Open Mind

There was a phrase I heard as a teenager. I'll keep an open mind on the subject. Don't hear that line much anymore if at all. Perhaps years of disappointment about a variety of ones life experiences or getting generally fed up with what our country now is has had it's toll taken. I thought about this on my early morning walk at Atlantic Beach this morning. It was quiet with just a couple of fisherman out. Rough surf from Igor way out in the Atlantic. An open mind. A true piece of freedom. Working things and ideas out. You see it my semi-retirement I have time. Time to think things anew , it makes me feel younger. My mind has relaxed some , opened up in the past couple of years. Perhaps that is what happened to that phrase. Not enough time to have an open mind in a busy , worrisome world. But I find it refreshing. What is happening in politics , society , world news , religion , family. I am not sure where this new freedom will take me exactly. Having my mind become less constricted has been like a good morning stretch. Getting ready for my morning cup and my next new day.

New DARPA Project : Anti-Spirtual Weapon ?

I know this ides sounds like it comes out of DARPA from the deep labs of the Defense Industry but in upcoming yrs this may not be that far off. We have over the past yrs increased our knowledge of the brain multiple times. One area of research has been the stimulating & mapping of the different brain areas. We have even entered the area of where our spiritual feeling may arise from. We have increased knowledge of brain chemistry atleast 8 fold in the previous decade. What if we find a drug/chemical that blocks impulses from that area. We aerosol that substance & use it in say a Taliban area in the remote hinterlands of Pakistan. Would the fanatical urge to fight on a mental platform be lessened therefore make an enemy less likely to be confrontative ? Maybe , history is chuck full of religious emotion being a major reason for a sustained war. Just a thought of course with all sorts of socio-political implications. I could not help but write it down in a simple form , wondering if this idea might actually become a future fact. War weary nations can get desperate.

The Republicans Have The Most Guns

At one point in my career I trained Police Officers in use of force training. So before one assumes where I fall in the political spectrum , don't automatically assume..... So here is my observation. There is alot of fear mongering this off year political season. Immigration , taxes , Obama in the Whitehouse. People of all political stripes express political feelings in a tone of anger and actual fear. In my Theology days I once wrote a paper on the 2 words "fear not". At the time I felt and still believe that those are 2 of the most important words spoken in the Bible. Fear Not. It calms the irrational , shows a certain position of self power. At least in my opinion. Now , this emotion drives talk shows , political discussion and ones gut. Within all this I have come to see an especially hard edged terror in the more conservative elements. Gun toten rootin tootin Repubs. The ones who own the most guns are the most fearful. I know I am pissing people off...but it's true. Take an honest look around. My cousin for instance. He has enough ammo stockpiled to kill every deer in Connecticut and Maine combined. Five guns are not enough , his concealed gun permit close at hand. His Don't Tread On Me flag hung outside his front door. After reflecting on this after a recent visit I turned to my wife Elizabeth and said I have lost him as a cousin to fear and anger. Jesus he is been consumed by a free floating hatred of colors other than red blue and especially white. Thank you Rush Limbaugh among others. Yes I blame talk shows in particular. Guns and fear of a world to come........sense of loss of a world that they think was. Enjoy your Party.

THE CODE

322 BC
Lodge # 3098

I Miss Walter Matthau:Jack Lemmon : Paul Newman

I was sitting on the beach this morning in Atlantic Beach , New York. A grandfatherly looking guy walked passed with probably his grandson in tow. This date was a beautiful day at the beach especially I imagine for kids. What struck me was the man had a fair resemblance to now deceased actor Walter Matthau. For some odd reason I thought back to him as well as Jack lemmon and Paul Newman. All now deceased. Perhaps my favorites in the acting field. Newman with the phrase from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof "family crisis brings out the best and the worst in all of us." Lemmon from The Legend of Bagger Vance " but I play on looking for my place in the field." Matthau in Charade going from comic to deadly" I have come this far I'll kill you Mrs. Lampert. Audrey Hepburn looked terrified and puzzled by the great transformation. Watch those movies if you have not yet. I love some of the old movies. Matthau in the cold war epic Fail Safe. A cold sinister White House analyst. Lemmon a burned out businessman in Save the Tiger. Newman a jazz musician in Paris Blues. Of course I have not forgotten the comedies. Walter & Jack were brilliant in those arena's. But we sometimes forget that these people frame our lives with their acting. Bring the printed word to a new life form on film or a stage. Even in their lesser work like Matthau in an old TV crime series Tallahassee 7000 as a Florida State Police Officer they can leave an impression. Trust me that goes back a long ways. Once during a difficult time for my family who were waiting for a "loved one " to die family trouble lingered under the surface ready to explode. Who did what & when etc. I was on the verge of temper over this ritual of who gets what even though I was mainly a bystander. Then for whatever reason I remember Paul Newman saying the words of Tennessee Williams in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof...."family crisis brings out the best and worst in all of us.' I walked away outside under a tree , yes , smoked a cigarette at the time and calmed myself. Became determined to have this situation bring out a more civilized me. Sometimes acting with the right words can do that. I saw Newman from afar at Lyme Rock race track many yrs ago , Matthau in a play on Broadway. Newman with his Newman Products where he funds charitable causes. I miss these people , they were a part of my growing up. My laughter and my thought has these men within them to a small degree and they sometimes pop out. So anyway I blog on ......looking for my place in the field.....thanks.

The Aloneness of the Long Distance Runner

I have worked on campaigns....political stuff....I tend to be middle of the road in my approach. Many of my family members are more conservative then myself. What's left of them. My parents long gone , my brother and I have not spoken in about a year. God they are angry and I believe afraid......afraid of a darker future. My cousin stockpiles ammo because he is sure the Feds will take it away. My brother still angry over Vietnam. My last uncle sending angry tirades over the internet. He is 89 , a veteran of WWII , Navy Air Corp Atlantic Campaign , U Boat hunter. His wife my mothers last sister remains sweet and welcoming. Thank God , because most feel I am the crazy liberal of the family. I will be married 30 yrs in July , worked consistantly for over 35 yrs raised 4 children , pay my taxes , attempt to be what I consider a decent citizen....but yet......I seem to stand alone at the family funeral. On a rainy , cold weekend recently I went to a funeral of a family member I did not know all that well. To be respectful. My super masonic cousin comes up behind me and wispers " happy you voted for the N...... He just assumed my middle of the road life was a vote for Obama. I used to run cross country in high school. One runs alone often in all kinds of weather , through wood lands , up and down hills ect. Usually with few if any spectators. It is a sport of aloneness , so sometimes is a life of belief.

The Darkness of Night in the Adk Mts

Recently I had to travel to the Lake Placid area to attend a funeral of an old collegue I had worked with yrs ago. I hate funerals in general and the long trip to the great white north was tough on my back so my mood was not the best. But then I encountered something. A quiet dark starlite Adk night. With little ground lighting reflecting from the atmosphere the stars were bright & the sky a deep dark............I soon felt oh so quiet in the freezing cold. Transcending ones busy life for a moment...............a cold touch on my face. Time to go soon , with another goodby said & done.

RIGGING THE SYSTEM IS THE SYSTEM

The title may simply say it all....Every system or reform of a system leads to it being fixed for someone. Government...Religion.....Wall Street whatever , has over a period of time been rigged so that some group gets more gravy. That gravy being money or power or a position where they can act more the snob. I realized this in the senior year of high school and had it reinforced multiple times to the 9th power. I don't know why late into the night I decided to say this. Maybe by my old self expressing it......it will make me slightly less pissed off over how many I have known who were hung in some structures rigging whether it be IBM or the NYS legislature or senior year at a modest high school. Maybe now I can sleep