Uncomfort Zone... don't we all live in it?

I noticed the other day,  that I was getting comfortable being an old fat man, can't run, can't ... you name it and there are many things that I can't. What I found interesting was the idea that I wasn't comfortable being an old fat man - acceptance, I should be aware that I am more than what others and I see when I waddle, or limp, or walk down the street, but that I should accept what I am -- shouldn't I?  No, I am Earl, and I am a game changer... from the time my mother heard me breaking the crib slats so I could escape the afternoon nap (which I always thought was her rest time more than mine) to the jumping out of the second story window to escape to go down to see the circus parade... I wanted my way and I was going to reach it.

We work hard to make life good, adventurous and meaningful - and do best when challenged by being uncomfortable. I have been blaming women for civilization for years, men would still be living in caves hunting fishing drinking and swapping lies and brags and periodically paying attention to feminine companions. But no, women wanted more for their little piece of a man's life and the cave was cold and damp, and if they had to stay with the babies all day they wanted running water, fresh air and more of everything. Men are still stuck on hunting, fishing, drinking, swapping lies and brags -- they amount of time they listen to women has increased beyond measure - not that they are paying any more attention to them. Civilization has arrived.

Comfort sells: recliners, mattresses, a good night's sleep, snake oil medicines, pain relievers - words like easy, warm, dry, smooth, simple, and ready. Politicians use them constantly to assure the people they are being sensible, taken care of, and secure. But then politicians lie a lot, almost every time they open their mouths to speak. When the politician needs a vote, the language brings messages of comfort. When the politician needs you obey - the words will all strike fear into those listening.  Normally when trying to make a bad idea work.

So I am watching Helen of Troy on dvd, comparing and contrasting it with Brad Pitt's Troy and Homer's Iliad (in English verse). I am comfortable watching something unreal and still heroic, based on some long ago war between tribes in the bronze age - and Helen is hot and lightly dressed or totally naked periodically. If I could I would have merged the two visions of the war, no real humans nor animals were harmed in the making of this production - although the real story is based on human brutality. I have always told those that want to know what war is like, about and all - I have always told them to study the Iliad, it says it all.

Homer left out the sweating at the oars, the digging in and erecting camps, the wasting of the land the stench of the rotting dead that didn't matter enough to burn in honor, the screams of the wounded animals and men, the despair of the losers - panic, and the calming heroes standing against the discomfort of ruin and rape. He covered the important stuff - but real life and war is full of little problems, irritations and things to drive you to drink or anger or frustration - little uncomfort zones.

Best get out there and struggle against the overwhelming tide of time and truth... get into and destroy that which makes one's uncomfort zone. I just want to be loved... don't we all?

Who are you and what is going on?

I called in to a fine blogcast (?) called The Squirrel Report (Thurday evenings 8PM CDST), hosted by Alan Andrews and Breda Fallon - two people I have met in cyberspace - actually I have met Alan at Boomershoot, and was wondering at his strange love of those firearms he had. I have talked to Mike and then Breda while motorcycling madly through Cleveland on my way to a Dairy Farm in New York State (before the STATE became anti Liberty and 2nd Amendment).

So as we were talking they thought I should be a guest and answer questions. How do I become important enough to want to call in and talk with? What have I ever done? That I would talk about freely? Well most things I would talk about - don't ask me for the truth, I only know what I know and you know that isn't all there is to know.  About anything.

Born in Albert Lea, Minnesota moved to Ohio before kindergarten, and had to go into 1st grade without its benefit. Sigh, missed a whole year of education no wonder I am flawed. I got a Robin Hood Castle set for Christmas there, was baptized by my Grandfather, Reverend Earl Martin Smith, and we moved on to Pennsylvania. Eleven years in the Pennsylvania school system and I graduated. Kind of just barely, since I hadn't done the paper that Mr.Giboney was expecting and he required it. Yes, I did get it done, he was expecting it, and I graduated.  Not much to talk about there - I was a growing boy prepared in my own mind to run off to join Castro against Batista in Cuba, or to quit this waste of time high school and do something military with my life.

Off to college in Florida for one semester, rode my Harley Davidson both ways. Joined the Army and did the best I could for years and years and years and years. Did travel to foreign lands meet strange people and try my best to kill them, or look scary.

Why would anyone want to talk to me on a blogcast? what have I done they need an opinion on, a point of view, a closer look at? I did get married, and it stuck. I also have a very firm opinion of the government's ability to make my life better, as good as it can get and how to deny me what I am going to get on my own.

I have logged on to Ancestry.com and asked for the DNA test, like they will find I am made of coffee and the Spirit of Liberty.

Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is His...

Everyone can identify the coin with the Emperor's face on one side, then assumes there is something that God has given us that we can return for His glory.... but what is that? Another assumption is that it must be a coin, since anything else has little real value (okay, animals for sacrifice - but blood is such a juvenile view).

Silly folks, all God has given you is your life. An opportunity to serve Him. Oh, you could get out of the exchange cheap if you recognize that God has given you Love, shown you love and only expects your love - then remembering that you love, then you would lay down your life for that love - and the price became too high and you want to go back to the animals, crops and coins with the face of folly on it.

Sorry, I insist you concentrate on Love as your medium of exchange - works better than any Gorilla Glue at holding families together and dear. It builds stronger bonds of community than jealousy and fear will. Yeah, keep working on it, spread it around, depend on it and allow it free flow. Love comes back, or maybe it just binds the tie.

After midnight... and all the

Shucks! Seems like I have lost another chance for Appleseed Instructor glory in April, 2014. The Poulsbo range decided that there just wasn't enough interest in the six that signed up. So they canceled. In May there is the Port Townsend range Appleseed with room for those shooters.

So I begin to wonder if I am driving folks away. It wasn't so long ago that we had a pretty nice Appleseed at Poulsbo.  Like: Poulsbo WA Sept 14-15 2013. It was only a week before we would have Port Townsend, WA. Are we scheduling too many? Isn't there enough 22LR ammunition? Have we reached all the shooters that want to learn? Or are they all still trying to recover from a seemingly long Wet Winter?

In two weeks, I will be at Coupeville, twenty shooters, and I must nudge some more instructors in that direction, we have got to get out of the Winter and into the shooting cycle. Well, like I said, it is after midnight, time to think seriously about sleep. I have to seriously think about getting into hunting season, walking daily, exercising vigorously (passed my pacemaker check this morning), and shooting straight with bouts of tracking and hunting for finding targets in the natural settings.... fun stuff. Good night and God bless all our best, the government will tax and claim all the rest.

What is making you so slow? really?

Noticed this morning, that we didn't turn on the distraction box (cable) and our morning had more minutes in it for our use than normal. We got ahead of ourselves several times and could look back in wonder. I was considering turning off the computer at least for internet access for getting even faster - the speed of light was a very frightening potential result.

Off we went for church, and keeping that happy feeling going, good sermon (added to my Pastor's English 'lineage'). Just looked it up in the dictionary, which was way up high behind the boxes of .45APC. Don't ask for cataloging and book shelving sense in my computer cave, reach for more ammunition than word definitions? Any way he still appreciates it when I find a word he needs to work upon. So I freely gave it away.

Coffee and a doughnut I didn't need from my wife, I got her coffee with creamer and sugar. Told everyone the two weekends this month I wasn't going to be at church, so they adjusted things that could be for my participation - even after I told them they didn't need to... So the 19th will start with singing, and finish with Bible Study and prayer. The 20th is an Easter Service, where I could get baptized if I thought it would improve me. I don't.

Sunday School lessons were on Proverbs treatment of man and money. Good discussion and lessons to be learned. Went off to wait for seaweed soup and rice lunch, which would be after the Korean service finished. Not enough seats, so I stood and noticed they were selling hotdogs, or giving them away. I went to get one, and asked the price (50 cents) so I told them to give nine more away to children that were hungry. Which excited the pretty young ladies that were serving, love to light their eyes up. And I went back to standing, eating my hotdog with everything on it, and talking about what-evers with the other guys. Suddenly three children were holding their hotdogs and waving at me from across the fellowship hall. And later two young people came up to me and thanked me for the hot dogs they had. Nice to be thanked, but I did it for the feeding of the needy. Still remember the quiet polite boy watching others getting free hotdogs, waiting to be invited. So I went up to him and invited him.

It only takes a real invitation to make something happen. The picture is of my missed Appleseed event, yesterday. Drove 173 miles to a closed range and a non-event, then drove safely home thinking about the anti-gun goofs winning. For no better reason than they got the range closed, made sane people do foolish things like blame the tool for the troubles, or frightened off enough people that .22LR ammunition is held too dear to linger on shelves or warehouses. Doesn't matter, I have to keep inviting people to shoot, listen to the heritage and help. An invitation always there.

Land of the Free and home of the Brave...

Title comes from something else I wanted to write about, but Fort Hood, Texas is on the news. One, it is a sad thing that so many are dead and wounded or injured. And the shooter was a service member, a Veteran of the last of Iraq.

The story bothers me, because what has happened in the wars since Vietnam, is the idea that PTSD is everywhere in combat, and needs to be treated and disability applied. That last is where the money is, disability and treatment, untaxed dollars and lifetime privileges. So instead of like most wars, the wounded became a burden on the family or hidden from society in Veterans Homes, now people could make money from them, medical retirements and commissary and exchange benefits forever.

I know the wounded need medical, dental and rejoin polite society adjustments - not that I think re-joining polite society is the highest one should reach for. Still I do want them cared for, but ever since the German chemists and medical doctors started playing with humans to see how far they could go - I have been worried about the idea that a pill can compensate, for any ill. It has never been true, and it doesn't change because we have better chemicals, more science and more research. There are disclaimers on television advertising - side effects include, if you are having suicide thoughts, changes in mood or ... stop taking the medication and consult with a physician. They may put the warning there because of lawyers and law suits, but really it could be that all medications don't treat exactly the same thing in the same way in every patient.

So I always come back to you have to care for them, watch them and their reaction to the treatments - and it would be perfect if you would love your patients, to the point of willing to die for them, but I would be putting some stress on the providers.

While watching one of the exercise groups at the YMCA, I thought to myself that Zumba classes for two years might make the returning troubled veteran much happier than anything the doctors will do. It shouldn't hurt to try it, never saw so many happy sweaty exercisers in in rhythm!

For sure really talk to the vets, eye to eye contact - not looking at your PDA as you twitch your thumbs over the flirt that just showed up.

Never mind me, only someone from some of my wars understands - which is why those treating the wounded have some but not enough idea. And the best doctors and nurses all love their patients. I am not to be trusted, I have been missing my watch since I left the YMCA, several hours ago, and just found it on the other wrist. Sigh, I think I will put the real story of Noah in the VCR, where John Huston does it right.

One date long remembered...

1 April, 1945. I know what my father thought about that day... long before I was born. So don't concern yourself with what you find today, check back tomorrow. I should focus on the normal and mundane there are bills to be paid and flower to see and sweat levels to achieve, my month long no upper body workouts is over, but I will go gently into the night.