If I could sit down with very successful people and ask them questions how cool would that be? I’ve done this with some real estate investors. Learned quite a bit and profited financially. Tackling internet marketing is another complete animal. James Brausch has another question offering on his blog. So my question to him is “How do you choose to ‘celebrate’ or reward yourself when an internet initiative finally gets off the ground and is profitable?”
A good friend of mine recommended I join up Ed Dale’s Internet course at www.thirtydaychallenge.com. I’m on…what a blast. I’m jazzed, juiced, pumped and ready to go! I’ll make regular posts on my activity during this course.
The editor’s at the Daily Reckoning, as is their habit, address the current mood for businessin America. They hit on a mind set I’ve been hammering for months now. Give a read: “Our feeling now is that everything is turning on its toes too fast. There are too many paradoxes for us to digest. We need to lie down for a while to digest them.
The whole world seems to be racing ahead. But we wonder if it would be going at such a fast clip if it knew what it was racing towards. The underlying presumption must be that the future will be better than the past. Otherwise, why not slow down a bit?
“Dr. Wilson was 103 when she died,” mother informed us recently.
There was something very healthy and reassuring about the way Dr. Wilson practiced medicine. When you went to see her, she already knew everything about you. She had been practicing there for more than a decade before we arrived. She had treated our grandmother, grandfather, mother, father, sister…she knew the breed already; by the time she got to us, the dog before her was as familiar as fleas.
There was something healthy about the way in which she charged for her service, too. You went to see her; she sent you a bill. We don’t remember the rates, but there was no HMO involved…no health insurance…no forms to fill out…and no thought of going to see a tort lawyer if it didn’t work out.
There were certainly poor people around back then. On the tobacco farms of rural Maryland there were many people - usually black - who worked as “tenant farmers” and lived in “tenant houses,” often little more than shacks. They worked for the landlord in exchange for the rent, and earned a few dollars more. They had very little money for medical bills. Still, we never heard of Dr. Wilson turning anyone away. What happened if they couldn’t pay?
“I don’t think Dr. Wilson worried about it too much,” came mother’s reply.
But that was back in the ’50s…and things have moved on. Have they gotten better? Certainly, there have been advances in medical science. The alert and well-informed doctor has more tricks up his sleeve. But the system of practicing medicine was more to our liking a half-century ago, at least as we remember it.
Why then, race into the future?”
They said it perfectly. Why scurry around for a meaningless existence? Meaningful living is never rushed or hectic or frantic.
This morning I looked at the latest entry from The Daily Reckoning. In it I found a large expanse of sanity. They presented a piece showcasing the goals of The Congress for the New Urbanism. Formed in ‘93 their mission is “to present a clear alternative to the mindless devouring juggernaut of suburbia”. The ‘lay movement’, if you will, resulting from this official organization has come to be called the New Urbanists. Over the years this movement has had some successes. Cities have been hit with major new looks. The bland, ’strip mall’ look has given way to bold, creative looks that bring fresh perspective to a neighborhood. This raises a thought in my mind: the shape of buildings affects how we think and influences our mood.
Before I comment on that, the article points out that the New Urbanists are having an effect on some college courses, as well as the entrenched mind set of the faculty. (Isn’t is depressing that the once strong bastion of free thought and creativity, the University, is now home to narrow minded bureaucrats?)
Back to the effect of buildings on people’s minds. I remember a shot from Russia some years ago. It was a shot with the locals hanging out at the beach. There was litter, old pipes, buildings in disrepair…all this was in stark contrast with the attempt of people on the beach to relax and catch a few rays. It did not make me want to relax. Thinking about warehouses, on the water front, with similar paint, is equally depressing. But sitting in my yard looking at a cedar side house in the middle of a green, landscaped yard is relaxing.
My heart goes out to people who are stuck in a particular way of thinking…can’t see a way out…don’t know of other viable options on how to live their life. I read a statistic that stated 50% of the people on planet earth now live in a city. Rural life, along with rural mentality, is close to being in the minority. That in itself is dangerous. But living in the city has other dangers. Buildings are a contributor of static, myopic thinking. God bless the New Urbanists.
Yesterday my son & I made a trip over to Mobile AL for an overnight stay on the battleship Alabama. We pulled out of here early Saturday morning. Arrived at the park by 1:00 pm eastern. Since we were part of a group of Dad’s spending the night on the ship we waited around for 2:30 to slowly come along. We busied ourselves by walking over to the Vietnam/Korea memorial. Seeing the names listed there (names of Alabama men who gave their lives in those two conflicts) I found myself touching the names of some of the men on the polished granite. Some how it brought meaning to me to do that. We said a prayer over the slain men. May their memory be eternal.
We walked all over the park and saw WWll vintage tanks, jets, transport vehicles, helicopters. They were quite impressive. Climbing into the jets was awesome. Just the thing for a 10 year old boy.
Finally the time came to get with the other Dad’s. Filing up to the front we checked in. All the boys were bouncing off the proverbial walls. We lined up to be ‘checked in’ by the main gate. Problem was a large boy scout troop was there just before us. They were taken in first. That was not the problem, actually. The approaching thunderstorm was. The skies were purple and black. I seriously thought a tornado would drop out of the billowing clouds above us. Some 12 of us Dad’s watched it approach and several of us said if it got much closer we would duck inside to get out of the approaching rain. A strong lightening strike made the decision for us. We scurried to a hangar. Getting inside we saw several planes and jets that were not outside. Again, the boys were in seventh heaven.
After milling around for half an hour the rain let up. Our guide came and got us. Directing us to the battleship he gave us the ‘don’t do this, do go here’ speech. We dutifully obeyed and instructed our sons to follow the safety rules. Almost immediately high anxiety formed in the boys. Now was the time for wrestling, exploring, playing games and making new friends.
It’s amazing to me to this day. Home-schooled kids really do play well and get along with each other. The entire night I noticed not one serious conflict. The fathers dutifully supervised their sons. They explored to their hearts content. The old battleship is impressive. Made in the 30’s it was ‘retired’ some time after the second world war. The size of the guns on that bad boy were impressive: large cannon that could reach 40 to 50 miles inland. Dozens of 50 cal. machine guns on both sides of it. I would put the size about 70% of the average cruise liner. I actually didn’t count the total number of guns on that ship.
The sleeping arrangements were pure military. We had a large room with triple bunks to sleep in. The beds were narrow but plenty long enough. Thank goodness it was air conditioned. The look on the boys faces when they saw the sleeping arrangements was priceless. You never saw so many hyped up boys in your life.
We slept well. Got up with the sun. Strolled out on the deck and said morning prayers facing east. This was one of the ‘hit a home run’ trips with your son. He’s eager to go back. Made me promise to take him back, actualy. I will. If you want a very nice outing with your son, stop off in Mobile and do an overnight trip with him. He will never forget it.
Last night my son & I had a great evening. We were waiting for the Misses to come home. She called about fourty-five minutes prior. Said she was on her way. Brannan & I meandered outside. I’ll catch you up on our yard. We live 12 miles from the nearest city. The nearest city is really small. The county we live in has no stop light in the entire county. Monticello is a small, sleepy little town. Everyone who lives there wants it to stay just like it is. The city has maybe five thousand people in it. Our place is in a wooded section of north Florida. 10 acres in the middle of no where. Walking outside we stroll over to the gazebo. It has a swinging bench. Two chairs on either side of it. It was very hot and off the scale humid that night. Temp. read about 85 degrees. Humidity was about that too. In no time we broke out into a north Florida sweat. Our two cats came over to us and started entertaining us. One is a very young male. Probably 6 months old now. The older cat is about 2 years. They are playing well now. The older cat hated the ‘interloper’ the minute we brought him home.
So we watched the cats stalk and pounce on each other for the longest time. Don’t know who brought it up but the subject came up about the black bear in the neighborhood. I mentioned that we might see him amble into our yard. Brannan was ready to go back in then. I convinced him that the chances were remote the bear would stalk and pounce on us.
The conversation drifted to the possibility of seeing a fox walk up into the yard. Or an opossum, or an armadillo. Problem was I didn’t bring my gun. So there we sat. Letting the night grow around us. The quiet was healing. There is nothing like country quiet. At 8:30 pm in north Florida the night bugs take over the noise brigade. Occasionally an owl will break the sound. Usually a Great Horned Owl. There must be a half dozen of them in a 5 square mile area. They must feed well.
Brannan, who is 10 years old, calmed down very quickly. He lay on the chair and stared off into the growing darkness. This was one of the few times he was content to sit and enjoy an evening without succumbing to playing, running around, telling a joke (the same one for the fifth time) or asking non stop questions. Father & son kicked back. Thought about shooting a stray varmint and then got tired of feeling the sweat run down our faces and slowly walked back into the frigid air conditioning. 10 minutes later the wife finally came home.
The Onion Dome, a parody/humor site recently held a contest to decide the slogan to use on an Orthodox Bumper Sticker. Here’s some I found amusing:
Well, it happened again. I’m in another nature conflict. When you have chickens and pets you tend to look at raccoons, oppossums and foxes and alligators differently. Last week a neighbor called us to say she & her husband saw a black bear laying in her back yard eating the deer food they put out. He was around 400 pounds by their estimation. They noticed a young deer having a dfficult time approaching the deer feeder. It was slinking around, casting furtive quick glances around the property. Then it suddenly bolted out to the adjacent woods. Walking to the other side of their house (inside) they saw the bear laying down on a cool concrete slab eating the feed for the deer. It lay there for a short while then ambled off to the woods.
Problem: we live in the middle of no where. There are perhaps 140 families that all have minimum five acre tracks. Some have 40 most have 10. We bump up to one of the largest forest areas in north Florida. Our subdivision is very remote. That is part of the attraction. But large dangerous wildlife is…well, dangerous.
I’ve looked at all the stats on black bear attacks. Roughly 52 deaths in America total. Human predation, while extremely rare, is on record. When you have a 10 year old boy who loves to play outside having a black bear in the neighborhood is a damper on the relaxed play.
As President of the Association I followed up with the home owner. They called the Fish and Game Department. The Department gave them the standard line. “This is a protected species. You cannot just shoot it unless your life is in danger.” I blew out an air of disgust at that. A bear could snatch a little child so quick you couldn’t get your gun fast enough to send him to bear heaven.
I think if I saw the bear on my property, I’d put a bullet in him. Licence or not, in season or not.
I’m all about taking various quizzes on the Internet. Most are silly. Others are thoughtful. Some are dead on right. This test scored me a ‘freedom crusader’. It describes conservatives like me as “a neoconservative. You believe in taking the fight directly to the enemy, whether it’s terrorists abroad or the liberal terrorist appeasers at home who give them aid and comfort.” Amen, that’s me brother. I am constantly amazed at the pacifistic, ‘lets play dead approach of liberalism’. Jeez, those guys just don’t have any guts. They hate America so much they can’t envision a scenario where it would be ‘right’ to defend freedom here.
Here are the rest of the descriptions: Faith-Based Fighter, also known as a religious conservative. You believe in Judeo-Christian values, restoring God’s rightful place in the public square, and in showing all the unwashed and unsaved liberal sinners the path to salvation, or at least to the GOP.Flag-Waving Everyman, also known as a patriot. You believe in freedom, apple pie, rooting for America at all times, and that God gave us a two-day weekend so we could enjoy football and NASCAR.
Free Marketeer, also known as a fiscal conservative. You believe in free-market capitalism, tax cuts, and protecting your hard-earned cash from pick-pocketing liberal socialists.
Values Guardian, also known as a social conservative. You believe in serving on the front lines of the culture wars to restore traditional values and protecting America against condom-dispensing, stem cell-sucking sodomites from Hollyweird.
Anti-government Gunslinger, also known as a libertarian conservative. You believe in smaller government, states’ rights, gun rights, and that, as Reagan once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
Here is the link below. Enjoy!
http://www.fightliberals.com/Inside-the-Book/What-Breed-of-Conservative-Are-You.html
Jay White, from Dumblittleman.com, has an excellent post on the more important things in life. I’ll hit on a few here and remark on more tomorrow. His comments on love are right on. Love demands we get out of ourselves and focus on someone else. Always good. He really had me when he got on ‘getting outside’: walking in the rain, feeling grass under your feet…oh yeah…On taking chances Jay writes “We often live our lives too cautiously, worried about what might go wrong. Be bold, risk it all. Quit your job and go to business for yourself (plan it out first!), or go up to that girl you’ve liked for a long time and ask her out. What do you have to lose?” Read through his list. It’s impressive.
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