Mad Macedonian

My Thanksgiving Day, in Words, & Pictures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best moment of the day actually occurred on the early morning bus ride to the Honda Center, where I was going to be among the thousands to partake of a hearty meal offered up by an organization tied to a local Hispanic Restuaranteur who had begun providing such meals 25 years ago.

I call this story Bachelor Survival Recon Mission: Holiday Military Edition...

I got on the bus, around 930am, and found myself sitting near a young Hispanic man, in his early 20's at the most, wearing what appeared to be a military uniform under his coat.

He's chatting with someone on his IPhone, and telling them that he's on a 72 hr. leave, & about to pick up his girlfriend, from her job, at the Block of Orange.

He's gonna take her to the movies, then go to Thanksgiving dinner at her parents house...to meet them for the very first time. ;-D

He's got his Dress Uniform with him.

He's also taking his parents advice...& not going empty handed. ;-D

When he got off the phone, & got up to exit the bus...I extended my hand, said, "Hey General, Happy Thanksgiving, thank you for your service, good luck with the girl, & her parents, nd stay safe!"

He looked surprised, then smiled, stuck out his hand for mine, and said Thank You...then he headed off the bus. ;-D

I had to walk a 1/4 mile to Honda Center, & once I arrived I found my way to the end of a line that was already getting long with 45 minutes until start time.

 Tables , & a stage, were set up in a parking lot on the Katella Ave. side of the arena, & Jr. ROTC Cadets, all in uniform, some dressed to the nines in uniforms with coats on which a ton of medals were afixed, were patrolling the lines, & passing out bottles of water, among other duties.

 10 minutes after I got in the line a younf female cadet approached me, & asked me to come with her.

 I asked her why, & she said I was being chosen to go to the front in a different line.

Apparently something to do with older people, & the handicapped.

 She pulled a gray-bearded, older, man, & his companion, out, & we looked at each otehr, shrugged our shoulders, & chatted, as we  followed her to a small, but growing, line, with people in wheelchairs, & a kid with a walker, & their accompanying families.

 One of my companions, Robert, & I, looked around, & noticed  a few others being added to our line.

 We assumed this must have been some random thing where the cadets were told to choose a "lucky few", & the only reason I could think for my being among them was the cadet had seen the way I walked on my ankle.

 Finally the line moved, & we were headed in.

 We were almost stopped before we started, though.

There were non-ROTC volunteers at the entrance to the food serving area, & a man took one look at  me, & my companions, & asked us who we were with, & why we were in this line.

I told him that we followed the request of a cadet, & he said the line was for the disabled.

I smiled, pointed at my feet, & said, 'Well, I got a broken ankle!"

He retorted, "That doesn't count!". but he let us through, anyway.

 

WARNING: Conservative Carrying Camera! 2 -- Take Back Irvine!

Hello, fellow Patriots!

It's me, The Mad Macedonian, a sort of 1 man Patriotic CCC (Civilian Conservative Corp, um, hee, hee!) for the 21st Century. ;-D (For late comers the series began, and is explained, here)

Take Back Your Republic! Times Up! ;-D

Yesterday, I was out, and about, doing some clothes shopping, when I decided to take a peek at Occupy Irvine.

The City Council, in an effort to make nice, and show their willingness to let people express themselves so long as they don't bring down property values, and cause a rucus, has allowed the Irvine contingent of Occupy Orange County, and Occupy Wall St., camp out on the sidewalk at the Civic Center.

The intersection, at Harvard & Alton, is a wide one, and my bus stop was far enough away that I couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary, and could barely hear the demand of, "No Pictures!", when I set up my camera on my hiking pole, and took the photo. ;-D

Not wanting to cross the street to the bus stop for the bus I next wanted to catch, since it was within smelling, and interaction, distance, of the Useful Idiots, I walked 3 blocks to the next bus stop. ;-D

WARNING: Conservative Carrying Camera!

The last 2 months, or so, have seen the Media & the Far Left, working overtime to embarrass the hell out of themselves, participating in, and supporting, the nationwide Occupy Wall St. Movement (OWS), full of Liberals, Socialists, Commies, Anarchists, and assorted other Radicals, as well as the generally clueless.

From the President himself, to Democrat politicians, to Mayors, City Councils, and Religious leaders, on down, The Useful Idiots are EVERYWHERE!

Like most Americans, especially of a certain political persuasion, I'm more than a little annoyed with these people, and more than a little concerned about the future of the Republic.

In case you haven't noticed things have sort of gone to Hell in a Handbasket, under President Obama, since he bamboozled the American Electorate into voting him into office in November 2008.

R U better off than you were 3 years ago? Me neither.

I could tell, even then, even reading the sorry excuse for a newspaper that is The Los Angeles Times, that we were in serious trouble.

This was even before I put on my Pajamas, and went online to check out the news from dedicated, reliable, mostly Conservative in nature, sources. ;-D

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Pulitzer Winning Journalist Al Martinez, & Me --

Is the world obsessed with Nudity?

Is it true that anyone looking at this picture will be at first curious about a certain aspect of it, then intensly interested in whether their suspicions about it are true, or not, lusting after that which this suspicion makes them imagine is hidden in plain sight?

According to Mr. Martinez the Puritans would not be pleased with this simple, ambiguous, bit of whimsy. ;-D )

*******

I have used my camera to express myself politically since my misbegotten days as a Liberal, attending a Clinton Campaign Rally at a park in Ontario, Ca., in the early 90's, and I've been doing so, even more, once I became a registered Republican, my politics having gradually become more Conservative, right around the time I was a couple years into my life as a blogger around 2002-04.

As we head into 2012, the campaign for President heats up, and OWS, and Socialists, Commies, and Anarchists, continue to act up, I'll be wielding my camera once again. ;-D

Beginning with this post....

 

Reaching a Fork in the Road That is the Journey of My Life

I've lived alone for most of the last 22 years, and I thought I had a good job but then a seizure, and my decision to leave the job (A right one, I know).

I thought I was on the right track with my computer training, then I go and do something stupid with my ankle, and it seems all I can think about is how to set things right with that, and where do I go from there.

It's been over a year, now, since my unemployment began.

Sometimes the future has looked very cloudy, to me, making it hard to see very far ahead, or think clearly about a new direction in my life.

I haven't given up, I just don't know the best way to proceed, and that hurts.

I have these little Plaques on my wall....

Next Time You Ride Public Transit Notice the Activity Around You

Writer Julia Cameron, of The Artist's Way fame, and the several other, related, books that came after describes an Artist Date this way, more or less:

In seeking to nurture our creativity, we need adventures that can be counted on. We are out to romance or woo our artist. We do so by taking a weekly solo expedition to do something that is just plain fun. As with any date, the planning is a part of the adventure. The anticipation is a large part of what makes it special....An Artist date is an adventure, a lark, a flier in to the unknown, that gives our inner creative youngster some time and attention and a chance to speak to us, and expect to hear the unexpected.

Artist Dates connect us to a larger and more fascinating world than our normal beaten path.

When I think about it I've been taking myself on Artist Dates for the last decade, and never knew it.

Mostly via my long bike rides, but also trips to parks, museums, the movies, Open Mic Poetry Readings, a genealogy convention, trips to phoenix, Chicago, Virginia, and Washington DC, and just riding the bus around town on errands, I have often found creative inspiration for my writing efforts as a blogger.

I've recently begun reading the Cameron books, beginning with Artist's Way, and begun doing the Morning Pages, and other exercises, all in an effort to recharge my Creative Mojo.

On Monday afternoon I took a bus, and train trip, from my home in Santa Ana, to Downtown Pasadena.

Often, when riding the bus, or train, I spend the time reading a book, or the newspaper, however, this time I decided to do what Julia suggested, and pay attention to those around me on the bus. ;-D

What follows are my notes from the journey:

The MTA 460 leaves Disneyland, at 11:40am, with a dozen passengers, & will be packed by the time we reach downtown Los Angeles.

A huge American flag can be seen hanging on the outside wall of the Ramada Inn, on Disney Way.

Across from me sits a young Hispanic Mother, in blue jeans & brown shirt. She has a dark yellow purse/bag in her lap, and one hand clutching the handle of a folded , cheap, purple stroller. Her 2 yr. old boy sits next to her in the window seat, looking out the window.

Up toward the front of the bus sits a 40ish black woman, in a flowery blouse, who hasn't stopped chatting on her cell phone since we got on the bus.

Across from her sits an elderly Hispanic man, in a black baseball cap, fast asleep. ;-D

I look out the window, up at the partly cloudy skies, as we leave the Fullerton Park & Ride Station, off La Palma, and I see a huge Military Transport Helicopter heading, no doubt, toward the base in Seal Beach.

2 young ladies, from a local Technical Med School, are now sitting behind me in the back of the bus, and a young Hispanic lady in a white sweater, with a beautiful yellow flower of some sort tying her long hair back, is sitting up front across from the Cell Phone Chatter.

Thankfully, the noise of the bus is too loud to hear Cell Phone Lady from where I sit, and too bad I also can't hear the 2 ladies behind me. ;-D

As we pass Knott's Berry Farm I'm reminded that it's been more than  20 years since I last visited the place, & the last time I visited Disneyland was during construction of Toon Town!

Utterly disgraceful behavior to admit for a native Southern Californian, I know. ;-D

Oh, look! At the 1/2 hour mark of our journey Cell Phone lady turns it off, & suddenly remembers her young male traveling companion sitting next to her!

Meanwhile...across from her is an Hispanic lady, with braided hair, studiously filing her finger nails, while  also, alternately,  picking her nose.

The interesting thing about her is how, when "Going for the Gold", she turns her head face front, as if this will prevent the other 25 bus passengers from noticing what she is doing. ;-D

As we approach La Mirada Ave. an 18 wheeler passes us on our left, & I notice 2 large yellow sickers, with black writing, on the back door.

The left one says, "Passing Side", and the right one says, "Suicide".

By the time I got my camera out for a picture it was too late, darn it! ;-D

Meanwhile our fingernail filing nose picker has her eyeliner, & make-up kit out, Cell Phone lady is on the phone again, & the sleeping Baseball cap guy is awake, though, since he is across from these 2 fine ladies, he probably wishes he was still asleep. ;-D

 

How Is It Possible to Believe in God?

In looking over old posts, from my original blog, which ran from 2002 to Oct. 2007, I came across 13 "Draft" posts that for whatever reason, from incompleteness, to senility, & forgetfulness, on my part, had never made it onto the blog. ;-D

Only one of them was worth saving, and here it is, a post intended to appear on Nov. 30, 2006, after Thanksgiving, and as the Christmas Season was beginning (Only the Links have been updated since the originals no longer work.). ;-D

In my life I've read more than a few books of a religious natutre, from Oral Roberts, to a History of Christianity by an author I don't remember, though I do remember the book was quite lengthy.

I even took a Bible as Literature course in College, in the late 70's.

I also read the Bible, & watched Jerry Falwell on Sundays way back when. ;-D

This year I've bought 2 new Bibles, and begun to read again, after years of  not having done so.

NIV Study Bible

The American Patriot's Bible

I've also read, this year...

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

What's So Great About Christianity? by Dinesh D'Souza

I've also bought, and plan to read the following...

CHRISTIANITY: The First Three Thousand Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch (1161 pages!)

The Reformation: A History by Diarmaid MacCulloch (831 pages)

Here is the post I wrote, but never posted.

Your thoughts are welcome in the comments....

Does God Exist, and whose God is She anyway?

Those 2 questions have been at the center of so much in human history, from the 1st moment some Homo Sapien chap started worshiping that odd shaped rock at the top of a hill near his tribal cave, to our current concerns centering around the major religions of the Modern Age. 

This I Believe
How Is It Possible to Believe in God?

William F. Buckley, Jr.

National Public Radio's Morning Edition, May 23, 2005

I've always liked the exchange featuring the excited young Darwinian at the end of the 19th century. He said grandly to the elderly scholar, "How is it possible to believe in God?" The imperishable answer was, "I find it easier to believe in God than to believe that Hamlet was deduced from the molecular structure of a mutton chop."

That rhetorical bullet has everything -- wit and profundity. It has more than once reminded me that skepticism about life and nature is most often expressed by those who take it for granted that belief is an indulgence of the superstitious -- indeed their opiate, to quote a historical cosmologist most profoundly dead. Granted, that to look up at the stars comes close to compelling disbelief -- how can such a chance arrangement be other than an elaboration -- near infinite -- of natural impulses? Yet, on the other hand, who is to say that the arrangement of the stars is more easily traceable to nature, than to nature's molder? What is the greater miracle: the raising of the dead man in Lazarus, or the mere existence of the man who died and of the witnesses who swore to his revival?

The skeptics get away with fixing the odds against the believer, mostly by pointing to phenomena which are only explainable -- you see? -- by the belief that there was a cause for them, always deducible. But how can one deduce the cause of Hamlet? Or of St. Matthew's Passion? What is the cause of inspiration?

This I believe: that it is intellectually easier to credit a divine intelligence than to submit dumbly to felicitous congeries about nature. As a child, I was struck by the short story. It told of a man at a bar who boasted of his rootlessness, derisively dismissing the jingoistic patrons to his left and to his right. But later in the evening, one man speaks an animadversion on a little principality in the Balkans and is met with the clenched fist of the man without a country, who would not endure this insult to the place where he was born.

So I believe that it is as likely that there should be a man without a country as a world without a creator.

I swear... Every damn time one turns around there is Buckley saying, or writing, something profound, and thought provoking.

When I 1st watched him on TV, decades ago, his distinctive voice annoyed the hell out of me!

I'm used to it now. ;-D

So is there a God?

Was the story of The Last Supper the fevered scribbling of some 1st century hack suffering from a bad case of the Munchies?

I See and Hear...People 6: Your Cell Phone and You

Has it really been 4 years since the last entry in this series?

My Bad!

I really must remember to make note of the more, um, interesting things I see, and hear, on my travels. ;-D

As regular readers know, up thru last August, I had spent 6 years as a Directory Assistance Operator handling calls from Cell Phone users.

I often wondered, on some of the more strange calls, if the person on the other end was in a public place, with people within easy hearing? ;-D

For instance, take this example from 2005:

In this job you get up close and personal with man's, and woman's, penchant for the odd, and humorous in the naming of their business establishments, and even in the naming of their children.

One day I had an interesting example of this.

ME: City, and State, please...

SHE: Burien, Washington... Love Package.

ME: ( VERY PREGNANT PAUSE ), yeesss...

SHE: I'm looking for Love Package.

ME: ( a huge smile in my voice ) So, you are looking for a Love Package in Burien?

SHE: ( Laughing ) Yes, it's a business.

ME: Okaaay...  ( In my most deeply disappointed sounding voice ) I'm sorry, there are no Love Packages in Burien, or the surrounding area...

SHE: ( more laughter ) Oh, okay, thanks for looking.

I never did learn just WHAT the Love Package was, or if it even involved a WHO.

Was she single, and really looking for a MR. Love Package, or was she looking for something to recharge her hubbys batteries?

Enquiring minds want to know!

Well, an Operator with an over active imagination does anyway! :-D

 In 2006, John Dvorak wrote an interesting, and amusing, essay that is called:

Why I hate the mobile-phone business Commentary: People act crazy and the phones are junk