Hindsight 2020

 It must be tough to be a dog in a world dominated by humans. So many rules. I'm sure it would be nice to just be able to be a dog and just live out your life on your terms and your conditions without having to worry about your next meal or a bunch of rules. For some dogs, the rules are an easy trade off for getting to live in a house with humans who love you and take you for walks and feed you and give you belly rubs. Noble wasn't in that 'some dogs' category. He was a big, goofy, high-strung, headstrong dog. My wife and daughter came across him at Animal Control and brought him home. The problem with dogs you get from Animal Control or any other kind of animal rescue or shelter, is you will never know their past history or the real, complete story of why they're in need of a home. Noble wasn't quite a year old and he seemed like a well-tempered dog who just needed to learn some manners and household rules. But we will never know his backstory. Maybe he just ha...

  It has come down to this. A giant chasm dividing the left and the right. Each side screaming insults and accusations at the other across the dividing void. Since the middle is now an ever increasing gorge where no one from either side can stand without plunging into the abyss below, there exists no common ground to meet on. And as the expanse between the two sides grows deeper, so do the perceived differences. The two-party chokehold around the necks of the American people becomes tighter and tighter as each side struggles for more power. Power which will be used to vilify and weaken the other side. Winners are declared by electoral votes but, these days, there are no real winners among the common citizenry. We all just lose more of our humanity, empathy, love and respect toward one another as we're all coerced into joining one of two sides. And once we're firmly indoctrinated into a side, we're expected to fall in line behind the leaders of the side. Regardless if they...

America, you've become a stranger to me I thought I knew you but I was mistaken Liberty and justice are now forsaken America, you've become a danger to me Belligerent children pulling away from reason To follow a tyrant who's guilty of treason America, you've become an embarrassment to me Viewed by the world as a pathetic joke Forgetting the words that our forefathers spoke Entitled and spoiled, ignorant and vain Believing a liar who loves hatred and pain United no longer, just a left and a right An abyss in between, devoid of all light Again you ignore all that history has taught To follow a man that billionaires bought My heart is broken, my hope is dim America, I long to find you again

 If it's one thing humans are incredibly good at, it's killing their fellow human beings. We don't need much of a reason most times and there's certainly not much forethought, logic, or reasoning involved before we start firing bullets and missiles, dropping bombs, and deploying deadly drones. Whether it's a lone gunman pissed off at someone or something or an entire nation pissed off at another nation or group of people; rest assured, heads will roll and bodies will drop. And when it's all said and done and there are dead and wounded everywhere, absolutely nothing will be resolved. In fact, it will only lead to more anger, misunderstanding, kneejerk reactions and, yes, more killing. Our history books are full of these accounts of man killing man whether it's revenge, holy war, or self-preservation. You'd think after seeing these killings repeated century after century after century for the same old weak and tired reasons, we'd be able to learn to st...

 I've been thinking a lot about the end. My end. I'm currently over in Sweden with my wife. The purpose of this visit was supposed to be to celebrate 20 years of marital bliss and see some of her family. A chance to take it easy for a while. That was the purpose until my wife's stepmother, Monica, suddenly passed away at the beginning of August. We had already purchased our plane tickets for the end of September and it would've been expensive to try to change the flights. Plus, I couldn't take off of work any earlier than we had already planned for. So, with my wife's halfsister's help, we arranged to have Monica cremated and then planned for the funeral to take place when we got to Sweden.  Monica had no children, but my wife considers her more of a mom than her biological mom. Monica had cancer and we all knew she would never be cured of it, but she had been responding very well to treatments and we were both looking forward to spending some quality time w...

Hopefully, enough time has passed now. Out of respect, I've been holding off on posting this particular blog. It's always (almost always) sad when someone dies. People die every day. Unless the dearly departed people are close family or friends, most of us don't spend an extended amount of time or emotion mourning their loss. I don't, anyway. That's not to say that I don't empathize with those around me who have lost loved ones because I do. I've been in that situation. I've lost close friends and family members. It's a loss that can be very difficult to come to terms with. I get it. What I don't get is why millions and millions of people are so fixated with the passing of Queen Elizabeth. She obviously led a full life.  96 years.  Can you imagine? She also led a life of privilege and prestige because, well, she was  royal .  Royalty . In this modern day and age, we still have kings, queens, princes, and princesses who are revered and honored bec...