Strength, Wisdom, Deserving

May our adversities make us strong.  May our victories make us wise.  May our actions make us proud.
—    H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
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On This Day In:
2022	One Link In The Chain
2021	Life Measures
	First Thing Every Morning
2020	Like #45 And Many Of His Supporters
(Leap Year 29th)	With Some Epic Scenery Along The Way
2019	Creative Prayer Time
	ADF: Day 9:5
2018	#DumbDonald: Start With Hearing What You Don’t Want Said
2017	The Press Is NOT The Enemy
2016	It Ain’t Easy
(Leap Year 29th)	Or Try To, Anyway…
(Leap Year 29th)	Circles Within Circles
2015	A Series Of Funerals
2014	And Your Point Is?
2013	Infinitely Care
2012	In My Room
(Leap Year 29th)	Stingray – TV Series Review  (This is my most popular post since starting my blog – hands down!  It still draws hits almost every week.  The hits seem to come mostly from Central Europe.  I guess the show must be in syndication there.  //  2020 update:  While this is still my all-time, most popular post, it is no longer being viewed every week – or even every month.  I guess the show is no longer in syndication.)
(Leap Year 29th)	A Single Thread
2011	Lyrical Mixture
	Teaching = Translating

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Your Children Are Watching You

Don’t expect others to listen to your advice and ignore your example.
—    H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
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On This Day In:
2022	Like Smiles, Flowers And Rainbows
2021	On Your Marks, Get Set…
	Absolutely Nothing
	Roses And Chores
2020	Which Is Which
2019	Were You Saying Something?
2018	Ethics Lesson
2017	May I Have Some More, Please?
2016	A Little Lost
2015	This High Place
2014	Elected Madness
2013	Well Written
2012	Related Parts
2011	The King Is Oscar
	Better Reputation?

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And / Or Complex

There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.
—     Warren Buffett
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On This Day In:
2022	Don’t Pretend
2021	I Like Curves More, Too
	I Don’t Know What I’d Do
2020	Pay It Forward
2019	From My Sullied Prison
2018	In My Room (2)
2017	Pretending
2016	And Songs Too…
2015	On The Road To Failure
2014	Each Moment
2013	Conversation
2012	4 Down, 11 Done (At Last)
	I’m Not Afraid
2011	Who’s Risk Is It, Anyway?

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We “Market” Feelings And Image Not Products Or Services

The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.
—     Peter Drucker
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On This Day In:
2022	Until Something Better Comes Along
2021	Facing The Headwinds
	Still Thankful, Still Don’t Read Well
2020	Write For Yourself
2019	I’m Actively Irresponsible
2018	I Will Love You… Forever
2017	Pebbles In Your Shoe?
2016	Resolute Will
2015	Absorbed And Civilized
2014	Relax And Lead
2013	Location, Location, Location
2012	Are You Really Good?
2011	Relatively Objective, Anyway

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Memories Of The Road Once Taken…

Waaay back in 1976, I was stationed in New Jersey and thought I was going to be transferred to a post in California.  (Instead, I got stationed in Germany.)  One of the guys in my company had a Kawasaki 900 motorcycle and he was going to be stationed in New York (State), so he didn’t think he’d be able to ride it enough to justify continued ownership.
To make a long story short, I took it off his hands…  And then road it across the continent!
I was trying to make it across as quickly as possible and was hoping for three thousand mile days of travel.  The first day, I traveled from east New Jersey to about an hour west of Chicago in 17 hours.  I guess the roads were a lot slower / worse then because Google Maps says it’s only about 830 miles and a 12 hour drive.  I’d left at dawn and stopped after 9pm.  My memory says my odometer put it just over 1,100 miles.
The next day was smooth sailing across the farming central states to North Platte, NE.  I recall it being about 600 miles, but Google says it’s closer to 750.  The third day I only got a couple of hundred miles (Cheyenne, WY) before hitting a bitter cold front.  Although I’d only been on the road a few hours, I called it a day and got some sleep.
I awoke to find I was caught in an overnight freeze which turned into a snowstorm.  Because I was traveling in May / June, I was sorely unprepared for the extreme cold and nearly died from the wind-chill and the icy slush constantly being thrown on me by the passing 18-wheelers.  I had picked up a cheap “rain suit” at a roadside gas station, but it was next to worthless as it was not meant to stop ice-rain and wind-chill.
I ended up getting rescued by a guy driving from PA to CA.  He saw me standing on the side of the highway trying to flag SOMEONE down.  My hands were practically frozen solid and he had no ties to tow my bike so we ended up turning around and going to the first available stop to buy some rope, then returning for my bike.  We ended up securing my bike to his open trunk and we proceeded from there.
As it happens, the storm caused a blackout across much of that part of the state (WY).  When we started to run low on gas, we pulled into a gas station but there was no power to run the pumps.  The attendant said the next station was only 30 minutes further down the highway, and it might be on the other side of the power outage.  As there was nowhere to stay or keep warm, we decided to risk it.  We bought a small length of hose – just in case.  Of course we ran out of gas and had to use the hose to siphon gas from my bike to his car.  We did and managed to (finally) get to a working gas station.
When we parted ways, he thanked me for saving his life.  I asked what he meant and he said if he hadn’t stopped for me he would have been stuck out in the middle of nowhere out of gas and probably froze to death waiting for someone to help / rescue him.  I said (the equivalent of):  “What goes around, comes around…  You saved me.  I saved you.”  We shook hands and wished each other good luck on the remainder of our trips.
The rest of the ride (to San Francisco) was pretty uneventful – beautiful, but without anymore life threatening events anyway.  I did break my speedometer flat-lining across the Utah Salt Flats, but that’s a story for another day…
Two more things:  I had a matching color scheme, full-wrap around, Bell Star helmet AND (disclaimer:) the above image is not my “actual” bike.  It is simply and image of the bike I did have and which I found online.  I make no claim to ownership of the image or the bike in it.
I sold the bike / helmet after less than 90 days of ownership when I received my orders to report to Germany.  After my experience crossing the country in the middle of the year, I had no intention of tempting a full winter (or two) on a bike in Germany.
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On This Day In:
2022	Full Of It
2021	I’m Still Learning To Play
	What Are You Looking For?
2020	All You Can
2019	No Wall And Not One Dollar
	‘Cause It Makes Me Scratch
2018	Mirror, Mirror
2017	Keep On Keeping On
2016	Reflections
2015	Is It Time Yet?
2014	Ask Any Follower
2013	Cornered Or Surrounded?
2012	Escape
2011	Achievement
	Not Unreasonable Enough

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Except When More Than A Little Is Required

There’s nothing wrong with a little agitation for what’s right or what’s fair.
—     U.S. Representative John Lewis
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On This Day In:
2022	Full Of It
2021	I’m Still Learning To Play
	What Are You Looking For?
2020	All You Can
2019	No Wall And Not One Dollar
	‘Cause It Makes Me Scratch
2018	Mirror, Mirror
2017	Keep On Keeping On
2016	Reflections
2015	Is It Time Yet?
2014	Ask Any Follower
2013	Cornered Or Surrounded?
2012	Escape
2011	Achievement
	Not Unreasonable Enough

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A Dash Of Yellow

Each year, Spring starts and we get our first splash of color.  My wife’s favorite flower is the Daffodil and she has planted them in both the front and back of our home.
Here’s a photo of the brick “planter’s box” we have in front of our house with this year’s sprouts…
So far, only two have started to flower and only one is actually open and blooming…
In addition to the “normal” ones, she has also planted some of the “mini” variety…
And…
Yes, that’s a rusting horseshoe at the feet of Saint Francis.  No.  We don’t play horseshoes…  It’s just one of the many ornaments we have for “eye-candy” in the yard.
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On This Day In:
2022	Suggestions (The Order Of Precedence Is Optional)…
2021	But That’s Certainly Irrational
	Just Goin’ To My Room
2020	The Butterflies Are In Trouble
2019	The Deep Center
2018	Oh, Heaven (Too)
2017	Now Pausing Makes Sense
2016	Just Spicy
	Only One Part
2015	Positive Acts Of Creation
2014	One Thing Is Clear
2013	Corrections
	See Greatness
2012	Gemutlichkeit
2011	Back On The Asphalt

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In The Grand Scheme Of Things…

Do not fear mistakes.  There are none.
–     Miles Davis
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On This Day In:
2022	Suggestions (The Order Of Precedence Is Optional)…
2021	But That’s Certainly Irrational
	Just Goin’ To My Room
2020	The Butterflies Are In Trouble
2019	The Deep Center
2018	Oh, Heaven (Too)
2017	Now Pausing Makes Sense
2016	Just Spicy
	Only One Part
2015	Positive Acts Of Creation
2014	One Thing Is Clear
2013	Corrections
	See Greatness
2012	Gemutlichkeit
2011	Back On The Asphalt

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Imperceptible Steps

The privacy and dignity of our citizens is being whittled away by sometimes imperceptible steps.  Taken individually, each step may be of little consequence.  But when viewed as a whole, there begins to emerge a society quite unlike any we have seen – a society in which government may intrude into the secret regions of a life.
—     William O. Douglas
From:  Osborn v. United States, 385 U.S. 323
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On This Day In:
2022	Desert Springs
2021	And Usually The Former
	The Real Heir…
2020	The Doggie Dab
	A Fork In The Road
2019	#LyingDonald’s Problem With The News And Truth
2018	Oh, Hell
2017	No Welcome Mat Here
2016	Making It Up
	A Missed Beat
2015	We Are All Explorers
2014	Still Trying To Cope
2013	Dear Diary (A good chuckle!)
2012	Conveniently Sequential
2011	King’s Speech Number Four
	Rational Probability

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Inviting Dispute

A function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute.  It may indeed best serve its high purpose when it invites a condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction with conditions as they are, or even stirs people to anger.  Speech is often provocative and challenging.  It may strike at prejudices and preconceptions and have profound unsettling effects as it passes for acceptance of an idea.
—     William O. Douglas
From:  Terminiello v. Chicago, 337 U.S. 1
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On This Day In:
2022	Beautiful Curves
2021	Life Is…
	Thank You Guardians (OTG)*
2020	Why #DonTheCon Hates, Belittles And Fires Honest Government Employees
2019	What Do You Want?
2018	Wakanda Forever
	I’d Be Happy With Another Score (Or So)
2017	In Defense Of A Free Press
2016	Lost Opportunity
2015	Are You Listening Ladies?
2014	Practice, Practice, Practice
2013	A Fist Full Of Confusion
2012	Teaching Faith
2011	The Heart Of Terror
	The Proportion Of Gravity And Probability

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Standing Strength

Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them.  You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have.
—     Norman Vincent Peale
Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.
—     Napoleon Hill
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On This Day In:
2022	Overbooked
2021	One Month In: Learning To Play Guitar
	Cause The Melody Keeps Haunting Me
2020	Working On My 2019 Tax Returns
2019	Three Beliefs
2018	He Found Them On-Line
2017	Maybe In A Future World
2016	Largely A Mystery
2015	Tools And Weapons
2014	Likes And Dislikes
2013	Pillars Of Learning
2012	Another JCoM Review
	Move It
2011	Expected Value

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In The Beginning…

The first word gives origin to the second, the first and second to the third, and the third to the fourth, and so on.  You cannot begin with the second word.
—     N. Scott Momaday
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On This Day In:
2022	I Learn Something New
2021	I’m Retired, I Always Have Time For It!
	Just Mice Elf
	That Was A Shot In The Arm
2020	Decide, Support, Vote
2019	Aware Some
2018	Know Any Christians?
2017	The Only Thing I Can Give…
2016	Wiser But Less Cocksure
2015	Not Today
	Wicked
2014	…Am Too
2013	Credible?
2012	Both
2011	Risking Hidden Linkage

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Or So We Like To Believe

We perceive existence by means of words and names.  To this or that vague, potential thing I will give a name, and it will exist thereafter, and its existence will be clearly perceived.  The name enables me to see it.  I can call it by its name, and I can see it for what it is.
—     Navarre Scott Momaday
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On This Day In:
2022	First, To Understand
2021	So How Should We Persuade The Dangerous?
	Can A Loser Ever Win?
2020	Maybe More Than A Very Few
2019	Missing Failure
2018	Praise God
2017	Necessary Gaps
2016	Nor My Dogs
2015	Say What?
	I’m A Dog, Too!
	Beginnings
2014	Astonishing Choices
2013	Three Hard Tasks
2012	The Only Remains
2011	Personal Capability
	What Price Failure?
	Both Of W’s Elections
	Tea (Baggers) Anyone?

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8 to 12 Hours Per Day

Things I should do in retirement:
1) exercise;
2) read books;
3) review books;
4) work on blog site;
5) learn guitar / music;
6) watch movies / TV / YouTube;
7) research books;
8) buy books;
9) rearrange books;
10) talk about books
Things I actually do in retirement:
1) watch movies / TV / YouTube;
2) work on blog site;
3) learn guitar / music;
4) exercise;
5) rearrange books;
6) read books;
7) review books;
8) research books;
9) buy books;
10) talk about books
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On This Day In:
2022	True Measures
2021	Moments With You
	I Remember I Told My Sorrow
2020	A Post-Valentine Thought
2019	A Little Magic
	‘Cause It Makes Me Feel Happy
	The Mark Against Your Name
2018	Nice To Meet You
2017	All Nations & Religions
2016	Given The Choice
	Why Is He Wearing Red?
2015	Within The System
2014	None But…
2013	Obviously Longer
2012	A Childhood Poem
	Who Are You Callin’ Leather-Faced?
2011	In No Particular Order
	The Need For Proof

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First Things First

First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.
—  Thomas a Kempis
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On This Day In:
2022	A Little Perspective
2021	Put ‘Er There
	Are You Goin’ On Again?
2020	And In The Back
2019	Sunlight Stream
2018	Wars Without Taxes
2017	Multiplication And Division
2016	I Went To The Woods…
2015	I’ve Got To Run
2014	Which Is It?
2013	Making You Stronger
2012	Sick Of Being Sick
	Greater Than Power
2011	Clear, Specific And Measurable
2010	The Runner’s High
	Into The Dark…

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