Thou shalt surely cry

Sorry folks, the new movie Gran Torino was Clint Eastwood's gift to me personally and he's telling me thanks for a life time of support and impersonations.
Yeah, sure, you can go see the movie and enjoy it all you like but it's just for me. Sorry.

It's kind of a goodbye song.


I first started watching Eastwood back in the day when he played on Rawhide. Later, the Spaghetti westerns, and on to other westerns and the Dirty Harry characters. I've seen them all and seen a lot of them many, many times. I can quote entire scenes and was kind of known for that a few years back.
The Dirty Harry scene where he is eating a hot dog while walking down the street and shooting bad guys is possibly my all time favorite movie scene. The "I know what you are thinking" dialogue I have had memorized for decades.

Eastwood is the man. Always has been.


I felt very sad when Paul Newman died. Along with Steve McQueen, Newman was possibly the coolest guy that ever lived.
But, I didn't actually cry.

I will cry when Clint Eastwood dies.

Speaking of crying, I don't remember Eastwood crying in any movie he ever starred in up until Gran Torino. I could be missing something and could have forgotten some scene in which he shed a tear, but I don't think so.
In this movie he actually cried. I covered well, but I kind of teared up with him. Sssshhhhh!!!! Don't tell anyone I cried and I wouldn't tell you if you asked me to my face, but I did.

And, I will cry when Clint Eastwood dies.

Sorry, but he's been a hero for me for most of my life.

Gran Torino was his saying goodbye to me and I want to thank him for a lifetime of great movies and sorry, Clint, if I didn't get some of those impersonations down just perfect.
You deserved the best.

Bloody Sunday

The Aspen does not really like this song, but it's one of my all time favs. Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2 is still going to be on the list of my all time favorites in spite of Aspen's opinion. :)

Hell, the drumbeat in itself is more than enough to interest me in this song.



But, to me, it's way deeper than drums or guitars or even the remarkable Bono. It's about repression and fighting back. It's about getting control over your own life back from the people that have dominated you.

I can relate to that.



I am not Irish. Actually, I have no idea what I am other than Heinz 57, but I have always felt connected to the Irish people. Maybe because I was also born on the wrong side of the tracks in the worldly scheme of things. Or, because I always feel something for the underdogs.
Either way, I have always had a fascination for all things Irish or Scottish.

Sunday Bloody Sunday is about an incident that happened in 1972 in Derry, Ireland. English soldiers fired upon unarmed Irish protesters, killing at least 13. This song is honoring those victims.
It honors them well. There's no going back and changing things and we can't bring those people back, but this song does not let their memories die.
This song even makes me think of Bobby Sands who felt so strongly about the cause that he gave his life for it. There's just something about feeling that strongly about something that catches my attention.

I don't feel that strongly about much of anything and in fact am really confused right now about what I think about anything that matters in life.



Today is Sunday. I am not going to go out and give my life today for something I feel is important, but my heart goes out to some of those that were willing to do that.


Imagine Bono singing these words to those fantastic notes:



I can't believe the news today
Oh, I can't close my eyes and make it go away
How long, how long must we sing this song?
How long, how longCause tonight
We can be as one tonight
Broken bottles under children's feet
Bodies strewn across the dead end street
But I won't heed the battle call
It puts my back up
Puts my back up against the wall
Sunday, bloody Sunday
Sunday, bloody Sunday
Sunday, bloody SundaySunday, bloody Sunday
And the battle's just begun
There's many lost, but tell me who has won
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart
Sunday, bloody Sunday
Sunday, bloody Sunday
How long, how long must we sing this song?
How long, how long
Cause tonight
We can be as oneTonight, tonight
Sunday, bloody Sunday
Sunday, bloody Sunday
Wipe the tears from your eyes
Wipe your tears away
Oh, wipe your tears away
Oh, wipe your tears away
Sunday, bloody Sunday
Oh, wipe your bloodshot eyes
Sunday, bloody Sunday
Sunday, bloody Sunday
Sunday, bloody Sunday
Sunday, bloody Sunday
Sunday, bloody Sunday
And it's true we are immune
When fact is fiction and TV reality
And today the millions cry
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die

The 2012 Problem

The Pre-Columbian Mayan calender ends on Dec 21, 2012





This blog is about my fears of the world ending before I do something.





When I was a kid there was a book called 1984 by George Orwell. Obviously, I never read the book but from my view point it was about the end of times. I found out later that the subject of this book was quite a bit different than what I thought it was.
Hey, I was a school kid and not that interested in fiction.


But, regardless of my thinking at the time in my life, it kind of represented the end of the world. Not so much the end of the world but the beginning of end times.


Again, very obviously, the world didn't end in 1984. But, I grew up thinking the end of the world might come before I had a chance to do the things I wanted to do. To face God is one of the biggest fears I have to this day. I hope he is merciful towards me.

If God isn't merciful, I am in some deep dog poo.

There are other instances in my lifetime when people thought the end times were upon us. One of the more amusing ones now is the year 2000. I remember people going around collecting goods that they could use in case there was no electrical power or no place to buy groceries. A lot of people thought the end was coming when the clock struck 12 on December 31st of 1999. I remember thinking it silly, but one eye was watching the clock just in case.

Obviously, the world didn't end.

Still, End Times are a big thing in my life and I don't believe the world will end on December 21, 2012.

But, I have to admit that one eye will be on the calender just in case.

Golf is life

Yes, I realize that golf is only a game but in some ways it is like life.

First of all, it takes a lot of work to get better at it. You can't just roll through life and expect good things to always happen, same with golf. You have to practice at it.

Sometimes when you are golfing you make a major screw up and end up in the sand trap or in the woods. Same with life.
You often screw things up regardless of how hard you try. It's how you react to the screw ups that make you a good person or a good golfer.
I am not a good golfer, and it's up in the air whether I am a good person in life but one thing I do know is that if you just hang in there and don't get flustered you can crawl out of that hole or bad spot you get into and come out ahead. Just look at Tiger Woods, he hits some bad shots, too, it's just that he doesn't get frustrated with them and comes back and hits a spectacular shot. A lot of it is mental, just like when bad things come our way if we can just not get frustrated we can come back strong.

Also, I have played some difficult courses. Today, I played an easy course and I loved it. Playing the hard courses in my early days of golfing made this easy course seem like a cake walk.
It's the same thing in life. Hard events can make you appreciate the good times.
Today, I shot a birdie and then hit 3 pars in a row. Please, if you are reading this and you are a good golfer, don't laugh at me. But, for me, that is an outstanding outing.

People often play golf to escape life, but there is no mistaking the similarities.

Yeah, I know that's only a few similarities but if I thought a few minutes I could easily come up with more so get off my butt. :)

Sometimes

Sometimes I feel like life has passed me by

Sometimes I feel like who gives a rat's ass

Sometimes I feel I am invisible

Sometimes I feel like life sucks and then you die

Sometimes I want to roundhouse some people

But, sometimes I want to jump up in the air and shout

But, sometimes I want to dance like nobody feels is possible

But, sometimes I feel like doing something I have never done

But, sometimes I want to put on a cape and explore the world

But, sometimes I feel like listening to BB King and write on my blog

It's those but sometimes' that keep a fella like me going

It's those but sometimes' that make life worthwhile

It's those but sometimes' that make me feel at least partly visible

It's those but sometimes' that make the sky so beautiful

It's those but sometimes that make me smile

I'd like every day to be but sometimes.

Southern USA

A few days ago we completed a drive from the desert to Greenville, South Carolina and we had a great time.
Just getting in and out of Texas is an ordeal and I think we'll probably fly next time, but I did enjoy seeing some new things or some places I haven't seen in years.

I've been to Arkansas in the last ten years so I I know a little about the state. The western part of the state is pretty nice, although the people pretty much suck in general so I would just as soon just fly over next time.
The eastern part of the state is pretty ugly and drab and nothing much to speak of.


Tennessee is on a different level. Loved Memphis from what I saw of it and want to go back desperately. I didn't see much of the rest of the city but the downtown area is great even if they don't know how to cook ribs.
I want to go back and hit one of the blues joints and hang out and tilt one back. Would be awesome if BB King, my new favorite musician, would actually be at his restaurant and playing music. That would make anyone's trip.
I liked the Mississippi being right by the downtown area and the battleground right by the bridge crossing the river.
I am not all that big on Elvis, so I'll pass on Graceland but I always wondered why a rich guy like Elvis would live in Memphis and now I think I know.

Nashville is pretty incredible, too, and I already blogged on it. We need to take some time and see both Nashville and Memphis again for a few days.

The eastern part of the state is simply beautiful. From rolling hills to majestic mountains, it has a lot of things that appeal to me. I didn't get to see enough of Knoxville and sometime I would like to take in a Tennessee Vol football game.
The area is incredible and just north of the Smoky Mountains which is a place I would like to spend a lot of time at in the future.

Tennessee is much like I remembered and the rocky crags with springs all over the place running down the side of the mountains are right at the top of my favorite things in nature.

I love the state and need to see a whole lot more of it and especially the eastern section.


North Carolina rules. I think this is one of my favorite states in the USA.
The Appalachians aren't huge mountains by world standards, but they are very beautiful and I love spending time there. Some of the mountain folks are a little strange and are missing something somewhere, but they in no way take away from the beauty.
We didn't spend a lot of time here but what we saw was incredible. This was my fourth trip to North Carolina and I love it every time I go.
I could see myself living in this state and I particularly like the Ashville area. But, anywhere in the western section of the state is breathtakingly beautiful.


I've been to South Carolina three times, but twice it's been to Greenville. I have to admit, I kind of like that area. It's right on the edge of the Appalachians and from a lot of points in the city you can see the mountains pretty clearly. The trees there and the climate make it an attractive area and of course I like some of the residents there.
I am not all that sure about the rest of the state, but I do like the upstate area.
I do need to see the coastline again. I was there as a kid but don't remember all that much.


Northern Georgia is beautiful and Atlanta is another place that we need to spend more time in. The city itself was attractive and needs further inspection. We were in a rush and just saw scenery from the highway but I liked what I saw.
In Georgia, I want to see some of the northern part of the state. This is another place that we traveled through as a kid and I have seen it but need to see more.


The surprise of the trip for me was Alabama. Now, I am not going to replace North Carolina or Tennessee with Alabama but from what I saw of it the state was very nice.
Talladega National Forest and the mountains in that part of the state was very scenic and enjoyable. I don't like Nascar at all, but the Talladega Motor speedway was pretty impressive.
Birmingham was also much nicer than I perceived it to be and I even kind of liked Tuscaloosa.

The eastern part of Alabama was much nicer than I expected and made traveling through a pleasant experience.


Mississippi was pleasant enough. I expected the trees, but it was more hilly than I thought it would be. Woodall Mountain, at 806 feet in elevation, is the highest point in the state so the hills aren't big but anything other than flat land is nice for my aging eyes.
Meridian was a decent looking city but I doubt I ever spend much time there given the choice. Vicksburg is a high on my list of places to go back to. I have been there but I was young.


Louisiana is a dump. I don't know of anything I like about this state. The northern part of the state which we traveled through was the least scenic of any place we visited and I hope to avoid it in the future.
I know my good pal, Amy, loves New Orleans but I will pass. Sorry. Bourbon Street with it's stench of urine and stale alcohol is not for me.
I like the trees in this state and they play pretty good high school football, but that's about it.

Shreveport is fine if you are into gambling and I would be if I could count cards. Otherwise, I have given away enough money and I am not comfortable with the house always wins concept.

Sorry, that's just my opinion on the matter.


Overall, the Southern states were pretty impressive and enjoyable to travel through. Next time we visit Greenville, we would like to fly in and rent a car to see some local sights.

It was never mentioned

They never talked about it. It happened not long after the birth of their first son, but the event was never mentioned again.
She never brought it up and he never asked. Not only did she not bring it up, she didn't say a lot and that lasted a lifetime.

The event was traumatic to say the least. The men came, they took her off and then she came back. Nobody knows exactly what happened and he was afraid to ask.
He never knew her again but he never left. Talking was just life details, nothing more and nothing less.

The son grew up and he left, never to come back. What was he to come home too? What real home had he ever had?
He just thought it was normal to be in a home where nobody talked and nobody really knew each other. So, the trend continued.
I don't think he ever married. Maybe that was a good thing. Just let this family die because it really wasn't a family at all.

What a tragedy.

The evil in men's hearts ruined a lot of people's lives and the effects never go away. But, it didn't have to completely end lives.

This is not a true story. I dreamed this last night and had some free time since it's New Year's Day, so I thought I would write down my thoughts.

Just a dream, but how many times has this type of thing happened and it completely ruined lives. The effects are long term and reach into so many other's lives that it is just sickening. I have experienced it myself and the details of that I will not go into at this time. She never wanted that to happen and I never wanted to get awakened in the night. Those events changed everyone's life and even if I could go back and change things not sure I would now because certain events in my life never would have happened, I never would have known certain people and other people would never have been born.



What I learned the most from the Cali Girl and from the Aspen is to communicate. I still have light years to go, but I am willing to work on things.

To work on things, you have to begin by mentioning.