Friday, December 30, 2016

Good Bye 2016

This year, by far, has been one of the most interesting years that I have ever lived through.  Being that it was my 50th year on this planet is only part of the strange, interesting, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes insane year that was 2016.

One of the things that struck me about 2016 was all the celebrity deaths, I mean right down to today, the 29th of December!  This year in just the music industry alone we lost; Glenn Frey, David Bowie, George Michael, Vanity, Paul Kantner, Maurice White, Keith Emerson, Frank Sinatra Jr, Merle Haggard, Prince, Nick Menza, Christina Grimmie (hay no hating she was really popular and a great person!) Matt Roberts, Leonard Cohen.  I know there was many more that Im probably forgetting.

What about news and movie actors and actresses, we lost Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher, Ricky Harris, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Alan Thicke, Ron Glass, Florence Henderson, Robert Vaughn, Tommy Ford, Curtis Hanson, Jon Polito, Gene Wilder, Steven Hill, John Mc Laughlin, Barry Jenner, David Huddleson, Garry Marshall, Michael cimino, Alan Young, Morley Safer, Doris Roberts, Patty Duke, Garry Shandling, Alan Rickman, Pat Harrington Jr, Abe Vigoda.

Then there were the Literary and Political, people we lost;  Antonin Scalia, Harper Lee, George Kennedy, Pat Conroy, Nancy Reagan, Rob Ford, Jim Harrison, Elie Wiesel, Mark Takai, Rev. Tim LaHaye, Phyllis Schlafly, Greta Zimmer Friedman, Edward Albee, W.R. Winsella, Shimon Perez, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Janet Reno, Gwen Ifill, Fidel Castro,  E.R Braithwaite, Richard Adams.

And wait there is more!!!  Cant forget Sports and the Sciences; Craig Sager, John Glenn, Arnold Palmer, Jose Fernandez, Pat Summitt, Buddy Ryan, Gordie Howe, Mohammad Ali, Chyna, Joe Garagiola, Bob Ebeling, Lee Reherman, Tony Burton, Edgar Mitchell...

Oh my lawd, the list just keeps going on, its like 2016 wiped out the fucking 1980's!!!  WTF!

Well I was going to go somewhere else with this post but Fuck it, I'm depressed now...

Good Riddance 2016...

Oh yea....One more death, technically it happened in 2016

But doesnt take place till 2017...

The Death of the USA as we know it....





Saturday, December 24, 2016

Merry Christmas!




To You and Yours
A Very Happy...

And Merry Christmas to All

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

A Life Worth Living

M is for Mortality....

I got some news today that I wasn't expecting to hear.  A friend, who I grew up with and was pretty close to for a while during my 20's, had some dramatic medical problems and is on life support.  She is a few years younger than me, about my sisters age, which makes this even harder.

I had, in the past, actively searched for her via facebook and google.  I have found long lost friends that way in the past, besides who doesnt use facebook these days?  Isn't is like 8 out of 10 people have a facebook page? I had hoped to reconnect with her in some way over a social network as I have with so many of my childhood and young adulthood friends.  I thought eventually she would turn up, but she never did, until I got the news of her condition today.

Once again I am smacked in the face with my own mortality.

I moved away from my old stomping grounds many years ago.  Partially because of my own demons but also because I had to move on with my life.  I knew my demons would haunt me forever if I did not separate myself from the place I loved and called home.  As much as I loved, and still love the people who I grew up with and to this day consider them family no matter how near or far I am, I had to make that part of my life ancient history, and so that's what I did.

So life goes on.  I live each day as it comes, work way too much, probably don't have as much fun as I should have once in awhile.  Maybe just let my hair down a little on occasion.  I try to do good by the people I meet, I donate to charities. I show kindness to people and animals less fortunate than me or mine.  And I know eventually, I too will shrug off this mortal coil.

But the thing that always bothers me is; how will I be remembered when I am gone?  Have I done enough to balance whatever bad I have done in my life?  Will people remember me for what I was or from what I have become?

I do not believe in God, or heaven or hell but I do believe in the legacy that we, as humans, leave behind.  I believe that the things that people remember and say about us when we are gone is what has made your life one of substance and meaning.

So when I do shrug off this mortal coil and make my peace with the universe, what is it that people will say about me?

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Open Letter The Democratic Party

Dear Democratic Party,

You really screwed the pooch on this one!

For a long time, with the infiltration of the crazy tea-baggers, I had thought it would be the Republican party that implodes on itself.

In the words of our President Elect...WRONG!!

WTF were you thinking?  You had a ROCK STAR in Bernie Sanders and you told him to go sit down!

I am so very disappointed in you.  While I have flipped back and forth between both parties for most of my adult life, finally settling on Independent, only to find out I couldn't vote in the primaries, I came back to the Democratic party. Here I thought we had an understanding, that we believed in mostly the same things, i.e: a hand up, peace not war, live and let live, working class families, equality for everyone....

I would have never in a million years, thought you would turn on us like this.
You had this in the bag, you had your shining candidate, the people were screaming at you and YOU ignored us!

You have looked us, the people that believed in you over for big money endorsements.  You are no better than a sports figure selling their souls for a puma or nike endorsement.  You Suck!

A word of advice, don't listen to polls!  Everyone lies, you should already know this but you let your guard down when you thought you had it in the bag.

I really think you need to go back to the drawing table and reinvent yourself. Seriously, you have two years to dig your heels in, pull your big boy pants up and decide what you are going to do to fix this giant fucking mess that is going to be the Trump presidency.

I'm sorry but I have completely lost my faith in the party that was for the working class people.  Where did you lose your way?  Where are the passionate people that fought for civil rights and equality?  Have they all been swallowed by wall street riches and the broken promises of riches beyond your wildest dreams?

You,Democratic Party, have really let us down.  I hope you have learned just a little from this giant disaster you created.