Welcome to the month of July- dang hotter than that place down below. The kind of heat that sucks the life energies from your body, bake the marrow inside yer bones to a greasy goo, and drys out yer eyes that you can hear them blinking like an old rusty bike wheel needing oil.
I did my stretches.
Linda H. calls to say she has a flat tire. I drove over and changed the tire in 119 degree heat. It took about half an hour and my clothes were soaked with sweat, but it was well worth it; she had ice cream waiting for me!
I continued editing from my book from the Kindle Reader.
Kelly called to tell me a small lizard is stuck between her windows and she can’t open it to free the poor critter. I put on my cape and flew over there to free the lizard from a certain hideous death by heat.
Tuesday 02- the temps are over 105 with much humidity.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes.
I continued working on my book until I finished it around 11:30pm and republished it on Kindle. Lots of bad zingers I caught rereading it on the Kindle Ereader.
A treat for finishing the editing I watched season 3 episodes 19 and 20 of “Numb3rs”; Pandora’s box and Burn Rate.
Wednesday 03- temps are around 114 degrees.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, and punched the heavybag for two minutes.
I spent three hours on the phone to the IRS! It seems they started my call with someone who knows and cannot do nothing and reads from a list of FAQ. Then she transfers me to someone who knows a little something but can’t speak english very well (I did my best to listen to her very carefully as not to offend her and be hung up on) and cannot do anything to help and reads from a different list of FAQ. She transfers me to someone who finally really knows something, has a cool demeanor, understands my situation, he tells me exactly what I need to do and records the error into the IRS system (I thanked him profusely). The reason I call was a letter I received from them asking about a discrepancy in my 2011 tax return. I did a simple rollover of my IRA and the bank didn’t report it as a rollover. This led to the rollover being reported as income for that year of several thousands of dollars more than what I reported. I still have to refile the tax return but at least I won’t be sent to the deepest darkest dungeon of some tax prison for wayward souls like mine.
Happy Fourth of July!- temps hovering around 107 degrees.
I did my stretches.
I was invited to my friend Sherry’s house to have a Fourth of July lunch with her and watch reruns of “Castle”. I also helped her with a few chores she needed done around the house.
I got home around 7pm and then went over to Kelly’s an hour later to watch the fireworks from her front yard. We then went to Denny’s restaurant in Twentynine for burger and fries.
I had quite a full day and didn’t get back home till 2pm or so.
Friday 05- temps of 110 but seems to be cooler; maybe because there’s less humidity.
I did my stretches.
I did nothing today. I slept a full 8 hours, when I usually do 5 to 6.
I did watch Season 7 episode 1 of “Burn Notice” and a couple of reruns of my favorite show “Elementary”.
Saturday 06- slightly over 100 degrees.
I did my stretches.
I read part of Unit 7 of the CERT training course.
I took Kelly to get her meds at Rite Aid. We shopped at the 99cent store for a few things; I got me a 99 cent back scratcher. We had hamburgers, fries and a coke at Burger King and sat there till the 7pm. Then we went to Stater Brothers to grab some supplies.
I got home early tonight and got some web work done.
***** Stuff I Wrote this Week******
The ocean with its different shades like passageways brings comfort to my soul. Beyond the horizon as far as I can see, I know someone is waiting there, waiting just for me.
To a Dying Friend (I hope I have not overstepped )
Is it our lives we surrender on our finale day? Be it not a lonely task, the finale journey come at last? Lost, we seek, to grasp and hold on, to cherish this moment as life is our song. Fear not you this call that beckons, to leave this world of earthly skin. Fight that fight to carry on and sing that song with all your might, because your song is what you leave, a note, a chorus, or full symphony, delivered to the living in fresh harmony. We shall sing with praise this pleasant composition, a gentle essence of a prose of a life that you have written, of love and friends, in this we shall not fail, in remembrance of your sweet loving smile.
Beneath the calm of waters clear, lies a sea of storms I fear. Carefully cross this void of endless woe, on slippery stepping stones, or fall within its tears...
The greatest gift you can give yourself is to walk away from a very bad situation and start your life over again.
Remembering a girl I knew, a kiss, a hug, a dream....
******
Sunday 07- temps over 110.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, core trainer, ran up and down my hill with 5 lbs dumbells, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
I read and finished Units 7 and 8 of the CERT training course. Now I have to do lots of review of the whole book.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I watered the plants at night under the starry skies!
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I practiced my guitar and wrote poems on FaceBook.
Monday 08- over 110 degrees.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, core trainer, ran up and down my hill with 5 lbs dumbells, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
I reviewed the CERT training boo
I took Kelly to town so she could take care of some business and we did our shopping at Vons and WalMart. There wasn’t much over at WalMart because this store is closing and their new Super Store is opening a mile east; I didn’t get home till after 9pm.
Tuesday 09- temps are around 110 degrees (was only suppose to be 98), with a lot of clouds and humidity.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, ran up and down my hill with 5 lbs dumbells, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
I worked on the swamp cooler so that it would fill up with water automaticly on its own instead of me running out in the heat of the day every few hours to fill it by garden hose. I had to run a waterline from the front of the house to where it is in the battery room, then connect the whole system up to it. Now it works like a charm!
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I studied my CERT training guide course thingy all day.
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I practiced my guitar.
I watched season 3 episodes 21 and 22 of “Numb3rs”: Art of Reckoning; Under Pressure.
Wednesday 10- temps are around 100 degrees with clouds and lots of humidity.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, ran up and down my hill with 5 lbs dumbells, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
I watered the outside plants.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
Again I studied the CERT material most of the day.
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.
I watched season 4 episode 16 of “Warehouse 13”: Runaway.
Thursday 11- it rained today!
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
More studying for for CERT for the finale class tonight.
Tonight’s CERT class covered Unit 7 Disaster Psychology: the psychological impact on rescuers and victims and how to provide “psychological first aid”, and Unit 8 Terrorism: what is terrorism, terrorist targets, weapons likely used, CBRNE indicators, how to prepare for a terrorist incident and CERT protocols during a terrorist incident.
Chief Snow was away fighting a wildfire and couldn’t be here so Judy and Nancy gave the class. All those who took and passed the American Red Cross CPR and First Aid Training Course received their certificate; I was among those :)
For the first hour we reviewed all the previous units of the CERT book and then watched a 45 minute movie on Disaster Psychology. We took a break and then we went over Units 7 and 8. Nancy’s husband, who is a CERT member and works in the field of radiology for 43 years, gave a thorough lecture on the effects, treatment, and different scenarios of a radiological incident. This is our finale Thursday night class and now we await the simulated training and test this 13th of July on Saturday morning at 8am; wish us luck!
I watched season 3 episodes 23 and 24 of “Numb3rs”: Money for Nothing; The Janus List.
Friday 12- a very little bit of rain with lots of clouds. Temps in the high 80s to low 90s.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
Andrew came up from Los Angeles to pick up a car and needed a ride back to his truck in Joshua Tree. He offered to buy me lunch at the Sizzler restaurant for the ride; how could I refuse. We spent over an hour eating and yammering away the time; it is always nice to see my old friend.
While I was down there I stopped to pick up a few things that Kelly asked for me to get and dropped them off at her house before getting home around 8pm.
I watched season 4 episodes 1 and 2 of “Numb3rs”: Trust Metric; Hollywood Homicide.
Saturday 13- slightly over 105 degrees.
I somehow woke up at 6am for my CERT disaster drill training that starts at 8am. I had two alarms set and four friends to call me at 7am; one alarm didn’t go off and one friend forgot to call.
I arrived early for the class; amazingly I was the second one there.
Chief Snow started out with a review and then we were given the test; all students received 100 percent!
Now the hard part was to do a disaster drill. There was a 7.2 earthquake that hit our area and we had to work things out for ourselves. The Incident Commander was chosen, Ray, and he divided us up into four groups and directed each group to perform different tasks. Our CERT trainers had been busy while we were taking our written test, placing bodies around the area with various injuries. Each team had to do a CERT sizeup where they were assigned and communicate their finding back to the Incident Commander. Without going into any great detail; there were many mistakes, confusion, missed victims, and some members not following CERT sizeup rules. My team, but me especially since I was the Team Leader, missed two victims and misdiagnosed one victim as dead. I must say that most if not all teams had problems and not following CERT rules and procedures.
Now saying all this you might think I thought the drill was a complete failure, but it really wasn’t. We did complete our objectives by doing the greatest good to save the greatest number of people. With our CERT training we were much more organized than some group who didn’t have training. I honestly believe we did very well even with all these mistakes we made, because we learned, reassess the situation and corrected them and moved on. If we have another drill or a real emergency, our CERT teams will even be more aware of what is required of them.
We all lined up in front of the CERT trailer afterwards for a class picture. I made many friends here and wish them luck.
I picked up Kelly around 4pm to drive her down to Rite Aid to collect the rest of her prescriptions. We then ate at Burger King and were going to go shop at Staters, but Kelly fell ill and I took her straight home.
I watched season 4 episodes 3 and 4 of “Numb3rs”: Velocity; Thirteen.
***** Stuff I Wrote this Week******
Freedom is the way she choose, to color our world of gray. Of yellows and reds of daffodils, her canvas progressed throughout the day. With browns and greens of growing things, as bright blues filled out our skies. She sang her songs of colors so bright to take root and blossom amongst our minds. Forgotten now by all humankind these colors and songs she played. Songs left behind to win against our fears and find her love and trust, but we seek no more, it’s all washed away with her sorrowful tears, replaced by cement and rust.
The 60s were fun... I remember being in a friend's garage with rock music blaring, the smell of strawberry incense mixed in with the odor of a sweet pungent smoke that lingered in the air, psychedelic posters hanging on the walls under black lights, and I'd be examining this album cover for it seems like hours. Garages were the main place to hangout in the 60s and 70s...
I never found school all that inspiring until I finally went to college at the age of thirty-four. Then I was among thinking people, most of them anyways, who took a broader view of the world and life than I; in their art, writings and thoughts. To be among creative minds such as they was, and still is, very interesting to me.
When it comes to my philosophy of life, I've always been a pick and choose kinda guy myself, never falling for anybody's dogma, just took a little piece here and a wee bit of a piece there that made sense to me.
Normality is an evil that hampers the soul, negates creativity, destroys individuality, and turns our minds into gooey kind of gray mush. Tuneout the naysayers be they external or come from within and Dare to be yourself, Dare yourself to create!
I write because it brings a calm to my mind, a joy that I can share with others. Some folks actually like my writings, journals and poems, which humbles me greatly and keeps me balanced.
I try to live by example; funny I should say this now after such a wild life I lived out in the 60s and 70s ;)
I think with age comes a kind of reckoning; advice we like to pass on to others. To say to anyone who comes along in later years and reads my writings that I lived here on this beautiful planet; I made a difference. Making money off my writings; I don't really care one bit :)
Watch those: to too two, there their they're, then than, sense and since, and a host of other like sounding words the English language throws at you :)
I written this poem for a friend who wrote to me about my other poem, "To a Dying Friend". She told of her friend who had a young 18 year old daughter in the hospital who was dying and my poem had come along at the right time. Well the young girl, who was supposed to be in college and have a bright future, passed from this Earth today. This affected me so, that I wrote a poem for her.
The only condolences I should get from anyone is not ever having the chance to meet this sweet wonderful girl. (Again, I hope I have not overstepped):
Dark clouds have gathered the sun grows very dim a youth passes us by not to come this way again. Released from her worry, released and depart, her young soul has left but she remains in our hearts.
Such grace and glory, of pink ribbons and bows, she now dances among angels on clouds of silver and gold. A future so bright has now come to pass, all the little things that matter in life have slipped from her grasp. Her essence prevails of memories so sweet in all those she touched and all who she loved.
******
Sunday 14- temps over 110.
I did my stretches.
Kelly called to tell me she was really sick and I went to the store to pick up a few things she needed. I stayed most of the day keeping her company.
Monday 15- over 100 degrees with lots of smoke in the air making the Sun look a deep red starting around 3pm.
I did my stretches.
At 2:30pm Kelly called saying that she needed to go the Emergency Room. I was at her house in 10 minutes and drove her down to the Hi Desert Medical Center Emergency Room. We only waited for a short spell when they took her to the ER. I stayed in the waiting room for an hour or so and decided to see what was up. They allowed me inside where I found Kelly hooked up to a drip bottle; I won’t go into her personal business but just to say she was very sick.
As I sat there with her while the staff tried to stablizer her, folks with all kinds of problems were being rolling in on gurneys and wheelchairs.
On guy in the bed behind the curtain next to Kelly’s bed kept asking her all kinds of strange questions. They were giving him some powerful drugs I figured, so when he asked me if I ever worked on the Alaskan Pipeline, I told him I did back in 72. He asked me if I was a welder there and I said no I was a driver delivering pipes and we could only drive during the winter because the permafrost would still be frozen, besides I said I didn’t like the mosquitoes in the summer months. I never been to Alaska, but I went on creating the story for his and Kelly’s enjoyment.
I noticed the room across the way from us being setup for something special with the staff standing ready in blue gloves being lectured by a doctor on what to expect; I won’t go into what I heard there either. About ten minutes later firemen wheeled in a gurney with what appeared to be young man on it, I couldn’t be sure because a fireman was over the man giving CPR and I only saw the man’s shoeless legs with white socks. Not too long afterwards we heard the machines that go beep beep beep stop and the staff started solemnly walking out the door. Remembering that folks who have near death experiences report that they can see what’s going on from above, me and Kelly waved at the ceiling to say goodbye as the last one out of the room pull the curtains and turned out the lights. This death affected me much and led me to write a poem called “Cause no one really knows....”
The doctors finally had Kelly stable enough to take home somewheres around midnight. I was sure glad to get out of there. I drove Kelly home and helped her to bed. I made it to my home, flopped on my bed and slept for a full nine hours.
Tuesday 16- temps are around 106 degrees with lots of smoke from the Idyllwild fire that started yesterday.
I did my stretches.
I went to Rite Aid to get the prescription fill that Kelly got from the ER doctor. I spent most of the day there with her keeping her company.
Wednesday 17- temps are around 100 degrees with smoke and lots of humidity.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, ran up and down my hill with 5 lbs dumbells, and punched the heavybag for two minutes.
I watered the outside plants.
Kelly called telling me that the water pump on the swamp cooler had broken. I went to her landlord's other house and took the pump out of there and replaced Kelly’s broken pump with it. The pump worked well, but I told Kelly to buy a new one for backup the next time she goes to town.
I watched season 4 episodes 5 and 6 of “Numb3rs”: Robinhood; Security.
Thursday 18- temps in the high 90s with a smoky haze lingering from the forest fire.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, and punched the heavybag for two minutes.
Linda H. came by with some firewood for me that I can use in the winter. She hung around for a spell and we jawed about the forest fire and other things in the news.
I watched season 4 episode 17 of “Warehouse 13”: What matters most.
Friday 19- 106 degrees, smoky, humid; my clothes are sticking to me.
I did my stretches.
I was fixing Margret’s laptop (she brought it to me sometime last week), when I got a call from Linda H. to come over and help her and Semi get a couch from her house to her truck so she can take it to some charity in town and be rid of it. Then we worked on a new sliding bathroom door but couldn’t get it to slide very far enough until it would get stuck. The whole dang piece of plywood she bought at Home Depot was warped and we ended up putting the old one back on; Linda will have to fill in some holes and repaint it. Linda gave me ice cream for my efforts.
I got back home at 7:30 feeling restless, I called Kelly to see if she wanted to go to town. She has been sick since last Saturday after eating at Burger King, including a visit to the ER on Monday. I felt it was time for her to venture out if she felt up to it. I finally convinced her to go by threatening her with a Sonic Burger and picking up her “Life’s Blood”, ice tea, from WalMart. We stopped at the newly opened Super WalMart, that place is huge, to get her ice tea. Then spent an hour or so at Sonic Burger stuffing our faces with Supersonic Double Cheeseburgers, onion rings and Cokes. Stuffed we were and then Kelly notices that the milkshakes are half off after 8pm. So we ordered two of those and I really don’t know why because I could hardly finish my onion rings. I swear the food is so good that the devil himself must be inside Sonic collecting souls!
We finally left around 11pm and sat outside her house watching and rating on a scale of one to ten the lightning from far off beyond the mountains to the east burst brightly orange and yellows sending mighty bolts of electrical spaghetti through darkened clouds.
When I got back home I worked on my poem “Cause no one really knows...” until 5am.
Saturday 20- slightly over 105 degrees.
I took the day off from everything except I updated the Copper Mountain Website and sent out the Newsletter...
***** Stuff I Wrote this Week******
Many things from my past come trickling through I find, like a gentle rain, a morning's dew that comes to rest surreally upon my mind.... memories of friends from long ago and far away who capture the essence of our youth, to rest easy now and pass our days in fields of grass blowing dandelion seeds to the winds, this I say is a better way brings sunshine to my soul.
We come into this life of ours with no expectations except for want of food, shelter and love. Then as we age we learn that all living things are special, much more special than any material want. We search for kindness in others and we are rewarded many times over with friendships lasting our lifetime. I for one wouldn't change my life even if I could. I am the product and the sum of all, my shortcomings included and misfortunes included. When I leave this life I leave it with the hope that I had made a difference.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to share this poem, I had a rough week when I wrote it, but to be fair to myself and my friends, here it is. I advise no one to read it!
My other side: Cause no one really knows....
Nobody knows which way tomorrow’s winds will blow, nobody knows which way the ocean tide will flow, nobody knows the beginning, nobody knows the end, you will never know, cause no one really knows.
Be they right or be they wrong, disciples of fortunes lost can yet be found, listening to greed of their yearning desire by preaching to the preacher and singing to their choir, will bring them all down, they will never know, cause no one really knows.
In drab room at a cheap motel or under fire on the battlefield, wondering where your life will end, you will never know, cause no one really knows.
Spreading the seeds of darkness now baby, spreading the seeds of sin, where the bastions of hell begin, you will never know, cause no one really knows.
If you live but to die another day, it is not for you or others to say. Be lost in the river of your own design, fighting against currents to your evil demise. Balanced on a feather or the roll of the dice, a flip of a coin and you shall see you have not a choice of your destiny, you will never know, cause no one really knows.
You think you know what comes after life, with a swift slice to the wrist with a pocketknife. A rotting soul torn and riddled with hate or a plastic paradise that God creates, of this let us make very clear, where you go to face your fears, you will never know, cause no one really knows.
******
Sunday 21- it rained really hard around 3am. It continued off and on all day.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes.
Linda H. came by to borrow a tarp to cover her trailer and we yapped for a spell. She left when it started to rain again.
Monday 22- around 85 degrees with a few sprinkles of rain here and there.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.
I finally got time to myself to sit down and fill out my 2011 Federal income tax that I mentioned a few weeks ago when I spent three hours on the phone with the IRS to straighten everything out.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
Kelly cooked up some tasty jambalaya and invited me over for dinner... I even got to take some home!
I watched a movie I saw way back when it first came out in 1981 called “Quest For Fire”. It is strange how I remember some parts of it differently now.
Tuesday 23- temps 103 degrees with humidity.
I did my stretches.
Linda H. called asking me to come around to help her hang the sliding door on the bathroom. We did that and just as I was going to leave she remembered that she couldn’t get her tailgate and window opened of her truck’s camper shell. I found out that the shell was coming unbolted and was starting to slide off the truck. I took two opened ended wrenches and tightened the four holding bolts down. Now it won’t fall off and onto some poor person’s vehicle driving behind her.
I went to my mailbox down on Lear Ave to see if Margaret’s power supply came... all I got was a note saying it was at the post office.
Wednesday 24- temps are around 106 degrees, light rain here and there with lots of humidity.
I did my stretches.
I took Kelly to Twentynine Palms post office and then to the DMV. We bought a pizza at Domino's Pizza and ate it at her home.
Thursday 25- very early at 3:30am we had a downpour that lasted 10-20 minutes. Temps of 102 with light clouds and a bit of humidity.
I did my stretches, lifted weights and punched the heavybag for two minutes.
I watched season 4 episode 18 of “Warehouse 13”; Lost and Found.
Friday 26- it has been raining off and on since 1pm. Temps in the 90s with heavy Nimbostratus cloud cover with Cumulonimbus clouds gathering and creating lightning and thunder.
I did my stretches.
I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.
I worked on Margaret's laptop for a spell.
I wrote some poems and then watched “Battlestar Galactica: the Miniseries”.
Saturday 27- slightly over 100 degrees with sweltering humidity.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
I got everything ready for potluck. It was the first time I tried to make a Caesar Salad and I hoped everyone will like it. I arrived at our Community center and there were already 35 folks standing around Chris Jonas’s Grill Master as he barbecue steaks and babyback ribs to go along with Dyan Carroll’s lobster tails her mom Dorothy Jacobsen had flown in yesterday from Maine. For dessert, Mary and Chris Koval brought strawberry shortcake with plenty of homemade whipped cream for topping. Folks were dropping by telling us the aroma from the barbecue brought them. Neighbors Mark and Claudine Morella and their daughter Izzy (you all remember them?) were on their way back from a barbecue that was canceled because of the weather. Mark made a quick call and within fifteen minutes we had a Mariachi band serenading all of us. Other’s from the canceled barbecue showed up bringing all kinds of steaks and jumbo shrimps for the Grill Master to cook up. We must have ended up with 65 folks in all. On my plate I had a whole rack of baby back ribs, salad, lobster with clarified butter. For my dessert I declined the baked Alaska and settled for the yummy strawberry shortcake. There was plenty leftover to take home and everyone had a pleasant time.
I got back home and couldn’t move, honestly, I ate so much that all I did for the rest of the night was watch reruns of Sherlock Holmes and first episode of “Battlestar Galactica”; 33.
It is good to have friends with a good sense of humor and in actuality we only had ten folks showing up for potluck, but my friends there at potluck, God bless them all, asked me to make up a story instead of my usual listing of what was brought. They even said to make up people... I told them I could do that :)
***** Stuff I Wrote this Week******
A reply to Scotty’s Poem:
But what becomes of this decay, this tiny life, this raven's prey? Where once had stood yet lives no more, has sprouted seeds from lover's tears. It grows to reach, to spread, beyond the realms of night, to carry hope, to shine a light, upon our fears of desolate waste, to guide us safely to our fate.
It is a shattered day when
a love once held
slips away
into silent spell
that seeps darkness
into my heart
and steals
what is left
as they depart
Sadness sorrow do surround
who lost a love
tears on the ground
seek our passion
seek our faith
what once was love
bitter ashes lay
Time will heal
or so they say
this deep dark wound
will still remain
Oh my heart
oh how it bleeds
amid oceans of sorrow
I collapsed to my knees
bending now
I cover my face
not wanting see
a new reality
that has taken love’s place
Tears of loneliness
run freely now
upon wet cheeks
and broken brow
What is now stolen
can not be replaced
but heal it will
to bear the scars
for yet another love
who wanders my way
Nature sings her sweet melodies
with raindrops that patter all around me
of bees buzzing in fields of flowers varied with color
painting landscapes for those who take such a bother.
I listen to see, using sight I do hear
Nature’s song is my soul’s request to defeat all my fears.
I saw then heard lightning booms of thundered
as distant storms rage to create such a fright
this giving me pause for things I must ponder
of life and death and how it must be
as the sounds of winds whipping through high forest trees
If I sit quietly
close my eyes to face the Sun
I can hear nature’s song as she sings
and we become one.
It is nice to be happy and find that spot in life where you are balanced, calm, in awe of life, and charmed by others who hold you dear to their hearts .
As for religion; I take a little bit of this here and a little bit there to add to my own philosophy. I don't much care to be a follower of any... I leave that for others to pursue... I simply exist.
Let's do more than go forth out into space, let's rip these chains our Earthly bonds that restrains us from the future we seek. Aloft up high beyond the clouds, beyond the Moon, among the stars, this is where our hearts belong, this is where we shall strive to be. Though we love and cherish our Earth our nest, but to lie stagnant in her bosom is not best. We must be thrust out to space and spread as seeds, like fields of dandelion caught in a breeze.
In reply to a question of open source society:
BSD and Microsoft evolved from the same tree trunk (Binary code) but broke off to form different branches; one open source and one proprietary. So it would possibly be the trunk or Binary code where we want to start which is basic to all higher level languages. Putting this all in perspective; The number one problem is the world cannot sustain a singularity with the economic systems of today.
It would be a benefit to devolve the present systems of government into something simpler... possibly eliminating money as payment altogether for another system of value based payment and commitment that everyone can contribute and benefit from.
In history I can see many beginnings of singularities that ultimately failed because they could not be maintained: The technology to construct the pyramids of Egypt are lost to antiquity. The Dark Ages was a definite step back for Western Civilization. I saw a short news item back when President Bush declared we were going back to the Moon, but NASA basically lost the know how to build a rocket like the Saturn 5 and sent teams of researchers scrambling to junkyards to retrieve parts of the Saturn 5 rockets that were sold as junk.
I also believe that all bets are off if we cannot colonize and mine space for the raw materials we need to maintain a stable structure of government, social stability and the safety of humanity spreading out into the universe which a finite Earth cannot provide.
******
Sunday 28- temps of 103 with a few clouds.
I did my stretches.
I worked on Margaret’s laptop. It doesn’t want to start Windows XP and just sits there doing nothing. I found out later that when I open the CD drive XP will continue to load. So XP hangs with the CD drive somehow.
I went outside around 9:20pm to watch the Delta Aquarid meteor shower and sat out there for over an hour or so before Moonrise at 11:44pm... I saw many meteors zipping across the sky coming from the radiant between Pegasus and the star Fomalhaut which hadn't rose above the southern horizon that I could see. There were more than the 15 or so an hour they said to expect! Also saw one big bright one, too!
Monday 29- temps around 105 degrees, no clouds and low humidity.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
At 11am I went over to Linda H. house to help her adjust her truck’s shell that had moved since the last time “fixed” it.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I finished up on Margaret’s laptop by reloading Windows XP on it and getting all the new driver updates. It seems to work better now and doesn’t hang with the CD drive.
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.
Monday I watched the Delta Aquarid meteor shower after my night run, but after an hour or more I only saw two of them...
I decided to go back inside the house, fetch my large binoculars, and come back out to drink in the night sky. Saturn is in Virgo right now. I was lost in time gazing deep within the Milky Way :)
I practiced playing my guitar.
Tuesday 30- temps 103 degrees with humidity.
I did my stretches and yoga.
I went over to Stoney’s to wash my clothes and check to see if the place was okay after the rain we had.
I worked on Margaret’s laptop. I had to reinstalled the whole OS because the laptop was so sluggish I couldn't get any work done on it. I also updated her BIOS from version A3 to A7. Now the laptop runs very nicely and called to have her come pick it up tomorrow.
Wednesday 31- temps around 105 degrees.
I did my stretches.
Margaret came by to collect her laptop and was pleased that it worked so well. I told her she should get a RAM upgrade when and if she wanted; it is only running on 512Meg!
I went to WalMart tonight. I stopped to get my mail and found a Jury summons and a DMV renewal for my Cougar saying I need to get it smogged, bummer.
The new Super WalMart is way too big and spread out for me and only picked up a few items there that I would've gotten at the old one. I actually put the produce back I had in my cart and went to Stater Brothers to by food... I even got 6 cream filled donuts for half off :)
Then I drove over to ARCO to filled up with gas and clean the windshields.
I parked at Sonic Burger and ordered a burger with potato bud thingys and a Coke.
I later ordered a chocolate cream pie shake to sip on while driving back home.
I only ate one donut :)
Linda H. called telling me she seeing lots of meteors tonight. I went outside while yakking at her on the phone when a very bright one came out of the summer triangle. It lit up the ground which made me looked up to it! Two more bursts from this brilliant meteor as it traveled north to melt into the darkness above. It must have been from the Perseids....
Goodbye to July... you been a wonderful month!
Sunday 21- it rained really hard around 3am. It continued off and on all day.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for two minutes.
Linda H. came by to borrow a tarp to cover her trailer and we yapped for a spell. She left when it started to rain again.
Monday 22- around 85 degrees with a few sprinkles of rain here and there.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for three minutes.
I finally got time to myself to sit down and fill out my 2011 Federal income tax that I mentioned a few weeks ago when I spent three hours on the phone with the IRS to straighten everything out.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
Kelly cooked up some tasty jambalaya and invited me over for dinner... I even got to take some home!
I watched a movie I saw way back when it first came out in 1981 called “Quest For Fire”. It is strange how I remember some parts of it differently now.
Tuesday 23- temps 103 degrees with humidity.
I did my stretches.
Linda H. called asking me to come around to help her hang the sliding door on the bathroom. We did that and just as I was going to leave she remembered that she couldn’t get her tailgate and window opened of her truck’s camper shell. I found out that the shell was coming unbolted and was starting to slide off the truck. I took two opened ended wrenches and tightened the four holding bolts down. Now it won’t fall off and onto some poor person’s vehicle driving behind her.
I went to my mailbox down on Lear Ave to see if Margaret’s power supply came... all I got was a note saying it was at the post office.
Wednesday 24- temps are around 106 degrees, light rain here and there with lots of humidity.
I did my stretches.
I took Kelly to Twentynine Palms post office and then to the DMV. We bought a pizza at Domino's Pizza and ate it at her home.
Thursday 25- very early at 3:30am we had a downpour that lasted 10-20 minutes. Temps of 102 with light clouds and a bit of humidity.
I did my stretches, lifted weights and punched the heavybag for two minutes.
I watched season 4 episode 18 of “Warehouse 13”; Lost and Found.
Friday 26- it has been raining off and on since 1pm. Temps in the 90s with heavy Nimbostratus cloud cover with Cumulonimbus clouds gathering and creating lightning and thunder.
I did my stretches.
I updated the Copper Mountain Mesa Website and sent out the Newsletter.
I worked on Margaret's laptop for a spell.
I wrote some poems and then watched “Battlestar Galactica: the Miniseries”.
Saturday 27- slightly over 100 degrees with sweltering humidity.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
I got everything ready for potluck. It was the first time I tried to make a Caesar Salad and I hoped everyone will like it. I arrived at our Community center and there were already 35 folks standing around Chris Jonas’s Grill Master as he barbecue steaks and babyback ribs to go along with Dyan Carroll’s lobster tails her mom Dorothy Jacobsen had flown in yesterday from Maine. For dessert, Mary and Chris Koval brought strawberry shortcake with plenty of homemade whipped cream for topping. Folks were dropping by telling us the aroma from the barbecue brought them. Neighbors Mark and Claudine Morella and their daughter Izzy (you all remember them?) were on their way back from a barbecue that was canceled because of the weather. Mark made a quick call and within fifteen minutes we had a Mariachi band serenading all of us. Other’s from the canceled barbecue showed up bringing all kinds of steaks and jumbo shrimps for the Grill Master to cook up. We must have ended up with 65 folks in all. On my plate I had a whole rack of baby back ribs, salad, lobster with clarified butter. For my dessert I declined the baked Alaska and settled for the yummy strawberry shortcake. There was plenty leftover to take home and everyone had a pleasant time.
I got back home and couldn’t move, honestly, I ate so much that all I did for the rest of the night was watch reruns of Sherlock Holmes and first episode of “Battlestar Galactica”; 33.
It is good to have friends with a good sense of humor and in actuality we only had ten folks showing up for potluck, but my friends there at potluck, God bless them all, asked me to make up a story instead of my usual listing of what was brought. They even said to make up people... I told them I could do that :)
***** Stuff I Wrote this Week******
A reply to Scotty’s Poem:
But what becomes of this decay, this tiny life, this raven's prey? Where once had stood yet lives no more, has sprouted seeds from lover's tears. It grows to reach, to spread, beyond the realms of night, to carry hope, to shine a light, upon our fears of desolate waste, to guide us safely to our fate.
It is a shattered day when
a love once held
slips away
into silent spell
that seeps darkness
into my heart
and steals
what is left
as they depart
Sadness sorrow do surround
who lost a love
tears on the ground
seek our passion
seek our faith
what once was love
bitter ashes lay
Time will heal
or so they say
this deep dark wound
will still remain
Oh my heart
oh how it bleeds
amid oceans of sorrow
I collapsed to my knees
bending now
I cover my face
not wanting see
a new reality
that has taken love’s place
Tears of loneliness
run freely now
upon wet cheeks
and broken brow
What is now stolen
can not be replaced
but heal it will
to bear the scars
for yet another love
who wanders my way
Nature sings her sweet melodies
with raindrops that patter all around me
of bees buzzing in fields of flowers varied with color
painting landscapes for those who take such a bother.
I listen to see, using sight I do hear
Nature’s song is my soul’s request to defeat all my fears.
I saw then heard lightning booms of thundered
as distant storms rage to create such a fright
this giving me pause for things I must ponder
of life and death and how it must be
as the sounds of winds whipping through high forest trees
If I sit quietly
close my eyes to face the Sun
I can hear nature’s song as she sings
and we become one.
It is nice to be happy and find that spot in life where you are balanced, calm, in awe of life, and charmed by others who hold you dear to their hearts .
As for religion; I take a little bit of this here and a little bit there to add to my own philosophy. I don't much care to be a follower of any... I leave that for others to pursue... I simply exist.
Let's do more than go forth out into space, let's rip these chains our Earthly bonds that restrains us from the future we seek. Aloft up high beyond the clouds, beyond the Moon, among the stars, this is where our hearts belong, this is where we shall strive to be. Though we love and cherish our Earth our nest, but to lie stagnant in her bosom is not best. We must be thrust out to space and spread as seeds, like fields of dandelion caught in a breeze.
In reply to a question of open source society:
BSD and Microsoft evolved from the same tree trunk (Binary code) but broke off to form different branches; one open source and one proprietary. So it would possibly be the trunk or Binary code where we want to start which is basic to all higher level languages. Putting this all in perspective; The number one problem is the world cannot sustain a singularity with the economic systems of today.
It would be a benefit to devolve the present systems of government into something simpler... possibly eliminating money as payment altogether for another system of value based payment and commitment that everyone can contribute and benefit from.
In history I can see many beginnings of singularities that ultimately failed because they could not be maintained: The technology to construct the pyramids of Egypt are lost to antiquity. The Dark Ages was a definite step back for Western Civilization. I saw a short news item back when President Bush declared we were going back to the Moon, but NASA basically lost the know how to build a rocket like the Saturn 5 and sent teams of researchers scrambling to junkyards to retrieve parts of the Saturn 5 rockets that were sold as junk.
I also believe that all bets are off if we cannot colonize and mine space for the raw materials we need to maintain a stable structure of government, social stability and the safety of humanity spreading out into the universe which a finite Earth cannot provide.
******
Sunday 28- temps of 103 with a few clouds.
I did my stretches.
I worked on Margaret’s laptop. It doesn’t want to start Windows XP and just sits there doing nothing. I found out later that when I open the CD drive XP will continue to load. So XP hangs with the CD drive somehow.
I went outside around 9:20pm to watch the Delta Aquarid meteor shower and sat out there for over an hour or so before Moonrise at 11:44pm... I saw many meteors zipping across the sky coming from the radiant between Pegasus and the star Fomalhaut which hadn't rose above the southern horizon that I could see. There were more than the 15 or so an hour they said to expect! Also saw one big bright one, too!
Monday 29- temps around 105 degrees, no clouds and low humidity.
I did my stretches, lifted weights, yoga, ran a mile and a half with 1.5lbs around each wrists, core trainer, and punched the heavybag for five minutes.
At 11am I went over to Linda H. house to help her adjust her truck’s shell that had moved since the last time “fixed” it.
I did my stretches, lifted 10lb dumbbells and went for my evening walk with my backpack.
I finished up on Margaret’s laptop by reloading Windows XP on it and getting all the new driver updates. It seems to work better now and doesn’t hang with the CD drive.
I did my stretches, lifted 20lb dumbbells, and went for a night run.
Monday I watched the Delta Aquarid meteor shower after my night run, but after an hour or more I only saw two of them...
I decided to go back inside the house, fetch my large binoculars, and come back out to drink in the night sky. Saturn is in Virgo right now. I was lost in time gazing deep within the Milky Way :)
I practiced playing my guitar.
Tuesday 30- temps 103 degrees with humidity.
I did my stretches and yoga.
I went over to Stoney’s to wash my clothes and check to see if the place was okay after the rain we had.
I worked on Margaret’s laptop. I had to reinstalled the whole OS because the laptop was so sluggish I couldn't get any work done on it. I also updated her BIOS from version A3 to A7. Now the laptop runs very nicely and called to have her come pick it up tomorrow.
Wednesday 31- temps around 105 degrees.
I did my stretches.
Margaret came by to collect her laptop and was pleased that it worked so well. I told her she should get a RAM upgrade when and if she wanted; it is only running on 512Meg!
I went to WalMart tonight. I stopped to get my mail and found a Jury summons and a DMV renewal for my Cougar saying I need to get it smogged, bummer.
The new Super WalMart is way too big and spread out for me and only picked up a few items there that I would've gotten at the old one. I actually put the produce back I had in my cart and went to Stater Brothers to by food... I even got 6 cream filled donuts for half off :)
Then I drove over to ARCO to filled up with gas and clean the windshields.
I parked at Sonic Burger and ordered a burger with potato bud thingys and a Coke.
I later ordered a chocolate cream pie shake to sip on while driving back home.
I only ate one donut :)
Linda H. called telling me she seeing lots of meteors tonight. I went outside while yakking at her on the phone when a very bright one came out of the summer triangle. It lit up the ground which made me looked up to it! Two more bursts from this brilliant meteor as it traveled north to melt into the darkness above. It must have been from the Perseids....
Goodbye to July... you been a wonderful month!
