As....You.....Wish.......

If only the Farm Boy knew the wisdom within those words:

I guess I grew up in a very different world.  Possibly in a time paradox all my own that seems to surpass any concept understood by few below the age of 25. I grew up with a blatant understanding that family would always let you know what their opinion was about something you said or did and if you didn't want their opinion you shouldn't have made what ever it was public.  However, I also always knew that I could always do my own thing and have my own opinion and no matter how much I screwed up and how different my opinion was from what my family though, they would still be there for me when I needed them. 

That being said; FB has become another way to both keep up and watch out for your family.  So for those overly opinionated or concerned family members there is the beauty of being able to limit what is viewed and by whom; which admittedly comes in handy.  I also understand that I am a very blunt person and not everyone is appreciative of that, but if you don't want my opinion on something, don't make it public.  So because I am so publicly honest I understand if a family member or even friend decides to limit what I may or may not view and admittedly, knowing some of my friends/family, I may even appreciate it. However, if you consider a person to be family or a friend you don't delete that person.  There are several reason for this both for yourself and that person.  You never know when something might happen and that said person might need to get in touch with you about something, or you might want to know what's going on with, let's say for example, your sick brother because everyone knows that when he's in the hospital the easiest way to get an update on when he's in/out of surgery or tests or whatever before you MAY decide to call is to check his wife's FB.  But if you have deleted said wife you may not be able to get information as easily.  It's also a huge slap in the face quite honestly. 

Maybe it's just me, but if someone I had to interact with on a regular basis, and who was family or considered themselves my friend, was to be so rude as to delete me I would give them what they wanted.  It would be assumed that if you deleted me, you have no interest in anything I have to say. Therefore, being the obligatory person I can be, you would no longer have to worry about hearing what I had to say.  In fact, you could probably hang up having just about any conversation with me for a while.  Admittedly I tend to stew on things, and it's not until things in my head have settled down to a simmer that it is even a good idea to consider approach.  So for those family/friends who no longer wish to hear what I have to say:  It's like my Papa Nichols always said, "I may not be able to do much for you, but if you just want to be left alone, I can definitely do that."  So consider it done.

Celebrations, Jackasses, Clint Eastwood & 10¢

April 30, 2011 - Osama bin Ladin is finally dead.  There are cheers and celebrations in the streets as people applaud the death of "the big bad wolf."  The goose is finally cooked as they say.  But is it just to celebrate. 

To me it was more like finally having closure after the devastation that happened on 9/11.  Nearly 10 years of waiting and the man who shouldered the responsibility for the events has finally been put to rest.  But an article written by NPR said it best -"I don't think that the celebrations in the streets were our finest moment as Americans, and reminded me much of the anger I felt at seeing Afghans dancing in the streets at the fall of the Towers on that dreaded day."

It really bothered me to see that so many were actually elated that another soul had been damned and had missed the opportunity for repentance and salvation.  Don't get me wrong - I am not a holy roller by any means and would never consider myself the best representative of the Christian faith but it just seemed wrong to celebrate the death of a soul I knew was not going to a better place. 

There are times to celebrate a death.  I have raised a glass to many that have gone on before me as I knew they were in better hands than any found here on earth.  But maybe it was my "raisin's " that just wouldn't allow me to find joy in that moment.  A sense of relief - yes; but joy - not at all.  It was more like finally getting to the end of one of Daddy's never ending westerns where the bad man was finally put to justice and the heroes rode off into the sunset leaving behind much devastation and no real resolutions.  (Remind you of almost every Clint Eastwood western you ever saw?)  There's no real satisfaction in the ending, just the knowledge that there's one less bad guy in the world.  You'll also have to excuse me if I don't exactly trust the governments in all of this either.  To give you an idea using my Clint Eastwood reference again: I totally expect them to come out and have the ah-ha moment and we're all left standing around in disbelief as the nun turns out to be a common whore  so it was no wonder she was surrounded by jackasses.  (i.e. Two Mules for Sister Sara)  Hopefully I'm wrong and they will finally release some proof that the nightmare really is over and we can all rest a little easier but my daddy may have watched a lot of westerns but he didn't raise no fool.  It's not that I don't believe them but more of a - let me see for myself. 

I also found it bothersome that people were crediting Obama for "finally getting the job done."  HELLO - what the heck do you think our armed services have been doing over there this whole time, playing shuffle board?  They found him, called for approval, Obama gave the go-ahead and *tada* job done.  Thank you to our troops.  Obama however, did a good job in his speech giving appreciation to the troops and paying respect to those that died 9/11 and since.  It just seems that people walk around w/ blinders on more often than not.  I just wish people would look around and see how their behavior and responses affects those around them.  But that's just my 10¢ worth.