It figures...

I very rarely go anywhere without a camera. You never know when something amazing might catch your eye. It was just a trip to Lowes, less than 15 minutes away, what could possibly happen. Traveling north on Route 2 just through the “narrows” I see this bird flying north. It didn’t have the same movement nor the size of any bird I had seen before. Then it turned - an American Bald Eagle.

I slowed as much as possible without getting run over, and watched for a few seconds. Absolutely amazing…………………and no camera. As I drove on I began to doubt what I saw and tried to convince myself that it wasn’t a bald eagle, but a large osprey. I told a friend about it and he said it was probably an osprey as well. That made me feel better about not having a camera with me. Until tonight. I got a call from Dad, who had also told me it was probably an osprey. He had been meaning to tell me that there have been several articles in the paper about people seeing a bald eagle along Route 2 north of the narrows.

Damn.

As we say goodbye to President George W. Bush, I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to him. Now, I do not agree with some of things he and his administration has done, but I cannot thank him enough for keeping my family safe. I offer him and his family a fond farewell. Thanks W.

Time

My uncle passed away a couple of days ago, and although I was not very close to him, his unexpected death has hit home. We always think there will be time to do this, time to see that or time to mend fences. My uncle had two children who, for whatever reasons, no longer spoke to him. I would see my uncle during holidays and occasionally we would bump into each other. He would always speak fondly of his boys and that he missed them. He would always say that he should reach out and contact them, but he never really did. Tonight at the funeral home his boys showed up. I cannot express the sadness in watching them stand in front of their father, knowing that they have not seen him or even spoken to him in many years.

I don’t know what caused the riff, and honestly, I don’t care. What I do know is that there is never enough time. There are so many things that we put off thinking that we will eventually get to it, but never do. I am not talking about the dripping faucet or the hole in the soffitt. I am talking about the things in life that matter, spending time with loved ones, reaching out and healing emotional wounds, helping those less fortunate or establishing a relationship with God.

My cousins are two very nice and thoughtful people. I only hope that they don’t come to regret all of the missed time with their Dad - the missed Christmas mornings, the backyard BBQs and even just the simple conversations about sports or the weather. Something tells me that eventually that day will come. Time marches on, relentlessly.

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Well, the day we have been waiting for is finally here. Two years of politics, debate and the media. This is now the third presidential election that I will partake. I can honestly say that I have never voted for a candidate, I always cast my lot against the candidate I favor the least. This year will be no different.

Where are all the great leaders of America? Unfortunately, those people are not welcome by the left/right wing cooks that have taken control of both parties. Somebody that actually makes sense, that understands where this country is and where it needs to be heading. It is long past time for a legitimate third party to come into the fold.

I don’t know what tomorrow brings, but I will cast my vote around 7 pm wishing there was at least another option – knowing that four years from now I will be able to post this same exact entry. The more things "change", the more they stay the same.

How to.....Successfully Drink Noni Juice

I have started taking a daily dose of Tahitian Noni Juice. For those of you who are unaware of this Polynesian fruit, it is considered by many to be a very powerful medicinal supplement. It is known for lowering blood sugar levels, clearing up many types of infections and is currently being studied as a possible cure for some cancers. I encourage you to do your own due diligence and vet it out. http://www.tahitiannoni.com/

Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it? Well there is a catch, it tastes like hell. My wife, however, loves it…………she’s nuts, it’s awful and that is putting it nicely. So I have created a kit and a step by step procedure to successfully take my daily dose of noni without hurling it into the kitchen sink.

The kit consists of a glass, a stick of minty gum, noni, and a water source.

First – Prepare by placing the bottle of noni, glass and a stick of gum (unwrapped) on the counter.

Second – Pour your daily dose into the appropriate sized glass (for me it’s a shot glass – my wife uses an 8 ounce glass……again nuts)

Third – Turn the kitchen faucet on and let cold water run.

Fourth – Pinch your nose so that you are forced to breath through your mouth

Fifth – Down your noni as quickly as possible only faster.

Sixth – DO NOT LET GO OF YOUR NOSE.

Seventh – Immediately fill your glass with cold water and vigorously swish then swallow, STILL HOLDING NOSE.

Eight – Repeat step seven.

Nine – DO NOT LET GO OF YOUR NOSE, quickly begin chewing the gum as if your life depended on it, because it does.

Tenth – After chewing vigorously for ten to fifteen seconds, let go of your nose.

Nothing to it. You will still get a faint taste of the horrendous liquid from hell, but you’ll feel better, possibly.

Grammar.......Shmammar

Wow, it’s been a while. When I began this blogging thing, I didn’t realize that it would turn into a lesson in grammar. As a “math guy” my interest and knowledge in grammar is….let’s just say I am not smarter than 5th grader when it comes to punctuation, adjectives and prepositions. I can, however, type a run-on sentence with the best of them, as you are witnessing right now with this fine piece of literature. My lovely wife, who is borderline OCD about proper spelling and punctuation, actually proofed my first couple of posts. What she didn’t realize is that after she finished I still went in and changed a couple of things. Sometimes it just sounds better even though it is incorrect. So moving forward my posts will no longer be proofed. I may sound illiterate, ignorant and uneducated, but I am from West Virginia.

Oh by the way, being from West Virginia, I am also an inbred bigoted sexist. At least that is according to the media and Vice President Dick Cheney. That is for another day.

Genuine and Honest -- Rare

It has been a long time since I sat and talked with someone who is 100% sincere and 100% genuine. A couple of weeks ago I talked with a friend that I haven’t seen in over a year. This is a man that does not have a steady job, has very little money and very little education. He is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. Knowing that, I still can’t help but envy this man. He knows who he is. He does not let the pressures of today’s society influence him. He accepts what life hands him and embraces it without complaint. Could he do better? Probably, he is an intelligent and sensible person. But he is content being who he is. Talking to him is like a breath of fresh air.

I know a handful of recovering addicts and there is one commonality with all of them – they know who they are. Funny how losing one’s self control seems to lead to the discovery of self. I’m sure it is not true for all addicts, and I know there are those who have never hit rock bottom that are genuine. I’m just saying, it seems odd that some of us spend our entire lives criticizing or ignoring people of addiction, when in the end, it’s that type of person we long to become.

Thanks for the talk Ben.