Playing around a little bit today on my new computer program Dragon speaking naturally version 10 this is absolutely amazing! I feel like Scotty Starship Enterprise talking to his computer I’m sitting here watching you type this blog as I just sit here in in the pit

       well I guess we have really come a long way when you considered your computer and talk to it and want to type away for you and do its own correction and understand your dialect or your accent and guess what? It also does not print out the “aaah”’s or the “umm”s”. Of course it does seem to make a few mistakes like on this particular paragraph it did not capitalize the first word in the paragraph and sentence so I guess that means I’ll have to allow the manual and see how it may be that but I am excited by this because now is the opportunity to what I do best to talk and have what I say put into the written word so maybe that book that I’d like to write could be a little bit closer.

         Well don’t take a short break here go back to the manual and see what I’m doing right and what I’m doing wrong . I’ve always been one of those people who simply take it out of the box plug-in and can push go not the kind that sit down. I never read a manual unless the program stops or jams up I use intuition more than anything else but now I need to find out how to get it to read it back to me is dead but it was read back to me in a female voice and I would really rather have it read back to me in a male voice well TTFN from the old cartoon show where snagglepuss the mountain lion used that TTFN which means ta ta for now.

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       The old ABC Wide World of Sports TV program used to start with a collage of athletes crossing the finish lines, showing their unbridled enthusiasm at succeeding, all the while the voice over announcer was saying “…the thrill of victory”. Then there was a collage of losers and second placers showing disappointment, and then finally this swedish, I believe, ski jumper tearing out of the starting gate on the jump and losing it almost immediately and flying off the side and being smashed like a rag doll as his limp body came tumbling, slamming, and surely what I thought was his accidental death, with the voice over announcer saying”….and the agony of defeat.”

      That is probably the best analogy of life I’ve ever seen. There really is no ”middle of the road” path in this life,…not if you are going to live it. If you like the middle of the road you are NOT living life, but simply going through it, trying always to be in the middle of that road. 

      I have never been a “middle of the road” guy, that’s why my favorite motivational quote, framed above my desk in “the pit” is that of a deaf mute named Helen Keller,…”Life is either a daring adventure,..or it is nothing!”

       You can always tell someone with entrepreneurial spirit, when they seek a job they don’t care what the pay is, because it simply pays bills. The “wealth” in the job is the accumulated experience you can draw from it and eventually use it in your pursuit of something, regardless of the costs. Why?  Because it is “your dream”, your “nirvana”, your “crowning glory” because you molded it, you nurtured it, you sweat and bled for it, and you know what? The money is still not the most important thing.

       But I must warn you the road is rocky, and full of potholes so you have to develope your own road map to get to where you want to go, and some days you get there and say,…”Aw shit, this is not where I want to be.” An entrepreneur will take out his pen and plot another route to get where he wants to go, a “worker bee” will simply ask someone else for directions, or retreat into their “blanky” (American slang for a childs favorite blanket which is their security blanket,…much like Linus in the Peanuts comic strip.)

        Once after I had been very successful and was “where I wanted to go” , for the time being, I set about taking care of my kids a bit. Now my daughter has that same spirit I do, but she was married to this “middle of the road” guy. I started an advertising  franchise with the full intention of handing it over to my daughter and her husband as a “gift” . He was already selling advertising, and my daughter could sell mink coats in Miami or ice cubes in Alaska, so I know it would work.

        I sat down with her husband one day and as is my custom offered him the job of sales manager, and told him of the plan to build the business through sales, and at the end of the year give it to them, no strings. What do you think his first question was? “What is my salary?” I told him it could be anywhere from zero to a couple of thousand dollars a week, depending what he put into it. “No, I know that but what is my salary per week?” I told him it’s based on what he sold that week, the more you sell the more you make. “But what is my guarantee each week, in a paycheck?” And I replied “Zero, Nada, Zilch, Nothing. Rule number one of being a business owner is that there are no guarantees. As an owner you are 100% at risk, all the time. End of conversation at that point. He was NOT even close to being an entrepreneur, he just wanted a guarantee! Those  kind of folks are your absolutely worst investment, and if you want a partner you want them in the swamp up to their waist, draining it just like you, regardless of how many alligators there are in that swamp. With risk comes success, or failure, but it’s all up to you> That would be me.

        Long way around, even my wife and kids are all entrepreneurs now, some actually, some biding their time to act, but the mindset is there, and that’s what counts. Summed up, “If it’s to be it’s up to ME!”

       I never worked harder in my life than when I was running my own businesses, I never worked more hours, more nights and weekends, It was at least five years until I took a vacations and that was only three days long before I was back at my desk cranking out numbers and analysis and working with my sales staff. I can honestly say I never saw a paycheck in all those years. Because my wife was the head bookkeeper and I told her, “Just take whatever you need to pay the bills, the rest is for the growth of the company.” Yeah I’ve had CPA’s come into my office twice in the past forty years to tell me I was legitimately a millionaire now, at different businesses. But you know what,….I don’t care! That is not what it is all about.

         I never got sick, I was always a lot more pleasant, when I relaxed ,…well I was R-E-L-A-X-E-D. Not only did I grow my own businesses and take care of people, BUT I nurtured employees who ultimately went on the become their own “entrepreneurs”, but I’ve written on that in older blogs.

        There were times like the athlete crossing the finish line, like the time I won a brand new Datsun (Nissan now) 300ZX the first year they came out by beating out dozens of other folks even major markets like Chicago, New York, and L.A. in performance.

        But there were also the times when I sat alone in my office at eight o’clock with a glass of Irish Whiskey in hand wondering how I was ever going to be able to pay these people tomorrow, or why I was being hounded by the IRS because a disgruntled employee we fired called them and told them we were keeping two sets of books, which was a damn lie.

        But enough of this, I was, am , and always will be an “Entrepreneur” no matter what I do, and I have to believe I will be successful, maybe not every time, but more often than not. When I was in the U.S.Navy I started out as a weather forecaster, (well not immediately but after a year or two and some specialized training and bitching testing) and I always wondered,….”Why am I considered ‘very good’ at my job when I was only right 85% of the time?” Guess it’s the nature of the beast and the nature of life.

           I’ve never been one for politics, and the “politically correct” thing to do, plus I am as unorthodox as you’ll ever find walking this earth. I can be a Junk yard dog, or a pussy cat but it’s what “I” want to be that dictates inner peace, happiness, and being “right with the world”.

          I know there a bunch more like me and I have dear friends who are also entrepreneurs who are part of our “Elite’” club.

         Life truly is either an amazing adventure, or …it is nothing. Don’t ever doubt that for if you do you have already past your life by.

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         Next blog – “What do I do next?”

    As most of you following my blog, (yes it’s become a lot  less,…regular, in recent months because I’m looking for something ,…but I’ll get to that later.), already know, it has been an interesting year for me. But for the rest who might be new let me recap a bit.

PART ONE – The Early Years

     I started “blogging” on October 22, 2005. Back then I was only 59 years old, living “adequately” with my wife of 37 years, and managing a retail store at a huge “Outlet Mall”. Like everyone I was looking for a place to sort of “vent” without really embarrassing myself or anyone else. Even my wife, to this day, does not know where my blog site is or how to get there. (At least I’d like to think so, I hope).

       I blogged about my life, my trials and tribulations, the death of a good friend, and a lot of other feelings which I don;t think I could ever verbalize regardless of the volume of beer I might consume! Now back in the early 1970’s we lived as a young couple with two kids, in a “starter suburb” all young couples all the kids about the same age, the guy next door was a police officer, and the guy on the other side was an auto mechanic, while we had an airport baggage handler, a restaurant owner, an accountant, and a myriad of other young families. We all sort of pitched in and helped each other, for a few beers, taking down a tree, building a deck, all manner of things. The ideal life for a young couple, with one exception. I really had no idea at 30 of what the hell I wanted to be! At the time I was working for a large department store chain, which eventually got up to a hundred plus stortes, was bought out by a competitor (started by one of their old folks who felt he got screwed over), and we all hung together socially. We rode out blizzards together, icey cold days where the car would not start because the oil was congealed in the crank case, the inevitable sicknesses and we watched each other progress.

       The guy next door who was a police officer became a Sargent, and ultimately the Chief of Police for the city. The auto mechanic is still an auto mechanic and does less work every day (Thank God his uncle owns the shop and doesn’t come  to work but once a week to bank the money), the Accountant is now a CPA I believe, and me? Well the sun comes up, the sun goes down and my plate has been extremely full every day, but as the old expression goes, “nothing special”.

       Went to night school, got my Associates degree, kept taking courses that appealed to me until they told me that aside from “short hand 101″ I had exhausted their Junior college curriculum, so they bundled up my 160 credits and transfered me to a full four year State College, where I began to specialize in History. All the while working as an accountant, a telecommunications specialist/consultant, and Administrative Services Manager (Every other jiob that was too small to be a seperate department or division that was a guyaranteed “no win” and was an absolute mine to anyones career progress who took the position,….but it was fun. I kept learning and learning, reading a couple of novels aweek plus school work , plus building a three room addition on the house, but yet,….nothing was really “clicking” with my “passionate” buttons in terms of a career I REALLY, REALLY wanted to pursue.

       About then was when I started looking for something really new, new career, new location, new horizons, something else, except I wanted to keep my wife and family and do better for them. Long story short that began the “Entrepreneurial” path I took for the next 25 years, but that’s anpother blog.

       Tomorrow I’ll deal with the second phase of life, “The Entrepreneur”

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    I’ve been going back over some of my early blogs, here’s one from November of 2005.

Believe and all things are possible!”

I have a little mirror magnet over my desk with this inscription on it. I’ve had it for years and it is kind of my credo for life. But recently, maybe it’s part of the aging process, I begin to doubt it a bit. How can you not if you look around this crazy world we live in?

I love my job, I just hate my boss, he’s more than just impossible to deal with. He’s spent the past two years hunting for my head, and frankly at this point he can have it! My strength in managing is pulling together a crew, getting the most out of them, and making them proud of what they do,…and I’m damn good at it. My philosophy of business is one of fairness all the way around, for the company, the employees, and the customers. I believe if you put those things together you have optimized your potential for success for everyone. If you “market” deceptively, play “games” with pricing, and the other aspects of business the company is shoooting itself in the foot,…eventually. I further believe people make mistakes, it’s all part of life’s learning process, but only if you learn, adapt and work to overcome, not simply put your head in the sand and pretend it isn’t happening.

Recently I expanded my horizons and after many weeks of work and study, not to mention getting licienced by the State, I began a new career, part time at first and hopefully full time within a year, managing Community Associations. Lesson number one learned, some people have more money than sense, and flat just won’t listen. I severed my relationship with one group after a scant two months as there were so many obvious problems, so much back door politiking, and so much just plain tunnel vision the task became not just impossible to manage, but staggering on the brink of some “creative accounting” just to keep it afloat!

As I remarked to a friend the other day , it’s a real shame common sense and wisdom, not to mention self respect and concern for all mankind don’t seem to develop during your working years, but only after you begin to stop and smell the roses. There is life beyond the almighty dollar, there is life beyond the next rung on the career ladder, and most importantly a person can become very rested and sleep all night if they respect social justice.

Enough of today’s comments, time to get back in the “rut” for another day.

      Yesterday while I was musing over my “475 and going strong” blog I wondered if I should try and catagorize my blogs. (GROAN! That could mean going back and doing each blog since 2005. But in retrospect it’s probably not a bad idea.

      Now all I have to do is figure out how! Anyone out there in the ether layer got a clue? If so send me a comment with instructions for a 64 year old pre-computarian generation. Thanks

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      Well, here we are again, Saturday morning. I was up at 6:30 this morning and decided to vary my day a bit. Normally on Saturday I’ll sleep in ’til 7:00 am then have breakfast, take a big cup of coffee and go to “The Pit” and do “important computer stuff” (surfing and learning)  until noon or 1 o’clock. Then I’ll saddle up and head for the Gym, doo three or four miles on the treadmill (watching either college football or golf, and listening to classical music on my iPod cranked to about “11″). I’ll do some “strength training” on Nautilus equipment, and then about 4 – 4:30pm head for the Pub to replenish those vital liquids lost while exercising. (spelled “G-u-i-n-n-e-s-s” or as my friend Carl calls it, “Cereal in a bottle”.) I’ll spend an hour or so there watching the football games or the golf match and then toddle home to shower, shave and either go out to a movie and then a bite to eat with my wife, or just “crash and rest” for the night and watch a movie at home or read until bedtime (usually 9:30, on a good night 10:30)

        But this morning I got up, went out and walked 3 and a half miles in under an hour, came home, did my “Obsessive/Compulsive” number gathering (blood pressure, pulse, steps taken, resting pulse and BP, etc.) and recording, had breakfast with my wife, (when she came back from her 4 miles or so. Helpful long marriage tip #7,258: Never exercise WITH your spouse, they will never take a break when you want to, which inevitably will lead to friction, and then the fight will begin!)

         I then refilled my “pill boxes”, you know those little compartmentalized plastic things with the “S” , “Su”, “M”, “tu”, etc. on them. (I know, “old fart”, but instead of having to think what do I have to take each time (some in the morning and the rest at night) I just fill up the little compartments and all I have to remember all week is the day and if it’s morning or night-time,…..cool!

        Now I’m on the computer writing blog number 476 (the average page contains 250 words, and since each of my blogs runs around a 1,000 words, that would be 4 “pages” per blog, and times 475 of them that would be 475,000 words or 1900 pages. (Shit,…longer that “War and Peace”) Maybe I should get them all categorized and see about releasing a four volume book called “Wasting away in the ether-layer of the Internet”. But I digress.

      So after a while (the wife loves to go out Saturday, hit all of her favorite stores, the thrift stores, and “putter” on the stuff that drives us guys NUTS, then she goes food shopping and gets home about three or four and sits with her music practicing for Church to morrow morning. She’s a “cantor” in our church) this gives us both some “free time” to go do what we enjoy on Saturdays without imposing on the other. For those keeping notes, that was “Helpful Long Marriage Tip # 4,734″ !

         Now today I’ll go to the gym about 1:30, just do some strength training until three, and then adjourn to the Pub to settle in and watch my favorite College team, Boston College take on Florida State University (about two hours away) and the Alma Mater of a ton of friends down here so “a good time will be had by all”. Then I’ll head home for dinner and a “crash” night.

        A few weeks ago we went out to dinner at P.F. Changs, a chain restaurants that calls itself a “Chinese Bistro”. We tried something new, Lettuce Wraps. And as Joan Rivers would say “To die for darling”. It seems real simple, but essentially it’s like ground meat with Chinese Chili paste, hoisun sauce, soy sauce, and a couple of other things with diced onions, garlic, and  water chesnuts. You saute that all down and then serve it in a bowl with lettuce leaves. (Cut the head of lettuce in half and just peel and rinse the leaves off) Spoon the meat mixture into the center of the lettuce leaf, add whatever seasonings you like (Chinese Mustard sauce, hot sauce, your choice) roll them up like a burritos and munch down with a nice chilled glass of dry white wine, like Pinot Grigio, or Savignon Blanc. If you are really interested in the recipe drop me a line and I’ll have my wife give it to me to e-mail it to you. They are delicious, nutritious, and VERY healthy. (i.e. meet all the South Beach Diet requirements) She used ground chicken not beef, but you could do ground beef or pork, or a mixture as well I would imagine. Gotta stop on the food already I’m drooling on the keyboard in anticipation! (Trust me that is not a pretty sight)

       Oh yeah, I’ve got an old Dell Server that I’ve got to ship to my son this afternoon as well.

       I just can’t seem to break that 190 pound barrier (I know, I know, swear off Guinness for a week and it will all just wash away and I’ll be in the mid 180’s! I may have to as I control my weight and it’s just a conscious decision!)

       Oh got to go back to the Doc on Wednesday for my Annual Check up. It’s like being on that stupid game show with Vanna White where I buy vowels (exercise), consonants (eat right) and hope I can solve the puzzle before the Doc says the usual, “Well you know what you need to do?” But I’ll get all my numbers back from the lab on Wednesday as well and I’m hoping he’ll back off at least two of my prescriptions now, or at least cut the dosages back.

        Speaking about interesting things I was just subpoenaed for a deposition on October 13th. I’ve been there before and it’s a pain in the ass. You go into this conference room and sit at the end of the table, next to a stenographer, on one side of the table are three of your attorneys (to defend you I suppose) and on the other about six to eight of the oppositions attorneys. They then start with “itty bitty” questions like “When were you born?” and follow up with something like, “Could you take us through your entire life’s history, education, past jobs, physical health, anything that you can think of,…please” (SHIT man I’m 64 years old, we could be here for the next month,…you know?) Then the lawyers start battling, “I don’t see the relevance of his entire life’s history”, and back at them “Well it goes to his qualifications to be considered as a credible witness and his depth of knowledge and understanding of the facts of the case.” Depositions last about six or seven hours, and if they are real junk yard dogs they may go for another day on you.

        Well got to balance the checkbook, “Let me see here, put in $400, pay bills $600, (Note to  self : “Scramble and get your expense check from the company, ….QUICK!”

        I’m starting to think about what to write for my 500th blog, but that looks like it will be about Thanksgiving or the Holidays at this point, but I’ll keep you posted.

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       Old adage used for evaluating things, we all have used it. I wonder some times if maybe that should become the prerequisite for any decisions we make. For example;

      Yesterday evening I picked up the mail on my way home and there was a little flyer from Dell Computers. Generally I scan them to be sure I haven’t “missed the curve” on technology, but this one had, in big bold letters across it, “Insider Sale for our Dell Preferred customers only!” Well that would be me.

       About five years ago I needed a new computer badly, the old one was so chocker block full, and I had so many programs and “stuff” on it that I could turn it on, go shave, shower, and get dressed before it came up and was “workable”. Then I would rip off a few lines or commands and sit back, enjoy my coffee and wait for the ‘puter to catch up. (Now that’s bad!) So I bought a new computer, after five calls to Dell’s order desk, tweaking the hard drive size, memory, processor options, etc.. At the end of the call the guy says, “Would you like to open a Dell preferred account with us sir?” So I figured what the hell. I had bought socks on line, some books from Amazon, but never anything that large and expensive on line, and “on the one hand” if it didn’t work and I’d paid for it ,…well, the thoughts of weeks and weeks and months and months and a phone bill that cost more than the damn computer trying to get them to make it right,…..BUT “on the other hand” with the Dell preferred account there was like a free 90 days with no interest, then either easy payments or simply pay it off. Hmmmmm. That would basically mean I could run the hell out of it, make sure every single thing and part was working the way it should, and then I’d be happy to pay the balance. So I did it, and opened the account.

        The the flyers started coming religiously, and I would read them, realizing that 60 days after the first computer I ordered from them it was “old and outdated” technology. That’s when the realization hit me like a sledge hammer between the eyes! DELL was my drug dealer!!

        The flyers/catalogues were well done, enticing, never hard selling but the new models were just dripping off the page, like a gorgeous blonde neighbor taking off her clothes to go for a swim in her pool, while you sat there with a glass of Iced Tea trying to concentrate on reading War and Peace.  Ah the sleekness, the raw muscle power inside the case, the promise of greater speed, faster processing,…..sold! My “Dealer” had just given me a taste of the evil narcotic, “techie juice” .

       That’s how it starts, next you get another computer, (a laptop,…yeah I really need the portability, that’s the ticket) , then you look up at the “old” printer, the old six year old laser that is like the Ever ready bunny, it just keeps going, …BUT….sure would be nice to have a color one, and look at the steal of a price on the one on the next page. Yeah, I could then print color stuff, maybe take up photography again, do my own Photo-shopping, and now be able to print them out in the gorgeous colors I saw through the view finder when I took the picture! DONE!

        “Uh, sir, that comes to more than your limit on your Dell Preferred Account.”

        Well, that should not stop me, so I ask “How much over the limit?” Still making payments on the computer I bought last year of course.

        “Could you hold a minute sir, and I’ll connect you to our Dell Preferred Department and a Preferred Customer Specialist?”

       I figured I’d be in the telephone hold mode for a week or two, but less than 10 seconds later, a bright cheery little girl picks up the line and in her best provocative voice like honey dripping off a spoon she says, “Hi Mr. Guinness, my name is Sharon and I see you would like to order a laptop and new printer but the total is a little over your credit limit with us, is that correct?”

    “Yes, it is Sharon, so I guess I’ll have to hold off on the printer for now, will that bring me back under my limit if we cancel that off the order?”

    “Oh Mr. Guinness, let me check something before we consider that option, that printer is worth every penny, and it ’s color is spectacular. could you hold for a minute for me and see if there is anything I can do to help?”

     “OK.” She’s gone maybe 20 seconds and she’s back on the line.

     “I apologize for the delay in getting back to you, but I have some good news. I can raise your Credit Limit to cover everything you want, and a little bit more, would that help?”

    ” Absolutely!” (Well “on the one hand” I’d really like having that color print option available,…BUT…”on the other hand” can I really afford to spend that much?)

     “Ok Mr. Guinness we are increasing your credit line from $1,000 to $2,000. I know that’s about six hundred more than your total order, but just in case you want to get any cables or ink cartridges, or supplies we are just a telephone call away and we ship the same day.”

      ”Oh,…so do I have to get back to the guy I was talking to and complete the order with him?”

      “Oh no, that won’t be necessary I just “pop” the little key on my computer and your order will be on it’s way.  How does that sound?”

     “Uhh, great.”

     “Done then, is there anything else I can help you with today?”

     “Uhh no, but thank you very much for all your help, good night.”

     And that’s how it began, a little taste of the drug, and then a free extra hit included when you buy the next hit. And then on and on and on!

     So here I am four years later, four new computers, three printers, a small server, dual monitor setups, and my Dell Preferred Credit limit is up to $4,500! But the good news is all I owe is a little more than $600. (That’s because of the new “mini” computer, you know the one with the 9″ screen, and that Atom processor. It’s a little slower than the rest, but my wife has bigger handbags than that “mini” in it’s case. (Perhaps I’ll find a good use for it soon,…..but it’s so cute!)

       So “on the one hand”,……

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      I was sitting with a cold Guinness at my favorite pub last evening waiting for our “anointed one” to get through babbling on about the G-20 meeting or some such. He then asked for questions from the press. The first dude asks about all the protesters out front with signs and taking a few hacks at him?

       “The anointed one” replies something to the effect that it doesn’t bother him and then followed it up with a comment like  ” speaking your mind is one of the traditions in our country” HELLO? “Tradition?”

      Last time I looked Boss, it was a “right” granted to us by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. “Rights” are sure as hell different from “traditions”, or do you plan on changing that as well.

      Am I bitter? You bet! Now I’m not bitter over Obama, but over the entire machine that got elected and is running a big steam-roller all over our country. They are behaving like parents, and we don’t need parents, we need guardians, guardians of our rights and liberty’s.

       I get the clear and distinct message that, “WE know far better than you what you need, and you will get what WE think you need, nevermind your opinions and stupidity.” We are really between a rock and a hard place, and I’ve seen no leadership for opposition on our side at all. These tea Parties are a perfect example, lot of noise, obviously “We the People” are stirred up, but there is no one driving the damn bus. We need a Bus Driver,  a Train Engineer, a leader,….or the consequences are unspeakable!

         Enough about politics, I’ll just get myself all cranked up! Well, maybe I can talk about work? That has me even more cranked up 149 bloody days until I  #! get my medicare and my health insurance drops from $2,000 a month to $500, #2 Do my Johnny Paycheck impression,…”…Take this job and shove it, I ain’t workin’ here no more!” It’s chewing me up inside. And I’m getting to the point that I don’t think delivering daily newspapers at 4:30 a.m. is such a bad deal, or wearing the little blue vest and handing out shopping carts and welcoming all to “Wally World”. In fact since we live in such a crooked world and no-one seems to give a damn, …well maybe I’ll try bank robberies, or “rubber Checks”, What the hell everyone else is doing it!

        I would much rather spend my “twilight” years with a smile, poor, and at peace with the world around me than the “cranky old fart” that I’m gravitating toward. My confidence level in humanity is in the tubes. I stopped reading newspapers, because I don’t have a parakeet or it’s cage to put the paper in, and I don’t buy fish to have it wrapped in newspaper, and at this point that’s about all they are good for anymore! The level of writing is poor, the level of unbiased reporting is pathetic, and while the world spins faster the paper gets thinner because of fewer ads, lousier writing, and “corporate cutbacks”. They are not just getting thinner in terms of the number of pages, but the width of the pages has also been reduced, as with the height of the page as well!

          I’m as “tech” as the next guy, but we aren’t “channeling” all that into too much constructive results. Computers make it easier for Big Brother to monitor us, easier for the banks, brokers and sales geeks to “rip us off” and with prime examples like Bernie Madoff and others, and of course significantly easier for us to get into more debt and poverty than ever before in our history.

        Give me some comments oh blog-world! I swear I have never seen so many bitter, ugly, nasty folks in my life as are becoming the majority today.

        Well, I best stop before the top of my head pops off and I become fertilizer somewhere. Is it just me or are any of you seeing this nasty metamorphosis that I’m seeing, and this political turmoil everywhere?

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    I am in my mid 60’s, which put me at about 20 years old as the Viet Nam War unfolded. It was a completely insane war, started by John F. Kennedy to support a “democratic dictator”, and more than fueled by his successor, Lyndon Johnson.

    As it first opened it was a “policing” action we engaged in, and in a short time it escalated into a complete war. It was perhaps the third most devisive event in this country’s history. (The American Revolution of the 1770’s being #1, the United States Civil War of 1861 – 1865  being Number 2, and the Viet Nam “Conflict” (1963 – 2005) being third. (Closely followed by our current state of internal turmoil since the 2008 election, or was that an “Anointing”?) The American people for the very first time were exposed to the raw, dirty, terrible sight of war every night on the TV’s, live and in color. Military caskets bearing U.S. Servicemen in them, by the thousands, insane military Generals all trying to improve “body count” (theirs or ours, I’m still not to sure), illegal covert actions into surrounding countries, but by and large losing at every turn. Losing because the Viet Nam war was not necessarily a “typical”military war with platoons at the ready, artillery steadily advancing across the open field making cannon fodder of “the enemy”, but as I have so often preached, ” Those who fail to study history are damned to repeat it.” (If anyone knows exactly who said that let me know please.)

         But it was the American Revolution all over again, …a guerilla war of epic proportions only the uniforms were reversed. We were now the “Red-Coats” with the total military being and tactics, while the Viet Cong were the Revolutionary Americans, strike and disappear into the jungle, move somewhere else, strike and move again. Don’t wait for a numerically superior and equipment bearing giant to come and step on you, wage war like a bee, sting, move on, sting again, etc.

       The American people apparently studied their history, because they knew it was a “no win situation”, and that we had to cut our losses and eat a little crow and end it. But the politicians did not,….so it raged on for years. Sentiment grew in America, protests abounded (1968 Democratic Convention), people were arrested (the Chicago 7), and people, non-combatant common American Citizens were killed, (Kent State University) . But as always it fell to the “artists” of our great land to put the resistance together, to make it gel, and to make it make a difference.

       In the early 60’s there was a musical backlash going on as well. The “sinful and evil” Rock and Roll with such heathens as Jerry Lee Lewis, and a new kid from Tupelo Mississippi named “Elvis Presley” gyrating obscenely and inspiring “sinful sexual thoughts” were running up against an “older than the hills” form of American Music called “folk” music, with the likes of Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez, and a new group cobbled together in the Greenwich Village section of New York City, (then a “hippy, and poet” section of low cost run down apartments and coffee houses catering to the itinerant musicians and poets)  It was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers.

       The rest is history, Peter, Paul and Mary were born. They became a light in the darkness, for peace, social justice, and right. If they cut a record it went platinum overnight! (And you could understand all the words, listen to genuine musicianship and harmonies, and find a real sense of literary expertise in the crafting of what they sang, for example “Puff the Magic Dragon”, and “Light One Candle”.)

         As the war grew so did their opposition to it. I was in the military, U.S. Navy to be precise,  and was sworn to “protect support and defend” my country. But always having been a little “crazy” I fell in love with the entire folk music era and movement. So every time I could find one I would go to a “Hootenany” which was  a local folk music jam session. My late Aunt Betty, in West Palm Beach, used to have all kinds of folks over and they would play tunes most of the night, do a fish fry and just talk and teach each other tunes and chords, and harmonies. By the time I got out of the military in 1969 the entire country had acknowledged it was a stalemate quagmire of immeasurable proportions. A new President had been elected, Richard M. Nixon, and the “Protest Movement” was enormous and more than compelling on Washington.

       In late 1969, 0r early 1970, there was a massive march to Washington D.C. of millions of average Joe Citizens, oppressed minorities, and ethical pundits who all bonded together. There was a big concert on Saturday evening of that weekend on the Washington Mall, the very same place Obama used to have his inauguration. One of the groups playing there that evening was Peter, Paul, and Mary, and they raised things to an even higher level of awareness with their music.

        Protest had become “fashionable” by this time, and the old “gatherings” and initial beginnings had moved to the mainstream. The day after the huge Washington “Peace Rally”, Peter , Paul, and Mary were booked to play in the world renown Boston Symphony Hall. At the time my oldest boy was only 1 1/2 years old, and if memory serves me (which it some times does not) my wife was pregnant with our second child, but I got tickets to it at an outrageous cost for those days (my gross Salary per week was $99.00 at the time, that I remember) and we went.

        It was a musical, emotional, and spiritually uplifting event, in large part because of Mary Travers ability to make her voice reach into your chest and pull every heartstring you had. Coming off of playing for in excess of 1 Million people the night before they were emotionally “up” and overwhelming for three singers with two acoustic guitars! I was a huge fan, later on I bought an old guitar and started learning to play, what else but “Peter,Paul, and Mary” tunes. They have always and will always be my favorite group of all time, that I can guarantee you. In fact after I finish this I will be reorganizing my iPod and guess what’s going on it?

        Over the years, since then, the group comes out of retirement and occasionally gets together and does a concert. Age has caught up, voices are less strong than the emotionally power packed sounds that emanated in the 60’s as they sang, but they were still the reminder of the era and the emotion we were capable of to right wrongs, and accomplish the impossible. They have been a factor in my life and I thank, Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers for all they gave us.

        Mary Travers passed away this past week. She was 72 and had been fighting leukemia for a long time. God Bless Mary, a safe Journey to a land where all is right all the time and music is everywhere.

       With that all having been said, I will try and close with something to let you see and hear what Mary was all about. Peace and enjoy!

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      And from Washington DC April 24th, 1971

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       Strange title for a blog entry right? Well not really. It’s my concise, “straight through the heart”, down and dirty insightful analysis of what the world is like these days. Are you takin’ ugly pills?

      They are a special ugly pill, not a physical ugly pill, but an attitudinal ugly pill. Everyone is taking them, I swear. Tempers would occasionally get “short”, and “outbursts” happened in rare circumstances, but man, I have never seen folks this ugly,….and they don’t know what to do about it!

       The “rich” are losing the money, the retiree’s are reviewing the Help Wanted Ads, not a soul wants to pay for anything, and the bars are getting a lot more crowded every day.

       I read a friends blog entry today and her comment was something like ,…”Firstly, I hate Obama. Like capital “H” hate. He’s fucking everything and it’s only been eight months? Holy crap. I can’t even comment. I’m not supposed to comment. I work for him. So forget that I said anything at all.”

        All any of us want is to reach out grab someone and shake the hell out of them while yelling , “Look what you did,…you have screwed everything up,….FIX IT!”  I guess the old adage of “If it’s to be it’s up to me!” applys big time here.

        People I have known for a long time are consuming “ugly pills” by the hand full. They used to have a modestly comfortable life, occasionally “splurge” on something, go on a little vacation, give a little to charity, smile tell a few jokes, etc. But not now. I am seeing much more of the old Roman attitude, “Eat Drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may die”,…that one.

        I was talking to my wife the other day and I was grousing that the damn electric bill has gone from about $180 a month last year to over $250 a month this year. I should be able to get job credits on my tax return this year from supporting the local hospital and pharmacies!

       But the BIG thin, …the “take away” from it all is that no one knows what the hell to do. There used to be a time when we could trust our government,…but that is now ancient, ancient history! It’s not like we are all asking for handouts or the like, but we are tired of all this rhetoric and bull shit that is flying around like a mosquito on a mission.

        Would somebody tell me exactly WHAT THE PROBLEM IS?

       Step number one,…define the problem. (aside from sound byte crap there is absolutely nothing comprehensive in terms of the problem other than the government sure as hell ain’t really fixing it!)

       Step Number two,…brainstorm every alternative from the sublime to the ridiculous (too much time on the ridiculous it would appear. “Print more and more money and throw it at the problem, maybe it will become fat and lazy and things will get better!”)

       Step number three, Start “weeding out” the ideas that will not work,…like throwing money at the problem!

        Let’s get our collective minds going to REALLY tackle the tough questions and situations and deal with rationale intelligent possible solutions.

        Finally let’s get our hands on the capstan and make it work. (capstan is the old device on sailing ships which raised the anchor by men pushing it around in a circle. Together we can accomplish something, …wandering around in a politically induced daze won’t do it.

        If the economy is broken we need to fix it, not buy every box of Band-aids in the world and patch it. Unfortunately there are some systems, some processes and some companies and areas that will fail,….so be it! It’s like our “do good” attitude about convicted murderers. We stockpile them in “prison warehouses” at a cost of more than twice what I make in a year and keep them for decades!  “Trial at 11, appeals at 12,….execution right after lunch! stay tuned we’ll be right back after these brief announcements from our sponsors”.

          What the hell are we even talking about health care for? Sure it’s broke, but it’s limping along. Those not covered by insurance will go to the ER, the ER will treat everyone. (The overly touted Massachusetts Health Care initiative has shown that when folks get health insurance they make twice as many trips to the ER because “I got insurance now!”

        Well, time to toddle off to the dungeon (work), now there’s a place where “ugly pills” are delivered and distributed like M&M’s! The clients are all addicted to ugly pills, the boss is in a “conserve every penny we have” mode, hence we have three large( 300+ each) mailings to go out and not a single envelope to put them in because only he can go to the office supply store because anyone else wastes money there and he’s in another sate until next week sometime.

         Clients who will not accept what I tell them because “I don’t care what the law says, there has to be another way!”

         Sorry if I’m bumming you out, but it ain’t pretty in the trenches when the “haves” realize they are heading for the “have nots” at the speed of light.

         Gee hope I got enough left in the paycheck this week to buy a gun. It’s getting ugly out there! (Gun is for self protection in the event of any arbitrary “re-distribution of wealth” actions. It’s like the way we used to joke about my daughters old attitude as a teenager, “What’s mine is mine and what’s you’s is also mine!” 

         Have a nice day and try doing one random act of kindness for someone else,….it’s a start!

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