Pandora's Other Box

6 years ago I was informed that there were signs that cancer had invaded my prostate … And how are you? I am not sure as to why I am writing about this now; perhaps the Christmas Season, the memories that always come around at this time of the year, the issues that permeate our daily lives and make it sometimes easier, sometimes harder to get through the day to day routine. That not-soon-to-be-forgotten announcement set my life into a spin which threatened to change it totally. Yet, in the long run, the events and thought processes which have come about have actually changed me as a person and as a thinking entity.  And although I have not really taken a general survey so to speak… I think for the better. -“I think it’s time for you to take out some insurance” said my wife one morning. As things stood, the old policy I had was terminated when our family’s economy had come crashing down a few years before. “Losing the shirt off our backs” fell short as a description of...

It was the original intent of this particular entry to be on a light note…  But I took too long to sit down and write it…  things happened. How can anyone explain, from any possible point of view, what happened at a Connecticut school this past week? I cannot. I think about it and I think about why or how this could happen; How could it be possible? How could a mind be so sick that retribution for an nonexistent  but perceived wrong, can be taken from these innocent children and their teachers? Beyond this… how can an otherwise intelligent person, a teacher herself, could possibly have assault weapons in a home where she knew there was an unbalanced mind?  Even further… how could she be permitted to purchase weapons which, in essence, belong in the hands of Police SWAT teams and army assault units? Having been able to buy these took her life, along with the lives of another 27 people (including her son’s life, the assailant ). Much has been said about ...

Having finally posted, during a flight hiatus, what was written some 5-6 days ago, I come to reflect on today’s traveling habits. Other than finding connectivity. Yes… years ago I was, like so many others were and still are today, a Sky Warrior… this meant that my travels would keep me in airplanes, airports and home-away-from-home hotels at least 60-70 % of my time.  Those were days when travel meant getting away from all immediate surroundings without a trace, if that is what you wanted to do. Distances were real and communication, although good for the times, was very limited in comparison with what is available today for the common traveler, let alone a business one. It was impossible not to compare, all throughout this trip, travel as was then ( 80’s into the late 90’s… OMG!!!! ... That is last century time!!!), with travel as is now.  There is no need to talk about ticket price; this has gone up considerably but, in basic inflationary calculations, the increas...

Well… it’s natural that if I am on a plane… I am high off the ground… Or not? (NOTE) As this was written on my way out, it is now some 5 days old. After I arrived at my destination, it turned out that more often than not my internet connection was simply, not available… So, I sit at the airport back in the States, and post it…  More on my uptake on this trip by the weekend…   It has been a while since yours truly had boarded a flying machine. Years ago these contraptions had sort of become a second home to me, as I flew all over creation in different pursuits… receiving my mail and notices at the different flyer clubs conveniently located, thanks to the friendly airline folk, at the very furthest end of whatever airport you might happen to find yourself in. In preparation for this particular sojourn, I came to learn that all that was done back then via the friendly travel agent ( any of these left???), I can now quickly do from my computer, just showing up at the...

“ Where the Mind is, there is the Treasure ” ... Agnostic Gospel of Mary . It has been a while since the last entry was posted. I have to admit that my time has been taken by several issues; the few moments when I may have been able to sit and write, were few and far between. And, as you know, I may sit at the computer, but the thinking cap may not necessarily be on… Then, in one of Dan Brown’s books (he of “ The Da Vinci Code ”), the above quote caught my attention. It is truly amazing that it really only takes a small spark to light a fire. This particular spark comes after much thinking and much reflection over the last few years. In my last entry, much was made about how coming here began a road to physical healing through long treatments, surgeries, and much caring follow up; how this helped this older and sometimes tired body to come back into the realm of the living. Yet, I am fully aware and convinced that the body is but a shell meant to house a higher being, a s...

Ensconced at the northwest corner of North Carolina and much like an overexposed backbone, there lays the Blue Ridge Mountains … There are quasi mystical stories which have been handed down many generations in these(those?) parts. They are all about the people and the harsh but beautiful environment in which they lived and the way this lifestyle has shaped untold generations of hardy mountain men and women. Beautiful Blue...   On the one side there is the Tennessee land… the land of music and good ol’ Tennessee Bourbon Whiskey… Mr. J. Daniels’ legacy, I believe… On this side is North Carolina with the city of Asheville sitting at the junction corner, much like a guardian of the ways into this general domain… Then, to the north(East) of this corner, lays the sprawl which is West Virginia. This particular area is one of the last bastions, in many ways, of what life was for the mountain families of yore. Full of simplicity and hard work… all wrapped in a heavy shawl of s...

Sometimes having a dream is a good thing.  Sometimes, it becomes a nightmare.   There is one saying that is constantly heard from the very first time one arrives of the shores of this grand country.  And that is that we “all come here to live our dream”. I, along with many thousands of others, had a dream; I had a dream in which I saw my family together, in which those people with whom I had spent the first growing years of my life would all be able to see each other as always we did, to hold each other, to nurture each other, to be there in time of need. When we come to a new country, we are all affected by the drastic changes to our lives. From those who come here via first air class ticket to those who cross the Rio Grande inside the bed of a truck, or those desperate folk who cross the straits floating on an inner tube or even trying to accomplish the impossible feat of swimming it, we all hope to be able to look to the future and the possibility that perh...

Is this an art form which is being lost in today’s electronic world? We get up in  the morning to the sound of whatever noise we chose to put on the “I-Droid” phone which, last night just before we went to sleep, reminded us about what we had to do this morning. Of course, after it beeped and squawked to let us know that a rainstorm was on its way ( which never came ). Sometime after we have a cup of coffee from our automatic coffee grinder-maker, the early morning routine starts with the check up of the mail and assorted messaging services; with the push of a few buttons in our “I-Droid-Tablet-Portable” we go through whatever messages come to our several e-mail addresses and get to see those each service decides are important enough for us to read… the others have gone into that great virtual garbage can on the screen… err, sorry, desktop.  It seems that advertising materials by the truckload are the only things that come now via the “snail-mail”… no wonder the USPS...

Today, it had been my decision to write about something banal and non-confrontational…   Here it was a beautiful day, sunny and warm but not hot… full of light and happy thoughts. So I sit here at the keyboard and try to think about how to start this particular piece…  Well … Fat Chance!!! As I open FB to see what the postings are and what my known universe folks are getting around to doing, I see that several FB friends have posted their views against anything “Republican”… They are very adamant in taking the attitude that as far as they are concerned, if it comes from their man it is saintly word. However, if it comes from the other side, no matter what it is, must be the lying devil in disguise. Well… I cannot agree with this, so I posted something not very flattering ( but easily documented ) about their man and, sure enough, there were immediate messages coming back. Several inquiring about the posting but others, however, trying to browbeat me into taking i...

Not a tale of incest and inbreeding… but almost. There was once this usher who moved into a beautiful big house. He had been entrusted to do so by many of those who stayed outside. This house was no ordinary house, but a very special one, sitting atop a hill and presenting a commanding sight for anyone to see. Those without looked upon it and the usher inside for their well being and guidance. Those within, looked upon those on the outside as sheep to be herded and guided for, after all, theirs was the Usher in the House. In the beginning, the Usher would walk around the halls and rooms and exclaim out loud, for all to hear… “We must clean out all the stuff the people before left strewn about” and the cheers would come, from within and without. Much movement and much to do, many figurines came and went … and Usher would say “My… how many things are yet to be sorted out” … still the cheers would come from within and from without. As time went on, mysterious ongoing(s) ...

After the initial phase of early life, birthdays take on a somewhat different meaning. This week brought me to the beginning of my 67 th year on this earth of ours. Sometimes the accounting method for this kind of thing is questionable… is it FIFO ( first in-first out ) or LIFO ( last in-first out )? … In any event, many years have passed since that glorious morning when in a room at the Spanish Community Hospital in Cienfuegos, Cuba, (Building #4) there came into the world… Ta-Daaaa! … Yours truly. The fateful day, as well as the time and place of its happening, as well as all that surrounds this magnificent event that is “birth” has a bearing on the life of each person. Or so tell us those who deal with numbers, zodiacs and lives. I know I have, somewhere in my bag, one such write out which was sent to me some years ago, by someone who was trying to get me to sign up for a continuing service … or some such. No, I did no sign up, but did keep the chart write out. Thank you....