8 Days To GO!!!!

Well, with the end of the Presidential elections looming, I have to say that I hoping I don't have to make good on my threat to move out of the Country if my candidate doesn't win. Why would I have to make good this time? Because, I have threatened to move the last two elections and still remain here! The only problem is, now that my investments are doing poorly (was that a toilet flush I heard?), I can't go anywhere - and I mean anywhere. In fact, my husband and youngest son are going to Manhattan over the Nevada Day weekend this year. Manhattan you say? Sounds pretty expensive to me! Oh no, Manhattan, Nevada - yes, the middle of Nevada between Austin and Tonopah. The town actually has 12 residents, a beautiful old courthouse, a bed & breakfast and losts of peace and quiet and open spaces to ride our motorcycles on. I'll be taking my pastels and a good book. I may even study my Italian in preparation for a test on the Monday after. I haven't picked up my art materials for probably, um, eight or nine years. My book choice will probably be Walden's Pond (annotated version), as I've already read it but I'm hoping the annotated version will explain some of the colloquialisms and details of Thoreau's life in Walden woods that he doesn't necessarily elaborate on. Life in the early Nineteenth Century was much more simple than the lives we live today and even though you would think a simpler way of life wouldn't need more explanation, it does for me! I love the book though and it is amazing how many topics Thoreau manages to address in such a short manuscript and how quickly and easily his thoughts roll out on paper in a cohesive and sometimes understated manner. Many of the points he makes about the way people choose to live their lives are pertinent to the way we live and don't live today. As I grow older, I truly believe simpler is better. Take only what you can give back. Pass through without a trace. The only true impact we have on this world is on the people and places that exist when we are actually here. What do we really know about the people who have passed before us, the people whose lives are spread out in the pages of history books? Can we say we know Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Ghandi, Adolph Hitler? No, we only know of them. They are merely facts and photos on a page - they are not real. What we know are those who touch us while we are here and those who we touch. Once we are gone and once those who know us are gone, we are only stories and photos to those who can no longer touch us, see into our eyes, and hear our voices. History is impersonal and the reconstruction of it futile. We should learn from the Maasai warriors of Africa who live only in the moment and have no need for lamenting the past nor pondering the future. Many of us go through life trying to reconstruct the past, regretting our past and planning for the future. What happened to the "now?" I'm looking out my backyard window right now and marveling at the color of the trees in their splendid Fall regalia, while birds hop from limb to limb. Once in awhile I see a leaf give up the ghost and sail on it's last voyage as a passenger on the wind. I think that's what Fall is all about - showing us how beautiful the cycle of life really is. Sit back (preferably outside) and enjoy the season because like each of us, it will soon be gone as well.

Misguided Priorities

It's interesting what motivates people to write. I know good writers who are motivated by imagination, sorrow, joy, and many other emotions resulting from life's passages. For me, I have always been fascinated by historical fiction and how the writers of historical fiction can imagine dialogues and details for situations which have existed throughout history. Writing historical fiction would be the ultimate ability in my book. But what motivates me to write? Usually it has to do with a strong disgust or injustice perpetrated on myself or others. The reason for this blog? Well, don't get me started - or maybe, yeah, do get me started with this: Recently, my young son (21, which I still consider very young, especially for the male of the species) went down to the Carson City Community Center to shoot some hoops with friends. Upon their arrival, they found out they would have to pay $2.00 a piece to get in!!!! This is a community center folks. You know, one that's paid with tax dollars. OK, I understand times are getting hard for small community governments, but when this city can entice large business owners (namely Burlington Coat Factory) with $$$, why are they charging regular citizens to use publicly owned buildings that are specifically for public use! I grew up in this town. I graduated from Carson High School and so did my husband and children. When I look back on activities for teens at that time, there wasn't much and there isn't much today either. When my youngest son was in Middle School he went before the Board of Supervisors and asked for a bike park. Over the course of several months, he worked with the City Parks and Recreation Department to try to get a proposal to the Board. The result, "the insurance is too high," said PRD. My son's response, "why do other cities including Reno and Gardnerville, have bike parks if insurance is too high?" The project was dropped and no proposal went to the Board. That's the standard response from Carson City officials - "we can't." And so, you have a lot of kids in this town, including "adult kids" like my son, whose alternatives may include underage drinking, hanging around, and even drugs in some instances. Teen pregnancy problem? - You bet. When is Carson City going to get it. Our kids are our first line of defense. Keep them busy, offer then alternatives and you have a healthy youth base walking our streets. Don't hand out the tax dollars as business incentives for large businesses - invest in the youth, give monetary incentives to small businesses who can make this town a destination place and clean up downtown!

Welcome

Yes, friends and family, I have succumbed to the world of blogging! Since I am semi retired (which to me means lots 'a time, no money) and I figured my interests are not quite yet diverse enough, I should start on my writing journey. Since I know something about a lot of things and not a lot about any one thing, I plan to address a myriad of topics, all which are of interest to me at various times depending on the weather. Hopefully, everyone will be able to find something of interest to them.