Sometimes when you visit a bigger city you have an opportunity to run into what my wife calls “Scary Peopleâ€. These are usually individuals who because of some reason or another have been cast out of mental institutions, or they have broken down and no longer are able to function as a normal person in society.
In Las Vegas, we saw one such man. He was at a corner cross walk, dirty, disheveled, and he didn’t seem very coherent. He was pushing buttons, obviously talking to someone or somebody who wasn’t there. He was pointing at someone or somewhere, and didn’t appear to be talking to anyone is particular. I felt sorry for him. He was the kind of person that I am not sure we would want to approach on our own, but somehow we should be able to help these type of people.
Why is it that babies almost universally say the word mama first? That word, as far as I know, appears in a lot of languages in that form. Possibly (I am really speaking out of school here) that is one of the easiest sounds to make for a newborn. As a male, I want to make sure that they say Daddy first. After all, fathers are the most important creatures on the planet. It is just that those sneaky women are with the babies for more of the day than us guys. That is the only real reason, right? Well, regardless, I recently was in a crowd of a lot of non-English foreign speakers and I heard a lot of “mamas” coming out of those child’s mouths, but not much else of their languages made sense to me.
Like other things in life, the recent summer trip for me to Las Vegas brought varied reactions on some old things that I was seeing from a new perspective. What is it that hit my button you might ask? Well, while driving around trying in vain to find a Wal-Mart to buy some water for the heat, I saw political campaign signs of the various people running for various offices in the city of Las Vegas or Cooke County.
I look at signs, and instead of seeing the ad for who is running, I see how big it is, how it is constructed, how much it likely costs, and what colors are they using. I look and see if I think it will withstand a windstorm, a tornado, and how will it weather the elements of rain and wind. I determine is it well designed, effectively getting across the message the candidate wants to give to his target voters. Sometimes these life experiences that we all have forever change the way we look at things. Campaign signs were a simple and obnoxious experience for me before I ran for political office, and now they are an experience that will be forever changed for me.
Today marks the end of the line. The Traveling Wilburys wrote a song called “End of the Line”.
(Chorus 1)
Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please
Well it’s all right, doing the best you can
Well it’s all right, as long as you lend a hand
You can sit around and wait for the phone to ring
Waiting for someone to tell you everything
Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring
Maybe a diamond ring
(Chorus 2)
Well it’s all right, even if they say you’re wrong
Well it’s all right, sometimes you gotta be strong
Well it’s all right, As long as you got somewhere to lay
Well it’s all right, everyday is Judgement Day
Maybe somewhere down the road aways
You’ll think of me, and wonder where I am these days
Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays
Purple haze
(Chorus 3)
Well it’s all right, even when push comes to shove
Well it’s all right, if you got someone to love
Well it’s all right, everything’ll work out fine
Well it’s all right, we’re going to the end of the line
Don’t have to be ashamed of the car I drive
I’m just glad to be here, happy to be alive
It don’t matter if you’re by my side
I’m satisfied
(Chorus 4)
Well it’s all right, even if you’re old and grey
Well it’s all right, you still got something to say
Well it’s all right, remember to live and let live
Well it’s all right, the best you can do is forgive
(Chorus 5)
Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please
Well it’s all right, even if the sun don’t shine
Well it’s all right, we’re going to the end of the line
I wish that I were that positive about what I see at the end of the line. Today marks the end of the Presidential Campaign process, which in this country started well over two years ago. I am sick of the process, of the incessant finger pointing that goes on in this country between the Republicans and the Democrats. If I had my way, we would through all of the office holders out and elect new ones. Unfortunately, that won’t happen.
We have got way too partisan. I fear that Barack Obama is going to be the next President of the United States. In my mind, he is way too liberal. However, we have got to make sure that our elected representatives get the work of the people done, and that hasn’t been happening for at least the last 30 years, if not longer. Whomever is elected, must get the work of the people done, doing it in the best interests of all the people, or we need to through them out and find someone who will do the work of the people. We can’t bicker any more.
I fear what is going to happen in a socialist America, because that is where I believe we are heading. However, if the voice of the people is to make this a socialist paradise, then let’s do what is reasonable and get the work done. No more pointing fingers. No more disenfranchising or favoring whole sections of the population. Lets do the work of the people, or this great nation will truly be at “The End of the Line”.
When I am driving along the country’s byways I sometimes have my mind just racing along. I like to write about the things that I observe, and I find that happens the most when I am driving. This is not a good thing. Why? Well, since I am such an old guy, it makes me want to immediately start to write down what I think about (since it will flee so quickly), and therefore, I am in danger of wrecking the car because of my enforced brain silence (must be mouth silence too). Luckily, both Bonnie and Julie have started to ask me what they should write so I won’t forget what I want to write about.
The Power of the Media in this country (The United States of America) is truly amazing. They reach into our lives everywhere, and while they have a great potential for good, it is the misuse of this power that bothers me. For whatever reason, it seems that many of those in the media feel it is their purpose in life to educate us as to what we should be doing.
Maybe it is because they feel that masses of the people are too stupid or uneducated to really understand what is best for us. Maybe it is because they feel they have a responsibility to help put in power those that align themselves with what the media feels is the real truth.
Perhaps it is just a matter of personal arrogance of those that have positions of power in the media. Regardless, those that feel they know better than us have their own agendas that they push, and with the media intruding ever further into our everyday lives, their opinions and agendas are more important to understand than ever. Why? It is because many times the things that they favor are just wrong. They can ruin this country, and I think they have way too much power and control over what we in this country think about the important issues of the day.