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Bait and Switch Tactics: Is it unethical for prospective Employers to use?

Have you ever watched a commercial for a local business where they are advertising something that is on sale. Something that you realize you want/need? Only to your dismay upon your arrival to that place of business, they do not have that particular product on sale, but are willing to offer you something else in its place? It is called the Bait and Switch Tactic, and there are governmental regulations against business that lower their standards to this type of unethical practice.

Yet, picture this:

Johnny recently was laid off from his company due to downsizing. He had spent two years working with company XYZ incorporated. There, he was very successful in creating better production output, developing more appropriate safety regulations, updating safety policies and procedures. He had advanced rapidly within the company from an entry level position into a supervisory role. Yet, due to the economic volatility that impacted the companies businesses, they had to reassess their budget and values. Having lost approximately 50% of their customer base to a more competitive market, his position and title were no longer applicable for the direction the company needed to go. He was not experienced enough to assist the company in redirecting their future goals and assessments.

Johnny takes about two weeks to research, prepare, and develop his resumes so that he can compete in a very competitive job market. Resume and Cover letters prepared, he researches companies that he feels are a match and are in need of his precise skills and qualifications. Several of these companies, he has found out through extensive research, hire directly through various staffing firms. Some of which he had previously worked through in various capacities on a temporary basis. Familiar with how temporary staffing firms operate, Johnny defines his resumes and cover letters specifically to those particular staffing firms that would provide the best possible opportunities that he feels are equal to his skills and qualifications.

Well prepared, he sends out his Resume package to the Human Resource Managers. Within a couple days, he receives a call back from those who have chosen to respond to his initial resume submission.

Each staffing consultant advises Johnny that he will have an Interview on a specific day and time. Johnny manages his time effectively and ensures that he is able to arrive at each interview, dressed for the particular position, have available resume and references upon request, and a pen to fill out any required paperwork (i.e., application, skill set forms, personality tests, et all). Knowing and understanding how valuable the time to meet with each Human Resource Manager, and/or staffing consultant, Johnny also practices his responses to a variety of interview questions. Well prepared, effectively managing his time, he sets out to his first interview.

Upon arrival, this is his first interview of several. He is, of course, nervous and wants to make a good first impression. He had spent the time driving to the place on his “me in thirty seconds” speech, perfecting it, being able to sound confident without any unnecessary pauses, or other nuances that may carry a tone that may be interpreted as a lack of confidence. As he steps into the office, he hears soft music playing. The receptionist greets him with a smile as he introduces himself and quickly states the purpose of his visit. She then informs him that he will need to complete an application and proceeds to hand him a clipboard that already has the necessary forms attached. She hands him a pen as well. He thanks her, and then goes to an empty chair where he is able to fill out the necessary paperwork.

Upon completion of the paperwork, he checks it over for any possible discrepencies, satisfied, he takes the paper work back to the receptionist, hands her the paperwork from the clipboard as well as the resume he brought with him. She thanks him and politely advises him to wait until he is called.

Rehearsing in his head possible responses to potential interview questions, he takes the time to review the secondary copy of his resume and cover letter. It is when his train of thought is interrupted that the reception calls him up. She thanks him for his time and informs him that the Human Resource Manager/Staffing Specialist will review his application and resume, make the necessary contacts and then be in touch with him to schedule an interview.

Wait… Why would they be in touch with Johnny to conduct an interview when they initially contacted him and asked that he come in for an interview already?

It is the bait and switch technique that most employers are using. In my own experience with Temporary Staffing Firms (and most recently having happened), this unethical practice frustrates the prospective candidate. Why do certain business feel that they have to subject themselves to this form of technique? Do they understand that when one is called and asked to come in for an interview, that they are setting up the expectation that the potential candidate will be interviewed at that specified time? Why can’t such companies be upfront and say, “We would like to have you come in and fill out an application”. This does not set up the expectation that there is going to be an interview. It merely is informing the potential candidate that they are only there to fill out whatever necessary application and forms needed to accomplish the next hiring phase.

The reality is that such companies who employee this type of Bait-and-Switch tactics are doing more harm than good to potential candidates.

Here is why. Seeking employment with any company is based upon the simple economic rules of any other business. Supply and Demand. Currently, there is more supply of qualified candidates than there are demands for job fulfillments. Thus, every potential candidate is a “salesmen” in their own right. They are selling their qualifications and skills. The potential employer is the consumer, or buyer. In this sense, the potential candidates role is to sell to the employer why they should purchase the candidate and their qualifications.

Upon this lines, think of it this way. Let us go back to the unethical business practice of the bait and switch. The consumer sees an advertisement for a product that they need. This particular advertisement states that they sell the product cheaper than all other competitors. The consumer gets up and goes out to their car and drives to where the place of business is. Upon arriving there, the consumer inquires a salesperson as to the nature of the product that was recently advertised as being lower than what other competitors are marketing similar products for. The salesperson informs the consumer that that specific product is no longer being offered, however, they would most likely be interested in another product that the business is selling at or above the price of their fellow competitors.

Dissatisfied with the place of business, the consumer leaves empty handed, frustrated, confused, and quite possibly a bit angry. When they leave, they place a phone call to a friend. This friend is actually awaiting the phone call because prior to the consumers arrival, they had called their friend to inform them that they are going to check out this product at such and such business to find out more information. Instead, consumer informs their friend that the business deceived them and did not have the product, nor are they going to receive any more stock of that particular product, but attempted to sell them something else they did not need, nor want at a higher price than other places.

This, then causes a chain reaction. Consumer A, informs Consumer B, Consumer B decides to investigate for themselves and finds it to be true, therefore informs potential consumers C and D as to the deceptive practices of the Business.

Much like the same principle. Potential candidates are networking together to find out who is and who is not hiring. Discussing where the best places to interview and submit one’s resume while where not to submit one’s resume. Potential Candidates are investigating and researching prospective companies that are hiring, researching and finding out what the positions are, the requirements for the positions that are in demand, and what specific interview questions are being asked.

From my own personal experience, any potential employer who calls a prospective employee up and committs to a specified time for an interview and upon arrival it is merely to fill out necessary paperwork, that potential employer is being deceptive and unethical in their business practices.

Instead of requesting a prospective employee to set aside time to come in for an interview, only to be turned away after the necessary paperwork is filled out ought to state outright that they are only there to fill out paperwork. Meaning, instead of calling the potential candidate and ask “Can you come in for an interview tomorrow at 1pm” knowing you are not going to interview that person at 1pm, then be upfront and say, “Are you willing to come in and fill out an application at 1pm tomorrow?” will be more ethical and the expectation will not be set up in the mind of the potential candidate as to why they are their.

In short, the Bait and Switch tactics are unethical for business to engage in upon the consumers, therefore are unethical for potential employers to employ on potential candidates.

Separation of Church and State

Within our modern society and culture, there is always the reference to Separation of Church and State. Many, including myself, refer to this terminology in the context of politics and religion. What does it mean? What is the historical premise of this statement? Why is it so often quoted in regards to Religion and its relationship to Politics?

The phrase was originally penned by Thomas Jefferson. Contrary to modern thinking, the phrase never once appears in the Declaration of Independence, nor does it appear in the Constitution of the United States of America. Thus, in order to understad this phrase, we must take a look at the historical context in which the phrase itself is derived from.

The letter was written on January 17, 1802 and addressed to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut. I attempted to transcribe the letter to the best of my ability:

A Letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association

To … Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson a committee of the Danbury Baptist Association in the State of Connecticut

Gentleman

The affectionate sentiments of esteem & approdation (sic) which you are so good as to express towards me on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. My duties dictate a faithful & zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents and in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties the discharge of them becomes more & more pleasing.

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to name other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions…and…opinions, I contemplate with soveriegn reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; thus building a wall of…separation between church and state. Congress thus inhibited (sic) from acts respecting religion, and the Executive author … only to execute their acts. I have refrained from … even … occational performances of devotion … Executive … is the legal head…church, but subject here, as religious exercises only to the voluntary regulations and discipline of each respective sect. … I shall see with….the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right to opposition to his social duties.

I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection and beliefing (sic) of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves an your religious association, awareness of my high respect and esteem.

This letter was in response to the Dansbury Baptist Associations Letter to Thomas Jefferson – dated October 1/7, 1801. What we notice here is that President Jefferson reiterates the first amendment of the Constitution which states that Congress shall never be allowed the power or authority to enact laws prohibiting the freedom of religions expression, create a “State Religion”, suppress religions forms of worship and the ability to practice one’s perscribed religious duties.

It is when we look at the historical context of this phrase that we gain a greater understanding and appreciation for what it is teaching and what it is not teaching. The reality is this, many liberals in American Politics toss this phrase around without understanding the true meaning and intent. Here is the true meaning and intent of the phrase - separation of Church and State declares that the Governmental authorities are not allowed, nor are they authorized to declare unto the religious sects what they can and can’t practice, how and where they can and can’t practice, nor discriminate against any person who worships, prays, or observe their religious duties and obligations in any way shape or form.

Now, the question arises, what if someone’s religious conviction is against established laws of the land? What if such convictions harms another person? In such instances, such religions and religious devotions are against the established laws of the land and are subject to the perscribed consequences and penalties in their failure to uphold the established laws of the land.

What is even more surprising is that when we look at the process of history, we have seen tremendous amounts of pressure put against the Church by the Governmental powers and authorities to supress, force change in religious practices and devotions, establishing new laws strictly to punish and convict those of a variety of religious beliefs to abstain from, change, or remove certain doctrinal beliefs, practices, and observances.

Even more offensive is that people throw this phrase around without fully comprehending its meaning and purpose. Many of those are of the Liberal mindset who do not want to be subjugated to the idealogies of religion, those who do not accept religion as a culture and lifestyle, or those of a different religious belief system requesting laws to prevent another religious sect from having the same afforded freedom that said religious sect currently has protection under.

Point blank, many misunderstand and misrepresent the term “separation of Church and state” to mean that the Church ought not to have influence over the Government. The disregard for the truth is that it is the Government that can in no way have influence, nor authority over any religious establishment, unless that religious establishment is against the current laws of the Land, and within specified reasons. Therefore, any person who comes to you and says that they believe in the separation of church and state, ask them this: Where did the term, Separation of Church and state come from? Who created this phrase and in what context was this phrase rendered? It is only when we go to the very context of the term, are we able to comprehend and appreciate the full meaning and conjucture. Sadly, today, many take this term out of its true context and have perverted it in a way to work for them as a means to have governmental control over the very foundational principles of Religious Freedom outside of governmental interference. Supress the Religious right of those to believe and worship in God publicly, and we have become a nation like China, Iran, Iraq, and other nations that are against Christianity. Nations that torture, put to death, and punish those who believe in  the Bible and Jesus Christ and not their governmental state religion.

 

American Patroitism: Where Had it Gone?

Everywhere you go, one will see the yellow ribbon, a bumper sticker, social networking comments, or any number of venues where the call to support our troops is being asked upon by the American Citizens of our great nation.

Yet, as I sat in Church yesterday, we sang two hymns. The First one – which is one of my favorites- was the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The last hymn was My Country Tis of Thee.

My thoughts started rolling back to a more innocent time when I was much younger. We are talking about the third grade younger. I am now 38 years of age. That tells you how long ago this was.

As I started reminiscing, the thoughts of those tender years left me wondering why such things are no longer allowed in our childrens classroom.

The first was that when I was in grade school, our class had to learn all of the patriotic songs. Not just learn how to sing them, but learn their history. Every morning we had to not only say the Pledge of Allegiance, but we also had to sing at least one verse of one of the patriotic songs.

I also remember that those times, Fourth of July was the Great American Holiday. Neighbors would gather, the neighborhood kids would run around. People gathered, took time out and just talk.

The second thing, as mentioned earlier, is the recitation of the pledge of Allegiance. Getting up, facing the Stars and Stripes, placing our right hand over our heart, and saying the pledge of allegiance also seemed to spark a sense of patriotism in my young heart.

In our society today, the youth of American seems to lack a sense of what true patriotism is. There is no longer a sense of what the patriotic songs are, what they mean, why they were written. Along with this, there is no longer the recitation of the pledge of allegiance in our classrooms.

Where had the true American Patriotism have gone? Have we gone so far in desensitizing our children from understanding the sacrifices our forefathers had made, the history behind what truly makes our nation great?

What are your thoughts on this?

An Innovative Product – Purex’s 3-in-1 Laundry Detergent

(This blog article is in no way affiliated with, nor is the author receiving any type of monetary or product compensation for the product review of Purex’s new 3-in-1 laundry detergent. This review is my own personal opinion and impression of the product and its overall use.)

Purex’s 3-in-1 laundry detergent is the most innovative product concept on todays market. Last week, my wife had mentioned to me that there is a new laundry detergent out on the market that she would like to try. This is after we had spent three or four months using homemade powdered laundry detergent (which we still have an 8 cup 64 oz Glad tub of powdered laundry detergent).

The first impression I have of this new laundry detergent product is the scent. For those who are asthmatic, or allergic to strong perfumes, colognes, and any other type of scents, this product should not be used. The scent is very strong, in fact, I would say it is overpowering when you open up the plastic lid to pull out a sheet. At first, I thought that because this product is overpowering in the scent, the clothes will also come out of the wash and dry with an overpowering scent. I was completely wrong.

After the wash cycle had completed, I transferred the clothes from the wash to the dryer. The strong scent that you initially encounter becomes a very mild scent. Also, when you transfer the clothes from the washer and place them into the dryer, you also transfer the sheet with the clothes. This is because the detergent is completely removed from the sheet and it now becomes a dryer sheet to prevent the clothes from retaining static electricity, as well as becoming a fabric softener.

I used this product with four loads of clothes. My overall impression? It is convenient for busy moms and dads who take on the laundry as a chore. There is no measuring of detergent because it is already included in the sheet. It saves space where you would normally have your preferred bottle/powdered laundry detergent, fabric softener, and dryer sheet. This is perfect if you use a laundry facility within an apartment complex, or a laundro-mat.

The downside of the product? I would have to say that the scent is too overpowering than normal laundry detergent for someone who does not suffer from breathing problems. In some instances, I could smell the detergent out in the living room after having used the sheet. Not sure if some of it transfers to my fingers or just because the scent lingers in the air for some time before fully dissipating.

Would I recommend this product? Yes and no.

I would recommend this product for those who are single or have a small family. It saves time, the hassle to measure out detergent, and reminding oneself to use a dryer sheet.

I would not recommend this to those who have large families, or have allergies and/or breathing problems.

Are we going to continue to use this product? That is up to my wife and I to further discuss. Personally, I would prefer to stick with the ability to make our own laundry soap using just three ingredients – Zote Pink Soap (or any laundry bar soap), Borax, and Arm and Hammer Washing Detergent.

An unexpected Blessing – A Second Chance

Fourteen weeks ago, my wife informed me that she believed she was pregnant. At first, I kind of dismissed the news because I thought it was not possible since she had the IUD in. Yet, I went to the local drugstore to purchase a home pregnancy kit for her. She took the pregnancy test, and the result came up positive. Concerned, she discussed with me her trepidation in being pregnant. As we discussed, she wanted concrete confirmation as to whether or not she is. So, we drove to her doctor’s where blood tests were taken. The result, yes, she was pregnant. From there, we went to have an ultrasound done to see what impact the IUD will have on the baby. There, we saw the heartbeat and could barely make out the blessing that will soon come into our lives.

Well, the pregnancy is going good without any complications. Both, my wife and I still have our shared concerns. One of those concerns is our age. We thought that we were both done having children. She has only one child and I have three of my own. While we had original talked extensively as to whether or not we were going to have children of our own, the end result is that we are being blessed with this wonderful and most unexpected gift.

There is a reason why we are given this blessing, and for me, this reason is that I am having the sense that it is my second chance at being a father where I could not have been with my other children. And, while my three children reside in different homes (my oldest with my ex wife’s parents and my two younger children with my ex girlfriends mother), the mixed feelings I have are slowly being stripped away.

First, the main reason why I felt I did not want to have another child was due to the three reasons as to how I would feel about bringing another bundle of joy into this world. My perspective on this was that having another child would “feel like I was replacing the three I had not been a father too.” How fair would it be to those children of mine? Something I still struggle with.

Yet, the more I think about it, the more I am realizing that while I could not be a parent to my other children, why should I let this stop me from being a parent to another child? Granted, I have my wife’s son as a stepson, but the relationship I am attempting to develop with him is not one of parent-child relationship, but one of mutual respect and friendship. Actually, my hope is to develop a more brotherly bond (because I never had a brother and always wanted to have a brother).

Do not get me wrong, I love my three children. And, for reasons unknown to me this day - regarding my two younger children – I always wonder how they are doing.

Personally, this unexpected blessing is not viewed as a replacement for the three children that I have not been able to be a parent to, but an addition to our family and a soon to be brother/sister, to all the children.

Back to School

Well, I have officially started college. The degree I am pursuing is a Bachelors in Arts and Science for Communication with an emphasis on Technical Communication. The fun aspect of this is that I am doing this through Kaplan University Online.

Part of the reason why I have chosen this degree is the desire to further my education. Most of my adult life, I had to struggle with the inability to return back to school because of an outstanding and defaulted student loan. Yet, as of last year, I had worked with my student loan lender, started making regular payments and at the first of the year had my Title IV rights back. What this means is that I have the opportunity to file for financial aid and to pursue a degree of my choice. Secondly, the reason why I have chosen this specific degree program is two-fold. For one, having a Bachelors degree will help out future employment opportunities that will open up for me. The other reason is that I have always wanted to do something with my writing. Develop a strong writing career with the intention of becoming self-employed as a freelance writer and technical writer.

Granted, there is much trepidation I have about returning back to school. Having to reinvent my current schedule to fit in my studies and time to accomplish the assignments. One of the main concerns my wife had is the question of time. When would I have time to focus on my studies? After we discussed this, we have come to a consensus.

What this means is that I am stepping out of my comfort zone, finally making an active effort of working towards something I know I will truly enjoy doing and being able to move into a position where I can become fully self-employed as a writer and freelancer.

If you are deciding whether or not you want to return back to school, ask yourself this one important question: Is it important to give up my hopes and dreams and settle for something that is not making me happy? I know my answer to this question is a resounding now.

The AIG Scandal and Capitalistic Greed

There is no doubt that those who are paying attention to the Financial world, current American Politics and our current Economic Situation are chomping at the bit. Well, only those who are chomping at the bit are the American Taxpayer who is carrying the burden for a requested financial bailout of AIG during the closing era of the Bush Administration.

According to what I am able to gather – last weekend, AIG paid out 165 million plus dollars to people in their financial services product department.

According to CNNMoney.com, it is reported that More than 400 people received retention bonuses in the unit. Apparantly (referencing the 3rd Update Article – NY AG Gets List of AIG Employees who get bonuses) New York’s Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo has blamed … the insurer’s near collapse last year.

In this same article, contributing writers Martin Vaughan and Corey Boles, we find this:

The bonuses have ignited a firestorm in Washington, since the U.S. government moved in last year to save the insurer from collapse and now owns an 80% equity stake in the company.

The insurer has accepted more than $170 billion in U.S. government funding, and government officials have said they may need to pump more money into the insurer if the economy continues to worsen. Earlier this month, AIG reported a $ 61.7 billion fourth-quarter loss.

The Seattle Times reported the following in their recent article Fear and Loathing at AIG: Workers Explain Payments by Washington Post Journalist – Brady Dennis:

They said what is missing from this week’s hysteria is perspective. The retention payments they received over the past week were set in motion early last year, when the firm’s former president, Joe Cassano, was on his way out the door. Financial Products already was running into trouble, and the year ahead looked grim. People were weighing offers from other firms, and AIG executives feared too many departures would be a disaster.

So AIG stepped in with an offer to employees of Financial Products. Work through all of 2008, and get a lump payment in March 2009. Stick around through 2009, and you’ll get paid through 2010. Almost all other forms of compensation — bonuses, deferred payments and the like — have vanished.

This, being in response to the outrage of the American Public and the death threats that is being made (according to the article).

whether you believe that AIG was a front for a more deceptive tactic (see the article: The Real AIG Scandal by Eliot Spitzer – “It all appears, once again, to be the same insiders protecting themselves against sharing the pain and risk of their own bad adventure. The payments to AIG’s counterparties are justified with an appeal to the sanctity of contract. If AIG’s contracts turned out to be shaky, the theory goes, then the whole edifice of the financial system would collapse. “), Or that these retention bonuses were previously promised to those who were kept on to assist with bailing out a failing financial business is not up for debate here.

What is up for debate here is how the American Taxpayers allowed themselves to succumb to the Capitalistic greed promoted by Corporate America.

Yes, we can sit here and bemoan the fact that we are in a simmering recession. We can point our fingers at these executives who are receiving large sums of payments, and at our expense in bailing out a failing financial institute. In fact, we can sit here in the comfort of our own home, whine, snivel and complain about how “unfair” it is that these executives are receiving large bonuses while layoffs are continuing to occur. The unemployment rate is growing higher, which, to-date, the unemployment rate nationwide is currently at 8.1 percent – as of March 6, 2009: 

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION:  FEBRUARY 2009

   Nonfarm payroll employment continued to fall sharply in February (-651,000), and the unemployment rate rose from 7.6 to 8.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  Payroll employment has declined by 2.6 million in the past 4 months.  In February, job
losses were large and widespread across nearly all major industry sectors.

Now, why would I say that it is the American Taxpayers had allowed themselves to succumb to the Capitalistic greed of America? The answer is very simple: The American Taxpayer stood on the sidelines and did not stand up for true American Values. And, in actuality, it was not until the full blown storm front of the recession that hit our American Economy did the American Taxpayer finally stood up and took notice in what was going on. Essentially, we had allowed ourselves to be taken in like Hansel and Gretal until it was too late and we realized we were stuffed in the oven.

And, as sad as the above statment is, the reality is that it is very true. We were fed the candy of having more and never being content with what we already have. The old “keeping up with the Jones’s” syndrome played a major role.

Don’t get me wrong. There were some very astute individuals who may have seen this storm coming. There are some American Taxpayers who did not succumb to the popular marching tune of capitalistic greed. And, I do honestly believe in true American Capitalism and its functionality of American culture and society. The issue is that we have become a very complacent, selfish culture and society.

Here is a prime example of what I am talking about from my own personal life.

My wife handles all the finances. We combine our income. She is the “accountant” and steward. She is aware of what is coming in and what is going out. She ensures that the bills are being paid for and where every dime is going. Myself, I put $20.oo in my pocket and I may be able to account for approximately $15.00 of that. In essence, I have no concept of money management. What concept I have is knowing when to ask for those things we definitely need and not want.

What this means is that the American populace hopped onto a runaway train of credit. Buy now, pay later became our motto. Finance here, Finance there. As we came to the candy house, we starting gnawing on the sugary delights and sweet nectar of a lifestyle of living off money we were spending faster than what we would be able to make or pay back.

This caused us to fatten up our financial belly’s and when the Witch captured us and placed us into the oven, we realized we were in danger and now, suddenly need to do something about it.

What all this means is that if AIG (like many others) had truly seen what was coming, why did they offer such high amounts of bonsuses? Because of American Greed that was instilled upon the American populace. We became used to the sweets we were chomping on. We became used to not being content with what we currently have and always wanting more, increasing more than what we could handle.

So, who is at fault for this suddenly scandal? AIG? The Government? Or, the American Taxpayers? Personally, All three are responsible for all this.

Corporate America is responsible for our recession because of the deception used to hook us onto the greedy sweet nectar of the candy house.

The Government is responsible because they were receiving money from special interest groups, lobbyists and Corporate America to represent their own interests and not the interests of the general populace of the American people.

The American Taxpayer because we did not exercise due diligence in stepping up to the plate and say, No. No to the special interests groups representing corporate America. No to the Politicians who assisted with the creation of some of the reasons why we are in the recession we are in. This means, allowing jobs to be dissolved over time. And, we did not say no to our own desires and lusts. Instead, we made all kinds of justifiable reasons as to why we think we deserved some of the the “luxuries” and how we need that which we really did not need.

What do we do now then? As an American culture and society, we need to put off our differences. So what if you agree or disagree with Same-sex marriage. Who really cares if the GLBT community wants to change the definition of traditional marriage. This does nothing in us standing up to work together to resolve the American Economy and bring it back.

So what if you are for or against abortion. While this is a sensitive issue on both sides and a very heated conversation to discuss, the reality is that the survival of our economy in today’s age is on a shaky precipice and we need to put aside our differences and work together in what we can do to revive our economy.

The reality is that if we keep bickering about who has and who does not have whatever rights, we continue to lose focus on what matters and may wake up one day a baked casserole. And, since we are already in the oven, we need to work to get ourselves out of the oven and push the witch into the oven. We need to free ourselves of this economic crisis and not rely upon the government to come to our aid.

In the end, when it is all said and done. We are responsible for our own Economy because we were founded upon the very principle of “We the people” not “We, corporate America” or “We the Government” but, “We the People.”

Yes, we need change and the change we need is written in the immortal words of our founding fathers that speak from the Declaration of Independence:

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

And, furthermore, we need to wake ourselves up out of our own selfish-piousness. We need to humble ourselves to the sobering reality that we have allowed our own culture to become a derailed trainwreck.

I am not advocating “New form of Government”, but what I am advocating is that we cry out with one voice to our politicians who are voted in office that they work for The American People and not corporate Greed.

There is serious housecleaning that needs to be done. Serious inventory to take control of and a hard look at how we are allowing ourselves to fall into the trap of greed. While money is not the root of all evil, the love of money (as has proven over the course of human history) is the ultimate root of all evil. When we begin to love money more than our fellow neighbors, we have sold ourselves to the fiery torment of the witch’s oven. Simply because we have decided to fatten ourselves up on the greed of wanting more and more, never being satisfied.

A New Direction and Path

Recently, I gained employment.

It is not much of a job. In fact, it is paying less than my last position. The hours are on the graveyard shift, and most of my daylight time is burned up sleeping. Am I miserable? You bet. Am I grateful? Definitely. While I am disliking the current position, the fact that I have employment is a beneficial one. However, I am finding myself on a new path.

Currently, I will be returning back to school. Filled with trepidation, the ability to actually further my education is a very significant step. Especially since I had given up college back in 1993 when I dropped out of a community college degree program without finishing the first quarter. At the time, my (now ex-wife) was pregnant and complained that I worked full time, attended school full time and she did not like being home alone. Honestly, it is something I regretted doing.

Despite that regret, after we divorced, I had an opportunity to attend a vocational school. I figured it would definitely be something that I could use. Years later, I have only been able to use majority of the training from that school at home and not in a real workplace scenario.

Now, that I had negoitated and brought out my past student loans out of default, I looked at a variety of different schools and what I could possibly take to earn a degree. I looked at the local community colleges, online colleges, and some of the big named tech schools. There were only two that offered a degree program that I would truly invest my time and money in.

The degree I will be going for is a Bachelor in Arts and Science for Communication, emphasising on Technical communication. Why this degree program? One, it deals with the written word. Two, it is because I have had a desire to do something in the creative/writing industry, and it was not until a few years ago that I entertained the idea to gain some training as a Technical Writer.

In earning this degree, my hope is to become fully employed as a Technical writer and work from home. A desire that I have had for a long time. Writing from the comfort of my own home, meeting necessary deadlines, creating documents, formating and manipulating documents in word, creating pdfs and assist in the implementation of a variety of articles for online content that are geared towards technology.

Also, this degree will not only benefit me as a desire to enter into the Technical Communications field, but also help me establish a portfolio as a writer and become a multi-functional writer in both Technical writing and Fiction writing aspects.

So, yes, for the time being, I am working and making the most of the employment I have.

An Old Time Movie – Bugsy Malone

Alright, the other night, at work, a fellow co-worker and I were talking about some of the latests movies that were being released, have been released and the difference between some of the movies today compared to those of yesteryears.

In a flashback, I asked my co-worker if he remembered a movie where there were tommy guns that shot out cream pies, all the cast were kids, and Ford Model T peddle cars. He started laughing and said he definitely remembered this movie.

While we both could not remember the name of the movie, nor some of the actors/actresses in the movie, I said that I would have to try and look it up on the internet. Well, I happened to look it up and found the trailer on Youtube. I never new that Jodie Foster had starred in this as Tallulah.

Here is the trailer to Bugsy Malone with some of the musical number clips:

You Give a Little Love

Down and Out

As I kid, I remember seeing this on Television on several occasions. And, how we got on the topic of childrens movies was based upon the fact that kid movies these days are digitalized, graphically produced movies. Yet, growing up, we had the cartoon movies and then those movies that were truly family movies. The Apple Dumpling Gang, Bed Knobs and Broomsticks, Hot Lead and Cold Feet, Mary Poppins, Herbie movies, Escape to Witch Mountain (which has a new release with Dwayne Johnson entitled Run to Witch Mountain) and those other movies.

What movies do you remember? And, what are your thoughts on the movie Bugsy Malone? Do you remember this movie? How old were you when you first saw it? For me, I believe I was around 9 when I first saw this movie.

Working Hard at Surviving the Recession

Within the past couple weeks, I have worked 4 – 10 hour shifts for a temporary staffing agency. Granted, it is not the kind of work I wanted, nor is it the work I hoped for, but the fact is this: I am working.

Yes, I miss my previous employment. In fact, it is like coming out of a relationship, spending some time to regroup before entering into another relationship – only to find yourself comparing your current relationship with that of the previous relationship. We all have done it and I am doing it with my new place of employment. Yet, the reality is, many people are still unemployed, fighting to find some type of employment that is comparable to the type of pay they were receiving, with all the benefits they had enjoyed.

However, reality settled in one sunday while attending services at church. The Ward Employment Specialist stood up and announced that in our economy today, one could not be picky about the type of work or pay they were receiving. Sometimes, if I may be at liberty to paraphrase him, one has to start all over. This did not surprise me one bit because if anyone knows what it is like to start over, I definitely am that one person. Not because I want to boast, but because I have had to start over several times in various transitional periods in my life. Thus, there are some things that I would like to pass on to those who are seeking employment and are finding themselves utterly frustrated.

1) Go to your local state health department and get a Food Handlers Permit.

I say this because it used to be, in my own personal experience, that when you have an active food handlers permit on hand (regardless of whether or not you work in the food industry), makes it that much easier for you to apply for those “survival jobs” while actively seeking work. There were many times when I have had to turn to the Fast Food or Restaurant Industry for work. Having an active Food Handlers Card meant that I was able to be employed right then and there.

On the one hand, yes, who would want to be working the drive thru at a local McDonalds when they used to work as an IT Engineer, Software Developer? Granted, it is not a most glorious position one could hope for.

Yet, look at the positive side of it. Getting your foot into the door at a local Fast Food Restaurant Chain – whether it is Mcdonalds, Wendy’s or any one of those places, there are quite a few skills and qualifications one could learn.

And yes, for the moment it may be a temporary place of employment until something comes along that you are qualified for. However, getting into this type of business helps you out in the long run. It prevents an enormous lapse of unemployment time frame. The longer you are unemployed, the harder it is to find work. Thus, as they say, it is much easier to find a job while already employed than it is to find a job when you are not employed.

Also, don’t discredit working in the fast food industry as a starting place. On the one hand, you will make minimum wage, work in an entry level position, however, if you prove your work ethics are very admirable (and since you are more seasoned in the workplace), build a solid foundation where you are also at work on time, taking hardly any time off than necessary due to legitimate illnesses, family obligations, and other things – your work ethics will most likely shine brighter than a high school student who is taking on their first job. What this does is moves you up the ladder and quite possibly into a new career path you may not have ever considered.

Let us say you were a supervisor for a production facility. That production facility is closed down, or, the work force was trimmed and you were laid off. You have those supervisory skills. Now, let us say that you walk into your local McDonalds, you have stable employment for the past 8 years. You know what it takes to start from entry level positions to a supervisor. You have to start over. Why not bring those skills of yours into the new work place. While we all hate drastic changes, the reality is, we all have to work to meet our financial obligations. Who knows, maybe within a year or two you would be managing a Mcdonalds restaurant. That is where your new career path takes you.

Or, for whatever reason, you have money from a company 401k plan and pension because they went out of business after so many years. You take a job at a local fast food joint, you have this money that you could very well live off while supplementing it with the minimum wage income; while awaiting a better employment opportunity to come along and discover that you don’t want to be a McDonald’s Restaurant manager, but want to own your own restaurant. Another career path – going into your own business with as a franchise owner.

2) Prove Yourself – Even if you do not like your job.

So, here I am. Working in a refrigerated work environment that uses Ammonia as a refrigerant. Working for approximate 1/3 of the pay I used to enjoy. No benefits, working Evenings and sleeping during the day. Not my ideal job. In fact, on several occasions I have expressed to my wife that I do not like the job. I find it rather trite, not challenging enough. Granted, I came from a production environment where I did the same thing day in and day out, the difference (other than the pay and benefits) was that it held a challenge. There was always something going on that made the day go by fast. Always interacting with the people I work with. Laughing and joking around, the work place antics, the frustrations. All made it worthwhile to get up, commute 30 minutes, work 8 hours and come home. I took pride in what I did, helped out where it was needed. It was a place where I honestly felt I belonged. Moving and growing in every given position. Started off as a General Labor, took a classified position and learned something new every day.

On top of all that, I was a member of the Safety Recommendations group. I had responsibility. A responsibility to voice the concerns of my peers to the managment, provide feedback on what safety practices and procedures are needing updated, implement new safety strategies, etc. It was something I did not take lightly.

Now, all I do for ten hours (as it seems like) is push a cart around, scan bins, scan the product, put the product in the tote bins until the picklist is completed and start the cycle over.

However, as I write this, I have been working for the past couple weeks and already have experienced small accomplishments. I have learned three job functions already. While I am not sure if this is accomplished with others who have started less than a week ago, I am learning to just suck it up and put my best foot forward. Take what I have learned from my previous place of employment and assimilate it into this new work environment.

While at the end of the night, my legs are screaming at me in agony, my eyelids feel like they are made of lead and my body is completely burned out, the reality is that it is honest work. I am employed, learning new things and finding ways to make the work more challenging. The challenge is that with every task assigned, there is an expected piece rate one must accomplish. I challenge myself not to meet the minimum requirements but to rise above and push myself to do more. Work harder and not smarter. Not only that, but to keep a good eye out for quality.

3) Don’t expect anything.

What I mean by this is that no one use me anything. Essentially, don’t expect your supervisors to be sympathetic to your plight. Don’t expect them to treat you any differently than any other employee. Don’t expect to be put into a supervisory rule just because you were a supervisor for umpteen some odd years. Understand that for whatever reason, you took the position because you have financial obligations to uphold. Those obligations are not going to care whether or not you like your job.

Your housepayment or rent does not care if you work 10 hours a night, 8 hours a day, pushing a broom, cleaning toilets, taking out the trash or asking someone your age “Can I take your order please”.

Your family has to eat. You have to provide the financial means to support your family any way possible. With no money, there is no food. Granted, there are food banks that help (and a couple weeks ago, we had to rely upon using the food banks, but only on a necessity not on a way to keep ourselves going out of sheer complacency).

As harsh as it is, money makes the world go round. So, don’t expect that your new employer is going to hand over the company vehicle and an expense account after you have worked three days there.

On the flip side of this, the only person who owes you anything is yourself. You owe it to yourself to sometimes swallow your pride, start afresh, learn new things, and grow with whatever position you have.

One of the things I have learned in life (which reminds me of that old country song) you sometimes have to know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away and know when to run. And, in our society today, with the way the economy is, we have to do just that. We have to look at our hand that life dealt to us and see how we can make the best of this hand. And, right now, may not be the best time to hold that hand but to fold it. Meaning if you are laid off because of the economy having hit your business hard, fold your hand and walk away. Find a different line of work.

I know that this is not easy, because of pride. We want to hold on. Well, maybe tomorrow I will land that good paying job.

Tomorrow may never come – and like I said, our financial obligations do not care what we do for work, they only care about getting resolved on time without any resolve.

Anyway, just a late night rant here about working hard, surviving the recession. To some, it may seem like a bunch of words jumbled together; but for me, it is a way of thinking things through and convincing myself that not all things are bad.

The Original Star Dancers

If you are a fan of ABC’s Hit show, Dancing with the Stars - you are much like my wife and I who are anticipating what this season will bring. No doubt, the last couple of seasons have been very good; and, we are hoping this season will be even better.

Yet, as we look forward to this coming season of the show, I have to stop and wonder about the two most prominent original Star dancers. Yes, this couple was much before my time – however, I don’t think any season of Dancing with the Stars could come close to what these two dancers have accomplished. In fact, in my own opinion, you can’t say the one name without the other. They both are synonomous.

These two stars are Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

What follows are a series of videos for you to enjoy. In some video’s, one may catch a glimpse of some dance moves that have stood the test of time and are assimilated in various dance forms, including some classic break dance footwork.

So, sit back and enjoy, provide your comments on what you see here. In fact, if Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were on Dancing with the Stars, would you vote them on or off? Would they come out on top of everyone else and win the ultimate dance competition? I personally would think so.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers – Let it Go

 

Swing Time

 

 

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

 

 

Too Hot/Hard to Handle

 

Ginger Rogers Singing, then a Duet of Fred and Ginger where they dance on Roller Skates.

 

 

And, Finally – a compilation of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

Let’s Face the Music and Dance

 

 

Now, all these videos are from a variety of contributors of Youtube.com. The ability to showcase these videos, the interest people have in such nostalgic cinema of our grandparents time is definitely worth the trip down memory lane.

And, as stated before, it is my opinion that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers would no doubt have brought a higher bar of dance to Dancing with the Stars.

The Spoiled Under 30 Crowd!!!!

I received this in an email from my sister. It was a forward she had received and I thought it was hilarious and very true. The youth of today do not realize what life was like without your own home computer, internet, myspace, facebook, blogging and youtube.

 

If you are 30 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!! 

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking Twenty-five miles to school every morning….

 Uphill… barefoot…

BOTH ways

Yadda, yadda, yadda

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in heck I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they’ve got it!

But now that… I’m over the ripe old age of thirty, I can’t help but look around and notice the youth of today.

You’ve got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a darn Utopia!

 And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don’t know how good you’ve got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn’t have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, We had to go to the dang library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalogue!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter, with a pen!

  Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!  Stamps were 10 cents!

 Child Protective Services didn’t care if our parents beat us.  As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our butts!  No where was safe!

There were no MP3′ s or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the stinkin’ record store and shoplift it yourself!

  Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ’d usually talk over the beginning and screw it all up! There were no CD players!  We had tape decks in our car.  We’d play our favorite tape and “eject” it when finished and the tape would come undone…  cause that’s how we rolled dig? 

We didn’t have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that’s it!

And we didn’t have fancy Caller ID either!

When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school,your mom, your boss, your Bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn’t know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn’t have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like ‘Space Invaders’ and asteroids’. Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen….forever!

And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your butt and walk over to the TV to change the channel! NO REMOTES!!!

 There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I’m saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rats!

And we didn’t have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up we had to use the stove … Imagine that!

  That’s exactly what I’m talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You’re spoiled. You guys wouldn’t have lasted
five minutes back in 1980 or before!

Regards,
The over 30 Crowd

 

(Send this to someone you’d like to make smile, Whether they are under 30 or not.)

Heavy Thoughts Weighing me down

Since Christmas, I have had occasional thoughts cross my mind. The kind that linger within your skull, sinking deeply into your heart. They are not harmful thoughts, more of concern, of analyzing, critiquing of my life. The troubling part is that I searched for what caused these sudden thoughts to explode upon my mind. It was not until I had gone to pick up our niece and nephew from day care.

When I had stepped through the second door, all the young toddlers called for Keith and Angela, “Your daddy is here!” they would exclaimed. Out in public, people would comment, “Oh your daughter is so cute,” the only thing I can do is smile, pull back the raging emotions and nod with a quick response – “Angela is adorable, Keith is an active young kid,” and go on my way.

The more I thought about this, the more I thought about this past Christmas morning. Most of the stuff we got Keith and Angela, Rebecca bought with what little money we were able to spare. Things we got at the dollar store. Her thinking was that they are kids and they don’ t care what you buy them, they are just glad to have something on Christmas morning. Yet, the other presents they received, they received from donations. Keith had received a big wheel and Angela a tricycle.

It was that moment when Angela climbed upon her tricycle. One I had put together by myself in our bedroom. One that I had placed a pink ribbon on and quietly took out to the living room to be placed under the tree. That morning, when she climbed onto the tricycle, I smiled and had to turn my head very quickly. Rebecca’s older niece and her great nephew were here. They had stayed the night and slept out on the futon in our living room. Rebecca’s other Niece and great nephew had come over as well, along with her father and her two sisters.

I had to leave the room quickly – my excuse was to use the restroom. The truth, I needed a place where I could be alone, alone to cry. All I could picture was my daughter waking up on Christmas morning. Picture her climbing up onto the tricycle that I had taken the time to put together. Pictures of wanting memories flashing in my thoughts of me pushing her along, talking with her and instructing her how to peddle (which I was doing the very next day with Angela and Keith).

Why do I not correct people when they stop me and ask “your kids are wonderful!” I know they are not my children. I know I am not their father. I have three children of my own. My oldest will be 14 in a couple months. My daughter will be 11 in the same month; and my youngest son will be 8. I miss all three of them.

My oldest, I have vague memories of when he was just a babe. Holding him in my lap as we watched with fascination the construction rigs tearing up the road in front of our apartment. He was my world, my pride and joy. The late nights of holding him in my arms, enjoying this new life I had helped bring into this world.

I miss my daughter. The last time I saw her, she was only 3 years old, same age of Angela. Her hugs, talking with her, sharing those moments with her. Spending time with her and my son. Watching them play at the playground when I would come down from Bellevue to Visit them.

I have no memories of my youngest son. I only saw him a handful of times while they came over to my parents house.

All of this exploded upon my thoughts. I realize I had not truly dealt with their loss. I just kept pushing those feelings, those emotions aside because I needed to focus on my own life. As chaotic as it was, I needed stability and security.

Now, I have security and stability (well still unemployed, unsure of when I will be returning to work and aggressively seeking possible new employment in our downturn economy). Unfortunately, since 2002 when I had reported to CPS in Thurston County that my children were possibly abused because of unexplained visible marks on their bodies and some of the sexual gestures my daughter and son were making, CPS declared there was no “evidence” of abuse, allowed them to go back to their grandmother who had custody of them (which was granted in violation of my due process of law by the Thurston County Courts because I was not informed of them being placed with their Grandmother and being taken from their mother). The times I had appeared in court, I request, petitioned to have my visitations with the two younger children I had fathered, and the end result was that the courts pushed aside, stating that I had to resubmit the petition. Neither of which produced any positive result because no one could locate the grandmother.

While my wife and I have discussed this situation, the reality of all this is that even though I missed the opportunity to be a father to my own kids, watching them grew up, experiencing life with them, the blessing in all this is that having her two youngest neice and nephew here in our care and the ability to possibly adopt them has granted me a rare opportunity to have those moments I missed with my own daughter and younger son. Those missed moments of Christmas morning, every day shinanigans, the running around and goofying off.

On the one hand, I am thinking more about my own kids. Thinking about my oldest son and not being there for him, thinking about how he is doing in school. Missing opportunities to talk with him. While he does have some special needs that my ex-wife’s parents are providing, the fact is that he is the only one of my three that I have contact with. Something I need to do more often than I have in the past. Yet, even coordinating visits with him has proved to be frustrating because his grandparents wont commit to a time to drive 2.5 hours to where we live, but expect us to drive to where they live.

The only thing I am able to hope for is that one day when I will be able to meet with my two youngest children and catch up with them. Maybe it will never happen and I am putting false hopes into my head and heart. The only thing I could do is pray for them, pray for me and have faith and hope that their lives have not brought about destructive behaviors.

Right now, all I do is bite back the emotions, because frankly, I just want to take both Keith and Angela into my arms and never let them go, cry and love on them, because they remind me so much of those times I had missed being a father to my own. Such heavy thoughts weighing me down as I have to fight back the tears while writing this post.

Wherever Victoria and David are, Daddy loves you and misses you so much.

Timothy

Dirty Black Bean and Ham Soup

My wife constantly asks why I don’t write down the recipes I come up with. My answer – probably because I am not thinking about writing down what I am putting together for dinner meals. I just open the cupboards and put together meals, using the things we have. And, the handful of times that I have had made attempts to write down, I just found it obnoxious to stop, write down and then go when all I want to do is get the dinner going and get the kitchen cleaned up.

Well, thinking of what we could have for dinner this evening, I decided to take some left over ham that was cooked up for our Sunday dinner, gathered up some basic vegetables, a package of black beans, some seasoning and started putting together a home-made soup dish for dinner tonight.

As I was stirring in the evaporated milk, I noticed that the liquid turned a dirty kind of liquid due to the black beans. Instantly, Dirty Black Bean and Ham Soup. Here is the recipe that I came up with in the last half-hour. What follows is the ingredients I used and how I put together this soup. This is a slow-cooking recipe, meaning that I started this at approximately 1 pm PST and allowing it to simmer until 6pm on low:

• Cubbed approximately 3-4 cups of Ham
• 2-4 Cups potatoes chopped
• 14 oz Chicken Broth + 4 Chicken bullion cubes
• 4 cups lukewarm water
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 3 large carrots diced in half-moon shaped pieces
• 1 cup black beans, rinsed and sorted and soaked for 1 hour
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 package Snapped Peas
• 1/8 Crushed Red Pepper
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Savory
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 tblsp Spinach and Herb Seasoning (Available through Tastefully Simple)
• 2 tblsp Onion Onion Seasoning (Available through Tastefully Simple)
• 1 tblsp Celery Seed/Salt
• 2 tblsp Flour

1) Place Pan on stove and turn heat on to Medium-Low

2) Mix together Chicken Broth, Chicken Bullion cubes (crushing the cubes with fingers) and six cups of water.

3) Stir vigorously for approximately one minute.

4) Add Cubbed Ham and Black Beans

5) Slowly Stir in Evaporated Milk.

6) Add Carrots, Onions, Garlic, Potatoes and Snapped Peas. (You can also add chopped celery, cherry tomatos, brocolli, califlower, radishes or any vegetable combination of your choice.)

7) Slowly stir in Seasoned Salt, Black Pepper, Crushed Red Pepper, Celery Salt, Spinach and Herb Seasoning, Flour, Onion Onion, Savory and Garlic.

Allow soup to simmer on Medium-Low while stirring occasionally.

Are you kidding me – $5 Billion Bailout for the Porn Industry?

It is late and I just cannot fall asleep. And, so here I am browsing the Internet. Nothing specific to search for, nothing to do, just wasting time until my eyelids start drooping so that I could drag my bag of bones to bed and sleep. Unfortunately, like a hot cup of coffee that just finished brewing and was poured into a cup; shoved underneath my nostrils, I came across this from CNN. The Porn Industry is seeking a $5 billion dollar bailout.

One Question – Are they high?

Apparently, according to the article, Larry Flynt and Joe Francis is requesting this bailout.

For what reason? What purpose would it serve to bailout the porn industry? Honestly, any serious consideration to bail out the porn industry would prove that our government is not only corrupt but completely and totally depraved.

I say, let the porn industry wallow in the mud. Let them suffocate. America does not need to bailout an addiction. What America needs to do is eradicate itself from such addictions. Granted, I understand that porn has always been part of any given civilization.

And, when I say eradicate the porn industry, I mean it in the context of allowing it to fall to the wayside. We don’t need such an industry that has brought about sexual addiction, a destructive force to the American Family because people like Flynt and Francis want to exploit sexual perversion as a “healthy American Lifestyle”. Besides, prove to me that Hustler Magazine and Girls Gone Wild Videos are a “healthy American lifestyle”.

While Playboy is pornographic with some of its pictures, there are more cultural issue articles and other non-pornographic material within the cover of this gentleman’s magazine than that of Hustler.

But the other question I have is this: Are they really seeking a bailout request from the government? And, in that great amount?

I did the following Google search: “Porn Industry Bailout” and came up with pages of blogs, news sources outside of and inside American media. Apparently, this is exactly what is happening and for the requested amount. What now remains is the question as to whether or not Congress is going to allow the bailout.

As stated before, I am hoping that this request is denied. But not simply denied with a “no” but denied by Flynt and Francis being literally laughed out of the room.

Larry Flynt and Joe Francis – it is the other way around, Americans can do without your exploitation of women. America can do without your personified and self-delusional need of a “revitalization” of healthy sex. What America needs is to start caring for those who are suffering and are in need of clothing, shelter, food and basic essentials that they are lacking. America needs healthy jobs for functionality and prosperity. And, when I say, healthy jobs, I mean jobs that have lasting and positive effects on American Economy, not a Heroin injection to the arm of something that only offers self-gratification and delusions of grandeur.

Any person who seriously agrees that these two gentlemen deserve a bailout need to get their head straightened out. More than that, they need to merely put the crack pipe down, remove the needle from their arm, take off their self-loathing blinders from off their eyes and take a look at the suffering our culture truly is undergoing and start supporting a financial bailout for human services that provide a way for people to regain their own stability and security in their life.

The day congress approves the porn industry bailout is the day our very own country has sold out its own citizens and flushed morality down the toilet.

2009 – A New Year with New Resolutions

   The past couple years have been very successful in my own personal life. The more I reflect on the journey I have traversed, the many times I have come to realize there is must pain and much rejoicing. Last year was a very significant year in my life. A time where stability has become a realization. A time where security had embedded itself. A place where one could start afresh and with renewed hope. The significant changes have become realized.

   It was some time ago that I had vowed to myself that there were only two things that I would want to accomplish in my life. The first and foremost was that of remarriage. Not just to be with someone, but to find that one person I would want to grow old with. That one person I want to spend the rest of my life with. That one person whom I could confide in, share my life with and grow to love each and every passing day. It was not a matter of just settling because I want to settle down, it was a matter of settling down with that one person I know is right for me. And, in all honesty, I believe that this has happened.

   January 3, 2009, I married the lady I have been engaged with for the past two years. Granted, our life together has had its share of challenges that needed to be overcome. Situations, behaviors, clashes of personalities, changes in perceptions, outlooks, dreams, hopes and all that which occurs when two people of independent minds and differing perspectives come into unity. Certain things had to be done away with. Certain aspects of individualism had to come to an end, change or take on new approaches. In all this, we decided to marry (after much discussion, frustration and realization) on January 3, 2009.

   Trust me, this was not the date we had originally set out to have our special day. Originally, we were to have married August 5, 2008. Unfortunately, we were not prudent enough to set up funds to accomplish this. However, this did not discouraged us. We discussed moving the date forward to August 5, 2009. We both also committed to return back to our faith – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – and make the necessary changes in our lives that needed to be made in order to accomplish this task. Yet, even though it was not the wedding of our dreams, or what we originally planned to have – the fact that we both committed our lives to one another, to covenant with one another surpassed that of what we had envisioned.

   The second thing I had vowed to myself was to become a successful author. Every writer (whether they are successful or are holding onto writing that NY #1 Bestseller) will tell you how challenging it is to discipline oneself in writing. For some time, I became frustrated because I could not begin to find a good story line that will stick. Half-started projects, people telling me that I should not write, or give up writing and find something else productive. The very privilege few that know me, know that writing is a passion of mine (sometimes one of being out-of-control). Nonetheless, I had finally found a story line, the characters becoming lively, the plot growing and the writing coming as time permitted and as I gave room to develop. This abruptly ended when the realization of the dream became shipwrecked. This manuscript Mourning Ellyn is still yet to be rewritten. Yes, because of this major disappointment, I became depressed as to how it all happened.

   Yet, while bemoaning the failure of Mourning Ellyn, I began to take back up apologetics and started debating, started getting back into the various writing forums I belong to. Started looking at different aspects of what it is I could accomplish as a writer. It was not until several months ago when I started playing around with the idea of working on my own web site and possibly blog. There were several attempts that started off where I would start a blog, then just to abandon it. Much like my journal writing, I would start off writing about my day-to-day activities, start working on something and then distractions, life, circumstances or whatever would pull me away from whatever it is that I had set out to accomplish became the dominate aspect of my life. I would start various writing projects that would not go any further. Started rewriting Mourning Ellyn only to abandon it. Whatever the excuse is, the reality is that it was not until I started keeping this current blog and the other blog Reasoning with the Critics. Also, I had positioned a blog that contains the full manuscript of Mourning Ellyn (which is linked earlier in this article), and also one that would contain my National Novel Writing Month Writing Challenge – Memoir of the Prodigal Son. The latter blog still being worked on, the story line being developed more fully and plotted out.

   It is at the point that I ask myself (as I am looking back on all this), what is it that I have accomplished regarding my writing? The most significant answer is the ability to maintain this blog – This Ordinary Life (which originally started out as a Blog on Blogger and my own Myspace Blog; Not only that, but I had originally started an MSN Live Space Blog called Timbers Writings and Musings.); and maintain the blog Reasoning with the Critics. While these accomplishments are not successful in the sense that I am a well-known author and writer, nor have I published a NY #1 bestseller yet, the significance for me is that I am successfully writing.

   Successfully writing means that I am consistently writing content for my blog, re-examining my previous writings to see where and what needs improvement, how and why those improvements are needed and beginning to get back into the habit of writing on a consistent schedule. This is accomplishing one of two things: First, I am able to work on a definite schedule. This means that one of the major complaints that my wife has is how my writing takes priority over everything. I have to admit, this is something that I have allowed to happen. The change I have made is set up a “writing schedule” where I can allow myself time to write, develop article ideas for my blog and to work on providing articles that are of interest for others to read.

   Now, with these two goals I had established, there was a time frame when these goals were to be realized. The time that I had allowed for myself to accomplish these goals were to be by the time I turned 40 years of age. Recently, I have had my birthday and am 38 years of age. Have I reached these two goals? Yes on the first one and yes on the second one. I can honestly say that I have accomplished more than what I originally thought I would accomplish by the time my 40th birthday would come around.

   Yet, these were not the only two goals I have realized and were not the only ones to have come to pass. Another significant goal was that of addiction. The major addiction I had was that of smoking. Before I met my wife, this addiction had me at almost 3 packs a day. Usually I would smoke about 1.5 to 2.5 packs a day. In fact, this addiction was so bad that I recall times of desperation that I would do what is called sniping for cigarettes. What this meant was that I would walk around town and find outside ashtrays that had not been emptied yet. As disgusting as this sounds now (even thinking about it myself), I would find those butts that still had significant amount of smoking left. Whether it was 1/4 smoked or 1/2 smoked cig’s, I would pick them out and smoke them. Another way this was done was taking cigarettes that were already smoked, remove the remaining tobacco out of them and then make one cigarette out of them by using tobacco paper and roll them up. No, I did not do this while dating my wife, this was only done while homeless, without a job and no one to bum cigarettes from.

   I also, never realized how much stench one has when they are a heavy smoker – and I was definitely a heavy smoker. It was not until after I was laid off from work (which was back in November of 2008 ) that I had smoked my last cigarette. Today, I have not had a cigarette. January 21, 2009 will be 2 months where I have not had a cigarette. Do I crave one? Yes, but it has now become a matter of will power. Since I have not had a cigarette, I now pass by those who are smokers and could smell how raunchy the stench is. Every so often, I would comment to my wife – did I smell that bad? she would only nod, or comment that I would smell much worse. The reality of this: the scent turns my stomach.

   So, how did I quit smoking? Honestly, it was simply cold-turkey. The reality is, I no longer had income where I could use some of my money to get a pack of smokes. But that was what ultimately happened. Overall, it was a matter of time. Acclimating my body and addiction to a lesser and lesser amount. When we first moved in, Rebecca stated that there was to be no smoking in the house or around her son. I, respectfully complied. Thus, smoking was done outside of the apartment. While she complained about me smoking in her car, and subsequently in the car we bought for me, the amount of cigarettes I would light up subsequently decreased from 2.5 packs a day to 1 pack a day. From 1 pack a day to 1 pack every other day. Eventually, I got down to having a pack last me all week. This was due to the fact that I would smoke on my way to work, at work and then on my way home. On a typical day, I would only smoke anywhere between 4-6 cigarettes. Therefore, the ability to quit cold-turkey was because I had already conditioned myself to not having any cigarettes at home.

   Another addiction is that of coffee. I used to drink a severe amount of coffee on a daily basis. The past couple years, I have significantly decreased the amount of coffee I drink. Before, on any given day, I would drink anywhere between 15-30 cups of coffee a day. I never had an “empty cup” of coffee. Now, I would be lucky if I drink more than a cup a day.

   Looking back on all this, I have made significant changes for the betterment of my life. And, yet, these are the only few changes made in the past couple years that are starting to bear significant fruit now.

   A final goal I had made, I never really thought possible. That is the ability to return back to school and to secure a degree. Not only do I have a passion for writing, but I have always wanted to use my talent to better myself, those around me and to employee such talent in a position that I know would be very successful and enjoyable. Ultimately, I have had a long desire to be a Technical Writer for either a software company or a Wireless Company. What would I write? Education, Employee Manuals, User Manuals, Online Content for Knowledge base articles for internal Customer service representatives or for the general public. What held me back was a default student loan.

   It was not until a stroke of luck befell upon me. I was offered a way to repay my default student loan, and after successful payment history, there would be the possibility of my loan to be taken out of default, my title four rights reinstated and the ability to file for financial aid if I ever desired to return back to school. Today, my student loan is out of default, consolidated and I have the ability to return back to school without my former student loan as a barrier to file for financial aid.

   All this brings us back to the topic of discussion: 2009 – A New Year with New Resolutions. What are my New Year Resolutions? Simply, continue to write for my blogs, work on my fictional writings, redevelop and have a new manuscript for Mourning Ellyn ready for potential publication, secure old employment or new employment and bringing success to whatever employment position I find myself in and to attend summer quarter to begin on a degree in writing/journalism with a specified focus on web design and content regarding technical writing. Will I accomplish these in 2009? If I put my mind to it and not dink around.

   2007 and 2008 were two significant years where I had to make life changing choices, re-assess who I was and those needs that have been neglected for a long time. Now that those things have come to pass, 2009 is definitely a year of renewed hope and fresh approach to life.

   Whatever you have faced previously, whatever you wish to accomplish in the coming year, remember only one thing, we live by the choices we make. They either destroy us because we have allowed them too through poor choice making; or they stabilize us with a sense of security where we have the freedom to progress and grow. No matter what, we have a new year, a new slate where we can right those wrongs made in years past or realize the goals we have set for ourselves to accomplish and then make new goals and progress further in life to attain those goals.

A Winter Wonderland and a Wonderful Life

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This morning, my fiance woke me up with the request to go ahead and get the car cleaned off and started. Plus, had to get the two rug rats up so they could be ready.

I went out, got the car scraped off from all the snow and attempted to start her car. Unfortunately, it would not start. The reason was not that it was cold, but that her car is a newer vehicle where the lights automatically turn off when you power off the vehicle and lock it up. This did not happen and the lights were left on for about a couple hours. But, it happened before and the battery did not drain.

Alright, so, I will scrape my vehicle off and get it started, take the kids to day care and then come back and get her car started or jumped if needed.

No big problem right?

Wrong!!! I did get my vehicle scraped off. And, surprisingly enough, the vehicle started up with no problem at all. Well, I have this licked and will have the kids to daycare within a half hour. No problem. As I backed the vehicle up, I realized it would not go. Now, that was the first sign of the problem and I should have just left my vehicle parked and brought the kids back in. Yet, I am a stubborn male who thinks that – hey it’s just snow and no big deal right?

I managed to back the vehicle out of the parking spot and placed it in the lowest gear so that I could drive more effectively in the given weather conditions. Everything was going good until I came around the corner and had to stop because someone else was having trouble trying to get their truck unstuck. A bit frustrated, I tried to back up. Vehicle would go no where. So, I thought I would pull forward a little bit. Nope, went a few feet and got stuck.

Two hours later and with the help of four other people, we managed to get my vehicle unstuck and parked in a parking stall.

Underneath all that snow is nothing but compact ice. I am not going anywhere today. Sad thing about it is that I had an interview that I had to cancel.

While the dilemma is that I won’t be able to go anywhere, I have the ability to spend time with two little wonderful kids.

Not only do we have some good amount of snow here in Everett, Washington – but today is also my birthday. For the past several years, it was always cold, hardly any snow at all. Whatever amount of snow we had received in past years, it was always gone the next day. This is going to be sticking around for awhile.

And, it is always nice to wake up to fresh snowfall. Here, we have kitty cat paws and birdie tracks on our back porch. This was what Rebecca and I woke up to find yesterday morning. I had already dressed for church, but it was canceled due to the road conditions and concern for the safety and well-being of the members of the ward. So, we spent most of the day inside. However, that did not stop Auntie Becky from convincing Keith to step outside and play a little bit in the snow. He was not out there for more than about twenty minutes before he decided it was time to come in and play. Auntie Beck and Mom were trying to convince him to make a snow angel.

As a child myself, I always remembered going over to Spokane, Washington where there was always snow there. We would always go out to play in the snow. My Grandparents always having the wood fireplace going to keep the house warm.

And, because they lived on a Cul-de-sac, it was always fun to sled around in the street, build snowman, have snowball fights. We would come in and Grandma would always have hot chocolate for us.

Even when we did not make it over to Spokane, we would always make trips to Mount Rainier and play in the snow there, go sledding and the thing I always loved seeing – something that completely mesmerized me was the way the trees looked with snow on them. No matter what, whether it was home, at my grandparents house, or a trip to Mount Rainier, we would always look forward to some hot chocolate.

Another childhood memory was how it would always snow (about this time we were living in Shelton, Washington and I was in junior high at this time) when it would always snow around the beginning of November. And, these snowflakes were always large flakes. The ability to stare up into the sky and try and catch flakes on your tongue was always a very challenging and enjoyable part. 

So, after overcoming my frustration of being a typical male in that I thought I could get a Geo Prism to drive in such conditions without any proper tires or chains, having my fiance’s car charge so that the vehicle will be able to start, the one thing remains enjoyable this day. The ability to spend time with two young children.

You see, today is my birthday and most times, I am not particular fond of dealing with today. The exception is that the past couple years, I have started to look forward to my birthday in more ways than one. While it is so close to Christmas, the greatest thing that I am realizing more and more is that having my fiance’s nephew and niece here with us and in our care has provided me a very wonderful opportunity I have never had. This opportunity is to be a "father" in a sense.

I have three children of my own – Michael Jaymes, Victoria L., and David M. These three children, I hardly see. Mostly, the only one I have much contact with is Michael. Yet, the ability to be a father to them has been denied because of circumstances I have no control over. My two youngest, I have no idea where they are at and at the moment, my fiance and I have not the money to pursue any formal legal action to secure visitations. Yet, we are working towards that. Despite all this, having Keith and Angela here, has provided me an opportunity to have that second chance with them. To experience things with them that I have missed out with my own children. Seeing them laugh, reading them stories, brushing out her hair, getting them ready for bed, taking them shopping. In fact, when I had switched from working nights to working days – and when we first had them in our care – it always brought me too tears when I would come home because they would run to me and hug me "uncle timmy is home". All these little things just touch me in ways that are beyond expression. Granted, they are kids, but the reality is that more and more, I am growing in a way I have never thought possible.

So, being snowed in, watching Disney Movies, playing with my little ponies and cars, cleaning up house and fixing meals is something I never thought I would ever experience. It is truly not just a winter wonderland here where we live, but a wonderful life that it is turning out for me.

Depression – A Lonely Experience

My birthday is coming up on Monday. 38 years of age and I wonder how it is I have made it this far in life. Granted, I am not anywhere near where I have envisioned myself to be, but the fact of having stability in my life is very paramount. Two years, having a stable home. Two years and having a stable and successful relationship. And, as typical with each passing year, I find myself reviewing the past year (well except for last year) of my life. Usually, this is to analysis the mistakes I have made, how I have made them and ways to avoid making the same mistakes.

Personally, if one does not learn from your mistakes, you are doomed to repeat the mistakes because one does not recognize how and why you made them in the first place. As the old philosophy goes – either learn things the easy way or learn things the hard way. Apparently, in my defiance, I have had the opportunity to learn things the hard way.

Yet, as I find myself reflecting upon my life this year, there is a sense of success. Typically, I am brooding over the many failures in my life. The wailing over the hardships I have caused upon myself. The mantle of self-depreciation becomes a heavy cloak threatened to snuff out any hopes or dreams I have had. Instead, here I am pondering not the events of the past year, but the past couple years. Significant changes in how my life has turned around from a chaotic mess to a stepping stone of success.

And, upon this reflection, I happened to browse a particular discussion over at www.writingforums.com. In posting my response to this particular thread, I recalled a piece of writing that I keep by my side and read often. This piece of writing is how I felt when I traversed the darkness and storms of my life.

Here it is for you to read and to ponder. Maybe you know someone who is questioning their own existence. Maybe you are questioning your own self-worth and wonder if the world would be better without you a part of it.

Depression is a lonely experience that others could truly never fully understand.

 

Nothing.

Nothing. I silently reply. Then there is a thought. One simplistic thought that breaches the empty field of my mind. Recalling an immortal phrase coined by one of history’s most renowned play writers:

To be or not to be; that is the question. Was what Shakespeare wrote.

My question – what is the answer?

Like the morning fog that is being burned off from the surface of a lake, the sun rises in magnificent splendor. The phrase fades with only an emptiness upon my mind. Nothing! I just want to scream, wandering in the dark alleys and shadows of my thoughts that seem to reach out with cold bony fingers, tugging at me to pull me into the suffocated darkness.

Nothing.

Nothing! I shout in the silence of my own thoughts.

No answer would come, just my voice echoing off decaying walls of cinder blocks and mortar. Or, maybe it had come and I was preoccupied with the emptiness that leaves me numb. The only thing that is left is a barren wasteland – much like the desert. The scorching heat beating against sandy dunes that remind me of waves on a motionless sea.

Some dunes rising high, rolling into valleys with no substance of life. A mysterious beauty all its own. Winds blow relentlessly, shifting sand to and fro, reshaping dunes and valleys of the desert. Maybe they are not motionless waves after all? Maybe, there is some purpose to a desert.

Again, the phrase appears in my mind, lingering like an unwanted specter. To be or not to be; that is the question. My soul cries out – “What is the answer?” But there is only silence. The barren desert appears again. The warmth from the day lingers in the twilight hours, long after the sun had descended over the horizon. Now, only the moon glows against the velvet canopy of sky, stars blinking in chorus for some cosmic audience. The desert wind becomes a cold talon hand – the desert’s only friend is loneliness.

Loneliness and nothing.

To be or not to be lonely; that’s the question. Could this be the answer?

To be nothing or not to be nothing; that’s the question. Could this be the answer?

I am something and I’m not lonely – not like the desert. The desert has no friends. Those who traverse it, do so with caution, with speed, and well prepared. To be lost in the desert is utter destruction. It’s beauty drawing you in if you are not careful. I am something, or am I?

There is still no answer, only silence. Cold heartless silence that chills me. A fatiguing recollection dances in my mind now. A field of barren hostility. You were something! It chanted. You weren’t lonely. I can only push the thought into the shadows of a decaying city that my mind seems to wander through. Another vision soon comes to view.

To be somebody, or not to be somebody; that is the question. I pause, dwelling on the perplexity it proposes. I am somebody. The phrase rises up from the depths of depression. My heart and soul crying in unison from the prison, the bondage they are in. I am somebody! I cried out, the statement bouncing off the stillness of my mind. Silence laughed at me.

There is still nothing. Only a lonely dreary silence that seems to taunt me.

Are you? Comes silence’s question. A different question. Shakespeare hovers over his grave. Are you somebody? The question pressed against me, suffocating me. Shakespeare holds a dark cloak against me.

 
Yes, I am somebody. I yelled into the fabric.

Who? A different question, Shakespeare is silence, asking me as the heavy cloak is removed from my face. Chains bound about me, the metal is cold as they constrict like a boa.

Who? I repeated the question.

Who are you? A momentary pause. If you’re somebody, then who are you? Another question. It felt like a sword that was put to the flames, slicing through my flesh, melting, burning, the stench nauseating me as the pain sears through my being. Then there is silence — that cold brooding silence as the wound is now a scar, a reminder.

To be or not to be; that is the question. Shakespeare’s ghost appears again. There are no longer chains holding me captive. No cloak in his hand. He is dark but a red rose in one hand and a white rose in another. One for purity and one for love.

What is the answer? I asked, the discussion becoming a circular argument of reasoning. The desert floods the landscape of my mind again. The heat is stifling, burning against my flesh, thirst crept into my parched throat.

No answer came.

Nothing.

Nothing! I repeated. No one was there as I sighed heavily.

No one? But you were someone, were you not? The question settled upon me like a brooding cloud hanging over the land. Dark and full of anger. There was no answer that would come to my lips.

I’m no one, I am nothing. I resolved with a heavy sigh. The interrogation flogging me with leather tentacles that have menacing shards of metal and glass. Striking against my back, ripping flesh as I feel numb, my body craved death.

 
I am nothing, I am no one. I yelled out in pain. Shakespeare and the desert are vanquished from my thoughts.

 
Alone, somewhere and yet nowhere at the same time. It was here that I felt the rain.

A soft drizzle at first, then my eyes open to a misty gray day. The drizzle giving way to a steady downpour.

 
You are someone. The thought crossed my mind unrepentantly. The words roaring like thunder. Storms. The gray sky brightened in a series of electrified white over the city. Thunder roaring loudly with each flash. A storm was brewing. Are there storms in the desert? I asked myself. There was no answer to my childlike question. The desert had given way to the sea. Rolling and motionless dunes of sand became liquid that rose and fell in waves. The sea was breathing. The waves were black with white caps of foam. They were angry as they rose up and struck the wooden deck. The ships crew had abandoned her. The tall white sails bulged against the protesting wind.

 
Nothing.

The ship rose and fell as the sea breached the railings. The wooden vessel groaned in mournful cries. No one is manning the helm of the ship! I protested weakly. Lightening licked across the sky like an angry god, the iridescent flash contrasted against the velvet blackness, illuminating brooding clouds that seem to kiss the rising sea with deadly intimacy. Thunder roared it’s blood curdling battle cry.

You’re somebody – to be or not to be; that’s your question! Shakespeare’s ghost stands at the bow of the ship.

 
I’m nothing, no one. I cried out against another bout of thunder. I’m now cowering in the corner of the ship like a scolded abused child. Do you see me? Wide-eyed, scarred and naked. My knees are pulled up to my chest, my arms hugging them tightly against me.

Nothing. Loneliness gives way to fear and dread, death’s breath is on my skin, whispering its eternal dark secret to me.

Storms, remember the storms. The voice was no longer ominous, but a soft breeze in my heart. I remember, but what about the storms? The question unfolded in my thoughts. Storms, remember the storms? The question was persistent, but my response was silenced.

The ship and the dark sea disappearing, vanishing from my vision. Storms, came the whisper. Again, the sky flashed and roared angrily, subsiding as the sea was calming itself. Rain started falling from the pregnant clouds that hover over the city.

No longer on the ship and the sea, I find myself standing in a spacious field. The meadow stretched before me like a sea of green vegetation. Centered in the field was an ancient oak tree. It stood against the storm, majestic and barren. I could hear it growl in a low grumbling tone. It beckoned me like an old lover.

 
Come my child. It called out within my mind.

To be or not to be… Shakespeare again. His spirit stood under the canopy of the oak tree. Her branches swayed against the strong wind. The leaves fluttered like a million butterflies in a whispered chorus. I found myself standing beneath the branches, beneath the leaves. The wind grew stronger, the rain grew heavier, but I was comforted, kept dry and protected. I reached out with trepidation, wanting to touch the Oak Tree. The trunk was ancient, aged and scarred; thicker than I had seen in any tree. Lightening reached down from the angry clouds like a whip, striking the majestic oak tree. The wood crackled as it exploded, echoing within the storm. Fire sparked and engulfed the ancient oak. The rain kissed away the flames, dousing the fire within moments. Thunder shouted like an angry mythical god displeased with his creation. Yet, I felt safe under the bough of the Oak tree’s comforting arms.

 
Storms. The thought flashed in my mind like that of lightening. I remember.

Storms make trees seek deeper roots. I shouted out joyously into the demented night.

To be or not to be; that is the question. Shakespeare’s spirit stood in front of me, smiling.

To be or not to be; that is my question, I thoughtfully smiled back at Shakespeare, but his ghost had vanished. So also, the lonely ancient oak tree was nowhere. The field also was no longer a part of my thought. Even the barren desert no longer plagued me.

I found myself back on the ship. Her sails were tattered and torn, but there were no more threatening waves. No more storms. There was a calm wind, not one of bloated viciousness, as it kissed the tattered sails of the ship like an intimate lover kisses his lady.

 
Nothing.

Nothing, I muttered contently. Waves rose and fell like a woman’s bosom when she breathed. A summer breeze filled the air, carrying the sweet-tangy salt on her wings. An azure blue sky had ostracized the dark evening. I was at the helm of the ship. Up there, on the horizon, do you see it? Shakespeare stands smiling.

Answer the question, I thought. To be or not to be; that is my question. I paused, allowing the statement to warm my soul before answering. I am the captain of my own destiny – that’s who I am, I am somebody. The answer became my beacon of light as I saw the lighthouse up on the coastal lands, the harbor beckoning me to return safely. I am finding my way home.

Atrocity of Murder and A New Argument Against Pro-Choice Abortion Advocates

Last night, I was up late working on some cover letters for employment search. While working on my laptop computer, I had the television tuned to a National Geography Channel (National Geography Channel 273 here in the Everett/Seattle Area). On this channel, they had several programs dedicated to various aspects of religion and the history of religious ideals, places and peoples. One such program caught my interest: Cain and Abel: Brothers at War. This program regarded the Mysteries of the Bible series. (and, if you are interested, there is a scheduled showing on Monday December 22 at 12pm) I mention this program because of a singular statement that was made surrounding the conversation that the Lord God has with Cain.

And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. Genesis 4:10.

In regards to this passage, a very profound statement was made regarding the first murder and crime of humanity.

3. In the original the word is plural, thy brother’s bloods, not only his blood, but the blood of all those that might have descended from him; or the blood of all the seed of the woman, who should, in like manner, seal the truth with their blood.

This is based upon the fact that the Hebrew word DAM is used in a plural sense, therefore, the appropriate interpretation would be not the voice of Abel’s blood crying out, but the voice of Abel’s lives are what cried out to God. In this understanding, Abel’s life was cut short and therefore, there is no children that has come from Abel. It is in this sense – so the argument will go – that Cain not only murdered Abel, but murdered Abel and all of Abel’s posterity and lineage.

Think about this for a moment. Murder is the worst crime humanity could commit. It is a crime where there is no possible restitution to be made. One can in no way bring that person back to life. Even heavier thinking is that if this logic is true and when one murders another person, they not only steal that persons life, but inevitably destroy and “murder” that persons heritage and lineage.

What this has to do with the atrocity of Murder and its relationship with Abortion? It brings a whole new perspective to the reason why Abortion is not just the act of taking a life, but it is the very act of destroying a lineage.

According to the National Right to Life – since the inception and landmark court case Roe vs. Wade there is an estimated  49,551,703 abortions since 1973. Within a span of thirty-five years, almost 50 million lives have been taken.

The issue here, at the heart of the Abortion Debate, is how one defines life. Those who support Pro-Life and are against Abortion and the abortion movement and advocates state that Life begins at the moment of conception or thereafter. To the supporters of Abortion and Pro-Choice advocates define life as not at the moment of conception and that the fetus is not considered a person until a certain point in the pregnancy term. Thus, limiting abortion to the first trimester of pregnancy.

Yet, in rethinking the Abortion issue, when human life begins and the atrocity of murder, we find that a woman (even though she has the ultimate right and decision) who aborts her child, is not merely aborting a fetus, but aborting any possible posterity that individual being may potentially bring into life.

What this means is that Abortion is not just murdering an innocent and vulnerable human being, but extinquishing any and all possibility for that being to be birthed and potentially bring forth their own posterity and lineage.