ONCE A SCHOOLGIRL

From Thirteen Reasons Why

I will return shortly but first my inner child needs some attention.

Later friends.

THE EYES HAVE IT

The eyes are the windows to the soul.
You can tell a poisonous snake from a nonvenomous one by the eyes.

Of course, if I see a snake I'm not going to stick around to try to see its eyes.
Dogs speak with their eyes too.

I admit that Huskies tend to intimidate me because I have a hard time reading their eyes. I don't have that problem with most breeds.

Parents can interpret their child's mood by looking into their eyes as well.

Making eye contact is a basic human need. It allows us to experience one another on a spiritual level. In the modern world, we seem to have lost this skill. I work as a clerk and many customers never see me, they are focused on their texting. After a long day, I'm not sure I see them either, focusing on product, bag and money.
Sometimes we choose to look away. When there is a homeless person sitting beside a building, do we make eye contact or do we avert our eyes? Children are much more inclined to simply see people as people. They will make eye contact when their parents won't.
When someone looks at you, it validates your existence. We all need that validation.

Avoiding one another is at best uncomfortable. Sometimes, it feels threatening.

I believe that many of the problems we face today could be eased, if not erased, by no longer hiding ourselves from one another.

When we see the souls behind the eyes, we see each other as human beings with lives that matter.

There is a word, a wonderful word. Namaste. It means that the God in me celebrates the God in you.

After all, isn't that the purpose of our time on this plane? Isn't that why we are here? How can we expect to fulfill our purpose if we refuse to connect with others? As you go through your day, take the time to be aware of others. Do they see you? Do you see them? Observe interactions between others. Who seems happier? Who seems lonely? Find opportunities to experience Namaste!

SMOKING STILL

At 12 years old, I made the stupidest decision of my life. I stole cigarettes from my mother. I have no idea why I did it. I can't honestly say it was peer pressure or some idea of being 'cool'.

Like the young girl pictured here, I spent my time trying not to get caught, while I skipped school to sit around and pollute my lungs. I was an addict from the start.
At that time a pack of cigarettes cost 50 cents. There were plenty of places that would sell to underage kids and it was easy to keep a supply.

I never would have expected to have to dedicate an hour of labor each day to support my habit. Although the dangers of smoking were becoming apparent to society, tobacco was advertised on TV and the term secondhand smoke hadn't been expressed yet.

I got suspended a few times for smoking in school but I didn't really consider it 'bad' behavior.

How many of these nasty things have I handled over the past 40 plus years? My clothes, my hair, my body and my environment all coated in the stench of burnt tobacco. The windows of my car become so covered in film that driving at night is frightening. Cleaning them doesn't last very long.

My recent bout of bronchitis was a strong reminder of the damage I have been doing to my body. I continued to smoke even though I wasn't capable of inhaling, puffing away at cigarettes until I had healed sufficiently for my body to accept full drags of smoke into my lungs again. The damage is apparent in other ways too.

No amount of makeup can disguise the fact that I have been puckering up to these things for decades. I hate the mirror. It isn't vanity (well, only a little), it's the constant reminder of my self-destruction.

I also have Reynaud's which causes my hands to look like this when I am exposed to cold temperatures. Stress and vibration have the same effect. My tolerance for cold is only 68 degrees. True cold is even worse. The pain is extreme and I often cannot function during the winter months.

My future seems quite clear.

I have lost friends and relatives to emphysema. The idea of being attached to an oxygen tank is not one I relish.

To make things even worse is the awareness of the damage I cause to those who share my life, both human and animal. That's a load of guilt to carry.

And yet, as I sit here writing this, my pack of cigarettes is close at hand. I am not a stupid person. I know what I am doing, I know the consequences. So why do I still smoke? Is it really just to avoid the anxiety and edginess I feel after only a couple of hours of abstinence? These things cause me genuine pain and distress because I smoke them, but I continue so that I can avoid a little frustration? It makes no sense. That, my friends, is addiction.

Quitting drinking was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I tried and failed many, many times. Now that I am 25 years removed from that lifestyle, I feel tremendous pride and joy of the complete change in who I am due to that decision.

Perhaps, in being honest with you and with myself I can make a similar decision regarding tobacco. The fear of failure is ever present and the dread of those hurdles that I will have to cross causes me to hesitate in doing what must be done...yet it must be done eventually. I owe it to myself and those that care about me. Besides, I deserve better from me!

BUGS!!

I am not a fan of bugs.

I have been stung by bees! Ouch.

These guys have a painful grip too!

A single spider will cause me to shriek and run no matter its size.

But there is one bug that caused me a great deal of pain this week. I even found myself in urgent care unable to breathe properly and as weak as I've ever felt.

A course of antibiotics, steroids, and a inhalation aerosol and I'm beginning to feel better. X-rays showed no pneumonia or COPD issues and I'm grateful for that. A little energy to rid my environment of these invisible bugs and I'll be back to my old self.

2016 FALL TRACTOR SHOW

Featuring the lesser knowns.

And of course there were the more familiar.

I even found one for Ron's place!

I will always love the steamers.

And especially the vendors! The flea market is huge and full of surprises.

If you didn't make it this year...it is an annual event!

Remembering September 2001: A Loss of Innocence

https://youtu.be/RWaoqqmh8eoWARNING:Link contains drug references and nudity,click at own risk
September, Labor Day weekend, the annual Roach Roast at Rainbow Farm Campground in Michigan. It was a time for the gathering of the hippies, Rainbow peoples, and freedom lovers of all ages. I had met the most amazing people here in earlier years. Tommy Chong, Steven Gaskin, Stephen Hagar, the Cannabis Cup Band, and of course Tom and Rollie, the owners of this amazing place. I had the tremendous joy of experiencing the Sunday morning OHM of a thousand voices creating the vibrating energy cone of spirit shared. 2001 was to be different, very different.
Unable to afford the gas, scheduled to work and needing the income, I knew I could not attend. Then the word went out. The event had been cancelled. Tom did not want his many friends and supporters to be any where near the campground.
We soon found out why. Rollie's son, that they both loved and were so protective of had been taken away. Their property was being taken away. Their freedom was being taken away. Everything that they had worked for and believed in was being taken and it was not in their nature to simply accept that. Like the founding fathers of this country, they believed in a government of the people, by the people and for the people and they were willing to die for their convictions. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened.
You can read about it at the following link

http://www.november.org/stayinfo/breaking/Rainbow.html

They stood their ground for nearly a week and like Ruby Ridge and Waco, the news went national. Never heard about it? I'm not surprised, because in September of 2001, an even bigger and more terrifying story took over the news.
I remember turning on my TV and seeing the news that the Pentagon had been attacked. Just a matter of timing, that that was the first of the 9/11 events that I learned of. My first thought at that time was, "Good. The government killed my friends and was attacking a culture within its borders that it couldn't or wouldn't accept."
Then, I thought it was a great distraction from what had been happening, probably created by the government who couldn't afford another Waco/Ruby Ridge.
I had been shaken to my core by the events of Labor Day weekend. Little did I know that within the hour my entire view of the world would be shattered yet again.
As I watched the newsfeed, I soon learned of the true scope of the attacks. I saw the planes hit the towers. I saw people leaping to their deaths. I saw the collapse of the buildings. I heard how ordinary people took the extraordinary step of foiling the terrorists by seizing control of their fate and causing a fourth plane to crash before it hit its intended target.

In the aftermath of 9/11 I saw what life is like for those who live in war torn countries, places where bombings are part of their daily lives. I also saw people come together in ways that I had never seen before. Priorities changed. Attitudes changed. Worldviews changed. Our country changed.

What hadn't changed, was that my friends were still dead. Because of 9/11, it was nearly impossible to discuss the negatives of our government without being labelled unpatriotic. It took many years before the discussion could be had. Meanwhile, I was left feeling very small and powerless in the face of our government and in the scope of its enemies.

Fifteen years later, I want to remember. I want to speak with others who understand the horrors of that September so long ago. I want to know that there are others that have learned that patriotism is not blinding 'loving our country', but being grateful to live in a country in which the government is held accountable by the people and in being vigilant in upholding those standards for all of our citizens.

LABOR DAY RIDERS

Labor Day weekend is for riding. Many of us were out there enjoying the gorgeous weather. One popular destination is Hyner View near Renovo, PA.

Apparently we were not alone. There were other riders there.

Riders of the sky!

Our next destination was Lock Haven for the Regatta. Motorcyclists (mostly) had the beer tent on one side of the river.

The pontoons tied together in the middle of the river.

And the families sitting on the bleachers on the other side.

Here to watch those who choose to ride and race on the water.

Riding seemed to be the theme of the day for folk of all ages.

I hope all of you enjoyed your Labor Day as much as I did!

SASSY

I had mice. I also had dogs. I needed a cat. One with attitude. I found what I was looking for at my local shelter. This cat, which had been a stray that the shelter named 'Shipwreck', fit the bill precisely. She loves to catch mice. She also knows exactly how to put a dog in its place. She's fast and good at getting up out of reach.

I renamed her Sassy in celebration of her spirit. She never really got along with Lady and Jack used to 'put the run on her' whenever she got too close to his food dish. She would retaliate by blocking the stairs daring him to pass. She likes to hide and attack from nowhere which led to comical reactions from those two dogs.

She's much more companionable with Mitzi. She acts like a dog when we wander the property. She likes to bathe Mitzi's face although the dog looks slightly nervous because she is just as likely to bat her upside the head...depends on her mood.

She is still most definitely a cat though. Whichever side of the door she is on, it's the wrong side. She only wants on my lap if I'm reading or on the computer. She hollers for food while standing in front of a full dish. That chess piece that has sat there for a month suddenly needs to be chased all over the room. Yep, gotta love that Sassy cat!