Memories of Halloween

Believe it or not, I’m old enough to actually remember Halloween! The real one, not the watered down politically correct version that we (don’t, can’t, aren’t allowed to) enjoy now. Anyway, I grew up in the sixties, and without any fact checking, allow me to tell you a few of my childhood memories or at least the way I recall them. Forgive me if I get any of the details wrong.

I remember how we dressed up to go trick-or-treating! We wore those cheap little flimsy costumes that we bought at TG&Y. They probably cost 2 or 3 dollars at the most and they lasted through the big night and a few days of play after that. The little plastic masks (most likely made of some toxic material) were the worst! Regardless of the temperature, you sweated like crazy and the things just stuck to your face like glue. Until the rubber band broke and the wind blew it off down the street. Despite the smell and the sweat, you’d pull the rubber band tight and poke a hole in the side of the mask and tie it back together, so you could wear it some more. And of course, it got tighter and more uncomfortable each time. The self-torture of Halloween as a child!

There were lots of devils and witches and ghosts and monsters, but nobody seemed to think we were all going to hell for it. There were also plenty of cowboys and Indians and nobody got offended and felt the need to protest. It was make believe. Harmless fun. I always preferred the superhero costumes myself. Superman and Batman mostly, with a towel held by a clothespin as my cape. And of course, a plain brown paper sack for the goodies!

We waited for dark and for Dad to come home so we could prowl the neighborhood. The actual neighborhood. Where we actually lived. We made it up our block and maybe to the next one over depending on whether or not Dad thought our bags were full enough and then we came home to compare our candy treasures and eat as much as Mom would allow before making us stop for the night. (By the nineties, as a parent, I was taking my kids to the mall and the local schools and churches for the “Trunk or Treat” and “Harvest Festival” events, but that’s a whole nother story!)

I’m sure there were some scary movies around back then, but more than likely, we would watch nothing more frightening than the Charlie Brown special and our biggest fear would then be getting a rock in our bags instead of candy. We didn’t fear getting a piece of candy with a needle or a razor blade, or some such insanity. We feared getting fruit or some other non-chocolate item. It was definitely a simpler time.

Regardless of when the date fell on the calendar, NOBODY wore their costumes to school. Or even thought about it. The anonymity of the street you lived on under the cover of darkness was one thing, but to show up at school in the daytime wearing a Halloween costume? Could you be more uncool? Maybe it was just where I grew up, but I never understood that. (I did have to deal with the issue as a school administrator a time or two. Still don’t get it!)

Anyway, that’s probably enough nostalgia for now. So, be safe out there and enjoy the holiday. I really do wish that today’s children could experience an old-fashioned Halloween, but I suppose those days are gone for good. Maybe if your kids (or grandkids) are still young enough, you could sit them down and tell them a few stories of your own.

Impeachment Frenzy, More from the Unhinged Left

It’s been a long time since I sat in a classroom and learned about government and civics and all that stuff. BUT… even I know that impeachment is meant to be a rare occurrence reserved for truly serious matters. AND … I know you can’t just impeach an elected official, especially a President, just because you hate him and you’re still mad he won the election.

I say all this just to clarify, maybe even educate some folks. I am truly surprised at the vast number of people who are totally ignorant on the subject. (Yet rant about it anyway!) Apparently, most of Liberals (on social media) actually believe that their simple majority in one chamber of Congress will allow them to remove a duly elected President of the United States. So let’s back up, slow down, and actually examine the impeachment process.

First of all, the House of Representatives, currently under Democratic control, CAN start the process IF they honestly believe that the President has committed “high crimes and misdemeanors.” I personally don’t really think that most of the Democrats in the House believe Donald Trump has committed ANY crimes, but that certainly hasn’t stopped them. Just the fact that they have begun the process based on an unsubstantiated “whistleblower” complaint (contradicted by an actual transcript), tells you all you really need to know.

And of course, that followed two years of screaming about impeachment – again with no actual proof of any crimes (despite the millions wasted by Mueller), but then, Democrats have been known to proudly proclaim that their truth is more important than your facts.

Anyway, with enough votes, the House can file Articles of Impeachment which are then sent to the Senate. That’s right, kids! President Trump can be impeached by the House and still remain President! Shocker, right? (At this point, many are questioning whether or not Nancy Pelosi is even bothering with the process. She has yet to call for a full vote and has the “investigation” being conducted by Adam Schiff and the Intelligence Committee behind closed doors and hidden from even fellow members of Congress. Historically, the Judiciary Committee has been responsible for conducting an impeachment investigation, but why waste a chance to let Trump-Hater Adam run things?)

The Senate, currently controlled by the Republicans, is then charged with holding a trial presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. You know, presenting actual evidence to decide if any crimes have really been committed. The 100 Senators serve as jurors and if the President is convicted, he may then be removed from office. Historically, only two Presidents have been impeached and both were acquitted in the Senate trial. The latest was Bill Clinton.

Speaking of Bill, I highly recommend Ann Coulter’s excellent book High Crimes and Misdemeanors. Speaking of actual crimes! Good thing he was a Liberal Democrat. Otherwise, he might have actually been held accountable!

So, there you have it in a nutshell. Articles of Impeachment -> Senate Trial -> Guilt or Innocence -> Removal from office (or not). And did I forget to mention that conviction by the Senate requires a 2/3 super-majority? A really good safeguard against one political party having the power to oust a legitimately elected President. You know, the one elected by the People. (The People who did not want another Clinton in the White House.) Just saying!

Free Stuff - Liberals, Socialism, and Changing Attitudes

If you’ve listened at all to the countless number of Democrats running for President, you know that they are in a huge hurry to see who can offer the most free stuff in exchange for your votes. According the Left and their new (same old) brand of Socialism, everybody has a right to get stuff for free, paid for by the rich people of this country which somehow sooner or later includes the middle class and everyone else who pays taxes as well.

I grew up believing that as an American, I had the basic human right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. You know, those inalienable rights bestowed by our Creator. I can barely keep a straight face when I hear people today including such basic rights as free housing, free cars and phones, free college, free health care, and whatever else they can imagine. Bestowed, of course, by our benevolent Government. Maybe we should be doing a better job of teaching history these days.

Hearing all this nonsense on a daily basis is already causing a change in attitude among many people and not in a good way. Working at a local hotel, I see an almost daily effort by somebody to secure a free room. Any excuse will do. No pool? I shouldn’t have to pay for my room. The TV remote didn’t work, I should get a refund. The (actually FREE) breakfast was cold, or didn’t taste good, or whatever. I should get my room for free. And they are serious!

It’s a scary thing to see your culture fall apart before your very eyes at such an alarming rate. I have two adult children who currently spend a significant amount of money each month repaying student loans. Once upon a time, they, like many others, chose to take on this future debt to pay for college. Stuck in the middle class, too poor to pay outright, too wealthy to qualify for assistance, they had to make do with the merit based scholarships that paid only a fraction of the total, then take out student loans to cover the rest.

If a future Democrat President waves a magic wand and makes college free and makes vanish the loan debts of millions, will they pay back the money my kids and tons of others have paid over the years? Of course not! My kids are grown and already part of the country’s workforce, so they won’t be getting any loan forgiveness or refunds from the government. Instead they will be expected to help pay for all that free stuff that isn’t really free at all, including paying for someone else to go to school or not having to pay back their student loans.

Maybe what we really need to do is be more honest with our language. Instead of free health care, let’s call it what it really is – taxpayer funded health care. Free college? Nope. Taxpayer funded college. And so on. You get the picture.

So let’s be very clear. There is no free lunch! Nothing is free. Somebody is actually paying for all of these “free” benefits. And it’s not the government. The truth is the government has no money of its own. Those wonderful politicians promising all this free stuff aren’t paying for any of this. As a matter of fact, most of them are drawing a salary from the same source – the American taxpayer. Maybe it’s time for the taxpayers to have a little more say about how our money is being spent. Maybe at the ballot box.

Return to Eastlake: More Small Town Tales

I finished the second round of edits on the newest book this week and handed if off to a few trusted beta-readers for their input. Not as scary as the previous times, but still a bit nerve-wracking. It’s hard to put your work out there hoping for kind words, fearing the opposite, exposing all the insecurities that go along with being a writer, or a singer, or an artist, or pretty much anyone willing to express themselves creatively.

Honestly, I go back and forth between the pride of accomplishment and the certainty that it’s all crap. No lie. Sometimes when I read my words, I truly believe that the stories are good and powerful and I’m caught up in the emotions they carry. At other times, I read passages that sound boring or childish or simplistic, and I wonder why I ever thought I could be a writer.

And yet … there is evidence:

And when I see the actual books, I am immensely proud of each one I have published. They may not be best-sellers by any stretch of the imagination, but they are the works of my own labor, and the finished products are tangible proof of my efforts.

So, I keep going. I am optimistic enough to have written a sequel to a book that very few people have actually read! And now that I am working again, I am finding it much harder to devote the time to writing and revising and editing. Originally, I had hopes of publishing this one in August. Now, I’m shooting for Christmas. Say a prayer!

Okay, now for the real reason for this post – I need opinions on the new book cover. For some reason, finishing the cover is a huge motivator for me. I suppose, it helps me envision the book as a real object and not just some random computer file. I have two self-imposed requirements.

First, I want the cover to have a recognizable connection with the previous book. I know this sounds like bragging (it is), but I absolutely love that cover. It is definitely my favorite of the three I’ve done so far. I want the same look and feel for the new one.

Second, it needs to be different enough to not be confused with original. So there you go, similar, but not too similar, right? Here they are side by side:

                              

Take a moment or two and let me know what you think. It’s only a rough draft, so don’t be afraid to be brutally honest! Thanks.

The Connected Age

Like many people of my generation, I find great amusement at the almost obsessive attachment many young people have to their phones and other devices. I love all the memes and videos of those who either totally miss everything that is happening around them, or hilariously crash into the real world while staring at their screens and stumbling through life blindly. Last night, I got a wake-up call that even I am not totally free from this affliction.

The wife and I were planning to fire up Hulu and watch an episode of one of the new shows we missed earlier this week. First, I had to finish the YouTube video I had found to help me get past the latest Boss battle in the game I am currently playing (Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, for the curious ones). Two minutes later, I’m cursing at my TV because my FireStick says I have no internet connection. While Patti patiently attended to the cats, I plugged and unplugged the WiFi extender, the router, and then, the computer, only to discover that we had no internet anywhere in the house.

So, no way to watch the program we had missed. On to Plan B. Couldn’t check my email, so I thought I’d just use my cellular data and check Twitter and Facebook. I was surprised to see that my phone was showing only one bar and then the dreaded No Service message. No internet and now, no phone service? OMG! I was cut off from the entire world! What could I do?

My game apparently needed to update from Steam and so I couldn’t play that. About half the games on my phone require an internet connection, so that ruled them out. No Netflix. No Amazon Prime Video. No Vudu. Couldn’t listen to music because IHeart Radio, Pandora, or Spotify would all fail to connect. I was beginning to panic. I honestly had no idea just how connected I had become myself.

So, I fell back on my training as a grown-up and I coped. Since I’m surrounded by piles of books I am still meaning to read, I survived. (Even though the book, I am trying to finish at the moment is on my IPad. I know, more technology!) I spent some time reading, then I actually went to bed at a decent hour and got a good night’s sleep. By the next morning, my internet and phone were back to normal, and I was once again connected to the world.

Now for the reality check. You really can survive without the internet. And your phone. At least for a few hours anyway. So, here’s a bit of free advice – sometimes it’s okay to unplug (even on your own), despite the steady pull of this connected age. I might even try it myself every now and then.

Climate Change From the Perspective of a True (Non) Believer

I don't believe that the sky is falling. I don't believe the world will be gone in 12 years. Honestly, I don't believe much of anything proclaimed by the Left these days.

I'm pretty old and for most of my life, I've been listening to the environmentalists scream and rant and rave and cry about the horrible things we're doing to our planet. I even remember those corny films from the 70s that we used to watch in Health and Science classes. Doom and gloom brought to you by 16mm projector.

Back then, we were warned about a new Ice Age that was coming, and if we didn't IMMEDIATELY stop doing whatever it was we were doing at the time, we were all going to die! A few decades later, it was the opposite and Global Warming was a foregone conclusion. All the ice at the North and South poles was going to melt and the oceans were going to rise and we would all drown. If the heat from all the holes we were putting in the ozone layer didn't cause us all to spontaneously combust first.

Ok, let me be serious. As a Christian, I do believe that we should be responsible in taking care of the world created and gifted to us by a loving Creator. On the other hand, the absolute hubris of those who believe we puny humans have the actual power to destroy a planet amazes me. Sure we can (and often do) turn our houses, cities, states, countries, etc. into pig sties, but do we really think we can kill an entire planet? Don't know if I believe that one.

The biggest issue I have with all the Climate Change freaks is that the United States alone cannot fix the planet. (Again, hubris.) With China and others all across the world polluting way beyond our means, it is foolish to think that signing some worthless global climate deal and crippling our economy in the process (while those other countries make little or no attempt to fulfill their obligations) is a realistic answer.

The Liberals, of course, have all the answers. AOC and her New Green Deal are ludicrous if you bother to look at the actual details of the proposal. Very expensive and totally unworkable. I guess if the whole country decided to "Go Amish" we could become a third world country and maybe “save” the planet long enough for Russia or China or somebody else to take over the US and kick us all out. Other than that, I guess we just need to make all those cows quit farting. Or run and hide like Chicken Little.

Normalizing the Abnormal

Whenever I use the word normal, I feel compelled to add, in jest, the caveat “Whatever normal is.” Seriously though, as much as I detest the overuse of labels, there really is a normal, and I frequently wonder if our biggest problem in society today is our failure to acknowledge that fact.

As much as I hate (not really) to once again blame Liberals, they really are responsible for this one. I may not agree with their message, but I have to give them credit for their dedication and persistence. In face of facts, they are bound and determined to normalize the abnormal in our society.

Let me back up a bit and provide a basic definition as a starting point. According to https://www.dictionary.com/, normal is an adjective meaning “conforming to the standard or the common type; usual; not abnormal; regular; natural.” Pretty obvious, right? Unless you believe the lunatics on the Left. Here’s their definition from https://www.urbandictionary.com/: “a word made up by this corrupt society so they could single out and attack those who are different.” Of course, even they have to follow up with a second definition that actually makes sense, “a statistic based upon a majority.” Or in other words, the common, or usual, or regular standard.

Let’s use a word from their own definition - majority. If something is the norm or the standard, then it must be what the majority of people would consider to be the usual or regular thing. Take for example, the LGBT movement. If less than ten percent of the population is homosexual, then ninety percent, a clear majority, are heterosexual. The transgender population is estimated to be less than a third of a percentage point. (https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/visualization/lgbt-stats/?topic=LGBT#density) Statistically, these people are clearly not the norm, the common or usual standard. And there’s nothing wrong with that. They are a small minority and they are not the norm. So what?

But the Liberals, with their biggest ally, the media, want us to believe that these people are common everyday “normal” folks. Sorry, statistically, they are not. I wrote something a while back (misunderstood by many readers) entitled “Crapping Rainbows.” The point of that particular blog was to show how the media is pushing an agenda to normalize these fringe groups. If you believe the media today, you would think that the LGBT folks make up half the population. They don’t. They are not the common or usual standard. And again, that’s okay.

Why don’t we just accept the obvious? Some people are different. They are rare and unique. You might say individual. And aren’t we all? Maybe it’s time we started accepting people for their individual selves and stopped trying to make them out to be just like everyone else. Let’s stop trying to make everything and everyone “normal” and just learn to appreciate the differences that go with being a part of the human race.