I'm all Over the Place

 

How about a Newsletter today?

Keep reading or scrolling to the bottom of the page where there is Happy Talk. 

 

I'm all over the place.

 Isn't that what a newsletter is about, many subjects? So, where shall we start?

Rants get more readers —mainly Political rants —so let's begin there and get it out of my system, although that is unlikely.

I see our administration turning back the clock. Yeah, and we're going to eliminate Autism.

One observation is that proponents of the Present Administration go blithely through their days as if the world isn't falling apart around them. Is it because they are on the winning team, or that they don't give a flying rat's ass about things like military action in cities that they clearly do not need, tariffs that are affecting Americans, and goodwill abroad, and, for crying out loud, making an enemy of Canada? I love Canada.

You know, I could go on and on, and then if you try to have a conversation with those on the other side, they say, "You've been lied to." "It's heresy." Yeah, like, are you getting the truth?

Promises of wars ending—didn't happen. Promises of lower prices, yeah —Walmart is selling a boxed turkey dinner cheaper this year than last. BECAUSE THERE IS LESS FOOD IN IT. The previous year it had 25 items. This year 15. Last year, they used name brands. This year, cheaper generic brands.

It hasn't been a happy time.

(I'm reading a book by Joseph McClendon III, Get Happy Now. I will tell you about it later.

In 1978, Comedian George Carlin predicted that these times would come. Well, they can't fire him now, he has joined the Political Commentators and Comedians in Heaven.

Carlin:

"They keep us fighting each other so 'they' can keep going to the bank."

Carlin predicted that we would elect the "dumbest guy in America and use him as a sales tool." Commentators have suggested that for Carlin, T would be less of a villain and more of a symptom of a larger disease—one that involves the manipulation of the public, the consolidation of power among the elite, and a political system that gives people the illusion of choice while keeping real change out of reach."

 

(How much is enough? Is the mentality of "The one with the most toys wins?" Yeah, but they are going to pass on to the next reality just like the rest of us; however, I don't think our present administration knows that.)

 

  

TODAY

"Nature is to be found in her entirety nowhere more than in her smallest creatures."

—Pliny the Elder

I came across this quote online this morning, and I thought back to college days when I first heard of Pliny the Elder. Born in 23 AD—when Jesus was 23 years old?

Isn't it amazing how we categorize time and humans, and yet, no matter how primitive we think they are, a brilliant individual will arise from barbarism and advance the human race? Pliny the Elder was a Roman author, naturalist, scientist, naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire. He wrote the book, "Natural History."

And then came Jesus, and we began to think of Romans as barbaric savages, gladiators, with a blood thirsty populace. Yet, Pliny sent his ship into the toxic fumes of an exploding volcano on a rescue mission with the cry: "Fortune favors the bold."

He died from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD after a friend summoned him about being trapped in a stable during the eruption of the volcano. Pliny was not a healthy man, and he succumbed to the toxic fumes.

Pliny the Elder was instrumental in educating his nephew Pliny the Younger, and it is rumored that he adopted him after his father died. We know the Elder left his estate to the Younger.  Pliny the Younger observed the eruption of Mount Vesuvius from afar and described it in great detail, so much so that modern-day volcanologists have studied his account to gain a greater understanding of volcanic eruptions. They call it "Plinian Eruptions."

Pliny the Younger became a lawyer, author, and magistrate, and helped promote the twice-voting method for Prisoners. One vote decides the accuser's guilt or innocence. The SECOND, what the punishment should be.

Pliny the Younger favored exile.

 

A Little White 'Whine' on the days to come:

Before my birthday in February, I need to squeeze in 30 hours of Real Estate continuing education to keep my license. Although I am not a practicing Real Estate Agent, it was work and expense to get that license, so I ought to keep it. There must be some place for me somewhere there. (Hey, I like people and houses. I came upon some surprises for loans at one time, maybe I should write about them, like how to bridge that time between finding your dream house and selling your present home, or when relocating.) However, my daughter's Brokerage, where I am associated, is not advertised, so people don't know we are here. I became disgruntled with the prices of homes and how hard it is for the middle class to purchase one. I do not belong to the MLS at present, so if you want to buy a house from me, you need to be really serious, as I would need to join all the required agencies to write up an offer. 

 

AI

AI keeps wanting to write for me, but I refuse their offer. Why in the world have writers worked so hard, trying to perfect their skills, trying to get the nuances, the descriptions, the dialogue, the voice, the sound of the rain, the wind in the firs, the sunshine glistening off that one water droplet that is hanging from the Maple tree, to have AI write for us!!!!!

Would you be more apt to read the illustrious writing of AI or the crummy human-driven effort of a human being who is scribbling on a pad of paper?  There is evidence of a beneficial connection between the hand and the brain when writing by hand. 

What can I say?! Are they trying to Make People Stupid Again?

Happy times are below:

 

From Peaches the Pink Party Poodle for Peace.

dogblogbypeaches.blogspot.com/

"My momma says that everybody and their dog blogs. I wasn't writing a single solitary thing, but I'm correcting that right now. When momma got me, she named me The Pink Party Poodle for Peace, now I guess I'm The Pink Party Poodle for Peace Pontificating. My point of view of the day is to tell you that the purpose of life is to have fun, hee, hee, and chase lizards. I love to chase lizards—never catch them though, they taste like rotten toes."

Last post

Dear Momma,

Readers are coming to my page. I am happy, happy. (Still chase lizards.) Time means nothing here. I haven't  posted for four years--your time. Four seconds in my time.

Bear runs like a pup, swims like one too. oh wait, some puppies don't like water, but Bear is a Newfoundland--he looovvveees water.

I see Zeke. Up here we are looking out for him.  Zeke is gift from heaven. RV company paid for his surgery so sister would find him and adopt him. 

I did good huh?

 Zeke at Shelter shortly after surgery to remove right front leg. 

 

Magnificent Zeke at forever home in back yard.

 

 

 Zeke running with toy in mouth, one leg on the ground, two in the air. Zeke, happy dog. 

 

 Bear on the "Green Trail of Bliss, Hawaii.

 

Instagram: Ezekiel's Blessings

Zeke, our three-legged dog, daughter Dear's Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/ezekielsblessings/

 

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It Boggles the Brain

Well, well, my family had direct experience with the newly applied tariffs.

My grandson was given a FREE T-shirt from a Holland-based company. Because of the tariffs, it cost him 20 bucks to get that T-shirt into this country, plus 7 dollars for some fee to expedite it, so the Free T-shirt cost him $27.00.

I post whatever comes to mind. One day, I might rant about Political Conditions, the next, something motivational. And I am always happy to throw something spiritual into the mix. If anything preachy slips in I deserve a thump on the side of the head.

Internet advice tells me that I ought to have a recognizable brand and stick with it. My blog Wish on White Horses ought to be one. Travel through your life, do your thing, sell, buy, write, rant, complain, do your work, be inspired, be lazy, and then stop when you see a white horse, take a breather, and make a wish.

It will clear the brain.

The white horse Maximus from the Disney Movie Tangled.

I appreciate GaryVee (Gary Vaynerchuk), a motivator and entrepreneur on Instagram, who says to post whatever floats your boat. Actually, he didn't use those words, but he did say to post random stuff. Post and keep posting. What are you interested in? He believes even a Smurf blog will take hold after a year or so.

I have basically followed his advice before hearing of it, for I write of many things, but don't wait for a white horse to give you permission to wish, to dream, but whenever you see one, take advantage of it. Take a drive in the country, where it opens up your possibilities of seeing one. Although after my Train/Trane experience, where I told my daughter while we were sitting in a Mexican Restaurant, that we couldn't manifest a train here, for there were no tracks, a truck with TRANE written in giant letters on its semi-trailer tarp stopped at a traffic light right outside our window, I wouldn't say that anything is impossible.

You might see a white horse in the middle of town, but it might not be as you expected. It might be on a T-shirt or a billboard.

Watch for the magic.

I appreciate all the people who have found this blog, and I am interested in what bloats your boat, so tell me about it. And tell me if you see a white horse this week, that would be a kick.

I'm interested in Horses, Houses, how-to books, People, Animals, the Planet, Inspirational stuff, what's happening at home, and what's happening out there in the world today. I attempted to sell a little book because I wanted to write a series; however, I made a grand total of 42 cents from it on Amazon. And after offering a free ending from the excerpt I posted, nobody asked for it.

If you have thin skin, don't be a writer.

I could say that I'm a crummy writer, but I don't want to put that in my consciousness, and I'm the one who decided I wanted to be a writer in the first place. A writer writes. Period.

I feel that my days, months, and years are limited, and why in the heck am I here except to make my voice heard?  

I have grown increasingly impatient with sites that go blithely on rattling about mundane things. I fear I'm getting crotchety. These are critical times, with important issues. And letting AI do the work for you is just plain lazy. For crying out loud, AI writes entire books for people, makes their Table of Contents, and their cover. Are those better books? And why in (I'm trying to find an appropriate word) do we all have a creative spark if not to use it?

I have a poster that says:

"Darling, a beautiful thing is never perfect."

—It has no byline.

Recently, I read about a Snowshoe rabbit. A naturalist took a couple of friends into the forest, told them there was something in the bushes, and asked them to wait. Soon they saw a white Snowshoe rabbit, a rarity in those parts. When the rabbit saw them, he stood stock still. It was winter. He was white. He expected to be camouflaged by snow, but there was none. He was standing exposed on brown ground, expecting his camouflage to save him—a sitting duck for hawks.

The winters are shorter than in the past, but the rabbit still has his instincts, which evolved over a millennia when he lived in a white winter, and he learned to stand still and think he would not be seen.

How can we not speak up?

Look at the Snowshoe hind leg on this little fellow.