Life of course is a long run that passes in an instant. Insignificant in comparison to the cycles of the universe called time, yet powerful in what can be accomplished in the blink, Life is fragile, precious, insignificant and all that matters. Algae in the pond and all that should be revered, both. At your age it's the "long run" part that should be emphasized. Looking behind yourselves you should understand about "in an instant".
Two thirds of a moment ago you were babies in my arms, staring into my eyes as I fed you a bottle. One third of a moment ago children and teenagers. Now as you enter the Summer of your lives, and I into Fall, remember that the "long run" is far too short not to be happy, far too fragile to live for tomorrow, far too unpredictable to be afraid, far to precious to squander, and far too ridiculous to take seriously. Stay healthy and live. He whom lives Longest and Happiest is the winner. Most of being the winner, of being happy is up to you; Consciousness is all we really have, when it is gone .... pick your ending now and go where you want because it's already over. Meanwhile, learn from your past, and live forward and happy. In each of our individual moments one can live several lives, learn from each, and be happier as the succession progresses.
Never be desperate. You always have my love and support. I will always hide you if necessary.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Three Plus Three
A friend died in August. I didn't know until my E recently was returned. Car Accident. A wonderful person. Unfortunately, my friend sometimes would forget how wonderful life is. I tried to be encouraging. Their passing saddens me. It is a shame we aren't all happy. Have I over enjoyed the ride. I wish everyone could be happy. Can they?That of course set me to thinking of how wonderful life is, and how important it is to be enlightened to being happy. This is all we get. Enjoy all that lives in between your ears, and throw the rest out. Be happy. Remember "Life is wonderful, every miserable moment." and life will be wonderful.
I got to thinking about Life. And death. Then I got to thinking about near death experiences .....I mean, ..Why doesn't anybody ever die and feel their skin burn and see the devil poking their ass with a pitch-fork and , ......Whew that was a close one, .. guess I better tell people I saw Stars and glowing people holding their hands out. Hell, you can hit anysonbitch in the head with a bar and they'll see stars. Heaven above but nobody seems to see themselves roasting to death. Well, at least not those that die and return.
The beauty of the day compells me to write. Living on the California-Oregon border, I often watch storms split on the same border. It can be California sunshine or the Pacific Northwest. Raining here today. Sunny also. The border. There are black clouds with silver linings and silver clouds with black linings; Holes of clear blue sky and trails of rain; There are rainbows that stop at your doorstep, big bands of color so close one looks for a leprechaun and is sure they're in Oz. At times the leaves blow by the windows in gusts of a suspense thriller, and at other times all is silent. The weather channel informs me it's a blizzard up north in the Pacific Northwest. The ridge across from me is half orange, half green in no particular fashion., but very Halloweenish in accordance with landscaping done by the force of nature and the cycle of life. I can feel the valleys isolation , seclusion, and safety, as the onslaught of winter prepares to announce itself to the comfortable, serene, Fall of the West coast. Oh,...and 2012 is closer everyday.
The Octoberfest room is complete, furnished , comfortable. Firewood is stocked and the house is too warm. A wild cat has adopted the space underneath the house and we (the dog and I) feed it occasionally. My rodent guard. I don't overfeeeeed it. I hope it's a mountain lion cub. My mountain lion cub. When it eats Shep the partner dog I'll know, and feed it more. Paw, the partner Cat!
It's all good. I was looking for some ....cat to live under the house. I've been approached three times in the last two weeks to sell. The property next door has been sold and the new owners need my water. Decent people. I feel bad that they need my water and I've been advised not to give it up. "Whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting ", the father of the new owner quoted, attributing the remark to W. C. Fields. When I corrected him, noting it was Samuel Clemens, he remarked " Well it must have been W.C.fields that made it famous." Only Mark knows. I guess nobody has heard of Mr. Twain. Anyway, only Sam knows, and he's given credit though it can't be verified. Don't say a damn word about W.C. Fields, though he might have drank with Mr. Clemens, I admit, I don't care. It's all good, I like being right, and owning the water, and thinking I can roll if I like.
There is no place like the State of Jefferson. Freedom and privacy as it should be in America. No place like home and a toilet to sit on. Nothing like a warm house and all the comforts. I might shower today. It's an option. Can you hear the softness in my voice? 1100 days later, Life is different in the mountains of Southwest Oregon. Slower , Quieter, less stressful, comfortable. Hard to return from one life to the other. The border is glowing more now than burning.
I can understand property values continuing to rise and more interest in Bradland; There are a bunch of people in California whom want to escape taxes and each other, and still enjoy West coast climate. Where ya' gonna hide? West and South of I-5
Three years and three days into the deal..... I'm not inclined to leave . At least not without a Profit. Is money worth holding anymore? Are Big Mac's and fish filet's 20% smaller but the same price ? The box is smaller too. Never fall in Love with an investment. Problem is,...it's all good and I got no where to go that's as much fun as
BRADLAND
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Home on the Mountain
Monday, September 21, 2009
Caddyshack
We're watching old movies today. Old movies because we don't have any movies to watch other than what basic Dish TV is showing, and old is what is on. Frequently shown and old. We watched CitySlickers four times yesterday. Today started with Star Wars, and presently Caddyshack is the diversion. Bill Murray hunting gophers at night with a rifle and a flashlight reminds me of a couple of other nut-cases back in Sacramento : Our ex-next door neighbor Darryl and myself. Between hunting squirrels in the walnut trees and rats in the eves, Darryl and I were always hunting some kinda rodent. The damn squirrels would eat every walnut the trees could produce if you let them, and their mess was atrocious. The rats were rats. I remember the neighbors had mixed feelings about us shooting the squirrels. Actually their reactions were mixed between approval, and disapproval and calling the cops. I remember one Summer Darryl had 105 tick marks before the police came out, twice, and threatened to arrest him if he was caught killing squirrels a third time. There still wasn't a shortage of squirrels stealing walnuts and making a mess. I couldn't understand the fuss. About the time Darryl would be forced to back off in the war of the nuts, well, that's about when I'd take over. Hey, those squirrels were wraskly little bastards, I enjoyed the hell out of hunting them. I remember disguising my actions by backing the motorhome under the trees and opening the vents on top all the way. When the screw up lids were up you could shoot from inside the motorhome into the tree without being seen from the outside. One day I dropped a fat squirrel at the feet of an old chinese woman walking up the sidewalk. I wasn't sure how she was going to react but she looked up and smiled. She either didn't like squirrels, or she did and thought it was lunch, but obviously dead squirrel met with her approval. It was a shame the day the SWAT team came out and put an end to my fun. I can't be sure but it was my guess they were actually disappointed when I set my pellet rifle down and stepped away from it upon their arrival . Damn squirrels were uncontrollable after they started receiving police protection. I sold the house shortly thereafter and Darryl died that winter. Squirrels are running the place now. Goddamn Government. Funny how things work out. I might not be an outlaw now if society hadn't ostracized me over some damn rodents. We got squirrels here but no walnut trees. They can live 'til they start stealing from me, after that it's on ! Anyway, no matter where you're at, there you are. Here's where I'll be for a while longer. Set the new stereo up today. It's almost time to rock and roll. Tuesday is the Autumnal eqinox . Slipping into darkness ..............
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Shorter Days
Summer slowly is drawing to it's close here at Bradland. There are cloudy skies today with a chance of rain. An occasional occurance in Summer, soon it will be the rule. Nighttime temperatures are dropping a couple of degrees with each succeeding week, and the leaves on the deciduous trees are beginning to yellow. The Octoberfest room's exterior is now complete and the insulation work and interior walls will soon be started. Firewood, at least three more cord, needs to be ordered , paid for, and stacked out of the weather. The pipe on the wood-burning stove needs to be replaced before this years fire begins to burn. The pipe for the outside faucet needs insulation. Time for the chores of Autumn.
Autumn, of course, is the most beautiful time of the year here.. The evergreen covered mountains become the canvas for the red and yellow leaves of the less predominant oaks and madrone trees that paint the landscape. Clouds begin to appear above the mountainous horizon to the north daily on their travels eastward as the stormtrack slides south with the season. Upon the blue and green canvas of the forest and sky, the clouds and leaves paint their seasonal masterpiece daily until winter when grey consumes all.
'tis the season; mild, beautiful, serene. The Quail pair are now a covey, The small deer are bigger and losing their spots, Bears get drunk on berries fermenting in their stomachs and, like all drunks, become bothersome and too friendly with people's homes and livestock. Farmers all over the valley are making preparations for the Fall harvest; the Blueberries are in, the Blackberries ripe. Winter straw lies in circular bundles awaiting rhe barn.
Campers will abound from now until the end of Labor day and the close of Summer. The Fall hunters will be fewer in numbers but louder. Hunters need to be careful in the woods of southern Oregon in the Fall, they might find something they are not looking for and a helluva lot more dangerous than Bigfoot; Mexican nationals, or worse, local boys . "Get caught, get shot" is what one local put on a plywood billboard . Careful out there, and don't be a trespassin' ......
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Keeping America's Old Alive
Now that it's time for some serious baby-boomer retirement, now that Social Security is about to reach the point of liability and cost more than it produces, and now that greater numbers of people are going to reach old age and live longer, all at once, it's a good time to hurry through legislation that provides adequate preventive health care for the young while letting the old and less rich die.
Let me put it another way...
If you had contracted a fleet of cabs and, according to contract, you had to insure, maintain, store and fuel the cabs as long as they ran, and the cabs had become old and were a liability, would you maintain the fleet until each cab could no longer be fixed and only then sent to the junkpile, losing money all the while, or send the cabs to the junkpile as soon as they broke down, immediately ending the losses on that individual cab?? Every cab to the boneyard would save you money. And really, why spend a bunch of money saving old cabs that cost you money only as long as you save them?
A friend of mine recently underwent open heart surgery, quadrupal bypass or something. He's recovering slowly. He's eighty something. He can afford the little extra time he has bought. A lot of us couldn't, and neither can the Government afford to buy us, all of us, that extra time either. Consider what they're getting for their money; ...future expenses. Besides, with every cab that dies they get to keep the money we paid to them for years
Guess what? Time marches on. The cycle of human life is short. Too short to worry about the last few years, but also making those years precious and worth elongnating. Especially as individuals. However, heritage, and the choices we've made in life will determine longevity for the greater number of us. Count on that and not the Government for your health care. Obviously if you are reading this you're still in the game. Why worry? We've made it this far.
Timewise... we have less to lose each day we live. Yet, in our daily circles, are we risking more because life is more precious as it diminishes in time, or less because there is less to lose? In the miracle of life is the miracle of death. Health care or not, religious beliefs aside, no mortals are surviving life, and your government can't change that.
That said, be realists: in a capitalist country, where money and greed are part of the system, keeping a large mass of old people alive so they can live a Lonnnnnnng, relaxed, retired life before they die, is a bad investment. Period. There ! All those people screaming about the end of Capitalism can relax and die in peace at their own expense. No long illnesses in my life.
We live by the sword of Capitalism. We will die on the edge of that very same sword. Time to sacrifice for the better-ment of American corporations and the ultra-rich. They run Health care, and Money is not going to keep a bunch of old people alive to die. Everybody wants to live forever. True believers fear not the next portal. I fear missing something.
And No Bitching ! America, and the British, and every other Empire that could get away with it has exploited others for the enrichment of "their's" throughout history. In the case of the American people and Health care, TARP, Bailout for banks, etc., the government is exploiting its own citizens. It was ok when we benefited.
It's a lot more personal when it's happening to you. How much richer and more powerful has our government, and those involved with it, gotten recently while the country goes broke? Did the government stop the fleecing of people's retirement funds? Why do they care if you live or die? A retiree dying saves them money.
Knowing the boomers are a bad investment at this point, look for a bill of preventative medicine for the young and lots of red tape for the old and inevitable. It's our lot. The American Way. Be thankful you 're facing old age and how to live longer.
Let me put it another way...
If you had contracted a fleet of cabs and, according to contract, you had to insure, maintain, store and fuel the cabs as long as they ran, and the cabs had become old and were a liability, would you maintain the fleet until each cab could no longer be fixed and only then sent to the junkpile, losing money all the while, or send the cabs to the junkpile as soon as they broke down, immediately ending the losses on that individual cab?? Every cab to the boneyard would save you money. And really, why spend a bunch of money saving old cabs that cost you money only as long as you save them?
A friend of mine recently underwent open heart surgery, quadrupal bypass or something. He's recovering slowly. He's eighty something. He can afford the little extra time he has bought. A lot of us couldn't, and neither can the Government afford to buy us, all of us, that extra time either. Consider what they're getting for their money; ...future expenses. Besides, with every cab that dies they get to keep the money we paid to them for years
Guess what? Time marches on. The cycle of human life is short. Too short to worry about the last few years, but also making those years precious and worth elongnating. Especially as individuals. However, heritage, and the choices we've made in life will determine longevity for the greater number of us. Count on that and not the Government for your health care. Obviously if you are reading this you're still in the game. Why worry? We've made it this far.
Timewise... we have less to lose each day we live. Yet, in our daily circles, are we risking more because life is more precious as it diminishes in time, or less because there is less to lose? In the miracle of life is the miracle of death. Health care or not, religious beliefs aside, no mortals are surviving life, and your government can't change that.
That said, be realists: in a capitalist country, where money and greed are part of the system, keeping a large mass of old people alive so they can live a Lonnnnnnng, relaxed, retired life before they die, is a bad investment. Period. There ! All those people screaming about the end of Capitalism can relax and die in peace at their own expense. No long illnesses in my life.
We live by the sword of Capitalism. We will die on the edge of that very same sword. Time to sacrifice for the better-ment of American corporations and the ultra-rich. They run Health care, and Money is not going to keep a bunch of old people alive to die. Everybody wants to live forever. True believers fear not the next portal. I fear missing something.
And No Bitching ! America, and the British, and every other Empire that could get away with it has exploited others for the enrichment of "their's" throughout history. In the case of the American people and Health care, TARP, Bailout for banks, etc., the government is exploiting its own citizens. It was ok when we benefited.
It's a lot more personal when it's happening to you. How much richer and more powerful has our government, and those involved with it, gotten recently while the country goes broke? Did the government stop the fleecing of people's retirement funds? Why do they care if you live or die? A retiree dying saves them money.
Knowing the boomers are a bad investment at this point, look for a bill of preventative medicine for the young and lots of red tape for the old and inevitable. It's our lot. The American Way. Be thankful you 're facing old age and how to live longer.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Here's the Deal
"Life is good", as my buddy Gary would say. Gary's been there and done that. He used to ride shotgun with 40 cal.'s in Viet Nam. He used to watch the Shell tankers within firing range of the enemy never get fired on. He knows about wars for money. Money controls both sides .
Gary's life is good. His life, like most of yours', is damn good by 'World Standards'. Gary has earned his good life, like most of you have, with work and perserverance .
"My life is good", is what Gary called to tell me. Not as good as his (he didn't mention that), but good enough, and he didn't want me to forget that large fact in my rantings about 'Bama and the boys... give the guy a chance. He's still better than Bush and Cheney. Except... if the Obama administration continues the same Imperialistic policies of the Bush administration, which I might remind you are based on lies and a Zeitgeist, then he is just another puppet, and one puppet is the same as another, no better.
Thirty thousand more troops in Afghanistan... for what? Finish the Job.
What job? Catch Osama? ...No, the job is to clear the TAPI* pipeline route. Nobody's looking for Osama. Money wants to start the project in 2010.
Troops might be clearing poppy fields, but I have the feeling their efforts are a drop in the bucket. I mean, why is Heroin as cheap as a six pack of beer in the Northeast USA?
Our troops might be fighting bad guys but for what? There are bad guys all over the world and not everybody thinks we're the good guys, so why are we losing lives, taking lives, and destroying worlds we have no business even being in ...except for profit? Profits from Oil, War, and control of the Opium market. I can't agree with a war for these profits. I damn sure wouldn't want my sons risking their lives for these objectives. I don't want other American sons lost for profit either.
I don't think continuing to give the people of Afghanistan a deal they can't refuse is necessary for American Safety or the American Standard of Living. Our good standard of living. But do I really care? Do you?
What the hell do you care if you can have whatever you want for lunch? Everyday. Every American good day. In every American good life. Especially mine.
How can we relate to people living on grass soup in Afghanistan, when we can't decide to take advantage of cash for clunkers and buy a new jeep? They live in a different world. Their everyday life is like watching an episode of 'Survivorman'. Americans relate better to the world of Star Wars.
If a Supreme being was to appear from the heavens, see me in my New Jeep Wrangler Rubicon chewing on fast food chicken with ranch style dressing and Pepsi to wash it down, and was to judge me, would the supreme being judge me strong and good, a survivor at the top of the top of the food chain? Rr would judgement be of my compassion? My world citizenship? Is it- God helps those whom help themselves, or be thy brother's keeper?
I can have what I want for lunch. Everyday. I could cut back to two meals a day, too, if I wanted. I don't own a Ferrari, a boat, a vacation home. I'm still buying the property I Iive on. I don't own anything I haven't earned through my own laborious life. I don't begrudge others what they have earned either, but I think it's time the average man came to the conclusion that those with the most could live on a lot less if it meant the end of wars for profit.
My personal belief is mankind is nothing more than algae in the pond, and the only real signifigance of life is life, or the miracle thereof. Therefore, it seems to me a great crime to deny others their life so that we might have a better one. As a nation it works the same. That doesn't mean we shouldn't enjoy our good life. No, we should celebrate every lucky moment. What we shouldn't do is force the consequences of our lifestyle on others.
I do not agree with the Imperialistic ideal that profit and progress gives the modern world eminent domain over those who don't agree with a deal they can't refuse.
Now, I can't see what the harm is in the TAPI pipeline. It's progress American style, for a profit, and seemingly benefits the countries involved. There might be great benefits to the Afghanistan people too, but it is not my country, it is theirs, and they don't seem to want us there any more than they did the Russians (whom we helped them fight). How fast the pendelum of righteousness swings, huh?
So the question is... if it makes US more comfortable (as the top of the top of the food chain) do we care about those who stand in the way of our Comforts? Our Oil, Our Blood Diamonds. Our Seal Skin Fur coats, our Ivory Tusk piano keys, our Whales? Our profits?
Bring the Troops Home Now! It is not their job to deliver deals the world can't refuse, and that is all the world has seen from America in the last eight years.
Bradman
*The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAP or TAPI) is a proposed natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road. The Afghan government is expected to receive 8% of the project's revenue.
Gary's life is good. His life, like most of yours', is damn good by 'World Standards'. Gary has earned his good life, like most of you have, with work and perserverance .
"My life is good", is what Gary called to tell me. Not as good as his (he didn't mention that), but good enough, and he didn't want me to forget that large fact in my rantings about 'Bama and the boys... give the guy a chance. He's still better than Bush and Cheney. Except... if the Obama administration continues the same Imperialistic policies of the Bush administration, which I might remind you are based on lies and a Zeitgeist, then he is just another puppet, and one puppet is the same as another, no better.
Thirty thousand more troops in Afghanistan... for what? Finish the Job.
What job? Catch Osama? ...No, the job is to clear the TAPI* pipeline route. Nobody's looking for Osama. Money wants to start the project in 2010.
Troops might be clearing poppy fields, but I have the feeling their efforts are a drop in the bucket. I mean, why is Heroin as cheap as a six pack of beer in the Northeast USA?
Our troops might be fighting bad guys but for what? There are bad guys all over the world and not everybody thinks we're the good guys, so why are we losing lives, taking lives, and destroying worlds we have no business even being in ...except for profit? Profits from Oil, War, and control of the Opium market. I can't agree with a war for these profits. I damn sure wouldn't want my sons risking their lives for these objectives. I don't want other American sons lost for profit either.
I don't think continuing to give the people of Afghanistan a deal they can't refuse is necessary for American Safety or the American Standard of Living. Our good standard of living. But do I really care? Do you?
What the hell do you care if you can have whatever you want for lunch? Everyday. Every American good day. In every American good life. Especially mine.
How can we relate to people living on grass soup in Afghanistan, when we can't decide to take advantage of cash for clunkers and buy a new jeep? They live in a different world. Their everyday life is like watching an episode of 'Survivorman'. Americans relate better to the world of Star Wars.
If a Supreme being was to appear from the heavens, see me in my New Jeep Wrangler Rubicon chewing on fast food chicken with ranch style dressing and Pepsi to wash it down, and was to judge me, would the supreme being judge me strong and good, a survivor at the top of the top of the food chain? Rr would judgement be of my compassion? My world citizenship? Is it- God helps those whom help themselves, or be thy brother's keeper?
I can have what I want for lunch. Everyday. I could cut back to two meals a day, too, if I wanted. I don't own a Ferrari, a boat, a vacation home. I'm still buying the property I Iive on. I don't own anything I haven't earned through my own laborious life. I don't begrudge others what they have earned either, but I think it's time the average man came to the conclusion that those with the most could live on a lot less if it meant the end of wars for profit.
My personal belief is mankind is nothing more than algae in the pond, and the only real signifigance of life is life, or the miracle thereof. Therefore, it seems to me a great crime to deny others their life so that we might have a better one. As a nation it works the same. That doesn't mean we shouldn't enjoy our good life. No, we should celebrate every lucky moment. What we shouldn't do is force the consequences of our lifestyle on others.
I do not agree with the Imperialistic ideal that profit and progress gives the modern world eminent domain over those who don't agree with a deal they can't refuse.
Now, I can't see what the harm is in the TAPI pipeline. It's progress American style, for a profit, and seemingly benefits the countries involved. There might be great benefits to the Afghanistan people too, but it is not my country, it is theirs, and they don't seem to want us there any more than they did the Russians (whom we helped them fight). How fast the pendelum of righteousness swings, huh?
So the question is... if it makes US more comfortable (as the top of the top of the food chain) do we care about those who stand in the way of our Comforts? Our Oil, Our Blood Diamonds. Our Seal Skin Fur coats, our Ivory Tusk piano keys, our Whales? Our profits?
Bring the Troops Home Now! It is not their job to deliver deals the world can't refuse, and that is all the world has seen from America in the last eight years.
Bradman
*The Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAP or TAPI) is a proposed natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank. The pipeline will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India. Proponents of the project see it as a modern continuation of the Silk Road. The Afghan government is expected to receive 8% of the project's revenue.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)