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“No man or woman is an island. To exist just for yourself is meaningless. You can achieve the most satisfaction when you feel related to some greater purpose in life, something greater than yourself.”
Denis Waitley
Missy Moo’s b-day was – well – today. And here is the pictorial of our activities. Grilled, spiced chicken, fruity drinks, bacon wrapped artichoke hearts, asparagus, cheese toast, salad, etc. Great company and the birthday girl eatin’ her key lime cheese cake (that she co-made with mom). Yummmmm. Good times for everyone including me, LGE, Sponge Bob Square Pants and Hello Kitty. Oh – and slicky-slick. Now “I’m nine. Next year I’m in the double digits. Soon thereafter I need a blue Z06 Vette with pink stripes.”
That can be arranged. Yes. Rock oneth.
Our trip to Little Gasparilla was FUN! Sunshine every day and no rain. Every night we enjoyed a beautiful sunset followed by an even better dinner. The food brigade was well-organized in advance. We enjoyed Ahi, Mahi-Mahi, scallops wrapped in bacon, steaks and more steaks. Every evening we made fruity drinks without rum so everyone could enjoy the evening’s toast. MG learned to boogie board, hunt for teeth and she refined the “official” shell judging scale.
Our last evening (Saturday) was met with a cloudy sunset, but with a strong westerly breeze the buggahs were well inland. Speaking of buggahs, we figured out a slick technique to avoid mosquitoes and the “no seeum’s.” Wash off downstairs with the hose and move quickly upstairs to the drying area. It worked each and every time. The no seeum’s didn’t penetrate the screened-in porch so we ate outside every evening under the fans. Although it was warm, the twirling breeze felt nice.
We gamed, scrabbled, monoplized, and carded. We even watched Dog – more than once.
I can guarantee there will be a repeat in 2010. Although we’re still in Florida, we can say Aloha.
Pictured herein is my collection of “finds” for the week while on Little Gasparilla Island. It totals more than 400 shark teeth – all fossilized and several larges pieces of bone – also fossilized. The real question came up related to how a tooth becomes a fossil. Here is the short answer – a tooth become a fossil when it is buried in sediment (or other material) soon after being lost from a shark’s mouth. The sediment precludes oxygen and harmful bacteria from reaching the tooth and destroying it. The general fossilization process varies greatly depending on the exact situation. In general it takes approximately 10,000 years for a tooth to become a true fossil.
As you can see in the shark tooth circle, the colors are varied. In other words, not all of the teeth are black or gray. Actually the color of a tooth is determined solely by the color of sediment in which it is buried while fossilizing. The tooth absorbs minerals from the surrounding sediment. As the minerals replace the natural structure of the tooth, the tooth becomes the same general color as the sediment. Although some people believe a tooth’s color indicates age – the experts say that color is not an effective indicator of the age of a tooth. The most common color for shark teeth is a black root with a grayish crown. Different colors are more uncommon and significantly increase the value of a tooth.
The best shark tooth hunting spots are located in Florida — in the Venice Beach area all the way down to Little Gasparilla Island. The teeth pictured herein are from the Miocene-Pliocene Epochs (approximately 24.5 million to 2 million years ago). During this time period oceans sporadically covered many parts of what is now the Southeastern United States. NOTE: The Carcharocles megalodon shark thrived during the Miocene-Pliocene period, and was the largest shark to ever swim the ocean. Reaching an overall maximum length of approximately 60 feet, this shark was three times the size of the modern Great White (Carcharodon carcharias) shark. And that my friends is the rest of the story.
Oh. Pictured below is not a find that I made. Rather, it shows the enormous size of the teeth that can be found in the waters off shore while diving. The 6.57″ size of this tooth puts the 60′ shark into perspective. Whew!
The residents of Little Gasparilla (part time mind you) all agree that bug spray is highly necessary if you’re near vegetation, foliage (specifically bushes) and certainly near stagnate water. I’ve been landed upon all of 8 times thus far this week, but I’ve been super careful in my travels. More specifically I’ve been “moving” around enough to thwart most of the nasty buggahs.
Earlier today we traveled to the north end of Little Gasparilla and while we enjoyed the trip our golf car died on us! Oops. I elected not to plug in last night so we were light on go-juice. Me and Ames pushed the 800lb car – along with Mary Grace (our driver) to the nearest battery (pronounced “bat-tree”) station: Pirate Cove Golf Cars. Mr. Smiley greeted us and offered a plug in but wasn’t anywhere to be seen when we needed to push it up hill to plug in. Oh well. At least he allowed us to charge for an hour … just enough to get us back to the south side and our beach front area.
During our plug-in time we walked to the north tip of Gasparilla. Well, not a tip but a Florida state park that bridges the gap between Little Gasparilla and Palm Island. We found a bunch of sharks teeth, drank a few bottles of water, jumped in the water to rinse off and basically had a little adventure. It was more fun than any of us expected. HA!
Turkey burgers are grilling, the beer is cold, the company is “no ka heke” and I’m ready for another sunset photo expetiditon. Aloha.
Little Gasparilla is one of three islands that are “chained” or linked through saltwater low lands. The other two connecting islands are Don Pedro and Palm Island. Little Gaspirilla lies furthest south of the chain and borders Gasparilla Pass. Don Pedro is in the middle, with Palm Island furthest north and bordering on Stump Pass.
At the turn of the century, the islands and adjacent mainland was owned by the Vanderbilt family. Three decades ago, sea currents and storms closed the passes that separated the three islands. Since the closing of those passes, the islands became linked providing an avid walker with over seven miles of beach.
There is no bridge connecting to the mainland, and access to the island is only by boat. Since all the docks on Little Gasparilla are privately owned, only homeowners or invited guests occupy the island. Development is slow on the “bridgeless” barrier islands because people truly appreciate the seclusion and detachment from the mainland. It’s a guaranteed method of controlling the traffic, the masses and the unwanted “retail” nature that has engulfed many of Florida’s coastal cities.
Little Gasaprilla, an “old Florida” atmosphere that is unique in today’s “hurry up” world. Relax oneth.
For better or for worse, our romantic relationships are not always as straightforward as we would like them to be. From time to time, our intimate relationships can become complicated and complex – full of contradictions and inconsistencies. When it comes to love and marriage, people expect a spouse to be completely honest. But, at the same time, everyone values their sense of freedom and privacy. So while romantic partners typically want to please each other, at other times, couples experience competing goals which can make telling the truth more difficult. I suspect that the “total” truth is not plausible in this world … and that sucks. People find a bi-jillion reasons why they cannot tell the truth – and usually blame the other person for not being able to do so. My mind utters two responses concurrently: BLEH and WTF! In reality, building trust in relationships seems to be last on the list.
What is first? I doubt that building trust is first. Just when I thought trust and respect were important in my current dating relationship I found out the opposite. I learned several lessons this week but one stands out clearly and strongly: when the truth is hard to find with simple, “innocent” events, interactions or experiences, then telling truth will be much harder to uncover with significant events, interactions or experiences.
For now, I think I’ll continue doing what I’ve been doing: telling the bald face truth. I sleep much better at night.
Life is life. Failures are 100% life. The suggestion of the week is to keep your focus on the journey of life – the process we call in the moment.
Failures are as much a part of life as successes – but it is failure that most people fear the most. The fact is, failures are a necessary part that each of us must endure to be able to learn “how to” succeed. Failures help us create a path leading toward our personal and unique definition of success.
The goal of success takes a path that journeys through the territory of failure. Oh boy. Some wise men say, “keep failing till you can fail no more.” I view success like an onion: the outer shell is covered with failure and the center (the sweet spot) is what I call success.
Ergo the suggestion to keep pealing off failures till you get what you want.
“I don’t want to earn
my living; I want to live.”
Oscar Wilde
Surprisingly, it takes little time and effort to make a difference. During the day, in someone’s life, on the job, in the car, at the store, in the waiting room, at home, in your office, or even while you sleep. We all (as in everyone) have the ability. The real difference is how we use it.
Everyday take a moment to do one thing that helps another person. Do it without the expectation of a return “thanks,” a wave, acknowledgement or even a smile. According to Nike, just do it. We all have the ability to change our world and our lives. When faced with the opportunity, use it. You’ll be glad you did.
1. Reduce, refine and streamline – things and relationships: On this front I’m doing better. My MO in January was to cut the waste, the clutter and processes of daily life – and specifically the weekends. I’m enjoying more time to paint, draw and take photos.
2. When in doubt remove excess. Refer to rule #1: I referred to rule #1 a lot when making decisions in January. It served me well.
3. Be budget-minded each month; plan it and work the plan: I converted my budget plan to an online book which was a huge step toward e-billpay, Quickbooks and such. I conserved at every level. Rather than purchase an easel (even at the discounted rates online), I bought one that was used and saved a lot of money.
4. “Make due.” Good enough is good enough: Each time I was about to make a purchase, I ‘future cast’ the ‘thing’ and asked myself was it going to be useful one year from now. In almost every instance the answer was “no” – and I didn’t make the purchase. The only exception, I bought a discount book at Books-a-Million for $9.97 and wished I searched online for an e-copy.
5. Plan ahead – enjoy the moment: Yes, the month had some surprises at work and several long days. But (!) I did plan ahead and enjoyed three weekends where I hung out with the BGE, painted, drew – and relaxed. Really.
6. Take ALL vacation days … every last one: None taken but I did enjoy some time for relaxing.
7. When purchasing find a deal, and keep a tote board: As noted earlier, I saved a bundle on the easel, even more on some books that I wanted as reference tools, and my savings for the month was just over $200 – not including the things I didn’t purchase.
8. Save more, and SELL what’s not needed nor used: I made a HUGE list of things that are going bye-bye. When I settle into the month of February I’m getting rid of some biggies (car, bikes, etc.) and a few things just in the way. My goal is to eliminate what I don’t absolutely use or need.
9. Travel a lot … for vacation: We made plans for a trip on Spring Break — to Florida. Yeah. And we’re tentatively going to Hawai’i in early Summer. Even more Yeah.
10. Remember family. Go visit them: I didn’t visit anyone in January, but I did talk with several family members (more than usual) and communicated by email more than usual as well. February has a travel-trip to Nashville in it somewhere.
OK then. February is under way.
As you grow older, you’ll find
the only things you regret
are the things you didn’t do.
~Zachary Scott
Rather than pull the HK out and “snap,” it might be a good idea to “deal with” people who are difficult. I’m not talking about business associates talking about a tough topic, I’m talking about people who are difficult. A good first step in coping with a difficult person is to understand the behavior. I’ve learned over the years that difficult people are generally unhappy, insecure, and have low self-esteem. Not always, but often.
At some point early in life the typical “difficult person” learned to get their needs met in maladaptive ways – like being the bully. In addition, I’ve learned that different types of difficult people have one common desire: they want to be loved and accepted. Unfortunately, they learned inappropriate methods and ways to garner love and acceptance.
Although hostile at first, the true non-difficult person responds to effective communication and rational reasoning (more often than not). On the other hand, the difficult person is usually relentless in their pursuit to beat you – and win.
The bottom line is this – coping with difficult people is never easy and can be frustrating. One truth stands out related to difficult people: everyone has trouble dealing with difficult people – even difficult people dealing with other difficult people (LOL!). In the heat of the moment it is possible to deal with difficult people effectively. The key is to remain confident in your abilities and coping skills. Do not engage in an argument with the person as it is a no-win proposition. In fact, the only way for you to win is to elect not to play.
And if all else fails, the HK is to ready rumble.
Peace.
1. Reduce, refine and streamline – things and relationships.
2. When in doubt remove excess. Refer to rule #1.
3. Be budget-minded each month; plan it and work the plan.
4. “Make due.” Good enough is good enough.
5. Plan ahead – enjoy the moment.
6. Take ALL vacation days … every last one.
7. When purchasing find a deal, and keep a tote board.
8. Save more, and SELL what’s not needed nor used.
9. Travel a lot … for vacation.
10. Remember family. Go visit them.
2008 has been interesting. Yes, the entire year.
From J1 to D31, it’s been a trip. So many things, events, people and places stand out in my mind … many of which are fluffed up and/or buried in my weblog. My favorite moment this year was … well … gosh there are so many … finding one is pretty difficult.
Or should I say narrowing it to one would be (and is) difficult.
With that thought in mind, I’ve learned a lot this year and grown up a little. Funny how we tend to look in the rearview mirror and wince at our errors, misgivings, and all the yucko moments we either created or egged on. Why those stand out I’ll never know?! Can I get a WTF?!
Okay then. If I were to narrow the ‘best of the best’ this past year I know that I’d forget some thing, someone or sweet sunset – so I won’t. Suffice it to say, all 366 days (it was a leap year) were a blessing.
The year has been a mixed bag of everything. It’s had healthy doses of smiles, laughter, travel, exhiliration, lost accounts, joy, ’shout-outs’, 100-milers, sunsets, Aloha’s, shutter snaps, flat tires, business trips, tears, firecrackers, simple lunches, cold-winter rides, summer-time death marches, flops in the sand, fallen trees, and certainly tense moments at home … along with good times too.
As crazy as it sounds, I’ve grown closer to myself, become more confident in my gut feelings, and certainly affirmed that no one is going to take care of me better than me.
We must do that ourselves.
Alas, it’s New Year’s eve – and I’m blogging. What does that tell you? I suspsect that when we turn the calendar over to J1 the process and more than likely the results will be much the same. I hope my reactions will be slower and more comfortable. After all, it’s how we react and/or ‘deal with it all’ which makes our daily lives (and thus a year) a true blessing.
Enough for now.
Starting J1 this weblog will convert itself into a true photoblog. I’ve toyed with my craft long enough. The daily adventure begins J1.
Peace.
Many people look forward
to the New Year for a
new start on old habits.
Make 2009 different.
Kick the habit.
Rock into shape.
Love your loved ones.
Travel often.
Drink a little.
Live a little.
Smell the coffee.
Gulp the sunshine.
Splash in the pool.
Pop the 4th.
Say hello to Fall.
Boo!
Give thanks.
Pretend to notice Christmas ads.
Start over again.
If you’re lucky.
Best make the 1st your best day.
There is work that is work and there is play that is play; there is play that is work and work that is play. And in only one of these lies happiness.
While storing some crappy-crap-crap today, I found my “current” Hot Wheels collection on a shelf behind some books. Yeah!
Modern day mind you, but ceratinly kewl and ‘hot.’
As you may know, Hot Wheels are die-cast model vehicles manufactured by Mattel and were introduced on September 7, 1968. I was about to turn six when these cars rolled onto the showrooms of a toystore near my home in Memphis, Tennessee. For my birthday I was given several cars — which has fueled my love of cars to this day.
Originally the cars and trucks were manufactured to approximately 1:64 scale and designed to be used on associated Hot Wheels track sets. I had two tracks with all the accessories – including the ‘redliner’ track with lots of turns and running footage. It was a blast to send those cars around the track at lightening speed! I’m still a HUGE fan.
The collection of my youth, long gone, was well over 100 cars (many of which were Matchbox cars, not Hot Wheels). However, I did own the sweet 16 originals. Yes, like many kids my age that was typical. By 1970 (I was 8), the Hot Wheels series introduced a 1:43 scale ‘Gran Toros’ which I thought were stupid and not at all “Hot Wheels.” Umm. While there were 16 models in the first year of introduction, today there are roughly 10,000 different models of Hot Wheels Cars. Yes, I’m still a fan. Hot Wheels ride oneth.
What is Christmas without all the wonderful scents and warmth of Christmas goodies? The mixture herein helps us discover a wonderful treat that you can make and share with friends and family. There are two methods: a) is from scratch using the ingredients listed below, or b) buy save some time and purchase Weigel’s eggnog, then add rum to taste. I prefer the Weigel’s method because it’s ‘cold separated’ – meaning it is smoother and more flavorful than traditional eggnog. Mele Kalikimaka.
Ingredients
-
12 Eggs
-
3 pints Heavy Cream
-
1 cup Sugar
-
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
-
1 cup Bourbon Whiskey
-
1 cup Cognac
-
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1. Reduce, refine and streamline.
2. When in doubt remove excess.
3. Be budget-minded each month.
4. “Make due.”
5. Plan ahead.
6. Take ALL vacation days.
7. When purchasing find a deal.
8. Save more.
9. Travel a lot, but only for the sake of vacationing.
10. Take bank Holidays off.
“If you want to kill any idea
in the world, get a committee
working on it.”
Charles F. Kettering
“I have a great diet.
You’re allowed to eat anything
you want, but you must
eat it with naked fat people.”
The play was the basis for the 1938 Academy Award winning film directed by Frank Capra. The film cast included several notable stars of the era including James Stewart, Jean Arthur, and Lionel Barrymore. The extended core cast included Edward Arnold, Spring Byington, Ann Miller, Dub Taylor, Charles Lane, Mischa Auer, Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson, and the uncredited Arthur Murray.
This comedy is one of Capra’s best films — and certaily it’s unappreciated. Barrymore is outstanding as the patriarch of the eccentric Vanderhof clan showing his range, playing the polar opposite of the evil Mr. Potter in “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Barrymore, who is on crutches throughout the movie, is a man who has dropped out of the rat race and whose only goal in life is happiness – his and that of everyone around him. Arthur never seems to get her due when great actresses are discussed, but she certainly deserves to be mentioned along with the greats. Edward Arnold is excellent as a humorless, money hungry businessman who tries to buy the Vanderhof’s home for his latest business venture. The cast of free spirits who live in, or regularly visit the Vanderhof home make the movie. Poppins, Kolenkhov, Penny and the rest are a hilarious bunch who create a continuous cacophony of joy that greets any visitor to the Vanderhof home. In typical Capra style, things hit rock bottom for the Vanderhof clan before a warm, uplifting end that places a warm smile on your face.
The moral of the story is this: you can’t take it with you. The end.
Floyd Dupwe, Sr., 97, of Jonesboro, died Friday at his home. As a native and life-long resident of Jonesboro, he was instrumental in building several schools in the community. For all of his adult life – and most of his younger years – Floyd Dupwe, Sr. worked with his hands and the earth … if it were organic he loved it. He was a Field Supervisor for Bertig Cotton Company in Paragould for many years and then he later worked as a cotton grader for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Floyd was a vegetable gardener for most of his life and was noted in the community for his tomato’s.
Floyd was a member of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church where he was active in the Knights of Columbus. He was preceded in death by 2 brothers, 1 sister and a daughter-in-law: Kathleen Dupwe. Survivors include his wife of 72 years, Mary Lucy Evans Dupwe, married November 8, 1936. Yes, for 72 years … think about that for a moment.
He is also survived by his daughter and son-in-law: Martha and Mickey Stafford of Jonesboro; 2 Sons and daughter-in-law: Floyd Dupwe, Jr., and Warren and Mila Dupwe, all of Jonesboro; 4 Grandchildren: Sherrie Mitchell, Doug Dupwe, Russell Dupwe and Brian Stafford and his wife, Jenine; and 2 Great Grandchildren: Meagan Mitchell and Cody Dupwe.
My earliest years around Uncle Floyd were highly memorable. Particularly because visits to Jonesboro (from Memphis) were a summer time tradition. My grandmother and great grandmother would pack up the car and then we (including my sister) would take a vacation. Heck, we (my sister and I) were already on vacation because we’re enjoying three months (!) with Momma Sue and Granny. So traveling to Jonesboro for a week (usually in July) was considered a vacation within a vacation. If you know what that is then you’ve lived a good life.
The trip to Jonesboro from Memphis was a slower excursion than it is today. Back in the 60’s, the road was just a two-lane country route from the outskirts of Memphis (West Memphis Arkansas) all the way to Jonesboro. It was lined with small towns, flooded potholes, plenty of ‘parking lot stops’ for slowing moving farm implements and traffic in general. Mid way we usually stopped for a bio break – and for a sweet treat at the “milk shake shack.” I have no idea what the real name of the milk shake shack was, but the peppermint shakes served there were AWESOME.
When we visited Aunt Lucy and Uncle Floyd, we’d spend a whole week with them. Uncle Floyd always wanted to show us his garden and give us a tour of the fields. I thought he was kewl guy because he had a tractor and would haul us around behind it. It felt dangerous and exciting, but in fact it wasn’t. When we visited Aunt Lucy and Uncle Floyd, watermelon and ice-cream made the short list of foods we consumed (these were indeed on the short list of our personal, primary food groups). We’d certainly eat lots of home grown veggies, but the fresh fruits and homemade ice-cream that topped off huge meals were particularly enjoyable.
During our stay, we’d fish nearby ponds, play games at night and ‘just visit.’ There was lots of joy, happiness and love among family. Every person in the Dupwe family, although they are my cousins, were addressed as either aunts or uncles. To this day I still address them with an aunt or uncle preface.
Trips to Jonesboro, Arkansas (as a kid and now as an adult) stand out as some of best memories, and best vacations, of my life.
I’m blessed to have known Floyd Dupwe, Sr., Uncle Floyd, and he will be missed.
Peace.
Let’s just say that each year I look forward to “making an opportunity” with which I stay at a Ritz Carlton somewhere in the world. This year I’ve enjoyed two. Yeah. No big deal really … I’m certain there are other RC aficionado’s who enjoy an RC experience (once or multiple times per year). The sights and sounds of an RC experience are worthy of sharing, like today’s images captured at the Ritz Carlton Lodge in Greensboro, Georgia. A super-nice setting and wonderful lodging experience. Ritz oneth.
Earlier this week someone asked me about “living in the moment” and what that meant. I responded by saying it’s not something that you think about, it’s something that you experience. It’s active – it’s participative – and it’s all about the moment of now, and now, and now – and so on.
Living in the future is desperate attempt to improve happiness now, and truly is self-defeating. Living the future is more than talking about vacation plans, for example, it’s attempting to “live” the vacation prior to its start. People who live in the future offer up things like – - “now that we have a place to stay on our vacation, it’s more real for me.” BLEH!
Because our minds are full of the “past,” we automatically draw from our mentally database and use the data as an input tool to project assumptive thoughts and feelings into the future without true awareness nor the realization of its impact. For most people, living in the future and dreaming are exactly the same. I’ve heard people use those phrases interchangeably as if the meanings are identical. However, those active, mental directives are vastly different.
Living in the future is a method by which we avoid living in the now. We avoid life’s present moments because we’re much more interested in what’s to come. Rather than enjoy the song on the XM radio station “now,” we’re much more interested in taking a mental leap in our mind’s eye to some future event that feels better. Living in the future is a fast-forward mental leap into an event that is more exciting, glamorous, gilded, mystic or otherwise “better” than what’s happening around us at that exact moment. People who live in the future are afraid that what they have “in the now” is somehow less than acceptable and certainly not what others are doing, living nor enjoying.
Sadly it’s also symptomatic of people who view material things as definitive marks of happiness … as if material possessions are creators of happiness. These are the same folks who suggest that if you don’t like “now” then mentally conjure up “the next best thought” (which means tomorrow’s movie, next week’s lunch date, the vacation next year, etc.). On contrary, that philosophy and mental guidepost serves us better when we’re dealing with life’s troubles for extended periods of time and are seeking a safe haven. During extended periods of mental anxiety, “what’s the next best thought” serves as a timeout for minds and bodies. But, it’s not an excuse to leap into next week. When we do we’ve escaped the “now” and what it might be teaching us. It is not the next best mental technique to actively enjoy life in the moment.
So – how is dreaming and living the future different? Simply this: living in the future is a feeble attempt to improve life ‘in the moment’ – it’s escapism. Dreaming is pondering the “what if” without regard for its actuality. It’s aspirational yet abstract. The net-net: it’s visionary, not “itinerary.”
Dream on.
To live is so startling it leaves
little time for anything else.
Emily Dickinson
Our lives are like a candle in the wind.
Carl Sandburg
