Vintage radio

I picked up this vintage Zenith radio at a tag sale for $2. It's been on constantly and still runs like a champ.

Prince

Well, we lost another great. Prince-the prolific musician and entrepreneur- died unexpectedly at 57.

Here is why i am chiming in on his death:

He was an amazing, kind, caring and open person. 

He was an amazing musician. His recordings spanned decades and earned him a worldwide reputation.

He was a Jehovah's Witness. Which meant a strict lifesytle, that contradicted some of the themes of his music, but molded him into the disciplined machine that he was. 

I was introduced to Prince's music in 1984. The very first album i ever owned, still have, and am playing as i write this i Purple Rain. 

I received this for my birthday. I had to give away the poster, because my dad thought it was too mature for my ren years. I gave it to an older girl on the school bus. I also had a crush on her. 

We listened to Ourple Rain when my dad, brother and two step vrotgers went camping at Lake Otis. 

It was a cathartic experience, because Prince used the word 'masturbating' in one of the songs. 

The other cathartic experience was that my dad made us chili one fine camping night, and my then nine year old bowels did NOT agree with the spicy, protein enriched fusion. 

I cleared a tent full of family, and basically had to change through three pairs of underwear. 

Anyway, Prince was really awesome, stuck to his guns and rocked the hell out. 

Hearing the 'sermon' at the beginning of 'When Doves Cry' sent a shiver down my spine. 

 

 

another.

I just found out that my older step brother Dale has passed away.

He had lifelong problems that kept him from fully enjoying life, but i always tried to treat him with some semblance of respect. 

He was a wanderer, as i am too.

I just feel really bad for my stepmother,as she did everything she could as a parent, to make him happy. 

This Happiness often eluded him as he moved from job to job, place to place. 

I hope he has finally found some peace for himself, as he has given some part of that peace to those he affected.         

Brussels.

I saw a video of a little girl running with her dad, away from the the carnage. 

Stop misrepresenting your religion, you fools.

You aren't terrorizing anyone. 

Scavenger hunt!

a branch. thanks to fred and betsy!

a big leaf. 

a fire hydrant. 

some bark.

a sewer grate. 

a stump. 

a big rock. 

a big rock. 

us. 

it was nice to take in the fresh air, to find things around our neighborhood and to give jackson a nice walk. 

Embarrassed.

Like many of my fellow citizens, you went to the polls on this day, to cast your vote for the nominee of this great land's highest office. 

Not having any political affiliation, Teri and I decided to march in and figure out where we were headed. 

We both chose a third party. 

There were too many bad apples already making too many promises, so we wanted to let them know that we don't want them.

Something was a little...off when we got to the polling station. Our privacy was put to the test, in a VERY uncomfortable way. 

First, being undecided, we had to tell them which ballot OUT LOUD that we were taking as a party. Then,we went to the next person,who we told again, and they handed us our huge, color coded ballot sheet.

They were: Red for republican

                  Blue for democrat

                  White for independent 

                  Green for green/rainbow

Now, i'm sure that this was done, as to not lend to the confusion of the voter, BUT it left the rest of our asses hanging in the wind.

After marking in our ballots, we walked over to sign out. That turned into a debacle as well, because the person crossed off the letter 'U' next to our names, and changed them to another letter!

I'm pretty sure that was completely illegal, as I am still undecided and can change my mind come November.

This doesn't help that we had to:

1) announce a party affiliation, THEN have our undecided status changed.

2) had to announce and show everyone around us which way we voted.

3) were made to feel very uncomfortable by voting the way we did.

But one take away is that our two votes (which led to a whopping 0.6% of the total for Mass.) were sacrificed, so the red and blue clowns could be shown that we want to be counted as one person.  

And, that there are alternatives to their hypocritical status quo, campaign money machines.

Fuck the greed machine and the greed heads. Fuck the empty promises and fuck the electoral system as a whole. 

Because.

Because I drive a compact car-albeit one that is an almost baby blue- does NOT mean that I am an environmentalist 'tree hugger' or am anti oil.

And, I don't care about your big truck (except for the fact that you are obviously compensating for something) and don't need you to gun your engine next to me at a stop light. 

Or, like last week literally run me off the road because I mistakingly cut you off?

I own this car, because it is cheap to maintain and holds it's value. That's where it begins and ends.

I don't want the thing I drive to rule my life, especially my wallet. 

YOUR big ass truck must coast you a lot per month in payments, tires, gas and that lift kit probably wasn't cheap, there king of the road. 

I owned an massive Ford F-150 at one time. It was a burden. 

If I lived in a more northern climate, I'd sure as hell own a 4X4. But here, nope. 

BUT, if you feel threatened by me, then I guess I'm accomplishing something by calling out your being nothing more than a man boy with your toy. With a car. A fucking car. 

So look down on me, I win. Becuase this little thing is threatening your already fragile state of mind. I'll just keep saving money while you look for the next trophy to prove your manliness.

Just because I don't like seeing people being hurt, becuase I hate war and because I think we should've evolved away from war after nuclear weapons were introduced. Just becuase I believe in conservation, everyone's right to be heard and the freedoms to express one's self fully, DOES NOT make me 'another one of them liberals from Massachusetts.'

I am an undeclared voter. I was independent, but filed. I don't like this system, why would I affiliate with any certain faction? 

So, put away your weak need for categorization and give me the freedom to think, drive, vote, act, and breathe to my self. 

Just because I wrote this, doesn't mean it's about or for you. 

Tall.

I wasn't picked to have today off. I lost to a coin toss. It didn't matter. 

My 401k lost $6000 over two weeks, but it is slowly getting back on track. I had nothing to do with this. It's only money. 

I needed tires for my car, so I have to skimp for a month. Whatever. My car will handle better.

I've been eating healthier, but. The weight  is coming off slowly. I feel better for trying, and have more energy.

I don't drink as much alcohol. It feels really good to feel real good. 

Even though being drunk is one of my favorite feel goods, I can still feel good without it. 

It's all Guinness or wine for me. 

I try to write down positive things I see and hear about, quotes and small stories.

There are only a few, but they were other people's exercises in tolerance and patience. 

These things are a culmination of this month's work to level out and calm the hell down. 

The combination of cutting down on drinking and eating better, have paid off in spades. 

If you aren't well mentally, nothing else will be well either. 

That is why I stand tall now, and walk with my chin up.