What Do You Want, Gentle Readers?

Often a blogger writes about what they are passionate about. They share about their lives, their struggles, the things that make them laugh... and I am no different. What I want to know is what you like about what I write, or more to the point, what you would like me to write about more.

This is your chance to tell me where to go.......

I love my "Special Manners" series and think that is a strong one to keep. I would love some topic ideas of things you have seen or encountered that you would like me to write on. Also, any hurdles you have faced that you think others should know about. 

I think the "PSA" are born out of things that make me mad or shake my head so I'm not sure what you, gentle reader, think of them. Again, if you like them, let me know what direction you would like to see them go. I'm big on my causes but I know not everyone is interested in such things... *sigh*....

Ok, so what about the product and services reviews? Do you think they may be a helpful feature? I would like to do more but I'm not sure if it's worth it. Let me know. If you would like me to review your website, product, or whatever, I would and will be fair but I can't say that I will like it just because we work together. Ya know what I mean?

That just leaves two more areas we need to talk about. Would you like to see more or less of my personal story and would you like more or less of my poems and stories? More Personal stuff? More creative writing? What do you like and dislike about my blog?

Comment and tell me so I know.... I'm never sure that you are there if you don't say hello or click like or some such thing. I do care, ya know? Thank You for coming back.

I Want....

I want....

I want to be pretty and wise

youthful and free

I want the good in my life to remain

pure in spirit and memory

I want the hard to be less 

the music to play

I want the sun to paint the sky

the stars to grant wishes

I want the the children to laugh

and never know real pain

I want the wars to end

soldiers to come home whole

I want my tears to make it better

smiles that reach your eyes

I want to do it over right

while holding treasures tight

I want to have enough of what you need

the world to turn slowly

I want to hold on

you to let go

I want to know peace deep inside

love spread across the miles

I want to be strong and steady

floating lightly on the waves

I want you to love me

just as I am

I want to be more then this

yet just the same

I want simple and sweet

long and lovely

I want life to be a garden in bloom

bees thorns and all

I want to be lost and found

to find contentment

I want to remember all I stand for

why I fight and smile anyway

Share Share Alike And Other Rights

Go watch this before we chat, please: Arrested for Feeding Homeless

Ok, I understand rules, and laws, and am usually more tolerant of the stupid ones. I get that people shouldn't pay their bills in pennies. In Michigan a farmer can sleep with his animals.... well, some of them... and who am I to argue as long as everyone is consenting adults? This type of thing I can get over after a quick shake of head. But there are some things I don't understand, don't agree with, and am very confused about when it comes to the governing bodies and what they think they are allowed to tell me to or not to do.

We are supposed to look out for each other. The economy is horrible for most of the working poor and lower. So a group of people get some food together, meet at the park, and feed some folks. They are then arrested because they broke a law saying that you can not feed a group of people more then twice a year. It is bad to help others by feeding them rice and beans? Really? Again, I get that the law they were breaking was really about the fact that they had done that more then twice in 12 months but is there not some real crime that police and courts can deal with and let these folks help out other folks?


Say you are a parent. Isn't it your choice on what medical procedures your child gets (short of the treatments of injuries and life threatening illness) or doesn't get? Who's job is it to decide what your family eats or what type of meal you buy out? We are the head of our households yet we are told what our kids can eat, watch, listen to, and play with.


I am a woman. I feel that what I do with my body is my business. I should live and die as best as I can and how I choose as long as I harm no one. I feel that my friend can sleep with what ever consenting adult he chooses to. I think that I can pray however I want or not, as I see fit. I think the government on a whole is getting way to into my private law abiding life. I also think it should be alright for me to help others as I see fit. We should be able to grow food and have chickens if we have the room and take proper care of them . We should have the right to live.


I watch. I pay attention. I may not be the smartest tool in the shed but neither am I the dullest. I'm scared of the direction we are going. I worry about how extreme all sides of the political farm are. I worry about the global instability of every time. I am concerned about how temperamental Mother Nature seems to be and the results her actions seem to have on our human infrastructures. And I really worry about how many people don't realize that they are nothing more then lobsters in the pot who are slowly boiling up.


What should we do about it? We should stand up for ourselves. We should protect our rights to be individuals, and a community. We should work to maintain control instead of "letting" the government take care of us as they see fit. No one, including other voters, should tell us how to live, think, and feel - nor should we try to tell them what to do. I also think we need to start helping each other out more. If we did a little more looking out for each other then we wouldn't appear to need anyone else to do it. We also need to live like we know how to take care of ourselves, our families, and our properties. 

Do You Say Thank You???

On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind.
Dan Lipinski

 

Today was the town of Redford's annual Memorial Day Parade. It was a warm, bright and sunny day. The high water that the town recently suffered through were all but back to normal. The grass along the route was trimmed, the streets blocked and the crowd about average.

 

The sound of sirens rang out to start the parade. Police in their finest, firefighters who had dressed out their truck with the boots and coat of a recently lost comrade set the path for the honored veterans. They stopped the veterans so they were on the bridge between the American flag and the POW/MIA flag. These old soldiers in uniform stood in this heat as the bugle sounded, the wreath was honored and sent down the recently swollen waters, and the rifle fire filled the air.

 

A lot of people forgot to be quiet as the men and women were honoring those lost. Few knew to stand as their flag was carried by. But one little eleven year old girl knew to do both.  She had her grandfather in mind when she looked at these men. She had heard her mother talk of the war he had fought and how the returning men were treated. She had read books and looked that war up on line. And she had heard many stories from veterans and the widows of soldiers. She stood as the flag passed and was silent to honor the dead.

 

As the soldiers, firefighters, and officers started to pass they noticed the little girl and the sign she had made. She stood out because she was the only one there with a sign. She stood out because she was young. She stood out because she was standing there not waiting for candy, but holding a sign that said "Thanks Veterans" with a small American Flag drawn on it. 

 

She watched the men who were so much like her grandfather and thought of him. They all have stories, like Grandpa tells. They all have wounds they don't share, like Grandpa does. Grandpa may live a couple of states away but he has touched her young life enough for her to know how important it is to say thank you.

 

The marchers were just as touched by this young girl as she was by them. Some pointed her out to others, while others said, "You are very welcome." Even those who weren't veterans noticed and told the girl that they liked her sign. She stood there for the whole parade just be sure she didn't miss anyone. She said that you can never tell for sure who served if they weren't wearing their uniform.

 

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. 

-John Fitzgerald Kennedy

 

 It can be hard to know that we are teaching our children the right things and then they do something to show us that they are on the right track. Our actions are noticed by those who are watching when we don't know they are looking. 

 

The girl watched other people, listened to them, and saw other kids scrambling for the candy. She heard them talk about the school bands, the Girl Scouts, and this church and that. She noticed the lack of remembrance that many showed. She mentioned that the other kids didn't understand what the parade was for. She was told that maybe others that she couldn't see or hear did. She wanted to know if it was talked about in other homes like it is in her's. She was told that it depended on the home. She had many questions by the time the parade was over and the streets opened for traffic.

 

 I am going to ask you a few of those questions for her....

 

~ Do you remember the servicemen and women? 

~ What do you to do to show your gratitude?

~ Do you teach your children about the past wars.

~ Do you know (and teach) the flag etiquette? (She said rules)

~ How do you say thanks?

 

Pray for Peace, Hope for better, and work for love. 

Public Service Announcement: Hot Is DANGEROUS!

PSA #101 : If it is too hot or cold for you then it is too hot or cold for your child or pet.

I really hate when common sense fails people at the cost of their pet or worse, their child. I hate it more when it is common decency that is the cause of preventable tragedies. I really hate self centered humans who only care about their own desires and cost those who trust them the most, their health and well being.

If you are shivering when you leave the car, you should not leave your 7 month old in the car to go play at the casino. It is also a stupid idea to go to court and leave your 4 year old wandering a parking lot when it is bellow zero outside. And it is really out there to leave your 4 MONTH old in the freezing cold car while you shoplifting. 


Your pets get cold too. Their fur coat is only good to a point. If you must have them outside then make sure their shelter is better than an over turned boat. They need extra calories and water to heat their bodies not LESS food and no water. Pets are people too. I mean that you need to remember that they are living beings that require the same basic needs met that you do. 


OK, winter is finally over. Ain't it great? Only now that the cold is leaving, it is replaced by the heat. Again, don't be selfish, self centered, or down right stupid at the cost of someone else. Common sense, careful parenting, and thinking beyond yourself needs to be used. 


Let's cover the parenting part first because I actually feel bad for the parents that have to live with their honest mistakes. Make sure your vehicle trunks are the kind a child can't get into or can get out of. Know where your kids are, where they are going, and who they are with. When it is that hot and nasty out you need to use extra cation and extreme measures. 


Ok, for those of you who are either too wrapped up in your own needs or just plan evil let me help you avoid jail time. You will go to jail if you leave your baby and preschool aged child in the car while you get your hair and nails done. The strip joint is not a place for an infant but that doesn't mean you leave them in the hot car. If you want to do your drugs, have fun or other such stupid crap then find a sitter, an adoptive family, or reliable family member to care for your kids because a hot car will kill them. 

All of this also applies to pets, as does the whole food, water and shelter stuff we talked about already. Oh, and we don't beat, starve, cook, or torture our pets or children. If you don't want it done to you, if it is too hot or too cold for you then don't do it to the kids or pets.

~Wow, do I really need to tell you all this? Hopefully not, I trust not, but if you think someone needs to hear it please send them to me.~