Ihave never been to one. The first few we had I lived too far away to attend or was in the US Navy and after that my high school and I lost contact with each other. I had the opportunity in 1985 to attend my 20th but didn't want to go because I had gained too much weight. The school and I lost contact after that until a couple of years ago.
I really though about attending the one last year but realized that I would be attending an expensive event with a group of people I did not know nor care about.
I do get a newsletter from time to time telling me what the same old snobs from school days are doing in their exciting successful lives. The common folk are not mentioned at all unless they were either widly popular in school due to athletic success or had achieved newsworthy success after graduation.
Where I attended school one was either in the in-crowd because of the wealth of ones parents (and there were many of them) or you were a loser.
A perfect example: Hight School consisted of the 10th through twelth grades. After the ninth grade, the students from each junior high picked their fasvorite cheerleader to be on the high school squad the following year. The two candidates from Grandview were Jean Shell and Cindy Peeler. Cindy was a skinny little rich kid while Jean was a beautiful exotic daughter of somebody.
The students voted overwhelmingly for Jean but Cindy was the cheerleader in hight school because, for the first time every, the teachers decided that they, and not the students, should have had the right to pick the incoming cheerleader.
There was one interesting tidbit in the recent newsletter though. The Hickory native who won "Last Comic Standing" is the son of a classmate of mine.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Why does this matter?
Linsay Lohan was sentenced to jail for 120 for probation violation. We should care about the human condition and our fellow man. But another internet article was entitled "What did she wear to court?" Why would that matter to anyone?
I would say chances are if you really cared what she wore you don't care about Linsay.
I would say chances are if you really cared what she wore you don't care about Linsay.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
A perfect day for fishing
I don't do much for myself. Most days I'm taking care of the yard, or taking care of the church yard, or driving to Hickory to take care of Mom. On rare days when my wife and I have a day off together I try to entertain her. Today I'm going fishing.
My myself.
My myself.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Christian beliefs
I was reading some posts tonight concerning the tornado tragedy and the topic of discussion was God. People would say "Thank God" no one was killed at the Lowes that collapsed. Someone else said Christianity was a cult and practiced cannibalism or at least a simulated version of it. I assume that were referring to the Lord's super where he said "this is my blood, take ye and drink and this is my body "take ye and eat." No one actually drinks blood or eats flesh but we do take a piece of bread and grape juice.
There is nothing cannibalistic about the ritual, real or symbolic.
Jesus Christ is real and you may choose to not believe Him or to deny His existence but one day every knee will bow and everyone will call Him "Lord, Lord".
I'll see you in church.
There is nothing cannibalistic about the ritual, real or symbolic.
Jesus Christ is real and you may choose to not believe Him or to deny His existence but one day every knee will bow and everyone will call Him "Lord, Lord".
I'll see you in church.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Barrack Obamas speech
Yea, he made another speech yesterday.
Frankly I am one of the poor he wants to distribute others peoples wealth to. If he was my rich uncle giving me his own money I would be glad to accept it. The truth is, Uncle Sam is not my Uncle and he is not rich. The fact is, Uncle Sam has no money of his own so takes a little from some and a lot from others in order to do things that benefit all. That's not a bad thing. There are things that we need that we could not or would not pay for on our own, like the military to protect us from foreign invaders, and roads and bridges and damns and water projects and, well, you get the idea.
For the rest of our needs, we should be and once were expected to work to provide for ourselves. The majority of people once did work but there are some who are just too lazy, too trifling, or too dishonest to get a job. Those people the government decided to help out with free food, free or low cost housing, and prison.
Then there some people who lost their job through no fault of their own and the government helps them for awhile anyway, long enough in most cases until they can find a job.
Some people have a job that pays really, really well like my young brother and some have a job that pays really well like my older brother and then some us have jobs that pays okay, like me. Others have sorry jobs that don't pay much at all and then some have incomes that are only dreams for most people and some people have money through no fault of their own, like the Kennedy's, the DuPont's, the Fords, and the Hilton's.
I know that some of these poor people have really cute kids and the kids get sick and the poor people can't have the kid doctored properly because they have little money and no health insurance.
Yes it would be nice if we lived in a society that valued each person equally and said that Joe is brilliant and can take an idea and turn it into reality and have a thriving business and Jill there can take a few pieces of knowledge and find a cure for an illness or a new way of doing something. Bob, on the other hand, is lucky enough to be a great singer and Jose is very athlete. Alice, on the other hand is capable of running a cash register.
In a society like that, then each person would be given equal pay for doing the best they could at what they are capable of doing.
That sounds nice but unless Joe likes working extremly hard to build something that is of no practical good to him, then he has no incentive to perform. Betty can run a cash register much faster and more accurately than Alice but if the monetary rewards are the same, why should she?
On paper the perfect society sounds nice but in reality it doesn't work. The Ameican system of capitalism and democracy doesn't work perfectly either but it actually works much better than the system that seems fairer on paper and in theory.
That is until people with good intentions try to turn the American way of life into the perfect, care for all equally society then things become a totaly mess, like we are in today.
The US keeps printing money as fast as it can and so much of it the other countries have begug to lose faith in thge dollar as the reserve currency of the world and are looking for alternatives. If one is found then the American economy will collapse around us.
We have to stop the madness before it is too late for us. It may already be.
Frankly I am one of the poor he wants to distribute others peoples wealth to. If he was my rich uncle giving me his own money I would be glad to accept it. The truth is, Uncle Sam is not my Uncle and he is not rich. The fact is, Uncle Sam has no money of his own so takes a little from some and a lot from others in order to do things that benefit all. That's not a bad thing. There are things that we need that we could not or would not pay for on our own, like the military to protect us from foreign invaders, and roads and bridges and damns and water projects and, well, you get the idea.
For the rest of our needs, we should be and once were expected to work to provide for ourselves. The majority of people once did work but there are some who are just too lazy, too trifling, or too dishonest to get a job. Those people the government decided to help out with free food, free or low cost housing, and prison.
Then there some people who lost their job through no fault of their own and the government helps them for awhile anyway, long enough in most cases until they can find a job.
Some people have a job that pays really, really well like my young brother and some have a job that pays really well like my older brother and then some us have jobs that pays okay, like me. Others have sorry jobs that don't pay much at all and then some have incomes that are only dreams for most people and some people have money through no fault of their own, like the Kennedy's, the DuPont's, the Fords, and the Hilton's.
I know that some of these poor people have really cute kids and the kids get sick and the poor people can't have the kid doctored properly because they have little money and no health insurance.
Yes it would be nice if we lived in a society that valued each person equally and said that Joe is brilliant and can take an idea and turn it into reality and have a thriving business and Jill there can take a few pieces of knowledge and find a cure for an illness or a new way of doing something. Bob, on the other hand, is lucky enough to be a great singer and Jose is very athlete. Alice, on the other hand is capable of running a cash register.
In a society like that, then each person would be given equal pay for doing the best they could at what they are capable of doing.
That sounds nice but unless Joe likes working extremly hard to build something that is of no practical good to him, then he has no incentive to perform. Betty can run a cash register much faster and more accurately than Alice but if the monetary rewards are the same, why should she?
On paper the perfect society sounds nice but in reality it doesn't work. The Ameican system of capitalism and democracy doesn't work perfectly either but it actually works much better than the system that seems fairer on paper and in theory.
That is until people with good intentions try to turn the American way of life into the perfect, care for all equally society then things become a totaly mess, like we are in today.
The US keeps printing money as fast as it can and so much of it the other countries have begug to lose faith in thge dollar as the reserve currency of the world and are looking for alternatives. If one is found then the American economy will collapse around us.
We have to stop the madness before it is too late for us. It may already be.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Koi Babies
I transferred both koi babies from the small pond to the large one yesterday. the fish have grown quite large during their first year.
One of them is white with an orange spot and I named it Zero after the WWII Japanese warplane. The other is orange and black, almost identical to Shark so I named it Tiger. Tigers are black and orange with stripes and as this fish is most likely the offspring of Shark, I though Tiger was appropriate as in Tiger Shark.
I referred to my fish as it only because at the tender age of less than a year, one cannot be certain if they are boys are girls.
I have two females (Showa and Orange) and two males (Shark and Spot) plus the two babies. I should know by next year what gender they are.
They are really enjoying the new waterfall and their appetite is picking up as the weather warms.
Hopefully I'll get some floater plants soon. The farmers market has Hyacynth at $3.99 or 3 for $10.00. I purchased my there last year and they quickly filled my pond. Aquamains closed their doors last year and they were the only other place I know to get pond plants not in a can.
One of them is white with an orange spot and I named it Zero after the WWII Japanese warplane. The other is orange and black, almost identical to Shark so I named it Tiger. Tigers are black and orange with stripes and as this fish is most likely the offspring of Shark, I though Tiger was appropriate as in Tiger Shark.
I referred to my fish as it only because at the tender age of less than a year, one cannot be certain if they are boys are girls.
I have two females (Showa and Orange) and two males (Shark and Spot) plus the two babies. I should know by next year what gender they are.
They are really enjoying the new waterfall and their appetite is picking up as the weather warms.
Hopefully I'll get some floater plants soon. The farmers market has Hyacynth at $3.99 or 3 for $10.00. I purchased my there last year and they quickly filled my pond. Aquamains closed their doors last year and they were the only other place I know to get pond plants not in a can.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Guilty or not
Some people claim Pastor Terry Jones is guilty of a crime because he knew that burning the Quran would cause violence somewhere and people were likely to be hurt or to die. Others agree that he was just expressing his rights of free speech.
There is a limit on speech being free. A word or sentence can be deemed a crime is the person speaking those words knows or should have known that death or serious injury would be the likely outcome especially if those words were not true when spoken and were spoken with the intent to cause harm, like yelling "Fire" in an overcrowded venue.
But it is my opinion that the act of burning the Koran is not illegal but protected free speech even though the pastor knew or should have known that harm would come to others because of that act because it was not his act that caused the people
to react violently but it was their choice to do so.
Well, it is a persons choice to flee a crowded room when there is believed to be a fire, one could argue but that scenario is different because that is an immediate reaction to a perceived threat to a persons well being and panic sets in as a disassociated group turns into a mob from fear.
The violence in reaction to the burning of the Quran was done not from fear or a mob mentality but from anger and a misguided believe that the paper holding the words of the Quran are somehow holy.
The Holy Bible of Christianity contains what Christians believe are the Holy words of Almighty God yet it is the words that are sacred and not the paper that contains the words. Burn all the books you want, but Christians are not going to attack, kill and injury in response.
What that preacher did is shameful just as what those people protesting at funerals is, but that is the great thing about American. Burning a Quran is just as much protected free speech is as publishing Hustler was or signing God Bless American.
Some people think that should be illegal too.
There is a limit on speech being free. A word or sentence can be deemed a crime is the person speaking those words knows or should have known that death or serious injury would be the likely outcome especially if those words were not true when spoken and were spoken with the intent to cause harm, like yelling "Fire" in an overcrowded venue.
But it is my opinion that the act of burning the Koran is not illegal but protected free speech even though the pastor knew or should have known that harm would come to others because of that act because it was not his act that caused the people
to react violently but it was their choice to do so.
Well, it is a persons choice to flee a crowded room when there is believed to be a fire, one could argue but that scenario is different because that is an immediate reaction to a perceived threat to a persons well being and panic sets in as a disassociated group turns into a mob from fear.
The violence in reaction to the burning of the Quran was done not from fear or a mob mentality but from anger and a misguided believe that the paper holding the words of the Quran are somehow holy.
The Holy Bible of Christianity contains what Christians believe are the Holy words of Almighty God yet it is the words that are sacred and not the paper that contains the words. Burn all the books you want, but Christians are not going to attack, kill and injury in response.
What that preacher did is shameful just as what those people protesting at funerals is, but that is the great thing about American. Burning a Quran is just as much protected free speech is as publishing Hustler was or signing God Bless American.
Some people think that should be illegal too.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Yanking a chain
My two brothers and I are not close. For years I was blamed for something that didn't even happen and during that time period my brothers have been fooling with my moms head about me.
For example, on a trip to NC to visit his mother my younger brother took Mom to Burlington from Hickory to visit her sister. On the return trip, around two in the afternoon, he called my house to inquire if we could get together.
As are most people who have a job, at two in the afternoon I was at work. He could have called me the day before or two days before or the week before or even that morning. Of course, he acted disappointed and let Mom know he really wanted to see me.
I had gone back to roadrunner and after my yahoo address was compromised, I notified all my contacts to us roadrunner. But my wife and I decided to switch to northstate so I no longer have my rr address. My brother told Mom that my e-mail address no longer works and he really wants to get in touch with me.
Bull.
The only e-mails I ever get from him are the forwarded kinf, never personal or important. Even when I notify him of something important, I get dead silence as a response. Before I married my wife, I had thought about moving to Hickory so I could be available to help Mom and was accused by my older brother of trying to set myself up to inherit her house and cut him out of the will.
Now if he really wanted to get in touch with me, he could contact my wife as he has her e-mail address, he could call me as I have a listed number, my younger brother has all my contact info as does my younger brother and my son and my mom and he knows how to get in touch with all of them and heknows how to call an operator or do a goggle search.
But no, he cries to Mom that I changed my e-mail address and he can't get incontact with me and he really wants to keep in touch.
Spare me oh wardward brother of mine and quit trying to yank my chain. It isn't attached.
For example, on a trip to NC to visit his mother my younger brother took Mom to Burlington from Hickory to visit her sister. On the return trip, around two in the afternoon, he called my house to inquire if we could get together.
As are most people who have a job, at two in the afternoon I was at work. He could have called me the day before or two days before or the week before or even that morning. Of course, he acted disappointed and let Mom know he really wanted to see me.
I had gone back to roadrunner and after my yahoo address was compromised, I notified all my contacts to us roadrunner. But my wife and I decided to switch to northstate so I no longer have my rr address. My brother told Mom that my e-mail address no longer works and he really wants to get in touch with me.
Bull.
The only e-mails I ever get from him are the forwarded kinf, never personal or important. Even when I notify him of something important, I get dead silence as a response. Before I married my wife, I had thought about moving to Hickory so I could be available to help Mom and was accused by my older brother of trying to set myself up to inherit her house and cut him out of the will.
Now if he really wanted to get in touch with me, he could contact my wife as he has her e-mail address, he could call me as I have a listed number, my younger brother has all my contact info as does my younger brother and my son and my mom and he knows how to get in touch with all of them and heknows how to call an operator or do a goggle search.
But no, he cries to Mom that I changed my e-mail address and he can't get incontact with me and he really wants to keep in touch.
Spare me oh wardward brother of mine and quit trying to yank my chain. It isn't attached.
Another stupid lawsuit
It takes just a few minutes (actually, more like seconds) of Web searching to find several reports of high school players getting seriously hurt by batted balls. The case that has attracted the most attention is 18-year-old Brandon Patch, who was pitching in an American Legion game (American Legion is a summer league for high school players) in Montana in 2003 when he was struck in the head and killed by a batted ball. His parents have campaigned for a ban on metal bats and have sued the bat manufacturer.
campaigning against metal bats is okay and I can understand the parents anger about the death of their son but the lawsuit against the bat manufacturer is stupid unless there was a defect in the making of the bat. People have to understand that things happen that are tragic. We all know the risks we take when we drive, walk across the street, or run outside to get the mail in while it is raining.
If the parents knew metal bats were unsafe then they should have challeged the use of them before their son was killed. If a particular manufacturer was making dangerous products, the time for the lawsuit was when one gained that knowledge the
of danger.
When one engages in any activity, one has to anticipate the potential hazards, weigh the risks, and make a decision accordingly. Any concerns about defective products being used or devices that could be used but arenot should be engaged from the start.
In other words-think and accept responsibility for your own decisions.
(I wonder if the boy had won the batting championship if the parents would have said "It isn't my son that did this. The credit goes to the manufacturer of the bat for making a superior product).
campaigning against metal bats is okay and I can understand the parents anger about the death of their son but the lawsuit against the bat manufacturer is stupid unless there was a defect in the making of the bat. People have to understand that things happen that are tragic. We all know the risks we take when we drive, walk across the street, or run outside to get the mail in while it is raining.
If the parents knew metal bats were unsafe then they should have challeged the use of them before their son was killed. If a particular manufacturer was making dangerous products, the time for the lawsuit was when one gained that knowledge the
of danger.
When one engages in any activity, one has to anticipate the potential hazards, weigh the risks, and make a decision accordingly. Any concerns about defective products being used or devices that could be used but arenot should be engaged from the start.
In other words-think and accept responsibility for your own decisions.
(I wonder if the boy had won the batting championship if the parents would have said "It isn't my son that did this. The credit goes to the manufacturer of the bat for making a superior product).
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