The Quiet Veteran-Uncle Bobby


Way back when I was born in 1956, my parents choose to make my mother’s brother my godfather. As I grew up over the years, Uncle Bobby never said much and wasn’t exactly the most social man I ever knew, and I never understood why. Seems that somewhere in the early 1960s, my step-father and Uncle Bobby had a falling out over something, and he was disallowed in our home forever after. I would get invites to Uncle Bobby’s home each year on his son’s birthday and go spend the day with Robert his boy. We did all the things little boys would do, catch frogs and turtles, climb trees and shoot hoops and such. When done Uncle Bobby would take me home and it would be the last I would see of him for  a year.

        Somewhere along the line about age 12 for me, Uncle Bobby and his family disappeared from my life. I never heard from him until after my mother’s death. He called to say how sorry he was my mother his sister had died of cancer, he was in Florida the year was 1991.

          Uncle Bobby had done many things in his life. Some no one ever realized or knew about. I never saw Uncle Bobby ever again after the age of 12 for me. His call at moms death surprised me, I asked where he was he said Florida and cried over his sister’s death. Families are funny for sure and in my parents house very few members of either family ever showed up.

        Life went on as I grew older and older graduating Elementary School and then onto High School never once seeing Uncle Bobby again.  After my High School days I sort of ran around trying to find myself and not knowing what to do. I went thru many jobs, during the next four years barely keeping alive. But like most, I survived.

       In the mid. 1970s I started a military career that for me would last 16 years. The rest of the 1970s, and 1980s flew by quickly, as i married, had kids and owned many different homes and finally ended up in divorce, returning to my parents home in April of 1990. Little did I know I would come home to a cancer riddled family. My Step-Father was dying of cancer, and we found out that July so was my mother. As I lived through their deaths one year and a day apart, I realized life is short.

       Shortly after we buried mom in October of 1991, I was sitting in their house alone one night and the phone rang. I answered it and behold the long-lost Uncle called to say he was sorry mom had died and to claim he was the last one left. Again he only gave his condolences for a few minutes and hung up, never to be heard from again.

       One day eight years later, I found out Uncle Bobby had died, and was gone too. There was so many things we never knew about this man, and neither did his kids. But we found out at his death, in his Obituary.

         It turns out Uncle Bobby as I called him and it was the only name I knew him by, was really Joseph, Bobby was a nickname. He served during the Korean War, in the late 40s and early fifties. He was gone for a good time during that service, missing in action they said for three long years.

      He didn’t go A.W.O.L. or hide during those three years, he spent them as a Prisoner of War in Korea, he was captured. Somewhere near the end of the Korean War, he was captured and held somewhere in Korea. When he came home he was quiet and not wanting to be bothered by anyone. I know it was all PTSD now, because I have it myself. His Obituary told the tale of my Uncle Bobby, he hid much information from his wife and his children and family.

       Uncle Bobby aka as Joseph, has a Medal of Honor two meritorious Service Medals and two Purple Hearts from Korea. He never spoke of his heroics or his experiences in Korea to anyone. He hid all of this his whole life, at his Death, the Medals and records were brought forth by his best friend and handed over to his family. It all came out in his Obituary in the paper and we were all shocked.

       So it goes to show, just because one is quiet, one is strange or different, you may never know what they had done in their life. Uncle Bobby was a true American Hero from the Korean War and a prisoner of war who survived.!.

We didn’t Ask for This!


      Sadly across the world there are many people like me, who never asked to be born, yet are here and suffer because they were born into the wrong parents or family. They feel outcast, ignored,or angry, or they know they were born different, yet blame for what they were born with. Yes, across the world every second of every day, is born a child with Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyper-Activity.

        We are standouts because we can’t understand why we are different, we can’t control why we are different and in the end we can’t change it either. Parents, Doctors and siblings try to handle us and don’t understand why we don’t respond or why we run or shy away or cry or laugh suddenly. Many of us are bothered by small things within our own families, or in schools or churches even and all anyone does is point at us and make us stand out more as a sore thumb or bad piece of cake. We don’t need that attention either, do we ADD/HD people, we run from it and just want to be treated normal I know.

      

Whats even worse than all of the above problems a child with ADD/HD may have, is the fact that parents misdiagnosed us, bring attention to us and press us for things at times we can not do, or want to do, they don’t understand the speed our brain may be running at! We run at a different speed then most, and people need to know that later in life we do slow down and match others around us.

       We have been treated with different drugs and medications of all kinds,analyzed to hell by mental doctors and MDs and more. Yet in the end they can do no more than ritilan us or medicate us with drugs and slow us down. We persist because we are ADD/HD children it matters not why we have it or how, we only need to learn how we as individuals can learn to control ourselves, and use it for good.

        I know we are looked at as outcasts, strange, indifferent individuals, some call us bastards or bitches without a conscience, others call us mental patients, none of that is true. One main thing that is not true is we didn’t ask to be born this way, yet we must learn to deal with it ourselves to fit into normal society in the world and not be stared at or abused. It’s not easy when your body won’t sit still, your mind is racing ahead of people your own age and size. Yet we learn through seeing, watching and  doing, and from patient individuals who understand we are indeed perking at a higher speed so to say. We tend to get engrossed  in books, biographies, history, or arts mostly. Basically we like solving puzzles and reading and writing and such. Creative juices flow heavily in ADD/HD people.

         Direct an ADD/HD child in a good direction and let them loose they can become a great individual if guided correctly. You guide or direct one in the wrong way by beating them, harassing them, or mentally punishing them they will rebel and get even in one way or another, and even go to the point of getting obsessive about getting even. It’s all in how ADD/HD children are taught, handled and talked to and allowed to explore and learn at their own rate. A forced rate of learning or discipline will drive them to rebel, fight back, or even isolate themselves, depending on their age, current status of condition, severity, and treatment.  It doesn’t mean, ADD/HD people can’t fit into society or the world we do, just as the chemical imbalances in our brains ultimately balance out and cause us to slow down and react normally, we get there.

        So, people of the world, please remember, just because a child has ADD/HD, and seems to not fit in, you need to recognize the illness, get it diagnosed and get advised on how to handle your child who has it. In the end one of the most important things to remember about people who have ADD/HD is it can lead to PTSD in later life and more. Lastly, please remember a basic thing about these children, we didn’t ask to be born but were brought into the world anyway, we didn’t know we weren’t average or totally normal until after we grew old enough to feel and see the difference, and we don’t ask to suffer with this, we do learn to deal with it though. So please respect us, let us speak, let us help you understand us and be patient. Childhood is rough enough when one is normal, adulthood is the same when normal in this world, but it is so much harder when you have ADD/HD, you can’t slow down till your chemical imbalance comes back to normal, your always ahead of others and pinging. It takes time to adapt and try to control it all.

 

Things to Think About as 2011 Ends


Things to Think About as 2011 Ends.

Things to Think About as 2011 Ends


Things to think about as 2011, slowly comes to a close. The 2011 has been filled with many events, and people who have died who are famous or were famous. The biggest thing for Americans is the down fall of the American Economy and it’s very slow or practically unrecovering at this stage.

       The American Home Market has fallen in value and resale prices are shot and too low for many Americans to sell what they have. No one wants to lose money on a house they bought and lived in for years and repaired and improved do we?  So we struggle thru, repair what we have and hold on, making the best we can of what we have.

        The Job Market has not come back at all really. Manufacturing in the USA is dead these days. Companies have either shut down or moved out of country and families are left behind, that are now jobless, hungry and some even homeless. What has America become now is the real question?

        Each day I turn on my Television or radio and hear reports of politicians arguing about how to fix the economy, how to create jobs, how to get us out of wars, and how to fix illegal immigration problems. When are they going to get off their asses in Washington and do the job they were voted into office to do? Politicians will be sitting home in their fancy homes, and having big Holiday Parties this Season and handing out large gifts to their families and friends while the rest of America sits home and worries about how to pay their mortgages, rents, heating bills and to eat. Is this the way America was designed to run and is this the country the forefathers envisioned when we became a Republic?

       You can’t blame President Obama for all the wars in the world, nor can you blame him for the job loses, and economic mess left behind by his predecessor either. President Obama didn’t change the tax laws, the tariffs and close down factories. Too many times Americans have blames a current President for what the one before them has done and that is wrong. Americans need to understand, finally in this country that what is done by the current congress and current President doesn’t affect us for a few years. What was done by the ones before the current one is what is effecting us now.

       The next election will be the 2012 November one, where we must decide to either keep what we have now or change to the opposite party and see what they can do. My opinion is like many others and yes I know, opinions are like assholes and everyone has one. The American people made a hell of a big mistake when they elected a President from one party and a Congress from another and we are now paying the price for that stupidity. Why couldn’t the American people see ahead in time and know that doing so would deadlock Washington, DC, and nothing would get done? Are we that ignorant and stupid that we don’t understand the word gridlock or stalemate, or deadlock?

        Well, as we go forward now toward 2012 and we limp to the end of 2011, we need to realize the political system is a system of checks and balances yes, but, when you give the Presidency to one party and the Congress to another you are asking for the bullshit, non-action that is happening now and we need to change it.

         So as you celebrate your Holidays and many Americans won’t this year, due to no jobs, no homes, a bad economy and no way to pay their bills, think of what a stupid thing the American people did in 2008. Change it for 2012, lets elect one party and make it work and get something done, get a President you can back and support and a Congress that will work with him or her, whichever it may be. As long as we have a Congress with a majority of one party and a President of another party, America will continue to die off and never get back to where we belong, we will be idle and not growing or improving. We can’t sit here and pass on the cost of our living and bills to our children either, we have to have a way to pay off the bills so the future will be what we were given by our parents and grandparents for our children and their children too. We must act now, and do what is right, we must make the Congress and President work for us. To do so, we must vote out all who won’t compromise, all who won’t work together to better the country and replace them with people who will.

       Americans, in 2012 lets remove the trash in Congress that won’t compromise or cooperate, let’s make a change, Vote all of the lackluster Representatives and Senators out, and lets move America Forward once more. We can’t afford to let the fat get fatter, the rich get richer, and the poor suffer more!. We need change now and  we need to help ourselves not wait for help!.

Real Holiday Thoughts ?.


      Today we are 11 days from the big Holiday of each year, Christmas, or for those Jewish Hanukkah has begun. It’s to be a special time of year for family and friends, and a time of giving love and gifts to one another. Which in my book is great each year, for it allows us to see those we love.  Although the commercialization of the holiday is beyond belief.

       The Sales ads start on Thanksgiving Day, the decorations change to Christmas and  the ads fly left and right. Something tells me, this is not the way, the Holiday was intended to be. I thought it was a time for giving and showing love to those you have the best feelings of. Try as you may in today’s economy it is not a time for money to be flying about, is it? Yet we still rush to and fro, looking for deals and things people want that we know. Ever stop to think what was the first Christmas about, and what is it really supposed to mean.

        Religions, detail stories of Christmas as a time of Peace  on Earth and Good Will to Men. Does anything in that definition say buy me presents and make me smile, no! The Catholics and Christians say Jesus was born on Christmas and died and was resurrected a short time later. But how much of this religious story is true, we may never know. The truth is  no one knows really where civilization came from or if religion is the answer or evolution, or as some may say the Big Bang Theory.

        Years ago as a  young teen, I had an argument with a very old friend who has  passed now many years ago. She got so mad at me she threw me out of her home for a few years. Her argument was the Bible, and God created it all, and I of course for arguing sake took the Evolution/ Big Bang Theory. We argued and argued back and forth till she finally threw me out. Two years later she forgave my because her daughter convinced her to, and our friendship continued on from there.

        Whether the meaning of Christmas is to say Thanks for Jesus‘s Birth, or some other meaning, it is important to note, not all can afford to give and receive gifts in todays day and age. Many are suffering without income, homes, and are hungry this year. Back before the commercialization of the Holiday Season, people made toys for children out of wood, and wires and cloth you see, there was no Nintendo, or X-Box 306 or PlayStation 3. There was no electronic wonders and toys cost less.  I use to get toy building blocks and my sister got dolls. We got microscopes and bikes later and bats and balls and gloves. Dollhouses were big for girls of course, as were clothing of all kinds and make-up. The biggest toy I ever got and loved was an Erector Set and built a ferris wheel with it, I used to watch it spin from its little electric motor and stare for hours at it. Books were big too back then, reading was encouraged and enjoyed and us kids loved a good story then.

        But today, is video games, HD TVs, Stereos, cells phones, computers, and few children go out and play anymore. They are glued to a big screen TV, pressing buttons on controllers for one video game console or another. Then we complain they are getting lazy, they don’t want to do anything or work. It’s not their faults parents it is ours. We need to stop giving them everything they want and start making them earn it all once again, through chores, homework and basic principles and morals and ethics our own parents used on us. We have slid too far down the scale of being too good to our kids and spoiled them all out. They now believe they have a right to live at home for as long as they want, and get what ever they want from us. Wrong, wrong, wrong. There does come a time when the apron strings get cut!. We need to show them too, or they will be worthless and lazy once we are gone.

       So as The Holiday Season draws closer each day and the calendar slips closer to it all, stop and think of what you need to give and receive most on  this Holiday. It’s not material items, it’s not how much money you spend, it’s not what you receive either. It’s really the love and caring and sharing you can do that makes the Christmas and Hanukkah  Holiday true!

 

Don’t Blame Politicians, Blame Americans.


      Americans are sometimes very foolish and that includes those of us who vote for office holders in each state and federal position out there. We don’t think properly and we screw things up then try to blame one political party or the other for our mistakes.

       The biggest mistake made by the American people at the Polls was the election of a President of one party and a congress of another. We put ourselves in the mess we are in, really. Why would you votes a President of one party in and then vote the supporting cast needed to fix things the opposite party? Americans you just didn’t think it out, in 2008, I know yes, we need to balance the government and the seats held properly, but all we did in 2008 was create a logjam that hasn’t budged since. President Obama says let’s go this way and correct the countries woes, and the opposition says no this way, and in the meantime Americans are jobless, hungry and homeless, we lose our Triple A credit rating and continue to hurt worse each day.

       So as I watch the 2012 Presidential Election cycle get well underway and the Republicans head toward the first state in their bid for their party’s nomination, Americans you need to wake up. If your staying with President Obama for four more years, then throw the Republicans out of the House and Senate and give him some support. If  your going to elect a Republican President in 2012 , the same thing must happen for a President without support in Congress is a President deadlocked and accomplishing nothing except in times of war. Compromise is a word the two political parties don’t understand it seems. And they don’t care if the American People are hurting they are not going to let the opposite party win anything and get ahead.

      In times of trouble in the past, when America needed it most, the Congress and President would compromise and help the people. Today it’s like a bunch of children in a playground in Washington and they are playing one upsman ship. Why?  All because, they believe we Americans voted it this way in 2008, and it’s what we wanted right? Wrong, we wanted checks and balances but we also wanted improvements and movement forward, not deadlocks and  useless fighting!

       So, as our Holiday Season gets fully underway, and you have less money for gifts, food and to live on, don’t blame the Democrats!. Don’t blame the Republicans, blame yourselves, the people of America who ran to the polls in 2008, and decided to pit your own Congress against your own President in an endless struggle of one-upmanship. We think we are smart by making the choice we did and voting Congress to one party and the Presidency to another, but in fact we burned ourselves in 2008 and we may be about to do so in 2012 once more.

        I have seen and heard stories of President Obama having a secret weapon in Hillary Clinton, don’t believe it. Mrs. Clinton is the only woman in American History to come as close as she did to the office of the President. I admire Mrs. Clinton, but Vice President Joe Biden did nothing wrong.  Mrs. Clinton doesn’t want to be the Vice President and she is, as she said looking forward to retiring. So, that secret weapon of Mrs. Clinton is not real, but imaginary and wishful thinking on some politicians parts.

       Now as the Holiday Season commences and we spend time with family and friends and those we love, stop and think who put us in this position we are in now as a country. It isn’t one politician, it isn’t one party or the other, it isn’t one person or another, it’s ourselves the American People. We choose to balance the government the way we did in 2008, lets fix it now and get the country going again. Lets do what is right, and choose a party and a President and Congress that will work together once more and throw the bums out that won’t compromise and work together. Thanks

No Real Front Runner


      Last Night at 9 pm on ABC Television I watched 6 Republicans Debate who is best to beat President Obama in the 2012 Presidential Election and  become our next President. What I saw was a debate filled with put downs and silly little lies, that made no sense. The petty feuding and bickering between Republican Candidates is fun to watch at times. Gingrich attacks Romney, Romney fights back, Bachman kicks in, Paul referees and Santorum did the clean-up. lol. It really is a Republican Three Ring Circus at this point.

       I hate to tell the Republicans this but, unless they start slimming down the choices and teach these candidates to act Presidential as well as speak Presidential and increase their knowledge levels Obama is gonna kick their asses!.  It’s a total joke watching grown adult candidates kick each other around the stage verbally, just to make a point and get votes, at least they think they are. My opinion is simple this Republican Race for the Nomination is like a broken down horse  race, the one that gets injured less will come in first. And the first one of the six remaining, who should leave the race and save his money and the bills he will accumulate is Rick Perry. This man looks strange, acts strange and sounds strange trying to convince America he should be President. He rants at times, speaks foolish and attacks the other candidates without any value or proof in what he says.

       After last nights debate I found myself actually surprised by something I saw. 1) The surprisingly strong performance and knowledge level of Michele Bachman was refreshing and nice. She conducted herself well in her stance, look, and style of debating as well as having some very good statements and facts in hand.

       I was disappointed in Mitt Romney not because he said something wrong, but because instead of sticking to the questions and keeping the answers short and sweet so to say, he attacked Gingrich and made himself look bad doing so.

      Gingrich parried with Romney, Paul, Santorum and Bachman well enough, but again I was disappointed in the fact that he needed to, if he is the front-runner for the nomination.

        Ron Paul stood pretty tall and answered most questions intelligently, but again I ran into bits and pieces where this man ranted some and then attacked the other candidates instead of staying above the fray so to say.

         In the end did we really get the answers we wanted out of these six remaining Republican Candidates?  I don’t think so, and I think each is hedging their bets and statements to try to fit the current environment of the race. I believe in the end, more than a few of these candidates will implode and destroy their own campaign, it will only be a matter of a short time.

       Who is to get the Republican Nomination and take on  President Obama in the 2012 election. Well, as I see it at this time, Gingrich does indeed have the lead and the polls show that as a fact, followed by Romney and then I believe we see Michele Bachman coming up fast, Ron Paul is chasing her.  It is going to come down to a two person race, but who will stumble out first towards their demise? I believe Mitt Romney needs to do something now to slow down Gingrich, but, if Romney stumbles or makes some mistake Bachman will surpass him in the race. Last nights debate caused me to watch certain candidates closely, and they were Gingrich, Romney and surprisingly enough Michele Bachman. While the Romney, Gingrich spat continued and they fought with one another on many points, Michele Bachman acted correctly in standing back from the fray and refereeing and then giving great solutions. She impressed me as being a smart intelligent woman who could handle high office. But we all know the Republican Party will never allow a female to get the Nomination, the old style conservative bullshit will stop her.

       No Front Runner really exists here in the Republican Nomination Race in my opinion. They all stumble, rant and rave at each other and sometimes act outright stupid on national television. Until, one of these individuals realizes they must stand above the fray and act like a President not a school child in the playground well, you get my drift!.

 

Vultures at Wakes


      About 21 years ago, my Step-Father passed away from cancer, he was only 59 years old.  Of course mom took charge of his wake and funeral and all went very well you ask me. But strange things happen when people die, others you haven’t seen in decades come swooping in from out of no where. When you first see them you go, Oh, they are his family or her family, which case it may be, and your glad to say hello and think of the dead in happier times.

        Well, in this case, it was like strangers in the dark coming out of the blue. People we had no idea who they were popped in. As we fed them in our home, and grieved in peace strange things happened.  These people we hadn’t seen in ages, started examining everything in the home, who’s this belong to they asked. Well I heard it a few times as they pointed at Dad’s piano and his truck outside and then other items in the house.

       I think, they believed they could get something out of attending his wake. I tried hard not to say anything at all, figuring mom had it all under control, I was wrong. Mom was feeble herself and unable to fend off these vultures looking for a piece of Dad’s life for themselves. They circled around the house and in it looking at everything and asking who it all belonged to.

      I hadn’t seen these people for decades and they lived no more than 30 minutes away, never once showing up for Holidays or anything else. Now they were circling around my parents home and looking for something to take with them. Finally as the vultures started to close  in and pressure mom for items belonging to dad I stepped in. Mom had cancer too, and I wasn’t gonna let these vultures take her down. I stood up and looked at them all, and stopped them in their tracks. I told all of them, whats here is my mothers period, that’s who dad left it all to, and don’t any of you people even dream of taking a thing. 

         Later as they filed out the back door to leave past the black wreath of death on the door, they looked back each one with hungry eyes. I watched each go and stared back in disbelief, but made sure no one touched one thing. Isn’t it funny how people you haven’t seen all your life, pop up out of no where at a death and then want things they have no right to? Like a family of vultures circling a  corpse on a desert floor they circled, but all they got was the buckshot in their asses of my saying don’t touch not yours!. Death is sad enough for people in families when one dies, we don’t need vultures like this around in life.

    

Republican Rumble


     I am sure, many Republican Candidates shall fall by the wayside soon. The first to fall due to personal stupidity of course was Herman Cain. The next ones are now lining up to get shot at too.  It needs to be done anyway and seven candidates left in this Republican pool, are too many up a river without a paddle in my  mind.

        The attacks will now commence on Newt Gingrich because he took over the lead in this race it seems. While having a political savvy about him and some decent knowledge of the way politics and Washington works, Mr. Gingrich has his own baggage and problems. He’s changed views on many items, he’s changed wifes three times, and at times can be gruff, rough and mean. So now the reporters and more will aim to knock him from his perch next.

        The rest of these Republicans should get out too, at least most while they can and before they run up bills they will never pay back. Michele Bachman was at one time the front-runner in this contest, but was overrun by others and is still being overlooked, I still believe we haven’t broken the Glass Ceiling for women as President yet. Hillary Clinton came the closest to us ever having a female President and I think she should be one now, instead of who we have, but I don’t lead the Democrats either.

        Ron Paul– Does he really believe the American people will elect him to  be President. He is knowledgeable of course on many issues and I am sure he is a decent man with less baggage than Gingrich, Cain, or Bachman, in the end though Americans won’t vote for him, I am sure, he is a maverick and at times a ticking time bomb ready to explode in the media.

      Rick Santorum, has no experience beyond his home state of Penn. Rick Perry is a fumbling, wreck of a man who can’t speak straight and ends up ranting to the cameras and audiences who come out to see him. The Texas Governor should go back to Texas, as soon as possible in my opinion. No way does he look anywhere near Presidential.

       Next the Republicans have Jon Huntsman. Mr. Huntsman served his country well in the past, has experience and knowledge, speaks intelligently, and looks Presidential at times. His problem is simple he has less name recognition then all the rest. Sadly I don’t believe Mr. Huntsman can win, due to the fact he is still unknown.

        I know, I know the Republicans have to have a candidate to run against President Obama. So who would I choose to run then, Mitt Romney. The only reason Mr. Romney is the Republican Parties best choice is simple the man looks Presidential, he is knowledgeable and understands the economy. He doesn’t want wars, and he wants to create jobs for all. Yes I know he doesn’t like Obama Care, but, in the end he will have to live with it it is law now and hard to repeal. Plus it is based on Mr. Romney’s plan for his home state.

       So if I were the Republican Party Decision Makers, who pick the candidate to run against President Obama, I would pick Mr. Romney, less controversy, less problems to pick on, a clear speaker and I believe he will also listen to the people and his cabinet if elected. Simple decision in my book anyway. This may help the Republican Party decide their current Rumble in the Jungle for a Candidate.