2006-2007

I am not going to get on my soapbox, but I am appalled at the people who want to be the next President. I wonder if ... in the old days ... there were any honest politicians or Presidents. I realize that all people are people ... but I wish there were someone who was NOT a professional politician who could get elected to office and serve the "needs and wants" of his constituents. We were supposed to be a Republic ... but that quickly fell by the wayside. Now we are a nation of poor and middle class dummies ruled by an elite .. hell we aught to have a King or a Queen. I know that if we got a free thinking President who had morals, intelligence, common sense and all the other accoutrement's of a great and wonderful head of state ... the Congress and the over-powerful Judiciary would just crucify him. And that is to say nothing of our bleeding heart, liberal media. Politicians believe that they have the RIGHT and the NEED to tell all us "Common" folk how to live our lives and what to think. Whatever happened to the notion of "... by the people and for the people ..."? Am I in the minority on this? I realize that there are folks out there who do not have the same views as I do about guns, abortion, immigration, gays and lesbians, government handouts to other countries, the United (stupid) Nations, et al. But, ... can't we discuss those things like adults? And what about saddling EVERY bill that gets on the floor of congress with pork barrel items that have nothing what so ever to do with the bill. You have to vote down a perfectly good piece of legislation because some asshole has inserted a piece of shit into it which doesn't affect the bill, but pads the payrolls and pockets of cronies and patrons and people back home. That is BULL SHIT. Is there NO morality extant in this country? I mean, shit, if you want to spend a billion dollars on some stupid project back home ... place a bill on the floor and lets vote on your stupid idea. Don't attempt to 'hide' it in some other bill. I have been thinking seriously of leaving this country with my Social Security and living in some third world environment that is somewhat free of such high minded government interference. Maybe I shall go to India with friend Marla or Mexico with friend Fred. Canada is too damn cold, I'd have to head south.

That was in 2006 ... it is now the nippy Monday morning that is the beginning of 2007.

Ms. Hilda is sleeping in and I have just returned from the Safeway (grocery store) with mushrooms and cheese for our omelets which I will whip up momentarily. We took a small chance on unknown quantities and spent New Year's Eve at Post 36 of the American Legion. We ate a nice dinner there and heard ... what we both described as ..... the most enjoyable band that we have had the pleasure of listening to in decades. They are called Desert Knights, and are basically an 'oldies' country band. They play some old rock n' roll, really good blues, et al, but (I suspect) the environment, age group, and musical tastes of the attendees dictated the play list somewhat. They are a group of 3 men, probably ranging in age from mid 40's to early 60's ... Kenny on bass and harmonica, Ray on drums, and Jim (Dr James Keleher, a local chiropractor) on guitar. Their harmonies are excellent, all three sing lead at times, and reminds me somewhat of the type of harmonies that TomPall and the Glaser Brothers had in their day. Hilda and I had planned to make an early evening of it and ring in the beginning of 2007 in our side by side recliners. However, we so thoroughly enjoyed the music that we stayed until after midnight. They played songs that I had not heard in years and I loudly (and badly) sang along with almost every tune that they played. I laid my cane aside and danced several dances with Ms Hilda, ... for which I shall pay today with increased pain in my right knee. WE certainly look forward to spending evenings with them and their music in the future.

I hope that everyone of you has a glorious and happy and event-filled 2007.

Love From the Desert from Antonio and Ms Hilda

Peace, Love and Hugs

Midway

Midway between X-mas and NewYear's Day ... the "rest period" I guess. My job ends tomorrow, unemployment starts next week. Still have interviews scheduled, maybe something will turn up. Anyway ... ourdesert weather was nice (mid 70's) for a couple of days and today ... rain and snow flurries. Tomorrow, colder and drier .. highs in the low 50's. Winter rears it's ugly head again. Not as bad as Denver I guess .. or other places east of here, but pretty bad for the desert.

Later in the evening ..... watching the U of A's PAC~10 basketball opener against Cal. We are killing them right now, playing pretty well.

I hope that everyone has a good New Year and that you are surrounded by love and that you give love. If I have found out nothing else in my 61 years on earth, I have found that giving love and receiving love back are not always present in every life or every relationship. When it is ... it's great. But when you love someone who doesn't reciprocate ... it hurts. And when someone loves you and you cannot fully commit ... that hurts too.

My wishes for you all are many and I wish that only good things should befall you.

Lovefrom the desert.

Christmas Night

It is Christmas night and I am readying myself for shower and bedtime ... work tomorrow. I am really tired, just got back from my lady's house ..... 5 hours of LIFETIME Christmas tear jerker movies. Gawd, they'll take it out of a man. I had good food though, and Hilda curled up next to me ... wasn't a total loss I guess.

I spent everything I had for Christmas gifts, made everyone happy... that made me happy. I even got a gift.

I will watch a little NFL and then shower and bed. I certainly hope that you all had a great holiday and gave and received love. That's the name of the game you know.

I have a sign on my door for the last three days that says Happy Birthday Lord .. my only holiday decoration. But I did assist Hilda in lighting up her house .. both interior and exterior.

Have a great week .. and wish me luck in my job hunting.

Love from the desert

PEACE

Christmas Eve

It is Christmas Eve afternoon and I am already exhausted. We finished wrapping all the presents this AM and they are at Hilda's. We were up late last night, watched two videos ... Miami Vice, and the one with Nicolas Cage about 9-11 and the World Trade Towers ... can't remember the name right now, but it was a good flick. I took Hilda home about noon today, came back to my place and I am finishing cooking the ham. I have deviled eggs in the fridge covered with Saran wrap. I will go back to Hilda's about 1900, and take the goodies with me. They (we) will open the gifts at midnight ... not the same as I was brought up, but it will let me sleep-in and laze around the apartment some tomorrow.

I hope that everyone out there has a great Christmas Day and a great holiday season.

Nearly Christmas

Tuesday 19 Dec:
We (Hilda and moi') went shopping, again, tonight and then to the French Quarter for dinner .... fried oysters Po' Boys, crawfish etoufee, hush puppies, and Bass Ale. Thank you Ms Hilda.

Actually heard some "good" Christmas music on the way home ... courtesy of KXCI ... 'Old Toy Trains' by Roger Miller, 'Christmas in Luckenbach', 'All I want for Christmas is You', 'Mama Said Santa Can't Stay' and others. I may get in the spirit in spite of myself.

I have two job interviews tomorrow (and am working 8 hours) ... tis the season I guess.

Wednesday 20 Dec.
Didn't get back to writing last night, sorry. I am watching the U of A play Memphis in basketball ... the game is here in town. Eating home-made soup and having a glass of wine. Wrapping some small presents during breaks in the action (large gifts were killed by the fuel pump problem in the Buick last weekend). But ... it;'s the love and the thought ...right?

I have been sending out a personal letter to someone who is important to me, and a Christmas card.... I had to say a personal hello.

For the rest of you... Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, PEACE ... and Love from the desert.

One week before Christmas

Well. it is Sunday afternoon ... actually almost dark (1700 hrs) .... and I have arrived home after taking Ms Hilda home. I took her X-Mas shopping today. I was supposed to buy some things for my loved ones also, but Friday I had to have my Buick towed to the repair shop ... wouldn't start. Cost me $700 to fix it, which (as usual) I could ill afford. But, since I had been saving for Christmas, I had the money. It was the fuel pump ... which is/was in the gas tank ... and it had to be replaced. It took Friday afternoon and most of Saturday to troubleshoot. I have had the problem off and on for a couple of months. It would pick a time and it wouldn't start. After you waited a while and started it, it would start like a champ for a week or so. However, when it started, no one could find a/the reason for the non-start. They tried everything at BrakeMax and could find nothing wrong. Then, when I went to pick it up ... it happened ... they tested it then and found that the fuel pump was only creating 18 psi of pressure and it should have been 50 psi. Earlier, it had been getting over 50 psi. So, they located the problem, but it wiped me out financially. Oh well ... tis the season.

I really love buying stuff and giving stuff to other people (Christmas or not) even though I have never had the knack of accepting gifts easily. I feel so uneasy, uncomfortable and undeserving whenever anyone gives me anything. Anyway, I love the feelings that are extant this time of year. I do ... REALLY ... hate the commercialism, constant Christmas music 24-7 and the usage of Santa, et all to sell everything from toys, to automobiles, to fast food, to farm supplies, to mattresses. I also wonder why the IDEAL Christmas is (and in my memory always has been) New England in the snow, where Grandma and Grandpa have a farm (where no work ever needs to be done) and everyone comes with tons of presents and they all ride in one horse sleighs ... etc. ad infinitum. Those places do not exist and probably never have. Madison Avenue has done amazing things to this time of year.

By the way ... are mattresses ON SALE all day, every day over the entire course of the year??? We have Sleep America, Denver Mattress, and many others here in Tucson and they are on the radio every day talking about their sales. You have all the holidays covered with sales, the special purchase sales, the factory rebate sales, the owner-is-on-vacation sale, the owner's-dog-is-on-vacation sale, and every other conceivable reason for a sale. And EVERY dealer has the GUARANTEED lowest prices EVERY DAY. They will (each of them) beat any competitor's price at any time ... how do they all do that?

Well, I must get to Sunday Night Football (at least until the Uof A basketball game starts at 2000).

I sincerely hope that every one of you has a happy Christmas season and a better year than ever in 2007. I wish you friends, family and love ... both given and received. I hope that you are content with what you have and grateful for the life that you are living.

Peace to all and love from the desert !!

Guns .. again

I have caught some flak about my post with the "catch-phrases" about guns and gun ownership. I keep hearing the words ... "guns kill people or people with guns kill people". If we took guns away from everyday people, then (I feel) that only criminals and dishonest people would have weapons. Any laws or enforcements that we have, or could pass, would have no effect on those persons acquiring and having weapons. I am against normal people getting murdered, as are all other responsible persons. But, ... as man has been killing man with everything that could/can be used for as long as man has existed ... I feel as though gun ownership, knife ownership, baseball bat ownership and any other heavy blunt object / sharp object ownership should not be infringed upon. BUT ... if one person kills another, he also dies. And NOT after 30 years of haggling by the defense attorneys and the ACLU inspired bleeding-heart crazies.

Fantasies Haiku

the Loch Ness Monster,
the Bermuda Triangle,
all on my T.V.

Oregon's Bigfoot,
Lake Champlain's lake monster, Champ,
Nepal's own Yeti

the Bimini road
visitors from outer space
Pyramid riddles

Atlantis sinking
the vikings in New England
the whole Mormon faith

can any be real?
or are people mistaken?
are they just hoaxes?

God, I love The History Channel / Discovery / the Travel Channel, et al. I am glued to these and other subjects ..... like:
the DiVinci Code,
the Knights Templer,
Secrets of the Masonic Lodge,
inside Mexico's Pyramids

These are my reality shows ... or non-reality shows, whatever. I am a student of History, as are many of my friends. We are all aware of the RE-DISCOVERY of many elements of history and the "discovery" of things that could not exist such as the Mountain Gorilla and/or the celocanth. Call me strange ... but it's better than sitting and listening to Christmas music all day. My favorite radio channel here in Tucson is now calling itself the Christmas Music Channel and another says "our gift to you" MORE Christmas music every day. Thanks, but no thanks.

Well, it is bed time ... hopefully I will not dream of Christmas music, but of unexplored phenomena and things beyond belief.

Peace

Clothes, style etc.

O.K., I am on a (small) soapbox.

Do some people in this world dress funny? On purpose?

I am not the highest of style/trend setters extant, but ... some observances.

I saw a lady today ... shall I say "hippie"? There are many here in the southwest that dress in that 'bargain basement' style (although the clothes and other accoutrements may cost many $$$). This lady had on heavy green socks with Berkenstock (sp) sandals, ... long, loose, mutilcolored cotton dress, .... an overly large shapeless sweater and a knit cap of the "60's" style. She was driving a year old Volvo (must have had a few bucks) and her 8-10 year old daughter was dressed very much like the mom but with an over abundance of tie-dye. Do they think that this 'uniform' makes them something else?

Now ... forget the "Goth" look extant in teenagers, the baggy shorts-underwear showing style of the younger generation. More about that stuff later. I am talking "grown-ups".

Is there a store or other retail outlet out there that I don't visit / haven't visited that specializes in trailer trash clothes? I seriously believe that I haven't seen any of these 'trailer trash' clothes in any place that Hilda and I have shopped. You know .. the leopard skin blouses, tight black capri pants, bangle bracelets, etc., (big hair stuff) ... did the fashion train crash or did some folks get off too early?

And men .... dressing like Larry the Cable Guy, complete with white belly hanging over jeans that should have a 2 inch larger waist. Or old guys with baldheads and gray ponytails and Grateful Dead Tie Dyed Tee's. Or people in cowboy hats who have no idea how to wear them. You can look at someone in a cowboy hat nd know instantaneously whether they ... as the bumper stickers ays ... "just found the hat", or is a real hat person.

And the 'younger' generation. All young men want to dress like black teenagers. Baggy jean shorts that hang well below their waists, boxer shorts evident to the world, shirts whose only decoration is a Brand Name, Basketball shirts and shorts with the "overpaid athlete" of your choice's name on the back. And "very expensive " sneakers with 8" of laces trailing behind on the ground. Does anyone wear 'Dockers', other types of slacks, ?suits?, dresses? ..... Oh-h-h for the old days.

O.K., I am done, have a great week.

PEACE and LFTD

FIREARMS REFRESHER COURSE

I did not write this, and I do not usually post to the BLOG things that I receive in my
"normal " e-mail. But .... I have to post this, as I believe in it.
Love from the desert .... PEACE

1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.
3 Colt: The original point and click interface.
4. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.
5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?
6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.
7. "Free" men do not ask permission to bear arms.
8. If you don't know your rights you don't have any.
9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
10. The United States Constitution (c) 1791. All Rights reserved.
11. What part of "shall not be infringed" do you not understand?
12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the others.
13. 64,999,987 firearms owners killed no one yesterday.
14. Guns only have two enemies: rust and politicians.
15. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.
16. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.
17. 911 - government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.
18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.
19. Criminals love gun control -- it makes their jobs safer.
20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.
21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.
22. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.
23. Enforce the "gun control laws" we ALREADY have, don't make more.
24. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.
25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.
26. "A government of the people, by the people, for the people..."