"I read the news today, oh boy": 02/01/2018

Feb 25, 2018

"Changes to my Bucket List"........

A couple of years ago I wrote about my bucket list and my desires or dreams to have a chance to do a number of things before I departed this planet. Well, like everything else in this world, plans change. Goals change. People change. And of course, Life changes. But that's okay. That's how we grow. That's how we experience new things.

And now I am adding something new to my bucket list. Something I had never thought about before until watching a series on Netflix. And when I Googled some information about the subject matter, I was floored.

First though, I am asking everyone, please don't let me become sedentary and sit and do the same thing day in and day out. Don't let me become something no more than a blob of flesh taking oxygen in and blowing carbon dioxide out. If I don't do things myself, then somebody shove me outside and lock the door until I move around. There are so many things I want to do and though I feel like I am doing them now, but a few things are really, really important. Yep, they are on my bucket list.

So, I've decided to review my bucket list from a few years ago and see what I have accomplished and add the new item. Right at the top.

Aw crap. Now as I look at it, I haven't crossed anything off of it yet. Well, that's okay. Tomorrow is a new day and maybe I can get started soon.

And now I add the newest dream.

I want to see wild horses run!....Yep, that simple.

Did you know there are 33,000 wild horses in the United States? The facts and yes, the myths, are a great read. The horse evolved in the Americas, but became extinct between 8,000 and 12,000 years ago. When the Spanish arrived on the American mainland in the 16th century, they brought horses with them and re-established the animals on the continent.

There are hundreds of different places around this wonderful country of ours to watch these marvelous creatures run free and I hope to have a chance to see them some day.

I'm gonna get started on that bucket list first chance I get. But I guess I have a few Sunday morning chores I have to do first.

Oh, and yep, I need to update my list also.

I really do want to see the horses run though.

Feb 18, 2018

A time when people took on responsibility...

There was a time in this great country of ours that if something needed to get done, if someone needed help, if some kids needed a place to simply play baseball, well then it got done.

There wasn't any contacting your council person and whining that, "We need another park". There was no petitioning the State asking for funds to build some pavilion for people to gather. There were no protests with people carrying signs wanting more government-paid for, more government- sponsored programs. The people of that time, that generation, just simply got things done.

I was reminded of all of this when I received a true treasure trove this past week. One that brought back so many memories of my youth in Dayton, Ohio, of my parents, of my brothers, of many relatives that I barely new and of a time when people took on responsibility.

My brother and sister-in-law sent a box of memories that they have had in their possession ever since my Mom and Dad's passings years ago. Dave and Kutchie asked among family members who might want to be the new curator of the Kender treasure chest, I jumped at the opportunity.

And when I began to slowly remove each item, it dawned on me how we have lost the presence of mind of taking on responsibility for ourselves and our community.

One of the first things I saw in this vault of remembrances was a picture of Dad and some other men as they constructed a backstop for a baseball diamond in a field that Dad had purchased off of Wolf Creek Pike. There was a need in that part of town for a place where kids could simply play a game they loved. A place where they could actually have bases, and a pitcher's mound, and benches and a home plate. And Dad decided to do something about it. He took on the responsibility of getting it done.

The Dayton Daily News published a picture of them working with Dad standing on a stepladder and the other men hoisting the chain link fence that would provide the barrier for any overthrown balls missed by the catcher. And then I saw more clippings of Dad from the same newspaper, and an interview telling his story of his growing up in a isolated Hungarian community in Dayton where the people worked together to make things better for all. I can remember him providing jobs for immigrants from Hungary who came to this country legally during the Hungary Revolution in 1956, and gave them the opportunity to learn a trade at his small machine shop, B. O. K. Mfg. near West 3rd Street and Broadway. I saw pictures of him gathering his All Star team as they got ready to play the season ending finale. You can't imagine the pride I had.

And then I realized. I have written numerous stories about my Dad but I was always writing about missing Dad and how I felt as I now approach an age when he left this earth. But I don't think I ever said the two simple magical words, Thank You.

I didn't say Thank you for your contributions to the city where you grew up and where I grew up. I didn't say Thank You for the time, money and effort that you devoted to bringing the American pastime of baseball to so many kids. Thank you for organizing a group of volunteers to bush hog a forgotten piece of land and build backstops, and benches and preparing an overgrown field that became a truly a Field of Dreams.

I never took the time to say Thank You, Dad. Thank you for being there. Thank You for setting a example that if I could be merely a shadow of what you contributed to a community, I would be a blessed man.

I guess I just saw you as Dad. A lot of the things you did either I didn't know about or maybe you simply kept to yourself.

You were a good man.

Feb 11, 2018

Death and Tragedy....the two worst wake-up calls one can face

Sadly, today I share my heart with the passing of our fallen police officer in Richardson, Tx. this past week with the families and citizens of Westerville, Ohio, who not only lost one, but two officers in the line of duty.

Tragedy in itself is enough to destroy a person's faith, but when accompanied with Death, the double blow may often result in a complete knockout of one's beliefs. The complete destruction of one's psyche as he or she tries to understand the whole purpose of this universe.

We live in a world of hate today, from both sides and I'm sick of it. I'm sick of you who continue to wave the red flags in each other's faces simply because of the political party they choose to belong to. I'm sick of the baiting of each other with bullshit stories in order to try and win your arguments.

I'm sick of the news people, the news editors, the news networks who will do anything, say anything to boost their ratings. As a matter of fact, for years I was a news junkie. I couldn't get enough of it. Now, I simply turn it off. I listen to music in the morning , during the day and evening. And no, I'm not burying my head in the sand, I'm simply turning off the lies, the deceit, the hate and the anger.

If you want to do something then contribute to your own well being. Contribute, not necessarily money, but of your time to bettering this world. Re-posting memes is not contributing. Can't you create your own thoughts? Meditate. Reflect. Exercise. Do something. Learn. Read. Write. Photography. Painting. Sing. Learn to play an instrument. Anything positive.

Ask anyone who is suffering from a terminal illness what they treasure most and it often will be "time".

People, your time is running out. Make the most of what you have left.

I have invested more time and energy in my latter years to right many of the wrongs I caused in my younger life of destructive behavior and causing turmoil. I guess sometimes it takes certain people longer to grow up. So I'm asking you to take a reality check. Get your physical body in order. Get your mental body in order. Do the things that make a positive effect in this world, not the hate mongering. If you disagree with a person's point of view, then sit down with them and ask them to explain where they are coming from. Just don't call them fascists or bleeding hearts.

These tragedies are a wake up call. So please, wake the hell up and do something good.

And, as always, Peace, my brothers and sisters.

Feb 3, 2018

We are what we eat AND what we read....

There is an axiom, We are what we eat..." Well, I'm taking it one step further. "We are what we read"

I've always had a voracious appetite for learning. Now, that's not to be confused with having a hunger for going to school, although of course that's where we are supposed to learn. I've always wanted more and more when it has come to learning and a good portion of my education has come from books. Once again, not to be confused with school books but with novels, biographies, historical novels and of course magazines.

I know, I know..that some of you who have known me most of my life will jump at the conclusion, "I knew Tommy read those girly magazines" Well, that's partly true, but honestly I read them for the articles....I know, I know...but I really did.

Some of my favorite magazines growing up were Popular Mechanics, Popular Science and Popular Electronics. Sure I read comic books and Mad Magazine as well, but I really loved the Do It Yourself (DIY) magazines that put your mind into action as you began to create and build that hover car or time machine.

Fast forward 60 years later, and for the most part all of my reading is still pretty much the same categories, novels etc., but of course now you have to add the Internet. Despite the horrendous amount of misinformation, there is just a magnitude of good information. Things and facts and just plain stuff that we would have never been able to learn about years ago by going upstairs and looking at the expansive collection of Collier's Encyclopedias we had in our home. And going to the library to search out a simple fact often turned into an all day affair.

As most of us know, nowadays all of our online searches are recorded. Yep, oh sure you can delete your searching history from your laptop or tablet or phone, but the requests you made of Google are stored on their servers. Even the requests that I make of my wonderful yet frustrating new best friend and nemesis, Alexa, all of those requests plus the cussing and yelling at her are all stored. I don't care tho, people think I'm nuts anyway, so what's a few more pieces of facts do anyway, lock me away for even longer?

I did look at the last couple of months of searches I have had on Google specifically being "bookmarks" that I can return to. I'll let you all decide if I am normal or what. Maybe a little nerdy, I guess, but I must say the ability to seek out so much information is incredible.

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