Just had to share

failblog.files.wordpress.com/200....jpg

Imagine living with this the rest of your life...

An apology. Again.

I apologize again if my blog posts have made folks uncomfortable. I've really tried to keep my posts positive, since some of you have complained that all I do is complain. I'm not going to retract anything I've said, I stand by stuff I say, but I will clarify any misunderstandings if need be.

My post have been few lately. As I've said, I've tired lately to keep things positive, but the last few weeks have had very little of positive to offer. Still no job, Expenses piling up, no money coming in at all, no savings to fall back on, Deena's dental emergency this week, compounded with the car breaking down (on the way to take her to the dentist, an emergency appointment it took 3 days to get, now had to be canceled), my frustration with having to deal with an obsolete computer that takes 5 minutes to refresh a page, my daughter's recent injury and her rush to get back to doing her normal stuff despite being told to take it easy, Trying to get the house ready for a party we're being forced to have that no-one is going to come to anyway... (sorry about that, actually we do have one or two people who said they'd come.. I didn't mean to slight you, not at all, PLEASE don't cancel on us!)

In short, there's a bit of stress going on here. So bear with us for a while, till we locate the miracle we need to get us through this stuff. Prayers and suggestions gratefully accepted. Except Lowes or Home Depot. We've ruled those out already.

Rebuttle

***WARNING*** Rant. Unpleasant stuff. Not for the squeemish. Sorry.


Earlier today, a friend posted a blog lamenting the fact that kids today are not allowed to run and jump and play and tussle like they used to. While to some great extent I agree with the sentiment, I felt the need to temper the argument with some words of caution. I'm afraid I may have been too strong worded, since my comments have since been removed. I apologize if I offended anyone. But I still feel the need to be a voice of reason in an otherwise caucophany of agreement to the sentiment. Most of the blog I have no trouble with, but there was a reference to allowing a child go go out and wreck the car, and it's OK, you should allow that and not try to stop him from doing that. I disagree. But I'm not here to harp just on the blog. No, it reminded me of a popular e-mail going around:


grandparents4grandchildren.org/in...php


It lists all the things kids used to do, and praises the fact that everyone reading the essay made it through just fine.

Except, it doesn't mention that very many people DIDN'T make it through, just fine. People like Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, Edward Evans. all killed because they trusted a stranger. People like my sister, who nearly died from sucking the candy coating off my Dad's medicine before child proof caps. People like my brother, who burned his mouth and throat when he upended a bottle of bleach.

I grew up in a very rural area, on the side of a large mountain in a canyon popular with hikers. The search and rescue guys were always short handed, so we got called upon to go look for lost hikers. Sometimes they were kids. Sometimes, they were recovered from the creek that ran in front of my house. Not all of them were recovered alive.

I grew up in the days when you could toss 20 people in the back of a pickup truck and ride around all you like. Lots of fun. But sometimes, the truck would turn over, or someone would fall out. It quits being fun, real fast.

Letting kids run lose is a big pet peeve of mine. On my street, there's a group of kids that plays in the street, all the time. They play chicken with the cars. It never enters their head that brakes can fail. They don't think that the driver might be distracted and not see them in time. They figure they'll hear the car before it reaches them. But they don't, I've pulled right up behind them, within inches, and the were oblivious to my approach.

Why is it such a big deal for me? I'll tell you.

June, 1978. I was on a date, nice girl, we had gone horseback riding, and were were just riding around in my truck, enjoying the day and each other's company. I was in no hurry to go home, so I was driving fairly slowly down a back street.

Out from between 2 cars runs a 2 year old girl.

There was no time to react. Not even an instant. She ran straight into my front bumper. I threw her across the road. There was absolutely nothing I could have done. The driver of the car behind me told the investigating officer that if I hadn't hit her, he would have, and he would have been going faster.

No-one should have to go through that. No-one.

The fact that the girl survived is of no consolation to me. I hit a kid, and there nothing that will ever change that. and every time another kid runs out in front of me, I see that girl.

Did it have to happen? No. It didn't. The kids PARENTS should have seen to it that their kid was safe. They FAILED.

So, now we have all sorts of laws and regulations and restrictions, and we feel put upon because lawmakers have to protect us from ourselves.

Just remember, as you read that essay I posted earlier, that for every line in that blog, someone died. Somewhere, a kid died from lead based paint on his crib. Somewhere, a kid died from riding in a van without a seat belt. Somewhere, a kid died from getting hold of his parents prescription before childproof caps. Somewhere, a kid died from not wearing a bike helmet. Somewhere, a kid died when he hitchhiked and accepted a ride from a stranger. Somewhere, a kid died from falling off a garage or out of a tree. Somewhere, a kid died from brake failure on his go-cart. Somewhere, a kid DID get his eye poked out while playing with a stick.

Just today, there's a news story of a 4 year old who killed her brother with a baseball bat.

www.wlky.com/news/16962127/detail.html

I'm sorry, I know this is a depressing subject. But I've already been to too many funerals in my life, and I really don't like it when the casket is smaller than me. In fact, I'd be quite happy if the next funeral I go to is my own, sometime in the distant future.

By all means, go out and play. Have FUN, explore! But for the love of all you hold dear, use your head, OK? Don't bet your life that the guy driving towards you actually maintains his brakes...

Sheesh.

Just HOW many things can possibly go wrong? How many? Doesn't ANYTHING ever go RIGHT? Sheesh.

Party

In case you aren't on Deena's friends list, we are having a Book Release party on Aug 16th, to celebrate the release of 2 books that Deena edited. If you'd like to come, send me a PM with your e-mail so we can send you an evite. Yes, we know the timing is bad (Tall Ships in San Pedro and Big Bear faire are also that weekend), but that's when her publisher dictates that the party will be held, so if you want to stop by for 5 minutes on your way home from Big Bear, we'd love to see you!

Waiting....

for....








something?




anything?

No Appropriate title...

So, no big secret, the last few weeks have been a bit stressful. Of course, it's been stressful for Deena as well, and stress causes her physical pain. So when I accidentally allowed a small rant to escape yesterday, I realized I need an outlet for my stress that doesn't involve aiming it at my wife. It's been building up, and I need some way to vent it off, without causing her grief.

I need a "Guy's Night Out".

The problem is, most of my friends and acquaintances all live too far away to be of any use, and to be honest, right now I don't have any "buddies" I can just call up and go blow off steam with. Also, I'd be worried about running off to have "fun" without her, I'd feel too much guilt over leaving her out that I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself. Not to mention, I can't afford to run off and play. Money is tight, so I can't just go off to a movie or something. I don't drink, so going to a bar wouldn't do me any good, I don't play sports, or any sort of game, for that matter. I don't have any idea what I want to do, I just need something FUN, something to blow off steam, something to take my mind off real life for an hour. Preferably while Deena is off doing something she thinks is fun, too. (and the kids....)

Voice

Ok, I give up.

2 weeks. I figure that's a fair trial, right?

Other guys can sell this stuff starting with day one. I've been out almost every day for 2 weeks, and nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

I've changed my approach, my appearance, my demeanor, everything I can think of, but no go, I just can't sell. No big surprise, I've NEVER been able to sell. Not door to door, not retail, not over the phone. I've changed everything I can, but to no avail. There's only one thing I've never changed, and only one constant that's been involved with every attempt I've ever made at selling stuff.

My voice.

I just have to face it, I don't have a salesman's voice. It's too high pitched, and kinda whiny, and I have never liked it. But I can't change it. And I think it just doesn't inspire confidence, not right off the bat, like, withing 10 - 20 seconds at someone's door or on the phone. It's really disappointing, too. I could have really used the kind of money this job would have paid.

Name Three Things

Rules: Post 3 things you've done that you believe nobody else on your F-list has done.
Indulge in remorse if someone calls you out on a listed item.

I've done some strange things in my life ... Here's three ...

1: White-water river running. In scuba gear. (And getting trapped in an underwater cave IN said rapids)

2: Spent 2 years as a missionary

3: Gone sliding down a glacier


(I would have mentioned being bitten by a shark, but Adrienne already did that)

This is a test

I came home and Tribe said I had a new message and 3 new comments. But when I click on them, there's nothing there....

So, no I'm not ignoring you, and I didn't delete anything...

But I'd really like to know what those 4 new items were...



*update - They all showed up later*