Ok, so it's been a while. Let me tell you about my week, and maybe everyone will understand. It's a long story, so make sure that you have the comfy chair. It all started actually last week. My mother has had a live-in boyfriend for about 5 or so years. He is a wonderful person, and my mother truly deserves the relationship that they have together, after many years of heartache.
He suffers from advanced stage emphysema, and is on an oxygen concentrator to sleep at night. Unfortunately, he still makes the choice to smoke, although in his defense, he has drastically reduced that. Last week he had a MI (a heart attack to the uninitiated) which has resulted in CHF (Congestive Heart Failure). He is home, but weak & essentially able to mope around the house but not much else. This glimpse of mortality in someone that I have a great deal of respect alarms me, in addition to the concern that I have for someone I love.
I have grandparents in the late 70s & early 80s that have been the cornerstones of my life. My parents were busy constantly when I was growing up, and both my older sister and myself practically raised ourselves, with the help of our grandparents. They taught me to love the outdoors. I caught my first fish with them. I bagged deer with them. We shared blood & sweat together. They have been there for me when no one else would. In recent years, my grandfather has shown a touch of senility setting in (he's 81) but other than that the two of them have been relatively healthy. Throughout last weekend, I kept thinking "if something as small as the head of a pin (size of most clots in a MI) can practically level someone as strong as my mother's boyfriend, than what would something like that do to my Grandfather?" Most certainly, it would likely kill him. The thought of losing my grandfather is devastating. He has been that much of a cornerstone in my life.
In addition to all above, I have had crises at work. On my shift in the machine shop, we are a close knit group of five. One of the five has been going through a great deal of trials in his life. I’m not going to delve into those, out of respect for his privacy. Let’s just say that it would break most people. Well, Tuesday he was headed to commit suicide when, fortunately, a friend intervened and brought him to our local Psyche ward. He is now getting the help that he needs. I keep wondering if I could have done something different. I realize that armchair quarterbacking is useless, but it doesn’t stop me from doing it. It was obvious that he was depressed, and had occasional thoughts of suicide. I counseled him on getting help. I gave him numbers to counseling services & suicide hotlines. It still did no good. I keep wondering if I should have hauled his butt away the week before.
Part of the problem is reliving the past. The machine shop that I work for is a small, family owned business with about 60 employees. About 12 years ago, I had become a great friend with someone who worked there. We’ll call him K for now. The friendship was wonderful. We thought and acted alike, and I felt like I had found the big brother (K was about 20 years older than myself) I never had. We were inseparable. I even hiked Mt Katahdin (highest point in Maine) three times with his wife’s Girl Scout group.
However, K did suffer from depression at times. He had a severe back problem, and at the time, doctors simply threw pain medication at it, without prescribing treatment therapies. Over years, this regimen of narcotics and anti-inflammatories began to slowly change his personality. He began to exhibit some aspects of bi-polar disorder. He changed, and I, like others around him, either didn’t recognize it, or failed to act on it.
In September 2000, I went on my honeymoon to Orlando, FL. Before I left, I spoke with K because he was bummed he couldn’t go to the wedding. He asked if I could “squeeze him into my luggage”. Instead of seeing the plea for help, I thought he was joking. I left on a Sunday. Tuesday he committed suicide. To this day, I believe he chose that time and place because I wasn’t there. If I had been, I likely would have recognized his altered behavior and perhaps talked him out of it. After this episode, I began to withdraw slightly from my coworkers. To this day, I remain somewhat aloof from them because of this episode. We nearly had a repeat of that disaster, and on “my watch” so to speak.
So that’s been my week.

Space, ET's, & the moon. The latest conspiracy!

I work second shift at the machine shop. We usually get to work about 3pm, and work until 1:30-2:00am. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, it all depends on the workload. It’s a great time to listen to the radio, because I guarantee that you will hear stuff that you won’t hear any other time of the day.
For instance, for many years I have had the pleasure of listening to a late night show called Coast to Coast AM. (www.coasttocoast.com) This show used to be hosted by Art Bell, who is a 2008 inductee into the broadcast radio Hall of Fame. It is not your typical talk radio show. Listening to it for one night, I guarantee that you will hear news that is simply not reported in any other media outlet. The current host, George Noory, prides himself on honest, accurate, unbiased reporting, something that you simply cannot find anywhere else. An additional attraction for me is that the main theme of the show is paranormal. Ghosts, demons, shadow people, aliens, UFOs, Inner Earth, and such are common topics.
On Thursday night’s show, the main topic was the Moon. Now, if anyone still believes that anything NASA does is on the up & up, please take a minute to check out this website: http://spacefuture.com/vehicles/how_the_west_wasnt_won_nafa.shtml
I believe that space is the area where the grossest lies have been told by our government. Take these for examples:
1. The Earth is 4.6 billion years old. Why has the Moon been dated AT LEAST 5.3 billion years old?
2. The Moon has traces of water vapor found on it, but yet has “no atmosphere”
3. It costs $20 million to launch (just to launch) the space shuttle. The Russians are doing essentially the same thing for $175,000. (Ok, not a lie, but it still ticks me off)
4. Has anyone ever heard a plausible explanation for a UFO?
5. Amateur & professional astronomers for years have reported lights on the moon. NASA categorically denies this possibility.

Anyone else wondering how much we don’t know?

"Do you want the Blue Simms, or the White Simms?"

[Scene: two citizens of a small Carribbean Island country standing in the main town square, looking up at side-by-side posters of the two candidates for President]

"Are you going to vote for the Blue Simms, or the White Simms?"

Imagine a country, if you will, where you elect a President in a true democratic fashion (keep in mind we live in a republic). Each vote counts once. All citizens can vote. Sounds positively utopic, doesn't it? A place where most people would love to live.
Except that every political party is banned except the two principal parties, the Blue party and the White party. Now consider for a moment that the two principal parties decide to put forth the same candidate, one Alphonse Simms. The political posters in the scene show the same person, albeit in a different background. Obviously, anyone with a particle of gray matter between their ears would scream "Dictatorship!".
The movie is Moon over Parador, a 1988 remake of The Magnificent Fraud. It stars Richard Dreyfuss & Raul Julia. I won't bother to get into the specifics, other than to say for a "B" movie, it is a wonderful movie. I highly recommend the movie to everyone, if you can find it.
This scene came to mind this morning as I listened (once again) to the political rhetoric churned out by "our" two presidential candidates. I kept thinking to myself, "What's the difference between the two?" Obviously age & race, but does age really matter? and race does not matter. But look at the two from a political perspective for a moment. Are there really differences? I don't see a lot of differences. Sure, they highlight their differences, but look at the voting records of McCain & Obama. Most of the votes, they are on the same side. Look for yourself:
http://www.411mania.com/politics/columns/69733

Other than some areas (likely pressure from their respective parties), the two vote almost identical. So what are we really getting for our vote? Does it matter?

1 tomato, 2 tomato, 3 tomato...

So the Food & Drug administration today declared that we can all go back to eating tomatoes again. Gee, I have warm & fuzzy feelings again. Oh, but wait, they still don't know what is causing the outbreak of salmonella. David Acheson, one of the head feds, states, and I quote:
"it's possible tomatoes caused some illnesses and that it's impossible to prove that they didn't cause any."
What? So why were tomatoes implicated in the first place? Why not poultry, eggs, or meat? After all, "it's impossible to prove they didn't cause any" either. "Trust us" seems to be the message. "We're getting down to the bottom of it." [insert quizzical look here]
Let's take a brief stroll through the history of the FDA to examine why we should trust them:

• The FDA was formed in 1906 under the Food & Drug Act, despite the entire legislation being unconstitutional, but that is a blog for another time.
• During its 102 year history, over 13,000 products TOXIC to human beings have been approved.
• The FDA has a recent history of rushing approval through for some medications (from the same few pharmaceutical companies no less) while dawdling for some life saving medications. (See Vioxx, Rezulin, Imclone cancer treatment, etc.)
• Interesting fact: More people have died from medications approved by the FDA than those substances not approved, including illegal drugs)
• FDA botched the Iams/Eukanuba pet recall so badly that Americans ended up discarding tons of good pet food, and keeping tons more of tainted food.
• Does anyone really need reminding of the HSUS/PETA video inside the slaughterhouse last year?

Suffice it to say, imho, they do not instill a great deal of confidence in me. Thanks, but I'm growing my own tomatoes & peppers this year. Grow your own folks! At least until the FDA recalls YOUR produce. Just keep out of my garden...

What this blog is about...

Apparently, people in this country do not have enough witty commentary in their daily lives. I've finally been subjected to enough peer pressure to start a blog. Hopefully it will eventually be read by more than 2 people. Within these entries, you will obtain an insight into my daily thought processes as I read the news blurbs from day to day. So kick back, have fun, and remember that hooked-on-phonics only works if you apply it :)
You will find out quite fast that my thoughts jump from subject to subject and I hope that you can keep up. Most of my blogs will likely deal with politics (it's easy to make fun of politicians!), nature, and religion.
So let's get the first out of the way: Politics. I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. If you really have to fit me into one of those square holes, I guess that I relate most closely to the Libertarian party, although I am a (PROUD!) registered Independent. My belief is that our Constitution should be the ultimate authority in this land, not Congress, not the President, and certainly not the Judicial branch. While this seems straight forward, wait. You will see lots of blogs on this topic, and if you are not outraged after reading these, then you are not paying attention.
Nature would obviously be a large topic for me, being a Maine Guide. I feel a strong connection to the earth. I know with absolute certainty that if I had not been domesticated at an early age, I would be running naked through the woods with the wolves. Howl at the Moon for me, buddies.
That leaves Religion. I'm currently pursuing my doctorate in Religion. I'm fascinated by a facet of humanity that is that powerful, with so little evidence of why it exists in the first place. I'm well versed in all the ,major religions, so be prepared for anything. :)