In a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, presented in August of 2009, John Brennan, who currently works in the Obama administration as chief counterterrorism advisor for the President, made it very clear that George Bush’s War on Terrorism no longer exists.  In fa… Read full post »

         Seems as if there are scores of folks taking the opportunity to expound on some aspect of the Republican convention.  With as many speakers as where ushered through the chutes, it is only logical that a handful of them would give us something to t… Read full post »

Well, he would have been 93 years old today.  But, Dad’s been gone several years now.  All of his kin and friends have passed on by now.  His daughter and I are the only people left who pause and think of him on this day.  How come it is that the… Read full post »

I am disgusted and frustrated at the moment.  Try as I may, I am unable to simply set the political maneuvers of the two political parties to the side and ignore them.  Please understand I do not want to ignore my own personal political positions.  When the time comes I will… Read full post »

I love sports.  Sure, I’m a guy and that seems to be embedded in our DNA.  So it is no surprise that I yielded to nature’s call of the wild and honed in on the sound of the crowd’s cheering, screaming, and sometimes cursing as if they were the cries of… Read full post »

Why do I even try?  For that matter, why do I even care? (sigh) What now?  I think I'm tired. Read full post »

          We voted in the little town in which I live. The process began with early voting where folks wandered in over a two week period and marked their ballots. The finishing touch was done yesterday when the polls opened and folks stood in line on/… Read full post »

OK, I’ve been whining for about a year now about getting a hammock.  Good grief, you’d think it was a new car or something.  But, nope, it was just a hammock.  It’s not that I’ve set my sights low or anything like that.  I like fancy toys like the next guy.… Read full post »

 I had an Editor’s Pick once—just once, that was a long time ago when I first began wandering the halls of Open Salon.  I did have a close call, also.  That was a strange situation.  Some political piece I wrote suddenly sported the Editor’s Pick label shortly af… Read full post »

There are some topics that by their very natures are polarizing.  We are currently cruising into a national election.  Republicans and Democrats and everyone in between are consistently and often vehemently hawking their respective positions.  As a result, whether or not it is intended… Read full post »

I’d like to think that I’m different than everyone else.  I’d like to believe that the weird stuff ascribed to people belong to other people.  I’d like to think they broke the mold when they made me—that I’m one of a kind.  I rebel in following any e… Read full post »

Multiple news media outlets recently reported the interaction between GOP candidate Mitt Romney and a struggling college student, regarding the cost of an affordable 21^st Century education.  Mitt responded as follows:

“It would be popular for me to stand up and say I’m going… Read full post »

Each of us has to own up to having a little of an ego.  Admit it; it makes you feel good to receive credit for some idea, action, or creation you are responsible for.  I can be as humble as the next guy, but I’ve got to admit there are/… Read full post »

I knew on the first day of my first real job, at age sixteen, someday I would do that retirement thing.  I had no idea what that meant, other than I would not be working out in the field I was then in, cutting broomcorn.  Now, many of you don’t know/… Read full post »

It seems to me the US government may be guilty of selective application.  You know, that’s where you apply great truths selectively in situations which most benefit a particular agenda.  A dear friend pointed out a couple of comments made by the government, as follows: “The food/… Read full post »

There are a lot of good spots in our house.  There’s the spot upstairs in my study under the big picture window.  If you choose to camp out there you can sit in the easy chair and watch the world pass by from that elevated viewpoint.  The Crepe Myrtle… Read full post »

I had breakfast with a beautiful young lady today.  Her beauty is certainly physical but it extends much deeper to her inner-self, and surely to her very soul.  The amazing thing about advancing age is that I am afforded the opportunity to watch a precious life evolve.  I am mindful of… Read full post »

OK, I genuinely feel badly about this.  I mean, I feel like I’m letting someone down.  But, I don’t know what else to do.  Our Rotary Club has a program where we display U.S. flags in front of residences and businesses six times a year on special holidays.  I’ve/… Read full post »

       Dreams and aspirations are amazing things.  It’s hard to really define a dream.  I’m not referring to the fanciful nocturnal stories that fleet through our minds during slumber.  Nope, I’m talking about the often secret desires of… Read full post »

                Lawrence Russell Brewer ended his stay on Death Row on September 21, 2011.  He was there for the grisly murder of James Byrd, Jr., an African-American man.  On a June evening in 1998, Brewer and John… Read full post »

       Help me remember if I had aches and pains when I was in my twenties.  Surely, I did.  Tell me this is not a sign of an aging body.  Lie to me if you have to.  I recently experienced a couple events that cause me to question this thing/… Read full post »

        Memories are sometimes like butterflies; they flit silently and lazily into your consciousness, often uninvited but welcome.  They cause old men to shake their heads remembering the audacity of youth.  I know, because a memory filed away in… Read full post »

        If you want to buy your dog cute little booties and sweaters for the winter, go ahead.  I’ll never stand between a dog and their adoring owner.  Just don’t ask me to condone such silliness.  Yeah, you heard me—I think it&rsq/… Read full post »