Okay all you whipper-snappers out there who are under my age, I appreciate this song more than you know. Just don’t bother sending it to me again. Thanks good buddy Mike, these lyrics really made a point we should both remember.
Filed under: Aging, family, Garden, Humor | Tagged: age, positive, Senility | 2 Comments »
It isn’t easy getting to ninety four. Aunt Marie has done it. She is a physical wreck but still a mental whiz. Her sense of humor is great.
Today, we brought a cake to her home and had a party with her co-residents. The staff came by and sang Happy Birthday with us. Everyone ate cake and all were happy.
Marie is slipping and tired. Maybe the arthritis pain is creeping up on the pain scale, but she seems depressed. Maybe it is her lack of social contact because of her incontinence. She refuses to leave to go out anymore. Whatever the reason, she is not the same Marie as she has been.
Every week, for the last three and a half years, Peggy and I visit with her. Each time we come home we feel better because Marie has a unique ability to see life as a positive thing. She cheers me up. Today, however, was different. I wasn’t cheered. In fact I became depressed. Her depression transferred to me.
Filed under: Characters I knew, family, Funk, grief, Memories, Society, Uncategorized, Warm and Fuzzy | Tagged: aging, Arthritis, birthday, depression, Happy Birthday, positive, Senior | Leave a comment »
What a great day! The sun shined brightly when finally I got out of bed. The day before I had worn myself out by working on my new bathroom. The physicality’s of the job took it’s toll on my body, and I slept long.
“We have to do something wild and crazy today,” I said to Peggy. “Why not go to the movies in the middle of the day?” To my surprise she agreed.
We arrived at Show Place 14 in time for the 2:10 p.m. showing of “Slumdog Millionaire.” A synopsis of the movie peaked my curiosity. I love to travel, and this film promised to take me to India. The story takes place in Mumbai (Bombay).
The film didn’t disappoint us. The plot has the principal characters choosing between good and evil, overcoming adversity, and searching for love. All of the actors gave superb performances and made the story believable. The editing kept the story moving along without leaving questions unanswered. It also teaches the kind of life lessons that can only be learned by growing up as an orphan in the slums of Mumbai. Some of it is downright sad, and most of it is hilarious.
Go see this picture to make up your own mind. For each negative there is an equal or greater positive. The challenge is to find the good that comes out of the bad. This film clearly shows goodness evolving from the badness of growing up in adversity.
Peggy and I give it five stars *****
Filed under: Characters I knew, family, Funk, Motivation, Movie Review, Music, Travel, Uncategorized, Warm and Fuzzy, Writer | Tagged: Evil, Goodness, India, love, Mumbai, negative, positive, Showplace 14, Slumdog Millionaire | Leave a comment »
Winter Bear
As good as I felt last Sunday after our Lion Club food basket distribution, I am in a Bah Hum Bug mood today. It’s two days before Christmas, and I have the blahs. Maybe its light affective disorder, or something like that. It has to be a hormone gone wild to make a person feel so down. I can’t explain it. It couldn’t be that for the last twelve months I’ve been brainwashed by the messiah speaking about failed economic policies, and another preacher damning America, or that the entire banking system came tumbling down by some social engineering. The weather isn’t helping me out either. It’s way too cold, it’s snowing and blowing. My joints all ache, and my muscles long for a walk, but I’m too lazy to go out . Maybe I feel blue because I just wrote to my Senator telling him not to give himself a raise, and I expect him to give me the finger instead. Watching my 401K vanish hasn’t added any light into my life either.
For many years, people referred to me as Scrooge. I created that personae in order to survive my job. We always had ‘performance appraisals’ right before Christmas. Often, the news I gave my staff was not what they wanted to hear, therefore, the “Scrooge,” moniker. A negativity overtook me like the devil. I became negative the year around. Then one day, I heard a motivational speaker, and he changed my life. His name is Bernie, he’s a medical doctor, and he changed my life with his speech. I learned that “positive” works much more effectively than “negative.”
It took me several years to break out of the negativity habit, but I did it. I became a positive person. That is why these blahs are affecting me so. My mind wants to revert to negative, yet I know its the wrong way to go. I see myself being tempted by Darth Vader. I hear him calling me to the “dark side.”
Several times today, I had to stop what I was doing to find a positive moment to reflect upon. It has kept me going. I have to make alist of everything positive happening in my life today. It will help me bury the blahs.
Filed under: Election, family, Funk, grief, Lions Club, Motivation, Uncategorized, Writer | Tagged: baby step, Bah Humbug, blahs, Charles Dickens, Christmas, dark side, darth vader, depression, Election, family, liberal, Lions Club, love, Motivation, negativity, Performance Appraisal, positive, Scrooge, Snow | Leave a comment »
Wow! It seems like forever since I last posted. So much has transpired. The baby steps have been ticking off faster and faster. In spite of all the positive activity toward my goals I have been stricken with a slight case of depression. My self-esteem is low, and that always is the result of depression. Some little thing triggered me into a funk. The funk is over, I’ve survived and now it’s time to BLOG again. How did I get myself out of the funk? Well first there is work. Good hard physical work. Thank God, I can still do physical work. That meant taking many baby steps in the garden. In the past week I planted about forty perennials around the pond. I added annuals, and planted seed too. All of it is doing fine except for the few plants that the rabbits are bothering. Two of my most expensive perennials being native hibiscus are being munched on by the rabbits. They gave up on the rose of sharon, and are now on tastier plants. If you are old enough to remember Elmer Fudd, and his ongoing battle with Bugs Bunny, you will understand how I must proceed with the critters. Unfortunately, my dear Peggy is an animal lover, and she will prevent me from openly taking a shot at the furry creatures. I’m a poor shot anyway.
A friend stopped by last week and deposited ten good size goldfish into the pond. We can now see fish from our kitchen window, whereas before, the little guys were invisible. Everyday, Peggy and I throw a handful of fish pellets into the water to feed them. I want to train the fish to come to us when we approach the edge of the water.
Another powerful tool for getting ot of the funk is to pray. I pray every night before retiring. I coax my sub-conscious into bringing me only good health, great stories, and abundance. Included is a request to help a bunch of people who need it. In the morning, when I walk, it is another opportunity to pray and speak to God. I can’t walk without praying. It’s a habit I developed over the last seven years.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the endorphins begin to kick in and the funk begins to disappear.
Today, I wrote a letter of introduction to my new writing instructor. Yes, I signed up for writing school. Hopefully, my style will improve and I will get as good as the really fluid writers on the blogs I visit. Man are they good. I admire people who can write their thoughts clearly, concisely, and in a completely understandable way . They amaze me. How can some writers be so descriptive with their words and others like me are complete klutzes. Do you believe this, I’m writing myself into a funk just by giving someone unknown to anyone an “atta boy.”
I am not a klutzy writer, I do well. Even though others can write rings around me, I must concentrate on the positive in my life and not dwell on the negative. The negative, “or dark side,” can quickly envelop the id and predominate. We have to learn and practice being positive every moment of our lives. Being positive is much more fun than being negative. Funk rules the negative person.
Filed under: Funk, Garden, Motivation, Writer | Tagged: Baby steps, depression, excercise, Garden, negative, positive, prayer, self esteem, Writer, writing school | 1 Comment »
Death Of the Shining City
