On an Even Keel: Islamic Mosque.... Ohhh, My!

On an Even Keel: Islamic Mosque.... Ohhh, My!: "I have been patient listening to the issues surrounding the mosque issue in NYC and I can tell you I've had about enough of the blitz on the..."

Islamic Mosque.... Ohhh, My!

I have been patient listening to the issues surrounding the mosque issue in NYC and I can tell you I've had about enough of the blitz on the issue. I don't how you feel but I am sure that I feel if we continue to keep elevating these issues to the level that they are we will have a much larger internal war than we have right now. I am not religious. I don't care how you worship just don't shove your "god" down my throat because I'm not listening anymore. Picture me with my fingers in my ears singing la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la .... Blah-de-blah, blah ... because that's what it sounds like now (laugh now because you know you pictured it and it's funny). Is it me or are we becoming so tired of listening to it that we can't hear it anymore?

That seems to be where we're going lately. We're so inundated by an issue that we speak out because we are offended by a situation but no one listens. So we speak louder and still we cannot get any attention. Then in outrage because it so totally pisses us off, we yell as loud as we can hoping to be heard. But because we are just a soft whisper in the loud roar of the media, no one will listen to what WE (the people) want anymore. Finally, defeated, we just shut down. We don't have the media attention to cover our outrage unless their "network" is going to get something from it. After all, there's no story of the people. The State Department isn't spending money on us (the people) or sponsoring our visit to foreign countries with no specific purpose, except to backhandedly legitimize (or try to justify) the presidential endorsement of an Islam mosque being built so close to ground zero. The President isn't listening to our wants or needs even though we continue to scream at the tops of our lungs. As we rage against the machine, only the machine is winning.

We're being broken down by the system, people! A system that only cares about making us a socialist country so they can be in charge of everything in our life. They've got their noses in the people's life, health, money and probably someday our death (all while we're screaming and beating our chest that we're not ready to go anywhere). Remember, the best way to quell the masses is to pretend you agree with them and distract them while you're accomplishing what you set out to do. I only ask you to keep this in mind in any battle that you decide to fight in life. Whether it's about the mosque in NYC, the doctor who's going to provide your care, an issue with your significant other (or spouse) on down to who's buying your lunch.

The first two rules I learned in my business career are CYA (cover your ass) and there's no such thing as a free lunch. I tell this to associates that are coming into the business world and I reinforce it with anyone I know, whenever I can. Keep it in mind. It applies in life as well. The next time someone offers you something for nothing (rule 2) always know that nothing good will come from it and if there's any doubt about the outcome refer to rule number 1, CYA.

To wrap this up, when I started writing tonight this isn't what I anticipated writing but it comes from the heart. I really wanted to write about a story that someone sent me today. My Dear friend "G" from Florida sent me a story by email about this man named Greg Gutfield that is planning to build a gay bar next to the proposed Islamic mosque in NYC and that he is going to cater his bar to Islamic gay men. I thought it was a great story and then wondered if it was true and guess what it is! Hallelujah, praise Allah! You have just got to love the irony of it! You know you're chuckling. So am I. With that I am passing it along to you because I just think it's the best idea ever, aside from maybe opening an authentic Texas Barbecue that only serves the best pork ever as the anchor restaurant for the building. I know you're chuckling again. So am I.
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/greg-gutfield-to-open-a-gay-bar-next-to-ground-zero-mosque-to-cater-to-islamic-gay-men/

When I talked to "G" last night after a long time with no communication, she told me how much she likes reading my blogs. Her friends, sister and some of their friends are also reading. So while they're not officially following me on this site, it's nice to know that they're reading and enjoying it. It spurs me on to continue this writing journey. So, I will continue writing and hopefully, you will read.

Thanks for tuning in until next time...
~D

Infant-Toddler - icide - Why?

I have been following a story closely this week, especially because it's happened before. In Orangeburg, SC less than 100 miles from where Susan Smith drowned her children in October 1994. I follow all of the kid stories religiously (murdered, missing, beaten). It's like an addiction for me. I'm not sure why. I guess I just find it unbelievable that a mother could abuse or kill a defenseless child. It tells me that these mothers have no conscience. If they could kill their own children then they can kill anyone, including you and me, without conscience.

Briefly, in the Orangeburg case, for those that haven't heard about it (I'm not sure how you didn't), the mother orchestrated a pretty complex "get away with murder" plot. From paying money to stay in a hotel and rent a car to getting it into the water with her already deceased children in it. She asphyxiated them long before they ever made it to the water and then walked away to "get help" to the farthest location possible, without a drop of water on herself. These children were completely defenseless. One just over a year old and one just under 3 years old. The 1 year old child never knew what happened. The 2 year old fought like hell as supported by the evidence, all because his 29 year old "mom" (and I use that word loosely) who clearly didn't want to accept any responsibility for the children she made, fought with her mother about the care she was providing to the two boys. It should be noted that this "mom" also has a 10 year old daughter that lives with her grandmother. What a waste. She should have just killed herself instead. Now that wouldn't be a waste in my mind. This "mom" should have to suffer the same fate as her children and even that would be too kind.

For those that are interested here is the story: http://abcnews.go.com/News/children-dwon-south-carolina-river-mother-arrested/story?id=11413283

There was a case not long ago here in Austin of a little boy (Julian, 5) who was found less than a mile from his apartment complex. For the longest time APD didn't make an arrest only to finally arrest the caretaker (Ms. Turner), the girlfriend of Julian's father. Again, I say let the mother suffer the same death as her children. Regardless that this wasn't Julian's mother, Ms. Turner had accepted that role when she "hooked-up" with Julian's father. For you unbeliever's here is the link to that story:

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/crime/Girlfriend-indicted-in-child-death

And finally this week, I heard about a flight attendant on Southwest Airlines who took a one year old away from its mother after "mom" slapped her one year old child in the face after the child kicked her. After the flight ended, the child was returned to the parents. Why? Unfortunately, we have become a society of "I don't want to get involved". Does anyone beside me believe its insanity to think that a one year old would benefit in anyway by being slapped in the face? If this mother did this in public on a plane is there any doubt that she would do worse in the privacy of her own home? What are we going to do as a society when in 5 years something much more serious happens to this child because "mom" couldn't control herself? I've got an idea! Let's put "mom" in a public venue and let everyone that was on that flight slap her in the face so that she can experience the public abuse and humiliation her child did. Extreme, I know but giving her back the child isn't a great approach either. My only satisfaction is that I do think she's experiencing a bit of abuse and humiliation already due to the media coverage surrounding the incident. Check it out here if you're so inclined:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38739441

So did "moms" really all get that crazy and selfish or is it just media blitz? I don't know the answer to that but I will still follow all of these types of stories. I can only hope that someday we really will be a country of an eye-for-an-eye most especially when it comes to murder or abuse of a child. I don't think any of America's criminals learn anything from our current "justice" system except for how to get-off or get a free ride at the taxpayer's expense. That's why we have so many lifers and repeat offenders. This subject will be reserved for a later blog.

So what do we do? How do we stop insanity? There's no answer but if you're as passionate as I am about the issue then speak up. Maybe that will at least reduce the insanity.

That's all for now folks, until I write again...
~D

I'mmmmm backkkk!

Sorry all. I have just been very busy with a walk down Memory Lane. For the last couple of weeks I've been putting together some music CD's for some special people in my life. Additionally, for those that don't know I'm getting ready for new puppies in October (6th to be exact). Writing hasn't been my first priority. I have now returned with what I hope will be a good balance of the good, the bad and the ugly.

I also know the reality is I probably haven't been missed too much. I know a lot of you are getting ready to get your kids off to school, while wondering "how an I going to deal with traffic again?" At least here in the Austin area, the opening of school means a huge increase in traffic at peak times. With that said, this week one of my focuses will be to talk about some of the issues I've heard about over the last couple of week but have just been too busy to write about.

For all of my 5 loyal followers this week's for you!
~D

I Love You Everyday.

My Mom had surgery last Friday. I was able to talk with her today. It was great to hear she had come through surgery so well. Hospitals have come so far since I last had surgery in 1993 (another medical horror story for another blog).

She's in California and I'm in Texas but I knew she was in good hands because her husband and my sister would be with her through it all. Last week before the surgery I was like a nervous mother. I called her everyday like a countdown to D-day. On Thursday night before her surgery, just before I hung up and I wished her good luck, I said "I love you, Mom". This isn't something I say often and I guess I am "that" person that just doesn't think about saying those 3 little words until there's something serious going on.

Tonight I had a particularly long phone call with Mom. When you're in the hospital, we all know that once the visitors leave you're stuck there with just a bunch of strangers who pretend to care about you as long as their on their shift. There's a lot of comfort in being able to have a cell phone to call the people that you know and love. After that call ended it started me thinking about telling her I loved her. I didn't say it tonight when I hung up. Was it only because now that surgery was over and she was okay that I didn't love her anymore? Absolutely not. I still love her as much as I did the night before surgery.

I think like many people I take those 3 little words for granted. It's assumed that you love your family. I'm not sure why it's so hard as an adult to tell another adult that you love them but it's so easy to tell your husband, lover or children that you love them. For me it's about making myself vulnerable to people. I don't like being vulnerable and in all relationships it takes a lot for me to say those 3 little words. It's almost that by saying them aloud you're giving a part of yourself away but isn't that what love should be? When you truly feel love you should be giving away part of yourself and accepting part of the person that you're giving your love to. It can't go one way. Love, if you mean it should be easy all the time not just when it's convenient. Still, there's something in our DNA that makes this harder in some situations than others.

Michael Jackson said it best when he said, "Tell them that it's human nature..." It's human nature to want to wait until the other person expresses their love first. It's human nature to hold our heart close and protect it. It's human nature to express the sentiment more when there is something that could be threatening the one we love. Whether that threat is real, imagined or only in the perception. Like surgery.

It's human nature to be worried about giving our love away when there's the risk it may not be returned. Life is all about risk. If you never take risk you live a safe life but you also get nothing in return. With that in mind, the next time you feel the sentiment just give in and say those 3 little words. I know after this week I will make an effort to say them more often.

You know that saying, "You can pick your friends but you can't pick your family". Most people say that as though it's a bad thing. I personally feel it's a good thing. Yes, some times we put the word "fun" in dysfunctional. We don't always tell each other I love you. I do know that in my family we all are different as much as we're the same. Some of us have more of Mom's traits and others more of Dad's. Some look like one side of the family and some like the other. Underlying all of it there is love. We don't have to say those 3 little words all the time to know it. Sometimes it's just a phone call, an email or a Facebook post that reaffirms our family love and maybe that's why it doesn't need to be said aloud to the other adults in our life. Getting back to the saying, if I had to pick my family all over again I wouldn't change a thing. They make me who I am. They give me balance, strength and motivation that I can't get from anywhere else.

In ending this I just want you all to know one thing. I love you all EVERYDAY. Whether or not I say it aloud it's in my heart.
~ D

Bridges

I was thinking today and that's always a dangerous endeavor. Most people that know me well know that once I start thinking it's hard to turn my brain off. I was thinking about bridges and why we build them where we do. It's obvious that we build them to go somewhere we want to go but is that a forward place or a place where you've already been? There's no right answer. I know it's all balance, engineering, architecture and thrown in for good measure, a little geography.

So when we cross a bridge that's over a river do we cross the bridge or the river? The answer is clearly both. There's a lot of history in bridges. They are in our everyday fabric of life. We build bridges, burn bridges and cross them when we come to them. So just why do we have so many life statements that are related to bridges? I don't pretend to know the answer but I am going to tell you what I think (because that's what I do with this page).

I think we go through many stages in our life. In our younger years we build our bridges but we are much more willing to burn them down after we've crossed them. We're alive; we're young, indestructible and able to move on without a second thought. As we grow a little older, there is a realization that when we burn bridges, there's no possible way to cross them again, so we adopt the philosophy of crossing bridges when we come to them. That is a very challenging mental exercise. We approach issues much like a bridge, testing the strength and durability before we're willing to make the decision to burn it down or leave it alone for now (wait and see). I'm not sure that the age at which we change really matters but I believe the maturity of the individual makes a difference.

In our middle and later years we start revisting the bridges we've burned or crossed and wonder if we've always made the right decision along the way. I don't dwell on it but I sometimes wonder if some of the friendships I've ended would somehow be different today if I made the time to build them rather than burn them. On most days, all I have to do is look around me and know I've made the right decisions when it comes to crossing bridges.

So why is it so much harder in our later years to build bridges than to burn them? It's because you've lived, you've made mistakes and you've learned something that reinforces those original decisions made to burn bridges or to maintain them over time. It's also much harder because bridges mean moving forward not backward. It's hard for me to say (because I pretty progressive) but as we age, we become more resistant to change. I see it everyday in my job and life. It's harder to learn, make lifelong friends or establish new relationships. Moving forward means change. Looking back brings warm, fuzzy feelings of the great times in your life.

So how do we change? We keep in mind that building bridges takes a lot of effort, time, energy and commitment. Those carefully built bridges can be destroyed in an instant with a wrong word or deed and in most cases the bridge cannot be rebuilt.

We still need to cross bridges when we come to them and make the decisions to maintain or destroy them but we might want to take some time to evaluate if the bridge is worth saving. I can only recommend that you remember that building bridges assures moving forward and the future. Crossing them takes a lot of skill but it's rewarding. Destroying them means you can never go back and hey it's nice to be able to go back to a good memory once in a while. Until the next time...

~D

I'm stuck to you like Elmer's Glue

Do any of you remember all of those silly sayings we had as children? There were rules though, everything had to be short and it had to rhyme. I guess that's why I remember most of it. It' amazing some days how many of those little "ditty's" (or should I call them doozie's) I remember everyday. Maybe that just means I'm getting old. I don't think so but that doesn't mean it's not true. I do know that different parts of the country all have their versions of those old school daze sayings (and I do mean daze).

There is a receptionist I work with who loves when I get in that mood where I'm telling her some of those old sayings. She's born and raised in Texas and a lot of the things I quote from my childhood, Texans don't know them or know them in an entirely different way. Growing up when we started and sentence with "so"...my Grandmother would always end it with "buttons on your old man's underwear". I never understood it until I got older. Duh!

That leads me to the saying "I'm stuck to you like Elmer's Glue", now that is a Texas saying. I never heard it until I moved here to Texas. These days I mostly think of it while I'm driving and some inconsiderate driver is hugging my rear bumper trying to make me go faster. That's always been a problem of mine being a "speed limit driver" and now I know you all hate me. Yes, it's me in front of you, but hey I'm still in front of you and you're never going to make me go any faster.

That's still not the point but I am getting there. The thing I've learned in Texas is that as a child it's something you tell a boy (or girl) you really, really like. For an adult that particular statement takes on a whole new meaning. If someone says that to you, it mean's you're their friend and it means something to them. So, (buttons on your old man's underwear... shut-up Grandma!) when a Texan extends his or her hand and wants to be your friend you know you're going to make a good friend but when a Texan says to you... "I'm stuck to you like Elmer's Glue" you know you've made a friend for life.

Thank you all my Texas friends (whether born here or transplanted) for making me always feel welcome, appreciated and above all for always being my friend.

~D