Campaign

The presidential campaign ion 2016 is the ugliest ever.  Never have I heard or read of any candidate as vulgar, aggressive, twisting facts, ignorant of facts, egotistical, and power-hungry, as I have of D.T.

He reminds me in his speeches so much of Hitler who bamboozled so many with his rousing speeches, talks of greatness for Germany, without regard to reality.
 And just as Hitler, D.T. is truly a rabble-rouser, bringing  out the worst in those people who already lean toward nastiness and violence. If he is elected, it will be the first time that I will have no respect for the President and the office he holds. And if he believes that bullying other nations the way he bullies his opponents now, will work, he is in error. He might just, though, make us an enemy of many of those countries.
To make a country great via his ideas only will make it decline in reputation.  And if he means greatness in wealth and money acquisition-  even that won't work, because we need the rest of the world to trade and deal with to gain wealth.

However, D.T. does in a way represent the moral values that the US for some decades now aspired. People believe the Constitution gives them the right to be, do, speak and act as they want to, with no restraints in actions and morality.  That is not how the Constitution  was meant to be.

And at the end, any country that loses its morality will eventually decline.  History has proven this over and over again.
Yet, something no one talks about is the fact that not only each person, but also each country eventually has to face the Lord and account for its actions.  We truly should fear that.

America Today in 2015 and 2019

We have imported, to my exasperation, the trinity threats of IS,Taliban and insurgency into a great part of our Congress.

Of course, being honorable people, we do not use guns, explosives and swords to cut off heads. We use the more genteel weapon of bullying.

Schools all across this country are horrified when children suffer under bullying tactics and attempt to come up with deterrents and rules curtailing and punishing such behaviors.

Not so the Congressional members. They elevated their bullying to such levels that the “slogan” loving public adopted these tactics, chewing them up voraciously and regurgitating them without any personal thought processes. Less is even their knowledge of background or history which apply to facts. For instance – with relish the public and their congressional 'guides' talk of our President as weak. Yet, no one remembers that on the day of his initial election in 2008, before he ever set foot into the White House and did his first official job, Republicans promised they would vote against anything the President would present to Congress. It takes enormous strength for any person to persevere under such conditions for two terms. Weak – no.

Another slogan repeated by the same crowd: The foreign world has no respect for him.

Yet these same people do not even know the man on the street in other countries. They don't talk to foreigners, don't read foreign press. They don't even know that those people often are more informed about this country's politics than the American citizens. There is no lack of respect for our President, but there is for our Congress. I have been asked the question, why do we tolerate such behavior. My answer is because the people are so gullible they allow leaders to do the thinking for them.

These foreigners are as frustrated as I am about the difficulties we present toward fighting a common foe outside our borders, and at bringing about more cohesion world-wide.

Another example of our public blindness and the majority in Congress avoiding facts: Blaming our President on the present state of affairs in Iraq, Afghanistan and in part of Africa – power of the Taliban, IS, insurgencies.

These people forget that the US was the aggressor nation when we attacked Iraq and for years ignored to fight a real fight in Afghanistan, a justified war. They forgot that during that interval the Taliban had time to regroup itself and, in addition, to study and learn the value of suicide bombings, which the factions in Iraq, once they had a more 'benign' government, built up into a successful business.

And the sparsity of world history in this country did not let Americans grasp the fact that the Islamic world never has and still does not want to adopt western type rules, governments and customs. And that the individual citizen on the street has very little input, as the interpretation of their religious culture provides for their submission.

As to ending of the war and removal of our troops, Americans forget, so does Congress, that this is what the citizens wanted at the time of the President's election in 2008. They were tired of the money spent on the wars and the loss of lives. So, how can they fault the President now for doing just that.

President Obama was a man who wanted peace and diplomacy as working tools, not lashing out and slaying the dragon at first sight. Yes, peacefulness does appear as weakness, but yet it is a greater strength than warmongering. But it does take time. Also, in America's case, we are paying now for having broken our benign reputation as a peaceful and respectful country by having crossed the threshold of peace to an unprovoked war and put ourselves on the same level as those groups we now battle.

Forgotten is the history that President Obama was handed, the most rotten situation, as well as a Congress whose ego still hurt from the 2008 political trouncing, and thus became another enemy within our own borders the President had to contend with.

It is sad to see that greed for power, self-importance and money, as well as ugliness in expression, have become the idols of this country. It is no longer the land that I first saw and admired in the 1950s, the country that was a fair and honorable winner in WWII and that I respected to the utmost.

Some years have past and some administrations too.  And today, in 2019, we have a split country because of the political situation.
Our president, Donald Trump, is not the fittest person to rule a country.  Lacks much of the knowledge economically, financially, geographically, lacks  world economic understanding as to trade and needs of not only the US but other countries, and he is an isolationist, wanting the US to only look at herself and do what is advantageous for the US, regardless of world ramifications.  He is often vulgar, very outspoken, speaking the language of the people of the street, which makes him appealing to all his supporters, as he seems to be one of them.  He rules on the spur of the moment. Whatever comes into his mind he will say and often do, even though utterly inappropriate. The worst part is, he may be re-elected for a second term, because his supporters, even though slightly in the minority, but because of the US system of elections, not by popular count, he simply has to focus on those states that have the most electors, and that will bring a win. Our electorial system leaves much to be desired, since it leaves chosen electors in each state for the most part free to vote as they wish, not as the majority of the State's population wishes.  So it is not an effective popular vote for a president in the US.

This country also is usurped by murder and mayhem, having become increasingly worse year by year.  It is not the US that I knew from the early 50s.  The Book "The Ugly American" published decades ago, now not only applies to a few individuals, who present a snobbish picture of the US to the rest of the world, it has become literally a true title for the US today.  And the voices of those who want to bring about a good change, are being outshouted by "The Ugly American".

                                                            The Beauty of the land. Let us learn from it.

Gallery of Clouds and Sky

When I recently read of a gentleman who photographed a tree, standing singly in an open field, for one year each day once, I thought it such a great idea - as those pictures were absolutely captivating, with the environment (ground) changing over time so much, more than the tree itself.  However, I live in a wooded area, mainly pines, where such changes are not that noticeable daily, so I wondered what I could use. As I mused, sitting on my deck, and by habit looked at the limited amount of sky I could see in one direction due to the many tall trees all around the property, I focused on this one spot and decided to observer the sky daily to see what I could discover. I assumed there would be many changes - and there are. I photograph at about the same time each early evening, i.e. right after sunset. And the sky is a miracle of art via the clouds. No two days, even moments are the same. After I take a shot and I wait a few seconds it already looks slightly different. So a few pictures are taken on the same evening, but a minute or less apart. At this point the pictures extended over 12 days. I hope I can do this for a year until next August 2016.
I have become so captivated by the clouds and sky and different hues, that I find myself taking pictures in other spots too, and have some wonderful shots. As I drive along my rural roads I love to see all the various formations of clouds, blues sky, grey sky, sometimes a mix of all, that I wish I could photograph all of it. It is like a natural movie daily, and does not cost anything.

Following are a few shots taken on a walk from my house down the road for 2/10 of a mile.

The street scene does not show the various sky views, since the camera does not pick up (not my cheap one) the coloring in the distance unless aimed at it.  On my return way, the sky was totally clear of all the clouds and this blue.
Yes, life can be fascinating when we look at the things right near us.  We don't have to go far or travel to many places to be taken in by beauty.

These were taken on 9/22/15 @ 6:06, 6:06, 6:07 PM. The lower the sun went beyond view the wider the reddish tinge spread.  I have become so fascinated with the sky that I look at it wherever I am, and wish I could photograph it all the time. A changing wonder.

Local, state and federal institutions all in a tizzy about the horrendous shooting incidents across the country and in their home districts.  Forming panels, groups, etc., to come up with solutions, besides adding more police.  - Even (finally) call on parents to know where their kids are, what they do, who their friends are.
But it won't work, because parents are either too involved in their own lives and work, or too permissive. (Yes, there are exceptions, but the great number are not exceptions.) Yet, the solution is so easy, and costs nothing, and can be done by each individual where ever one is.

Ask Christ to come into your life (via his Spirit), and then stay with Him, by daily talk and thanks with and to Him.  He protects us from evil. And also from doing evil.  It is so simple and so peaceful a life.

If everyone did it, there would be no violence, neither on TV nor in daily life, no hate, no exploitation of our sexual being, but a simple, clean life. Even poverty would not be a problem, because we would have what we need and guided in whatever we need to do to make a living and caring for fellow man.

But neither peoples of this country, nor any other in the world will do so, because every one thinks they know what they want in their lives and they do not want God's plan for us be their guide.  So, the few of us who walk with the Lord, can only feel sad for all the masses who willingly expose themselves to evil.

My new Friends

A new neighbor moved into the lot down a ways with his two horses, to my delight.  There were horses there in the past, but had been gone for a long while now, and I really missed them and my "chats" with them. So this new neighbor came with his horses, and even acquired another one after a while.  And I could not wait to make friends with them.

When I first approached the fence the two original ones, Blaze (male) and Rosebud (female) were hesitant. Even though they are used to people, as they are being ridden, but I was a stranger, right along with Tipsy, my dog, who even barked at them at first.  But after a couple of visits they trusted me and came up to the fence as soon as they saw me.  By now, even when they see Tipsy first, and have not heard my voice from the distance, they will come to the fence knowing I will be there shortly.

What I noticed instantly though was that Rosebud (and I had not learned their names until much later, just called them "horsies") the female was dominant.  Blaze the male, even though older, would be pushed aside by Rosebud when I petted him.  So he learned quickly to retreat, as soon as she came up.  I would have to go to the fence a bit further down, to try to pet him, before she would catch up with us.

Finally I decided to take a treat, either apple or carrot, and of course, they loved that.  But again, it was impossible to give Blaze anything, because Rosebud would simply shove his head away with hers, and hog the food.  So I learned to have a bite in each hand, and reaching to either of them at the same time.  So Rosebud  being busy with her chew, did not have time to bother Blaze as he got his.  But Blaze never came up as close to the fence, as Rosebud did. It was often hard to give the food to him, because I could not reach in far enough.  So I learned to toss it to him.  And he learned that that was a way that Rosebud did not bother him and yet he was not being neglected. He realized he was as important to me as Rosebud was. Therefore, after a while, he decided he could get to me, by running up first.  And it worked, at least for a minute or so, when Rosebud caught up.

Then came Dixie.  She was a bit shy at first.  According to the owner, she had not been treated too well in her previous home, therefore the eye problem, inflammation all around the lid. But after a couple of visits, she too became relaxed.  And now I observed something even more interesting - she had no problem with Blaze being there, so generally, Blaze would stand on one side of her and Rosebud on the other.  And Rosebud did not pre-empt the food from Dixie, she recognized her as her slightly superior pasture mate, even though Rosebud was older.  But there was a calmness, and yet a strong sense of competence in Dixie that made all the difference in their hiarchal setting.  And Blaze slowly learned to come closer to the fence again realizing that he was not threatened by anyone now.

One time though, we all jumped.  That was when I happened to slightly touch the top wire of the electr. fence. We all jumped back, and, of course, the horses were momentarily spooked. It took a while for them to come back near the fence.  A longer while for Blaze to do so.

One day, however, Blaze really got the upper hand, and seemed to have relished it.  After our visit, he decided to leave the fence first, but this time, running full tilt toward the back of the area, then make a big circle along the entire fenced in enclosure.  Naturally, having become curious, Rosebud and Dixie followed him, but he did not let them catch up with him.  Suddenly he began to make the circles smaller and smaller, until he wound up at the gate-end of the front fence in a tight twirl, and the two ladies still following his pattern.  Yet they never ran into each other.  It was quite a ballet by that time.  Eventually, Blaze stopped, looked toward the road, and so did the other two, standing closely together by now. It was a sight to see, the relish Blaze had in goading his dominant ladies for a change.

When I am out of food, I always say that is all, no more, stretch out my empty hand to let them lick it, and they understand.  But they will not walk away, they are quite happy to simply entertain me with their company, until I tell them that Tipsy and I have to go home.  Then they usually walk away, but do at times, return to watch us disappear down the road.

I also noticed that the owner, having met him eventually and talked to him, does not leave the fence charged, knowing I treat the horses.  That was very nice, and we all appreciate it.

My immediate neighbor's dog has lately decided to join us in our walks.  And being very laid back and placid, as well as curious, not worried about any dangers, got so intrigued by the horses being near the fence, that he stuck his head in and nuzzled Dixie's nose, Tipsy joining him, while Dixie nuzzled them, audibly inhaling the odor to obviously make herself remember these critters' ID.

As of spring 2016 the horses are gone. Their owner died and they were sold. I miss them daily when I walk up the road and don't see them on the property. 

Memories

In my country a warm summer is not very long and starts later than here in N.C. As a child it was the  most exciting thing to experience, go swimming.  In May we would try to shed our long stockings and have knee highs, or even short socks, if Mom did not catch us rolling down our long stockings.  Daily we watched the skies and hoped for more and warmer sun.  Come June, there were those days that became warm enough to go to the open air pool, the only place to go. When younger, Mom had to take me, and I had to fit my hopes into her work schedule. We would go to the streetcar stop, waiting for the #2 Streetcar, which would get us to the end stop where the pool was. There was a long line at the ticket counter, and finally we were inside, went to the dressing area, stuffed our clothes into the bags, and then went outside to the pool, which was crowded.  But Mom made sure I was not accosted. Once, when a bully pushed me into the low end of pool, she came to my rescue giving the boy a dressing down.  I learned to swim with a aid of a metal oblong canister, metal, light weight, chained around my waist, after Mom had taught me the basic swim move of a breast stroke. Eventually I dared to jump off 1 meter diving board. And now I was a swimmer.  After I reached about 10 yrs I was allowed to go by myself and with girl friend to the pool.  It was grand.  But the season was short, and even in June, July and August there were many rain days when we could not go. In September it was usually too cool and the pool closed. 
As an older teenager, having joined the Life Guard Club, we spent many summer hours at another open air pool, which at that time was really only a backwater of the Rhine River, separated from the river by a dam. And we often swam in the Rhine River, crossing to the other side. That required to gauge the speed of the river's flow, and walking up-river on our side, before going in to cross, so that we could come out opposite our usual sunning spot on our side.  The same on our return trip, walking back upstream, to come back out where we needed to. If we overshot, we had to walk back to our pool area on our side also.
Some of the guys would swim up to the low floating cargo tenders, towed by tugboats, often three of them behind a tug. And the guys would climb up on the tenders, and further upstream jump back in and swim back to the pool area of the river. I never did, it was way too dangerous for my taste. 
But even today, on a warm sunny day, when I smell the water of a lake or river it makes me think of those wonderful, exciting years of having the special treat in our short summers of swimming. 

Memories of when...

Roller skates were something I always thought to be fun to have as a child. But growing up just before and in and after the WWII years, that was a hard thing to obtain.  Not many kids had skates. When I asked my mother she told me that she could not get any and besides it was not something I needed, I could get hurt.
So the only time I would get on skates, was when a friend from my church youth group let me use hers after one of our youth meetings when I walked with her to her home on my way home.  I hung on to the house walls or fences in front of the little gardens of some the homes.  I never had enough time to learn to skate.

I did have a girl friend in my own neighborhood who had a pair of skates.  But when I asked her to let me use them, she only would give me one skate. I would 'proudly' skate on it, pushing off with the other foot, up and down in front of the house on the sidewalk.  But after a couple of minutes she wanted it back.  So I never learned anything there either. 

Ice skates I did get one year, sent to me from the US by a relative; they had boots attached to them. But they were a tight fit.  I did walk alright in them on our rugs in the home. But on an icy pond that winter, which had a rail going around it, I hung on to the rail, because my toes hurt so much from the tight fit of the shoes that I did not dare to do any "free-skating".

And that was the end of that.  I never put them on again.

In the years later when these things could be purchased easily, I had another life and interests, and so I never learned to skate.

Until decades later, when I met roller derby girls, and plan to attend some of their games, that I wished I could at least have the knowledge of what it feels like to skate, either roller skate or ice skate, since I am also an ice hockey fan, and admire those players how secure they feel on the ice with their skates.