The Practical Way

Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, and Lieh Tzu were walking together along a forested path one day when they came upon a fast flowing river that barred their way.

Immediately Lieh Tzu sat down on the bank of the river and meditated upon the eternal Tao. Ten minutes later he stood up and proceeded to walk on the water to the other side.

Next, Chuang Tzu sat in the lotus posture for twenty minutes, whereupon he stood up and also walked across the river.

Lao Tzu, watching this in amazement, shrugged his shoulders, sat down on the river bank like the others and meditated for over an hour. Finally, with complete trust in the Tao, he closed his eyes, took one step into the river, and fell in up to his chest.

On the other shore, Chuang Tzu laughed, turned to Lieh Tzu and asked, "Should we tell him where the rocks are?"

Tao does not believe in any nonsense. It is very pragmatic, practical, and down to earth.

I am in the process of consolidating this site with my other blog cause it's a bit of a pain in the ass to be jumping back and forth all the time . . . So

This post will signify the end of The Way of Survival as the only topic in this blog (although the name will remain). From now on I will be adding writings of all sort . . . short stories, poetry etc. and political/social comments as I see fit.

I want to think my four readers for being here. Hope this move doesn't chase you away:-)

The American Dream

I was recently asked in a forum of construction workers a question by a conservative guy who occasionally posts there after I made a derogatory remark concerning this country.

“Why do you hate America?”

I took the question to heart, thought about it, and following is my answer.

I was born at a time when every morning before class the entire assembly placed their right hand over their heart and recited the “Pledge of Allegiance.”

I was raised on John Wayne movies and heroism.

When I was old enough, I joined the military because I thought standing in the gap for this country was the highest of honors. I wanted to be the best because I believed I was a part of the best.

Living the experience eventually put a huge hole in the bubble that my elders had carefully blown up for me as I began to get a glimpse of reality.

Now in my old age there is little left of the kid who once stood proudly before the Stars and Stripes reciting:

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one nation under God indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

What happened?

America, after conquering the American continent (and her aboriginal peoples) grew in leaps and bounds during the Industrial Revolution. She emerged from the ashes of WW2 victorious, head and shoulders above everybody.

No one can dispute that we had saved Europe from the German fascist nor Asia from the Emperor of Japan. No one can dispute the fact that we had created the greatest war machine and economy the world had ever seen.

We were at the helm of seemingly everything. We led in the sciences. We led in the arts. In industry. In giving.

The world looked upon us in awe and a large majority of her went to bed at night dreaming of one day becoming a part of the melting pot.

We were at the cusp of greatness, our potential was unfathomable. If ever in the human experience there was a country who could change the flow of world history it was us. Our constitution promised it. Our religion promised it. Our military might promised it . . .

What happened?

Like the allegory of the Prodigal Son in the Christian bible we squandered our inheritance on self-righteous greed becoming just another Empire with a beginning, a middle, and a soon to be ending, not much different than the Greeks and Romans before us. Me, Myself, and I became the law of the land as we slowly drown in our own waste.

Today every where I look I see decay. Oh, there are those who still strive for greatness and are willing to sacrifice to get it, but the flow of history is going against them. Most will die with the dream lying dormant in their hearts.

I hear the bravado. I hear the hero talk and the call to patriotic sacrifice. But giving your life for your country these days has a decidedly hollow ring to it.

Since the glory days of WW2 when have our children sacrificed their lives for a worthy cause? Korea? Vietnam? Iraq? Afghanistan?

What good has any of these deaths accomplished? Who has benefited from them? Simple. Follow the money and see who's getting rich.

I guess to answer the initial question, “Why do I hate America?” I gotta say, “ Well, I once loved her. I felt married to her. I laid my life on the line for her. I lived with her and partook of her many blessings. Then one day, when I least expected it, she decided to go out and fuck my best friend. My bubble burst and I found out she had been nothing but a whore all along.

Whores can change their way, but never if they continue to justify their occupation. . . or posture themselves on a street corner dressed in red (a symbol of the blood of her children) offering blow jobs in the alley in the back seat of a junk car for a few lousy dollars.

So do I hate the dream? No. Do I hate what we've done to it? Yes.

I am perhaps an embittered old man, I suppose.......but we had such an opportunity . .. we actually could have lived up to the PR.

We weren't just contenders, we were the champs........damn it!

Into the Night

Well, it's going on May and the weather is beginning to change. The flowers are blooming and soon the dandelions will be covering my yard. (for me to eat, not kill) Everything smells so good and fresh here in holler paradise you would never know there was a storm brewing on the other side of the hill and across the river.

That's where the town is and where the depression is much more noticeable. Since I began this blog the only change that has taken place in town is a change for the worse.

Our new president is trying hard, but I believe he is just digging the hole deeper. Until we get the jobs back and available for our men and women it's all just smoke and mirrors anyways. Who cares about Wall Street when all around you Main Street is shutting it's doors and leaving empty store fronts behind?

Who cares how much profit the banks have made when you still have to sell your first born son in order to get a loan?

The government has given these institutions tons of cash, BUT . . . until jobs are available nothing changes in small town USA, period.

As the spiral continues I am beginning to see that some of my ideas concerning safe guarding my property are not going to work. I don't see my few neighbors all that interested in helping each other like I'd hoped. I'm beginning to believe that when it gets really rough it is probably going to be more like this little story I'm about to tell you.

It was sometime in the middle of a particularly black night on the island of Iromote during jungle school. I had stepped into a hole in the ground wearing a newly issued pair of jungle boots and twisted my ankle to the point of being unable to walk on it. I began to lag behind the column and finally went to my knees in pain.

Down the column rushed the squad leader. He bent down real close and whispered sweetly into my ear. "You had better shut the fuck up soldier! See that trail we're on? You either keep up with me or follow it back to camp . . . you're on your own!" He left and the column quickly disappeared into the night leaving me alone to fend for myself in that strange environment.

My rifle became a crutch as I began hobbling my way the five or ten miles back to our camp. Surprise! I thought you always helped out your comrades. John Wayne did. This butt head sergeant must have not gotten the message, he didn't even ask me how I felt. He only wanted to shut me up. Nobody loves me! I'm alone and scared in the big, bad, world! Now what?

First thing, you must absorb the pain. It hurts worse when you fight it.

Second, realize fully that you are on your own. You may get some help along the way, but don't expect it.

Third, think, think, THINK!

Move forward. Don't waste your time crybabying about your circumstance.

Use your survival skills. Listen intently to the night and be quiet. As you become accustomed to your new environment you will receive your vision and ultimately even learn to enjoy the experience.

It's Every Man For Himself

In every great battle there is a moment when opposing armies realize that they have either won or lost the conflict they find themselves in. The victor makes one last charge while the loser, realizing his command structure has broken down in disarray, heads for the hills.

So the call is going out to my four readers here and now . . . “IT”S EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!!” Find a way out of the compound, escape to the jungle and utilize the survival skills you have been taught . . . you're on your own. Good luck.

As I sat before my TV last night watching the incentive debate going on between the republicans and the democrats I asked myself. Where's the change? Where's the earnest non-partisan effort of both parties to come together and get this thing done?

Now Obama will get his bill passed, but his own party has pretty much scuttled it's affect in my opinion. I now know without a doubt (even though I hate to admit it to myself) the battle for change is over. It's been bored to death by partisan business-as-usual and has gone AWOL.

It would have taken a herculean effort anyways to change anything in Washington politics and it was probably just to much to ask from the very beginning. I mean how do you make a silk purse out of a pigs ear anyways?

I had a lot of hope for Obama and his administration. His cry for change rang true in my ears. I thought maybe, just maybe he could lead this country out of the morass of in-fighting and bickering and do-nothing-but-pander-to-special-interests legislation used by previous elected officials that has brought this country to its knees. I had hope even though I knew Obama was going to have a tough time of it. Even though I knew he would never do much on his own. Even though . . .

Last night that hope dried up and blew away as I watched one Senator after another acting out of his/ her own ego, more concerned with a few moments in the spot light, more concerned with his/her pet beliefs and projects, more concerned with seemingly everything available than the ONLY thing he/she should be concerned with . . . putting together a viable, hard hitting incentive package that would get us out of this hole we have dug for ourselves.

I saw little of that sort of concern. Lot's of rhetoric, the American people this, the American people that, but all said in the same vein of trying to prove THEIR point.

The democrats trying to fill the incentive bill with enough pork to make a pig sick.

The republicans crying the same old story of tax breaks for business and the rich.

Pelosi and crew aren't about to give in to their wild liberal demands.

The republicans aren't about to give up their kneeling spot beneath the Golden Calf of perverted capitalism.

And the beat goes on as together they chew each on others asses even as they fall “together” over the cliff.

The winds of change have even taken on the foul odor of fear mongering as Obama does much the same as George Bush did before him by trying to rush the 900 billion dollar incentive package through congress.

By the way aren't these (congress) the same assholes who just approved themselves a raise? You would think that the collective wisdom amongst them would have raised a flag on this one. No?

This all equals another no . . . no hope. It's all being flushed down the drain of self interest.

I believe Obama was the man for the hour, but the Rush Limbaugh (and others) buzzword of “socialism” (remember McCarthy and his “communism” witch hunt?) will prove impossible for him to deal with and he will spend most of his time defending himself and his administration when only a strong offense will win the day for 'change'.

Is it the republicans fault? Is it the democrats fault? No. It's everybody's fault.

Perhaps it's merely fate. Perhaps it's just our time to die like everything eventually does and nothing can change it, but for certain history will not be kind to this generation as the record will show that when the ship of State sprung a leak and began to list her occupants were to busy arguing about how to apply the patch and she sunk from lack of attention.

Personally I'm done with politics (so you no longer need to put up with my rants :-) and am getting back in survival mode myself.

I have no more hope for change or for a fix or for anything else coming from Washington save a bunch of hot air, and it's going to take a whole hell of a lot more than hot air to keep the folks sitting around their stoves this winter warm so I'm closing with (and I hope I'm wrong). . . one more time.

“IT”S EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!”

Purveyors of Fear

Watching the recent inauguration I was somewhat taken aback by the large crowds and the obviously happy people creating them. There was a distinct air of hope permeating from these millions of people. There was a fire in their belly keeping them warm as they stood in the cold awaiting the change about to take place on a distant podium. A new day was dawning and I believe everybody there realized it. Even Dick Chaney showing up in a wheelchair was a type and shadow of an old way about to be replaced by the winds of change.

Were these people ALL being deceived by this Obama character, this guy gifted with enough rhetorical power to entice the scales off a snake? Or were these people merely moving within the same vibe that lead Obama himself to that podium?

Are these millions of people willing to do what it takes to get this ship of State on course again or are they just looking for a savior to do it for them? Can this huge groundswell of support last when the day dims and their hope is put to the test?...as it surely will.

Who knows for sure, all any of us can do is hope. I am not too optimistic, but with all my being I hope this thing succeeds cause I truly believe this is the last chance we have to get our country back.

There is another crowd though, a crowd filled with people who are cold and fearful of the change this man is promoting. These people wear the compliment to hope, the yin to the yang and are to be expected. To them Obama is the anti-Christ himself.

This crowd feeds off the vibe of fear. Fear of the black man. Fear of the terrorist. Fear of change. Fear of seemingly everything that would vaguely change or reroute this highly touted capitalistic system they have created for themselves.

So, we have two distinct armies growing upon our landscape. The army of hope and the army of fear. Who will win? Don't have a clue, but for me and my house we will gladly and willingly take up the challenge of hope and stand behind our new president Barrack Obama the half-black senator from Chicago.

I have a friend who is one of Rush Limbaugh's (who's a commanding general in the army of fear mongering) most faithful ditto heads. To me this is quite alarming as I consider giving ones rational thought process to fearing anybody or anything is tantamount to defeat by choice.

I find this totally unacceptable and have told my friend so, but as his mind has been clogged by Limbauitis for the last twenty years, he has in essence become a bobble headed minion in Rushes army of nit wits.

So because of his inability to discuss anything beyond the party line I'm going to ask an open question across the internet to my many (4) readers.

What are you conservative right wingers afraid of anyways?

Can you not see that time has risen the oil to the top of our capitalistic system and (the oil) has been siphoned off by the rich and powerful? That because of greed this highly touted system is now out of the reach of the middle class? Can't you see that the rich patients have taken over the asylum and the playing field has become unbalanced?

It's not that capitalism is in any way responsible for the collapse of our financial/banking/real estate system. Capitalism is as as good as it gets in a nation of strong, hard working, citizens, but the fine line that keeps it afloat and viable has always by nature been close to the water line.

Now because of the weight of this overwhelming greed the boat is, even with all hands manning the pumps, slowly sinking towards the abyss and the only thing keeping it afloat at this time is hope.

Yet there are those amongst us who are doing their damnedest to see that we fail and the ship sinks . . .why?

Hope sets one free, fear keeps one in bondage. It's as simple as that.

The status quo is quite comfortable for the rich and the powerful in this country who have captured the whole pie and refuse to share with the rest of us. They don't go to bed hungry. They don't get laid off or lose their jobs. They don't see factories closing all around them. They see these factories merely moving to a different place off shore.

A place where they can forget about all the hindering pollution laws. A place where they can forget about unions and work stoppages and high wages. They merely move to a place where they can make MORE money. This makes sense to them, this is good business and it fits perfectly into their perverted definition of capitalism.

These people use fear like a cattle prod to keep us in line. They promise to protect us from the terrorist. They promise all sorts of shit, but in the end that's all we get . . . more shit.

These purveyors of fear remind me of the old mob in the Bronx selling protection to all the store owners. They walk in and promise you that for a fee of their choosing your store will be protected and if you comply with their demands you have a safe store, if not it gets blown up . . . simple. Reminds me of the insurance industry and this homeland security crap.

Like I said in my last entry. A rag tag army of terrorists is hardly worth 12 billion dollars a month when all it takes is an alert and well armed citizenry to drive them into the sea.

“We're fighting them there so we won't have to fight them here” is such a bullshit explanation I cannot even respond to it. Does anybody think in all reality that this country would have the casualties we have suffered over In Iraq and Afghanistan if we were fighting terrorism here in this country?

The towers went down for one reason, and one reason only. The complacency of those charged with defending us from this sort of thing. Using the laws in place and opening their fucking eyes was more than enough to keep us safe. They were asleep at the wheel.

If we started watching the borders. If we got our eyes off the pavement two steps in front of our feet and began to observe our surroundings instead of stumbling around the malls like sheep in a pen. If we actually began to take responsibility for ourselves, and our towns and our nation, the terrorist wouldn't stand a chance.


We need change. We need to wake up and realize this is a violent and uncompromising world we live in. We need to shove the purveyor of fear off into the night and we need to press forward into the light of day . . . and change . . . and hope.

I pray Obama can keep the vibe going long enough that the people can catch up because if this thing fails we all fail. If it succeeds we all succeed. . . cause in the real world we are the catalyst that will make it all happen. Obama can only lead the army, he can not ever BE the army.

2009 predictions part 2

My previous post was pretty gloomy so lets look to the brighter side in this entry. And the brightest light I see in the coming year is president elect Barack Obama. This man has engendered more hope in me than any president in memory, even more hope than JFK did when I was a kid.

In the days of Kennedy though, we just expected the president to be a great man and do what was right. Well, the bums since then, and most of all the man who led this country the last eight years (who seemingly had as his tenth entry on his bucket list to become the LAST president of the United States of America.) have proven without a doubt these expectations were the stuff fairy tales are made of.

I am the first to admit Obama is a wild card, but if he can use his rhetorical ability to rally the nation into a renewing of the pride and initiative we once had by bringing the middle class back into balance, we are going to soar into the future on golden wings.

This is a huge calling because of the entrenched political machine and 'special interests' so I predict his “centrist” oriented programs will, after the short good will honeymoon tour, get bogged down in Congress by both factions, but I hope I'm wrong.

I am living at this moment on raw hope because everything I see taking place around me leads my minds eye in one direction . . . over the cliff previous administrations and, now even more so, Bush and his band of Pied Pipers have led us to.

I am not a political person, I am a realist. You can promise me all you want, but until I see the fruit of your promise you are just another bullshitter looking for a mark in my book. Show me what you got, don't try and brain wash me into believing your way is the WAY cause I will leave you at the starting gate.

I've been brainwashed at least twice in my life. Once when I was a young man serving my country. The other when I was an older man trying to serve my God for what I did while I was serving my country. Both times I was duped, misled and lied to by people calling themselves leaders with a plan for leading me to a promised land of peace and prosperity.

Well, I've long since jumped that ship and have no desire to get duped again. So for now, that's why I say Obama is a wild card. BUT . . . Obama is the last card we get in order to fill this inside straight. Tricky business, but had McCain succeeded in defeating him I would be busy writing our obituaries.

I predict, though Obama is decidedly a breath of fresh air and a spark of light in this dying country, he better get good security (he can trust) cause there are a lot of people who would love to see that light get blown out. And if it does . . . there is no need to predict what will happen in the streets of this country then, it's all pretty obvious.

EDUCATION: This is one huge factor in where we go from here. The Bush “no child left behind” program was pure politics, never worked and I doubt anybody in that crowd really cared anyways. They were too busy protecting us from the evil doers.

I am hoping for an Obama full court press when it comes to education. Not just fancy schools and computers in every closet, but schools that actually teach. Schools that have gone back to the old days of discipline and proper attire. Places where kids can not only learn their ABC's, but also the absolute necessity of being responsible for themselves.

Each kid in this country should have it ingrained in his head that he and he alone has the power to create his future by the thoughts he thinks in the present . . . and he/she damned well better start thinking right because this welfare state every body loves will be taught to show the reality of it's prison affect also.

Give each kid in this country an equal chance to succeed on his own merit, teach him properly, and I believe we will see the rise of a movement that will lead the world into doing away with a lot of this killing. Once the others see us really become the greatest nation, not just an expensive Wall Street ad campaign, they will join us.

Obama instinctively knows this. I predict he will succeed somewhat in his endeavor, but money for change will be hard to come by as the status quo is not really bright nor caring enough in their own right to realize this principle. All they know is portfolios and bank accounts and will die that way. This is future stuff.

TERRORISTS: I have just a short thought and prediction on terrorism. We have spent a zillion dollars feeding a huge military/industrial complex so they can chase these dudes all over the world. We have gotten ourselves into a hundred shit storms with our allies doing so . . . why?

We laid around on our fat asses when we should have been watching the perimeter and allowed them to knock down a couple of our prime buildings. What have we done since? Cowering in fear and giving up everything we hold dear for what? Security? To keep them from coming here?

Here's my prediction when it comes to terrorism (this is an IF prediction)

Since 911 our “ I'm a wartime” president has filled us with the need for security at the cost of our freedom and led us down a meandering road to nowhere that will only end in bankrupt court and Chinese occupation.

I simply say “Bring it on!” to the terrorist. What the hell is everybody so afraid of? Wake up!

Beef up the borders, put the country on alert . . . and let them come. I guarantee the only waves they will be making will be the ones they make while drowning in the sea of pissed off Americans who have thrown them into it.

MARRIAGE: I PREDICT THAT IF YOU MAKE A NEW YEARS RESOLUTION TO BE MORE KIND AND THOUGHTFUL TO YOUR WIFE SHE WILL MAKE THIS YEAR A VERY HAPPY ONE FOR YOU!

2009 Predictions

Alright! I finally got a blog. Now I can make a list of predictions like every other crackpot on the internet does.

So here we go. As I gaze into a very foggy future and snatch a meandering thought . . . (drum roll). It is now time to predict.

First I would say to everybody who works for a living, you all better start taking this social/economic depressive thing for real and begin in earnest to prepare for you and your families survival. It has already gotten much worse since I started this blog and its going to get a lot more worse in the coming year.

By now, it's too late to think about getting out of debt, you just gotta realize if your in over your head that your (and a zillion other Americans) credit rating is going to tank this year. Work on the debt with high interest and save the no interest medical bills for last. They have been ripping you off for decades anyways.

To those of you buying SUV'S cause the gas prices are down a bit my advice is to save room in it for your sleeping bags cause that lovely new gas hog will soon be your bedroom as you boot scoot across the State trying to evade the shaggy headed repo Dog (till you run out gas that is.)

Pssssttt . . . Don't forget the backpack for when you do cause well, no offense, but there is no hope for you, you are dead meat anyways. You have been culled by natural selection. Sorry. When they said,”duck!” you thought they meant the kind that flies, right? . . . wrong!

If you do happen to still have a boring office job 2009 is not the time to start thinking of a career change. Wanna be foot loose and fancy free like us carpenters have been all our lives? Just stay where your at, you'll be free from it all soon enough.

ECONOMY : It's going to get a whole lot worse for the yuppie crowd who have sold their souls to the company store so they could have more “stuff” on credit.

Guess what? You are going to be the big loser this year.

I predict that the credit card industry is about to tank alongside their buddies.

I predict we will run out of bail out money and those financial industries living on the hand outs will tank also.

Auto industry . . . going down!
Manufacturing industry . . . going down!
Building Industry . . . going down!
Health care industry . . . up for the haves, down for the have nots!

To the back-to-the-landers. (and the Amish) You are by far going to be the winners! Yeah!! (except, for the very wealthy who caused this whole thing and never lose, of course)

You will hardly know the difference as being broke has been a way of life for so long you'll not much feel the economic crunch. Grow a larger garden this year and plant potatoes, beans, corn, and squash. Enough to feed yours, and some extra to share with your down and out yuppie neighbors who are suddenly realizing the joy of corporate living.

To the vast most-in-the-middle. Watch it! (and read my first entries in this blog over)

I make my economic doom and gloom prediction for our economy because of only one thing . . .

NO JOBS. . . that's it. I ain't smart enough to read the charts or to understand the money managers. I AM smart enough to read the fear on the faces of most of the people I run into these days though. Fear of finding a job mostly(cause the one they had is already gone)

FACT: All the kings horses and all the kings men (along side Obama) cannot put Humpty Dumpty back together again cause they lost the glue needed to do so. They have, in a few short (Republican greed inspired years), destroyed the foundational manufacturing power of this country when they sent the jobs overseas.

The strongest industrial base the world has ever known that was created during WW2 has been disabled, torn apart, and shipped to China/Mexico/and others in the name of free trade. Whats left has been antiquated by CEO short term skimming. And guess what? Nobody thought of replacing any jobs. They all thought enslaving the ex-worker with a welfare system would kill two birds with one stone, I guess.

OK the economic predictions are kinda gloomy, let's try the military ones. We're the bad ass of the world . . . right? Well..........

MILITARY: How long can this country remain a military powerhouse when we have to import our supply's and borrow money to fight our duel wars from a future enemy? No need to predict that one.

How long can we afford to spend 12 billion bucks a month fighting a rag tag army of “evil doers” who can create a low cost IED quite capable of blowing to hell our highly sophisticated, highly expensive, road driving equipment? No need to predict that one.

How long can we continue to use large scale battle plans in a gorilla war environment? Ask anybody (except the Pentagon of course) how well that worked for us in Vietnam. No need to predict that one.

How long can we keep our professional mercenaries fighting until the old days of the citizen soldier are reawakened because of need and lack of funds? And boy thats going to open up a bucket full of shit for todays little darlings. (and put an end to this preemptive business as well)

I predict that we are going to need to make drastic changes in our war think if we are ever going to be able to defend ourselves in the future against North Korea or Iran or China or Russia if taken on alone let alone if they team up against us.

We have the most highly evolved killing machine the world has ever know, but this machine is being run by political hacks and perfumed princes (David Hackworth quote concerning the general staff). The future bodes poorly for us as is.

Today we are more concerned with feeding the huge military/industrial complex that Eisenhower warned us about than actually fielding an army that understands the enemy and knows how to, and what it will take to defeat it. Something the Chinese know and have been taught for centuries.

WARNING: China is at this moment having huge problems in their country as their foreign markets are drying up and their goods are piling up on the export dock. That is NOT a good thing and could very well begin their (I'll bet) plan on starting an end around assault on the oil fields of Saudi Arabia (and others in that region)

Think we are safe from their armies because of our oceans? Why would they even try for the US (haven't you heard the Mexicans are even going back home?) when the oil wealth is merely a short march through Pakistan into Iran (who may both become future allies of China)

The only thing stopping them at this point is the fact that we are their largest market and they would have to confront us somewhere along the way. Once we weaken? Fogetaboutit! Unless you believe everybody loves the US, that is. “we're the greatest country in the world by damn!” stops at the twelve mile limit.

Militarily we are quickly getting in way over our head and it behooves us to remember our allies before it's too late. I believe Obamma will do this. If not, we are toast because the US could never take a casualty count in the tens of thousands while fighting a war of aggression such as Iraq.

LESSER PREDICTIONS: The Arts.

Painters: With endowments getting cut across the board the arts are in big trouble. But in my opinion they deserve it cause art these days suck overall anyways. The artist has forgotten that no matter how different and inspired his work is, it only works if others can interpret it. Scribbles and runs don't get it for a lot of us.

Music: Holy shit! What happened to music? I love music . . . go to sleep every night with my mp3 player going through headphones. Thank God for 60's music and the golden oldies. What they pass for music these days truly sucks. Rap?! . . . AHHH! The belly button, crouch to show your crotch female brigade?! . . . AHHH! What ever happened to dresses and a little bit of class? These girls remind me of (me sucky, fucky GI long time.) . . short time hookers. We need to get back to the necessity for PRACTICE before we become a rock star.

Writing: There are some great writers out there, but Dr Phil and Sylvia Brown seem to have cornered the publishing market. You will find the real writers on the internet slugging it out for their share of the self published market. The big publishing houses long ago gave up on anything but profitability.

I predict that the arts will continue to mirror the culture that spawns them. It's a shame because there are so many really great artists out there who never get a chance because of their lack of marketability.

I also predict this will all change after the depression. Especially in the folk/country genre as people simplify their lives.

Internet: It will remain free and clear of governmental restraint mainly because they are too dumb to figure out how to regulate it. . . unless Al Gore takes charge that is . . . cause he invented it, right?

OVERALL:

Overall the coming year is going to be a very exciting time to be alive. With all that will be happening, both good and bad, people will be hard pressed to cry BORING! Any time soon. But as anybody who has ever been in shit up to their chins knows, it's much more fun to sit in a bar and brag about it after the fact than actually going through it.

So get on your waders folks it's all gonna be very interesting . . . some of you may even make it to 2010 alive and well . . . IF YOU USE THE BRAINS GOD GAVE YOU! Very important.

Stay tuned for predictions 2009 part 2

old men dream dreams

Surviving the up and coming social/economic meltdown is just one aspect of the survival I'm speaking of as the Way of Survival is far more reaching in scope. This Way is not merely a quick dive into a foxhole, but a life style. So if I seem to be meandering around a bit, bear with me cause, although I paint with a broad stroke I am still on the same canvas.

Old Men Dream Dreams

It seems I do more of it in the winter, but regardless, as I get older I spend a lot of time day dreaming. I usually wake up about 5 am, make coffee and, being retired and having no place to go, sit in my chair in the dark drinking my coffee and dreaming about the past. A rather pleasant time, I might add.

Now I have been to a lot of places and done a lot of things, but the things and places have become mere backdrops, places to hold the faces and memories of the many people I have known and the friends I have made while I did things over the last 66 years that I have lived on this planet.

As I begin to think on a place and time the faces are soon to follow. These faces pop into my mind like a worn out jack-in-the-box. Crank the handle a bit and wallah up pops Joey Sirgo or Gunner Thompson, or Tommy One Nut, or Pissball Pete. . . . . or. (It's amazing how many of these guys have slang names and how often that's the only one I can remember.)

Then the fun begins as I sit and reminisce with these guys over all the exciting times we had together . . . and a few of the sad ones. Seems the good and the funny always float to the top first though. I have to dig a bit to get to the bad, so as I hate shoveling I mostly leave that part alone.

To all the girls I've loved before. I remember your eyes, the lift of your breasts and the swing of your hips, but little else cause my Band of Brothers meant far more to me than trying to figure you out ever did. You guys have a place in my heart, but the respectable amongst you live in a special 'other' room. This room is filled with bar girls, casual one night stands, and short time hookers.

The old boys club door is locked to the finer female. No equality here. You wouldn't like it anyways in there cause the room stinks with old cigar smoke, cordite and bull shit and the floor is littered with trampled peanut shells, dried blood and dog hair. A place only one of my old friends could love.

I always figured when I got old I would be sitting in the park with the rest of the old goats, like they did when I was a kid. Maybe the old project crowd still do that, I don't know because I lost contact with them at 15 when I had to move.

Today I live a life of seclusion. I spend my days reading, or goofing on my computer or driving my wife crazy, but rarely if ever do I spend time with friends, cause although spread out over half the world, they are not here.

Once I was in a Portland City jail cell with the walls covered in graffiti. I found an empty spot and wrote my own little tale of woe, “I've been alone since birth, I'll remain alone till death, then I'll have a friend”. Kind of a downer, but how else would you feel being stuck in a 6x6 cell with a guy coming down off heroin?

I do hope that quickly thought verse will prove itself to be true though cause I'm getting closer to D day each time I go to sleep at night and it would be really cool to wake up on the other side and see a large table of my friends gathered around it to greet me. (and my favorite dogs lying under it)

Jesus and God would have to wait for a while then cause first thing I want to do is drink some Maddog wine and hang out with the guys again for a season . . . or two.

God

Since time began God’s been around in one form or another. Depending on when, where, and what age you were born in, you would have received from your elders an entirely different picture of Him . . . Who is He anyway? This entity with the many names and personalities, this multi-faceted Father of the Universe, this Creator declaring His love, yet demanding our worship or else.

In our time, religious warfare has ravaged the planet. People of differing philosophies are killing one another to prove the point that they are the ‘chosen’ of the God of love and peace . . . What gives?

Say you were born in the US to Baptist Christian parents. Now, there were others in your town such as the Catholics, Protestants, Pentecostals, etc. etc. who were also Christians, but they only had part of the truth, your parents taught you that the Baptists had it all. They were the ‘chosen’, above the rest of the ‘chosen’, who were chosen above the others because they held at least one truth in common, Jesus the Christ. All the others who didn’t acknowledge Jesus as Lord, weren’t even in the running to be considered ‘chosen’.

Pretty confusing to a kid, but after a few years of brainwashing, you took your place in the church, accepted “it’s” version of the bible to be God’s holy word, learned your preachers denominational interpretation and thanked God for choosing you from amongst the billions of earthlings to reveal His truth to. . . . Is there something wrong here?

I grew up as a Protestant, but never thought much of it. My only remembrance of church was how I hated to get dressed up on Sunday and go. Jesus was just a sissy looking guy with long brown hair who got himself hung on a cross for some reason I couldn’t quite understand.

It was much later in life, after the army, after the free love ‘hippie’ days, that I began to give any serious thought to God. I had a bad experience on drugs one night with a Ouigi Board that scared me enough to seek some spiritual help. I asked an old guy in the neighborhood about God and he sent me down the street to the Pentecostal Church. This was where my religious adventure began. Born again, Spirit filled, tongue talking, Hell and damnation preaching, loud praising, song singing, Pentecostalism.

Years later, living a secluded life on a Christian communal farm, I began to wonder. I began to get an uneasy feeling about the whole thing and I left. I stopped listening to what people had to tell me about God and decided to risk Hellfire and Damnation and get to know Him on my own. No bible, no Jesus, no nothing.

It was time to lay aside fear of backsliding, fear of leaving the Church, and fear of everything else having to do with the Christian faith. I began to read other philosophies, especially Buddhism, Easter Indian, and American Indian thought.

At first I found it difficult to deliver myself from years of religious conditioning, but as time went by, it became easier. I began to peek into forbidden areas, and began to make choices. I thought about Jesus, about the necessity for salvation, and about sin, and Hell, and death . . . and I thought about God, the creator of it all.

Jesus was a difficult hurdle to jump. Today he still has a role to play in my life, but not as a savior. Although I no longer worship him, I honor him, and give him great respect. His recorded life is an example of what life expects of me, and his sacrifices are deeply appreciated. He was a teacher who revealed through his nature, what I could become if I chose to follow his lead. If he was the Savior of the world, just believing in him didn’t seem to make much sense.

I can believe my math teacher is the greatest teacher on earth, but if I fail to learn what he has to teach, what does that make me? . . . a worshiper. If I absorb all that he has, in essence absorb him, I take him with me as I go into the world to become a teacher in my own right. He will always be the Master and I his student, but as I build upon his foundation, it will no longer be necessary to sit at his feet. I will have taken on a mission of my own.

All religions seem to have a fuzzy image of God, He’s called a trinity in Christian philosophy. He’s the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Kind of confusing. Other sects and religions have other names for Him, but none really pins Him down. He is the great I AM . . . and He doesn’t fit well into anybody’s pre-conceived box.

I needed a deeper understanding of Him than what religious teaching had for me, so I took a walk in the woods. . . and there I met Him face to face.

Simply put, in my opinion everything that lives, either animal, vegetable, or mineral is a part of God. He’s you, He’s me, the dog, the fly, and the leaf in the tree. We are surrounded by, engulfed in, His omnipotence. We are Him, His breath is what keeps us upright, the flesh He created is but a vehicle to contain His presence.

We are drops of water originating from the same wave. We appear for but a moment, make a flash in the sun and re-enter. We are nothing . . . and yet we are everything.

We, as the highest evolution of His person, have the power to choose, thereby becoming creators in our own right. As far as I know, we are the only life form having the ability to choose and to create according to our whim. We create our tomorrows by the thoughts we think and the actions we take today, both individually and collectively.

God didn’t create this chaos we live in, we did. Instead of ignoring negativity, we have embraced it, and made a place for it. By doing so, we have created a world of dualism. Positivity/Negativity battling for dominion, and it seems the latter is in the lead. It will continue to grow, nothings going to stop it until, we as a whole, stop struggling to be amongst the ‘chosen’ and get down to the business of being our brothers keeper.

I’ve often wondered why we were given this ability and can only figure that God/Life is also evolving. That nothing is stagnate, but forever growing, even God. Where are we going? I don’t have a clue, but I’m convinced the teachings of Christ, as well as others, are paths leading us to the next step in our evolution.

Today I see God everywhere, but especially when I’m alone walking in the woods out of the earshot of men and their constant jabbering.

Walk softly upon the Earth and you will hear His still, small voice floating upon the breeze. Listen to what He has to say concerning the joy of simply being a part of it all as well as to the futility involved in claiming ownership to any of it.


end

Reading

I would say that the most favorite past time I have is reading. I love to read. I love to go to book stores and libraries to browse. And now with the advent of the internet, especially the blog craze and Google's open book project, I am in a proverbial reader's hog heaven.

My wife thinks I spend entirely too much time on the internet (and let's me know it in many, sometimes not so subtle, ways) but, man, I ain't hanging out in the porno rooms, I am reading. Everything under the sun, everything you can possibly imagine, you can find something about it on the web. This internet will be the one thing I will truly miss when/if the power goes out in this land.

I have just about ten books I am reading at any given time. How can I possibly be expected to have time for mowing the lawn . . . or going to Wallmart . . . or to take out the trash when I barely have time to cook up another pot of coffee?

I am too busy hanging with a guy who has just come back from Afghanistan after shedding blood for the first time.

I am too busy following the gal in a burka as she fights for her freedom to learn how to write.

I am too busy following Robert Service from bar to bar as he writes his rhymes of wit during Alaska's gold rush heyday . . .

I am too busy empathizing with the old Indian as he relates his experience fighting the white horde as it moved, like a plague, across his land killing his people and stealing it from him.

This thing the ignorant amongst us has put out about a bookworm being a skinny wimp wearing huge glasses and hiding in a corner is all pure bullshit also. Mess with me when I'm reading a good book and I may (depending on what I'm reading, of course) just flat ass, knock you out . . . before I continue my adventure.

They, the ignorant, are the wimps. These knuckle dragger's of society who spend their boring days with Jerry Springer. Who sheepishly follow every so called leader as they prod their sex crazed asses over a cliff because they are too dumb and too lazy to think for themselves.

HEY! WAKE UP! . . . If you have a perfectly functioning brain you should be ashamed of yourselves!

That, our own laziness, is the core rot in this country and the main cause thats bringing us to our knees. There is no excuse for the massive amount of ignorance in this country given the vast store house of knowledge at our disposal.

I would advise anybody who is serious about not going nuts when the power goes off to bring into their hooch a boatload of books cause there will be a whole lot of free time to use up. And as we all know you can only do sex for so long . . . and it won't take much time at all to cook and eat our meager rations.

Books, more than guns and ammo will save the day for you. Now is the time to start hoarding. Go to the Goodwill, or the library book sale, or half.com, or Amazon etc. All these places you can buy very cheaply the books that perhaps will help you find your way out of this very expensive mess we find ourselves in.

Read . . . just do it!

Jumping Mouse by Hyemeyohsts Storm

Background

The Story of Jumping Mouse is a traditional Native American legend.

As with many Native American stories, the story of Jumping Mouse is filled both with deep analogy and the belief that man and nature reflect each other.

A key to understanding the parable inherent in the story is a basic understanding of the Medicine Wheel.

As can be seen from a drawing of a Medicine Wheel, each pole of the circle has a distinctive color, animal, and trait. Thus the North is the place of wisdom whose medicine animal is the Buffalo and whose color is white etc.

The Native American belief is that each person is born into a particular beginning place on the wheel, which gives one the 'first way of seeing things', which will remain the easiest way throughout that person's life.

The belief exists, however, that any person who sees from only one of these directions will remain only a 'partial person'. Thus, a person who possesses the Gift of the North will be wise, but will also be cold and unfeeling.

The person who lives only in the East will have the clear, farsighted vision of the eagle, but will feel 'above life' and never believe that he can be touched by anything.

Someone who dwells only in the West (introspection) will go over the same thought again and again, but will lack the wisdom to make decisions.

A person with the gift of the south (Mouse) will be too near-sighted to see anything but what is right in front of them.

The essential belief is that people can learn how to see from 2 or 3 of these 4 great directions, but only by seeking understanding in all of them can a person become truly full and whole.


The Story of Jumping Mouse incorporates the lesson of the Medicine Wheel into a simple parable of one mouse's curiosity and journey to know more of the world.

Though the animal symbols are slightly different, Jumping Mouse's quest takes him through each pole of the medicine wheel through his encounters with Magic Frog (Innocence, South), Old Mouse (introspection, black), Buffalo (Wisdom, white), and Eagle (enlightenment, gold) (Raccoon and Wolf are also met during the tale).

Through each encounter, Jumping Mouse learns to 'give up' a way of seeing things and is rewarded by a greater and greater awareness of himself and the world.

The Story of Jumping Mouse by Hyemeyohsts Storm

Native American Lore

Once there was a Mouse.

He was a Busy Mouse, Searching Everywhere, Touching his Whiskers to the Grass, and Looking. He was Busy as all Mice are, Busy with Mice things. But Once in a while he would Hear an odd Sound. He would Lift his Head, Squinting hard to See, his Whiskers Wiggling in the Air, and he would Wonder. One Day he Scurried up to a fellow Mouse and asked him, "Do you Hear a Roaring in your Ears, my Brother?"

"No, no," answered the Other Mouse, not Lifting his Busy Nose from the Ground. "I Hear Nothing. I am Busy now. Talk to me Later."

He asked Another Mouse the same Question and the Mouse Looked at him Strangely. "Are you Foolish in your Head? What Sound?" he asked and Slipped into a Hole in a Fallen Cottonwood Tree.

The little Mouse shrugged his Whiskers and Busied himself again, Determined to Forget the Whole Matter. But there was that Roaring again. It was faint, very faint, but it was there! One Day, he Decided to investigate the Sound just a little. Leaving the Other Busy Mice, he Scurried a little Way away and Listened again. There It was! He was Listening hard when suddenly, Someone said Hello.

Hello little Brother," the Voice said, and Mouse almost Jumped right Out of his Skin. He Arched his Back and Tail and was about to Run.

"Hello," again said the Voice. "It is I, Brother Raccoon." And sure enough, It was! "What are you Doing Here all by yourself, little Brother?" asked the Raccoon. The Mouse blushed, and put his Nose almost to the Ground. "I Hear a Roaring in my Ears and I am Investigating it," he answered timidly.

"A Roaring in your Ears?" replied the Raccoon as he Sat Down with him. "What you Hear, little Brother , is the River."

"The River?" Mouse asked curiously. "What is a River?"

"Walk with me and I will Show you the River," Raccoon said.

Little Mouse was terribly Afraid, but he was Determined to Find Out Once and for All about the Roaring. "I can Return to my Work," he thought, "after this thing is Settled, and possibly this thing may Aid me in All my Busy Examining and Collecting. And my Brothers All said it was Nothing. I will Show them. I will Ask Raccoon to Return with me and I will have Proof."

"All right Raccoon, my Brother," said Mouse. "Lead on to the River. I will Walk with you."

Little Mouse Walked with Raccoon. His little Heart was Pounding in his Breast. The Raccoon was Taking him upon Strange Paths and little Mouse Smelled the Scent of many things that had Gone by his Way. Many times he became so Frightened he almost Turned Back. Finally, they Came to the River! It was Huge and Breathtaking, Deep and Clear in Places, and Murky in Others. Little Mouse was unable to See Across it because it was so Great. It Roared, Sang, Cried, and Thundered on its Course. Little Mouse Saw Great and Little Pieces of the World Carried Along on its Surface.

"It is Powerful!" little Mouse said, Fumbling for Words.

It is a Great thing," answered the Raccoon, "But here, let me Introduce you to a Friend."

In a Smoother, Shallower Place was a Lily Pad, Bright and Green. Sitting upon it was a Frog, almost as Green as the Pad it sat on. The Frog's White Belly stood out Clearly.

"Hello, little Brother," said the Frog.

"Welcome to the River."

"I must Leave you Now," cut in Raccoon, "but do not Fear, little Brother, for Frog will Care for you Now." And Raccoon Left, Looking along the River Bank for Food that he might Wash and Eat.

Little Mouse Approached the Water and Looked into it. He saw a Frightened Mouse Reflected there.

"Who are you?" little Mouse asked the Reflection. "Are you not Afraid of being that Far out into the Great River?"

"No, answered the Frog, "I am not Afraid. I have been Given the Gift from Birth to Live both Above and Within the River. When Winter Man Comes and Freezes this Medicine, I cannot be Seen. But all the while Thunderbird Flies, I am here. To Visit me, One must Come when the World is Green. I, my Brother, am the Keeper of the Water."

Amazing!" little Mouse said at last, again Fumbling for Words."

Would you like to have some Medicine Power?" Frog asked."

"Medicine Power? Me?" asked little Mouse. "Yes, yes! If it is Possible."

"Then Crouch as Low as you Can, and then Jump as High as you are Able! You will have your Medicine!" Frog said.

Little Mouse did as he was Instructed. He Crouched as Low as he Could and Jumped. And when he did, his Eyes Saw the Sacred Mountains.

Little Mouse could hardly Believe his Eyes. But there they were! But then he Fell back to Earth, and he Landed in the River!

Little Mouse became Frightened and Scrambled back to the Bank. He was Wet and Frightened nearly to Death.

"You have Tricked me," little Mouse Screamed at the Frog!"

"Wait," said the Frog. "You are not Harmed. Do not let your Fear and Anger Blind you. What did you See?"

"I," Mouse stammered, "I Saw the Sacred Mountains!"

"And you have a New Name!" Frog said. "It is Jumping Mouse."

"Thank you. Thank you," Jumping Mouse said, and Thanked him again. "I want to Return to my People and Tell them of this thing that has Happened to me."

"Go. Go then," Frog said. "Return to your People. It is Easy to Find them. Keep the Sound of the Medicine River to the back of your Head. Go Opposite to the Sound and you will Find your Brother Mice."

Jumping Mouse Returned to the World of the Mice. But he Found Disappointment. No One would Listen to him. And because he was Wet, and had no Way of explaining it because there had been no Rain, many of the other Mice were Afraid of him. They believed he had been Spat from the Mouth of Another Animal that had Tried to Eat him. And they all Knew that if he had not been Food for the One who Wanted him, then he must also be Poison for them.

Jumping Mouse Lived again among his People, but he could not Forget his Vision of the Sacred Mountains.

The Memory Burned in the Mind and Heart of Jumping Mouse, and One Day he Went to the Edge of the Place of Mice and Looked out onto the Prairie. He looked up for Eagles. The Sky was Full of many Spots, each One an Eagle. But he was Determined to Go to the Sacred Mountains. He Gathered All of his Courage and Ran just as Fast as he Could onto the Prairie. His little Heart Pounded with Excitement and Fear.

He Ran until he Came to a stand of Sage. He was Resting and trying to Catch his Breath when he Saw an Old Mouse. The Patch of Sage Old Mouse Lived in was a Haven for Mice. Seeds and many things to be Busy with.

"Hello," said Old Mouse. "Welcome."

Jumping Mouse was Amazed. Such a Place and such a Mouse. "You are Truly a great Mouse." Jumping Mouse said with all the Respect that he could Find. "This is Truly a Wonderful Place. And the Eagles cannot See you here, either," Jumping Mouse said.

"Yes," said Old Mouse," and One can See All the Beings of the Prairie here: the Buffalo, Antelope, Rabbit, and Coyote. One can See them All from here and Know their Names."

"That is Marvelous," Jumping Mouse said. "Can you also See the River and the Great Mountains?"

"Yes and No," Old Mouse Said with Conviction. "I Know the Great River, But I am Afraid that the Great Mountains are only a Myth. Forget your Passion to See Them and Stay here with me. There is Everything you Want here, and it is a Good Place to Be."

"How can he Say such a thing?" Thought Jumping Mouse. "The Medicine of the Sacred Mountains is Nothing One can Forget."

"Thank you very much for the Meal you have Shared with me, Old Mouse, and also for sharing your Great Home," Jumping Mouse said. "But I must Seek the Mountains."

"You are a Foolish Mouse to Leave, there is Danger on the Prairie! Just Look up there!" Old Mouse said, with even more Conviction. "See all those Spots! They are Eagles, and they will Catch you!"

It was hard for Jumping Mouse to Leave, but he Gathered his Determination and Rand hard Again.

The Ground was Rough. But he Arched his Tail and Ran with All his Might. He could Feel the Shadows of the Spots upon his Back as he Ran. All those Spots! Finally he Ran into a Stand of Chokecherries. Jumping Mouse could hardly Believe his Eyes. It was Cool there and very Spacious. There was Water, Cherries, and Seeds to Eat, Grasses to Gather for Nests, Holes to be Explored and many, many Other Busy Things to do. And there were a great many things to Gather.

He was Investigating his New Domain when he Heard very Heavy Breathing. He Quickly Investigated the Sound and Discovered its Source. It was a Great Mound of Hair with Black Horns. It was a Great Buffalo. Jumping Mouse could hardly Believe the Greatness of the Being he Saw Lying there before him. He was so large that Jumping Mouse could have Crawled into One of his Great Horns. "Such a Magnificent Being," Thought Jumping Mouse, and he Crept Closer.

"Hello, my Brother," said the Buffalo. "Thank you for Visiting me."

"Hello Great Being," said Jumping Mouse. "Why are you Lying here?"

"I am Sick and I am Dying" the Buffalo said.

"And my Medicine has Told me that only the Eye of a Mouse can Heal me. But little Brother, there is no such Thing as a Mouse."

Jumping Mouse was Shocked. "One of my Eyes!" he Thought. "One of my Tiny Eyes." He Scurried back into the Stand of Chokecherries. But the breathing came Harder and Slower.

"He will Die." Thought Jumping Mouse. "If I do not Give him my Eye. He is too Great a Being to Let Die."

He Went Back to where the Buffalo Lay and Spoke. "I am a Mouse." he said with a Shaky Voice. "And you, my Brother, are a Great Being. I cannot Let you Die. I have Two Eyes, so you may have One of them."

The minute he Said it, Jumping Mouse's Eye Flew Out of his Head and the Buffalo was Made Whole. The Buffalo jumped to his Feet, Shaking Jumping Mouse's Whole World.

"Thank you, my little Brother," said the Buffalo. "I Know of your Quest for the Sacred Mountains and of your Visit tot he River. You have Given me Life so that I may Give-Away to the People. I will be your Brother Forever. Run under my Belly and I will Take you right to the Foot of the Sacred Mountains, and you need not Fear the Spots. The Eagles cannot See you while you Run under Me. All they will See will be the Back of a Buffalo. I am of the Prairie and I will Fall on you if I Try to Go up the Mountains."

Little Mouse Ran under the Buffalo, Secure and Hidden from the Spots, but with only One Eye it was Frightening. The Buffalo's Great Hooves Shook the Whole World each time he took a Step. finally the Came to a Place and Buffalo Stopped.

"This is Where I must Leave you, little Brother," said the Buffalo.

"Thank you very much," said Jumping Mouse. "But you Know, it was very Frightening Running under you with only One Eye. I was Constantly in Fear of your Great Earth-Shaking Hooves."

"Your Fear was for Nothing," said Buffalo, "For my Way of Walking is the Sun Dance Way, and I Always Know where my Hooves will Fall. I now must Return to the Prairie, my Brother, You can Always Find me there."

Jumping Mouse Immediately Began to Investigate his New Surroundings. There were even more things here than in the Other Places, Busier things, and Abundance of Seeds and Other things Mice Like. In his Investigation of these things, Suddenly he Ran upon a Gray Wolf who was Sitting there doing absolutely Nothing.

"Hello, Brother Wolf," Jumping Mouse said.

The Wolf's Ears Came Alert and his Eyes Shone. "Wolf! Wolf! Yes, that is what I am, I am a Wolf!" But then his mind Dimmed again and it was not long before he Sat Quietly again, completely without Memory as to who he was. Each time Jumping Mouse Reminded him who he was, he became Excited with the News, but soon would Forget again.

"Such a Great Being," thought Jumping Mouse, "but he has no Memory."

Jumping Mouse Went to the Center of his New Place and was Quiet. He Listened for a very long time to the Beating of his Heart. Then Suddenly he Made up his Mind. He Scurried back to where the Wolf Sat and he Spoke.

"Brother Wolf," Jumping Mouse said. ....

"Wolf! Wolf," said the Wolf ....

"Please Brother Wolf," said Jumping Mouse, "Please Listen to me. I Know what will Heal you. It is One of my Eyes. And I Want to Give it to you. You are a Greater Being than I. I am only a Mouse. Please Take it."

When Jumping Mouse Stopped Speaking his Eye Flew out of his Head and the Wolf was made Whole.

Tears Fell down the Cheeks of the Wolf, but his little Brother could not See them, for Now he was Blind.

"You are a Great Brother," said the Wolf, "for Now I have my Memory. But Now you are Blind. I am the Guide into the Sacred Mountains. I will Take you there. There is a Great Medicine Lake there. The most Beautiful Lake in the World. All the World is reflected there. The People, the Lodges of the People, and All the Beings of the Prairies and Skies."

"Please Take me there," Jumping Mouse said. The Wolf Guided him through the Pines to the Medicine Lake. Jumping Mouse Drank the Water from the Lake. The Wolf Described the Beauty to him.

I must Leave you here," said Wolf, "For I must Return so that I may Guide Others, but I will Remain with you as long as you Like."

Thank you, my Brother," said Jumping Mouse. "But although I am Frightened to be Alone, I Know you must Go so that you may Show Others the Way to this Place."

Jumping Mouse Sat there Trembling in Fear. It was no use Running, for he was Blind, but he Knew an Eagle would Find him Here. He Felt a Shadow on his Back and Heard the Sound that Eagles Make. He Braced himself for the Shock. And the Eagle Hit! Jumping Mouse went to Sleep.

Then he Woke Up. The surprise of being Alive was Great, but Now he could See!

Everything was Blurry, but the Colors were beautiful.

"I can See! I can See!" said Jumping Mouse over again and again.

A Blurry Shape Came toward Jumping Mouse. Jumping Mouse Squinted hard but the Shape Remained a Blur.

"Hello, Brother," a Voice said. "Do you Want some Medicine?"

"Some Medicine for me?" asked Jumping Mouse. "Yes! Yes!"

"Then Crouch down as Low as you Can," the Voice said, "and Jump as High as you Can."

Jumping Mouse did as he was Instructed. He Crouched as Low as he Could and Jumped! The Wind Caught him and Carried him Higher."

"Do not be Afraid," the Voice called to him. "Hang on to the Wind and Trust!"

Jumping Mouse did. He Closed his Eyes and Hung on to the Wind and it Carried Higher and Higher. Jumping Mouse Opened his Eyes and they were Clear, and the Higher he Went the Clearer they Became. Jumping Mouse Saw his Old Friend upon a Lily Pad on the Beautiful Medicine Lake. It was the Frog.

"You have a New Name," Called the Frog. "You are Eagle!"

(The END, or Perhaps a new Beginning)

What Is the Future of Suburbia?

“The suburbs have three destinies, none of them exclusive: as materials salvage, as slums, and as ruins.”

There are many ways of describing the fiasco of suburbia, but these days I refer to it as the greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the world.

I say this because American suburbia requires an infinite supply of cheap energy in order to function and we have now entered a permanent global energy crisis that will change the whole equation of daily life. Having poured a half-century of our national wealth into a living arrangement with no future — and linked our very identity with it — we have provoked a powerful psychology of previous investment that will make it difficult for us to let go, change our behavior, and make other arrangements.

Compounding the problem is the fact that we ditched our manufacturing economy for a suburban sprawl building economy (a.k.a. “the housing bubble”), meaning we came to base our economy on building even more stuff with no future.

This is a hell of a problem, since it is at once economic, socio-political, and circumstantial.
Here’s what I think will happen: First, we are in great danger of mounting a futile campaign to sustain the unsustainable, that is, of defending suburbia at all costs.

In fact, it is already underway. One symptom of this is that the only subject under discussion about our energy predicament is how can we keep running all our cars by other means. Even the leading environmentalists talk of little else. We don’t get it. The Happy Motoring era is over. No combination of “alt” fuels — solar, wind, nuclear, tar sands, oil-shale, offshore drilling, used French-fry oil — will allow us to keep running the interstate highway system, Wal-Marts, and Walt Disney World.

The automobile will be a diminishing presence in our lives, whether we like it or not. Further proof of our obdurate cluelessness in these matters is the absence of any public discussion about restoring the passenger railroad system — even as the airline industry is also visibly dying. The campaign to sustain suburbia and all its entitlements will result in a tragic squandering of our dwindling resources and capital.

The suburbs have three destinies, none of them exclusive: as materials salvage, as slums, and as ruins. In any case, the suburbs will lose value dramatically, both in terms of usefulness and financial investment. Most of the fabric of suburbia will not be “fixed” or retrofitted, in particular the residential subdivisions. They were built badly in the wrong places. We will have to return to traditional modes of inhabiting the landscape — villages, towns, and cities, composed of walkable neighborhoods and business districts — and the successful ones will have to exist in relation to a productive agricultural hinterland, because petro-agriculture (as represented by the infamous 3000-mile Caesar salad) is also now coming to an end. Fortunately, we have many under-activated small towns and small cities in favorable locations near waterways.

This will be increasingly important as transport of goods by water regains importance.
We face an epochal demographic shift, but not the one that is commonly expected: from suburbs to big cities. Rather, we are in for a reversal of the 200-year-long trend of people moving from the farms and small towns to the big cities. People will be moving to the smaller towns and smaller cities because they are more appropriately scaled to the limited energy diet of the future. I believe our big cities will contract substantially — even if they densify back around their old cores and waterfronts. They are products, largely, of the 20th-century cheap energy fiesta and they will be starved in the decades ahead.

One popular current fantasy I hear often is that apartment towers are the “greenest” mode of human habitation. On the contrary, we will discover that the skyscraper is an obsolete building type, and that cities overburdened with them will suffer a huge liability — Manhattan and Chicago being the primary examples. Cities composed mostly of suburban-type fabric — Houston, Atlanta, Orlando, et al — will also depreciate sharply. The process of urban contraction is likely to be complicated by ethnic tensions and social disorder.

As petro-agriculture implodes, we’ll have to raise our food differently, closer to home, and at a finer and smaller scale. This new agricultural landscape will be inhabited differently, since farming will require more human attention. The places that are not able to grow enough food locally are not likely to make it. Phoenix and Las Vegas will be shadows of what they are now, if they exist at all.

These days, an awful lot of people — the production builders, the realtors — are waiting for the “bottom” in the real-estate industry with hopes that the suburban house-building orgy will resume. They are waiting in vain. The project of suburbia is over. We will build no more of it. Now we’re stuck with what’s there. Sometimes whole societies make unfortunate decisions or go down tragic pathways. Suburbia was ours.

James Kunstler, the author of The Long Emergency: Surviving the Converging Catastrophes of the 21st Century,

Beers and Deers

They're Back! My wife saw a bunch of them in the store today buying up their beer, getting ready for tomorrows opening day deer hunt.

Joy! Nothing like living in a very narrow valley surrounded by high hills in the center of a couple thousand acres of Ohio forest during hunting season. I won't use the the same old worn out cliche, “It was like a war zone” . . . but it will be.

Already my wife says she heard a round cutting the air as it zipped over her head the other day during the kiddy hunt. This is the pre-season hunt reserved for Bubba's kids. They get the woods for themselves for a couple days. You know in order to have a little quality time with pa killing and gutting deer.

Now before I take to my bunker and before you begin to think I'm a tree hugger pacifist (well, maybe I am) let me explain my position a bit.

I'm not really against hunting, per say. The county I live in is rather poor and we get hundreds of guys spending thousands of dollars every season for the pleasure of hunting in these hallowed hills. These guys are hunters. They do their thing, pack up their deer kill and go back home to the suburbs to eat and brag on it. These guys get a pass.

Nor am I against owning guns. I have a couple of them myself.

Here's what really pisses me off about the whole thing. Down at the end of the valley where the corn fields start the local yahoos like to sit in their trucks and scan the opposite hillside for deer. Once they see one they get out and try to shoot it. Usually just getting their fat asses out of the truck creates enough racket when the empty beer cans hit the hard pan, that the deer run over the ridge and disappear down the other side, but once in a while Bubba Beer Belly gets lucky.

Don't know how he gets up to the deer, but the carcass usually ends up not far from where he parked his truck. Last year there were three baby deer carcases in the two foot wide creek that follows the road. Christ, my German Shepard is bigger than those deer were.

They drive up the country road sitting in the back of pickups holding their weapons between their legs looking like they were in Beirut. They scan the hillside behind my cabin looking for a way to get up there. They see me, stop and ask.

Get back asshole! This is my turf!! . . . I think as I saunter down to the road, smile and answer politely that, “No, there is no hunting allowed clean up to the top of the hill.” (Can't you read the signs you illiterate son-of-a-bitch!) “Yes, I know, but I am sorry. Absolutely no hunting . . . See you guys. Be careful.” (Hope you shoot your fucking toes off!)

Now in case you think I am a nut case, off season I usually offer these same guys a beer if they happen to come around. They are just regular Joe's like I'm used to. Same as the guys I grew up with. But during deer season all bets are off, it's killing time and the more gunshots I hear the more protectionist and paranoid I become. I don't hunt four leggeds though, I love the beauty of the deer too much to slaughter him. Now those fat, beer basted, two leggeds? I'm keeping them in my sites for later when times get really tough.

The Struggle of Life

There's an old favorite Calvin and Hobbes cartoon hanging in my office. It starts with the two of them walking through the woods on a bright, sunny winter day. Calvin, being mesmerized by the beauty of it all, stops and gives a long dissertation questioning why mankind had chosen in the first place to sequester himself in houses and cars while living in such overpowering beauty.

Turning to Hobbes he asks. “ That's why I want to ask you, as a tiger, a wild animal close to nature, what you think we're put on earth to do . . . What's our purpose in life? Why are we here?”

Hobbes thinks for a moment, smiles, raises his arms in the old Italian gesture and replies, “We're here to devour each other alive.” then he walks away.

Calvin watches Hobbes leave, looks straight ahead at the viewer, looks up at the sky. Then he makes a beeline for his house where he fearfully turns up all his lights and raises the heat in hopes of alleviating the fear instilled by Hobbes choice wording.

I have always loved that cartoon cause it shows so well and so simply the struggle each of us every day must make to stay alive in this very chaotic and cruel environment we find ourselves in.

Regardless of our status, be it wealthy, poor, high brow, low brow, African aborigine or American blue blood, this basic survival instinct is prevalent in all of us. It's the lub in our very first heart beat, leading us down the pathway of our years until it's final dub.

The way of survival is not merely what one needs to do in order to make it through a social/economic pinch. It's also on a far deeper level the evolutionary trail a life form has taken through the ages in order to remain viable.

In our breed it manifests a zillion different ways on a zillion avenues, but the struggle is there in all our lives pushing and prodding us into our various chosen paths.

Some, like the guys who have chosen the power/position/possession path, struggle through hard work and dedication to become our leaders and our heroes.

Some, like the criminal, having also chosen the power, position, possession path seek to circumvent the learning curve of hard work and get right to the wealthy part. These become the worst among us and often find themselves wallowing in a cage somewhere feeling sorry for themselves.

Some, like most of us, muddle along content just to have enough to feed ourselves and our family. These people, whether they live in a small house in a suburb or a thatched hut in a jungle clearing are basically all of the same mind set. They struggle to live within their inherited environment in much the same way.

And yet, the question that lies forever strongly in my mind, is why we, the core foundation of this life form called humanity, allow the wealthy and neer-do-wells of this planet to manipulate us, through religious and political means, into taking up arms against one another when we, if anything, ought to be confronting them. This thought alone literally blows my mind . . . and makes me fear for the continuity of this race.

Personally I have never feared much about a wild animal devouring me like perhaps my predecessors have. I have lived in very close proximity to Krait snakes as well as Grizzly bears and have never lost much sleep over the fact.

What I fear above all else is us being manipulated by a man, or a group of men, into believing our survival is contingent upon the killing of THEIR enemy. And I believe . . . until there is a fundamental change in the evolution of our thought, we will all be forever looking over our shoulders for a way to survive the devourer behind us . . . following.

Land of the Impotent

Does anybody remember Woody Guthrie? Or Pete Seeger? Does anybody remember the time in this country during the great union movement of the thirties when these guys organized the disenfranchised worker all across this country? Does anybody remember when men actually shoved their heels into their turf and told the massa, “Enough of the shit, we ain't gonna take it anymore!”

They sang their protest songs, they took their beatings, they stood together with nothing but ball bats as hired company thugs attacked and beat them mercilessly. These men, mostly uneducated, mostly dirt poor, mostly afraid, had within themselves the gumption to stand tall against the established rule and ultimately they kicked his ass. They chose to fight back rather than sit and watch as the ribs appeared in the sides of their children.

Thus began the rise of the worker unions all across this country. And as they grew they became more powerful till at the height of their rein in America they had Boss Hog shivering in his boots at the first sign of a walkout and strike.

Of course history played the game out and the union, once the hero of the working class, has by now become an impotent side show because of their own version of back room dealings and capitulation. The generation of strong men who fought for justice retired on their hard won pensions while the spawn who followed grew lazy and complacent. They began to use the union as their own department of “Get all you can while giving as less as you can” and ultimately destroyed it.

It seems in todays world we are back to square one again, except this time it's actually worse. This time Boss Hog has merely shoved his middle finger up our noses and with the help of his friends in Washington moved to Mexico. He bought labor from China, India, and had a zillion other ways of getting us back to walking on our knees. He even has us thanking him for his benevolence.

We have in essence become a very large and expanding bunch of winers that no one seems to have much respect for. We don't even respect ourselves. We complain about the bullshit happening all around us, but are afraid to stir the waters too much cause well, you know, we don't want to make the man angry with us. We put up with being robbed, suckered, punched in the face and kicked in our ass until we find a soft spot on the hard porch and just sit there complaining into our wine bottle. (why do you think they call it wine?)

Why do our women disrespect us? We don't deserve any. Why do we send our kids off to fight George Bushes war in some patriotic rush when it was obvious from the very beginning the dope didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground and the whole world warned us of the fact?

Why did we listen to the bullshit and downright lies that ultimately got them blown to bits in some desert swamp amongst a people totally foreign and uncaring to our way of life or what we were supposedly doing for them? Maybe they just understood all along why we were there in the first place. Something a lot of people in this country still seem to have problems with understanding. Why did we allow all this to happen?

We were willing to fight for Boss Hog, willing to look the other way when he robbed us, even willing to bail him out. When he got caught going to far in his greed we said, “Oh we need Boss, we must bail him out.”

For this we get a peck on the cheek and the privilege of watching another mom and pop store bite the dust as a Chinese Walmart grows in our neighborhood. The impotence and ignorance of the men in this country today is astoundingly pathetic.

Where are the Woody Guthrie's of this generation? Where are the people willing to take a stand against the robber baron, to take a ball bat to his face and tell him to fuck off, he don't get no bailout.

Man, I am getting old. . . and discouraged. What will this country look like for my grandchildren after this generation of knee knockers gets done with it is anybodies guess, but I'm betting it won't be pretty.

As to your personal survival in all this. The very first thing you must do if you plan to survive any of the stuff thats coming down the pike is to search within yourselves for the manhood that your forefathers bequeathed to you . . . and use it.

Quit with the whining and get on with the New Revolution. The pendulum needs a swing to the left again because in all life there is a waning and a waxing, nothing is stagnant ...nor should be we. Life is breathing through the chaos. Don't be afraid, you can too.

Fix It!

The one thing a lot of guys have forgotten in this post WW2 throw away world is how to fix stuff like grandpa did. We just give a sigh, heave it and buy another widget when the first one breaks. The new one almost certain to have been made of cheaper quality in China. The fine art of fixing things is going to soon reappear on our horizon cause when we run out of cash and have to decide on buying food or a new toaster what are we going to do?

In a past post I used the old cliche 'you can't make a silk purse out of a pigs ear.' Well I should have said “most of the time.” . . . cause let me tell you what I just did.

The other day one of my kids shows up with a broken mandolin. The back had split and broken off the front. The front had large nasty cracks in it. The whole thing was water swollen and covered in musty filth and bird shit. He had found it in pieces in a cardboard box in the back of a garage.

“Can you fix this?” He asked me.

I saw that it was very old and handmade. Since I love very old and handmade musical instruments I said ”sure” and took it home where it ended up in my loft behind all the other junk I have saved for a “one of these days I'm gonna fix it” experience.

Anyway I got it out the other day and decided to repair it. After very close scrutiny (and cleaning) I noticed that the fretboard was ebony (that's a good thing) and the top, bottom and sides all had been tooled using gouges/chisel/ scrapers. I also noticed the tuner mortises had not been done with a router, but rather had been gouged out very carefully with chisels and a lot of patience. I was impressed by the quality of craftsmanship.

I was determined to rebuild this thing and get it playing once again. My main goal being to do as little damage to the patina of the wood as possible as it was a beautiful deep coco brown, almost black with age. To sand the thing up and destroy such beauty would in itself be a travesty.

I gave it a dry bath. I re glued the back, the large splits and carefully filled the others. I lowered the action a bit. I worked on the tuners. I waxed the hell out it with a very expensive paste wax, put on a new set of strings and WOW! I have me one fine looking antique mandolin that plays and holds tune quite well.

This little story is just an example to show you yourself what can be accomplished if you put your mind to it. All it takes is a little knowledge and practice. It can even be fun. You can also help pay down your credit cards with the money you've saved. Plus it just plain feels good to know you have the ability to fix stuff.

The days of running to Walmart for a new toaster may soon be over for a lot of you common folks. So before you head to the car take the old one apart and try to figure out what's wrong with it. Usually it's no more than a broken electric connection. You will save yourself a whopping amount of cash per year if you just teach yourself to fix up the stuff you already have.

Some things have been created to last just for so long on purpose, plastic parts are made knowingly to break in a year or so. This is all a part of the throw away society we have been sucked into, BUT before you throw anything away see if you can fix it. If nothing else it's good practice.

Computers to toasters I can usually fix, but sometimes you have to face the fact that your 'thing' is dead. Save your money for these times.

the fine art of bullshitting

Now if you think bullshitting is not an art form just take a look at the past presidential race and you can see openly just how important this art form is to the politician who must, through long hours of intense study, become a master of his trade. The canvas of promises he paints and displays openly before his admiring throng in all it's beauty is truly amazing. His glib tongue deftly laying stroke upon stroke across a broad canvas, he forms the contrast and conflict of his opponents deep shadow juxtaposed his very own brightest of light . . . while the layman postulates himself before the Master and stares upon his canvas of dreams.

It seems the only time you get the truth, or even an honest opinion from this breed is to listen to these people AFTER they leave office. Generals, Senators, all the way down to the local yocal member of the school board are so steeped in spinning bullshit during their career you just can't trust a word they say.

Obama knows the art form and used it well. He is a Master at his trade. Obama's emotional work centered on hope.

McCain, a Master in his own right, chose a different emotional theme for his canvas. McCain's centered on fear.

More people responded to hope than fear so Obama won the bullshit (tell them what they want to hear) session in spite of the fact most people who voted for Obama probably instinctively knew he couldn't keep most of the promises he had painted for them. They were, in the light of current events, wishful thinking at the most.

I personally believe he will be far to busy just keeping the ship of state afloat after the disastrous last eight years of George Bush to do much else. Hell, man we will be lucky to have a monetary system at all by the end of next summer, let alone enough cash to do anything much to help the poor and needy middle class in this country.

So how does this all pertain to our personal survival?

A man who understands the nuances of bullshitting can and will survive longest among his fellows. He knows it is far easier many times to convince an enemy than to kill him, especially if he is out gunned and outnumbered.

He knows instinctively if he practices faithfully and becomes an adept, the sky is the limit.

He knows a good line of bullshit and a glib tongue can get him shelter, water and food even when outnumbered and living amongst his enemies. Even when facing certain death the true and fearless artist can sway his captors into his camp by merely corralling them with his tongue.

A great bullshitter has to be in charge of his own mind. He must be intelligent and wise to the ways of man and of the world. He must not just control the room, he must own it. People must love him. They must look up to him. Want him to lead them. He must be a chameleon shape shifter able to capture the essence of a rainbow for them. He must like the apostle Paul “be all things to all men.”

The greatest, the most satisfying, the loveliest words that the truly masterful bullshitter can hear is for his following to say with heart felt conviction.

“Our leader speaks the truth.” . . . . . . . . . .

mind

The number one requirement for any kind of survival is to have control of your mind. Without that you might as well just go out and jump off a cliff and save yourself a whole lot of hard work cause your not going to be successful anyhow.

So let's discuss 'mind' a bit. I have an idea concerning 'mind' that works quite well for me so I'll share it with you knowing full well that ultimately you must use your own facilities of reason and creativity if you have any hope of understanding 'mind' and consequently surviving anything at all. You can listen to others, you can be of 'one mind' with others, but the final decision before you act must always be your own.

Some people argue that the brain created the mind. Some people argue that the mind created the brain. It all depends on how you look at it and how you were taught, but I go decidedly with the latter. Before the brain there existed the mind.

The American Indian called this 'mind' the Great Mystery. The various religions of today call it God. Though I take the American Indians explanation, it's all the same thing, and after about forty years of reading and studying the works of others concerning it, I am of the persuasion that few really know what the hell they are talking about anyways.

The one thing I know as absolute fact is that everybody from the car salesman to the prophet of God is in the act of attempting to steal yours. What's the purpose of any slanted advertisement? To steal your mind. What's the purpose of government spin? To steal your mind. What's the purpose of religious doctrine? To steal your mind. What's the purpose of anyone who tries to convince you of practically anything? To steal your mind. What is seemingly the greatest joy of most people on this planet? To give it up to them.

Because it is a troublesome and huge pain in the ass to have to reason within yourself and to make your own decisions. It's also quite frightening to realize you and you alone will be held responsible for any decisions you do make. And to make it all the worse, most people in the real world believe themselves inadequate to do the job of policing their own mind. Fearing their own creative capability they most humbly take the advice of others and many times find themselves on a path to nowhere, pissing and moaning all the way over the edge of a cliff.

It doesn't have to be this way. You are a powerful spiritual being in possession of the greatest tool the Mystery/God has for you . . . Your own mind. Don't be afraid of it. Learn to use it. Don't give it up. It's your greatest weapon.

But like all powerful weapons you must be careful how you use it. There are rules. Break them and the price you must pay is very heavy. Follow them and the joy they bring you is beyond measure, in this world and beyond.

A simple explanation for all this would be: The first time you do something evil your conscience throws up a red flag, STOP! You do it anyways. The next time you do the same thing your conscience throws up a red flag, “stop!” . . . the next time, “stop.” . . . the next time “nothing”. Your conscience now compromised, has finally stopped bothering you. It doesn't give up though, it just merely takes another route. The route called, “as you sow so shall you reap” . . . or Karma (same thing) and you have in essence just created a whole lot of hurt for yourself by breaking the rules.

The good news is that the effects of Karma go both ways. And the GREAT news is that once you decide to use your own mind you will soon realize this. By realizing that, you will also realize just how powerful YOU actually are. You will see YOU are a creator in your own right. You have the power to create your future by the thoughts and actions you take today. Misery or joy? You're choice.

It's not just a nice thing to feed the hungry, or help out the old lady down the street, or have compassion on those without by sharing what you have with them. It's not about just getting a bunch of bullshit accolades from the church you attend or your name on some pew.

It's about EVERYTHING you are and EVERYTHING you will ever become. It's all about YOU and how you use your own mind to create either harmony or discord in the world around you.

So as you read the signs of the times and begin to fear the results of losing your “stuff” . . . also begin to realize that this may just be the first time in your life you will be fully alive.