That's The Way It Is......

     I read the news online everyday. I do this for several reasons. First, I do not like the American news system. It is too sensationalized. Do you think I really care which teen star has been arrested for drugs and drinking this week? My answer is NO! There are much more important things in the world than knowing the intimate details of someones love life. If we are lucky, that person will be a has-been in a few short years. I prefer to read the news that comes from the international press. It gives me an unglamourous view of world events. There are times I have watched the news and expect a cabaret show to start. I am sure that there are times that the producers have toyed with the idea of adding magicians and strippers to do the news. I can see the weatherman now, "Hey Rocky, you wanna see me pull a forecast outta my hat?" Okay, I stole that from Bullwinkle. That doesn't matter, I feel that dense after watching some news reports. You can tell they are simply reading a script. Ill bet they couldn't tell you what it was that had been read. There are some of them I doubt know the difference between Kosovo and Costa Rica.
     More and more of the Anchor People remind me of entertainers. The studios have added buff tanned men to the position. They have a practiced smile that says Used Car Salesman to me. How can I trust someone to tell me the truth that gives me the creeps? The female anchors are no better. They become younger and more curvaceous each year. They are dressed to tease and encourage adolescent males to watch the shows. I'm sure the men are paying a lot of attention to what is really being said. How long before the burlesque shows start? Hold it! I think some networks are already there.
     What happened to the days when you had that stately old gentleman, or tough grand dam? I would rather watch my news from someone that had lived enough life to know about the news. They reported the facts about news worthy events. I want to know why we might be going to war, not what the best dressed couple is wearing to the local gala. Give me one of those tough individuals that literally came up through the trenches. Id prefer someone that knew who Vladimir Putin, over knowing who Justin Bieber is. Where are Barbara Walters and Walter Cronkite when you need them?

     O! I did say there was a second reason. That one is simple. It is children. Any parent can tell you that it is impossible to watch any news when the children are around. I have yet to sit down watch it without a fight, emergency, or an impromptu concert occurring with them. There are times I think that my little darlings have battle plans drawn up to distract me whenever I try to catch up on daily events. Plan A1A I am certain is have one of them go into the other room and scream like they are hurt. Dad goes sprinting in to check out the boo-boo. By the time I calm the child and return to my seat, there are the other two watching another cartoon. You weren't watching anything, were you Dad? is always the response when I return.
     Like I said before, it is easier and better for me to read my news online. There is far less drama and acting going on. Once the children and the newscasters mature, I will start watching the network news again. I'm betting on my children to get there first.

                                  

To Be, Or Not

     It amazes me how much some people seek to be famous and rich. I know that is backwards from the way it is normally said. However, I believe that people want to be famous more than anything. They want everyone to recognize them wherever they go. Rich was placed second. This is due to the fact that many of the people that become famous blow their money. These people are continuously trying to be what they think people want. Ergo, they may stay famous but not rich. This mentality has given rise to the Reality TV craze. Don't deny it. We feed into their vanity. You have watched some form of reality television. We all have at some point in the last few years. It seems that this is the main focus for the networks these days. Don't shake your head and say No, I haven't. I will say you are a liar. There is almost no way to watch television, without seeing at least one of these shows. Gone are the wonderful comedies of my youth. The price on production for one of these must far cheaper than paying for actors and studio time. There are enough individuals that will act like fools for the notoriety they gain.

     One of my old professors once equated the television to the gladiatorial games of ancient Rome. The games were used placate and pacify the masses of Roman citizens that had become unruly, during certain periods of the different emperors. The games had to morph into grand elaborate affairs to keep the interest of the common citizen. Each had to be bigger and better than the last one. Otherwise, riots were likely to occur. What would happen if the satellite and cable went out for a month in this country? Would people survive on books and news papers, or would hysteria reign. I can see where he compared the games to the "Boob Tube." If you think that that name come from all the well endowed women on it, you are way too young. Ask someone that had to turn a dial instead of use a remote.

     Think about it. The majority of Americans would prefer to sit at home watching other people experience life. We buy television sets that are as large as the wall they are mounted on. Our neighbors could watch the programs we are watching, from their windows across the street. All this allows the watcher to see it unfold in life-sized high definition, while listening in surround sound. A show just cant be enjoyed properly without all that. Can it?
     There isn't a viewer out there that cant survive without this technology to watch their favorite reality star. God knows it would lower the experience watching your favorite male, or female, on a normal television. You wouldn't be able to see them flex or bounce properly across the screen. The gratuitous skin shots of the artificially enhanced individuals can be topped only by one thing. That is their unnatural ability to prove their breast, or pectoral size exceeds their IQ. Okay, some of them it is their guts or beards that are larger. I cant discriminate against the less pretty reality stars.
     To be fair not all of them are dense individuals, willing to debase themselves for their moment in the sun. Some of the people are smart about it. They take the money and fame and use it to their advantages; building businesses and a future for their families. This does not include those beautiful people that used it for a springboard for their adult entertainment endeavors. That is something that a person should have been able to accomplish without doing prime time. Sorry, that is another form of mindless visual stimulant. I am getting my mind out of the gutter now.
     My professor might have been right about a majority of television shows. However, the television has brought us many wonderful moments. Who can say that they didn't love Lucille Ball? Did you not weep watching a wife and child crying over the flag draped casket of an American soldier? It all isn't bad. We have the ability to see wondrous moments, as they happen. World events are at our finger tips. These are things that were not available that long ago. As people, we just have to be smarter than the networks and the television. Use the OFF button and try to live life. Or, you can star in your own reality show.

"He Sat and Wept"

    I have been told that, "If you don't change your ways, you're going to hell." Comments like that never affected me as a young man, I was certain I was immortal. I preferred the one preacher who told me, "son, you are on a highway to Hell. But, I lay odds you will be the first selling lemonade there." I was thinking the beer tent was more my style.
     Some religious leaders are quick to condemn you, if your beliefs are different. This has lead to more strife and death than any other reason in history. Even today, people hurt each other in the name of religion. The major religions seem to be the worst offenders. Christians, Muslims, and Jews are all locked together in a cycle filled with hate and distrust. Sure there are historic reasons that support the fear and distrust. The Crusades and The Spanish Inquisition are things that are ingrained in the psyche of the people.
     I do not claim to be a follower of any of these faiths. I have read the holy books of each. It is interesting that they all worship the same God. Many of their ideas and beliefs are intermingled. All three paths begin at the same doorstep. Slowly the paths diverge and twist along separate routes, only to return to the same home in the end. It is like three young men going out to make their fortunes in life. One chooses the life of a soldier, the other a career as a lawyer, and the third becomes teacher. All have different lives, but eventually return home in the end.
     I know this is an over simplification of religion. But, I believe in the KISS method. That stands for "Keep It Simple Stupid." We have complicated so much in life. Why should we make things more difficult? There is no need for me to hate a man because he seeks a different path to enlightenment than I do. I prefer to hate that person because they are a jerk, or just plain mean. That is why I cant understand the hatred of someone I never met. To me, it is the same as hating Billy Bob because he wore a red shirt when the rest of us wore a blue one. "How dare he be different?"
     My military career has taken me all around the world. I have worked with people of all these different beliefs. They have stood across the field from me at other times. Despite this, I never hated one of them because of how he believed in God. So what if he worshipped a tree and I whispered to the wind, it doesnt change the type of people we are on the inside.  

     I wonder what God thinks sitting there watching this mess. Does he weep at the idiocy of it all, brother destroying brother in his name? Maybe he laughs because we have jacked it all up. We have twisted things so badly that none of us have a chance at going to heaven. If that is the case, remember me. Ill be the bald guy trying to set up a beer tent. Someone else bring the ice. 

  

A Little Goes a Long Way

     Happiness. That is a huge word. It has so many different meanings to a wide variety of people. I have read about the Buddhist versions, metaphysical perspectives, and modern-day views. They all have different idea's on what makes a person happy. Guess what? I have my own take on it.
   Today I see so many people that the word has nothing but monetary and selfish meaning to the word. People seem to not be happy unless they have the biggest and best toys. One neighbor must have everything that the guy across the street has. I believe that some people are so bad that I believe they would go to ridiculous lengths to satisfy their superior ‘happiness.’ This can be seen in the vehicles we have on our roads today. The Hummer is the best example. Even a civilian version of the vehicle is not a luxury vehicle. It is an oversized, gas guzzling, show piece. It says, “I have more money than sense.” Especially, when I see them with pimp paint job and gold spinning hubcaps.
    I am for a more simple definition of happiness. When I was a child, it meant that I had the necessities in life. There was always food in my belly. It may not have been the food I wanted. Liver and onions are still a bane for me to this day. There was always a warm bed. Sometimes, that meant I had to share it with my brother. If you are old enough to remember heating your home with coal or wood, you will understand. There was many a night I can remember sharing a bred with my brother to conserve heat. I may have been sore from the elbows and knees. However, we were warm and cozy with half the blankets in the house piled on us.
    There was also plenty of love to make us happy. I was not always certain that it was love. Mom was a tough lady. She could reach out and touch you with a belt or any thing she had handy, when you were breaking the rules. Her house shoes were the worst. Those rubber things hurt like crazy. My brother and I took turns hiding them, preferably at the bottom of the trash can. I never understood she loved us so much until I became a parent. You have to punish your children to make them better people and to teach them to respect rules. I just Mom had not loved quite so much, or so hard.
    When I became a young man happiness was defined differently for me. It was less the comfort of life, but more the pleasures of life. The first thing you are thinking is X-rated I am sure. Shame on you! I was going to say a good book, a cold beer, and a good smoke. Sometimes it is better to talk about the smaller things that mean a great deal to us, than those larger aspects of our lives.
    My books have given me great pleasure and comfort at times when there was nothing else to give me escape when I needed it. The places and events were light years from the pain and fear that were part of my life at times. I can remember a time when I, and my fellow soldiers, relied on books for our only form of entertainment. We would cut a book into separate chapters and pass them around. I know there are a lot of book lovers that cringe at that idea. However, that is the only way we all could enjoy the few we had.
    Anyone that has enjoyed a cold beer on a hot day, after working hard, can understand why I included it. There were times when I tried to brew my own. This was when I was serving in countries where alcohol was not allowed. There were other times when I sat sipping some of the finest brew in the world, watching the world walk by. Like many others, I even used to drown out the darkness that I had known in life. That never worked. All I got was the ‘Mother of All Hangovers,’ and stories I can never tell my children.
    I know it is not politically correct to say that smoking has given me comfort. But, it has. You finish a mission where you are not certain where you will live or die, that cigarette will seem real nice too you. I have seen men who have never smoked before, beg a smoke after surviving a nasty situation. I also had some of my best conversations while sharing a cigar under a dark night sky. Some of those conversations included a nice shot of scotch, and were debates over books. Ha, you can have all three at once.
    Now, I find happiness in small things. My family is the main thing. I am not saying they are small. I am saying it is the little things that are so important. Everyone seems so busy these days, most forget to stop and enjoy what they have. My wife and children give me moments that I draw on when times are tough. These small moments make me a wealthy and happy man.
    All parents know that wonderful quiet time when the children are all in bed and you have a few moments alone. There is seldom silence or time to relax in house full of children. You usually want to go to bed after they do, or finish some chore you couldn’t while they are awake because they wanted to help. When the moon shines right and the stars are aligned both parents can sit down and relax together. It is one of the few times that my wife and I can sit on the couch together and watch shows that do not involve muppets, puppets, or cartoons. When we are lucky we can both stay awake and finish the show.
    I have three very different daughters. My Oldest tells me she is going to be an actress/rock star. She treats me too impromptu concerts and plays regularly. My middle daughter is a tomboy who will a gamer/veterinarian. She loves to have me tell her bedtime stories, choosing the oddest subjects for our tales. My baby girl is too young to choose a career. I would have to say now she is a monkey/princess. She tries to climb everything while wearing her dress and crown. Despite the differences, they are all very loving children. They will all pile on me while we watch television. I call it the ‘puppy pile.’ It is warm and cozy, except for the elbow in the ribs and the knee in the groin. Yet, there is nothing better.
    Happiness is different things to different people at different times. To one person it could be a mansion on the hill. To another individual it is the salad from the vegetables they grew themselves. We can not be happy all the time. However, we can be most of the time. A person just needs to find those things that are truly important and focus on them. Everything else is background noise.