My Good, Good Friends

Recently, I've had a bout of bad luck that even my therapist could not explain away. I attributed it to karma, bad luck and those little gray guys from UFO's, but nothing could assuage my fears and anxieties until I realized that I was not the only one with troubles. A very good friend of mine has been having terrible troubles at work, similar to my own, but even worse! She has been going in early, staying late and worrying that her job might be in jeopardy. At least, my day (night) job is not going anywhere. If anything, there could be even more job security for me in these trying times when we can expect more crime, more corruption and more people flocking to prison expecting free room and board. My friend's situation made mine look less troublesome. At least, I know I can depend on my job to remain steady until I choose to leave it.

Another friend of mine has also had some very trying problems both at work and at home. Trying to balance the home life, family and friends against a stressful job where co-workers have been making life harder than it should be for such a good-hearted person. Most of my own problems are self-inflicted. Not so, my friends' problems. It brings to mind the old adage about greener grass, wetter water and slimier slime (depending on what you might find desirable). I find myself reminiscing about happier times as the holidays converge on us, but were they truly happier times or simply times less fraught with responsibility and knowledge? Is it not very true that ignorance is bliss? The older we grow, the more we know, and the more we wish for simpler times when we were a bit more gullible, a bit more adventurous and a great deal less respsonsible.

Like the little hamster's wheel, we go round and round in endless cycles ever hopeful that our next cycle will bring happier days, more sunshine and laughter.

Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year. Drink a toast to me and I will remember you in my dreams of tomorrow.

Decisions, Decisions

A while back when gasoline prices were high (much like they are today), I was tempted to buy a motorcycle to drive to work. But caution and pictures like this one made me change my mind. I mean, if this is what motorcyclists have to expect, then hey! It's not for me. I've been away from my blogs for quite some time and thought I'd best get busy before I forget how to write these wonderful little blurbs. All is well, or at least as well as can be expected. Currently, I'm working on Book XVI: Omar the Prophet in the Red Cross of Gold Series.

I haven't had the time to do much editing lately what with all the exciting news on the TV distracting me. I mean how can I concentrate when Tiger Woods might be breaking up his marriage? Great Scot!! What will I do without Elin or Erin or Elaine or whatever as his wife? I'll have to make major adjustments.... tsk, tsk.

And then there's the money left over from our last greatest finanacial debacle in Washington. What to do... what to do... How should we rush out like idiots and spend all that money we didn't have to start with again?! Hmmmmmm.... let's see....

And then there's Global Warming. Geeshh, it was only a few months ago that the Russians were happy that the Artic ice-pack was melting. It would be good for shipping lanes that would open up between Russia and all that marshy, swampy former tundra up in northern Canada. Don't they realize that the Ice Road Truckers will be out of business and they won't be able to regale us with their witty, philosophical statements like "If that feller don't get the bleeeep, out of the bleeeeping bleep bleeper road, I'm gonna have to get ooot of my truck and kick his bleepity bleep bleep bleep!"

And what of the scandal about Human caused global warming? I mean really, how in the world is that people do not understand that everything is NOT "all about me! or us as the case may be"? Sorry, we just didn't create everything... that was God, I think. And besides, is it really such a secret that global warming causes (triggers) Ice Ages? Have we not been preparing our children for the upcoming big freeze by showing heart-warming cartoon movies about former Ice Ages where mammoths and saber-tooth cats become close buddies and pals? What can I say? What can I do?

All I can say is that I voted for the other guys. So shoot me. Next time I vote, I'm going to vote for the other guys again... I don't care who they are.

Prince of Persia

I heard from a dear friend that the Prince of Persia trailer looked extremely good or in her words "It was hot." or "He was hot." I'm assuming she meant the Prince. Anyhoo, I went to find it and discovered that it is 305 days before it premieres and the trailer was nowhere to be seen. I finally found it listed under New Zealand and went all the way there (cyberspacically) only to be told in a very unfriendly manner that the trailer was exclusively for New Zealanders. I felt totally confused and confounded by this obvious discrimination against the entire rest of the world!? So, I'm not good enough to watch a New Zealand trailer for a movie that's almost a year away from premier? Ha! I bounded back quickly and watched several different trailers that were not nearly as snippety as that one.

You may have noticed that I included one of my favorite fellows in this blog and if all goes according to my normal fate in this life, someone will report me and the picture will be pulled or I will be put in cyberjail or something.

Yes, Penguins of Madagascar contain some of my favorite people (err animals0. If all else fails to cheer me up, I can always turn to a DVR'd episode of the PoM and poof! I'm laughing. I'm happy. And nothing else matters. I'd like to say that "I liked them before I even knew them!"

Something Special

I had a very pleasant experience yesterday. I had breakfast with a dear friend of mine at IHOP and she presented me with a Halloween gift.

Its a pumpkin shaped bottle of Peach Mojito Mixer. Very funny and yummy. In keeping with the theme... Halloween... we had the Pumpkin Pancakes. Also yummy. We talked of many things important and non-important, but the main thing is that we talked and we had a good time. Now I have this pumpkin-shaped bottle full of mixer and every time I look at it, I am reminded of my good friend and IHOP pumpkin pancakes.

Freedom

I'm pretty sure that this is Chinese, but it could be something else. The Red Star on the yellow hat is a good clue, but you never know.
I like little things and I like to attribute human characteristics to animals. There is a fancy terminology for that, but I can't remember what it is now. The frog looks like he's smiling and waving. Makes you wonder.
I like little things. I have a lot of little things in my house and I'm always attracted to tiny little objects in shops and such. I fail to understand how we can manufature such little things, some of them so small we can't even see them. Nanotechnology it is called. I remember the first time I heard the word 'nano'. It was on an episode of Star Trek, but I don't remember which series. Some sort of nanites were attacking the ship and the crew. Of course, they were defeated, but I thought they were fascinating (pardon the pun). But now I'm off the subject completely.
The frog in the hat. This put me in a strange frame of mind when I saw it. "I has a hat". It made me realize for the first time that animals own nothing. They not only own nothing, they do not need to own anything. I've tried to imagine what that would be like to own absolutely nothing and I think it must equate to true freedom.
I heard something on the radio yesterday that a man called Lord Mountain or some such from England... one of the lesser nobility. Anyhoo, he was speaking about America and he said that our President is about to sign something that would end American Freedom forever. It has to do with Global Warming and Carbon Emissions. I listened to it with a feeling that things really are about to change forever. That things are always changing... forever changing. I changed the station and there I heard something equally disturbing. Our President has plans for regulating the Internet. Hmmmm. Regulating? Don't we have enough regulating now?
Let's change something back once in a while. Let's take a restriction off, I thought.
Then I looked on the internet news and saw something about Obama decriminalizing marijuana. I didn't even read it.

Astonishing Revelations

Grandchildren are the most wonderful creatures. They certainly make you sit up and take notice of what you may have caused inadvertantly to have been unleashed upon the land. My own grandchildren are both less than five years old. Between the two of them they count about seven years total, but they seem to have life down fairly well already. How is it that one of such a venerable age as myself can be so intimidated by just speaking on the phone to such an elvish little creature that I am left speechless. The conversations are very mature in the sense that I find them very one-sided with room only for a few 'Yeahs' and 'Nos' and 'Oh, reallys?' on my part while the words gush out from the other end of the line covering all manner of subjects from Spongebob Squarepants (of whom I know very little) to the weather to medical conditions and the treatment thereof (scraped knees, cut fingers, poked eyes, etc.) These are certainly special conversations and will be treasured in my mind for the rest of my life. And they also know how to put down hecklers (parents) in the background by simply shouting 'No!' or 'Would you please be quiet? I'm on the phone!' It's funny how this works for a three-year-old, but not a fifty-three-year-old. And last, but not least, you learn interesting things about your children (parents of these elvish delights) by simply listening. You don't even have to ask to learn that daddy got a ticket for speeding or mommy rocked on the cat's tail and threw her dinner plate across the room. Interesting. Very interesting. Gotta love 'em.

Book XV:. the Skull of Sidon

The Red Cross of Gold XV:. the Skull of Sidon is now available on Kindle. Just in time for the Halloween Season!!