I wouldn't vote for me

I have been silent lately.  There are two reasons for this.  First of all, I was on vacation, during which I attended my college reunion (Go Navy!).  Secondly, no one in the political world is behaving the way I want them to.  This means that I can either attack all of them or I'll just hang my head and cry.

I am going to go with the crying option.

I see this woman, Christine O'Donnell during a debate and think, "Really?  This is the best we can do?"  I think I could find a better candidate at a Hooters.  She doesn't know the first thing about the constitution.  She thinks the earth is 6,000 years old, created during God's "Busy Week."  She thinks that masturbation will send you to hell and the fable of Adam and Eve should be taught in school.  She thinks her best selling point is "I am just like you."  I'll tell you right now that I would make a terrible politician.  If her slogan is accurate, then she is off my list of Cute Girls I Want to See In Office.

Both sides have gone so negative that they should have to post viewer warnings before the ad airs.

Here are my guidelines for voting:

1. If you are in office now, I will vote you out.
2. If you go negative, I will vote against you.
3. I will not vote for someone that is trying to "buy" the office.
4. If you tell me to vote for you because you go to church, I will vote the other way.
5. If you stay above the fray and tell me about yourself, I will listen and be inclined to support you.
6. Party affiliation does not matter.
7. I need to trust you to do what YOU think is right.
8. If Fox news supports you, I will not.
9.  I will not vote for someone that is clearly insane.

Right now, the most interesting candidate is the guy running on the platform of "The Rent is Too Damn High."  This guy is great.  I would not vote for him due to rule number 9 above.

I noticed the military was going to allow gays to openly enlist.  I immediately felt relief.  It's like we finally grew up.  I understand that this has since been changed.  Apparently, Obama wants congress, not the courts, to change this rule.  He is probably right.

On the subject of Gays - the cub scouts booted out a gay dad.  I understand that the cub scouts are a "club" and within their rights to do this.  However, it seems bigoted to me. This is like kids on the playground not letting one of the children play because he is Jewish or too tall or left handed.  My son was in scouts for a while.  It turned out to be an organization dedicated to selling popcorn and cookies outside of the local grocery stores.  That's not the way I remembered it.  He would ask me when they would do something fun.  I kept saying, "soon."  Eventually, I gave up and let him drop out.  In 2 years, they had one overnight camping trip and hundreds of hours of cookies selling.

Debe posted a picture of a pig we once had years ago.  Her name was Sweet Pea.  This pig was smart.  I used to try and come up with ways to keep the dog food out of her reach.  I would hammer away at some contraption in the garage.  All the while, she would sit there next to me watching.  Almost as soon as I said, "There, she will never figure out this one," she would be into the food.  Once she actually pushed stuff over to make a stairway up to where the food was.  She could have passed college entrance exams if she knew there would be food involved.

I am in Cleveland today.  I haven't had a weekday at home since October 7th.  I will get home by noon tomorrow so that counts as a partial day.  Next week, I'm off to Chicago for a week.  There is some work there for me to do.

Also, I have a world to save and that seems like a good place to start.

Up, up and away...

j

Lessons For Me

Every now and then, I find myself overwhelmed.

This always mystifies me.  It does so for two main reasons.  First of all, I tend to be very confident in my own ability to "handle" things.  It doesn't matter if that is true or not; just so long as I believe it's true.  Secondly, it's never the big stuff that seems to make my load suddenly too heavy to bear.

Take right now for example.  I am at the airport, heading off to Washington D.C. where I will meet up with my wife for a week of Bliss.  A week from tomorrow, I will have my USNA 30th class reunion and we'll watch Navy beat up on SMU.

So why do I feel to overwhelmed?  It could be that vacations are simply hard work.  I think that is part of it.  I know how to do my job - it's NOT doing my job that is confounding.  Vacations are like climbing onto a wooden ship and heading off into unexplored territory - hoping I remembered to pack enough oranges to stave off scurvy.

I also think my mind/body or soul, knows that everything is going to be just fine so none of my spare energy packs have been activated.  When something Big comes along, I can see it and my whole world jumps into action.  No problem.  It's the small stuff though that seeps through the cracks and builds up slowly, like plaque on your teeth.

So, what do I do when I get into one of these "unjustified" funks?  I'm glad I asked.  I need to remind myself that there are tools.  Here are some of mine (a list).  I would encourage you to add yours if you wish.

1. Stay in the moment.  Right now, I am wolfing down a $15 airport special - bagel stuffed with cheese, eggs and bacon.  How can life not be good?

2. Don't hold onto balloons that take you places you don't want to go.  My wife gave me this one.  It basically says that there are all kinds of things that are placed in front of you.  Don't treat them like a balloon, grabbing onto one and allowing it to carry you away to a bad place, all of which is really only in your mind.  Mark Twain said (while quoting someone else), "I've lived through some terrible things in my life...some of them actually happened.
3. Do a good deed and don't tell anyone about it.  I use to go to the ice cream places in airports and pay for a cone, giving the salesperson the following instructions, "Please give a cone to the next little kid that comes along and looks like he needs it."  I would then leave and not look back.  I always felt good when I did that.  It's kind of like paying the toll for the car behind you.
4. Make a gratitude list.  For this, I recommend www.worldgratitudelist.com.
5. Remember your families and friends.  Be thankful that they are in your life.  They are important to you and you are important to them.
6. If something is out of your control - let it go.  If you don't know what I mean, look up The Serenity Prayer.
7.  Remember, if you do what you did, you will get what you got.  To change your situation, you must change your thought, your words, your actions...
8. If someone crosses you, let them off the hook.  Being tailgated?  Say out loud, "You are off the hook."
9. Talk to God.  I mean it.  I'm not saying "Go to church and pray."  I am not a big church fan myself.  But when the going gets a little rough, I find a quiet place, and talk to God.  I do it out loud.  I bitch and complain and blame but in the end - I always end up saying Thank You.
10. Blog.

Okay, now for today's food tip.

I learned this from my wife and I love it.

Take, 1 cup of corn and 1 cup of diced apples and 1/2 cup of diced smoked cheese and mix with two big tablespoons of sour cream.  By "diced", I mean the apple and cheese chunks should be the same size as the corn.  This is a delicious side dish.

I'm off to our nations capital to meet with the other Super Heroes.  There is a world to be saved...

Up, up and away...

j