Windy

"I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that men go on pilgrimage to find God." Kabir

"I believe the most important element for peace of mind is human compassion." Dalai Lama

We have a week of thunderstorms coming up. We had some really fierce storms this past week. One night saw 80 mph winds. The next morning trees were down all over the place. A very large tree was torn up from its roots and blocked our street all day. It wasn't until the next morning that it was finally sawed up and we could get down our street. Fortunately we live on a corner and could go a different direction.

As I was driving to work I saw a tree that had been split right in half vertically! I had never seen anything like it. Half of the tree was lying in the yard and the other half was out in the street. It was the weirdest sight.

We had several power outages and it seemed just as I got all the digital clocks reset the power would go out again. This house is spooky in the dark. I have candles and matches out now so that we have some light. Mother was coming home when the lights went out once. Fortunately I had woken up and was down there with a flashlight so that she could see to get up the steps.

The winds of change are blowing right now. The know-it-all lady at work quit to join the computer company that we are getting rid of their system. She was mad enough that the hospital wants to get rid of the piece of junk. Right now they are listening to vendors presenting their recommendations so this will eventually mean long hors of converting over to yet another system but hopefully they will pick something decent this time.

I am making a small change this afternoon and replacing the television whose sound is awful and the DVD player that overheats and won't play my DVDs. I looked at some systems at Wal-Mart and there is a nice flat screen TV for $248.00 and a DVD/DVR VCR combo for $148.00 that I am going to go with. I can copy my VCR tapes onto DVDs with this system easily and some of the old things I have on tape will be transferred over to the easier to read and longer lasting DVDs. It is a small change but it will mean a lot to me in the way of enjoyment.

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One Man Can Make a Difference

"What time would it be if all the clocks stopped?" Zen question

"It is ironic that the more serious problems emanate from the more industrially advanced societies. Science and technology have worked wonders in many fields, but the basic human problems remain." Dalai Lama

It is no secret that I am a huge science fiction/fantasy fan. It is also no secret that one of my favorite shows is Doctor Who. Over the years I have worked on and run many conventions with stars from that show. I especially love the new remake of the show and find it interesting that the star of a show about a morally impregnable Time Lord is himself the son of a former moderator of the Church of Scotland and from every thing I've read is a thoroughly nice person.

One of the criticisms I've always heard about science fiction from people who don't understand it is that it has no base in reality. It isn't relevant to life. It is all make believe. Many people fail to realize that the whole science fiction/fantasy genre can apply to our lives in today's world.

Friday's Doctor Who: Turn Left was an interesting show in that the Doctor barely appeared in it. What it was though was a show in which current companion Donna Noble discovered what would happen if that one man had died. It brought together many different episodes that we have seen over the last couple of years and showed what would happen if the Doctor had not been there to save the Earth. The death and destruction that occurred was horrific. One man made a difference.

I accompanied my mother to church on Saturday afternoon. By a strange coincidence we had a visiting missionary priest and his sermon was on how one man can make a difference. He had mentioned Mother Theresa and the difference she made. He talked about a priest who over the last few years has helped to build thousands of homes for poor people. He talked about another who has helped to dig wells so that people could have clean water to drink. One man making a difference.

For many the fact that a science fiction show about one man making a difference and a sermon on the same subject happened within 24 hours of each other would be just a coincidence. For me I don't believe in mere chance like that. I think that we are meant to learn a lesson and there are many different ways to teach that lesson. For some the watching of a science fiction show will teach them something for others sitting on a hard church pew will teach them the same lesson.

In my life I have always tried to make a difference and I know that on a small scale I have succeeded. It isn't enough to just live your life for yourself. You need to reach out and make a difference in the lives of others for the better. One man can make a difference.

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Stormy Weather

"Order is the very essence of the universe - the order of birth and death and so on. It is only man that seems to live in disorder, confusion." Krishnamurti

"The secret is not to fly in the air, or to walk on water; but to walk on the earth." Chinese proverb

"If we do not have truth in our side, we will have no alternative but to keep suffering. Having truth on one's side gives one the pride to be transparent about everything and to speak reason in a face-to-face exchange." Dalai Lama

"If one's cause is supported by sound reasoning, there is no point in using violence. It is those who have no motive other than selfish desire and who cannot achieve their goal through logical reasoning who rely on force." Dalai Lama

We have been having some fierce storms here lately. I awoke Saturday morning at six a.m. to two terrified kitties and thunder and lightening that was shaking the house. Needless to say I didn't get back to sleep.

Life has been kind of stormy of late and I really need to start making some definite decisions as to where I want to go with the rest of my life. Mom's health is declining and her body is plain wearing out. I really don't expect her to last a whole lot longer.

The only real firm decision I can make is I want out of this town with its prejudice and small minded bitchy people. I want to get back to civilization where I'm not looked on as weird because I am interested in science fiction and because I am an artist. I need people with a more new age state of mind I guess like I knew in California.

The only real question now is how to achieve this as I will have to have a job lined up and a place to live. I'll have to move myself and two cats to where ever I go. The two real choice are at this point back to California or down to North Carolina where my niece and her family are at. I am leaning towards North Carolina but I just don't know.

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Happy Fourth of July

As the cats freak from the fireworks going off we are reminded that today is American Independence Day. Sometimes I think we as Americans take that independence for granted. It belongs to us but we shouldn’t share it with “foreigners.” We forget the fact that we were foreigners to this country also. We moved the real residents of this country onto reservations.

 

How often do you hear “they are in our country now and should speak our language.” I would venture to say that a majority of us have foreign languages in our background if we check our family trees. We push our religious beliefs forgetting that we have the freedom of religion because our ancestors came over here in order to practice their religions in peace.

 

On this Fourth of July it is a good time to remember that we are a melting pot and to start to appreciate all the cultures that go into making us the nation we are. I heard someone complain the other day that she hates it when the people who own and run the Chinese restaurant in town speak their own language because she “knows” they are talking about her. What an ego! She stuffs herself on the food that they prepare and at the restaurant that they maintain so she can eat but begrudges them the right to speak their own language. I hate to break it to her but people have much better things to speak about then her. She isn’t important. Personally I think Americans should be required to learn another language in addition to English. We are the only country in the world that doesn’t even try to learn the languages and customs of other people. We expect everyone to speak English even if we are visiting their country. Maybe if we get over our egos and learn to appreciate other cultures we would be able to shake our reputation as “Ugly Americans.”

 

I rejoice in my Celtic heritage and learn as much as I can about my Irish and Scottish backgrounds. I rejoice in my Cherokee heritage. I try and learn what I can about the people who make up my background. Every culture here in America has contributed to us being what we are as a country. All of us are Americans not just those who came over here from England. We have all contributed to making this country great.

 

Everyone here came to this country because they wanted to share in our freedom. Maybe we should remember that and grant them the freedom to speak more then one language, to practice more then one religion, to celebrate the cultures that make up their heritage. They are still Americans and by bringing more diversity to this country they are expanding our horizons and truly making us great.

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