Press on regardless. Secret of life

It really doesn't matter who you are or how much money you have, we are all at the whim of something far beyond our imagination. We can hide ourselves in caves like hermits, save up every penny we earn, buy gold and hoard it, eat a limited diet, pack away two years of food in a bomb shelter, wear air filtering masks, drink only special water from bottles, avoid other people, jog 10 miles a day, never touch dirt, visit the doctor over every little thing, practice Yoga or some other meditational method, get every disease preventing inoculation available, drink one glass of red wine, two cups of coffee and take a hundred vitamins and unexplainable issues still happen to us. That's life!

Most of us carry on every day, doing our best to protect ourselves in healthy ways both physically and financially as well as spiritually, it's the smart thing to do, but stuff still happens doesn't it? In the past I had a habit of collecting and hoarding pencils and pens. When I was in the second grade my teacher took away a handful of pencils I had in my desk and never gave them back. The school rule was "only one pencil to a student." The next day my pencil broke and I didn't have time to get another one, sharpen it and finish my assignment. I was devastated! After that I used to keep an extra one in my shoe just in case. As I grew older I always made sure I had a box of pencils stashed away ready to handle any crisis whatsoever concerning pencils. I kept that box near me in a special place for years and years. During the writing of my book, "Joe's Story: The Book of a Lifetime" my habit was to write down any sudden thoughts and type them later. One day a thought occurred to me and my pencil broke. I searched and searched for my special stash of pencils but to no avail. I had put it in such a safe place even I couldn't find it. A strange thing happened, I didn't panic, I wasn't devastated and the world didn't come to an end. I had lost my fear of things I couldn't control. I had grown up and learned to handle them as they presented themselves.

It is always prudent to prepare for emergencies but maybe it's just as important to be prepared to deal with whatever life sets upon us that we can't control and keep going anyway. Pressing on regardless. One step at a time.

Why do they do it?

Throughout history, some people have done extraordinary, unselfish things. Why did they do them? Some examples: David killed a giant with a stone. Moses led his people out of Egypt into the promised land. Jesus died for all mankind. Joan of Ark died trying to save France. Free people formed an underground railroad to save slaves. Hundreds of people risked their lives trying to save others from the Nazis. Gandhi put himself in harms way for India. Audey Murphy fought huge numbers of the enemy to save his fellow soldiers. Mother Theresa sacrificed much for those in need. Again, why do they do it?

We all reap the benefits of the actions of those selfless human beings. In many cases without even being aware of it. Our lives are safer and richer because of thankless, heroic deeds done every day, many of which are unknown to us. Few of those heroes receive any reward other than the knowledge they did it. For some reason they must feel that we are worth the effort.

I doubt that I will ever realize the true depth of their motivation, as hard as I try. The actual why of it is known only to them. We can only guess. Meanwhile, I try to act in a way that shows I appreciate what they've done, carry on their legacy of courage and pursue the good. That's my thought for the day. Hopefully, if the time comes I will act in a way that is deserving of what they've done.

Asian Carp. How to cook them and make money

Countless numbers of Asian Carp have spoiled our rivers for sport fishing. They are as close as the nose on your face to invading the awesome Lake Michigan. Just an electric shock away. I can't, personally do much about that except continue to vote and write my elected politicians. However, I can contribute to a way of possibly using those fish for the nourishment of humanity in these trying times. It has always seemed to me that if you have an otherwise unsolvable problem, you make the best of what you have. Besides being ugly the Asian Carp is depicted to be difficult to prepare for eating. That's not entirely true in my opinion. I assure you, somebody is going to discover a financially rewarding method of preparation and build an Asian Carp empire. Feeding the hungry is a good way to start I think. Here's an idea:

Catch a bunch of Asian Carp
Clean them and scale them
Boil them in mild salt water until tender and flaky
Separate the bones from the edible meat
Add seasonings popular to the area or culture
Mix in onions, veggies flakes or peppers
Mix the meat with corn meal and flour
Roll into balls or flattened into patties
Deep fry, bake or broil
Eat immediately or freeze for later

I've used this recipe for numerous fish and it works well. Try it with Tuna, Sardines or Salmon. You'll be surprised. If some entrepreneur jumps on this idea and runs with it, an inexpensive protein food source will be available to the hungry of this country and others, buildings will be purchased to meet production, thousands of new jobs will be created, we can export millions of pounds to other countries, much needed money will enter the country, additional taxes will be collected, the deficit will go down and the authorities will eventually probably have to declare the Asian Carp as an endangered species. A win, win situation. But then again it may be too simple and easy.

Laughing and wigs

Occasionally, for special events, I will put on a wig. Definitely not for appearance sake but rather for shock or humor. I am well pleased with how the good Lord decided I should look. Besides, it's a whole lot easier to comb a bald head then a mop of hair. I possess an arsenal of varying types of hair pieces. From a Mohawk to surfer, I've got almost the entire spectrum covered. The response I receive is as diversified as my collection. It always ends up with a laugh though, either before or after I remove it. Classmates from years ago, the ones you only see every 5 years are the people who don't exactly know what to say. Some of the wigs look downright natural and they may wonder if I am using a hair growth product and yet others are so misshapen and fake looking they may wonder if I am still among the sane. Either way the reaction is worth the effort. I get a lot of questions about why I do it. Usually those asking the questions are laughing while they ask. That's why I wear them. We all need a laugh or two to break the ice sometimes. Somebody's got to do it.





I've spent plenty of time sitting around waiting for someone else to make a move or say something to get a conversation going. The suspense is nerve wracking, don't you agree? Not for everyone of course. Some of us are just naturally outgoing and spend a lot of time socializing. Not me. I live a somewhat restricted life. My gosh, I have a hard time recognizing my neighbors in a grocery store. So, when it comes time to socialize with people I haven't seen in a long time I figure at least I can bring a laugh or two with me. They enjoy it and I feel like I'm bringing something to the table. Because it's been so many years that I've been putting on those stupid wigs I'm now thinking about facial hair: fake mustaches and beards. In the costume shop the other day, while looking for something unusual for Halloween, I even saw a set of fake eyebrows so full you'd a thought they were separate wigs setting too low on your face. Now that was funny. I'd never in my lifetime wear them though. At least I don't think I would, but then again, I just wonder.

A really good joke

Have you ever had one of those moments when you simply could not control your laughter? One that wasn't triggered by one too many beers or a comedy club or TV comedian? Occasionally thats happened to me. Actually, way more than occasionally. When a human mistake cascades into a situation beyond control or someone tells you a joke that just tickles your funny bone in such a way that the laughter comes out of you like a volcanic eruption. Those things are so funny to me that I can't verbally repeat them without going into fits of laughter again. You can't look for those moments, they just happen.

It's been over a month now since I've run across anything as humerous as all that. The last time was a simple joke, add to that the non-expressive face of the joke teller and Wham! I was drawn in, blind sided by the seeming innocence and smacked up on the side of my head by a joke so hillarious I almost laughed myself silly. I love stuff like that. It takes me away from reality just long enough to catch my breath and get back to the tasks at hand. I've heard that laughter also acts as a short workout for the heart. I'm looking forward to the next time it happens. But, in the meantime I've been going over some old joke books from my high school days trying to glean a few bits of humor. My, how tastes have changed. I told a couple of the jokes to the younger guys I work with. Guess what? They didn't find them funny even though I could hardly tell them I was laughing so hard. The jokes appear to be outdated.

I've checked out the joke of the day sites but no surprises there. Oh wait! Did you tee hee, hear about, haa haa, the guy who, hee, hee, haa, haa, snicker, snicker, hoo, hoo, haa, haa, Oh never mind I'll have to tell you later. I'm laughing too hard right now.................

Bernard Taylor

Bernard Taylor believes in kids. That's my observation anyway. I live in a suburb of Grand Rapids so I have no direct interest in that school system. But, what affects Grand Rapids has a great influence on the surrounding area too. I feel what Bernard Taylor, as the superintendent of the Grand Rapids public school system has done affected far beyond it's borders. I feel that what happens within our educational system is of major importance. I felt Bernard Taylor does too.

Being an outsider I didn't get caught up in any petty squabbles going on between the school board or teachers or parent groups. None of those mattered to me. I mentored dozens of young men that were the products of the Grand Rapids school system. One common factor of their at risk situations was "lack of expectations" both at home and within the schools. "You're not ever going to amount to anything so we're not going to waste our time trying to help you excel." I didn't get that feeling from Bernard Taylor. I've never met the man, don't know what he's like personally. I don't care either. What I saw in his attempts to do his job was a deep seated belief that if given the opportunity, most kids will buckle down and take advantage of it. He didn't appear to believe that the students weren't capable of learning. He moved forward by expecting them to learn and a belief that most children will rise to the occasion.

Bernard Taylor will be leaving the Grand Rapids school system soon. The system will carry on and he'll be faced with another challenge to overcome. Life will continue as before. But, the system will be different because of his efforts and optimism in those kids. That's my observation. I like to see people like him when it comes to dealing with the future generations. Expect, inform, assist, educate and keep moving forward. I wish Bernard Taylor well in his future endeavors.

September 11th, 2001

The horror of September 11th 2001 is printed indelibly on my mind. So is the heroism of that day. Ten years has not lessened the impact it had on our lives. It taught us there is no safe haven from terrorism and we forever must remain vigilant. I believe we also must continue to pursue our dreams of freedom by facing the threat and pressing on regardless. Paraphrasing words spoken on flight 93. "Let's roll!" The alternative is unthinkable. Pray today and always.