Sleepless... so get up, stop thinking about it...

  Only so many hours of rest required, and you have been living in a sitting position only exercising your eyes and mind... you don't need more sleep.  So you finally get up, since all your thinking was about how wonderful you are going to be today after you get up... like that will happen.

   So you go get your naked weight, take your blood pressure and your medications and supplements, then start working on the current bills with a hot cup of yesterday's coffee. Bill paying is fun, only two today. Post checks and charges in the Quicken software - just reinforcing the news noticed yesterday - during 2016 the mortgage will be paid off, since last years principal payments were more than the remaining principal I have permission to die off in 2017, my wife won't need me.

  Still very cold and dark outside, little things finished here, will wait for the Sun and read away some more time.

Well, 2016 - so Happy New Year! May God bless it greatly...

But, couldn't it have started on a Monday? Since it is Friday I had to get all the garbage out to the curb, started the dishwasher and colored laundry.  The frozen grass crunched beneath my shoes as I tracked around the yard, the cold clear sky had nothing flying in it, I looked.

I had intended to go shoot this morning, in honor of my reading of the document, but will look into shooting tomorrow at Range 15 of JBLM. I have bills to pay today, and mail, and the YMCA doesn't work without me, and since it is a New Year and we already have two documents for the 2015 tax filing, I expect I will owe nothing again.

Quiet celebration last night, finished off that bottle of wine, in the trash this morning, we didn't stay up until Hawaii celebrated the New Year, just too late. I sat and watched young people at the Space Needle, and complained that the director had too many cameras, had little idea of lasting (seven minute) fireworks against the downtown skyline, it could have been perfect, but they kept trying to catch something cool... and missing the moments, missing all the moments.

Don't y'all miss any moments there aren't enough for us as it is, smile more, share and see you next time on the range.

What do you want for Christmas? The regular, please.

  Gift giving is great upon the event celebrating real Holy days, it has never been for commerce, although there is a real effort to make sure the perfect gifts are given...

   What I seem to want and have for many years in the military, is: Peace on Earth and goodwill towards men.

   Ever remember that phrase from a prayer now banished by the godless 'Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven'? Banished from the public school system, I am sure some of you are still using it in your devotions and worship. Or are you like a fine Baptist and making it up every time you go to the LORD in prayer?

  Peace, children, peace... is that the cry of the Sunday School teacher with very noisy students? Or just the old veteran that has had enough wars to last several of his lifetimes - no one told him the nightmares last with all the REM sleep... forever.

  I read with interest two school administrators calling for their students to arm or not ever arm as a true Christian should... could... or maybe Christ would. What would I call for? Peace on earth, goodwill toward men... Would I train you how to use a firearm? Yes, and as I told someone asking 'Is it difficult to train soldiers to kill?' I answered: 'The difficult part is telling them when not to.' I would also make sure you knew that I expect you to avoid confrontation, not to be a target, and to preach the Gospel to the unbeliever trying to kill you, run at them shouting "Christ died for our sins, repent and be saved." Of course, you might die a new martyr on your way to sainthood, or save those behind you that aren't doing anything but waiting their turn as target.

  Having been where my government said I should go, and performing what my government and I thought I should in killing enemies of us'ns, I have long ago come to the conclusion that you can't kill anyone that God doesn't accept for death. Really, my Bible has a couple interesting references to returning to life in it. Human beings, Men, are not the Supreme Being, not even close -- but you should be trying to be holy. 

  I won't tell you that there is never a reason to kill another human being, I will tell you try not to unless you are doing it with and for love... but that is a whole 'nother sermon,  and I am not qualified. When I think about angels, I have always thought about the most beautiful angel, perfect in every way and crying. Why? Why, because he is the Angel of Death, and weeping with love as he destroys the life that God had blest for too short a time... but then God will reward the fallen in Heaven according to His Love and the truth.

  What do I want for Christmas? Peace on earth and God's will for men... forever. Amen
 

So what are we, or y'all afeared of?

  I am hearing that it is the terrorists, but there aren't that many of them, most of them die in suicide attacks and they don't really reproduce.  I am not afraid of them, although I am sure one should be prepared and aware of everyone and everything around while awake. A friend mentioned that he was going to start carrying concealed because he thought it was all coming apart. I am not afraid of the economy, although I haven't had work since five years and ten months ago, I am sure the economy has been artificially weakened by banking and government policies I am not afraid of that nor them.

   When one of the non-politicians found that he could stir up interest and the crowds by playing to their fool fears, he did so. The press ate that up, since they could tell Americans were angry about many things, but what most people are angry about is the terrible mess the government makes of their world, all for the benefit of hidden puppet masters or some concealed cause.  No one knows why they do it, but the serving politicians can't all be stupid, incompetent and traitorous... could they? Once they go to Washington, DC they completely have a brain reboot with some strange software.  Or something.

  The fear of the bad government has been floating much long than any other fear, and as the government got bigger and more intrusive, the greater the little guy's fear grew - of the government.  Kind of like taking a wolf cub home and raising it, and as it got bigger and badder it was like seeing a fine animal become the center of your focus because it was too big to ignore and decidedly dangerous if denied any of its desires.  In the end, what you and I want, is up to you and I, not the businesses that want our money, not the government that wants our attention and money and time, not anything but what we need and want and what we love and want to provide for others.  Don't need leaders to make me contribute just a cause worth my efforts.  Most folks not living in fear are like that... looking to make our world better.  Seems others are constantly fooling with good enough to get some elusive perfection... which will immediately not be a high enough goal when met.

Only a week to Christmas, and I am seriously watching The Alamo

  Strange, we have received Christmas Cards and gifts in the mail, but I am watching The Alamo, to get a glimpse of the turmoil of the coming collapse and conflict between the old way and a newer better way of living.

   To me, only the disappearance of the normal talking heads on the networks has any holiday meaning, and they could be unbelievers just visiting Hawaii to get some well earned rest.  I am sure that the message of love of one's neighbors has slipped in the excitement of the violation of the Bill of Rights and the rest of the Constitution, although like the Koran and the Bible the current reader sees things the last reader never noticed nor learned. And we will always pretend the folks higher than Us'ns know better than we lower than dirt types about what is to be gleaned from the fertile fields of thought.

  We can't run the USA like Houston ran Texas, but then maybe there are too many better qualified now and the clutter doesn't clear without conflict.

Just dreaming, always dreaming....

  Great dream, kind of, last night. I and a bunch of motorcyclists moved a couple bunches of motorcycles from departed riders to another parking lot... I don't have a bunch of motorcycle riding friends, although the motorcycles are out on the road in appropriate weather. Strange enough dream to wake me up to pay attention. I realized that we had started out and ridden over the ridges just like my last ride from home, Darlington Road, Ligonier, Pennsylvania to my parents' new home in Morgantown, West by God Virginia... the place that would be forever after their home. I made that ride just having returned from Germany on my way to Vietnam, 1970. Tons of stuff on my mind on that ride, first don't get lost.
   Which ride got me to thinking about that long ride from my home in 1966 to the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. Tons of stuff on my mind. I didn't make the most of that semester, no discipline  - since I am such a sad kind of fool - it wasn't drinking, drugs, dames nor rock'n roll that got in the way of my scholarly success... nope, BOOKS.  I read everything, all my normal pulp fictions and many classics and thought provoking.  I could stay up all night reading, yeah, what a lovely wasted college life. My performance was such I was put on probation, and I decided I really needed to go to the service.  Which gave me a whole nother chance to ride that motorcycle (a restored 1948 H-D flathead with the suicide clutch and four speeds forward on the tank) home. Which because of one major accident, which fractured my shoulder blade, kept me from getting in the Army when I was going to be.
   I don't put too much thought into what dreams mean, although my wife the country girl has all kinds of women's wisdom about them and what they could mean. They still have pregnancy dreams in Korea, and don't get her started, I seldom share with her. The Tacoma First Baptist Church put out the invitations to serve as a deacon, and not only my wife got one, she has been serving in that for a few years - not unexpected but they gave me one and told me to prayerfully consider.  Too out of line, not up to standards and the only church title I ever aspired to, in my mind, was Elder.  And remember what I said about discipline above, one wonders how the Methodists managed to loose me upon the world without John and Charles Wesley's core values.
  Ah, well, time to get up and get to doing... luckily no children nor little animals to care for here and we have our health, if I remember to take my medications this morning. I was too busy yesterday they just got shoved to the side.  I finished my day in the dark watching 1612, and drinking some warm milk.  Why is everyone looking so old on the screen, all the famous folks?  All my high school, college and first military year folks have the same exact youthful tomfoolery.

It is a matter of survival... don't get in my way...

Don't cross the streams... from Ghost Busters.

  Amendment II  A well regulated Militia being necessary as the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

  I would guess when we dress for church services we may bring a smart phone, but not the pistol.  But they are going to attack us where we are most vulnerable  - who is they? anyone that is going to attack us. I don't need to know anything more than someone is going to try and destroy what I love, and whom I love. That is all, the secular sillies and progressive posers may make all the worries about what causes them to want to kill others, I don't. I just have to kill them first as fast as they come.  For the free State to be secure the attackers need to understand they are going to die without mercy and will not win and bring down the free State - for I am the well regulated Militia of my nation.  It isn't my fault that the political leaders demanding power have abandoned the most cost effective and most interested part of the population by hiring professionals to protect them and their cronies.  I will look out for the little people, as best I can, and I am sure there are others, too.  For sure even Bill O'REILLY is hoping professionals can protect him, since he thinks the law trumps survival.

   There is increasing call for the citizens to carry when they can, the police and military can't be everywhere, but everywhere the citizens are in not a gun free zone - we are Americans, we are going to do what we are going to do.  Hoping that the law, the judge and jury, and most of all the LORD, see it as something they can agree with and forgive us for.