Changes it seems happen everyday and they call the changes advancements for mankind”s sake. Some I agree with entirely, like medical advances in machinery or medications or even physical therapies too. But the changes I disagree with are the ones our society and us as human beings, bring upon our own social life and family lives. I know it may sound silly, but the truth is the truth and as my parents would say, don’t bullshit me, or the world just tell us the truth and let us carry on.

Generations come and go like style sin the wind, but families in America change the way they raise their kids always. In my life time I have seen Americans family lives and styles change so much it is crazy.

As a child I was lucky to get Christmas Presents of clothes and regular toys or games. They usually consisted of clothing, board games, maybe a bike or sled or an erector set or microscope. A book was always a good thing too for quiet rainy or snowy days. But those things are not the same with today’s children for sure. They need to have electronic things, get me an X-box, or a PS3 or a Wii, or get me my personal PC. They want big screen TVs, HDTV, High end cable access for HD and Internet and more. A Little spoiled tain’t we kiddies. Then they want to bill mommy and daddy after they leave their home and family and start their own for dental and medical bills, like we are all Donald Trump or something!.  What’s with these kids today?

When I was a kid, no parent would put up with lying, stealing, cheating or disrespect either.A child knew they would be smacked upside the head or given a spanking for doing something wrong and that fear, made them fly right, not wrong.A parent didn’t care about will my child divorce me and leave my house, the kid didn’t have that right. What is with the world today?

Generations come and they go, the older generation that had recently mostly died off in America was the one raised in the 1930’s, and 40s. They were brought up with less and suffered somewhat economically and fought for everything they had. Then came the children of the 50’s and 60’s that  raised their children with more permissiveness then ever before and they grew up to be spoiled this new Generation. Then we get to the 70’s and 80’s Generation, the most disrespectful and crazy generation yet in American history. They disrespect their elders, they talk back to their parents and argue and fight with them and they want everything instantly, right now. Bullshit kiddies, not goanna happen. 

As I grow older myself, I see kids in stores crying and arguing for toys and electronics we never thought of having. You ask a kid today if they read a book, they will look at you like you are crazy, and tell you  they play video games watch TV and that’s it. Electronic Games, Video and otherwise are ruining out children really. They make them couch potatoes, and idiots in logical areas.   Most kids  today you ask them to shovel a walkway or to use a hammer or screwdriver they have no idea how to. Why, because we let them do as they please and a growing child is like running water it searches for a weak spot it can go thru and goes there to face the least resistance and the easiest way to flow and grow. Generations and times have changed indeed and so has America and the worlds children too.

Why are other countries like China, Brazil, France, Spain and Canada, out doing America on the open market and economically now? Just look at the permissiveness of the parents of these children who were born in the 80’s and 90s and onward till now and you will see, sometimes we all need to remember the old cliché, Spare the rod, spoil the child!. Sometimes a good spanking or smack keeps a kid working and productive instead of lazy and half brain dead.

Religion is always a touchy subject in America and in the world in general, as is politics, both subjects have started wars and caused millions of deaths.  Both subjects are rants and raves of mine for different reasons of course, politics causes this reaction because as we all know politicians are liars and thieves both. Politicians lie and promise things they never complete or get done! SO the solution to this puzzle with them is simple you vote for the one you think lies the least.

Religion is a totally different subject with me. I can’t believe Priest and others involved in it, lie and cheat and live off of others too. For decades and centuries Priest of all faiths have lied to people about their sexual problems and how they abuse children and others. Centuries this has been going on and the church and religions in general have denied it and avoided the subject. Sadly, too many people fall for their pitch of upper most salvation will save you. Look ladies and gents, a little  advise, no being is going to part the Red Sea, or Oceans nor is a being going to send down tablets with rules to live by or anything else. The fact is we have no proof of such a being, although most of us believe in a supreme being of one form or another. If this supreme being does exist and is guiding and watching the planet earth, then why do we have wars, murders,robberies and sexual molestation and abuse among us? The biggest criminals in the world are not the ones that are caught and jailed and tried, it is the ones that continue to abuse and molest and harm children, women and yes even men and claim they are doing it for religious reasons and tell the victims don’t tell anyone. Sadly this is true!

Thieves are a pet peeve of mine also because a thief is a thief no matter what.  Half of them don’t understand if they ask for something they can get it, they just assume no one will help them so they steal. Fear drives them, the fear of not having something, or the fear of getting caught gives them a rush and they do it for fun. Sadly humans have faults and these thing happen.

Fools are born everyday also. Those who think they won a lottery because it came in by way of an e-mail from something they never entered for instance. Or the one who believes the impossible and pays for it and then gets taken and wonders why? Folks, people lie, they steal, they cheat and they are not all moral and honest or nice and sweet. Wakey, Wakey, the world is not a kind place once you get out from under mommy and daddy’s wings.

In closing, The whole world is not the same no matter what country you go to or place. But people in general, can not be judged by color, race, religion or looks, you have to judge a person by how they act and react and how they treat you period. Don’t fall for a uniform, or costume or look or color or race, do not judge a book by it’s cover, but do judge each person as an individual and go from there.

Everyday is a new beginning, and a fresh start, except in the matters of the heart. You have one chance to make a first impression and only one chance to keep that impression as being good with other people. Once you overstep, leap or do something beyond reason or do something stupid or ignorant to people and get caught you lose!

Life is a serious of occurrences and experiences, which we all live through, but we sometimes forget others are doing the same, and we all remember if someone we love or ourselves are hurt and we tend to avoid those who do these things. Important to remember that once you do something to another human being, they tend to remember it all and hold it against you, even if they say they don’t.

Life’s biggest mysteries are love, hate, sharing and caring. IT’s not about being mean, assine, or rude, nor is it about who can beat whom up and intimidate someone. It is all about who you can be friend, love and care about and how you do it all.

I remember each day a line I was told as my step-father was dying in a hospital bed and I stop and think about it a lot. Quote; I shall die shortly my son, the minutes will tick by, the hours and the days and then the months and years. Do not waste you time crying for me, live your life to the fullest and carryon, for you too have to die one day!.

So what I do and tell everyone else I meet, friend or foe, live  each day like there is no tomorrow, don’t beg, steal or borrow, but live each day like there is no tomorrow. Smile and laugh, even cry, for someday you will want to be remembered for who you were and what you did for others, not for being a fool, asshole, or a mean person. Because if you are remembered that way, it won’t be for long!

As a disabled military Veteran who served his country honorably, for many years mind you, I don’t plan on fading into the woodwork or disappearing. But as time goes on I get more and more hobbled and need more and more help to walk.  The injuries from my service time are  now mounting up more or less and removing some mobility from me, now and then. For a person who ran track and played sports in High school days, to one who now needs a cane to walk.

Injuries come in many shapes, sizes and forms, and believe me I have more then a few. I suffer from chronic back pain, caused by degenitive disc disease. I herniated 3 discs in my lower spine, and three in my neck also. Walking is becoming painful and I have had to start using a cane now at 55, which is actually a young age. Never thought I would look at a cane in my life as a device I needed or would even think about using but I am.

Injuries come in many shapes and sizes as I said, sleep apnea starts up, then I get around to PTSD bouts, and then the back goes again. Endless cycles of pain and suffering make me want to disappear from the world in many ways.  I hate high stress and tensions and any pressures being placed upon me, and ultimately this leads to short bouts of depression. Who am I, I am an American Veteran who served his country is who I am!

As disabled veterans all over the country will tell you, we do the best we can under the circumstances we have and normally we do not cry. We have our pride, and we would rather suffer in pain and silence then cry out loud for help, unless we really need it.  Sadly though there does come a time, when we do need some form of help to carry on. It happens to all of us in the end, I believe.

You can only deny or ignore or push thru injuries for so long, before they make you ask for pain meds, muscle relaxers and more. And once you do ask for the help of these drugs, physical therapies, and more, it becomes a spiraling circle of back and forth and in and out of Veteran’s Hospitals. Sadly you can’t escape it anymore, you need the help.

Pride and Determination can only carry a Veteran so far, and we veteran’s we do not like to cry in pain. Each day we survive is a victory in and of itself for us. I am no where near as bad off as many other Veterans out there who lost limbs and more, but it doesn’t mean I don’t hurt, it just means I don’t cry!

Sadly yesterday, I had to cut internet access off from my tenant and take his cable DVR Box away as well as serve him with a Notice to Quit by way of a Marshall. He believes it was fun for me to do all of this when in fact it saddens me to do anything like this to anyone. But when you rent property and you give people extras to do so and they don’t pay their bills, one must treat it as a business decision and do what one has to.

Sadly now he is stuck in a apartment where he is not wanted, without entertainment of any form, and he wrote a letter saying he couldn’t pay for the rent or the items we took away. Sadly that left us no choice period, I am not renting it to entertain him, or to let him do as he pleases, if you can’t pay your bills this is what happens, sorry.

He writes a letter to us saying he is waiting on a Social Security Disability lump sum settlement check and hasn’t received it. Why do we care he had a Veteran’s Benefits Disability check he gets the first of each month, yet he still did not pay. He returned a car to a dealership because he didn’t want to pay for it and called it a lemon, now wants us to wait for our rent so he can buy a new car and get on his feet, sorry. Not my place to do that, nor is it my place to care or worry about where you will get your car, I wanted the rent and payment for the services. He couldn’t pay so I had to shut off what services I could and serve him with a Notice to Quit to leave my property.

Now some will say I am being cruel and not nice to do this, that is crap. If he had to pay a mortgage, or for oil or electric and didn’t pay the same would happen to him too. SO I do not feel any guilt or worry over it. Am I wrong, hell no, what 54 year old man, doesn’t pay his rent, cable and internet bills when they are vital to him? No one does that shit, keep a roof over your head first and foremost and pay what is important or lose it. Happens to everyone believe me!

In closing, the bad part of being a Land Lord is listening to excuses and trying to be fair. When you have given people months of warnings, and they have been late for months on their bills for four months in a row and gave you all kinds of excuses, you have to draw a line somewhere, especially if they don’t attempt to pay at all!.

Each day I hear excuses from people for different things and then the ultimate pity party they are seeking comes out !. Why? I mean lets face it folks  if you have an income, a place to live, and you can eat and get things done, why stop paying your rent? It’s a stupid option to take no matter what you do.

For instance I rent an apartment to a tenet in my basement. The man is supposed to pay 725.00 Dollars a month and 34.00 dollars a month for a DVR Cable Box and Internet use age on my router.  He  was given a parking place and asked not to open certain windows in the apartment due to them being damaged in minor ways. So instead of cooperating in everyway with me and making his life easier and mine too, he doesn’t listen when I talk to him or do what he is told. I mean how many times does a landlord have to tell you don’t open those windows, don’t park your car under pine trees in the winter that has branches that can fall off on it and destroy it?. These are not requests and harassing the tenant, they are made to save him trouble.

Instead I get him parking under said trees and tell him to move his car, he then tries to still open the windows I tell him not to and much more. He put himself thru the screen on the screen door three times, so I hired a man to rebuild it, and he still managed to put himself thru it two more times. He burns up the electric range in the apartment then tells us it was old, yet, it never had a problem in ten years with over people. What 54 year old man lets Q-tips go down a toilet? The lease said no pets, he brings home a dog and won’t remove it. Why push so bad and be stupid?  At least 5 months in a row now, he has been late on his bills to us and when we ask why it is always a different excuse of one type or another. First it was, can I hold back 350.00 dollars from my rent to replace my laptop screen I broke in my truck? Nope. Then it was my car broke down and I need to have it fixed. Then it was my daughter was sick I had to pay her hospital bill, then back to the car I had to have it towed. Now this months excuse was, I didn’t get my lump sum Social Security Disability check so I can’t pay my rent. Too much for me for sure, considering you already get a VA check for disability on the first of each month, and all you needed was an extra 57.00 dollars to pay all of what you owed. Nope

In The end I got a letter from this tenant,  he states he is having financial difficulties and can’t pay his rent and bills, begs us not to take back his cable box which is on my account and not to stop his internet use age also which he can’t pay for either. Plus no rent at all until he gets his check.  Then he goes on to say because he had confrontations with me the landlord and shouting matches he can’t handle talking to me so he calls my wife and sends her  text on her cell phone. Nope.  Then goes on to say the confrontations with me , are going to cause him a nervous breakdown. Wrong answer!

This am, since his rent and grace period for paying it expires today, and I have his letter in hand, I cut off his use age and access to the internet thru my router. Next I shall call a police officer and have him confiscate and return my cable DVR Box to me with the remote and wiring to return to Comcast. From Comcast I will ride to the Marshall’s office and file a Notice to Quit on him legally and have him served to move by March 1st, 2011 or be evicted. I am not responsible for his mental condition, his physical conditions or his inability to pay his bills on time. He cried to me, telling me he is a disabled veteran and he hurts a lot, I looked back at him and told him I am too, and I don’t forget or not pay my bills!. So in the end before February 10, 2011 is over he will have been cut off from his cable box and internet which he says is his only entertainment, plus served a notice to quit possession by March 1st, 2011. I can’t call Comcast or my mortgage company and tell them I can’t pay my bills please don’t take my services away or evict me, he can’t do it with me either. Sorry

Egypt now lays in a state of turmoil and is slowly falling apart as a Dictators lords his way over his people refusing to step down or aside. The Only question left there is will he step down, before his own people remove him with force or not. The people of Egypt do deserve better from their leaders and their government, just as every other country and people do too.

The Middle East has been in turmoil and wars for centuries now, each nation fighting one another and usually it is over borders or religion. Peace will only come when all in the Middle east finally figure out, religion is a personal choice that’s number 1 and number two that all individuals no matter race, origin or country have a right to worship as they please. Wars are fought over borders and religion every day, every where in the world but none more so then in the mIddle east. Sadly, for some reason, the people of the middle east area all seem to think they are better then their neighbors in some way, when in fact they are all just human beings with faults of their own. Wake up folks, you can not totally eliminate a race, creed or culture, without paying for it in a bad way.

Ah well enough on that issue me thinks!!!. It does not pay to rave, rant, or complain about some thing you can not change, but it is worth mentioning so others wake up to it.

Naval cruises as the U.S. Navy calls them span the world, into each and every ocean you can imagine. In each area Americans and their Navy do missions that range anywhere from war to peace, and do them well. Sailors spend long grueling hours, working, refueling, and more at the Captain’s and their countries request and demands. Few niceties are given in return to sailors, because they know they signed a contract and have to obey or end up with a dishonorable discharge, no benefits, that all sucks. So most do their duty and perform at least to a par level. They have to in order to get that discharge that says Honorable or the rest of their life is ruined by a bad one and jobs are impossible to get.

One of the Benefits of being a sailor is seeing the world and traveling from one country and continent to another. How many people not in the Navy or Military of the USA who are Americans get to see other countries and meet other nationals of said countries. Very few unless your rich can do that.

I was in for 16 years and traveled the globe doing my duty, for Uncle Sam, I saw all of Europe, The North Atlantic areas, and South America as well as Saint Thomas and the islands. Each mission of course was long hours and hard work, but also allowed us to have liberty in these port and to interact with the people. Americans are over all, well at least when I served, loved by most other countries. We give, help and support many of the world’s countries, if they are of an open government. We were always looked at as walking diplomats in a way and behaved that way for the most part.

In Amsterdam, the people are indeed very friendly and open , especially sexually and their country is beautiful to see. Then when you enter Europe you face The British and their stiff upper lip style, but they love us still and as the whole world knows they are indeed a big ally of ours. Slowly you drift around the Med touring the countries as you work. Each country is a little different in style, people and culture.  As far as Europe goes Germany is a fun place to go, I spent a year in Frankfurt  injured in a hospital there, the medical staff were great and so were the German people. Hamburg is a wild city and full of fun also, and carries a red light district all fenced in and with prostitution legalized and they carry medical cards certifying themselves healthy too. Most sailors like to brag about having a woman in each port,  because it usually happens that way, they all want to come to American and be American.

But the special cruise, is the South American one, I did it three times. Brazil is a country of fun, wild beaches, Rio and wild times. But, it also has it’s ways, and if you break the rules even an American can get hurt. As I traveled South America, Peru is a amazing country, with amazing people and an amazing culture and history. Peaceful and fun loving, yet serious at time Peruvians are the nicest people I think I have ever met. Very friendly, very open, honest and their country is beautiful.  Peru is also a place of love and caring, it people are warm and loving I know.

The Islands and Saint Thomas area is beautiful also, but a lonely place, while they have their gambling places and such, no big money no big fun is the rule really. But like I said I traveled many places, the worst for all sailors is Cuba and the Navy training base there. The heat is nasty, the temperatures high and the humidity too. And the base has no one really on it except naval support people. One year I was in Cuba for Thanksgiving, when much to our surprise, we have a visit from the country singers The Judds.  I will never forget that it was the one thing about Cuba that year that made one smile. The Judds are great singers of country music and they came to Cuba on a USO Tour to entertain the troops.  They ate on my ship that day, I sat no more then two tables from them. They are two beautiful ladies indeed and friendly too.

But, each trip of cruise you take in the Navy is an adventure they say and for all my years all I did was try to do my job and enjoy what I could.

Onboard every U.S. Navy ship,  there are things they call engineering drills. They are put in place for different reasons, 1) The prevention of damage to equipment and sailors, 2) To teach the Sailors who are engineers how to react to causalities sin the engineering plant and prevent further damage to the boilers, engines and associated equipment.  Every ship in the U.S. Navy back in the days I served had to go thru this training, in Cuba, and the watch teams had to qualify and pass these drills to be certified to run the  engineering plants.  We had Engineering manuals and drills and operating procedures all over the spaces, plus Personal Qualification Standards for each Watch Station and individual.

So, as a engineer aboard a Naval ship, we engineers had times we hated more then others for sure. Especially when these periods of drills and qualifications would come up at least  once a year for us. We knew what it would mean for us, long hours in a hot engineering plant, sweating away and practicing drills will wear any man down for sure. But the U.S. Navy pushes these things to points beyond compare and the sailors who man these positions get injured at times, tired at times and angry too. The anticipation of these drills build from the moment the ships schedule is set to participate in them. Each sailor aboard the ship knows it leads them to Cuba, hot climates , high temperature work and very long hours. Yeah, being a sailor is not always a fun time, but being a naval engineer is worse then the rest of them. We were always the first to report for duty when getting underway and the last to leave when coming home to home port. It is a part of Navy history that engineers aboard our ships give that extra because they have to.

One year aboard a ship I was assigned to, U.S.S Pounce LPD 15 out of Norfolk, Virginia, these drills for engineers came up. The plant was old as was the ship, yet it still needed to be run correctly and the watch teams certified to run it. We were scheduled for Cuba and Engineering Trials and Training in August of that year. We all were not looking forward to visiting Cuba again, first off for engineers the liberty there sucked, and the hours became long drawn out, sweaty work days of 18 hours or more.

As we arrived in Cuba that year, we had a younger crew then normal onboard and knew it was to be a challenge to say the least, for these watch teams to be trained correctly. I was assigned at the time to the Engineering Casualty Control Team or ECCT as I called it. These are the senior Petty Officers and offices aboard a ship who have run Naval Engineering Plants for years and know the drills and procedures well. Our main purpose is to help qualify the watch teams and get us out of Cuba and back into service at sea as fast as possible and in a correct manner.

During this trip[ to Cuba, as I said the watch teams were made up of younger sailors who just came out of engineering schools from the Navy, Their experience levels were lower then most and as we started the drills I knew we were going to be in Cuba for a while for sure. The days grew longer and longer and our period of stay in Cuba grew longer too, the temperatures kept rising, in the engineering plants and we sweat through two or three sets of uniforms a day doing drills. We ran through all the drills once, and we failed to get certified, due to foolish mistakes. SO we did them again, then again and again.  The ship had to be certified to operate the plant, or we could not be sent on missions.

Well after so many times and a long period of time in Cuba that was well over  a month longer then normally scheduled we did finally pass the certification and we were sent home to Norfolk, Virginia our home port. The revenge the engineers came up with happened, on our next mission and voyage into the North Atlantic Ocean and the freezing temperatures. Our mission was sin the cold waters up north and the engineers were still tired of being pushed.

One day in the fire room, the Captain came down and didn’t like what he saw some of his sailors doing. So as a punishment he went back to his stateroom and called in his Chief Engineer. He set up more engineering drills to take place right there on that cruise in the North Atlantic. man, did this make us engineers mad. But, like all good sailors and military men, we did the drills he wanted done, as quick as humanly possible because we now knew them by heart.

Once completed, a boiler man, in our forward fire room decided he had enough of these drills. and He was tired of us all being pushed so relentlessly. His solution would make the Captain think twice, before ever doing such a thing to his crew again. He found the steam valve that controlled the steam to the Captains steam heaters in his stateroom. laughing!.  Slowly each day a quarter turn at a time he slowly shut the valve down, Ultimately he cut the steam off to the Captain’s  state room making the Captain freeze in the North Atlantic Ocean’s cold waters in November. The valve controlling this steam, was located in a very out of the way place in the overhead of the fire room and could only be operated by a hinged reach rod.  To insure no one could open the valve and give the Captain his heat back the sailor destroyed the reach rod!.

When the Captain called down about his heat missing we sent him to another division an told him all was fine in the fire room, this went on for one week in the North Atlantic Ocean in freezing temperatures.  Finally the Captain sent the Chief Engineer to find the problem, and he located the valve but not the reach rod to open it with. In the end a new one had to be created. The Captain learned a lesson, he now knew not to over push. The cold revenge of his engineers against him cost the Captain a few weeks  of very sick time. Talk about cold revenge being the sweetest!. Of course ultimately the Captain never found out who did it and life went on.

As time flies by faster the older you get, you notice aches and pains you haven’t felt yet. Today I turn 55 years old, hard to believe for me. I remember thinking when I was younger and running wild as a kid, I would be gone by 40, but alas fates have me still here at 55. A little bit older, a little bit wiser, a little bit more aches and pains, but no surprise. Life carries on one way or another, as my step-father said to me before he passed away, Son, I may be gone and buried you see, but don’t you forget me. But  don’t you cry over me, I will be gone one day, and time shall always move on. The days shall pass, the weeks and months and years, and sooner or later like we all do, we all get here. So cry not for me or the dead you see. use the time you have here wisely and live for each day fully and  stay happy and free.

For many getting older is pain and suffering and for few there is the healthy later years. But what ever you do folks as you age, remember to take care of yourself and be smart about how you live. Eat right and stay clean, try to stay lean, and always be nice. ok!

One last Note for today:

The Super Bowl is a coming very soon and the teams are now set!. Pittsburgh’s Steelers vs. Green Bays Packers, two of the winingest teams in NFL history go head to head. Should be one tough contest and a great game enjoy folks!. It will be a day for chips and dips and beer and cheer!