. Then  I watched the mogul runs and half pipe. No matter what the event it seemed like all the participants were young, strong and good-looking. There are times you could find yourself rooting for other countries participants. It seems like the Olympic Games are the closest thing to the wish of peace on earth. There is a medal winner and just participants who excite the viewer. No matter what, they all seem to have a great time and they all seem to get along. I think that the United States made a mistake in the 1980s boycotting of the Olympic Games.

 The venues that the games are played on are absolutely beautiful. It is amazing how many billions of dollars a country will spend to host the games. No matter where the games are hosted the country will always show off the venue that the Olympic Games were played at. For example, look at the Coliseum in Los Angeles California. Even today it is a beautiful site and the people that work there still remind you of the Olympics that were played there.

There is a part of me that questions the amount of money spent on the Olympics. Especially when people in the world do not have enough to eat. That part of my brain says why we don’t use that money to help those people. I’m not talking about just people in other countries; I’m talking about people in the United States that need help. But then there’s the other side of my brain who says to me the Olympics is worth it. Watching the Olympics always fills me full of hope and usually gets me outside trying to stay in shape. Of course that is if I was in shape in the first place. I still get excited watching the individual events and I still root for USA, but I also root for other countries participants. I guess the Olympics are to me are like a night out or going on vacation. The world needs a night out. It’s a beautiful venue filled with beautiful people who compete and live together in harmony. There are so many individual stories among the participants that just following the stories make you feel good to be alive. Even in the early years while watching the Winter Olympics I found myself rooting for USA and also rooting for a Russian skater. At that time the Russians were our mortal enemy. That seemed to disappear in the glow of the light of the Olympic torch.

This year’s opening ceremony was truly an amazing sight. I can remember just getting excited by the march of the nations as they entered the stadium. There was usually some sort of cultural dancing and history from the host nation. In the last few Olympics the opening ceremonies were quite the spectacle. Of course each host nation wants to tell a story. And I find it interesting to see their history through their eyes. Russia is a nation with a very long history. For so many years, Russia seemed to be an enemy, except during the Olympics Games. They were just young people trying to win a medal like every other country. I know that after the Olympics the politics will continue, the fighting will continue. The Olympics offer us a night out, a week of fun. It’s like a vacation that has been planned and earned. For that short time the Olympic Games are played and life seems a little more positive. Hope burns a little bit brighter. I will continue to chant go USA. But I also have root for those participants who are not from the USA and are living the Olympic dream.

I know that television deserves a big thank you for bringing the games to my living room. And programs like the Wide World of Sports open my mind to the many different disciplines and sports. I know that every year there is a medal count. And it’s nice to know that one of my fellow Americans compete and win. But I find that I’m just as happy no matter what the medal count is. I enjoy watching the games and a part of me is there on the slopes enjoying the peace and harmony of the Olympic Games. I know that there are a lot of people that put the games on and they work very hard. And I thank them for their work. But I think they work very hard so I don’t have to think about all the details and I can just enjoy the games.

Go USA

Pops

 

As I walked out on the porch this morning it was for a different reason. I went to start a fire in the fireplace and the wood was still wet and so within seconds the house was filled with smoke. I’ve had this problem before and so I’ll already had a large fan stationed at the front window on the porch. So I opened the window at the back of the house and then one of the front of the house located near the fan so that I could blow the smoke out of the house. Of course it’s less than 32° here and the house is getting really cold fast. But I know that within 10 minutes the house will be clear again. I know that I should use dry wood to start my fire. But I guess I’m in a sleepy mode and did not check it this morning. As a matter of fact I’m more in a moody mode. This is something that I fight with my PTSD. I don’t know when I will become overly sensitive to the things around me. And unfortunately my wife is around me all the time. So when I get into this mode she is the one that is also affected by it. Today’s thought is about.” The look”.

I’m sure that most of you know what I mean when I say the look. Usually, at least one of your parents or grandparents had a way to express their thoughts using just the look. The look is a way of communication used by many people. It is a way of communicating without saying a word. For me, I was the one in the family that had the look. My children all knew that if I looked at them a certain way it was bad news. As a police officer I would use the look, all the time. Many times as I was either interviewing a victim or talking to a suspect, I used the look.  You would be amazed how person being interviewed would change her story just by giving them a certain look (the look). I think sometimes you can carry on a whole conversation without words just by using the look. I’m sure that when you were in school, usually in the elementary grades, there was a teacher or coach who was able to communicate to you by the use of the look. I think the champion of the look at my school was the librarian. In my case she was probably 50 years old and wore thick rimmed glasses. And if you were in the library and being loud she would give you the look and you immediately got quiet. Even among strangers there are certain looks the can be used to express your thoughts. I believe the most extreme look are the ones that try to tell somebody you are about to cry. I know when it comes to my wife; I can be stopped in my tracks if she starts the look that says she is going to cry. Even my dogs have a particular expression or look on their faces when trying to communicate with me. You know what I mean, that sad eyed look when you tell them not to do something. Or when you have two pets and one is getting attention and the other one isn’t, the one that isn’t will give you that sad look. It doesn’t take long before you paid attention to the second pet as well.

But today I bring up the thought of the look because I use it today. I have fought long and hard to control my emotions. I used to be quick to say something when things around me did not go the way I thought they would. I believe you might say I lack any tact. Or I was just being brutally honest. I really fought to control my expressions or the look in the last 15 years. Sometimes someone will say something and without really processing what I just heard, I will give them the look. As time has gone on it is more like a reflex action rather than an expression of a thought. This morning when the living room filled with smoke my wife came to me for help. After addressing the smoke in the living room I thought I should open another window. My wife in a normal tone and without any malice of forethought, told me not to open the window and things would be fine. Without even thinking I gave her the look. The look as if I was angry that she said something. This was again a reflex action rather that I thought I had control on. Immediately upon receiving the look she reacted and told me to go ahead with whatever I was doing and she would take care of the window. Immediately, I knew that I had hurt her feelings or even worse pissed her off. I went on to what I had been previously doing. And then this heavy feeling of guilt hit my chest. I’ve had this feeling before, most of my young adult life I heard something that I didn’t want to hear and I would immediately respond with the look. During those days I would also add some kind of a nasty comment. I think during those days I hurt a lot of people’s feelings and I did not recognize it then. Talking to my doctors I am told that this is part of the symptoms of PTSD. It is like when I start to feel depressed. I do not see it coming, it is like I just walked around the corner and walked into a wall of depression. Today, I will apologize to my wife for my actions. And I’m sure, as she has in the past, she will understand. My bigger concern is my quick use of the look again.

I am sure you can relate to this story by looking around you and remembering those people that use the look. I do not believe that everybody can be so affected by using the look. Some people just look silly trying to use the look. But I’m sure you know someone if not yourself who effective communicates their thoughts by just using the look.

Pops

 

As I walked out on my porch this morning, hot cocoa in hand, I was greeted by the cold chill the North wind at somewhere around 29°. Today will be a day for staying inside or working in the shop. But this is also a day that a road trip would be fun.

Yesterday, I drove about an hour and a half to the VA clinic for my appointment with my doctor. The appointment was in the afternoon at one o’clock. As I started driving down the two lane country roads I started to feel happy. There’s nothing like jumping into a car or truck, firing up the engine and going for a ride. The area that I am driving on in is mostly farmland and ranches. The roads are blacktop covered and most do not have a shoulder to pullover on if you needed one. But the feeling of freedom and excitement both accompany me as I drive down the road. There are no mountains here but there are some substantial hills. There are many curves and turns the take you from one Vista to another. Many places along the road are like something out of a picture. Acres and acres are fenced off with white fencing and in the background are cows and horses. There’s even the occasional llama or donkey in those fields. The speed limit on these roads is usually 60 miles an hour. And I think as a young man I would’ve driven at least 60 miles an hour or faster. Now that I’m older I’m usually at 60 mile an hour or under. Here in Texas many of the roads are called farm to market roads (FM). I know when I first got to Texas I was living near Houston Texas and a street signs displayed FM 1960. At first I thought it was an advertisement for a radio station. Yesterday, even though it was raining a little bit, the drive to the doctor was fun. There is something about having a hand on the steering wheel and your foot going from the gas pedal to the brake pedal. The freedom that you feel and the fact that you determine where you are going are great. Driving on the old country roads you run across all kinds of vehicles on the road. They could be a large John Deere tractor or an 18 wheeler. I think out here there are more trucks on the road than cars. But that doesn’t mean that there are not some beautiful looking cars out here. Last week I saw a Studebaker convertible driving down the road. I didn’t even know Studebaker made convertible. Of course there are a few jacked up trucks with loud mufflers attached to the diesel engines. There are the older vehicles, called farm vehicles running the roads too. My 1991 Ford F1 50 long bed is one of them. They don’t look pretty but they take care of the job of bringing feed back to the house. It is also exciting to be driving this old truck. You know the anticipation of a possible break down while on the road. It is a lot of fun setting up tall in a truck. My truck is four-wheel-drive and so I am fearless as to what kind of terrain or road I drive on. But it is also fun to drive a Corvette down the road. It seems like the closer you are to the pavement the faster feeling like you’re going, even though you’re going the same speed.

I realize that sometime in the future I will probably have to give up driving. I know I had to work with my mom and dad, before they passed on, to get them to give up the keys to their cars and quit driving. But until that time comes along I will have some fun out there driving around. I really enjoy the years that I owned a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and drove the roads with even more of a feeling of freedom. There’s just something about sitting on the motorcycle, hands on the handlebars with the wind flowing around you. Of course I’d be lying if I didn’t say I love the roar of the engine. With every Harley-Davidson that I bought the first thing I did was change out the factory mufflers for some loud aftermarket mufflers. I like the fact that whether it’s a motorcycle, a truck or car; you can take the time to customize it.

That brings to mind another reason I like to drive. There is a lot of pride to be had when driving down the road in a vehicle that you’ve taken the time to customize. For a lot of people in my generation that means spending a lot of money to either fix up an old car or buy one that has been fixed up by somebody else. Whether it’s a very old model A Ford or a 1932 Mercury, is a thrill to see them and more of a thrill to drive them. In my wish list I would like to have in 1950 Chevy 5 windowed pickup truck. That doesn’t mean I would not have a thrill driving a brand-new Camaro, Mustang or a Charger. I like the concept of cruising, just slowly driving around your area. Sometimes the windows are down and you start waving at people you don’t even know.

For me one of the big thrills early in my life was getting a driver’s license. And as soon as I could afford one I bought my own car. Of course my parents put me on their insurance policy so I could afford to have insurance. My first vehicle was in 1960 Renault. To customize it I bought some wheel covers with some spiked like affects, like an old Roman chariot. You may not have seen the car driving down the road but you saw the flash from the wheel covers. The only problem was that the rings were shot on the engine and if I had to stop at a stop light or stop sign there was so much smoke coming out of the car you cannot see behind. I’m sure there a lot of people behind me at that time who curse my name. But as I kept on working I was able to buy in 1965 Ford Mustang convertible. It was blue with white interior. It had a 289 ci engine with the four speed. Even today when I see a picture of the car I wish I still had it to drive. As a young single man before going into the service, I bought a new 1970 MG roadster convertible. After getting married I went from a very big Monte Carlo with swivel out seats to a Honda Civic. I owned a long list of cars, trucks and motorcycles. The common theme in all of them it was the feeling of freedom and excitement that I got from driving them.

I did not enjoy my two hour drive to work in heavy traffic while working and living in Los Angeles. But it did teach me a few driving techniques that are still used today. As I’m getting older I do not enjoy driving at night as much as I used to. But whether it’s sunny or raining I still really enjoy driving my truck. It gives me the freedom to go anywhere I want and it provides me with the excitement of driving the roads.

I don’t know if or when I will buy another vehicle, but I know that I will customize it so that I can feel that it represents me. I know that in the future there is always been talk about the car driving down the road without human driver. I am pretty sure that I will not alive to see that day. But I still hope that it does not happen. I hope that every future generation can have the thrill of driving a car.

As I said in the beginning, I love to drive. I hope you do too.

Pops

 

 

As I walked out on the porch this morning, coffee cup in hand, I watched the rain come down and was glad to see it. I am hoping that this becomes a wet year and the rivers, lakes and streams are full again. I reflected back on a conversation that I had with my sons this weekend.

While watching the news of an interview of President Obama by a reporter, Bill O’Reilly I think was his name, it started to irritate me that the during the interview the reporter continuously interrupted the President while the President was answering the reporter’s question. And then I thought of how many people seem to hate the president and the existing government we live under. I know that in a prior blog I suggested that certain states break away from the United States. It was a thought and I was exercising my freedom of speech. There are times when I’m out in public and I hear someone go on a tirade about a certain political party or an elected government official. Sometimes my first reaction is a negative one. I used to want to debate, or argue, with that person who is making the negative comments. I can recall while I was working I had to attend a public gathering on a current issue in my area. After all the speeches a man came up to me and several others and began a long and negative speech about the issue. I believe the man was expecting some kind of reaction from me after listening to what he had said. I turned to him and said,” that is why I fought for this nation so people like you can have any goofy idea they want.” This took him by surprise and he looked at me, close his mouth and walked out.

Since then I’ve used that comment several times. It is a true statement. Since the United States succeeded from England, men and women have gone to war and paid the ultimate price so that you and I can expound any idea we have without fear of prosecution. Freedom of speech is a right that is earned and many times is tested in the Supreme Court in United States. When I signed up for the Army I believe that I did so for my country. A country that allows all kinds of lifestyles and cherishes the many rights guaranteed to us in the Constitution of the United States. I’m free to speak my mind, pursue any religion and align myself with any political party that I want. It may be one of the mainstream political parties, such as the Republicans or the Democrats. It may be one of the smaller parties like the Libertarian party, the Tea Party or the Socialist party. There is even a Communist Party in the United States. Other than the time of McCarthyism where communists were sought out and prosecuted, living in the United States allows you to be a part of that party without prosecution. As corny as it sounds I and the many men and women before me have fought for the freedom to exercise such rights.

That overwhelming feeling of pride in the United States of America was never more evident than it was this weekend at the beginning of the Super Bowl. As I sat at the TV with my family, I watched the singing of America the Beautiful and the United States Star-Spangled Banner. Both artists who sang the songs did a great job. But what amazed me was as I looked around the room, I noticed that my wife and my daughter-in-law both began to tear up while the songs were sung. I even noticed my son starting to swell up too. I was no exception to that. Why the emotion, it is because those songs mean so much to us. The feeling of pride of being a citizen in the United States usually reaches all of us. But this time it really hit home. The songs bring to us the dream of a wonderful place to be from and call home, the United States of America. No matter what your political affiliation or religious choice those two songs bring out the unity and pride in each of us. I will bet that if you look around your house while those songs were sung in such a grand setting, you probably found people, as well as yourself, filling up with emotion. One of those emotions probably was pride.

The price that is paid by many of the men and women in the armed forces has been the ultimate price. For those of us who survived the wars and went on to live the American dream, those songs represent what we were fighting for. Not particularly for any president or any Congress. Not for any political party or religion. We fought, I thought for the right of any citizen of the United States to exercise their rights as given in the Constitution United States. One of those rights is freedom of speech.

My sons and their families run the gambit in their political beliefs. I’m very proud of each of them, no matter what their political beliefs are. I and many others put our lives on the line so that each of them has that right. We fought for all the people of the United States to have those rights. I am proud that my sons and their families for exercising that right. The cost for that right has been very high and I imagine will continue to be high.

My thought of today was about the right of freedom of speech. And that I and others fought for those ideals and freedoms. I hope that you do not take it lightly and use those freedoms. Use your freedom of speech, exercise your freedom of speech and please do not take it for granted.

Pops

 

As I walked out on the front porch this morning, my coffee cup in hand, I was greeted by rain. It seems that the last couple years have been awfully dry and so now when it rains I am very thankful. I noticed that the problem for water as arisen again the state of California.

I spent about 25 years in California, in Southern California. And one of the issues that always seem to come up was water. Southern California depends largely on the flow of water from the middle of the state to the southern section of the state. They use an aqueduct system that allows a large amount water to flow south making the water available to both agriculture and city populations. California developed a series of lakes by damming up the mountainous areas. These lakes were deep and even when I lived in California the level of the lake would drop 200 feet during the summer. One of my concerns about water was that the aqueduct system was out in the open at any disruption of service would cause panic in the state. There had always been the argument among the agricultural community and the cities as to their rights to water. The Los Angeles Public Works purchased much of the property well north of the city to be able to feed the city of Los Angeles with water. In northern California the county of Santa Clarita, Silicon Valley, has reached a point that they are going to cut about 40% of the water being supplied to the cities. Water was then and is now a necessity to life. And I believe what people would do to get water has no limits. Even here in Texas there is a big movement among the counties to find ways to guarantee their right to get the water.

I believe that if there is no change in an amount of rain and snow that provides the water we drink and use every day, water will become a commodity. Who would’ve ever thought 15 years ago that bottled water would become a growth industry? We have gone from expecting water to flow freely from the tap to spinning several dollars for a bottle for water. If a terrorist organization really wanted to show how to make a city panic, they should attack the water supply. I know this was a theme in a Batman movie, but it is very possible risk. Back in 1992 I was working for the LAPD when the city of Los Angeles began to riot. Initially it was about society and its shortcomings as to the quality of the citizens Los Angeles. But it didn’t take long after the riots started that people realize they could not get any groceries or gas. I watch thousands of people break through the outer wall of a grocery store to ransack it, not for its money, but for its food so they could survive. The issue quickly went from a social issue to a need to survive. After three days of rioting I think the populations realize they were only hurting themselves and stopped. This brings me to what could happen if the water flow was interrupted or greatly reduced. Unlike the 1992 riot that had somewhat of a confined area, the rioting from the lack of water would hit all communities.

It seems strange that water should be such an issue when the coast of California touches one of the biggest bodies of water, the Pacific Ocean. I know that in the last 25 years there has been an effort to convert the salt water into drinking water. But during that time it seemed like just a symbolic gesture on the part of the government. While fighting the memory of the 1970s gas shortage, our government and private business have done a good job of trying to find and develop alternative sources for power. Water conversion stations do not appear overnight and it literally takes years to get one built and operational. I think it is time that our state and federal governments concentrate on the conversion of salt water to freshwater. Whether it is climate change or the large increase in population, water is an issue that will not go away. Maybe it will take years before Earth goes into another Ice Age which then freezes up a good portion of its land only to warm again and supply the earth with needed water. This takes thousands of years to happen. Now’s the time for man and woman to seriously work on increasing ways of supplying water. I can see water being used to barter services, or even become used like money or gold. I do not believe that China or India will ever get a hand on their population growth. Just looking at how far China is behind on his social issues and its use of natural resources makes me worry more about the future. The small water sources such as lakes and rivers are drying up. Even the mighty Mississippi is having problems because of the lack of water in it. As stated on a national television news broadcast, even if it rained every other day of until May of next year California would not be back to having all the lakes full and water plentiful. I know that they will drill wells deeper and bigger. But I believe that a drilled water source has its limitations. The lack of water affects a lot of businesses who rely on the presence of water in our lakes, rivers. The Mississippi River has a lot of commerce traveling on the river. But the ability to keep the barges running has diminished and even stopped some of the flow. The price for water goes up so does the price of your groceries. And the way that you get your water, like in plastic bottles, only produces more litter and trash. I have read while warming continues the oceans will get bigger and the tides higher. The water producing industry is in for incredible growth and profit. But this will come at a cost to all Americans as well as the rest of the earth. The industrial companies who use water to cool the engines that help them produce their product; will eventually be a target of hate among the people who cannot get the water.

This brings me back to my opening statement about rain and water. My attitude towards the rain has drastically changed in my life. As a child the rain meant I couldn’t go outside and play baseball. As a young adult driving the freeways in LA to work every day, I knew the rain meant heavy delays. But now I welcome the rain and really hope that this next year will be a wet one. I feel pretty helpless as to what I can do to help the situation. I do not have a sprinkler system that waters the lawn or swimming pool to indulge in a surplus of water. No matter how I cut down my individual use water, I believe the problem is still going to grow. The federal and state governments along with private industry must turn its attention to the production of clean water and both the city and the country. My thought is take what technology we know how to use now and immediately start building those facilities along the East coast, West Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. I know that there will have to be a system to deliver that water to all the United States. So instead of digging out pipelines for the use of moving oil, use the pipelines (new or old) to move water. I know the science is there to make this happen. Until then I will just enjoy the rain. I will drink the water, in my coffee, I will bathe in the water to make me clean and I will enjoy the water for creation purposes. I truly don’t know what else to do.

Pops