Category: Just my opinion

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Veterans honored today as it should be

There have been several in both my white family and my Indian family that have served in the military in all branches.  I am very proud to honor each and every one of them on this day.  Sunday my wife and I went to all of the graves that are local to us and put flowers and American flags on each of them.  It’s a small gesture but a way to honor those that are no longer with us.

Each and every one of us needs to thank a veteran today for the sacrifice they and their families have made to serve our country.  Find a veteran, tell them ‘Thank You’ and make sure they know how much you appreciate them and their family.  If there’s an older veteran in your neighborhood, ask them if there’s something you can do for them on this day.  Maybe they need some help with something or their yard raked.  Whatever it is, give back to them for what they gave to us.

That’s just a suggestion of a way each of us can honor a Veteran.  It doesn’t matter what you do, just make sure to honor those that are gone and still living because without them, we would not have the freedoms we have today.  I’ll sure be doing something for the WWII Veteran in my neighborhood.  I do every year, all year long in fact.

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Lego League

I have been volunteering with a local Lego League.  Have you heard about them?  They use the Lego Mindstorm NXT which is robotic Lego’s.  You can go to their web site at usfirst.org and check them out if you are interested in what they’re all about.  Each year they have a challenge that has to do with the environment.  Last year it was alternative sources of fuel.  This year the challenge is on global warming and what you can do in your community to help.

There is a state competition in December and the team that wins there, goes on to Atlanta to participate in the World competition.  There will be teams from China, Germany and many other countries.  I absolutely love working with these kids.  These are our future engineers.  Not only do they win trophies, but they also can get schlorships to some pretty impressive colleges just because of their involvement with this so I feel very blessed to be a part of it.

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About my family

I told you that I was adopted by a white family and that gave me advantages I wouldn’t have had otherwise.  I want you to understand why I was put up for adoption.  Adoption is not a bad thing.  It can be when a mother is hooked on drugs and loves them more than her child or if the child is abused and taken away from the parents but that’s not my case at all.

You see, my parents were young when I came along and they could barely take care of themselves and knew they could not give me what I needed.  They knew this nice white couple that couldn’t have children of their own and they offered to adopt me.  They allowed my natural parents to be a part of my life my whole life along with my natural family.  I never felt that I was not wanted by either side.

I was lucky enough to have two wonderful mothers and two wonderful fathers.  I have more grandparents than most kids have cousins and am loved by all of them.  My life has been blessed from the very beginning and I have passed all that love on to my own children who have a huge family backing them too.  So you see, adoption can be a very loving thing to do for your child.

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Stock market woes

Well it seems we are not the only country having problems with our stock markets going lower and lower.  It seems that stock markets all over the world are falling.  Could this be the beginning of a global depression?  Unfortunately it looks like possibly the beginning of a depression for us again if something isn’t done soon.

Sure I am very aware that every time we have a presidential election, especially when it is two candidates that haven’t either been vice president or was the president running for reelection, the economy slows down quite a bit but this is more than ‘slowing down’ it seems like to me.  No one is sure of what the future president will do so it’s almost like the economy is holding it’s breath like a frightened child.  Please get out there and vote no matter who you choose.  I’m not pushing one candidate over another but if you want your voice heard, you have to vote.

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North Carolina Outer Banks

My adoptive father used to take me to the North Carolina Outer Banks when I was growing up every fall for a fishing trip.  It was and still is, one of the best places to go fishing on the coast.  It has a lot of history along with it.  The numerous shipwrecks in this dangerous stretch of ocean earned North Carolina’s Outer Banks the reputation as the “the graveyard of the Atlantic,” not the infamous pirate Blackbeard, who met his end here.  Coastal erosion and increased risk of damage from storm surges are the real threats facing the area now.

We used to put up tents and camp on the beach while we fished but you can’t do that now in an attempt to keep human erosion from adding to the threat already facing the beaches.  It’s a shame that things have to change like they do and when they do, it’s not usually for the better.  I guess it’s all a part of life like everything else.

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Broke his own world record

Kevin Fast who is a Canadian Reverend, has set a new record in the “heaviest vehicle pulled over 100 feet”.  He beat his previous record for this category which was 125,660 lbs.   Kevin pulled an International Loadstar truck and hauled a load of 126,292 lbs over 137 feet. Paramedics were standing by, and quickly inspected him after the attempt.

Fasts only food in preparation for the event was a cup of coffee. He pulled on a rope, anchored by a parked car. Stuart Claxton from the company Guinness World Records, has been judging record attempts for many years.  My question is ‘Why would a man risk hurting himself as badly as he could have just to pull a truck farther than anyone else?’  Just goes to show that a lot of men are all brawn and no brains but this man should have some.  He’s a reverend after all but I guess he was trusting in the ‘Big Guy’ upstairs to see him through it.  I thought the ‘Big Guy’ gave us enough sense not to hurt ourselves as a way to see us through life.  Shows how much I know I guess.

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Meet Brutus

I received this from a friend of mine by email.  I thought it was interesting and important enough that I wanted to share it with you.  Animals are very important us as human beings and here’s part of the reason why. They don’t call a dog mans best friend for no reason.

Now meet Brutus!!!  Brutus is a GOOD boy!!!!

The K9 below is Brutus, a military K9 at McChord. He’s huge – part Boxer and part British Bull Mastiff and tops the scales at 200 lbs. His handler took the picture. Brutus is running toward me because he knows I have some Milk Bone treats, so he’s slobbering away! I had to duck around a tree just before he got to me in case he couldn’t stop, but he did. Brutus won the Congressional Medal of Honor last year from his tour in Iraq . His handler and four other soldiers were taken hostage by insurgents. Brutus and his handler communicate by sign language and he gave Brutus the signal that meant ‘go away but come back and find me’. The Iraqis paid no attention to Brutus. He came back later and quietly tore the throat out of one guard at one door and another guard at another door. He then jumped against one of the doors repeatedly (the guys were being held in an old warehouse) until it opened. He went in and untied his handler and they all escaped. He’s the first K9 to receive this honor. If he knows you’re ok, he’s a big old lug and wants to sit in your lap. Enjoys the company of cats.
K-9 Congressional Medal of Honor Winner

Thought you’d find this interesting. Talk about animal intelligence and bonding with humans!

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Getting cooler and I love it

Fall is finally coming and I am loving it.  I love to hunt.  Yes I do hunt with a primitive bow like my ancestors did. Yes I only kill what I will eat.  I’m sure someone will read this and wonder how I can kill Bambi.  Well Bambi is not real and hunting deer helps the herd to stay healthy.  Too many deer and there won’t be enough food for them.  They’ll get sick and diseased and slowly die off.  That’s not good.  By hunting them for food, you are keeping the herd stronger.

I hunt strictly by the rules.  I get my license and only kill bucks until doe days.  I prefer to get the old spike bucks so that you weed out the poor racks and build a herd in your area that is more likely to produce bucks with nice racks.  I put out mineral blocks for them through the summer to help make them healthier.  I do feed them apples and corn to bring them in to my stand but I also take care of them when it’s not deer season.  My ancestors taught me to respect the animals as they should be.

Deer season starts soon so I need to get out and practice a while to keep my skills sharp so I hopefully make a clean kill every time.  The last thing I want is for the animal to suffer any more than they have to.  IF I hit one and it doesn’t fall where I hit it, I track it down until I know the animal will either survive or I find it.  I don’t leave a badly wounded animal to suffer.  I would never do that.


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Historic sites and State Parks closing

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s office announced layoffs of up to 450 state employees and the closure of 25 historic sites and state parks. Fourteen state historic sites are scheduled to be closed October 1. Eleven state parks are slated for closure November 1.

Among these sites to be closed is the Black Hawk State Historic Site, in Rock Island, Illinois, which occupies much of the historic site of the village of Saukenuk. This was the home of a band of Native Americans of the Sauk nation. It includes the John Hauberg Museum of Native American Life. The state park is located on a 150-foot bluff overlooking the Rock River in western Illinois. It is most famous for being the birth place of the Sauk warrior Black Hawk. The disputed cession of this area to the U.S. Government was the catalyst for the Black Hawk War.

There is already so much of the Native American way of life gone forever and now this?  Why can’t the white man see what they are doing to OUR countries deep rooted heritage?  We all are now Native Americans and these things must be kept to teach our young of the way of life of Our nation.  Our nation we ALL call America which is made up of many tribes from all over the world.

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No Comments are coming

I often wonder if anyone is even reading this blog that I have taken to writing every now and then, I’m not even receiving any Spam, amazing as that sounds.

I know  I haven’t spent as much time as I intended to, but life does have a way of keeping one busier than they would like at times. I guess I need to get off my duff and start doing a bit more here and there. The weather is changing, the Holidays are approaching faster than I would like to see, but is inevitable, and with it comes all the nasty cold that will require a nice warm fireplace going full blast in the house.

The collecting of firewood seems to be the next major concern and chore that needs tending to it seems.