Not what I have but what I do is my kingdom.
Thomas Carlyle
*******************
Hello Teresa
*********************
I know guys who will buy a house and keep fussing with it and the grounds around it trying to get it just they way they want it, so they can sit back, relax and enjoy it. Somehow they seem to never finish. It's surely a matter of pride and contentment to have a nice house and garden, even though it always needs some fussing. That's part of the joy of owning it, I suppose.
I suppose, I say, because I've never owned a home of my own. On the contrary I live in what the contented house owner would probably call chaos. I also have a lot of fussing to do but it's of a different ilk. My time and energy is taken up making things, words on a page, paint on a canvas and wondering what to do with that pile of cardboard boxes I have piled up in the other room.
Normal behavior says I should be keeping my apartment spotless, ship shape, spick and span. But normal I'm not, and I will ignore the dirty dishes in the sink if I have an idea for a story. My apartment is my studio and my work place. My dinner table is also my writing table.
Now don't misunderstand me. If you are the type who insists on total clean with everything in it's place I think that's great. If I could afford the maid, secretary, butler, cook and chauffeur I deserve, they would probably have me straightened out in no time. But for now I have to contend with things on my own, and the things I choose to contend with are the ideas flashing around in my nicotine/caffeine stuffed brain, the tasty dreams that keep me awake, the silent sea creatures and screech owls of my imagination.
You can keep your mahogany den, your mosaic tiled bathroom, your rose garden and your two car garage. Joy to you. I am happy in my kingdom.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
***********************
AUTUMN QUESTION
What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?
3 answers so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
I await your answers.
DB
********************
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Vagabondism 168
Vagabondism #168 "Sometimes you have to admit to failure, but never admit to defeat."
http://vagabondjottings.blogspot.com/
http://vagabondjottings.blogspot.com/
All About Love
The very essence of love demands that we give it away.
Woodeene Koenig-Bricker
*****************************
Hello Rose
*****************************
Yesterday I took a long, painful walk to deliver two pictures I have entered in an art exhibit. One of them, entitled "The Blues," is a painting I decided not to sell. It hung in a gallery for about a year with a Not For Sale sign on it. The Blues has a special place in my life and my heart. It was my first abstract painting and I cherish it for the beauty and courage it gave me. Mysterious things happened when I painted it. I have vowed that I would never sell it.
But when I got to the exhibit space today I put a modest price tag on it. I could have put an exorbitant price on it thereby assuring that no one would buy it. But then I thought maybe someone might love and cherish it as much as I do.
Think of the small price you pay to go into a major art museum. For the cost of admission you get to see some of the greatest art in the world. When you think about it it's a remarkable bargain.
On the way home I was thinking that if someone actually wanted to own that picture and let it adorn their wall then every time they look at it and every time a friend. or visitor comes into it's presence it will speak of the same mysteries and beauty it spoke to me as I painted it. It would be well worth the price.
I will probably bring it home with me after the exhibit. If not I will be pleased that someone owns it.
I hsve given away some of my art work in the past: to David, Paula, Karme and Dr. Goldenthal. So I'm not against giving my work away to the deserving parties. And there's one I want to give to a certain woman in New Hampshire, once I get it framed.
To give things you love to the people you love doesn't mean they are going to love them as much, but it's the giving part that is important. Whatever it is, the giving of it surrounds it with an aura that's more important than the thing itself. There is a halo over a gift of love.
------------------------------------------
When I was one-and-twenty
I heard a wise man say,
'Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away;
Give pearls away and rubies
But keep your fancy free.'
But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me.
When I was one-and-twenty
I heard him say again,
'The heart out of the bosom
Was never given in vain;
'Tis paid with sighs a plenty
And sold for endless rue.'
And I am two-and-twenty,
And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true.
(A. E. Housman)
Ah, yes, to give your heart away is risky business. To give your love to someone is a vitally important maneuver through the waves and tides of one's emotional life. It is lighting a fire on a mountain top, a signal to the sky, the opening of a castle door, climbing a treacherous cliff to bring back a prize for someone, surrounding a life with goodness and beauty, standing watch, beckoning to invisible blessings, writing florescent letters in the sand, gathering wild flowers and wild ideas, fluffing up the pillow, clearing up the chaos, trying, testing, crying, laughing, benefiting, comforting, caring.
Sometimes there is heartbreaking. And that is one of life's cruelest but most valuable lessons. After the heartbreak let love become stronger. And let your heart break when you are two and twenty. Then get over it and get on with life. That's this wise man's advice.
Dana Bate - The Vagabond
Never Give Up.
***********************
AUTUMN QUESTION
What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?
3 answers so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
I await your answers.
DB
********************
Woodeene Koenig-Bricker
*****************************
Hello Rose
*****************************
Yesterday I took a long, painful walk to deliver two pictures I have entered in an art exhibit. One of them, entitled "The Blues," is a painting I decided not to sell. It hung in a gallery for about a year with a Not For Sale sign on it. The Blues has a special place in my life and my heart. It was my first abstract painting and I cherish it for the beauty and courage it gave me. Mysterious things happened when I painted it. I have vowed that I would never sell it.
But when I got to the exhibit space today I put a modest price tag on it. I could have put an exorbitant price on it thereby assuring that no one would buy it. But then I thought maybe someone might love and cherish it as much as I do.
Think of the small price you pay to go into a major art museum. For the cost of admission you get to see some of the greatest art in the world. When you think about it it's a remarkable bargain.
On the way home I was thinking that if someone actually wanted to own that picture and let it adorn their wall then every time they look at it and every time a friend. or visitor comes into it's presence it will speak of the same mysteries and beauty it spoke to me as I painted it. It would be well worth the price.
I will probably bring it home with me after the exhibit. If not I will be pleased that someone owns it.
I hsve given away some of my art work in the past: to David, Paula, Karme and Dr. Goldenthal. So I'm not against giving my work away to the deserving parties. And there's one I want to give to a certain woman in New Hampshire, once I get it framed.
To give things you love to the people you love doesn't mean they are going to love them as much, but it's the giving part that is important. Whatever it is, the giving of it surrounds it with an aura that's more important than the thing itself. There is a halo over a gift of love.
------------------------------------------
When I was one-and-twenty
I heard a wise man say,
'Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away;
Give pearls away and rubies
But keep your fancy free.'
But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me.
When I was one-and-twenty
I heard him say again,
'The heart out of the bosom
Was never given in vain;
'Tis paid with sighs a plenty
And sold for endless rue.'
And I am two-and-twenty,
And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true.
(A. E. Housman)
Ah, yes, to give your heart away is risky business. To give your love to someone is a vitally important maneuver through the waves and tides of one's emotional life. It is lighting a fire on a mountain top, a signal to the sky, the opening of a castle door, climbing a treacherous cliff to bring back a prize for someone, surrounding a life with goodness and beauty, standing watch, beckoning to invisible blessings, writing florescent letters in the sand, gathering wild flowers and wild ideas, fluffing up the pillow, clearing up the chaos, trying, testing, crying, laughing, benefiting, comforting, caring.
Sometimes there is heartbreaking. And that is one of life's cruelest but most valuable lessons. After the heartbreak let love become stronger. And let your heart break when you are two and twenty. Then get over it and get on with life. That's this wise man's advice.
Dana Bate - The Vagabond
Never Give Up.
***********************
AUTUMN QUESTION
What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?
3 answers so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
I await your answers.
DB
********************
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Vagabondism 167
Vagabondism #167 "Not giving up is a hard but necessary thing to do."
dbdacoba@aol.com
dbdacoba@aol.com
The Right Answers
Sometimes creativity is a compulsion not an ambition.
Ed Norton
***********************
Hello Mark
**********************
One day I had lunch with a young actor who wanted to pick my brains about acting. We went to a restaurant where he bought me a pizza. It was a good pizza. I told him I would ask him one question and that if I didn't get the right answer I was going to talk him out of it.
The question was "Why are you an actor?"
The answer was "Because I love entertaining people."
That was a good answer so I talked for the next hour or so about acting: the job, the career, the techniques, the artistry. While I was speaking and answering his questions I realized something I didn't usually think about which was how much I loved acting, the theatre, the opportunity and process of entertaining people.
In my late teens I had several opportunities open to me and a few skills in other trades. But when I realized that I was an actor I put all my other talents in the shed and never looked back.
I've had occasions to encourage other younger actors as time went by. I remember talking with one who said he loved performing and rehearsing but he hated auditions. I turned his head around about that when I told him an audition was a chance to put on a show and entertain people.
I have known artists, painters and writers who lost sleep and did not realize it because they had to finish what they were working on. I have known ballet and modern dancers for whom discipline was such a constant way of life that they exhibited more of it than any one else. And I've known actors who were more alive on the stage than any place else. I finally realized one day that I was totally at home on the stage, that I was more comfortable, confident and capable of life the moment I stepped out on to a stage. I loved it.
Learning lines is one of the tasks of an actor. It's tedious, hard work, but the more you do it the easier it gets. I got some excellent advice from Helen Hayes who said that she memorized something every day even when she didn't have a play to work on, just to keep her memory skills in shape.
For an artist there are simple terms to describe cosmic things. Some call it the Muse, to others it's a compulsion, or a desperation or the thrill of living and expressing life. Everything you write, a novel, a history, a short story, a poem, a journal entry, becomes a part of the unbelievably limitless world of the written word. It's the same with a painting, No matter where it's hung or not hung it is part of the genius of visual art.
From the grandeur of ancient Greek and Roman theatre, through the rag tag Commedia players moving around through the Middle Ages, to the authority of European theatre, to Broadway, Hollywood, TV drama and an occasional work of quality on You Tube, actors have been entertaining people with the portrayal of real life and the glamorization of ideas for centuries.
Is there any bad art? Of course. But the people who produce it should have been asked the question I asked the young actor years ago. And if the questioner didn't get the right answer he should have talked them out of it.
Great works of art have been made, are being made right this instant and will continue to be made by artists, just as long as they are compelled by love and the right answers.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
****************************
AUTUMN QUESTION
What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?
3 answers so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
I await your answers.
DB
********************
Ed Norton
***********************
Hello Mark
**********************
One day I had lunch with a young actor who wanted to pick my brains about acting. We went to a restaurant where he bought me a pizza. It was a good pizza. I told him I would ask him one question and that if I didn't get the right answer I was going to talk him out of it.
The question was "Why are you an actor?"
The answer was "Because I love entertaining people."
That was a good answer so I talked for the next hour or so about acting: the job, the career, the techniques, the artistry. While I was speaking and answering his questions I realized something I didn't usually think about which was how much I loved acting, the theatre, the opportunity and process of entertaining people.
In my late teens I had several opportunities open to me and a few skills in other trades. But when I realized that I was an actor I put all my other talents in the shed and never looked back.
I've had occasions to encourage other younger actors as time went by. I remember talking with one who said he loved performing and rehearsing but he hated auditions. I turned his head around about that when I told him an audition was a chance to put on a show and entertain people.
I have known artists, painters and writers who lost sleep and did not realize it because they had to finish what they were working on. I have known ballet and modern dancers for whom discipline was such a constant way of life that they exhibited more of it than any one else. And I've known actors who were more alive on the stage than any place else. I finally realized one day that I was totally at home on the stage, that I was more comfortable, confident and capable of life the moment I stepped out on to a stage. I loved it.
Learning lines is one of the tasks of an actor. It's tedious, hard work, but the more you do it the easier it gets. I got some excellent advice from Helen Hayes who said that she memorized something every day even when she didn't have a play to work on, just to keep her memory skills in shape.
For an artist there are simple terms to describe cosmic things. Some call it the Muse, to others it's a compulsion, or a desperation or the thrill of living and expressing life. Everything you write, a novel, a history, a short story, a poem, a journal entry, becomes a part of the unbelievably limitless world of the written word. It's the same with a painting, No matter where it's hung or not hung it is part of the genius of visual art.
From the grandeur of ancient Greek and Roman theatre, through the rag tag Commedia players moving around through the Middle Ages, to the authority of European theatre, to Broadway, Hollywood, TV drama and an occasional work of quality on You Tube, actors have been entertaining people with the portrayal of real life and the glamorization of ideas for centuries.
Is there any bad art? Of course. But the people who produce it should have been asked the question I asked the young actor years ago. And if the questioner didn't get the right answer he should have talked them out of it.
Great works of art have been made, are being made right this instant and will continue to be made by artists, just as long as they are compelled by love and the right answers.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
****************************
AUTUMN QUESTION
What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?
3 answers so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
I await your answers.
DB
********************
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Vagabondism 166
Vagabondism #166 "The best poker game is to play with thoughts, not cards."
http://tinyurl.com/6xvgzz8
http://tinyurl.com/6xvgzz8
It's High Tide Again
To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.
Isaac Newton
*****************
Hello Marty
*******************
It matters very little where the vast oceans are. It is a state of quiet satisfaction to me to know that I am not the same person today that I was yesterday nor will I be the same person tomorrow. How can that be? After having stared at life "through a glass darkly" I have discovered something which is virtually inconceivable to me today, but will be part of my certain knowledge tomorrow or the next day, or the next.
I am finding myself indissolubly linked to the four corners of the earth and the universe. The glass though which I look darkly is a window and a mirror. Is the truth I seek in the vast oceans around me? Are those vast oceans already in myself? Am I so connected to the vast oceans that we coexist? Or am I and the vast oceans the same thing, the true phenomenon of reality? I think all of those questions are answered by "YES."
The great adventure of life is to accept the changing nature of ourselves and the progressive movement of our lives. The frightening part is to think what may be discovered in the dark depths of the sea. But the gradual realization of what it is and that I put it there myself gives me the courage to haul it up onto the beach and understand it.
Although I live alone I am not alone. I tread the beaches that others of fame and obscurity have marked with their feet, and occasionally I meet one of them on our mutual journey. And, if we wish, we can stop and share the joy and knowledge of our findings in the vastness. And in sharing we are one. And when we part we are both changed.
The ebb and flow of mentality is comforting to me. The truth must retreat in order to resurge. When the tide comes in it brings me more of itself and wakes up some mystery from the deep. I am secure in knowing it will happen because it always has, even if for years I didn't notice it.
It is at those holy times when I embrace the vastness of the unknown and am embraced by the ocean as I embrace myself.
I look forward to the spinning of the earth, from light to dark to light again. I look forward to the moonlight, the soft whisper of retiring waves and the thunder and crash of the high tide when a new idea. a greater understanding, comes rolling onto the beach with a giant "YES."
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.
****************************
AUTUMN QUESTION
What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?
3 answers so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
I await your answers.
DB
********************
Isaac Newton
*****************
Hello Marty
*******************
It matters very little where the vast oceans are. It is a state of quiet satisfaction to me to know that I am not the same person today that I was yesterday nor will I be the same person tomorrow. How can that be? After having stared at life "through a glass darkly" I have discovered something which is virtually inconceivable to me today, but will be part of my certain knowledge tomorrow or the next day, or the next.
I am finding myself indissolubly linked to the four corners of the earth and the universe. The glass though which I look darkly is a window and a mirror. Is the truth I seek in the vast oceans around me? Are those vast oceans already in myself? Am I so connected to the vast oceans that we coexist? Or am I and the vast oceans the same thing, the true phenomenon of reality? I think all of those questions are answered by "YES."
The great adventure of life is to accept the changing nature of ourselves and the progressive movement of our lives. The frightening part is to think what may be discovered in the dark depths of the sea. But the gradual realization of what it is and that I put it there myself gives me the courage to haul it up onto the beach and understand it.
Although I live alone I am not alone. I tread the beaches that others of fame and obscurity have marked with their feet, and occasionally I meet one of them on our mutual journey. And, if we wish, we can stop and share the joy and knowledge of our findings in the vastness. And in sharing we are one. And when we part we are both changed.
The ebb and flow of mentality is comforting to me. The truth must retreat in order to resurge. When the tide comes in it brings me more of itself and wakes up some mystery from the deep. I am secure in knowing it will happen because it always has, even if for years I didn't notice it.
It is at those holy times when I embrace the vastness of the unknown and am embraced by the ocean as I embrace myself.
I look forward to the spinning of the earth, from light to dark to light again. I look forward to the moonlight, the soft whisper of retiring waves and the thunder and crash of the high tide when a new idea. a greater understanding, comes rolling onto the beach with a giant "YES."
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.
****************************
AUTUMN QUESTION
What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?
3 answers so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
I await your answers.
DB
********************
Monday, September 26, 2011
Vagabondism 165
Vagabondism #165 "To finally understand that you are alone in the universe gives you an amazing sense of freedom." http://vagabondjourneys.blogspot.com/
Doing The Impossible
When you make a world tolerable for yourself, you make a world tolerable to others.
Anais Nin
*****************`
Hello Sandy
*********************
I went through a hellish time last week with a mountain of things wrong with this computer. Actually I think the computer was behaving itself, it did exactly what it was supposed to do. But the poor thing had been attacked by so many gremlins it was confused. There were files missing that couldn't be found, windows blocking the forward motion that wouldn't go away. strange pages popping up no one could explain. All in all, over 5 days I spent 18 hours on the phone.
One of the Vagabond Journey readers, Geo, offered the opinion that the hours I spent on the phone were ultimately going to make it easier for the next person. Certainly AOL, Verizon and HP keep records of the transactions so that other technicians can read up on what went on and how the problems were resolved. So, in a sense, I was blazing a trail for future clients with similar problems.
That makes me think about and be grateful for some of the trails I tread on that have been set down by others before me, problems solved that I don't have to face, people who struggled to make the world more tolerable for themselves and therefore for me.
In the case of one crucial file I was told that it could not be found, that it was permanently lost and was impossible to be restored. But a subsequent phone call brought me a man named Chris who did find it and restore it. He did the impossible.
I occasionally mention my elementary school science teacher who proclaimed that man would never fly to the moon because it was impossible. It was a well known fact that we could never get beyond the Earth's atmosphere. Then along came Werner von Braun and the Saturn V rocket. It did the impossible and we went to the moon.
In the film "Sea of Love" Al Pacino has a scene in which he plays two conflicting actions at the same moment. That is an impossibility for an actor. But he did it, so it is no longer impossible.
It was impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than 4 minutes until Roger Bannister did it.
Every day scientists, engineers, technicians, physicians, philosophers, artists, athletes, designers and craftspeople are confronting the impossible. And every now and then one of them does it.
There are those who would like to return to positions we have outgrown, to restore conditions that have been improved and, even worse, there are those who even refuse to believe that any progress has been made. I think the way to make the world tolerable for the human race is simply to not tolerate the impossible. What's next? If it can not be done, let's do it.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
********************
AUTUMN QUESTION
What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?
2 answers so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
I await your answer.
DB
********************
Anais Nin
*****************`
Hello Sandy
*********************
I went through a hellish time last week with a mountain of things wrong with this computer. Actually I think the computer was behaving itself, it did exactly what it was supposed to do. But the poor thing had been attacked by so many gremlins it was confused. There were files missing that couldn't be found, windows blocking the forward motion that wouldn't go away. strange pages popping up no one could explain. All in all, over 5 days I spent 18 hours on the phone.
One of the Vagabond Journey readers, Geo, offered the opinion that the hours I spent on the phone were ultimately going to make it easier for the next person. Certainly AOL, Verizon and HP keep records of the transactions so that other technicians can read up on what went on and how the problems were resolved. So, in a sense, I was blazing a trail for future clients with similar problems.
That makes me think about and be grateful for some of the trails I tread on that have been set down by others before me, problems solved that I don't have to face, people who struggled to make the world more tolerable for themselves and therefore for me.
In the case of one crucial file I was told that it could not be found, that it was permanently lost and was impossible to be restored. But a subsequent phone call brought me a man named Chris who did find it and restore it. He did the impossible.
I occasionally mention my elementary school science teacher who proclaimed that man would never fly to the moon because it was impossible. It was a well known fact that we could never get beyond the Earth's atmosphere. Then along came Werner von Braun and the Saturn V rocket. It did the impossible and we went to the moon.
In the film "Sea of Love" Al Pacino has a scene in which he plays two conflicting actions at the same moment. That is an impossibility for an actor. But he did it, so it is no longer impossible.
It was impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than 4 minutes until Roger Bannister did it.
Every day scientists, engineers, technicians, physicians, philosophers, artists, athletes, designers and craftspeople are confronting the impossible. And every now and then one of them does it.
There are those who would like to return to positions we have outgrown, to restore conditions that have been improved and, even worse, there are those who even refuse to believe that any progress has been made. I think the way to make the world tolerable for the human race is simply to not tolerate the impossible. What's next? If it can not be done, let's do it.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
********************
AUTUMN QUESTION
What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?
2 answers so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
I await your answer.
DB
********************
Sunday, September 25, 2011
It's For The Birds
A true believer loves for his brother what he loves for himself.
Muhammad
*************************
I was feeling a bit morose today, partly because it's another day without sunshine. We've had too much rain. I don't want these leaves going from green to brown so fast, you hear me? I want a little color outside my window, some yellow, red, orange, even some amber. See to it.
So I called my good buddy Marty. He's a positive sort and he set me straight, turned me around and pointed my nose toward the goal of seeing the rainbow that's always in my mind if I look for it. Thanks Marty.
Today I had the great pleasure of cleaning out the bird feeder. I'm here to tell you that you haven't lived until you've scooped up a bag full of moldy seeds and bird poop. A rare and hard to match experience. It's a good thing I'm not squeamish.
I should have taken the bird feeder inside when Irene came to call, but it was so well fastened to the railing (to prevent the vandal who chopped down the last one) that I just tied it off and left it there. After Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee had their ways with it the feeder was no longer fit for birds, squirrels or any decent beast.
So now it's clean (factory fresh, as they say). I put it out to dry, which it will do if Mother Nature doesn't drop any of her damn rain on it. Tomorrow I will reseed and hope to welcome back my chirping neighbors, even though they still dash off every time the see me.
And so my friends, brothers and sisters, bloggers and fellow pilgrims on the shore of a new season, let's try an Autumn Question.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
***********************
AUTUMN QUESTION
What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little.
dbdacoba@aol.com
I am looking forward to your answers.
DB
**************************************
Muhammad
*************************
I was feeling a bit morose today, partly because it's another day without sunshine. We've had too much rain. I don't want these leaves going from green to brown so fast, you hear me? I want a little color outside my window, some yellow, red, orange, even some amber. See to it.
So I called my good buddy Marty. He's a positive sort and he set me straight, turned me around and pointed my nose toward the goal of seeing the rainbow that's always in my mind if I look for it. Thanks Marty.
Today I had the great pleasure of cleaning out the bird feeder. I'm here to tell you that you haven't lived until you've scooped up a bag full of moldy seeds and bird poop. A rare and hard to match experience. It's a good thing I'm not squeamish.
I should have taken the bird feeder inside when Irene came to call, but it was so well fastened to the railing (to prevent the vandal who chopped down the last one) that I just tied it off and left it there. After Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee had their ways with it the feeder was no longer fit for birds, squirrels or any decent beast.
So now it's clean (factory fresh, as they say). I put it out to dry, which it will do if Mother Nature doesn't drop any of her damn rain on it. Tomorrow I will reseed and hope to welcome back my chirping neighbors, even though they still dash off every time the see me.
And so my friends, brothers and sisters, bloggers and fellow pilgrims on the shore of a new season, let's try an Autumn Question.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
***********************
AUTUMN QUESTION
What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little.
dbdacoba@aol.com
I am looking forward to your answers.
DB
**************************************
Saturday, September 24, 2011
The Gathering
Well it's Autumn is it? It's been a hell of a Summer. Too much bad weather worldwide. Too much bad politics worldwide. Too much bad religion worldwide. Too many kidnappings, too many deaths, too many killings, too many guns in the hands of too many crackpots.
Oh, come gentleness, compassion and peace. Come to us, a bruised and terrified world and teach us to be good to each other. Let the winds of Autumn bring gratitude and respect.
Why do our public figures verbally assassinate each other with smiles on their faces? Why are there more bullies in the playground than ever before? Why are there more poor people struggling against regressive measures than ever before? Why are some churches preaching exclusivity and why are there those who practice brutality and cruelty against the innocent? Why are some communities being destroyed by tornadoes, industry and gangs? Why are passionate men and women destroying themselves in order to destroy other people? Why is hatred just and love a joke? What has sown insanity into the hearts and minds of the people? Why is self-righteous ignorance the ethic of the times?
Oh, please come Autumn winds, with the spirit of gratitude, compassion, reason, joy and true moral strength.
*************************************
Autumn is the only season with two names. I don't know why it is called The Fall. I prefer to call it The Gathering. It is harvest time in the northern hemisphere, the bringing in of crops, the going back to school, the growing up, the preparing for Winter.
I have memories of New England farmers who all seem to harvest at the same time and inches before the big freeze comes. I have memories of people happily preparing for Chanukah celebrations in New York City. I have memories of Thanksgivings where people I haven't seen for a while and some strangers gather to celebrate that life is still going on in spite of everything. I have memories of the local Halloween where parents are not loath to bring their kids into the tobacco and lottery shop because Karen, the proprietor, dresses up in a costume and prepares bundles of good things for them. I have memories of hiking in the White Mountains among the glorious scenes while down below on the highway buses pass with seniors from some place else admiring the magnificent colors. I have memories of the evergreens stacked up against the wall of the hardware store hoping to be bought to become brightly decorated Christmas trees.
The gathering of crops, the gathering of families, the gathering of life lessons and the gathering of hope. Oh, come Autumn and bring no more tears except tears ofjoy.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
***********************************
Oh, come gentleness, compassion and peace. Come to us, a bruised and terrified world and teach us to be good to each other. Let the winds of Autumn bring gratitude and respect.
Why do our public figures verbally assassinate each other with smiles on their faces? Why are there more bullies in the playground than ever before? Why are there more poor people struggling against regressive measures than ever before? Why are some churches preaching exclusivity and why are there those who practice brutality and cruelty against the innocent? Why are some communities being destroyed by tornadoes, industry and gangs? Why are passionate men and women destroying themselves in order to destroy other people? Why is hatred just and love a joke? What has sown insanity into the hearts and minds of the people? Why is self-righteous ignorance the ethic of the times?
Oh, please come Autumn winds, with the spirit of gratitude, compassion, reason, joy and true moral strength.
*************************************
Autumn is the only season with two names. I don't know why it is called The Fall. I prefer to call it The Gathering. It is harvest time in the northern hemisphere, the bringing in of crops, the going back to school, the growing up, the preparing for Winter.
I have memories of New England farmers who all seem to harvest at the same time and inches before the big freeze comes. I have memories of people happily preparing for Chanukah celebrations in New York City. I have memories of Thanksgivings where people I haven't seen for a while and some strangers gather to celebrate that life is still going on in spite of everything. I have memories of the local Halloween where parents are not loath to bring their kids into the tobacco and lottery shop because Karen, the proprietor, dresses up in a costume and prepares bundles of good things for them. I have memories of hiking in the White Mountains among the glorious scenes while down below on the highway buses pass with seniors from some place else admiring the magnificent colors. I have memories of the evergreens stacked up against the wall of the hardware store hoping to be bought to become brightly decorated Christmas trees.
The gathering of crops, the gathering of families, the gathering of life lessons and the gathering of hope. Oh, come Autumn and bring no more tears except tears ofjoy.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
***********************************
Friday, September 23, 2011
Vagabondism 162
Vagabondism #162 "What’s the use of it’s taking so long to learn life’s lessons if not to teach us patience."
http://vagabondjottings.blogspot.com/
http://vagabondjottings.blogspot.com/
Summer Question Answers
Hello Readers, Followers, Bloggers, Friends and Strangers. The last day of Summer has come (and gone, for most of us), and so it's time to post the
SUMMER QUESTION ANSWERS.
I guarantee you will find this a most interesting collection of responses, thoughtful, provocative, compassionate and passionate. Please enjoy them and please post any comments you want.
The SUMMER QUESTION was:
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
--------------------------------------------
Good question, in which everybody should have an interest as bellwether of our freedoms. Married couples enjoy upward of 1400 benefits under state and federal laws that unmarried ones do not. If a couple chooses to be married, regardless of their genders, prohibition is discrimination, pure, simple and cruel.
-----------------------------------------------
Ah, what a hot, sticky question. I was raised in Southern California. I lived in Hollywood. Nothing could shock or annoy me. I've done things that would definitely shock and annoy everyone (let's leave it to the imagination).
Two gay people should have every right to live together. They should be entitled to spousal benefits. BUT (here's the inevitable "but") I personally think gay marriage is ridiculous. Somehow I still believe that marriage, in the traditional sense, should be intended solely for a man & woman.
Most marriages are so screwed-up anyway, that adding gay marriages to the agenda would only further complicate things. I definitely don't think gay couples should be allowed to adopt children.
------------------------------------
I can understand both sides of the issue, but - when weighing the scales - I'm against gay marriage. I don't think it matters what the sexual orientation of the people involved. Why would gay people getting married affect my marriage? My neighbor's marriage has no bearing on mine, and neither does the marriage of my cousin and HER wife..
And, as studies have shown, children raised by gay couples do just fine, as shown by the University of Virginia and George Washington University who published the study "Parenting and Child Development in Adoptive Families: Does Parental Sexual Orientation Matter?
If a marriage is screwed up, it's not because two men or women want to get married-that's just ridiculous. I might not like someone's car, or house, or choice in music, but that's THEIR choice to make and live by, not mine.
----------------------------------------
It's not my place to judge what other people do....I wouldn't want someone judging me or telling me what I should or shouldn't be doing. Treating all people with respect would go a long way in making our world a better place.
-------------------------------------------------------
Absolutely. It's a matter of civil rights. Marriage is a civic institution, not a religious one.
The example I always give is that Ken and I were married in a local restaurant (former Studebaker mansion), with a local government official presiding. There were no religious trappings or mentions whatsoever. Yet we are legally married. Why? Because we filed for a license and obtained one from the government.
If we'd gotten married in a church, by a pastor, but we hadn't obtained that license, we wouldn't be legally married. The government must not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
It's coming. Decades from now, people will look back at this and wonder how we ever could have discriminated against our own citizens in this way.
------------------------------------------------
Absolutely Yes. It is a civil rights issue.
-------------------------------------------------
Homosexuality has been with us since time immemorial. These behaviors will be with us until humanity dies out.
If having the title of "marriage" as a way of describing a committed union between them makes homosexuals happier, then so be it. They should have all the rights and responsibilities that heterosexual unions have. (If queers molest their adopted children, prosecute them just like fathers who molest their daughters.) I would go further and say that common-law unions such as what I have with Marva (30+ years of co-habiting should mean something - mind you, we're already registered as "domestic partners" in NYC) should be treated with the same dignity and legal respect as those who have been to City Hall and/or have had their "marriage" sanctioned by some "legitimate" religious authority. When was the last time a Satanist presided over a marriage, homosexual or heterosexual? Would the state recognize that marriage?
Dana, we're dealing with a lot of petty, self-serving, self-righteous, "God-fearing" people. (I don't fear something I don't believe exists. Would I fear a vampire, a werewolf or the Easter Bunny? I fear a person with a loaded gun in his - it's usually a man - possession staring at me menacingly, e.g.an NYPD officer.) Social Security does not want to make survivor payments to those whose unions have not been sanctioned/ratified by the state. No money for common-law or queer survivors, right? Marva and I could always get married but we have chosen not to up until now. I guess we'll have to play the game if the survivor wants to get anything out of SSA.
One last thing: I use the term "queer" because so many of them proudly refer to themselves that way. "I'm a member of queer nation. I'm proud of it and I'll never let you heteros forget it" Gay Pride marches: when do I get my Straight Pride days?
I do not use the term "nigger" because that usage seems to be reserved exclusively for African-Americans to use it as much as they want to and wherever they want to. What hypocrisy. I can remember being in a production of Big River where the director and many cast members decided to remove the term "nigger" from the book of our production. Samuel Clemens would be laughing at those righteous sorts today who've tampered with his Adventures of H. F. The term "nigger" will be expurgated from our dreadful history of slavery. No one ever used the term, Dana.
------------------------------------
Yes, I think same sex marriage should be legal. Another question (in my opinion) is who should be allowed to have children...there should be an IQ test! Ignorant people should not be allowed to marry and procreate! Maybe there should be a law passed to require an IQ test before conceiving a child. I'm sure there are many stable intelligent gay couples who would make fine families and many disfunctional straight couples who wouldn't..
----------------------------------------
Hi Dana,
Wonderful piece! I've been pondering your question. I've decided that our country is the land of the free and don't believe anyone should be treated differently because of race, status or sexual preferences. As a mother even though I do not have a homosexual son or daughter it would distress me if he/she would not be allowed to express his/her true self.
While I am not gay and believe strongly in God I think limiting and not respecting others beliefs and feelings are what cause wars. Just like black people have been given finally all the rights of white people and women given the rights of men I think the time has come to grant gay people the right to be recognized and have the same rights as straight people.
--------------------------------------------
"same sex marriage is a misnomer. there is no such thing"
------------------------------------------------
I feel that marriage is a contract, and should be open to anyone who wants to enter into it provided they are of the age of majority. I think same-sex marriages should be legal in all states, and commend the state of New York for their recent decision to recognize this basic right of ALL people. I don't care for the arguments that quote scripture, as they are irrelevant to me as an atheist. Furthermore, stating the purpose of marriage is to procreate is a null argument as well when considering the number of single parents (for whatever reason, divorce, teen pregnancy, etc). I find it fascinating that so many people feel the need to apply their mores and values on other people they don't want or care to know. In this day and age of enlightenment people need to accept the fact that being gay is part of a person's biology, and denying access/ due process because of this is unconstitutional. When we say the pledge, "And justice for all" means all people, not just the ones we like because they think like us or look like us or worship like us.
------------------------------------
I think same sex marriage should be legal. Many people are against it because they are overly religious or just afraid of the unknown. Gay and lesbians are humans like the rest of us who are heterosexual, with the same hope and desires for a happy life. Being gay is not a choice. I am not gay but have known many gay and lesbians and know that this sexual preference was something they could not help. One of my friends, a lesbian, almost killed herself when she realized she was gay because of her religious upbringing.
Humans need love and security to be happy and for many gay people, just like for many heterosexuals, they want to love one person and be able to live with that person legally and have children. I knitted a baby blanket for my daughter’s gay friends who adopted a baby, they will have another in the fall. This child could not be loved any more by heterosexual parents. Plus, really, so many heterosexual parents are not very good with their kids, they abandon them, don’t educate them properly or abuse them. Another point is that about half of marriages end up in divorces, so why do they say that if gay people are allowed to marry it will hurt marriages? Less and less people marry anyway.
I think if a person loves another one they should be allowed to marry, adopt or have children somehow (lesbians can get pregnant) and live their lives with the person they love – get old together, share their hopes and joys. What is life if there is no love? Love is above sexual preferences.
I know in this country, which is uber religious, that they say it is against the Bible. I have several Bibles around here together with many other religious writings. I am not a Christian and never was – never was anything really because I was brought up in secular France – I might say I have Buddhist leanings. But from what I read divorces are a no-no in the Bible and people still get divorces. People here choose the parts in the Bible they like and disregard the ones that are not so nice, and there are many – like stoning unruly kids.
I lived in San Francisco for 10 years when I came to the US from Paris. My first apartment was on Nob Hill in a 95% gay building. At my wedding my best friend, who was gay, gave me away. Actually I found my gay friends to be more tolerant, intellectual and funny – well read too than many of my other friends. It would hurt me to think that they are not entitled to the same rights as me. In a country which says the government is neutral, that there is separation of church and state, there should be absolutely no reason why same sex marriages are not allowed. It is not the government’s role to see who is in the bedroom.
I did not think about this too much, so it is not well written, but to sum it up I am for same sex marriage. I’ll tell you one more - I am for polygamist marriages if it works. I worked with guys from Kuwait, Dubai and Saudi Arabia and their father had several wives – if the wives are OK with it and they are treated fairly, then who am I to say that it is wrong? Mohammed said that a man could have 3 wives – so if they are Moslem, why not? I am against people who want to force the rest of the world to be like them – our time on earth is short, let us all be happy.
-------------------------------------------------------------
I pretty much don't believe in any marriage, same sex or otherwise.
------------------------------------------------------------
I am very proud to be a Canadian. Under section 15 of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.” The Supreme Court of Canada has held that discrimination based on sexuality is analogous to discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, or colour, and, as such, is prohibited under Section 15 of Canada's Charter.
The “one man and one woman” requirement in the definition of marriage creates a formal distinction between opposite-sex and same-sex couples on the basis of sexual orientation. Furthermore, exclusion from the institution of marriage perpetuates the view that same-sex couples are not capable of forming loving and lasting relations, and that same-sex relationships are not worthy of the same respect and recognition as opposite-sex relationships. As such, it offends the dignity of persons in same-sex relationships.
Should same sex marriage be legal? Of course it should and in Canada we recognize the fact that we are all equal under the law.
-----------------------------------------------------
re same sex marriage -
Will & I were happily unmarried (both having done that before with unhappy consequences) - until - his Dad, Draper died.
it then occurred to us that we also should have wills for our 'stuff'. so we put them together & took them to the lawyer to review. HE said to us ... if you want things the way you're telling me, IN PENNSYLVANIA you should be married. we said "why?". his answer was - in Pennsylvania if Will dies first, his sons would have to pay inheritance taxes on anything I gave them - including all the things that he would want me to enjoy while I'm still here. same thing between Will & my family. the reason? because, in the eyes of the state of PA, we all wouldn't be related! SO - we went to the local j.p. & did it. so what's the difference if you're the same sex? why shouldn't all folks who care about each other have the same advantage?
-----------------------------------------------
Ok I have been pondering this question all summer. My thoughts are all marriages should be civil unions. What ever sex, if you want church sanctioned wedding then go for it. But I think civil unions is more than valid, who needs god to say you are united? And the government should have no say in the matter.
-----------------------------------------------------
Same sex marriages should be legal because the issue of marriage is a civil issue and not a religious one. There is absolutely no reason for people who fit the legal requirements of age not to be allowed to be married.
The oft said 'it would legalize man-dog marriage' are just goofin'... the 'dog' or any non-human creature cannot consent to marriage so that is that with that nonsense.
-------------------------------------------------
It is the commitment between two people that matters- true commitment deserves legality.
--------------------------------------------
...I believe, in my heart, that people love who they love and no one should judge. Civil marriages should be allowed, God doesn't enter into it. Folks who have religious convictions ( I am a back sliding Methodist) can do everything the traditional way. I also think people rush to judgement on everyone's behavior or lifestyle without any compassion or feeling for the other person...it's wrong....
------------------------------------------
I don't think it should be legal
I'm a christian
I don't agree with the gay lifestyle
I don't personally know anyone who's gay
so, I haven't had to deal with it in my life
I don't expect anyone to agree with me
that's just the way I feel
In the King James Version, Leviticus 18:22 is translated: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."
----------------------------------------------------------------
Of course people of the same gender or sex should be able to get married. I have this theory that if people want to keep the term "married" religious and only for certain types of unions, fine, have an ass-backwards opinion. But, for the GOVERNMENT, that cannot matter. So, the government (states etc) should stop issuing marriage licenses altogether and instead accept applications and issue certificates of civil unions. If you then want to take your government approved legally binding union and gussy it up with some marriage in a church or whatever, knock yourself out, but legally, two people regardless of who they are should be able to form a legally binding union. To not have this is sanctioned inequality.
-----------------------------------------------
I have no problem with that, my personal thoughts is that it is none of my business and believe our world would be a better place if people would mind their own business on these matters. It's not my place to judge other people's choices in life to make them happy.
----------------------------------------------
I say "Why Not". Who are we to dictate who can marry and who cannot. Gay people were born gay............they didn't decide to turn gay! They also deserve the same benefits marriage allows to straight people.
Yes, it should be legal. Many states are making it legal now and a lot already have.
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
Thank you everyone.
DB
SUMMER QUESTION ANSWERS.
I guarantee you will find this a most interesting collection of responses, thoughtful, provocative, compassionate and passionate. Please enjoy them and please post any comments you want.
The SUMMER QUESTION was:
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
--------------------------------------------
Good question, in which everybody should have an interest as bellwether of our freedoms. Married couples enjoy upward of 1400 benefits under state and federal laws that unmarried ones do not. If a couple chooses to be married, regardless of their genders, prohibition is discrimination, pure, simple and cruel.
-----------------------------------------------
Ah, what a hot, sticky question. I was raised in Southern California. I lived in Hollywood. Nothing could shock or annoy me. I've done things that would definitely shock and annoy everyone (let's leave it to the imagination).
Two gay people should have every right to live together. They should be entitled to spousal benefits. BUT (here's the inevitable "but") I personally think gay marriage is ridiculous. Somehow I still believe that marriage, in the traditional sense, should be intended solely for a man & woman.
Most marriages are so screwed-up anyway, that adding gay marriages to the agenda would only further complicate things. I definitely don't think gay couples should be allowed to adopt children.
------------------------------------
I can understand both sides of the issue, but - when weighing the scales - I'm against gay marriage. I don't think it matters what the sexual orientation of the people involved. Why would gay people getting married affect my marriage? My neighbor's marriage has no bearing on mine, and neither does the marriage of my cousin and HER wife..
And, as studies have shown, children raised by gay couples do just fine, as shown by the University of Virginia and George Washington University who published the study "Parenting and Child Development in Adoptive Families: Does Parental Sexual Orientation Matter?
If a marriage is screwed up, it's not because two men or women want to get married-that's just ridiculous. I might not like someone's car, or house, or choice in music, but that's THEIR choice to make and live by, not mine.
----------------------------------------
It's not my place to judge what other people do....I wouldn't want someone judging me or telling me what I should or shouldn't be doing. Treating all people with respect would go a long way in making our world a better place.
-------------------------------------------------------
Absolutely. It's a matter of civil rights. Marriage is a civic institution, not a religious one.
The example I always give is that Ken and I were married in a local restaurant (former Studebaker mansion), with a local government official presiding. There were no religious trappings or mentions whatsoever. Yet we are legally married. Why? Because we filed for a license and obtained one from the government.
If we'd gotten married in a church, by a pastor, but we hadn't obtained that license, we wouldn't be legally married. The government must not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
It's coming. Decades from now, people will look back at this and wonder how we ever could have discriminated against our own citizens in this way.
------------------------------------------------
Absolutely Yes. It is a civil rights issue.
-------------------------------------------------
Homosexuality has been with us since time immemorial. These behaviors will be with us until humanity dies out.
If having the title of "marriage" as a way of describing a committed union between them makes homosexuals happier, then so be it. They should have all the rights and responsibilities that heterosexual unions have. (If queers molest their adopted children, prosecute them just like fathers who molest their daughters.) I would go further and say that common-law unions such as what I have with Marva (30+ years of co-habiting should mean something - mind you, we're already registered as "domestic partners" in NYC) should be treated with the same dignity and legal respect as those who have been to City Hall and/or have had their "marriage" sanctioned by some "legitimate" religious authority. When was the last time a Satanist presided over a marriage, homosexual or heterosexual? Would the state recognize that marriage?
Dana, we're dealing with a lot of petty, self-serving, self-righteous, "God-fearing" people. (I don't fear something I don't believe exists. Would I fear a vampire, a werewolf or the Easter Bunny? I fear a person with a loaded gun in his - it's usually a man - possession staring at me menacingly, e.g.an NYPD officer.) Social Security does not want to make survivor payments to those whose unions have not been sanctioned/ratified by the state. No money for common-law or queer survivors, right? Marva and I could always get married but we have chosen not to up until now. I guess we'll have to play the game if the survivor wants to get anything out of SSA.
One last thing: I use the term "queer" because so many of them proudly refer to themselves that way. "I'm a member of queer nation. I'm proud of it and I'll never let you heteros forget it" Gay Pride marches: when do I get my Straight Pride days?
I do not use the term "nigger" because that usage seems to be reserved exclusively for African-Americans to use it as much as they want to and wherever they want to. What hypocrisy. I can remember being in a production of Big River where the director and many cast members decided to remove the term "nigger" from the book of our production. Samuel Clemens would be laughing at those righteous sorts today who've tampered with his Adventures of H. F. The term "nigger" will be expurgated from our dreadful history of slavery. No one ever used the term, Dana.
------------------------------------
Yes, I think same sex marriage should be legal. Another question (in my opinion) is who should be allowed to have children...there should be an IQ test! Ignorant people should not be allowed to marry and procreate! Maybe there should be a law passed to require an IQ test before conceiving a child. I'm sure there are many stable intelligent gay couples who would make fine families and many disfunctional straight couples who wouldn't..
----------------------------------------
Hi Dana,
Wonderful piece! I've been pondering your question. I've decided that our country is the land of the free and don't believe anyone should be treated differently because of race, status or sexual preferences. As a mother even though I do not have a homosexual son or daughter it would distress me if he/she would not be allowed to express his/her true self.
While I am not gay and believe strongly in God I think limiting and not respecting others beliefs and feelings are what cause wars. Just like black people have been given finally all the rights of white people and women given the rights of men I think the time has come to grant gay people the right to be recognized and have the same rights as straight people.
--------------------------------------------
"same sex marriage is a misnomer. there is no such thing"
------------------------------------------------
I feel that marriage is a contract, and should be open to anyone who wants to enter into it provided they are of the age of majority. I think same-sex marriages should be legal in all states, and commend the state of New York for their recent decision to recognize this basic right of ALL people. I don't care for the arguments that quote scripture, as they are irrelevant to me as an atheist. Furthermore, stating the purpose of marriage is to procreate is a null argument as well when considering the number of single parents (for whatever reason, divorce, teen pregnancy, etc). I find it fascinating that so many people feel the need to apply their mores and values on other people they don't want or care to know. In this day and age of enlightenment people need to accept the fact that being gay is part of a person's biology, and denying access/ due process because of this is unconstitutional. When we say the pledge, "And justice for all" means all people, not just the ones we like because they think like us or look like us or worship like us.
------------------------------------
I think same sex marriage should be legal. Many people are against it because they are overly religious or just afraid of the unknown. Gay and lesbians are humans like the rest of us who are heterosexual, with the same hope and desires for a happy life. Being gay is not a choice. I am not gay but have known many gay and lesbians and know that this sexual preference was something they could not help. One of my friends, a lesbian, almost killed herself when she realized she was gay because of her religious upbringing.
Humans need love and security to be happy and for many gay people, just like for many heterosexuals, they want to love one person and be able to live with that person legally and have children. I knitted a baby blanket for my daughter’s gay friends who adopted a baby, they will have another in the fall. This child could not be loved any more by heterosexual parents. Plus, really, so many heterosexual parents are not very good with their kids, they abandon them, don’t educate them properly or abuse them. Another point is that about half of marriages end up in divorces, so why do they say that if gay people are allowed to marry it will hurt marriages? Less and less people marry anyway.
I think if a person loves another one they should be allowed to marry, adopt or have children somehow (lesbians can get pregnant) and live their lives with the person they love – get old together, share their hopes and joys. What is life if there is no love? Love is above sexual preferences.
I know in this country, which is uber religious, that they say it is against the Bible. I have several Bibles around here together with many other religious writings. I am not a Christian and never was – never was anything really because I was brought up in secular France – I might say I have Buddhist leanings. But from what I read divorces are a no-no in the Bible and people still get divorces. People here choose the parts in the Bible they like and disregard the ones that are not so nice, and there are many – like stoning unruly kids.
I lived in San Francisco for 10 years when I came to the US from Paris. My first apartment was on Nob Hill in a 95% gay building. At my wedding my best friend, who was gay, gave me away. Actually I found my gay friends to be more tolerant, intellectual and funny – well read too than many of my other friends. It would hurt me to think that they are not entitled to the same rights as me. In a country which says the government is neutral, that there is separation of church and state, there should be absolutely no reason why same sex marriages are not allowed. It is not the government’s role to see who is in the bedroom.
I did not think about this too much, so it is not well written, but to sum it up I am for same sex marriage. I’ll tell you one more - I am for polygamist marriages if it works. I worked with guys from Kuwait, Dubai and Saudi Arabia and their father had several wives – if the wives are OK with it and they are treated fairly, then who am I to say that it is wrong? Mohammed said that a man could have 3 wives – so if they are Moslem, why not? I am against people who want to force the rest of the world to be like them – our time on earth is short, let us all be happy.
-------------------------------------------------------------
I pretty much don't believe in any marriage, same sex or otherwise.
------------------------------------------------------------
I am very proud to be a Canadian. Under section 15 of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.” The Supreme Court of Canada has held that discrimination based on sexuality is analogous to discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, or colour, and, as such, is prohibited under Section 15 of Canada's Charter.
The “one man and one woman” requirement in the definition of marriage creates a formal distinction between opposite-sex and same-sex couples on the basis of sexual orientation. Furthermore, exclusion from the institution of marriage perpetuates the view that same-sex couples are not capable of forming loving and lasting relations, and that same-sex relationships are not worthy of the same respect and recognition as opposite-sex relationships. As such, it offends the dignity of persons in same-sex relationships.
Should same sex marriage be legal? Of course it should and in Canada we recognize the fact that we are all equal under the law.
-----------------------------------------------------
re same sex marriage -
Will & I were happily unmarried (both having done that before with unhappy consequences) - until - his Dad, Draper died.
it then occurred to us that we also should have wills for our 'stuff'. so we put them together & took them to the lawyer to review. HE said to us ... if you want things the way you're telling me, IN PENNSYLVANIA you should be married. we said "why?". his answer was - in Pennsylvania if Will dies first, his sons would have to pay inheritance taxes on anything I gave them - including all the things that he would want me to enjoy while I'm still here. same thing between Will & my family. the reason? because, in the eyes of the state of PA, we all wouldn't be related! SO - we went to the local j.p. & did it. so what's the difference if you're the same sex? why shouldn't all folks who care about each other have the same advantage?
-----------------------------------------------
Ok I have been pondering this question all summer. My thoughts are all marriages should be civil unions. What ever sex, if you want church sanctioned wedding then go for it. But I think civil unions is more than valid, who needs god to say you are united? And the government should have no say in the matter.
-----------------------------------------------------
Same sex marriages should be legal because the issue of marriage is a civil issue and not a religious one. There is absolutely no reason for people who fit the legal requirements of age not to be allowed to be married.
The oft said 'it would legalize man-dog marriage' are just goofin'... the 'dog' or any non-human creature cannot consent to marriage so that is that with that nonsense.
-------------------------------------------------
It is the commitment between two people that matters- true commitment deserves legality.
--------------------------------------------
...I believe, in my heart, that people love who they love and no one should judge. Civil marriages should be allowed, God doesn't enter into it. Folks who have religious convictions ( I am a back sliding Methodist) can do everything the traditional way. I also think people rush to judgement on everyone's behavior or lifestyle without any compassion or feeling for the other person...it's wrong....
------------------------------------------
I don't think it should be legal
I'm a christian
I don't agree with the gay lifestyle
I don't personally know anyone who's gay
so, I haven't had to deal with it in my life
I don't expect anyone to agree with me
that's just the way I feel
In the King James Version, Leviticus 18:22 is translated: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."
----------------------------------------------------------------
Of course people of the same gender or sex should be able to get married. I have this theory that if people want to keep the term "married" religious and only for certain types of unions, fine, have an ass-backwards opinion. But, for the GOVERNMENT, that cannot matter. So, the government (states etc) should stop issuing marriage licenses altogether and instead accept applications and issue certificates of civil unions. If you then want to take your government approved legally binding union and gussy it up with some marriage in a church or whatever, knock yourself out, but legally, two people regardless of who they are should be able to form a legally binding union. To not have this is sanctioned inequality.
-----------------------------------------------
I have no problem with that, my personal thoughts is that it is none of my business and believe our world would be a better place if people would mind their own business on these matters. It's not my place to judge other people's choices in life to make them happy.
----------------------------------------------
I say "Why Not". Who are we to dictate who can marry and who cannot. Gay people were born gay............they didn't decide to turn gay! They also deserve the same benefits marriage allows to straight people.
Yes, it should be legal. Many states are making it legal now and a lot already have.
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
Thank you everyone.
DB
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Vagabondism 161
Vagabondism #161 "One of the hardest things for old folks is to remember that young folks were born in a different age, and vice versa."
http://www.blogger.com/profile/09144446186279708019
http://www.blogger.com/profile/09144446186279708019
Forgive Me
One of the secrets of a long and fruitful life is to forgive everybody, everything, every night before you go to bed.
Bernard Baruch
***************************
Hello Sue
------------------------------
THIS IS THE LAST DAY
The Summer Question is closing it's doors at midnight EST.
------------------------------------
I read thoroughly the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Koran, as well as a lot of philosophy, history, science and other dust covered tomes. In all three of those sacred texts great stress is laid on the commandment to forgive, friends, enemies, everyone, including ourselves. In fact the issue is so big and important the writers must have felt there was some divine power behind forgiveness.
I've found that it is much easier to forgive people than I ever thought it was back in my smart aleck days. Oh, I can make excuses for people: he has a headache, she's having a bad day, they just don't understand. But that isn't the same as forgiving.
True forgiveness is a matter of consciousness, it is holding in thought the truth about human life and human behavior. Nothing is easier in this uncertain world than to do something wrong, to make a mistake, to miscalculate or, worse, to be motivated by something sinister, like hunger or greed, to do damage to another person or his property. Those demons are all part of the great struggle we have as human beings against the powers of darkeners that would destroy us.
None of are exempt from that struggle, not even the rich and beautiful. In fact, and this is an important fact to know about, it is often that the rich and beautiful succumb to the temptations to do harm more often than those who grapple with the chains of a difficult life.
An even more important discovery about forgiveness is that it is a mark of maturity. The idiot who engages in road rage or any process of "getting even" is still back in his childhood, refusing, like Peter Pan, to grow up.
The first urge we have to forgive is usually met with a counter urge. "What! Forgive that bastard. Never!" But if the need to forgive has divine power behind it, that counter urge has no divine power to strengthen it no matter how vigorously our nerves may shake with anticipation. The so called reality of revenge is an illusion. The anger that lives with one who cannot forgive takes over and controls that person's life. Heaven forbid if that anger is salted with the heavy spice of violence. Eat dynamite and drink human blood, there's nothing left.
I won't make a list of the people I need to forgive. For one thing, that would only legitimize my negative feelings about them and for another thing, I've already forgiven them. When one person or event pops into my mind I simply remind myself I've forgiven them and that's that. I have set them free and I've set myself free.
But, ironically, the buzzing fly of conscience that may keep me awake at night is that I need to forgive myself for more than any one else has done to me. If I could genuinely and completely forgive myself for all the stupid things I did and the smart things I didn't do, which seems like an impassible, life long task, that would be freedom and a divine state of being indeed.
"Let there be peace in the world and let it begin with me."
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.
****************************
This is it, your last chance.
SUMMER QUESTION
It's been a long, hot, wet and sticky summer, so here's the hot, sticky question..
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
22 interesting answers so far.
You have until midnight.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Bernard Baruch
***************************
Hello Sue
------------------------------
THIS IS THE LAST DAY
The Summer Question is closing it's doors at midnight EST.
------------------------------------
I read thoroughly the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Koran, as well as a lot of philosophy, history, science and other dust covered tomes. In all three of those sacred texts great stress is laid on the commandment to forgive, friends, enemies, everyone, including ourselves. In fact the issue is so big and important the writers must have felt there was some divine power behind forgiveness.
I've found that it is much easier to forgive people than I ever thought it was back in my smart aleck days. Oh, I can make excuses for people: he has a headache, she's having a bad day, they just don't understand. But that isn't the same as forgiving.
True forgiveness is a matter of consciousness, it is holding in thought the truth about human life and human behavior. Nothing is easier in this uncertain world than to do something wrong, to make a mistake, to miscalculate or, worse, to be motivated by something sinister, like hunger or greed, to do damage to another person or his property. Those demons are all part of the great struggle we have as human beings against the powers of darkeners that would destroy us.
None of are exempt from that struggle, not even the rich and beautiful. In fact, and this is an important fact to know about, it is often that the rich and beautiful succumb to the temptations to do harm more often than those who grapple with the chains of a difficult life.
An even more important discovery about forgiveness is that it is a mark of maturity. The idiot who engages in road rage or any process of "getting even" is still back in his childhood, refusing, like Peter Pan, to grow up.
The first urge we have to forgive is usually met with a counter urge. "What! Forgive that bastard. Never!" But if the need to forgive has divine power behind it, that counter urge has no divine power to strengthen it no matter how vigorously our nerves may shake with anticipation. The so called reality of revenge is an illusion. The anger that lives with one who cannot forgive takes over and controls that person's life. Heaven forbid if that anger is salted with the heavy spice of violence. Eat dynamite and drink human blood, there's nothing left.
I won't make a list of the people I need to forgive. For one thing, that would only legitimize my negative feelings about them and for another thing, I've already forgiven them. When one person or event pops into my mind I simply remind myself I've forgiven them and that's that. I have set them free and I've set myself free.
But, ironically, the buzzing fly of conscience that may keep me awake at night is that I need to forgive myself for more than any one else has done to me. If I could genuinely and completely forgive myself for all the stupid things I did and the smart things I didn't do, which seems like an impassible, life long task, that would be freedom and a divine state of being indeed.
"Let there be peace in the world and let it begin with me."
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.
****************************
This is it, your last chance.
SUMMER QUESTION
It's been a long, hot, wet and sticky summer, so here's the hot, sticky question..
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
22 interesting answers so far.
You have until midnight.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Life's Party
Build your home in such a way that a stranger may feel happy in your midst.
Theodore Herzl
********************
Hello Sienna
*******************
I cleaned the place throughout, hung more pictures, bought some tasty food, stocked the liquor cabinet and brought in flowers. I was throwing a party for my local New York friends. Most of them came.
One fellow who I had known since summer theatre many years previously and who I had seen off and on over the years, came with his current live-in girl friend. She was a pleasant looking young woman with a nice smile. But it wasn't long before I realized she was criticizing everything. She wasn't a loud mouth or even particularly sarcastic. But with a smile on her face she had something negative to say about everything, me, my apartment, the pictures, the other people, the food. She would seem to be having a pleasant conversation with folks but she always injected some slightly dark observation about what was said.
Since she was a guest in my home I did my best to ignore it and make her feel as comfortable and welcome as possible. But after they left my other guests remarked about how unpleasant she had been. I wasn't interested in analyzing her. I just thought, how sad.
We human beings are all snails. Like snails we carry our homes around with us, our invisible homes. We carry the attitudes, heritage, habits, intentions, behavior, embracements, defenses, differences and uniqueness that make us who we are wherever we go. To meet and spend time with someone is to invite them into that mobile home where we really dwell. Why make it an unpleasant visit? Why block the sunshine?
A welcome guest into my life is not an intruder. I won't treat them as one. But to be invited to be a part of someone else's life and have them entertain me with criticisms and judgements is a darkness I would avoid. I will decline that invitation, thank you.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
******************************
SUMMER QUESTION
2 more days of Summer. Need I say more?
It's been a long, hot, wet and sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
22 interesting answers so far.
You have 2 more days.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Theodore Herzl
********************
Hello Sienna
*******************
I cleaned the place throughout, hung more pictures, bought some tasty food, stocked the liquor cabinet and brought in flowers. I was throwing a party for my local New York friends. Most of them came.
One fellow who I had known since summer theatre many years previously and who I had seen off and on over the years, came with his current live-in girl friend. She was a pleasant looking young woman with a nice smile. But it wasn't long before I realized she was criticizing everything. She wasn't a loud mouth or even particularly sarcastic. But with a smile on her face she had something negative to say about everything, me, my apartment, the pictures, the other people, the food. She would seem to be having a pleasant conversation with folks but she always injected some slightly dark observation about what was said.
Since she was a guest in my home I did my best to ignore it and make her feel as comfortable and welcome as possible. But after they left my other guests remarked about how unpleasant she had been. I wasn't interested in analyzing her. I just thought, how sad.
We human beings are all snails. Like snails we carry our homes around with us, our invisible homes. We carry the attitudes, heritage, habits, intentions, behavior, embracements, defenses, differences and uniqueness that make us who we are wherever we go. To meet and spend time with someone is to invite them into that mobile home where we really dwell. Why make it an unpleasant visit? Why block the sunshine?
A welcome guest into my life is not an intruder. I won't treat them as one. But to be invited to be a part of someone else's life and have them entertain me with criticisms and judgements is a darkness I would avoid. I will decline that invitation, thank you.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
******************************
SUMMER QUESTION
2 more days of Summer. Need I say more?
It's been a long, hot, wet and sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
22 interesting answers so far.
You have 2 more days.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Vagabondism 159
Vagabondism #159 "A great work of art, like a job well done, needs no critique." http://www.blogger.com/profile
Go Horatio
I would not tread these perilous paths in safety, if I did not keep a serving sense of humor.
Horatio Nelson
***********************
Hello Ally
***********************
I live in Trafalgar Square
with four lions to guard me.
Fountains and statues all over the place,
And the metropol' staring me right in the face.
I'll admit it's a trifle drafty,
But I look at it this way, you see:
If it's good enough for Nelson,
It's quite good enough for me.
(Richard Thompson)
Viscount Horatio Lord Nelson, (1758 - 1805) was one of Great Britain's greatest naval heroes. He was Vice Admiral of the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. His most famous and last battle was off the coast of Spain, near Cape Trafalgar against the combined French and Spanish fleet. The British fleet was outnumbered by ships, men and cannons.
Nelson did something only a person of humor, adventure and daring would do. Instead of lining up his ship in a row against the allied ships, like two football teams at the scrimmage line, he separated his ships into two lines perpendicular to the allied ships and when he attacked he split the enemy fleet into sections, one at the end of their line and the other in the center where their flagship was.
The battle was won by the British without losing a single ship. Unfortunately Nelson himself was killed in the battle. His body was returned to England and now he sits atop a tall monument in the square named for the famous battle, with lions, statues and fountains.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.
***********************************
May you stumble and fall into a great warm pile of happiness.
You have THREE days.
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Horatio Nelson
***********************
Hello Ally
***********************
I live in Trafalgar Square
with four lions to guard me.
Fountains and statues all over the place,
And the metropol' staring me right in the face.
I'll admit it's a trifle drafty,
But I look at it this way, you see:
If it's good enough for Nelson,
It's quite good enough for me.
(Richard Thompson)
Viscount Horatio Lord Nelson, (1758 - 1805) was one of Great Britain's greatest naval heroes. He was Vice Admiral of the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. His most famous and last battle was off the coast of Spain, near Cape Trafalgar against the combined French and Spanish fleet. The British fleet was outnumbered by ships, men and cannons.
Nelson did something only a person of humor, adventure and daring would do. Instead of lining up his ship in a row against the allied ships, like two football teams at the scrimmage line, he separated his ships into two lines perpendicular to the allied ships and when he attacked he split the enemy fleet into sections, one at the end of their line and the other in the center where their flagship was.
The battle was won by the British without losing a single ship. Unfortunately Nelson himself was killed in the battle. His body was returned to England and now he sits atop a tall monument in the square named for the famous battle, with lions, statues and fountains.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.
***********************************
May you stumble and fall into a great warm pile of happiness.
You have THREE days.
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Monday, September 19, 2011
Vagabondism 158
Vagabondism #158 "When you’re young you rush to get it done. When you’re old you dwell on the doing of it."
http://vagabondjottings.blogspot.com/
http://vagabondjottings.blogspot.com/
Real Life
Soar and anticipate the skies.
William Cowper
***********************
Hello Geo
*********************
Isn't it odd how we spend most of our adult lives somewhere between asleep and alert? I used to wear a button on my denim jacket as I wound my way through the bars, clubs, diners, theatres and apartments of Greenwich Village during my Beat days, which read "Real Life Isn't Like This." I still have the button somewhere. You can probably imagine the comments I got from people who saw and read it. They ranged from the insulting to the inane.
The button was simply an emblem of my suggestion not to just take life as it appears to be, not to judge the Book of Life by it's cover. It wasn't, nor isn't, a supernatural life I'm vending but a super reality, a superior reality. I'm for lifting one's head above the ordinary, mundane and often insipid reality most of us are faced with on a daily basis. I'm for expectations. I'm for search and discovery.
It's a matter of consciousness, it's admitting and knowing there is a greater picture of things than we are used to. There is a more beautiful, freer, more elastic reality than the tight, sealed and predictable little reality we have grown accustomed to and, in fact, designed or allowed to be designed for us.
Think of those moments when you come cross something you've never heard of before. There is plenty of self-destructive evil to uncover in the world, for sure. But there is more good to be found than we know about until we, first, acknowledge that it's there even though we've never heard of it, and second, that it is within the realm of our understanding, experience and appreciation if we reach for it. There is enough new/old, ancient and modern living to be done to keep us fascinated and turned toward an enhanced life.
Real life lives beyond positive thinking, beyond keys to success, beyond rules for good behavior, beyond and above doctrine, dogma and doxology. It is the undefined and undefinable spirit of possibility of which our daily lives are less than 1%. And it doesn't matter who we are or what we do we all have the right to look up and breath in that spirit.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
**********************
4, count 'em 4 days to answer the
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
William Cowper
***********************
Hello Geo
*********************
Isn't it odd how we spend most of our adult lives somewhere between asleep and alert? I used to wear a button on my denim jacket as I wound my way through the bars, clubs, diners, theatres and apartments of Greenwich Village during my Beat days, which read "Real Life Isn't Like This." I still have the button somewhere. You can probably imagine the comments I got from people who saw and read it. They ranged from the insulting to the inane.
The button was simply an emblem of my suggestion not to just take life as it appears to be, not to judge the Book of Life by it's cover. It wasn't, nor isn't, a supernatural life I'm vending but a super reality, a superior reality. I'm for lifting one's head above the ordinary, mundane and often insipid reality most of us are faced with on a daily basis. I'm for expectations. I'm for search and discovery.
It's a matter of consciousness, it's admitting and knowing there is a greater picture of things than we are used to. There is a more beautiful, freer, more elastic reality than the tight, sealed and predictable little reality we have grown accustomed to and, in fact, designed or allowed to be designed for us.
Think of those moments when you come cross something you've never heard of before. There is plenty of self-destructive evil to uncover in the world, for sure. But there is more good to be found than we know about until we, first, acknowledge that it's there even though we've never heard of it, and second, that it is within the realm of our understanding, experience and appreciation if we reach for it. There is enough new/old, ancient and modern living to be done to keep us fascinated and turned toward an enhanced life.
Real life lives beyond positive thinking, beyond keys to success, beyond rules for good behavior, beyond and above doctrine, dogma and doxology. It is the undefined and undefinable spirit of possibility of which our daily lives are less than 1%. And it doesn't matter who we are or what we do we all have the right to look up and breath in that spirit.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
**********************
4, count 'em 4 days to answer the
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Vagabondism 157
Vagabondism #157 "The door to happiness seems closed and locked when you are unable to give yourself to the one you love."
Open The Door
Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.
George Washington
***********************
Hello Linda
********************
One of the things I regret the most from my youth was having to make unfair and unnecessary adaptations in my speech and attitudes in order to accommodate the people around me. If I expressed my own opinion about something it was usually belittled, ridiculed and criticized. Furthermore, it was generally agreed upon by everyone that until a person reached the age of 21 he was completely incapable of thinking for himself. So that when I did make a statement I heard a scornful "Oh, is that so." or "Where did you hear that?" or other such comments. People thought they were correcting me when all they were doing was disagreeing with me.
In order to protect myself from this moral misdemeanor I learned, early on to not only keep my mouth shut but to act like I agreed with everyone. I got so good at it that I actually convinced myself I believed in certain things that weren't true. I didn't realize then what a betrayal of myself I was causing.
I began to believe that certain behavior was correct because the group of people I was with behaved that way. I developed prejudices and biases that were based on nothing. I formed attitudes about things that conformed to those around me. I did whatever I needed to so that I would be approved of and not criticized and harshly judged by others. In short I gave myself away.
I did make friends, real ones. And at first I was puzzled by why they approved of things that I had convinced myself were wrong. But slowly my horizon began to change. I was actually opening up some closed doors in my own thinking and to accept ideas that had been hidden behind those doors gathering dust. I started to ask myself what I really thought about something and to reason it out rather than to fall back on a safe and previous attitude. My words became better and less judgmental and my behavior improved. I was discovering my conscience.
I felt vigorous about leaving the unreasonable behind and standing on better moral ground. Rather than to conform, I became a vagabond. Rather than to satisfy the normality, I became an artist. And rather than agree with the inane I found a sense of humor.
Such a thing doesn't happen overnight. It takes a life.
The Vagabond
May you always have enough hay for your horse and wood for your stove.
And never give up.
***********************
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people. 5 days left.
It's a long, hot, wet, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
George Washington
***********************
Hello Linda
********************
One of the things I regret the most from my youth was having to make unfair and unnecessary adaptations in my speech and attitudes in order to accommodate the people around me. If I expressed my own opinion about something it was usually belittled, ridiculed and criticized. Furthermore, it was generally agreed upon by everyone that until a person reached the age of 21 he was completely incapable of thinking for himself. So that when I did make a statement I heard a scornful "Oh, is that so." or "Where did you hear that?" or other such comments. People thought they were correcting me when all they were doing was disagreeing with me.
In order to protect myself from this moral misdemeanor I learned, early on to not only keep my mouth shut but to act like I agreed with everyone. I got so good at it that I actually convinced myself I believed in certain things that weren't true. I didn't realize then what a betrayal of myself I was causing.
I began to believe that certain behavior was correct because the group of people I was with behaved that way. I developed prejudices and biases that were based on nothing. I formed attitudes about things that conformed to those around me. I did whatever I needed to so that I would be approved of and not criticized and harshly judged by others. In short I gave myself away.
I did make friends, real ones. And at first I was puzzled by why they approved of things that I had convinced myself were wrong. But slowly my horizon began to change. I was actually opening up some closed doors in my own thinking and to accept ideas that had been hidden behind those doors gathering dust. I started to ask myself what I really thought about something and to reason it out rather than to fall back on a safe and previous attitude. My words became better and less judgmental and my behavior improved. I was discovering my conscience.
I felt vigorous about leaving the unreasonable behind and standing on better moral ground. Rather than to conform, I became a vagabond. Rather than to satisfy the normality, I became an artist. And rather than agree with the inane I found a sense of humor.
Such a thing doesn't happen overnight. It takes a life.
The Vagabond
May you always have enough hay for your horse and wood for your stove.
And never give up.
***********************
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people. 5 days left.
It's a long, hot, wet, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Vagabondism 156
Vagabondism #156 "I wish to be always at the point of discovering." http://vagabondjourneys.blogspot.com/
The Artist And The Scientist
The fact that the other person in his own actuality is not me, is set against the equally real fact that my attachment to him is a part of me.
R. D. Laing
**********************
Simplicity is a prize, earned through the hard work and dedication of an artist, a scientist and anyone else engaged in a complicated and problematic profession. I always enjoyed the simple moments of my life, whenever I could arrange for them and justify them.
During Summer Theatre days on Cape Cod, when life was overflowing with things to do, I would find time to sit out at the end of the pier to see and hear the sea gulls and watch the water muscle it's way onto the shore, and not try to draw any metaphysical meanings out of it. Just to sit, watch and listen was a refreshing joy.
for a few years early in my career I was attached to the theatre department of a large New England college. I was an artist-in-residence. I worked as an actor, director and acting coach.
Those who know collage campuses know there are often strange juxtapositions. so right next to the Theatre building was the Biology building, both quite large. One of the biology professors was a man named Herb. He was a (an) herpetologist, a scientist who studies reptiles. In Herb's particular case the reptiles were turtles, tortoises. Herb lectured and taught, but he also had his lab where he did his research. He was one of the nation's authorities on tortoises.
As it happened Herb was also a next door neighbor. He had a wife and young son, who was the precise image of him in much smaller terms. Herb set aside one night a week when he was away from his family, just to allow everyone some breathing room. He would call me up and ask to come over, which I was always glad of. He would bring a couple of six packs and we would watch television.
He knew I was an actor but he never inquired into my work and I never asked him about his though I also knew what he did. We were just two guys drinking beer and watching TV. If we talked it was about something on the television.
The artist and the scientist sharing a simple evening together, just sitting, watching and listening, a part of each other's lives for a while;.
DB - Vagabond Journeys (the original)
Never give up.
**************************
SUMMER QUESTION
Only 6 days left.
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.
It's a long, hot, wet and sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have only until the last day of summer, so don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
R. D. Laing
**********************
Simplicity is a prize, earned through the hard work and dedication of an artist, a scientist and anyone else engaged in a complicated and problematic profession. I always enjoyed the simple moments of my life, whenever I could arrange for them and justify them.
During Summer Theatre days on Cape Cod, when life was overflowing with things to do, I would find time to sit out at the end of the pier to see and hear the sea gulls and watch the water muscle it's way onto the shore, and not try to draw any metaphysical meanings out of it. Just to sit, watch and listen was a refreshing joy.
for a few years early in my career I was attached to the theatre department of a large New England college. I was an artist-in-residence. I worked as an actor, director and acting coach.
Those who know collage campuses know there are often strange juxtapositions. so right next to the Theatre building was the Biology building, both quite large. One of the biology professors was a man named Herb. He was a (an) herpetologist, a scientist who studies reptiles. In Herb's particular case the reptiles were turtles, tortoises. Herb lectured and taught, but he also had his lab where he did his research. He was one of the nation's authorities on tortoises.
As it happened Herb was also a next door neighbor. He had a wife and young son, who was the precise image of him in much smaller terms. Herb set aside one night a week when he was away from his family, just to allow everyone some breathing room. He would call me up and ask to come over, which I was always glad of. He would bring a couple of six packs and we would watch television.
He knew I was an actor but he never inquired into my work and I never asked him about his though I also knew what he did. We were just two guys drinking beer and watching TV. If we talked it was about something on the television.
The artist and the scientist sharing a simple evening together, just sitting, watching and listening, a part of each other's lives for a while;.
DB - Vagabond Journeys (the original)
Never give up.
**************************
SUMMER QUESTION
Only 6 days left.
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.
It's a long, hot, wet and sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have only until the last day of summer, so don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Friday, September 16, 2011
Vagabondism 155
Vagabondism #155 "If your life is orbiting around a single reference point, make it a healthy one."
Art Thieves
It's not your painting any more. It stopped being your painting the moment that you finished it.
Jeff Melvain
*********************
NOTE: If you haven't answered the SUMMER QUESTION yet you only have 7 days to do it.
--------------------------------------------
Wednesday night was a night of change and adjustment for the local artists community. For several years we have had a gallery on the main street of this town but we closed it. The reason we did is because we well never sell anything from it, for two good reasons. First because there is no art buying public around and second because there is no any kind of public around. Sure, people live here, but this is a strange place in which nothing happens on the main street. There are some shops up and down, a few doctors' offices, a realtor and an attorney, but no customers. The supermarket is someplace else, so is the drug store and not far away there's the usual mall. There isn't even a movie theatre here. There is nothing to bring them to main street.
So we decided to take our art works down and close it up. And that's when the fun began. It was the stuff of a short story I might write someday. "The Burgling of the Gallery" or "The Gang of Art Thieves."
It was a very dark night when the bunch of us showed up there. The first thing was that we found the building which housed the gallery locked. Only one person knew the combination of the lock so we had to wait on the sidewalk while she showed up and managed with no light at all to open the lock and let us in. The next thing we discovered was that the electricity in the gallery had been shut off, no lights.
Now you have to picture a small crowd of mostly seniors poking around in the pitch dark, bumping in to each other, trying to find their paintings. I found one of mine, put it in a plastic bag, and went looking for the other one. When I thought I had found it I lit a match to make sure but all I could see were brush strokes, I couldn't tell one color from another. Some found pieces that belonged to artists who weren't there and there was a big discussion in the dark, among people who couldn't see each other, about what should be done with them. There was a lot of confusion.
In the middle of it all I began to get the giggles. I thought what if the police happened to drive by or if some passing motorist called them when they saw what was going on.
"EXTRA,EXTRA, Police conducted a raid last night where they nabbed a gang of thieves who had broken into a building on main street and were attempting to rob the local gallery of all its art works. On a tip from an anonymous bystander the police blocked off the street and entered the gallery where they found the robbery in progress.
All the alleged thieves were apprehended and the art works taken as evidence to be held until the appropriate trials. Some of those arrested were let out on bail or on their own recognizance when next of kin appeared. But one of them, a Mister Bate, who could provide no connections with any family in the area, is thought by police to be the gang leader and instigator of the theft. Bate has since been identified as a vagabond and is being held on charges of breaking and entering, attempted robbery, vagrancy, willful destruction of commercial property and unlawfully impersonating an artist. The crime is still under investigation."
Imagine. We night not ever see our paintings again.
Well, it didn't happen. We all got safely away with our work and now we have to figure out where we can open up again.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
*********************
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people. 7 days left.
It's been a long, hot, wet and sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Jeff Melvain
*********************
NOTE: If you haven't answered the SUMMER QUESTION yet you only have 7 days to do it.
--------------------------------------------
Wednesday night was a night of change and adjustment for the local artists community. For several years we have had a gallery on the main street of this town but we closed it. The reason we did is because we well never sell anything from it, for two good reasons. First because there is no art buying public around and second because there is no any kind of public around. Sure, people live here, but this is a strange place in which nothing happens on the main street. There are some shops up and down, a few doctors' offices, a realtor and an attorney, but no customers. The supermarket is someplace else, so is the drug store and not far away there's the usual mall. There isn't even a movie theatre here. There is nothing to bring them to main street.
So we decided to take our art works down and close it up. And that's when the fun began. It was the stuff of a short story I might write someday. "The Burgling of the Gallery" or "The Gang of Art Thieves."
It was a very dark night when the bunch of us showed up there. The first thing was that we found the building which housed the gallery locked. Only one person knew the combination of the lock so we had to wait on the sidewalk while she showed up and managed with no light at all to open the lock and let us in. The next thing we discovered was that the electricity in the gallery had been shut off, no lights.
Now you have to picture a small crowd of mostly seniors poking around in the pitch dark, bumping in to each other, trying to find their paintings. I found one of mine, put it in a plastic bag, and went looking for the other one. When I thought I had found it I lit a match to make sure but all I could see were brush strokes, I couldn't tell one color from another. Some found pieces that belonged to artists who weren't there and there was a big discussion in the dark, among people who couldn't see each other, about what should be done with them. There was a lot of confusion.
In the middle of it all I began to get the giggles. I thought what if the police happened to drive by or if some passing motorist called them when they saw what was going on.
"EXTRA,EXTRA, Police conducted a raid last night where they nabbed a gang of thieves who had broken into a building on main street and were attempting to rob the local gallery of all its art works. On a tip from an anonymous bystander the police blocked off the street and entered the gallery where they found the robbery in progress.
All the alleged thieves were apprehended and the art works taken as evidence to be held until the appropriate trials. Some of those arrested were let out on bail or on their own recognizance when next of kin appeared. But one of them, a Mister Bate, who could provide no connections with any family in the area, is thought by police to be the gang leader and instigator of the theft. Bate has since been identified as a vagabond and is being held on charges of breaking and entering, attempted robbery, vagrancy, willful destruction of commercial property and unlawfully impersonating an artist. The crime is still under investigation."
Imagine. We night not ever see our paintings again.
Well, it didn't happen. We all got safely away with our work and now we have to figure out where we can open up again.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
*********************
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people. 7 days left.
It's been a long, hot, wet and sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Vagabondism 154
Vagabondism #154 "When you enter someone else’s thinking don’t be frightened by what you find there."
http://vagabondjottings.blogspot.com/
http://vagabondjottings.blogspot.com/
Bon Appetit
A house without books is like a room without windows.
Horace Mann
****************
On September 8 I wrote in this journal that I sometimes say I don't read books, I eat them. Even with bad eyesight, books are a great pleasure in my life. During my career I didn't do as much reading of books as I would have liked to because I spent so much time reading scripts, the same scripts over and over again. There was no time left for literature of the fiction, non fiction variety.
When I was a child, due to the poor and often squalid living quarters, there wasn't much of interest to see out the windows, so I was a reader. Someone gave me a book of poems by Robert Leuis Stevenson which I loved. I soon found he had written a novel called "Treasure Island" so I read that.
I made ample use of the local library. The librarian was a very nice spinster who, even into her 60's, rode her bicycle back and forth to work. When she saw that I enjoyed "Treasure Island" she recommended Jules Verne to me. So I read many of the Verne novels beginning with "Mysterious Island." They gave me a taste for science fiction and prophesy, as some of those novels have come true (submarines, rapid air travel and the moon landing).
During my career I worked part time, when I was available, recording books for the blind, under a grant from The Library Of Congress. I recorded over 25 books, mostly fiction, with some philosophy. Because it was for the Library everything had to be correct, mistakes were not allowed. As a result I read every book carefully, painstakingly, as much as I would read the script of a play I was going to perform, because recording the book was a performance.
Hence, now I treat every book with the same meticulous care, and instead of reading them, I eat them. Meaning I read, reread and return to the books I love and remember. Every time I return to a book the landscapes are different, the dynamics have shuffled and the characters have all grown up. To open a book leads me into a strange and unexpected universe where I am an invited guest into the author's imagination. It is a journey into and through small towns, city streets, deep forests, across shifting dunes and into outer space. I go in front and beckon, take the author's hand or walk behind and follow every footprint. I look where the author points and see things I never see. I hear the silent sounds and taste the fruit. I have hundreds of windows stacked up under my windows, waiting to be eaten.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
********************
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
***********************
Horace Mann
****************
On September 8 I wrote in this journal that I sometimes say I don't read books, I eat them. Even with bad eyesight, books are a great pleasure in my life. During my career I didn't do as much reading of books as I would have liked to because I spent so much time reading scripts, the same scripts over and over again. There was no time left for literature of the fiction, non fiction variety.
When I was a child, due to the poor and often squalid living quarters, there wasn't much of interest to see out the windows, so I was a reader. Someone gave me a book of poems by Robert Leuis Stevenson which I loved. I soon found he had written a novel called "Treasure Island" so I read that.
I made ample use of the local library. The librarian was a very nice spinster who, even into her 60's, rode her bicycle back and forth to work. When she saw that I enjoyed "Treasure Island" she recommended Jules Verne to me. So I read many of the Verne novels beginning with "Mysterious Island." They gave me a taste for science fiction and prophesy, as some of those novels have come true (submarines, rapid air travel and the moon landing).
During my career I worked part time, when I was available, recording books for the blind, under a grant from The Library Of Congress. I recorded over 25 books, mostly fiction, with some philosophy. Because it was for the Library everything had to be correct, mistakes were not allowed. As a result I read every book carefully, painstakingly, as much as I would read the script of a play I was going to perform, because recording the book was a performance.
Hence, now I treat every book with the same meticulous care, and instead of reading them, I eat them. Meaning I read, reread and return to the books I love and remember. Every time I return to a book the landscapes are different, the dynamics have shuffled and the characters have all grown up. To open a book leads me into a strange and unexpected universe where I am an invited guest into the author's imagination. It is a journey into and through small towns, city streets, deep forests, across shifting dunes and into outer space. I go in front and beckon, take the author's hand or walk behind and follow every footprint. I look where the author points and see things I never see. I hear the silent sounds and taste the fruit. I have hundreds of windows stacked up under my windows, waiting to be eaten.
DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
********************
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
***********************
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Vagabondism 153
Vagabondism #153 "I want my joy to be extreme and my weather to be moderate. Is that too much to ask?"
I Sing Of Ben
A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
Nelson Mandela
********************
I love my life because it is life living. I love my mind because it is mind thinking. I love my heart because it is love loving.
I once read an essay where it was asked why the Japanese gentleman always puts his shoes together when he takes them off. The answer was that it would never occur to him not to.
I have known a few people who I would characterize as genuinely good. One of them was Ben. Ben spent his whole life in show business. As a child and young adult he was an entertainer, a singer performing with variety shows and on the circuits. Later he became an executive in the motion picture business. He was a religious man of deep, unshakeable faith. He treated everyone with kindness, forgiveness and respect. He never did a mean thing in his life. Why did he go through life being a gentle, good person? I think it was because it never occurred to him not to.
People like Ben are a life lesson for me. I wish I could be more loving and forgiving of others, but when the frustrations of life kick in and the rage bubbles up I forget about Ben and the others who manage to be beacons of positive behavior in the dark. I think it's a question of focus. The special, spectacular idiot with my name on him is always there, just under the surface, to rant, rage and get destructive. I know he's there and so I spend a lot of energy avoiding him. What that means is that a certain portion of my being is focused down the well of unhappiness. I haven't yet reached the Elysian fields where such things don't occur to me.
One of the big traps to snare me is my habit of getting enraged and frightened by political, social and world events. Ben never concerned himself with any of those things, never defended or attacked. He had his job which he loved. He had his family which he loved. He had his religion which loved. He had his music which he loved. He surrounded himself with love. He would never allow anything inharmonious or disturbing to enter that love. It would never occur to him. He faced the same troubles in his life that everyone else does but they didn't trouble him. His faith and his love were too strong. I admire Ben.
I am trying to anchor myself in the same sort of faith and love, to treat everyone with respect even if they seem not to deserve it, to love my enemies, to behave with equanimity, patience, a good mind and a good heart.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give up
*************************
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Nelson Mandela
********************
I love my life because it is life living. I love my mind because it is mind thinking. I love my heart because it is love loving.
I once read an essay where it was asked why the Japanese gentleman always puts his shoes together when he takes them off. The answer was that it would never occur to him not to.
I have known a few people who I would characterize as genuinely good. One of them was Ben. Ben spent his whole life in show business. As a child and young adult he was an entertainer, a singer performing with variety shows and on the circuits. Later he became an executive in the motion picture business. He was a religious man of deep, unshakeable faith. He treated everyone with kindness, forgiveness and respect. He never did a mean thing in his life. Why did he go through life being a gentle, good person? I think it was because it never occurred to him not to.
People like Ben are a life lesson for me. I wish I could be more loving and forgiving of others, but when the frustrations of life kick in and the rage bubbles up I forget about Ben and the others who manage to be beacons of positive behavior in the dark. I think it's a question of focus. The special, spectacular idiot with my name on him is always there, just under the surface, to rant, rage and get destructive. I know he's there and so I spend a lot of energy avoiding him. What that means is that a certain portion of my being is focused down the well of unhappiness. I haven't yet reached the Elysian fields where such things don't occur to me.
One of the big traps to snare me is my habit of getting enraged and frightened by political, social and world events. Ben never concerned himself with any of those things, never defended or attacked. He had his job which he loved. He had his family which he loved. He had his religion which loved. He had his music which he loved. He surrounded himself with love. He would never allow anything inharmonious or disturbing to enter that love. It would never occur to him. He faced the same troubles in his life that everyone else does but they didn't trouble him. His faith and his love were too strong. I admire Ben.
I am trying to anchor myself in the same sort of faith and love, to treat everyone with respect even if they seem not to deserve it, to love my enemies, to behave with equanimity, patience, a good mind and a good heart.
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give up
*************************
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Gremlin GONE
The frontiers are not closed and the doors are not all shut.
Maxwll Maltz
***********************
Until about 3:30 yesterday afternoon, Monday, September 12, all my frontiers were closed and all my doors were shut. Among all the other dead gremlins of my recent computer problems that litter my apartment there was one that would not die. I didn't want to discuss it on these pages, and in fact mentioned it to only a very few people, because I didn't want to cause the anger and frustration to those of you who would be affected.
On the first day of Summer I posted this question. "Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?" Then for the next several weeks I received 21 excellent answers from you. Most of you genuinely thought about the question. Your answers, both pro and con, were well thought through, articulate, compassionate and, in some cases, very personal.
On September 3rd, while AOL was working on another problem the entire file disappeared. The AOL technician managed to retrieve it. But on the 8th I discovered that it was missing again. Since then I have been frantically trying to get it back. Multiple phone calls were made to AOL. Verizon and HP seeking information, advice and hours of work. It was no use. No one could figure out what happened to it, how to find it or how to get it back. Altogether, from the 8th until 3:30 yesterday afternoon, I spent about 18 hours on the phone, and that's no exaggeration.
I thought I was going to write a journal entry for you with my humiliated apology for having lost all your superb efforts and deeply felt words. I was sure I would have to express the shame, rage and wretched sorrow I felt. I was already composing the entry.
But not wanting to give up I made one last, almost hopeless call to AOL, expecting once again to be told they couldn't find it and weren't able to restore it. Instead, my call was answered by a magician and miracle worker named Chris who spent an hour going in and out of esoteric files, charts and tables. Suddenly it appeared. SUMMER QUESTION ANSWERS, with everything in place.
If I could explain to you the anguish I have been through during the past week over this issue then you could appreciate my joy. Please share it with me. And if you haven't answered the Summer Question yet, WELL?............
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
********************
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Maxwll Maltz
***********************
Until about 3:30 yesterday afternoon, Monday, September 12, all my frontiers were closed and all my doors were shut. Among all the other dead gremlins of my recent computer problems that litter my apartment there was one that would not die. I didn't want to discuss it on these pages, and in fact mentioned it to only a very few people, because I didn't want to cause the anger and frustration to those of you who would be affected.
On the first day of Summer I posted this question. "Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?" Then for the next several weeks I received 21 excellent answers from you. Most of you genuinely thought about the question. Your answers, both pro and con, were well thought through, articulate, compassionate and, in some cases, very personal.
On September 3rd, while AOL was working on another problem the entire file disappeared. The AOL technician managed to retrieve it. But on the 8th I discovered that it was missing again. Since then I have been frantically trying to get it back. Multiple phone calls were made to AOL. Verizon and HP seeking information, advice and hours of work. It was no use. No one could figure out what happened to it, how to find it or how to get it back. Altogether, from the 8th until 3:30 yesterday afternoon, I spent about 18 hours on the phone, and that's no exaggeration.
I thought I was going to write a journal entry for you with my humiliated apology for having lost all your superb efforts and deeply felt words. I was sure I would have to express the shame, rage and wretched sorrow I felt. I was already composing the entry.
But not wanting to give up I made one last, almost hopeless call to AOL, expecting once again to be told they couldn't find it and weren't able to restore it. Instead, my call was answered by a magician and miracle worker named Chris who spent an hour going in and out of esoteric files, charts and tables. Suddenly it appeared. SUMMER QUESTION ANSWERS, with everything in place.
If I could explain to you the anguish I have been through during the past week over this issue then you could appreciate my joy. Please share it with me. And if you haven't answered the Summer Question yet, WELL?............
DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
********************
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Monday, September 12, 2011
Vagabondism 152
Vagabondism #152 "There is a phoenix inside of you. Know what to do when the flame erupts."
Day And Night
Still here. Trying to resolve serious computer problems. Loss of files.
DB
*****************8
DB
*****************8
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Wounds
It has been said on the phone, the Internet, by Verizon and local friends that no one knows of anyone who has had as much computer trouble as I have. I don't know if that is true but this last cyber attack has left me wounded.
I thought it might be interesting for people to know how I moved in here 2 days before the WTC came down and how if I had still been in NY I might have been in the building, stuck underneath it for hours in a subway or perhaps even seen it happen. I thought it might be of interest how in the early days of Vagabond Journeys, when I was posting nothing but quotes and occasional simple comments, I was discovered by the ever active, ever vital Linda of Washington State who began telling people about me and how I thus began making friends with a lot of people I never knew. I thought it might be of interest to tell about me becoming acquainted with the local art organization and how I got to exhibit some of my work and how I have published a few stories in a local paper. Maybe those things are of no particular interest to anyone but me. But to have an entry, written with a great feeling of love and appreciation for the good things that have come to me as a result of knowing the people I have met over the years, snatched away from me before I could even post it on my blog, has left me with a deep feeling of worthlessness.
During the 4 days of last week I spent altogether 14 hours with the phone pressed up against my ear so hard it hurt, trying to hear and understand someone who was trying to figure out what was wrong. That is not something I want to do again. Period.
I don't feel the inclination or enthusiasm to do any more writing after I post this. I'll wait until all the 9/11 memorials are over and then see where I am.
I haven't given up. There are more things to do in life.
DB
I thought it might be interesting for people to know how I moved in here 2 days before the WTC came down and how if I had still been in NY I might have been in the building, stuck underneath it for hours in a subway or perhaps even seen it happen. I thought it might be of interest how in the early days of Vagabond Journeys, when I was posting nothing but quotes and occasional simple comments, I was discovered by the ever active, ever vital Linda of Washington State who began telling people about me and how I thus began making friends with a lot of people I never knew. I thought it might be of interest to tell about me becoming acquainted with the local art organization and how I got to exhibit some of my work and how I have published a few stories in a local paper. Maybe those things are of no particular interest to anyone but me. But to have an entry, written with a great feeling of love and appreciation for the good things that have come to me as a result of knowing the people I have met over the years, snatched away from me before I could even post it on my blog, has left me with a deep feeling of worthlessness.
During the 4 days of last week I spent altogether 14 hours with the phone pressed up against my ear so hard it hurt, trying to hear and understand someone who was trying to figure out what was wrong. That is not something I want to do again. Period.
I don't feel the inclination or enthusiasm to do any more writing after I post this. I'll wait until all the 9/11 memorials are over and then see where I am.
I haven't given up. There are more things to do in life.
DB
Friday, September 9, 2011
Gone
This evening I wrote a piece for my journal about my 10th Anniversary of being here in Bristol. It was meant to express my joy and appreciation for my readers, friends and fellow bloggers. It was among some of the most compassionate, grateful and heartfelt writing I've ever done. At 10:15 the computer deleted the file it was saved in. It's gone.
I won't rewrite it. I can't. I'm brokenhearted.
DB
I won't rewrite it. I can't. I'm brokenhearted.
DB
Off Again
I came back from shopping this evening and couldn't sign on. I've been almost 5 hours on the phone with AOL to get back on. But I have lost some files. It has taken me until 11:30 to reestablish some of my important systems. Hence there will be no journal entry other than this.
Have I had enough computer trouble? Or is this just the constant issue of my life, like an ingrown toenail, or an addiction to strawberries. I absolutely refuse not to laugh about it or take any of it seriously. I will rage, and scream and pound on the keyboard with a hammer but don't expect me not to see the funny side.
Ever since Verizon took 45 days to get me on line, years ago, when I first started, my history with the computer has been such that no one would believe who hasn't been looking over my shoulder or sitting at my elbow, like Jacob Marley.
I fully expect that tomorrow will be an easy day with everything working right. But Monday morning I will have a virus that immediately changes everything I write into Chinese. Or else it will refuse to accept my name and accuse me of hacking.
But I wait, saber in hand. How many gremlins must I decapitate? My floor is getting very messy from all the ugly heads piling up. But, no matter what some people may think in their cobwebby minds, one of those heads is not going to be mine.
I'll take a bourbon on the rocks please. Thank you.
DB
Never Give Up
***********************
Have I had enough computer trouble? Or is this just the constant issue of my life, like an ingrown toenail, or an addiction to strawberries. I absolutely refuse not to laugh about it or take any of it seriously. I will rage, and scream and pound on the keyboard with a hammer but don't expect me not to see the funny side.
Ever since Verizon took 45 days to get me on line, years ago, when I first started, my history with the computer has been such that no one would believe who hasn't been looking over my shoulder or sitting at my elbow, like Jacob Marley.
I fully expect that tomorrow will be an easy day with everything working right. But Monday morning I will have a virus that immediately changes everything I write into Chinese. Or else it will refuse to accept my name and accuse me of hacking.
But I wait, saber in hand. How many gremlins must I decapitate? My floor is getting very messy from all the ugly heads piling up. But, no matter what some people may think in their cobwebby minds, one of those heads is not going to be mine.
I'll take a bourbon on the rocks please. Thank you.
DB
Never Give Up
***********************
Thursday, September 8, 2011
doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah
Everyday living requires courage if life is to be effective and bring happiness.
Maxwell Maltz
********************
I once said to a friend that I don't read books, I eat them. I can't remember the last time I read a book all the way through once that didn't deserve to be read even once. The books I read and love continue to provide me with layers of fascination. wonder and entertainment every time I go back to them.
In these days of Google, Wikipedia, Kindle and email will books ever die. I don't think so. A book is a beautiful thing, it looks great sitting on a shelf or the coffee table and feels very nice to hold in one's hand. But it doesn't mean a thing until you open it.
It takes courage to open a book, especially one you don't know. To open a book takes you into a foreign land, where there are people, events and ideas you may be discovering for the first time. What dangers, discoveries and challenges await you when you open a book and start to read? What is it about a book that it can fill your thoughts, occupy your mind and even change it?
I think it's the same with life. You wake up feeling okay, look at yourself in the mirror, brush your teeth, clean yourself up, get dressed, make yourself a cup of coffee and then what. Will it be an adventure or the same old hum drumity? Will you clean up the mess you made yesterday or will you leave it there? Will you deal with the problems looking you in the face or will you avoid them? Will you stick to your daily routine or will you try something new? Will you seek out the dangers lurking in the corners and face them down or will you hide? Will you be satisfied with your life the way it is or find ways to make it happier?
Life is the great experience that most of the time we take for granted. Life deserves to be lived to it's fullest and most joyous level of wonder, fascination and joy. It deserves to be taken by the covers and opened up. Otherwise what is life about? Or as Duke Ellington put it:
"It makes no difference
If it's sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Everything you've got
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing."
----------------------------------------------------
DB - of the true Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.
*********************
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Maxwell Maltz
********************
I once said to a friend that I don't read books, I eat them. I can't remember the last time I read a book all the way through once that didn't deserve to be read even once. The books I read and love continue to provide me with layers of fascination. wonder and entertainment every time I go back to them.
In these days of Google, Wikipedia, Kindle and email will books ever die. I don't think so. A book is a beautiful thing, it looks great sitting on a shelf or the coffee table and feels very nice to hold in one's hand. But it doesn't mean a thing until you open it.
It takes courage to open a book, especially one you don't know. To open a book takes you into a foreign land, where there are people, events and ideas you may be discovering for the first time. What dangers, discoveries and challenges await you when you open a book and start to read? What is it about a book that it can fill your thoughts, occupy your mind and even change it?
I think it's the same with life. You wake up feeling okay, look at yourself in the mirror, brush your teeth, clean yourself up, get dressed, make yourself a cup of coffee and then what. Will it be an adventure or the same old hum drumity? Will you clean up the mess you made yesterday or will you leave it there? Will you deal with the problems looking you in the face or will you avoid them? Will you stick to your daily routine or will you try something new? Will you seek out the dangers lurking in the corners and face them down or will you hide? Will you be satisfied with your life the way it is or find ways to make it happier?
Life is the great experience that most of the time we take for granted. Life deserves to be lived to it's fullest and most joyous level of wonder, fascination and joy. It deserves to be taken by the covers and opened up. Otherwise what is life about? Or as Duke Ellington put it:
"It makes no difference
If it's sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Everything you've got
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing."
----------------------------------------------------
DB - of the true Vagabond Journeys
Never give up.
*********************
SUMMER QUESTION
The end of Summer is fast approaching, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Dead Gremlins
I do not want to be depressed by the gap existing between my weakness and my ambition.
Ella Maillart
***************
That we are all capable of more than we do is a truism that almost anyone will agree to. It happens in everyone's life at some point, when we are pushed and shoved, or trip and fall into a situation over which we have no control, or so we think, that we find a strength, an intelligence and an ingenuity we didn't know we had. Those are the moments when we do things we can't do.
I have written about the elderly man I knew who came home to find his house ablaze and rushed into the flames to rescue his invalid wife. I think I wrote about the girl who was submerged for over 40 minutes in a raging river and when she was finally pulled out was taken dead to a hospital where she revived. You may remember the story of the man who had never flown an airplane but who took over the controls when the pilot suddenly passed out. He successfully landed the plane with no injury to the passangers.
From my own experiences I've told about lifting the back end of my totally dark and lifeless station wagon and hurling it several times to get it out of the middle of a super highway at night, about finding my way down off a mountain in the pitch dark and about going on to play a major second act role when I had only the first act to learn the lines.
I woke up last Saturday morning with a computer that had just about everything wrong with it that you can imagine. The only thing it did right was to turn on. I soon found that I had lost control of everything. I lost my blogs, your blogs, my dashboard, my Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin connections, my on line banking and credit card statements, all news and weather feeds, and what was most frightening, I had lost the Mail Waiting To Be Sent from the AOL Write Mail which contained, among other important things, the Summer Question and all of the 21 excellent answers. There were several other problems as well, most of them minor.
Between Saturday and now (Tuesday evening) I have spent about 10 hours on the phone with Verizon and AOL. There were very intelligent and helpful tech support people every call I made, but some of the problems were things they couldn't handle or didn't know how to approach. By Sunday evening I was a raging mad man, with my brains soaked in caffeine and nicotine.
On Monday still no one could tell me how to restore my dashboard. Without it I could not regain any of my blogs, which means I couldn't write on them or read them. For no reason and on no one's advice I decided to start a new blog, Vagabond Dump, (don't ask) and that gave me back the dashboard which, in turn, gave me back my blogs. I don't know yet what I will dump in Vagabond Dump. I won't dump you there, I promise, as long as you behave yourself.
Monday also brought a very nice woman from AOL who struggled for a long time but finally found the Mail Waiting To Be Sent file and restored it.
That left one major problem which was that I couldn't paste anything into my blog, as I will do with this semi articulate piece of self indulgence when I've finished it. The Vagabond Journeys simply would not accept anything copied from somewhere else.
I was just about to chuck the whole thing and go back to pen, paper and postage stamps when, Ah Ha !, intuition set in. I went crazy, going through my blog page, clicking on buttons that had nothing to do with the problem and one of them, I don't know which, worked.
Now I am able to cut, copy and paste, like we used to do in grammar school. And that means that I can continue to provide exhausting, verbose literary monsters for your reading "pleasure."
You're welcome.
------------------------
DB - The Restored Vagabond
Never give up.
***********************
SUMMER QUESTION
Summer is moving along, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Ella Maillart
***************
That we are all capable of more than we do is a truism that almost anyone will agree to. It happens in everyone's life at some point, when we are pushed and shoved, or trip and fall into a situation over which we have no control, or so we think, that we find a strength, an intelligence and an ingenuity we didn't know we had. Those are the moments when we do things we can't do.
I have written about the elderly man I knew who came home to find his house ablaze and rushed into the flames to rescue his invalid wife. I think I wrote about the girl who was submerged for over 40 minutes in a raging river and when she was finally pulled out was taken dead to a hospital where she revived. You may remember the story of the man who had never flown an airplane but who took over the controls when the pilot suddenly passed out. He successfully landed the plane with no injury to the passangers.
From my own experiences I've told about lifting the back end of my totally dark and lifeless station wagon and hurling it several times to get it out of the middle of a super highway at night, about finding my way down off a mountain in the pitch dark and about going on to play a major second act role when I had only the first act to learn the lines.
I woke up last Saturday morning with a computer that had just about everything wrong with it that you can imagine. The only thing it did right was to turn on. I soon found that I had lost control of everything. I lost my blogs, your blogs, my dashboard, my Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin connections, my on line banking and credit card statements, all news and weather feeds, and what was most frightening, I had lost the Mail Waiting To Be Sent from the AOL Write Mail which contained, among other important things, the Summer Question and all of the 21 excellent answers. There were several other problems as well, most of them minor.
Between Saturday and now (Tuesday evening) I have spent about 10 hours on the phone with Verizon and AOL. There were very intelligent and helpful tech support people every call I made, but some of the problems were things they couldn't handle or didn't know how to approach. By Sunday evening I was a raging mad man, with my brains soaked in caffeine and nicotine.
On Monday still no one could tell me how to restore my dashboard. Without it I could not regain any of my blogs, which means I couldn't write on them or read them. For no reason and on no one's advice I decided to start a new blog, Vagabond Dump, (don't ask) and that gave me back the dashboard which, in turn, gave me back my blogs. I don't know yet what I will dump in Vagabond Dump. I won't dump you there, I promise, as long as you behave yourself.
Monday also brought a very nice woman from AOL who struggled for a long time but finally found the Mail Waiting To Be Sent file and restored it.
That left one major problem which was that I couldn't paste anything into my blog, as I will do with this semi articulate piece of self indulgence when I've finished it. The Vagabond Journeys simply would not accept anything copied from somewhere else.
I was just about to chuck the whole thing and go back to pen, paper and postage stamps when, Ah Ha !, intuition set in. I went crazy, going through my blog page, clicking on buttons that had nothing to do with the problem and one of them, I don't know which, worked.
Now I am able to cut, copy and paste, like we used to do in grammar school. And that means that I can continue to provide exhausting, verbose literary monsters for your reading "pleasure."
You're welcome.
------------------------
DB - The Restored Vagabond
Never give up.
***********************
SUMMER QUESTION
Summer is moving along, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
21 interesting answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
Things
A World War One mess kit
A matching pair of imitation pearl bracelets
2 tubes of Max Factor grease paint
A jar of clown white
A set of worry beads
One of Axel's watches that no longer works
An unused A string, still wrapped in its paper
A miniature score of Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
A Theta Chi fraternity pin
A completelset of Wagner operas (13)
2 new pie tins
My grandmother's Bible
An Appalachian Trail Guide
A Basque beret
A metal walking cane
A pair of L L Bean winter boots
A photograph of a Russian ballet dancer
A sponge rubber bicycle seat
A pair of boxer shorts, worn on stage
A conductors baton
An unused clothes iron
A third prize art show ribbon
A complete Shakespeare
A dog named Angel, now gone
A cat named William, now gone
A first baseman's mitt
A bird feeder
A Wilke pipe
A photograph of Kirsten Flagstad
A tenor recorder
A violin
A bass drum stick
A stone from Mount Olympus
Women I've loved
Friends I've betrayed
Friends who betrayed me
Enemies I've made
A map to a buried treasure
A few things I have or once had
------------------------------
DB - The Almost Restored Vagabond
Never give up
******************************
A matching pair of imitation pearl bracelets
2 tubes of Max Factor grease paint
A jar of clown white
A set of worry beads
One of Axel's watches that no longer works
An unused A string, still wrapped in its paper
A miniature score of Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
A Theta Chi fraternity pin
A completelset of Wagner operas (13)
2 new pie tins
My grandmother's Bible
An Appalachian Trail Guide
A Basque beret
A metal walking cane
A pair of L L Bean winter boots
A photograph of a Russian ballet dancer
A sponge rubber bicycle seat
A pair of boxer shorts, worn on stage
A conductors baton
An unused clothes iron
A third prize art show ribbon
A complete Shakespeare
A dog named Angel, now gone
A cat named William, now gone
A first baseman's mitt
A bird feeder
A Wilke pipe
A photograph of Kirsten Flagstad
A tenor recorder
A violin
A bass drum stick
A stone from Mount Olympus
Women I've loved
Friends I've betrayed
Friends who betrayed me
Enemies I've made
A map to a buried treasure
A few things I have or once had
------------------------------
DB - The Almost Restored Vagabond
Never give up
******************************
Sunday, September 4, 2011
New Dasnboard
I created a new dashboard by creating a new blog, Vagabond Dump. Don't laugh. It worked. Now let's see the gremlin play with that.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
News of the day.
2 hours and 20 minutes on the phone with Verizon and AOL Verizon managed to restore my ability to post on Facebook. AOL determined that Google is acting up and so I still can't post comments on anyone's journal. In order to create a Vagabond Journey, I now write it on the Journal composition page then copy it to the AOL write page and thence on to my friends. The very nice woman at AOL also said that she had the same trouble posting comments years ago and that it finally corrected itself. So there' s hope.
Altogether I estimate that I have probably spent at least 9 months of my life on the phone with tech support or waiting for something to arrive in the mail.
Now I have drunk too many cups of coffee and smoked too many cigarettes, and my left ear is sore. It's a hell of a way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
All the "hellos"were me testing things out. Thank you for your patience and your gracious replies. If I feel like it I may write a Vagabond Journey for tomorrow, or I may drink a bottle of wine instead.
Never give up.
DB
Altogether I estimate that I have probably spent at least 9 months of my life on the phone with tech support or waiting for something to arrive in the mail.
Now I have drunk too many cups of coffee and smoked too many cigarettes, and my left ear is sore. It's a hell of a way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
All the "hellos"were me testing things out. Thank you for your patience and your gracious replies. If I feel like it I may write a Vagabond Journey for tomorrow, or I may drink a bottle of wine instead.
Never give up.
DB
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Crackpots Beware
I happen to believe that Science is not on the dark side of the moon. Maybe not Science as most of us are used to thinking about it: technology, engineering or medicine. A scientific fact is a fact that can be proved, it's a fact for which there is natural evidence.. That the Rapture did not happen means the methodology was wrong. Even the idea of ascending into the clouds, although the Bible puts it that way, is a crack pot idea if taken literally. Either God created the Universe or It did not. And one thing we know from being in outer space is that the Creator doesn't know anything about left and right, up and down, or maybe even in and out. I think any true scientist who gets beyond peering into microscopes or telescopes, playing around with test tubes or poking around in fields and forests, is probably capable of knowing more about an apocalyptic experience than any fundamentalist bible thumper. There's many a slip between the cup of the Holy Grail and the lip of the pastor who thinks he preaches it.
God did not visit Hurricane Irene on the East Coast to punish us for our wrongs. In the overall cosmic scheme of things wrongs punish themselves, they don't need a hurricane to do it. What are we to do? Lie back and let the ocean surge wash over us, destroy our homes and our lives, because it is God's will? Nuts!
The best, the most sacred way to worship any divine creator is to live, to conquer the dangerous forces, natural and human, that would destroy creation. We must exercise our endemic rights to survival and safety, to peace, health and prosperity.
We must fight against the forces that burn down forests, topple homes and flood farms. And we can win because we are creations and we have true science to help us. The meteorologists claim they were correct at predicting Irene's path but incorrect at predicting it's speed. So they are back in their laboratories learning more. Their correct predictions probably saved a lot of lives.
We must fight against the forces that hoard wealth, push people from their homes and pass laws that deprive people of their rights because of some bible thumping politicians who never look into the Holy Grail. We must rid our governments of the notion that they can legislate social and human behavior based on any particular religion's tradition. And we will win because we are human beings and we have true rationality to help us. And because, no matter how long it takes, we never give up.
DB - The Vagabond
*************************
SUMMER QUESTION
Summer is moving along, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
19 answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
God did not visit Hurricane Irene on the East Coast to punish us for our wrongs. In the overall cosmic scheme of things wrongs punish themselves, they don't need a hurricane to do it. What are we to do? Lie back and let the ocean surge wash over us, destroy our homes and our lives, because it is God's will? Nuts!
The best, the most sacred way to worship any divine creator is to live, to conquer the dangerous forces, natural and human, that would destroy creation. We must exercise our endemic rights to survival and safety, to peace, health and prosperity.
We must fight against the forces that burn down forests, topple homes and flood farms. And we can win because we are creations and we have true science to help us. The meteorologists claim they were correct at predicting Irene's path but incorrect at predicting it's speed. So they are back in their laboratories learning more. Their correct predictions probably saved a lot of lives.
We must fight against the forces that hoard wealth, push people from their homes and pass laws that deprive people of their rights because of some bible thumping politicians who never look into the Holy Grail. We must rid our governments of the notion that they can legislate social and human behavior based on any particular religion's tradition. And we will win because we are human beings and we have true rationality to help us. And because, no matter how long it takes, we never give up.
DB - The Vagabond
*************************
SUMMER QUESTION
Summer is moving along, people.
It's a long, hot, sticky summer, so here's a hot, sticky question for you.
Same sex marriage. Should it be legal or not? If so, why? If not, why not?
dbdacoba@aol.com
19 answers so far.
You have until the last day of summer, but don't dally.
I eagerly await your answer.
DB
************************
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