Seventy-first year underway....

 Seventy year celebration done yesterday, now I am an old man. In Korea, in the old days, the celebration was when a man made sixty - of course with modern medicine and good health more men were making that mark, so they shifted it to seventy. Practical folks.

    What I marveled at was that all those beautiful young ladies are still beautiful ladies, fifty some years later. How did they do it? Good hearts, strong spirit and joy and laughter?  I met my wife some fifty years ago, married her about three and a half years later after I removed the governments from the plan - one of the reasons I know governments are made of people with fool notions. I was talking to Mister Wong, a Chinese gentleman, that thanks to his family, the communist government and Hong Kong under the British had no papers as a child. He has over the years made himself a paper trail, his name became spelled differently, and he has traveled. Kind of an Asian Obama tale.

   Anyway, fifty years with my wife has been wonderful. Even when she tries to control me from the passenger seat. Means she cares, not that she doesn't trust my judgement.

   

How fragile is reality?

  The great NorthWest is having rain, pouring rivers of it, and winds. And the power goes out as I just finish another battle on the computer and I am looking at a black screen of dead. I can't change my protective shield, which I have been watching wear out the last three hours.

  The vultures will gather once they know, I have gone to find the flash lights, the candles and my wife (also wandering in darkness looking for the same items). How does Puerto Rico manage without power since before the holidays?

  I, fortunately, have a library of books I could read -- and two charged up kindles with unread readings to review. My laptop stays powered on battery, but the cable connection box is waiting on power to push my thoughts away... so I put the headlight upon my brow and open the kindle and go back to Robert the Bruce's time, reading about the Douglas. Good story, glass of milk and cookies.

   Just when you get settled into the story, the lights flicker back on, and the electric hums begin all over the home. Put the candles out, return them and matches and flashlights to their places until the next time. Go back to my computer, turn it on, race at computer speed to find I have been scouted twice and not yet attacked. Impressed with my defences? or is it the 99.8k of mercenary troops? Will never know. They are too strong for most to fight with and they have nothing better to do than crush their enemies and hope their hear the wailing of their women. Not interested in building their power, city and knowledge - figure they aren't people I want to meet in real life.

Forgetting why I don't use the laptop for blogging...

We live and then we go do stuff, acquire stuff, and are burdened with stuff...

    Looks like the tiny print preview of my blogging program is gone until the next time I finger the wrong key or these reading glasses are tops. Take one's pick.

   It is the Christmas season and I missed the start, our church talks about Advent but doesn't have the candles and wreath. So I am a bit behind in the tree and all. Then suddenly the unexpected rolls right into your life and the adventure begins. There was an train derailment just down the road from my home, and traffic went to pieces - I blame the politicians that spend so many tax dollars on getting more tax dollars. My aunt also passed on, not wishing to be 106 this year just after Christmas. My last relative to visit in Minnesota is gone; the lovely lady, so happy and hardy and enjoying people and places. So, I dropped all my hurried Christmas preparations and flew off to be there for the funeral services and burial.

   So easy to make connections, and I have time to take the tour. Best thing is that it broke me from the game attention. My brother found me at my hotel and we had a long talk, went to the funeral and helped move the casket twice with our cousins. Ate dinner at Honkers after and departed to return to our homes for the holidays. Back to the aeroporte shuttle, wait for departure, change planes and departure again, can they make it a little closer next time racing around in Chicago? I really need to lose weight, just so I can feel comfortable in the current aircraft seating. There are dogs everywhere, a young lady and her dog had the window seat next to me. A very nice dog. Back home finally, find my wife as been sleeping on the couch in front of the Korean cable, she missed me. I missed her.

  Today has been catching up, cleaning up and promising I will be normal tomorrow. I did get more Christmas out, and Perry Como is singing from the cable in stereo. Y'all be good and in the spirit.

I should be eating breakfast....

  Found an email asking for an address. It is time for Christmas contacts, now where is that address? We can find anything, Google it, the NSA and FBI know, but Earl? Doubtful, and I was so happy once and now wondering what day it is, since everyday is Saturday, except Sunday. I found it, after sending off emails into addresses that may not work any longer.... I become more obsolete daily...

  No matter about me, y'all keep keepin' on.

The greatest predator, the one no one can escape...

  So I am alone, wife is on a cruise with friends, and I am rattling around the house. Talking to the TV and myself, sigh.

  I went out to bury some composting, and I did have a good load. As I neared the area to dig up, I saw an old log, chain saw cut from when they were clearing dangerous trees from behind the fence lines, good neighbors don't get sued. It had been in that position for awhile and now I noted about four very different fungi and mushrooms making it their meal and their happy home.  Errant thought that no one starves and everything eats, and the greatest predators seem to be microscopic bacteria and viruses. In the end, they get everything, which is why recycle isn't a human invention, it is divine.

  Not to worry about lions, tigers and bears - no matter what Dorothy told you. I wanted to take a picture of that log to add to this post, but I lent it to my wife for her to take pictures while away. As I finished with the soil turning and noting the rich stuff and the happy worms, good job guys, I then thought again about the greatest predator, and I was wrong - it isn't those little things. No, it is the really big killer, TIME, it does get us all in the end. Your time is up, it is about time, and do we have enough time? Time stops the future, makes memories and tricks us all, because it is only now - all the remainder is just idle thoughts about what isn't now or not yet. TIME is going to get you if you don't watch out, or even if you do.... no matter how much Daylight Savings you have done, you never get to spend it... take care out there, God loves us - all the time.

Thanksgiving, the day after...

    Kind of quiet here, but that could just be that the football games are over and we got to see and talk to the Hawaiian branch of the Dungey family. Skype.com is a nice touch for tech. My wife outdid herself on the dinner, of course. And I lived up to my reputation putting it away. Tomorrow evening we are going to Men's Bible Study and there will be more food to fellowship around.

    I have a new shooter to show safety and safe shooting of pistols tomorrow. My cousin's grandson, will take him and pistols and safety gear to Range 15 on JBLM. Do hope it doesn't rain too much, but this is the Great NorthWest. One thing I would like him to see before we go, my grandfather's revolver and holster from 1908 or so. That would be his great-great grandfather. Kind of cool that it is still around. We aren't doing revolvers tomorrow.

   The game is going on while I type this, not to worry, the invaders from another realm smashed and destroyed my little army and got all my resourses, it will take years to recover. This game is almost too real, in building gives more satisfaction than destroying or being destroyed.

   Y'all take care out there and prepare for the Holy days, celebrate the victory. Be good.
 

Over eighty days and still playing an online game...

  Only little victories, only little ones, but they count - everything is counted.  A player's profile is always around to refer to, and it has lots of numbers. I have won over 2,500 encounters. I find most interesting that humans bring themselves to the game, and are quickly identified as good or bad to play with.  There are folks from around the world, playing throughout the day as the world spins. The computer has much trouble getting the language right, but humans do adjust.

   I have two firearms related events coming up, as of yesterday. One with the RWVA, and one with a young relative. Need to keep healing, or get better at returning to normal life - like they do on television. Going to finish my warm milk and go back to sleep, the game and the world just spin on without my input.

  I am still reading, about the Germanization of Rome's fall. Interesting stuff. Did you see the change of power in Zimbabwe? Life follows patterns. Pray for all the people, they know not what they do.