Why I am a Proud Papa

I shall not go into my childhood bewilderment with MY father's and grandfather's hate of the word "Papa." I shall instead simply and briefly state why I am proud to claim the title.
1. Six children
2. It's universally understood in latin based languages
3. Six well behaved children
4. It implies a relationship to a mama. (Don't read too deep on that one.)
5. It carries responsibility
6. My children honor me every day I come home with a happy chorus of "Pa-pa-J-J-J, Pa-pa-J-J-J-J." Sung to the intro of Styx's "Blue Collar Man"

Name That Line Christmas edition

Name that Line Dec 18th (Happy Birthday Ollie)

Here is the latest installment of name that line:1 point for the movie, 1 point for the character's name, 1 point for the actor's name an extra 5 points if you can legitamately name another movie that has the same line not including different versions of the same movie.e-mail any suggestions you want to contribute to next week's installment to:

pnkjohn@hotmail.com

This version of name that line should see a lot of high scores since we all love the Chrismas movies.

* I shortened some names so the quotes wouldn't be TOO easy.

1. [Shoved down the slide, but he stops himself and climbs back up] "No! No! I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!" "You'll shoot your eye out, kid."
2. "What is it you want, M*? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That's a pretty good idea. I'll give you the moon, M*." "I'll take it. Then what?" "Well, then you can swallow it, and it'll all dissolve, see... and the moonbeams would shoot out of your fingers and your toes and the ends of your hair... am I talking too much?"
3. "You're supposed to drink the milk." "Look, I am lactose intolerant! And I'm just about this close to taking all those presents back up the chimney. Supposed to drink the milk!"
4. "Wait a minute, I got it. I got it. I got it. How about this: The Molintator." "The Molinator. I like it. Thank you, Santa. Can we vote right now on The Molinator?"
5. "This bell is a wonderful symbol of the spirit of Christmas- as am I. Just remember, the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart."
6. "Have you seen these toilets? They're GINORMOUS!"
7. "Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer. Cheer to all Whos far and near. Christmas Day is in our grasp so long as we have hands to clasp. Christmas Day will always be just as long as we have we. Welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart and hand in hand."
8. "What is your name?" "K* K*." "Where do you live?" "That's what this hearing will decide."
9. "[shouting in desperation] Isn't there anyone out there who can tell me what Christmas is all about?" "Sure, C*B*, I can tell you. Lights, please. [a spotlight shines] "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the lord shone round about them, and they were so afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you this day is born in the City of Bethlehem, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men'". That's what Christmas is all about, C* B*.
10. "Hello there... I-I-I-I... Oh dear... Oh... Oh, you're-you're... I'm W* K* and I'm custodian over at the Beck Apartments, but, but you know that, don't you. You know that. I guess nobody here can see me or hear me except you. I didn't bring a gift, I, but I, I guess that's not important. Thank you for everything you've done for me. As long as I can remember you've been right by my side. I'll never forget when you walked with me right in those first few hours after I lost Martha. I-I've always been able to count on you, when I felt dark inside and when I... You were right there, right, every time, right there. Even when I didn't feel good about myself, I knew that you cared for me enough, and that, that made me feel better. Like that time I got mad with Mabel Huntington because she broke her pipes on purpose just so she could have somebody to see while I came up and fixed them for her. Boy, I hollered at her, boy I hollered real loud. But then, then I got to thinking - you loved Mabel just as much as you loved me and I should treat her the way you want me to. I believe I talked to you about that at the time. Well, I started visiting her and we became friends. I saw her almost every day until the day she died. I love you. You're my closest, my finest friend. And that means that I can hold my head high, wherever I go. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

42 points are possible this week. What'd you get?

Name that Line Nov 10, 2006

Here is the latest installment of name that line:1 point for the movie, 1 point for the character's name, 1 point for the actor's name an extra 5 points if you can legitamately name another movie that has the same line not including different versions of the same movie.

e-mail any suggestions you want to contribute to next week's installment to: pnkjohn@hotmail.com

In honor of Veteran's day:

1. "The Statue of Liberty is Kaput? That's disconcerting"
2. "Three Jap carriers sunk, Admiral. Isn't that worth at least a "hot diggity damn"? "
3. "You know what top secret is?" "Yes, sir. It's the kind of mission where you get medals, but they send 'em to your relatives."
4. " Lieu-tellen, you sexy man." "Thanks... You're looking pretty... er, fit yourself."
5. "Well I'm as much agin killin' as ever sir. --- But it was this way Colonel. --- When I started out I felt just like you said, but when I hear them machine guns a goin' and all them fellas are droppin' around me --- I figured them guns was killin' hundreds maybe thousands and there wern't nothin' any body could do, but to stop them guns. And that's what I done. "
6. "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure. " *HINT* Not your typical war movie.
7. "Be happy in your work"
8. "You've seen a general inspecting troops before haven't you? Just walk slow, act dumb and look stupid!"
9. "Major, I said "strip." Get it? All clothes, off. Naked." "[Yelling] Parade... strip."
10. "How many you taking out?" "Two hundred and fifty." "Two hundred and fifty?" "Yeh." "You're crazy. You oughta be locked up. You, too. Two hundred and fifty guys just walkin' down the road, just like that?"

How many points did you get?

The comments hold the answer key. I will post it on Saturday

Work and Play

I spent the last week entirely with my family. Hours and hours with my wife. Compare that to this week where I will be lucky to spend 12 concious hours together with her this week. Most of those will be on Saturday and Sunday.

Work takes the majority of my time away from the family. Church takes most of what's left in the evenings from either me or Kristine. Saturday there is usually something planned either with the church or as a family event.

Family time becomes sacred.

Four days on vacation. Two with good friends making our total group rather large; yet, every moment that we were together as a family was tonic for my soul. Two days and a half days were our family alone. It went so quickly. It went so deep.

This vacation was our first family vacation this year as I have been tasked at work implementing a new system for the company at two locations here in New Mexico.

Coming back to work this week I can feel the renewal and a new vigor in my work activities. A little bit of play has gone a long long way.

I play, I am renewed.
I have laughed
joy in the laughter returned.

I work, I am renewed.
I have accomplished
satisfaction, efforts that improve.

I serve, I am renewed.
I have helped
giving I have grown.

Name that Line Oct 19, 2006

Here is the latest installment of name that line:
1 point for the movie, 1 point for the character's name, 1 point for the actor's name an extra 5 points if you can legitamately name another movie that has the same line not including different versions of the same movie.

e-mail any suggestions you want to contribute to next week's installment to: pnkjohn@hotmail.com

"1. Oh great and powerful Steve, what do you want?!"
"2. Family comes first!...Honeymoon!...Honeymoon."
"3. A little revolution every now and then is a healthy thing. Don't you think?"
"4. How can you help me if you don't believe in me? Some magic's real"
"5. These are the years when a man changes into the man he is going to become for the rest of his life. Just be careful who you change into."
"6. Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects."
"7. Great! You killed the invisible swordsman!" "Yep, he's dead." "How was I supposed to know where he was?" "You were suppossed to fire up. We both fired up. It's like living with a six year old."
"8. Did I not instruct that box five was to be kept empty?"
"9. The fault was mine and so must the remedy be. It was through my mistake in pride that Mr. W____'s character has not been made known to the world."
"10. I, uh, kinda promised the blueberries I'd teach them kanasta."

How many points did you get?

The first comment holds the answer key.

Name that Line Oct 12, 2006

As explained last Thursday, here is the latest installment of name that line:
1 point for the movie, 1 point for the character's name, 1 point for the actor's name an extra 5 points if you can legitamately name another movie that has the same line not including different versions of the same movie.

e-mail any suggestions you want to contribute to next week's installment to: pnkjohn@hotmail.com

1. "We shall not go quietly into the night,..."
2. "Oh Captain! My Captain"
3. "I'm an Uncle! (Passes out)"
4. "Baby steps to the door, Baby steps to the elevator..."
5. "Do you have a kiss for dad-dy?"
6. "And Daddy...They took my boot!"
7. "If money is a curse, may God curse me with it and may I never recover."
8. "Do you trust me?" "What?" "Do you TRUST me?!" "Yy-e-ss?" "Than jump!"
9. "Come down! Ladies come down!"
10. "He distinctly said "to blave." And, as we all know, "to blave" means "to bluff."

Number 10 was corrected so if you took the test and couldn't get but now you can then give yourself an extra point for being as smart as my twin.

How many points did you get?

The first comment holds the answer key.

Apollo God of Stink

Though you can't see the fumes
that waft through the air,
the skunk left his mark
with eyewatering flair

This gives one more story
't'will be shared years to come
We'll shake heads and we'll laugh
That dog is so dumb!

A Colorful Life

Tiny's bruised cheek is pure color
where two brothers collided
black, purple, and yellow
quite nice I've decided

Angel face has chosen
with eyes blue as steel
persistance in learning
and innocence real

Miss M shoots red lasers
watch out for her ire
lives life with a passion
and a book by the fire

Bug sees only two tones
its black or its white
he'll defend truth and justice
he will do what's right

Lucy is radient
a dancing princess
bright yellow like sunshine
in a loved wornout dress

Bam-bam the ham ham
learns the trade of the clown
a farmyard of noises
the joy of the town

Mother is green
a green pillar of hope
the force of our family
the keeper of soap

Each day has a story
of friends, joy, or strife
each one makes my memoirs
a colorful life

Name that line

Here's a concept for a new game show. In the spirit of "Name That Tune" they could play one word at a time from a movie until the contestant either finishes the line and names the movie, or just names the movie. You get extra points if you can name the actor, actor's character, etc.

So let's play, see how you do:

1. "(whispered) the Users, the Users, the Users... Are you a User?"
2. "He who would pun would pick a pocket"
3. "I died that day, and you can die too for all I care."
4. "(chanted) Run Home Jack! Run Home Jack"
5. "Still...I don't know, do you think a guy like me and a girl like her..." "No!"
6. "Snakes? I hate snakes"
7. "You were the Chosen One!"
8. "(sung in monotone) I want the knife...Please"
9. "The pass is open, the pass is open, all able bodies gather at the meeting house." (Except no one ever does they all just ride off.)
10. "Do you know how vile it is to hear the first song bird of the morning when you've been up all night crying?"
11. "Now show me, sand 'a flo'"
12. "What about this birthmark right here?"
13. "Will you give me your word that I may take all that I can carry?" "Whatever you may carry." (laughing) "All right bring him back, I'll give you a horse."
14. "I caught you a delicious bass."
15. "Kiss me! (That's NOT and order)"
16. "What we need are some nice 'taters" "'Taters? What's 'taters?" "PO-TAH-TOES."
17. "She turned me into a newt (pause) I got bet'er"

That should be enough for this weeks episode.

Self evident truths

In the preamble to the Declaration of independence, our forefathers outlined their specific reasons very carefully for breaking from their mother country, England. Men have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And when those rights are taken or diminished they have a right to stand up and defend them.

The steps that our country has taken since 9/11 have diminished the rights of it's citizen's. Judges no longer fully check the spying of our government. I realize that those that are being spied upon are not likely to be your typical citizen; however, it is the violation of the human right to liberty that should shake American's to the core and yet only musters muffled opposition. Perhaps it is because non-citizen's are the primary target of these violations that most American's feel safe. I fear that if the American Right doesn't correct this mistake, it will forever return the 'inalienable right' won by tens of thousands of American's fighting an oppressive government in exchange for fear caused by the death of thousands of brave Americans and foreigners in the Twin Towers.

It should be the goal of every conscientious American to restore those check's and balances. I heard on the radio yesterday an assumably patriotic American saying that those that would restore those rights would 'grant freedom to terrorists.' We must also remember that another American concept that all men are innocent until proven guilty. A man is not a terrorist until after you have proven it. You shouldn't be able to spy on that man until you have proven to a judge that you have reasonable cause to believe he is a terrorist.

I believe so firmly in this that I argue that we should not surrender our rights to seek an uncertain security; but, like those brave revolutionaries we should be willing to stand up for our ideals and be willing to risk another 9/11 if it means that we all maintain our rights.

Now, for the three people that read my blog...feel free to call me a fanatic. Just don't forget that big brother may be watching. Yeah right.

Unalienable rights

In the preamble to the Declaration of Independence our forefathers averred that we have certain unalienable rights. Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. They used this as a justification for their actions because they were explaining to their mother country, England, that because she was trying to destroy these rights they would have to fight for them.

Five years ago my wife reported to me while I was in the shower that a "missile" had just hit a building in New York. Throughout the day we watched in horror as thousands of our fellow Americans lost their lives in a senseless tragedy. I felt justified as our president struck out at the heart of those that would do this by attacking the main country that harbored them, Afghanistan under Taliban rule. If felt pride when we helped that country restore the basic human rights that we claimed from England more than two-hundred years ago.

I felt indifference when the Patriot act was quickly passed allowing our government to remove certain rights from it's people, after all, only those that do wrong should have anything to worry about. Right?

I am not a quick thinker at times. It took more than four years for my opinion on this matter to change. Now I think that we have reason to be ashamed. That those same rights that tens of thousands of brave men died to obtain during the Revolutionary war were so quickly abandoned out of fear when a mere fraction of that total were sacrificed in 2001.

Now, lest you believe I don't care for the lives of those that died that day let me vehemently protest. Their sacrifice was a sad one. Let us not insult their sacrifice by destroying liberties along with them. Let us honor their sacrifice and in their name restore the rights that were surrendered to fear.

I have heard the phrase, said in derision, that people that fight the patriot act want to give rights to terrorists. Let us not forget that one of the foundational principles of our justice system is that all men are innocent until proven guilty. This system applies just as equally to those that are not citizens of our country. I would not protect the guilty to establish rights. No, but I would that we should prove them guilty before we convict them. Obtain the permission of a judge before we spy on them.

And if you are wondering if I would allow another atrocity like 9/11 to occur because I don't think it is right to violate privacy I would answer a resounding YES! I do not want the atrocity, but, like those brave revolutionaries, I am willing to sacrifice my life and some of my security if in doing so my family's freedoms are protected.

I realize that I'm a little late in speaking out. I realize that my humble blog is only read by two people...maybe; but I also had to write this down. Count me as one American that cares, even if I don't know how else to make my voice heard.

What makes a favorite?

For your profound thinking pleasure I proffer the following question: What makes something your favorite? Some of my favorites are very certain. I prefer Purple above all other colors. Did I say certain? Because I can think of some circumstances when Purple wouldn't be favored at all. (Old ladies hair for example.) So, in honor of my question I will offer you my new favorite poem:

You may think me shallow or fickle

yet firmly I swear it is true

my favorite food is a pickle

but that's not my favorite for you.

For you I would favor a breath mint

you may think my preference rude

for the cost don't think me a skinflint

no importance is place on the food.

These choices are simply explain-ed

The pickle is a favorite treat

once the garlic my breath's truely tainted

mint turns my breath back to sweet.

Please, let me know what makes something your favorite.

Sports and Parenting

No, this is not a post about how many hours I spend coaching my children in baseball or soccer. No this is a humble confession. My children are doomed to be sports illiterate. This afternoon I took Bug to scouts. We talked about the upcoming campout. We played twenty questions with the scouts for a while. Then all of the scouts but Bug and one other headed out to the field to play some football. It was a nice day. The scouting part of scouts was over. Okay. Let's play for a while. Bug says, "I don't want to." "What? Come on, it'll be fun." "I don't like football." "What? Come on, the other scouts are playing, we're all going to play." "Dad, its too violent." "Come on, it'll be two hand touch." Here the other scouts jump in, "Two hand touch? No! Its tackle." "No, I'm not going to explain broken arms to parents." My son, "Dad, I'll play but only if we play tackle." Then it dawns on me. My son has no idea what he is talking about. He's never even played one scrimmage. No idea that tackle is more violent then two hand touch. How can a boy in America not know that tackle can hurt? I once (at about the age of Bug) threatened my procreative abilities by being tackled right on top of a buried sprinkler head. We ended up playing for about a half hour. Bug had a good time. (I had an aneurysm.)

The good news is, I'm no jock. I feel no guilt about this realization. Bug has other experiences that point him squarely toward nerdhood. Just like his father. Now, admittedly, I was pretty popular in High School but if you distilled the sum of my characteristics, I'd end up much more nerd than jock. He'll like making music. (I don't consider someone musically inclined when all they know is the personal details and lyrics of one rock group.) Probably drama. He's already been in chess club.

I'd be more lost if he was a jock. I'm just glad that I can relate to him when he says he doesn't want to play football.

What a little stud.

Poetry

I have come to a realization in the last few years that I can no longer hide. I must come out of the closet. I am a poet. I like reading poetry (though I don't seek it out very much.) I love writing poetry even more. I find myself creating new lyrics for songs every day. Most of my poems don't make it to paper. Most are created with the kids in the car, to the tune of a song, meant to make them laugh. Yet, I love the challenge of playing with words.

Now, I know that there are some that would argue that rhyming isn't good poetry; however, I beg to differ. A good rhyme combined with well planned meter can demonstrate language mastery and literary emotion perhaps better than any other written medium.

Akin to rhyming and just as fun of a literary divice are puns. One of my favorite movie quotes (from the doctor in "Master and Commander") is, "He who would pun would pick a pocket."

So, you may suggest if you like that I am a pick pocket in the poetry closet. I don't care. So in the spirit of poetry I leave you with two poems. One of my own, and one of the bards.


Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed,
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired;
But then begins a journey in my head,
To work my mind, when body's work's expired:
For then my thoughts, from far where I abide,
Intend a zealous pilgrimage to thee,
And keep my drooping eyelids open wide,
Looking on darkness which the blind do see
Save that my soul's imaginary sight
Presents thy shadow to my sightless view,
Which, like a jewel hung in ghastly night,
Makes black night beauteous and her old face new.
Lo! thus, by day my limbs,
by night my mind,
For thee and for myself no quiet find.

William Shakespeare Sonnet XXVII

I sit to my blog
for other's I write
when they leave precious comments
my soul takes delight

My thoughts then have proven
to tickle your mind
so leave me your message
else I fumble 'round blind

Your feedback so precious
a blurb's all I crave
few word's all I need
to leave my poetry cave.

Pat John Blog post #9

Southwest Kids

My childhood was spent playing with more than 20 kids in my neighborhood. After we moved here I spent some time mourning for the fact that my children would not be surrounded by as many friends, after all, it was a good experience for me and they deserve the same. Then experiences like the one documented in these pictures started to occur and I realized that our children will truly have a charmed childhood.






I guess that I need to show them what a sled is SUPPOSED to be used for.

Forget about the SAT

This morning, thanks to the prompting of my wife, I took the increasingly more important "Nerd Test." The results say that I am "definitely MIT material." What more do I need? This test even included a question about my GPA and that didn't change my rating. So, I guess that MIT doesn't need my transcripts either. I'm hoping that the new international standard will be the nerd test, in which case I will be starting at MIT in the spring. Here are my results:

Cortez, CO

The silo is always out of the left side of the window in my memory. It wasn’t a very large silo but to my young eyes it was a thing of wonder. Old weathered gray with patches of rust along some of the seams it might be a water tower. I’m not sure anymore. But I would recognize it if I saw it again. When I would see it I would ask my dad, “How much longer to Cortez?” “We’ve still got a couple of more hours.” It was true but it didn’t seem true. To my young mind whenever I saw that tower it was only a little bit longer.
My grandmother lived in Cortez. It was eight hours from Salt Lake to Cortez and we would make the trek more than once a year. Probably more than twice. When we arrived in Cortez I always loved the great street art. Not sidewalk chalks. Not graffiti. No Cortez was renowned my world over for the most incredible fire hydrant art. I particularly remember the fire hydrant that was painted to look like Snoopy. He really looked like Snoopy.
Sometimes our family would arrive in Cortez very late at night. My dad had made a bed in the back of the Suburban and he let the kids all fall asleep in cozy comfort. Then, when we got to Cortez, he would expel us from our travel coma into the cold Colorado night. Half asleep still, we would all carry one of the sleeping bags from the Suburban into grandma’s house to jockey for position near the one metal heater in the middle of the floor. Not too close though. It put out enough heat to burn.
I can remember one very fast trip where we drove down in the night, my dad napped the morning in a bedroom and Perry and I played with Sammy her dog, or climbed up on the roof of her shed. I don’t remember much of the trip back. We stopped for hamburgers in Moab and I fell asleep in the back seat of the old red Subaru, tired after a long day of traveling. I woke up halfway down the canyon from Price to Provo. Something stank. It wasn’t that cold but I had been covered with my dad’s jacket. The smell and the wet told me all I needed to know. While I slept my brother had spewed his hamburger all over me. I began to complain and beg to stop and let me change. My dad said that it was only a short while longer back to Salt Lake. It was the same distance as the silo was from Cortez, but it took twice as long.
I Slept many a night in Cortez though I never lived there. My grandmother passed more than ten years ago. I’ve only been back once since and only in passing through. But in my heart Cortez will always be a little bit, my town.

Strong Bad has the most death defying sbmail check ever!

Strong Bad said it and he was right. It made the coverpage of my blog. Find out what I'm talking about by watching this cartoon: http://www.homestarrunner.com/weclomeback.html

Then, if you've never watched Homestar Runner then I suggest you do it in chunks. There's too much there for one sitting. Unless you're a Gluten [sic] for punishment.

So far on this blog I've covered the spectrum from philosophical to frivolous. Well its my blog, I guess that's what its good for.

"The challenge has been issued"

When I was dating my future wife in Thatcher, AZ my twin came with me to visit her from Kearny, our home town. One of the day's divertments was a walk to the elementary school to sit and talk on the swings. My twin and I started jumping from the swings and we quickly escalated the fun into a competition. Who could jump the farthest? In committing to the competition one of us, I can't remember who, said, "The challenge has been issued." This phrase has become a part of how we interact as twins. Perhaps because we both see strengths in the other that we admire. I love my twin, and so in the spirit of our bond I once again issue the challenge. I now have more posts than you.

Abandoned House

When Al ask me to come down to the Mission Mine and conduct asbestos inspections on three abandoned homes located on the mine’s property I was more than happy to do so, it would mean a day out of the office. I borrowed a company Chevy Blazer number 116, the best of three vehicles in our department. Stained brown by years of use at the Ray mine, with a weak transmission and rough shocks 116 was really the best of three junkers. I could have driven my own car but 116 had air conditioning and an even better a radio, besides, I was on company business and felt no desire to go through the travel reimbursement process this time.
Once at Mission Mine Al took me to the first two houses. As I conducted the inspections Al explained that the homes used to be rented out to employees. Over the years the employees had not really cared for the housed very well and the company, going through financial difficulties, had no desire to maintain them. The reason for the inspections was so that the company could tear them down, the homes had become too much of a headache for the general manager at Mission. “Plus,” Al informed me, “the last house we are going to was robbed and the renter brutally killed.” He went on to explain that the house’s remote location made the crime easy to commit since no one was around to notice or hear what was going on.
“Do you mind doing the inspection on a house where someone was killed?” Al asked.
At least he had the decency to ask. I didn’t think it would bother me. Death is a part of life after all. This death had just been premature, that’s all.
The road to the house ran past abandoned farming fields. The mine had bought the farm in order to obtain the water rights that went with it. The precious water had once run through the now forgotten irrigation ditches. These had been excellent ditches for a farm. Not earthen ditches, the once carefully laid cement was now cracked and mesquite trees grew up through holes that would never be repaired.
As we approached the home it became obvious that this was once a very proud farmhouse. The hay barn, three dry rotted wooden walls and a corrugated tin roof that was now rusting, was stuffed full of broken and also rusting cars. The stable, again a three sided building, was in better repair; but, the horse manure had not been shoveled out for years and made the building look shorter because the pile came up so high. The yard was once full of green grass and still held a rotting garden hose and sprinkler in the middle.
The house itself was magnificent. The Spanish tile on the roof was in good repair. Al ushered me in through the garage and into the kitchen. My first shock was to find that the house still seemed occupied. There were some dirty dishes on the counter and a mouse or a packrat had pushed the newspapers left on the counter onto the floor to more easily carry them off to it’s home.
A mug on the counter that was shaped like a women’s breast and indeed had a spout from the teat gave Al and I a brief moment of embarrassed laughter. The mug combined with a poster of a swimsuit model gave Al an opportunity to talk about the former occupant’s life. He worked with Al at the mine. Not a close friend but a good acquaintance. Al spoke of the man’s midlife crisis and how he had gone from being a family man to being consumed with living for the moment. His crisis led to divorce and eventually the man became very superficial.
As we toured the house I couldn’t help but be envious of it. There was a high vaulted ceiling with thick wood support beams, a large flagstone fireplace in the living room, three very large bedrooms including the master bedroom with it’s spacious bathroom. The house was U shaped with the western leg of the “U” going out about twice as far as the eastern. The “U” surrounded a covered patio that was completely tiled with white and blue Mexican tile. There was a back wall that completed the courtyard and truly gave the yard a very regal feeling, making me feel as though I had stepped into the nineteenth century and this house was under the rule of Spain.
I was there on business so I knocked some of my own holes in the walls with the reassurance from Al that nothing I could do during my home inspection would matter. The home was too be torn down by the Mine in a desire to eliminate the liability of renting to anyone in such a remote location. Still, knocking new holes in the walls seemed a sin against such a lovely home. There was so much potential with both the home and the yard.
The grandeur of the home was a stark contrast to how the man had occupied it. His superficial attitude carried over into the home’s upkeep. It was obvious that the carpets had never been cleaned. The state of the yard, and the disrepair of the items in the home: cabinet doors missing, holes in some of the walls, and cobwebs that would take years to form, were obvious signs that this man did not appreciate what he had.
The murder had happened sometime in the night. A man from South Tucson was found driving the man’s pickup truck in Los Angeles. He hadn’t even tried to get rid of the truck; he just assumed that he could drive it indefinitely without getting caught. During my tour of the house the dirt stains of the carpet were secondary to the holes that the police had cut into the carpet. Al showed me where they had found him. My disgust for the way the man had kept the house gave way to pity. Not even the most superficial man in the world deserves the fate this man suffered. That pity reminded me of every man’s greatness. We are all children of one God. God certainly doesn’t want us doing what these two men had done.
As we left the house we passed the mug in the kitchen and gave it one more embarrassed laugh. We were both trying to keep the thoughts of the evil carried out in the house as far from the surface as possible. As I left I couldn’t shrug off the sorrow. He had isolated himself from the things in the world that bring lasting happiness and thereby destroyed his family, and then he died.
I tried to avoid the dust that Al’s car kicked up on the return trip away from the farm. I turned the radio on to listen to the next topic of discussion on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, in an effort to turn my mind from a house that had been abandoned first by a family and last by the spirit of a man. Then I concluded that this man had lost his life long before it was taken and I had to turn the radio up louder to try to cover the deeper sorrow I felt for that.
I suppose that a house becomes haunted whenever the thoughts about the house become haunting. I have since tried not to think about this poor man. I would not say that his house was haunted, indeed, I would still be happy to live there. The way he died was gruesome, the way he lived, that is the most haunting part of his life in the end.

Nation Building

Any one nation is the sum of it’s people. If the nation rewards industry by allowing the people to keep what they have produced, then the people will produce. If a nation feeds a people without asking them to work, they won’t work.

If you want a nation to behave rationally, the people need education in order to think rationally.

How does a nation reward industry? By limiting taxes, the financial burden; limiting bureaucracy, which divert resources; and by encouraging entrepreneurship, which help create new sources of wealth.

How does a nation discourage industry? By granting monopolies and oligopolies, by not educating it’s people, by suppressing dissenting viewpoints, by discouraging any form of entrepreneurship, by locking up resources, which will happen when a state or monopoly runs any one business, by building elaborate and money wasting bureaucracies, by pumping money into non productive government sectors.

Help the poor feed themselves.

Build a strong judicial system that includes a police force entirely divorced from the military forces.

A country should concern itself with: Freedom for all and in most every respect governed by life first and property second. After freedom comes safety but never at the expense of freedom. We extoll our progenitors for defending freedom and then too quickly abandon those freedoms to protect ourselves from harm. If we cannot place our own lives willingly on the alter of freedom, than perhaps we do not deserve our freedom. Next comes education by which the people come to cherish their freedoms and learn to truly defend them. The next goal for a country is transportation so that no set of people is bound by its geography and to encourage industry. Then finally a country should develop and protect its resources allowing the people to use them while requiring that all life within its borders be given proportional justice.

I didn't mean to do this

I just wanted to respond to a posting on my wife's web page; however, I might just put some thought into this. Maybe just for myself.