Zig Zag Zipline ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     Zounds!  We have reached the zenith of this 2025 A to Z Challenge.  Fine with me as I need some Z's...

       

     Zzyzx Road (if you know, you know) exit is here and it's time to get off this 2025 Challenge and get back to normal.  Road trip ahead for those who want to tell about your experience with this year's A to Z.  Be watching the Blogging from A to Z Challenge Blog for more info about the road trip.

       I can sum my experience up in three words:  Zig Zag Zipline...

   Did you ever get off at Zzyzx Road on the way to Las Vegas from L.A.?   Will you be participating in the upcoming A to Z Road Trip?   Are you a fan of zipline rides?

Youthful Young Yawners ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     You've done this I'm sure.  You see someone else yawning and it makes you want to yawn too. You try to stifle your yawn, but anyone looking at you can tell what's going on.  Or maybe you just let go and yawn real big.  Maybe you set off an epidemic of full and suppressed yawns.  Ho-hum...

 

      Yawning comes natural to infants and even fetuses according to a story I recently read.  However, there seems to be no evidence that babies are stimulated to yawn by seeing others yawn.  Contagious yawning doesn't develop until around age five.  Is it a learned behavior perhaps?

      I can be a sucker for a yawn.  I enjoy yawning.  It is a relaxing exercise that can help bring me sleep or it can be a reviving action that energizes me with more oxygen.  And when I see someone else yawning whether it be in person or on television, I too will often be given that inspiration to yawn. 

       Picture a baby stretching its arms and legs as it writhes a big yawn.  When I imagine that it makes me want to yawn.  But maybe I'm boring you.  Maybe you don't care about youthful young yawners.

       Do you sleep like a baby?  Do you ever do yawning or breathing exercises to help you relax?  Are you sensitive to contagious yawning? 

Xeroxing Xanthophobic Xenomorphs ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     Xanthophobia is a fear of the color yellow or anything that might involve the concept of  yellow.  I can't say that yellow is my favorite color, but it's very nice for certain things.  But a fear?  Seems silly to me, but the world is filled with a lot of silly seeming things...

        Xenomorphs are not something that might ring a bell with a lot of us from the term, but if you've seen those films in the Alien franchise or similar types of films then that big ugly creature is what I'm talking about. In the original Alien (1979) by Ridley Scott, the creature was imagined by artist H.R. Giger, a sci-fi surrealistic artist from Switzerland. Giger has designed creatures for many films as well as doing the artwork for many album covers.  He has done some wild imaginative work, but those creatures have been terrifying.

        Looking at one of those dark fearsome xenomorphs I can imagine that they don't like bright things and that probably especially goes for bright colors like yellow.  I might venture to guess that a xenomorph might even have something like a fear of the color yellow.  If anyone or anything might display indications of xanthophobia it might be a xenomorph.

       And in this age of reproducing things and cloning, what if we were to start duplicating xenomorphs?  It would in essence be like xeroxing xanthophobic xenomorphs.

       Are you a fan of the Alien movie franchise?   Do xenomorphs frighten you?   Is yellow a color that you like a lot or not so much?

World War Why? ( #AtoZChallenge )

      Why do people and nations have to keep on fighting?  I can't recall a day of my life when war wasn't raging somewhere or on the horizon of beginning,  In the past thousands of years, has there ever been a time without war?

       Wars are generally rather useless affairs.  They might solve some problems, but they often leave bigger ones in their wake.  They've been with us throughout human history and yet we have not found a way to stop them.  We may hinder them, minimize them, or postpone them, but the wars just keep on coming.  Why, oh, why?

        We've had World War One and World War Two.  Maybe the next one we can name World War Why.  I don't think there will be any more wars after a next world war.  Why would we want to destroy our world with war when so many efforts are being made to save our environment in order to save the world. Why, oh why? 

        Is war the natural state of humankind?  What are the practical solutions to ending war?  Have you ever had to fight in or endure a war situation?  

Very Voluminous Volume ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

    Valiant writing efforts have given us some mighty tomes that some of us visit while most of us probably don't.  Reading those big works can be a lot of work!

       

       Verbosity might be the cause of monster sized books, but usually the large size of many books is due to the sheer content.  Many of the reference books on my shelves have many pages, but there is a lot of information on them. On the other hand, very lengthy novels have story, characters, or some other aspects that are revealed with great detail to a reader.  Sometimes the length is warranted while other times I will be reading and wonder how much was really necessary.  Maybe if you are paid by the word as a writer you want to amass many words to the detriment of the reading experience.

       But what do I know?  I tend to avoid reading many of the thick books that I own.  I can attribute that to laziness perhaps, or lack of dedicated time.  Many long books might not be worth my time, but that is the case with so much out there that is available to read whether it be long or short.  

       One long book that  I've been reading off and on throughout my life is the Holy Bible.  It's one of those books you can keep reading over and over and keep discovering new things.  The Bible, specifically John 21:25, states that if everything Jesus did were written down, the world itself wouldn't have enough space for the books that would be written, implying the immensity of His deeds and ministry.   That would be a very voluminous volume!

        What long books are your favorites?   Which long books have you been unable to finish?   Do you prefer to read long books that are fiction or non-fiction?

Utterly Understand Upsides ( #AtoZChallenge )

      Until the current part of my life things have usually been pretty smooth sailing.  Now things are comfortable and pleasant for me.  I'm in a good place and maybe there is a reason to it all...

 

       

       Usually I'm a relatively laid back sort of person who goes with the flow.  What's the point of fighting against life and everything else around me.  Sure, I get my disgruntled states of mind, but I typically don't let that drag me down into a hopeless mire of pity and negativity.  Generally I'm a content person who tries not to complain to the point of irritation to others.  Don't ask my wife--just trust me.

        Others have better lives than mine I suppose.  I know others have more stuff, more opportunities, more advantages, or more of whatever happy successful people are expected to have.  But are they all happy?  It all comes down to outlook.  Attitude. Expectations.  We are what we think for the most part. At least that's how I see it.

         Compared to others, I might not seem to have much, but I've got what I need to survive.  Give me more.  Sure, I'll take it.  I'll also try to accept what I do have and whatever might come my way.  I utterly understand upsides but sometimes I can't seem to accept it.  Sometimes I want to be disgruntled and stay unhappy.  

         No, not a good idea.  Happiness is good for the health of body, mind, and soul.  We must choose happiness.  I utterly understand upsides.

     Do you try to maintain a happy facade even if you are down?  Do you prefer to have others commiserate with you in your down times?  What do you do to lift your spirits in your low moments?

Terlingua Texas Trip ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      Too many years ago now it seems, a friend and I took a trip to Texas during which we took a side trip to the ghost town of Terlingua.  So much has changed since that visit, but still it lingers in my memory...

      Texas held a lure for me back in the seventies after I had graduated from high school and started college.  My friend Vernon and I often took day drives around our home stomping grounds in Tennessee, but the call of the roads in distance places were calling out to us.  After seeing a family friend's home movies about his travels in West Texas and reading a story in the paper about the national park of Big Bend in Texas, I convinced Vernon that on his July vacation we should take a trip down there.  He was keen on the idea and we made that trip in 1974.

 

     This was one of my first major trips away from home without parents and family and it was a fine one. Big Bend certainly exceeded every expectation I had formed from what I had heard about it.  Such a spectacular park that was such a contrast from the Great Smokies that we were so used to. This was Vernon's first experience with desert terrain and my first in this portion of Texas.  We camped at three different locations in the park and hiked as much as we could in the desert heat.

      One day we decided to drive about a hundred miles west along the Rio Grande River to visit the border town of Ojinaga Mexico.  Once again, this was Vernon's first experience with going to Mexico and my first outside of Tijuana and its environs. 

     On the way to Ojinaga we made a stop near the national park western entrance to the "ghost town" of Terlingua.  Before making our trip, I had read about Terlingua during my research and decided that this should be a must see.  The concept of a ghost town intrigued me as well as it did Vernon, who was always interested in historical sites.  

      At that time, Terlingua was nowhere as near developed as it is now.  These days it is a tourist stop and a resort area.  Back then it was mostly abandoned.  We spent some time looking through crumbling ruins of buildings and taking a lot of photos.  A highlight was an old movie theater that no longer had a roof.  On the adobe walls someone had painted a vast mural of different people--movie goers perhaps--in comical poses and dressed in whimsical garb. 

      I suppose Vernon still has the photos he took. I don't recall if I have any in any of my old photo albums.  I stopped in Terlingua with my wife a few years back.  Things had changed a great deal.  We stopped at a store for snacks and drinks before moving on. I don't know if any of the old buildings still remain.  Maybe I'll go back one day, but probably not.  It's a pretty remote place.  You never know though.  Maybe someday in my future there could be another Terlingua Texas Trip.

     Have you been to Big Bend National Park?   Are you familiar with Terlingua Texas?   What are your favorite ingredients for chili?

     

      

Same Sad Song ( #AtoZChallenge & #BOTB Results )

 

     Signs posted around the shopping centers across from where I live tell people not to give money to the panhandlers.  The beggars used to be a bigger problem until they put up the signs.  Maybe that's what helped.  Or maybe people like me got tired of hearing the same sad songs...

        Sometimes, as much as I want to, I just can't help everyone who asks me for money.  I don't know who these homeless are or why they are in the situation they are in, but just looking and listening I think they are mostly responsible for their plights.  But in Los Angeles they seem to be everywhere--shopping areas, parking lots, intersection medians, you name it.  I feel bad, but I also don't feel like doing anything about it.  I've been familiar with people like this for decades.  It's too much for me. 

       Since I'm on Social Security now my resources are limited too.  At least I'm not on the streets, but there for the Grace of God go I if my circumstances ever changed.  Thank God I have been blessed with what I have.  And I am part of a multitude who are now retired or living on limited means.  I've made better choices than those I see on the streets.  I suppose that is the case.  That's how it would appear to me, but maybe I have different standards.

        Still if I were to go across the street right now and wander a bit I'd surely be approached by someone asking for money.  In many cases they would be people I have encountered before--the regulars who come from the low income housing down the street.  Like the guy I encountered in front of King Taco yesterday--an apparently well-fed middle-aged Hispanic man in grungy clothes that I had seen him wearing in previous passings.  

       As I approached the restaurant entrance he held his hand out and said, "Can I have a quarter?" and when I said nothing he asked, "Will you buy me a taco?"  The same things he has said to  me in the past and has repeated to countless others.

       Part of me does feel bad about it, but then what can I do?  What can any of us do?  All these people singing the same sad song...

        

        Are you involved in any missions or programs to help the poor or homeless?   Have you ever had to ask for assistance in bad economic times?  Is homelessness a problem in your community?

  

 

   My Previous Battle was regionally themed with a showdown between the band Crowfoot as California music representatives up against Kiss's Ace Frehley with a New York song.  The Ace song was new to me, but not the artist.  I thought he did a fine job with his song, but Crowfoot is more my style and that's who I voted for.  And here's how it all went down:

 

Final Vote Tally

California     5 votes

New York     4 votes

Next Battle on May 1st!

Really Rough Roads ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

    Reality can come up and whomp you on the back of the head sometimes when you think things are going just as rosy as can be.  Fortunately, I've had some pretty smooth going in my life for the most part, but still there are those times when the roads get rough...

      Roads are my favorite way to travel.  Best of all is when I'm driving.  That suits my wife most of the time as she would rather just sit back and enjoy the ride when on routes she doesn't know.  She doesn't like driving in heavy traffic although she often has to do that around Los Angeles where we live.  And when it comes to driving on mountain roads then just forget it.  She's terrified.

      A few years ago when we were returning from one of our trips back east, we had spent a night in Colorado Springs and got up the next day to drive to Montrose CO via a visit to Pike's Peak.  I noticed that after the Peak we could follow small roads through the old mining town of Cripple Creek and then a very small road to Hwy 50 which would take us to Montrose.

      After a brief visit to a casino in Cripple Creek where we had a mediocre lunch, we continued southward.  I noticed that there were no longer highway numbers, but a sign pointed to the next town I was hoping to find.  The road was now gravel with few other cars on it.  Soon I came to a divide with no markings other than one sign that pointed to a lake.  The map showed a lake, but no road beyond it.  My GPS seemed to be in a quandary. Fortunately a truck was coming out of the road to the lake and I called out to the driver.  He confirmed that the road he was coming from was to a lake with no outlet beyond that.  He informed us that the other road would take us to HWY 50 about 30 or 40 miles.  I was relieved as I continued down the appropriate gravel road.  

      My relief was soon turned to apprehension once again as the gravel road became more rutted and muddy and then began to skirt steep precipices.  The road narrowed to one lane much of the time so that I feared encountering another vehicle in the opposite direction.  Fortunately, the few encounters were at wider places in the road or areas where there were pullovers for camping or whatever.  My wife was in terror as we proceeded--no, she was probably more angry that I had dragged her on this road.

       Eventually we did reach HWY 50 and continued on to our day's destination without further bad highways.  I had to say that the gravel road was scary for a while, but it was one of the most beautiful drives we had seen on our travels. My wife conceded to that beauty, but I doubt that she'd ever want to go back on that route.  It was a really rough road.  

      What was the scariest drive you've ever taken?  Do you mind driving on perilous roads?  Would you tend to avoid an out of the way route in favor of taking the more advised highway?

       

Quit Quiet Quitting ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

Quiet quitters make up at least 50% of the U.S. workforce -- probably more, Gallup finds.  That must have quite an impact on productivity.  Not a good sign for mental health either...

Quit Quiet Quitting

      Quiet quitting refers to the practice of staying at a job but essentially giving up on it.  You collect a paycheck while giving minimal effort or maybe not even actually working.  Sometimes it's the job, the work environment, or whatever it is going on with us.  We go through the  motions to look like we're there, but in spirit we are not.

      Quite a few years ago--the beginning of 1990 to be more precise--I was trying to settle down in  the Knoxville TN area after over a decade on the road.  It was a challenge for me to adapt to a stationary way of life.  

       After a few attempts at working some odd jobs to pay bills, a friend told me about an investment firm where he had been working. He thought I might have some luck at it even though he hadn't been very successful. I went to apply at a fancy office on the tenth floor of a nice bank building with a grand view of the Smokey Mountains.  I definitely could deal with the view.  They hired me on the spot and I began working immediately.

        From the start I felt that something shady was going on.  I was part of a small cold-calling staff to set up investment deals for the brokers.  The leads were old and tired and there was a lot of negative reactions with the people I was calling.  I started hearing rumors about the management and sales brokers.  Something not quite right was going on.

       After a couple weeks, paychecks were bouncing.  From my first check I would always run downstairs to the bank to cash mine, but not everyone else was so lucky.  Most of the people there quit, but a few like me stayed on despite the fact that the principles of the company and the head broker stopped coming. There was nothing for us to do, but the office was open.

      For a couple of days four of us were in the office waiting.  We'd heard that the FBI was investigating and that they might come, but they never did while we were there.  We waited, looked at the beautiful view, and talked.  We had already quit, but we were hoping for that last paycheck which I knew the others needed as much as I did.

      Finally, when Friday morning came, the secretary gave us checks. I rushed down to cash it and to my relief it cleared.  I went home.  I had quit quietly as had the other three who were left.

      Sometimes, quiet quitting isn't the right thing to do, but sometimes it's the only thing you can do.

       Have you ever quiet quit a job?   Do you sometimes feel like just quiet quitting life?  What do you need in life to keep enthused about what you are doing?

Please Pray Positive ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      Positivity is something this world needs more of.  When I stop to weigh the consequences of my words, thoughts, or actions I usually try to reflect whether or not my decisions will have positive consequences.  At least that's what I hope I do...

     Prayers and thoughts are something often offered up after some tragic situation.  Of course we're all thinking about those times, but I'm not sure what the point of offering those mental exercises.  However, the prayers are what seem to set some people off.  Prayers are typically pretty innocuous and usually well intended.  Our prayers might be heartfelt exhortations to God or internal contemplations to help us make sense of a bad thing.  I don't know why prayers should upset anyone in the rational world, but I think some people just need to rail against whatever positivity might be out there.

      If you don't like the prayers of others then just be quiet about it.  What is the point of the complaint?  And if you are praying, please pray positively. 

       Have you ever prayed for something bad to happen to someone else?  Do the prayers of others bother you?   Should we announce our prayers to the world?

Over Or Out ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

     Over and out.  I've heard that in so many movies where people are communicating over a radio.  You know the scenes--police cars, airplanes, anywhere that might require that sort of communication.  Over and out...

       Oh no!  According to some, saying "over and out" is not correct.  It makes total sense to me. While you're talking with someone each says "over" when their part is done, right?  Then when you want to have the final say you declare, "Over and out" and that is the end of it.  Sounds good to me.

      I don't like a hanging conversation where you don't know that anyone had the last word or not.  Most of the time it probably doesn't matter.  But then, there are those times when questions linger, doubts cloud our understanding of what did actually go down and what everyone was left thinking about it.

     Once I was in a relationship for a long time and then it came to a point where the other person declared to me one day, "We have nothing more to talk about."

      For a while we did continue to talk as the relationship began disintegrating.  I began to realize that we really didn't have anything else to talk about.  Then it was all over.  Done.  We never spoke.  Again.

       I kind of wish that when that person had uttered those harsh words about having nothing more to say to one another that they would have simply said, "Over and out."  Or out.  Either way it would have been the end.

      Did you ever have a CB radio in your vehicle?  Would you prefer a close relationship to end abruptly rather than lingering in unhappiness?  What is something you wish you had never said to someone else?

Nothing Nullifies Nobody ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

  Nothing nullifies nobody is the phrase that came into my head when I thought of the letter 'N'.  No reason maybe, but I think it has something to do with something I must have been thinking at the time.  I'll explain...

       Not all that long ago there was all this talk about "canceling" people for this or that reason.  There were a few times that I got kicked off Twitter or warned by Facebook for this or that I had said, but I always managed to get back on.  My online reach seems to have diminished since then, but then maybe online activity in the realm of "people I knew" through internet contact have stopped being online as much as they used to.  That's what I've done.  I don't know if there are algorithms that affect me or not.  Or if it really matters for the time being.

      Nowadays it seems like we can never tell what is really going on or what is real for that matter.  It seems to me that the internet should make research and finding true answers more easy to accomplish.  No library hassles or feet on the street searches for data. Information should all be at our fingertips as long as we have an internet connection.  Right?  Seems like it to me and yet I find so much that is untrue or strongly biased that it becomes difficult to know what to believe other than applying my own knowledge and logic.

       Maybe it's always been like that to some degree.  Maybe we would be better off with nothing. After all, nothing nullifies nobody.

       Have you ever felt "canceled" on the internet?   Do you strive for damage control when you see something on the internet that misrepresents you or something else that you feel strongly about?  Would you prefer to start at nothing and learn as you go?

 

 

Music Molds Me ( #AtoZChallenge & #BOTB )

      Music molds me.  It has molded me into who I am throughout my life and continues to shape and form me now.  Music is the potter's hands, my mind is the clay...

    Music has guided me and music follows me.  Music is all around me and has been since my earliest memories. Part of my love of music keeps me doing a bi-monthly blogging event.  That's what I'll be doing in this post for the letter "M"...

Battle of the Bands

 

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.

It's West Coast Vs East Coast!  Which song do you prefer?

Crowfoot - California Rock'n'Roll

  

Ace Frehley  "New York Groove"  (1978)

  

Time to Vote!

         East?  West?  Which song do you like best?   It's time for a Battle of the Bands!  You're supposed to vote on one of these songs.  Which one do you prefer?  Battles are no fun without you the reader participating.    Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours. I don't know if anyone else will be doing a Battle this time around, but you can still check out these sites.


Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
 
'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Landmark Sounds (Diedre Knight)

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BY DEBBIE D

Trivial Music Silliness

Results on Tuesday April 22nd

Lee Likes Letters ( #AtoZChallenge )

       Lee likes letters might not seem like a particularly strange statement considering I've been doing this A to Z Challenge since 2010 when I first started it.  My fascination with letters and words goes way back as far as I can remember.  And now I have my blog and I do this blog challenge every April.  Yeah, I guess I must like letters...

       Lee loves logic is probably an even more true statement.  After all, letters are logical.  Letters work together to form the words, phrases, sentences, and so on that we need to exchange ideas and preserve them for future reference.  What a dire world it might be if we had no written language, but that would be illogical. Letters are indeed logical!

        Unfortunately there is a massive lack of logic in this world.  Too many people rely on their feelings to make decisions and form their thinking.  Logic gets overruled by silly feelings that only get us through a moment, but can't carry us through the long haul.  People will tout "science" or "the rule of law" as the arbiters of their thinking and then just go against all of the logic to encourage thinking that makes little sense.  But it feels good one might say.  To that I'd say, feel good now have a massive tummy ache later.  

      Let's think things through and let logic guide the way.  We'll be better off for that.

   Do you allow feelings or logic to rule your decision making?  Does logical thinking annoy you?  Are overloaded with empathy?

Knights Know Kings ( #AtoZChallenge )

      Knowledge is king.  I don't know any actual kings, but if I were a knight I might very well know a king or a queen perhaps. But I don't know any knights either so that's as far as that correlation goes.  However, I do know a lot of things as well as places and people. Or do I really know much of anything?

        Knowing certain things can play a big part in the jobs we find.  Knowing certain people can be even more important in getting a job.   Most of the best jobs I've had in my life I had gotten because of somebody whom I knew.  Like the saying goes, "It's who we know that counts" and I can vouch for that in my life.

      Knoxville is where I got my first job just by applying.  I was a student at the University of Tennessee at the time when a summer job ad came up in the newspaper. The position was at a carnival supply company where they were looking for warehouse help.  The boss was an old carny named Kermit and once I said I was a student he proclaimed, "Well, a college boy!  You're hired!  I'm giving the position of assistant manager."   

       That was pretty fine with me even though my new position also required that I'd be doing the warehouse work labor as my main job.  But I also was put in charge of maintaining the showroom and waiting on customers.  It was a great summer job that provided lots of overtime hours during the busy time.  I enjoyed the work and the people there.  I ended up staying there for the next 3 or so years as they were willing to accommodate my school schedule which didn't greatly interfere with the busy summer season when I took off to work.

       Eventually I left that job to take a job with a road show.  That was a job based on who I knew.  I was interested in show business and had some contacts that served me well over the years to keep me employed.  Knowing people helped me get jobs I wanted, liked, or needed--or all three.

       But just knowing a knight would not likely give me an opportunity to meet a king.  Nor would I likely know a knight.  Since knights don't go around in shiny armor or any semblance of that attire as a rule, a knight might seem like you or I.  

       Maybe on some strange night I'll meet a knight who will introduce me to a king.  It would all likely be a metaphorical encounter or just an encounter with people with strange names.  It all might happen.  I doubt it, but you never know.

 

         Who has been the most important contact you've had in your career?   How did you get your first job?  Did you work your way through college?

Just Juggling Jackson ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

    Just juggling Jackson--that's who I am.  I've been that for maybe sixty years?  Since I was a kid of about eleven years old or so.  That's when I learned to juggle.  I was under pressure.  My younger sister had learned, and even my cousin who came to visit that summer.  So I practiced until I could do it--juggle.  I think my father gave everyone who learned to juggle $5.  And now I was part of the family juggling act:  The Juggling Jacksons...

          "Juggler" is how some guys in high school used to address me.  Maybe they didn't know my name, but they knew who I was. My family had been featured in news articles in area papers on various occasions and our juggling act was pretty common knowledge at school. 

        I liked it because it meant extra money for me whenever we played a gig.  Sometimes I'd have to miss a day or two of school to go do shows, but usually it was something we did on weekends.  My sister now says she didn't like doing the shows, but she had more of a social life than I did.  The shows were not only nice income, but I enjoyed doing it.

       My sister eventually left the act and went on with her own life.  Not too long after that I was offered a job in a touring magic show.  Part of my job was to do a brief specialty juggling act.  I basically did most of my father's comedy act as "Juggling Jackson."  No longer the family.  Just Juggling Jackson.

        It was a great life!

       Did you have a particular identity in school related to your talent or something else?  Was this a good influence for you?  What was your favorite family activity when you were growing up?

I Incense Idiots ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      Interstate highways are one of the greatest innovations of American history.  It's pretty amazing to think that most Americans can drive a relatively short distance to get on a highway that connects to a massive network of interconnecting roadways that can get us to any part of the country in a fairly effective manner.  I love the U.S. Interstate highway system.  Thank you, Ike!

I Incense Idiots

     I'll admit that I've lost a few friends on Facebook over the years and likely have lost a reader or so on my blog because people didn't like something I said.  Maybe I should say that what I might have said at some time or other completely outraged those who read it.  As far as I'm concerned, they are idiots.  Yeah, if they are silly enough to unfriend me, diss me, dismiss me, or whatever they want to do to me just because I'm logical and they're not then oh well--it's all of our loss even though it's not world-ending loss and it's because they are apparently idiots. 

      Several such people I don't really know, but the ones that I have actually known in real life I kind of wonder if they were really people I could have called friends.  People I thought of as friends for as much as fifty years now won't answer my phone calls or emails.  I guess they are not friends anymore. Or maybe never really were.  I miss them in a way,  But they got incensed over things I believe in.  I incense idiots.  

        Have you lost any friends over your opinions?   What is the friend with whom you have had the longest relationship?  As you get older do you find it more difficult to make new friendships? 

        

      

      

Hearing Hymns Heals ( #AtoZChallenge )Or

      How many times have you heard an old hymn, or any other song for that matter, that brought you great comfort and a sense of peace?  I have often.  There is a special power to music...

 Hearing Hymns Heals

         Have you ever felt down, fearful, or some other negative feeling that has threatened to drag you down to the depths?  A death of a loved one?  A loss of a job or situation?  A break up of a relationship?  So much negativity that can hurt you emotionally, mentally, and physically.  What do you do when you encounter such times? 

         I have approached such times in a variety of ways in the past, but more often than not my healing refuge is music.  Perhaps I'll cling to some special song that speaks to me and I'll listen to it repeatedly.  Or I might get distracted from my internal state by a song I hear somewhere that takes me back to another happier time or that has lyrics or melody that seems to speak to my situation specifically.  Or best of all, I might write my own song to address what I feel and what I want to express.

       But just hearing is sometimes what we need to draw us away from our own internal state of glumness, fear, or whatever we might be feeling that steals our happiness.  The sound of an old favorite song can bring a smile.  Recalling a loved one by hearing their favorite song can lift our spirits.  Hearing a hymn that reminds us of better times can comfort us. 

       Music is such a wonderful healing force.  Hearing hymns does have a potential to heal and lift us up.

         What kind of music comforts you most when your mind is at unease?   Do you have a favorite go to song that you like to listen to in order to lift your spirits?   Do you enjoy hearing traditional hymns?

Greeting Great Girth ( #AtoZChallenge & #BOTB Results )

 

Greeting great girth is not a prospect that appeals to me.  I do need to lose a few more pounds--maybe more than a few.  Another twenty maybe would be good.  And the way things have gone with food prices, maybe losing weight is the destiny of many of us.  Oh well, I'm not as hungry as I used to be anyway...

        Grand Buffet read the giant sign that blared across the face of the large structure that had lured us off of the interstate.  The parking lot was filled with the vehicles of other hungry travelers who had likely seen the advertising billboards that spoke to our collective hunger as we neared the exit that promised a great abundance of food to feed our bellies. Somehow an empty stomach can make the mind seem so full of ideas of what we are going to eat when confronted with an expanse of food choices.  

        Back in the seventies and eighties buffet restaurants seemed to become a big trend.  I loved them back then.  I was younger and I could put away more food.  And since I was working on the road most of the time back then, I was eating out most of the time.  Getting the most for my money was always a thing that interested me.  Also a wide selection of food was always something that attracted me. I would pile on the plates of food and savor it all.  Since I was relatively active in my lifestyle at the time, I didn't gain weight too rapidly.  However the weight did creep up on me over time.

      The prospect of greeting great girth into my life was not particularly appealing to me so I've tried to be careful.  I still don't eat properly, but I've actually lost weight in recent years and seem to be holding steady at 210.  Now to get below the two hundred mark.  It will likely happen, but I'm not overly exuberant about a dietary or exercise regimen.  Age will likely bring me there as well as not eating as much,

      Golden Corral Buffet is our choice for bounteous eating these days.  Not often, but when we want to eat a big meal. That's our usual choice.  Not that there are many other choices for buffet dining like we used to have.  There are a  number of Asian food buffets, but my wife is not fond of going to Asian restaurants.  I think it's something she heard once.  We all heard probably, but it doesn't bother me.  I love the flavors in Asian food.  But no Asian buffet for me I guess.  And it's probably for the better.  I can't eat big quantities anyway.  

       Oh, but Asian food!  Large quantities of buffet style servings of rice, noodles, meat dishes, and buffet sushi!  In my fantasy it sounds good, but I guess I'll stick to Panda Express.  On occasion.  Maybe once a month or so?  There's one across the street from where I live. It is an easy choice.

  

Do you enjoy buffet restaurants?  Do you have a favorite you'd like to tell us about?  How do you like Asian food?

Battle of the Bands Results

       My first Battle of April 2025 was two versions of a 1931 song that many of us know from the classic film Casablanca.  The song was "As Time Goes By" as interpreted by Rudy Vallee and Binnie Hale.  My preference was for Rudy and even without my vote he would have still won.

Final Vote Tally

Rudy Vallee       8 votes

Binnie Hale       6 votes

Future Fears Fault ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      Fearing the future seems like a futile expenditure of energy.  Why fear what hasn't happened yet?  Unless you're going to the dentist maybe.  Or some kind of medical procedure.  Or get your taxes done.  Or--or what?  What could possibly happen?  Lots of things I suppose, but fear won't make it better.  Planning might, but not being afraid...

Future Fears Fault

      For many years, when I was much younger, I feared many things.  I was afraid of people or trying new things.  I was afraid to go certain places.  In essence, I think I was most afraid of failing.  Fear of failure prevents many of us from taking advantages of opportunities or having memorable experiences. The fear of failing can keep us from even trying so that we can be assured that we can't fail when in reality the inaction becomes its own failure.

     If we don't try then we won't fail, but we won't succeed either.  I have had to really push myself to do certain things in my past.  I faltered due to fearing what I was afraid might happen and missed out many times.  But when I did try I often succeeded and that gave me more confidence. If I failed I realized that things just kept moving on and I could try again.  Then I might succeed or continue to fail.  It's just the story of life.

      Maybe I'm not everything that I could have been in life, but I am what I am.  If I missed out on anything I would say it was my future fears fault.  I didn't act at times because I was afraid of something that I thought could or might happen if I kept going forward.  It's the way it was meant to be I guess, but still--sometimes I wonder.  

      And now I don't care all that much.  Whatever happens will happen and that's that.  I'm very much future oriented, but I'm also realistic about whatever limitations I may face.  No point in being afraid about what might happen.  No point in saying it was future fears fault.

   Are you sometimes hindered by what you are afraid might be an outcome?   Do you think the future is fixed?   What do you wish you had pursued in your life that fear kept you from doing?

Everything Evokes Earth ( #AtoZChallenge )

     Even if we were to hurtle through the universe for the rest of our lives and never return to our home planet, wouldn't we measure everything always by Earth standards, Earth memories, Earth in our DNA? 

Everything Evokes Earth

      Earth has always been an anchor for astronauts who have ventured into space thus far in history.  They can usually see it and they remain in contact with their people on it.  They expect to go back eventually.  Perhaps in some future time there will be settlements on Mars where humans will live and possibly never see Earth.  Those who go further might only know Earth as a mythology from forgotten ancestors.  For them perhaps the name "Earth" will evoke nothing in their minds other than what they have learned elsewhere or heard in a song or something.

     Recently I dug into my home library to find a science fiction book that I had purchased while I was still in college.  I never read it, but managed to keep it all these years so I figured I might as well try it. The main character had been born and had always lived in orbit around the moon.  He was returning to a future Earth devastated by world wars.  For me the story was so clunky and dumb and had so many references to language and culture of the sixties that it all just seemed too absurd.  

      Okay, I'll concede the book was supposed to be comedic satire, but I wasn't laughing.  It all seemed so silly reading it now and imagining it was all in the future.  But my point is that everything about us evokes where we are from.  An author in another time might tend to write for his audience about things they do not know or have never experienced, so they have to refer to something more familiar.  In the end that is Earth.

       No matter how high I can jump, I cannot escape the force of the gravity of the Earth.  And even if I fly off into space forever, I will watch Earth recede and keep trying to listen to its signals.  I can never forget Earth.  It's in my DNA.  If there are children, then it will be in their DNA or some collective memory I suppose, but will that go on through time if this imaginary spacecraft continues into forever, into the DNA of those star children of that future.

       I say "that future" because that's what it is.  Everything evokes Earth.

     What do you feel most connected to?  Where would you want to spend the rest of your life if you could choose anywhere and any situation?   Do you enjoy reading dated science fiction?

 

Diving Down Deep ( #AtoZChallenge )

 

      Deep diving looks interesting enough, but I've never been daring enough to try it.  For one thing I'm not overly fond of water activities.  And then also, I don't want to die...

Diving Down Deep

      Don't ever expect to find me deep diving in the ocean or anywhere else.  Drowning is one of my fears and I don't want to dive into deep waters.  If I want an idea of what the experience would be like then I'll watch a movie or documentary about it and never get wet (unless I spill my drink on me).  

      On the other hand, I love deep diving in the mental sense.  I can totally get lost in research.  Or just random googling for that matter.  Sometimes when I want to know about something enough to research it then I'll go on one of those deep diving expeditions into the depths of the internet or reference books. I love reference books and have many throughout my home.  Once I get started on a research quest I can get lost for hours.  And I never come close to drowning.  That's the kind of deep dive I desire.

    How about you?  Do you like research?  Do you find yourself getting immersed in the internet and books?

      

Climate Change Craziness ( #AtoZChallenge ).

       Climate change is real.  It's called weather. And it changes.  Seems like when faced with an inability to control things around us, some people will resort to some crazy changes thinking they have control of things.  And then things change.  What a crazy world!

Climate Change Craziness

     Call me what you want, but I'm not on board with the climate change hoax--at least not to the extent that some are.  I don't deny that humans contribute to climate change and I'm all for trying to come up with solutions.  Logical solutions that make sense economically as well in every other way.  

        Am I caught up in the cause?  Not in any big way, but I do my part.  I just don't go to extremes like some wackos in our society.  Most of those people are probably more anarchist than anything constructive and meaningful to the rest of us.  And if they have true passion then they are grossly misguided in their efforts.

     Climate change solution hoaxes are everywhere and they cost someone billions or even trillions of dollars--usually you and me the taxpayer.  I think about the huge solar power generating facility that I'd seen pop up in the desert at the California/Nevada border a number of years ago--the Ivanpah Solar Power Facility. 

      For miles as one approached from either direction on I-15 highway, one would be practically blinded by the brilliant light that emanated from a tower amidst a vast field of what I had thought to be solar panels--3500 acres of them covering an area of 5 square miles.  Then after researching I found out that they were not solar panels but special mirrors aimed up to where one can see that blinding light where there is a large tank of water that is set to boiling by the reflected light.  It sounds crazy to me, but that is another one of those crazy ideas that came out of the Obama years that is now being dismantled because it is not practical.  I could have told them that.

       Now they have a field of mirrors to dispose of.  Thankfully they are close to Las Vegas and not so far from Los Angeles.  I'm sure they'll find somebody to take the mirrors, but they'll never get the money back that they wasted on this project.  But that goes for most of the other climate change nonsense that corrupts so much of the world governments these days.  

       Keep working on things folks.  Some good things are happening and some that make little sense in the grander scheme of things.  Listen to the science.  And I mean all science.

        Do you have any particular fears related to climate change?  Do you believe that it will take something far bigger than humans to destroy the Earth?   Is there a climate change solution that you have found to be particularly absurd?

  

     

     

 

Bring Beer, Bob! ( #AtoZChallenge & #IWSG )

 

     Back before cell phones you just had to guess what to do.  Plans were necessary to put together any organized event and everybody just did what they figured was best after that.  Now we can just call on our cell phones to check in.  Want me to bring anything?

       Back in the day as they sometimes say, cellphones would have been real handy.  Now it's hard to think about not having a cellphone on me wherever I am.  Connecting and keeping up is pretty easy now for the most part.  I could have used that access when I was on the road working in the eighties.  I had to conduct my business in phone booths or motel room phones.  A lot of change was required since that's what those phones took.

      Then there were the camping trips in the seventies with my Tennessee friends.  We would frequent campgrounds in the Great Smokies where we would sometimes set up camp for several days as friends came and went.  Newcomers to the camp would bring whatever supplies they figured they or someone else might need.  There might be food, but mostly beer.  I didn't drink much back then so the beer was of little consequence to me.  But most everyone else enjoyed their beer.

       Yes, the cellphone would have been a real game changer.  In fact I can hear it now:  "Bring beer, Bob!  We're running low!"

  The Insecure Writer's Support Group

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 
     The co-hosts for the April 2 posting of the IWSG are Jennifer Lane, L Diane Wolfe, Jenni Enzor, and Natalie Aguirre.

April 2 question - What fantasy character would you like to fight, go on a quest with, or have a beer/glass of wine with?

        I'm not much on fantasy and very rarely read it.  Forget the fantasy characters.  I think I'd rather go back to have an adventure with some of my old friends from the past.  Sometimes the past seems like a fantasy anyway so that's enough for me.