Saturday, January 22, 2011

The Captain's Last Trip


Darkness wraps the laker on this cold November night

No ripples tell the tale of the power and the might

Cutting through the blackness shines the twinkling diamond light

Of a billion starry sentinels to guide a sailor's sight.


On the bridge, the seasoned captain guides his massive ship

And remembers all the starry nights and many a silent trip

In his hands he holds his tea and slowly takes a sip

And quietly says a mariners prayer against Novembers whip


Somehow this night's a fitting trip for this tired and worn old man

Whose face is lined with wrinkles and deeply chestnut tan

The time has come to keep his sealegs on the land

And watch the little children make castles in the sand


He's seen his share of silent nights and the cruel November witch

Remembering his heartbreak the night they lost the Fitz

How his old girl had struggled with the roll and pitch

He brought her into port that night and slipped her in her niche


Before the crew had settled down to take a needed rest

They fired her up and pulled her out to face their biggest test

She rumbled with power and swung around and headed to the west

To join the powerful ladies on their desperate quest


Although he's old and tired and his bones do deeply ache

He'll miss his walk around the deck and gazing at her wake

A fleeting mark that briefly cuts the silence of the Great lake

And he sheds a silent tear for the last trip he will take


c. 1999 Carolyn Duprey


Monday, January 3, 2011

First Rant of 2011

Reality shows...........do people even watch these things anymore? How stupid they have become...not that they were very smart to begin with.
And what happened to CRAFT shows on HGTV and DIY. It is all about renovate this...sell that...I understand that the housing market is bad right now. But jeeze.....Remake the Bath, Re Do the Kitchen...whatever else they have on there.
I miss Carol Duvall and the other craft shows. And shows about quilting, knitting, sewing.

But what is really bugging me to start this new year is those reality shows that have absolutely nothing to do with reality. Overkill.

And if I see one more person with POOFY lips I'm gonna SCREAM!!!!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Milestones

Today I reached another milestone in life. Today I am 60 years old. And I find it comforting, joyous and a true accomplishment. When I think back on some of the things that should have killed me in my youth and realize I survived, I am even more overjoyed to be celebrating this age. For some reason, to me, being 60 is much more fun than turning 50. 60 is such a ROUND number. Kinda flows off the tongue. 50 sounds so harsh. As will 70. It's those odd numbers that seem cruel. LOL. But maybe by the time I reach 70.....I will be as overjoyed to have made that milestone as I am about this one.
I have no regrets....well, maybe some, but I wouldn't change a thing...okay, maybe a couple....but as my precious daughter points out to me....."yesterdays made me who I am today" and I am happy with the me I have become.
And for that.....I am having a joyous day of birth. 60 ROCKS. Because I am out of THAT generation. Groovy.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Borders

Today, while listening to a talk show on the radio, a caller who was a police officer in Phoenix, Arizona called in. He had served two tours in Iraq and one in Afganistan while in the military. And here was his point:

He spent three years guarding the borders of other countries. As a police officer in Phoenix, he had arrested one particular man three times for driving drunk without a license. An illegal. And each time, the man was let go. Not turned over to immigration, not even tried and sent to prison! The officer was livid. He went to his superiors. They said.....just learn to deal with it. That is the way it is.

We are spending billions defending borders of other countries. We are ignoring the problem right here in the USA.

So, what else is new, I guess?

Friday, August 6, 2010

CONTROL

1. An armed man is a citizen. And unarmed man is a subject.
2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.
3. COLT: The original point and click interface.
4. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?
5. Gun control isn't about guns, it is about control.
6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.
7. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
8. If you don't know your rights, you don't have any.
9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
10. The United States Constitution (c) 1789. All Rights Reserved.
11. What part of "shall not be infringed" do you not understand?
12. The Second Amendment is in place in case they ignore the others.
13. 64,999,987 gun owners killed no one yesterday.
14. Guns have only two enemies; Rust and politicians.
15. Know guns, know peace. No guns, no peace.
16. You don't shoot to kill, you shoot to stay alive.
17. 911- government sponsored Dial a Prayer.
18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.
19. Criminals love gun control - it makes their job safer.
20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.
21. Only a government that is afraid of it's citizens tries to control them.
22. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.
23. Enforce the "gun control laws " in place, don't make more.
24. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.
25. The American Revolution would have never happened if the colonists had submitted to Gun Control Laws.
26. At least Mothers Against Drunk Driving are smart enough NOT to have gone after cars as the problem.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Today on Yahoo Buzz Up

Posted in the comment section:
Cross the North Korean border illegally you get 12 years hard labor.
If you cross the Iranian border illegally you are detained indefinitely.
If you cross the Afghan border illegally, you get shot.
If you cross the Saudi Arabian border illegally you will be jailed.
If you cross the Chinese border illegally you may never be heard from again.
If you cross the Venezuelan border illegally you will be branded a spy and your fate will be sealed.
If you cross the Mexican border illegally you will be jailed for two years.
If you cross the Cuban border illegally you will be thrown into political prison to rot.

If you cross the United States border illegally you get:
1 - A job
2 - A driver's license (In some states)
3 - A Social Security card (I'm not so sure about that)
4 - Welfare
5 - Food stamps
6 - Credit cards (not so sure about that either)
7 - Subsidized rent or a loan to buy a house (many citizens can't get a loan to by a house, so I pretty much don't agree with the original writer of this statement on the house buying thing)
8 - Free education
9 - Free health care
10 - A lobbyist in Washington
11 - Billions of dollars in public documents printed in your language
12 - Millions of servicemen and women who are willing to – and do – die for your right to the ways and means of our constitution
13 - And the right to carry the flag of your country - the one you walked out on – while you call America racist and protest that you don't get enough respect.

And today, as I was checking out different news sites about today's news...I see a picture of a group of Mexican protesters holding up large crucifixes and pictures of the painting..."Our Lady of Guadaloupe"....WHAT does religion have to do with ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS??????

And the protesters holding up signs saying "I'm not going to Live in Fear"....If you are a citizen, if you are LEGALLY in this country...WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO FEAR??
If they would only listen honestly to themselves.....they would see some lack of intelligence.

Number 13 above says it all for me.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Rant for the Day

What is wrong with the people who are AGAINST the State of Arizona checking for illegals? WHY IS THAT A PROBLEM???????
The key word, ILLEGAL......how can checking ANYONE's identity be a problem? We have to prove who we are at a branch of our bank that we don't normally deal with. We have to have a driver's license and we HAVE to show it to a policeman if he stops us in our car. And here, I'm gonna say it. Maybe a little profiling would have saved the 3.000 souls who died in the Twin Towers, those the died at the Pentagon and those that were brave enough to try to take over the plane that crashed in Pa.
Oh, I love the whole "but we need the illegals to pick the peppers!!!! Americans won't do it". THEY CAN PICK ANYTHING THEY WANT and be LEGAL. OH that just really gets me going.

Does anyone remember those in high school who went to North Carolina for the summer to pick tobacco? I am quite sure that wasn't and easy job. Trust me, there are people without jobs right now in 2010 who would be happy to pick a pepper or two.

Read the 14th Amendment.......Emphasis on CITIZENS of the UNITED STATES. How can it be unconstitutional if the are ILLEGAL ?????

Am I losing my mind?