I Fought For You
Aug 28, 2010 Political
A very touching and poignant video. Instead of Al Gore’s film, this should be shown in schools.
God bless this country and the men and women who serve to keep her free despite the progressive agenda of destruction.
Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
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Tags: fought for you, Military, patriotism, pride, progressive destruction, veterans
Back In The Day, Part II
May 14, 2009 Political
When I went off to college, intending to begin my life, I was glad to leave my parent’s house- who wouldn’t be, it was to be a grand adventure, I was going to conquer (metaphorically) the world, or at least learn Commercial art, and drafting. (OK, maybe a step down from the conquering thing.)
I loved to paint and create beautiful things, but two years into my education, I began to notice something- a tremor, barely noticeable at first, but one that made detail work with a pencil or brush difficult, if not impossible. I thought it was nerves, and I was right, just not quite in the way I had envisioned.
I had palsy- a minor bout, but it was exacerbated every time I tried to concentrate on what I was doing. My focusing on a specific task would cause the tremors to increase. You can imagine my frustration- at that time there were no computers, no photo shop, or adobe apps that one might use to make things easier. No, I was rather like the old scribes before printing presses were invented, and in my case, I was effectively halted in my tracks.
Oh, I went one more semester, doing progressively worse in terms of quality, and my level of frustration rose.
I even took internships at commercial art studios- well, that was a mistake – all I got out of that was an ulcer- between the all but impossible deadlines, and my palsy, I put myself in the hospital for a couple of days, intil the docs figured I had a bleeding ulcer.
The Doctor told me in no uncertain terms I would need to reduce my stress levels, so when I was released, I went back to the one thing that had paid money during my college years- carpentry.
Carpentry is a hard job- it is very physical, but requires no real detail work on little stuff, so my palsy wasn’t a problem as long as I swung a hammer, but writing my name on the back of a paycheck- well, let’s just say I wasn’t going to win any prizes for penmanship. Still, the carpentry was a good thing- oh, like all jobs, there were parts that were better than others, but I was outside, which I have always liked, I was able to build and create something that others would use and like.
Oh- don’t get me wrong- I didn’t respect carpentry at first; I resented it for the fact that this was not what I thought I would be doing for the rest of my life. I had been sidetracked, shanghaied into a career that at first, I thought was beneath me. Heck, this was what I did for summer jobs, this couldn’t be a career- I just knew I had better things to do.
Well, as it turned out, I did not- I couldn’t sit in an office and be cooped up- my irritation would grow, and I wasn’t much fun to be around. I needed the open air. In retrospect, I probably should have been a Parks & Wildlife warden or something along those lines, but just knew that I had to be outside and I had to create, so carpentry it was. I enjoyed the smell of freshly cut wood,and I loved fitting something together so well it looked like it grew that way- well, almost, anyway.
So I learned to read blueprints, and how to know more than the boss. I learned how to anticipate things, and I learned that I have a talent for knowing just how long something will take to do.
In short, I learned the most important lesson- how to be invaluable to your boss. You see, this ability makes you the last to be fired, and I wanted that. Carpentry is an uncertain life, dependent on people purchasing homes, and when there is a recession, people do not do that. That makes carpentry a job driven by the whims of the market more than almost any other career.
I learned to be flexible- if people weren’t buying homes, perhaps they needed their home remodeled, or a deck, or even repairs. I learned to do them all.
I learned, through my remodeling experience, just how older homes were made, the building techniques used, and the tools they used to do these jobs. I taught myself to replicate the older moldings and small artistic work that certain older homes had been decorated with. I have, as my palsy grew a little worse, and I developed arthritis, learned the smaller things, so I could still create- I might no longer have the strength to be able to lift a thirty foot rafter up to the roof, but I could at least create mantelpieces.
And finally, learned to make furniture. The ultimate creative effort with regards to wood and carpentry. And I am good at it- I know, because people pay me to do this- all my business is word of mouth, and while business is slack now, it will pick up. It’s all a part of the ebb and flow of markets.
Now I said that to say this- the old saying that life is what happens while you’re busy making plans is very true, but it is also true that no matter where you find yourself, no matter what you end up doing, you should take pride in it, because whether you know it or not, this is how you will be known. Everything I have done, I have done with the assurance to myself that I would not be ashamed to put my name on whatever I was working on.
It did not matter whether it was a watercolor painting, or a 17,000 square foot home- the only difference to me was one of size, not quality. And I will continue to do this, because this gives me satisfaction, and I can look myself in the mirror every night and sleep well knowing I have done my best with what I have.
In the end, that is all that counts.
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Back in the Day
May 9, 2009 Political
I guess in a way, this post is different from what I usually write about, but awhile back, I had a person of the liberal persuasion ask me what, in my opinion, was the real world I was talking about, and that did cause me to think, for our world is changing ever more rapidly. There’s a huge chunk of what it used to mean to be an American, live the American Dream, and grow up in America, three aspects of American life that are evolving, or devolving, depending on your point of view.
Let’s take the last one first, as I have many good memories of exploring the prairies and fields on my way to school in the late 50s and early 60s. My friends and I found many places we thought were almost magical, in their newness. Ponds, forests, even (and especially) Buffalo Bayou held promise for roaming boys who chased and caught fish, turtles, and snakes in that time. We had space to roam, and so we did.
When we wanted, we just hung out on the street corner. Mind you, this was not then the city, but the city limits. So we grew, and went to school, and our parents, by and large, taught us how to fish, and how to hunt. When we were of age, and got our driver’s licenses, we got used, and often battered trucks to drive, and almost every one had a gun rack in the back window, where we carried rifles and shotguns. These rifles traveled with us to school, and were there when we got out of class. Noone ever thought of using one on a classmate or teacher- we were taught better than that.
We (the boys) almost all carried a knife with us, because you never know when you might need one. We didn’t fight with knives- if we fought, and many of us did,it was with fists, and then the matter was settled, often with the opponents becoming friends, but at least with respect for one another.
We rebelled, as teenagers do, many of us smoking cigarettes, because our parents told us not to, but we knew better, of course. Some of us got liquor or beer, because our parents told us not to, but again, we knew better. And some of us got drugs, because that was the holy grail of Banned by Parents Substances, therefore it just had to be the best stuff. Of course, none of it truly was, but some still deny that today.
And, of course, when we as a generation, began to have children, we all said we would do it differently from our parents- none of that vicious spanking, no- we would be kinder and gentler and give them time outs.
In return, now some children feel entitled, and they take guns to school, where they shoot people because they feel so alienated, or they didn’t get what they wanted for Christmas, or something is missing in their lives. That something is probably discipline, but you have a hard time convincing parents that they did not do enough in the area of discipline, and probably too much in the way of trying to be their child’s best friend. You cannot be both, until they become adults.
As for living the American Dream, this used to be that once you had the opportunity, it was up to you and your hard work to make use of that opportunity, plus a little luck might not hurt, but mostly it was hard work. I used to look at my father, who was not rich, but who invested as wisely as he could, and worked almost every day of his life. He managed to carve out a good life for himself and his family, all without compromising his innate honesty and I wonder where that ethic has gone. Oh, I know that many people still work hard and still get ahead, but there are more and more people, mostly young, who feel that they deserve a job, they deserve the new home, and they deserve to be rich. They are wrong.
These people deserve nothing more than the opportunity to achieve, and after that, it’s all up to them, but one thing I learned from my father, is that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. If you work hard at what you enjoy, you will look up, and twenty or thirty years have passed, and you are a success- but there is no short cut.
And lastly, or first on my list, what do I think about what it means to be an American- a very complex issue, for it would mean something different to virtually everyone in specific ways, but for me, I feel that this is the greatest country in the world, bar none. I do not feel that we have to apologize to anyone- ever. I am proud of the strides we have made in overcoming mistakes we have made in the past, and unlike some others, I feel we are becoming better all the time. I am proud that we take the lead in much of the aid that flows to poorer places, and I am proud that we put our word and our blood on the line for principles that some will not ever understand.
I feel that all the Americans here are my brothers and sisters, and while I may squabble with some (you can pick your friends but you can’t pick your family, right?), at the heart of the matter is the truth that no one from outside the U.S. can mess with my family without starting a fight they cannot win.
That is my truth.
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Obama’s Global Test Moment
Sep 28, 2008 Political
John Kerry talked about a global test, the idea that we would run things by the rest of the world to see what they think before we do them. Who cares what the rest of the world thinks because the reality is unless what we are running by them is some way to let them have more of our hard earned money or a plan to protect them with our military, they will be unlikely to agree with us. This did not stop Barack Obama from putting out his version of the global test. According to NRO:
Second, at the very end Obama seemed to be going for a big finish. He talked about his father from Kenya “writing letter after letter” trying to come to college in the U.S., because in no other country on Earth could one make it like here—”our ideals and values inspired the world.” Powerful stuff.
But then Obama concludes by saying ” I don’t think any of us can say that our standing in the world now, the way children around the world look at the United States, is the same. ” CLANG. He then states, reminiscent of Kerry’s “Global Test”, that we need to “show the world that we will invest in education” and “things that will allow people to live their dreams”.
Let me just jump in and say that I can say that our standing in the world is one in which children can believe they have a chance like no place else on Earth. There Barry, I said it and I mean it.
The United States of America does not have a problem with people trying to get here and they want to be here because the American Dream is still alive and well. People risk their lives walking across deserts, being smuggled in in the back of trucks or the cargo hold of ships, they risk drowning to get here from Cuba and they do this because America offers them freedom. These people come here, often in violation of the law, just to taste freedom. We don’t have to build a wall to keep people in, we have to build one to keep them out (I don’t excuse their illegal behavior, just point out they are willing to break the law to get here).
Diplomats from oppressive countries love the freedoms they have while assigned to the US. They may come and go as they please, shop where they want, say what they want and they live a much better life than they could ever hope to in whatever crap hole country they come from.
Make no mistake, our standing in the world is extremely high among the citizens of other countries who long to live here where they can be safe and enjoy the blanket of freedom that opens the human spirit and allows people to live life to its fullest. We might not be held in high regard by their leaders but in the hearts of the people, those allowed to know about the world, we are the only real hope.
So Senator Obama, I beg to differ with you because my life experiences have shown me a different America than the one you describe. We are the lighthouse that people steer toward to illuminate the darkness of night. Most importantly, the people who live here have the best opportunities in the world and so long as they do the opinion of those outside our borders is of no consequence.
Senator, you are not running to be King of the World. You are running to be President of the United States and what we think here should be the most important thing in your mind.
Then again, I would not expect anyone with a soul mate who says:
“For the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change.”
To actually understand this.
I have always been proud of America, ALWAYS, and I don’t need a global test to tell me that I should feel that way.
Tags: blame America, debate, global test, Obama, pride