Mad Macedonian

Was It Something I Wrote? Upsetting a Liberal Over Something On the Santa Ana River Trail

Well, well, well, what have we here?

Just because I have not been sharing my thoughts here, as usual, does not mean such thoughts have not been shared or been responded to elsewhere.

This happened way back in August....all because of something I wrote after I left a comment on the EverWalk Facebook Group, telling a woman visiting Anaheim, Ca. not to walk along the Santa Ana River Trail due to a massive, drug and crime infested, dirty homeless encampment and mentioned the encampment of illegals in the civic center of Downtown Santa Ana, a Sanctuary City (By the way, in case you did not know it the whole state has since become a "Sanctuary State" thus opening up a whole new can of worms for business owners in the state).

Via Messenger, this was sent me by a white, female, Masachusetts, Far Left Liberal...

LIB -- Kiril....hi, J here from everwalk...wanted to let you know i'm a bit taken back by your comment 'severe homeless'...perhaps it might be a nice idea to bring a case of cold water or lemonade to drink...most often it's mental illness, addiction, bad luck and/or government policies that force a person to live without a permanent home...

I fired back and the conversation went about as well as you would expect...

ME -- J, until 2012 I lived in SoCal all my life and saw how the homeless problem exacerbated since the 70s...my father was mentally ill and if he had lived long enough to see the gutting of the mental health system in the 90s he would have been turned out of a state hospital and been living on the streets...Downtown LA has cleaned up its notorious skid row only a little as it revitalized it's Downtown, but all that did was move the problem to areas it did not exist in before...and if govt. leaders hamper the ability to do something about it, either via the community or law enforcement you have dangerous conditions as reported in articles about this stretch and about the large encampment of illegals in the nearby Santa Ana Civic Center, due to it being a Sanctuary City...I see similar situations cropping up in Houston, where liberal politicians and activism also hamper the ability to solve these problems....I live paycheck to paycheck and support safe walking and cycling initiatives and part of that is encouraging those with the power and resources to effect positive change through cleaning up the problems of encampments and panhandlers (many of whom are just lazy opportunists and not really homeless) for the betterment of all.

LIB -- I have never met a human being who was illegal or illegitimate...those are names people apply...we are on opposite sides of the spectrum...i don't care to speak to someone of your ilk as it is quite a waste of my time...seems you have drunk the kool aid...i wish you well.......

Finding Inspiration as the New Year Begins

As I head into a new year and down the home stretch toward the latest milestone in my 15+ years as a blogger I am proud of my writing and the many accomplishments under my belt and grateful for the support and encouragement that has come my way.

In my writing, while my audience has never been much to speak of there have been many times where, as a bike blogger, walking blogger, cat blogger, photographer, poet, storyteller, and more, via my various blogs, I have made a difference.

Over the past 7 months, as I have been unable to blog much, I kept receiving unique bits of encouragement and inspiration via silly online quizes and things found on Facebook.

I want to share some of these things, not just to remind myself of them, but to encourage others as well.

Stay patient and trust your journey...

The longer you hang in there, the greater the chance that something will happen in your favor - Jack Canfield

Give yourself credit for trying. Be more kind and patient with yourself. You've come really far. Don't forget how strong you are.

What This Opinionated and Creative Writer, Walker and Photographer Wears in Houston in 2018 #4

This is the final entry in a 4 part series sharing my recent wardrobe additions meant to reflect who I am, personally and creatively, as a resident of Houston and heading into 2018 (Part 1 is here).

 

Seven years ago, New Year's Day, I debuted a cat blog, after 8 years of cat blogging on my personal blogs, with my cat Mr. Nikita....

It didn't take us long before we were stirring things up a bit, hee, hee!

On January 9, 2010 Nikita posted the 3rd variation of an essay of his, completely updated with new links, in defense of a word.

May I Have a Word?

As he wrote at the time:

"I am an Opinionated Pussycat who refuses to be embarrassed into surrendering my species historical right to represent the meaning of a word."

What he did next, as linked to at the end of that post, later that month, then in June and finally in December, is legend...

at least among those in the Cat Blogosphere who remember it.

As he also wrote:

"It is my hope that, with a vibrant, mature, and intelligent, Cat Blogosphere I can encourage others, Feline, and Human, to write their own thoughts on this essay, and how to approach the use of this word, and all its spellings (Pussy, Pussies, Pussys, Pussy's)."

 

The other shirt I had made last Fall was a colorful update of the original shirt, introduced that January 2010, for getting the attention of a new generation of my fellow citizens, not just those not easily offended and shocked, but especially "Snowflakes" and "SJW's or Social Justice Warriors", easily offended and outraged folks who freak out and run for their "Safe Spaces" or demand those expressing views they disagree with shut up and go away and get noisy and sometimes even violent, when they don't.

Language Police and Thought Police wannabe's who have become the scourge of college campuses and other places all across America over the past several years.

 

What This Opinionated and Creative Writer, Walker and Photographer Wears in Houston in 2018 #3

 

I have been a walker all my life....using my own 2 feet and mass transit to go where I needed, or wanted, to go when not riding my bike to do so.

This is the 3rd of 4 posts sharing my recent wardrobe additions meant to reflect who I am, personally and creatively, as a resident of Houston and heading into 2018 (Part 1 is here).

After buying the other shirts I got inspired to think of ways to create my own and, as part of that, even re-invent an old shirt I had made in 2010 for a new audience (That will be a story for the next entry in this series.)

I went to a shop out on Highway 6, in NW Houston, to have 2 shirts made: This one was the first.

 

I wanted to find a way, unique to me, to let my fellow Houstonians know of this interesting creative person in their midst and encourage them to pay my blogs a visit.

I walk to inspire my creativity and am a poet, storyteller, humorist, pundit, walker and cyclist.

Yeah, I know, I forgot to include photographer....something I will rectify by getting another shirt made to replace this one when I can.

As spring was ending I discovered not just a local walking club, but a national one as well and decided to join both as the local was actually affiliated with the national.

Over the summer and early fall, as a member of these groups, walking stick and cell phone camera in tow, I took a number of walks in the downtown and mid-town areas of Houston, meeting fellow walking enthusiasts along the way, in person and online.

I hope to soon share more about these groups and my walks, so stay tuned.

NEXT UP: The final entry in the series.

What This Opinionated and Creative Writer, Walker and Photographer Wears in Houston in 2018 #2

 

 

As I wrote in the previous post I  decided to make changes in my wardrobe, for 2018. to express who I am creatively and as a resident of Houston and reflect my hopes for a better personal and creative year ahead.

As far back as the 1990's, when I began to do more with my cycling than just be a commuter to and from work, I also began to take more photographs.

When I became a blogger in 2002 I found reasons to do more and more photography, on my personal blogs, as a bike blogger and as a cat blogger.

When I discovered this shirt I KNEW I had to have it....It reflected my love of photography and my sense of humor (a 10 second public video, on my Facebook, shows that, hee, hee!)

As for my Stetson and the return of pins to their place on it...they reflect my politics and my love of walking and cycling, as well as where I live and that my ancestors fought on both sides of the Civil War and I don't feel the need to ignore that fact, or denounce it.

The 5 pins above the headband reflect my joining the American VolksSporting Association...America's Walking Club.

As the year moves on I hope to add more pins.

NEXT UP: Part 3

What This Opinionated and Creative Writer, Walker and Photographer Wears in Houston in 2018 #1

As 2017 headed down the final stretch I decided that 2018 was going to be a year of creativity and exploration of as much of Houston, Harris County and their neighbors as I could find time to explore on foot and by bike and bus.

That was part of the reason I joined a local and a national walking club.

I also wanted to do new things to express my creativity and bring attention to my blogging and photography.

The first step was changing my wardrobe a bit.

I am a pedestrian, someone who uses the sidewalks, sidewalk-less streets and walking/biking trails of his community to get around with, or without the assistance of a bike, or mass transit.

I am the person you see in the crosswalk, crossing the street at intersections where there are no crosswalks...and jaywalking.

Yes, jaywalking...in Houston, while many folks do it because they are in a hurry to get somewhere, catch a bus, or are too lazy to use a crosswalk, I have found myself in situations where I find crossing at an intersection, with or without a crosswalk, too dangerous and therefore wait for a clear space to cross a street safely in the middle of a block.