Ah yes Twitter. My curiosity got the best of me so I started an account. So for several days now I have been trying to wrap my mind around just what Twitter is all about. Last night as I laid in bed trying to wait for my fertile (ya right) mind to shut down I had an epiphany about what Twitter is and why it has caught on in some circles.
For those of you who have lived in the woods without the benefit of technology for the last year I will now let the wisdom descend upon you and like toilet paper in the sewage system assimilate in your mind. I really need to work on my analogies. Twitter is basically a collection of one liners, be they serious, funny or somewhere in-between. The unique thing about Twitter is many celebrities use it so it seems to be some way for all the # 1 fans out there to feel validated.
That is in a nutshell what Twitter is and now let me tell you why it has become popular. I can some it up in two words: attention span. As a society we no longer have one. We basically have little to do with anything that isn’t resolved in a few minutes. I even heard a radio talk show host spout off about how she can’t sit through a whole movie. Really? So Twitter requires basically no attention span and people really love that. (it seems)
There’s another reason I think it’s popular. It takes almost zero effort to engage in it. No work equals massive popularity amongst the current crop of homosapiens. Let’s face it, we are so embroiled in our day to day activities be it work or as my cousin in a far away land calls it retirement. To his credit he is an avid reader so he doesn’t necessarily fit the broad mold I am casting. People just don’t want to be involved in anything that requires much effort. That’s my take and since I’m writing this it is the only take that matters.
So there you have it. Twitter and all the twits engaged in it doing their tweeting are now explained to my vast mountain of reader. (No typo there) Twitter is basically a mindless activity that requires its fans to only have to structure one sentence at a time. BRILLIANT! ( Hey that might be my next tweet)
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
A Little Tribute To My Bride
There are some things about my life I am so thankful to talk about; those special things that make my life so complete and such a celebration. One of those parts of my life is my lovely wife. She is so humble that she won’t agree with half of what I say here but it won’t stop me now. (In fact it’s never stopped me before either)
I met this lady when I really thought I was through having any serious relationship. After losing my previous wife in such a difficult way I thought that the rest of my life I was going it alone. God apparently thought different. I couldn’t be happier he did.
This woman has taught me so much about myself and about others. She has shown me ultimate grace under fire. She is selfless when it comes to others. She is oh so patient with me and all of my flaws. Four years ago she looked cancer square in the eyes and said NOT ME. She even took that time in her life to look for ways to inspire and comfort others. Even now she plans to volunteer in her retirement to help others afflicted with this disease. You know there is an old saying that goes something like this: “Character is not revealed in victories but in challenges”. Her character was definitely revealed and it is above reproach.
I don’t want to dwell on the cancer because she would be the first to say she doesn’t want to be defined by that. She has moved on and thank God I am moving with her. She works tirelessly for the United Methodist Conference in nurturing new clergy through the ordination process. Nurturing is another gift of hers and she is exactly in the right place at the right time for the Methodist Church.
This lady of mine has not always had it easy in her life. Her family like many families these days is fragmented and not without its own challenges. She grew up in less than ideal circumstances at times but her faith and her amazing spirit saw her through those times.
So I write this today because it is her birthday. Birthdays tend to remind us how blessed we are in this life. As long as this lady is by my side my life will be not only happy but complete. We don’t know the will of the almighty but I do know that the blessings we are handed need to be treated with respect and honor. So on this day I wanted to do this in a most public way for my bride.
I love you Linda….and every day I am able to draw breath with you by my side is a gift I will never take for granted.
I met this lady when I really thought I was through having any serious relationship. After losing my previous wife in such a difficult way I thought that the rest of my life I was going it alone. God apparently thought different. I couldn’t be happier he did.
This woman has taught me so much about myself and about others. She has shown me ultimate grace under fire. She is selfless when it comes to others. She is oh so patient with me and all of my flaws. Four years ago she looked cancer square in the eyes and said NOT ME. She even took that time in her life to look for ways to inspire and comfort others. Even now she plans to volunteer in her retirement to help others afflicted with this disease. You know there is an old saying that goes something like this: “Character is not revealed in victories but in challenges”. Her character was definitely revealed and it is above reproach.
I don’t want to dwell on the cancer because she would be the first to say she doesn’t want to be defined by that. She has moved on and thank God I am moving with her. She works tirelessly for the United Methodist Conference in nurturing new clergy through the ordination process. Nurturing is another gift of hers and she is exactly in the right place at the right time for the Methodist Church.
This lady of mine has not always had it easy in her life. Her family like many families these days is fragmented and not without its own challenges. She grew up in less than ideal circumstances at times but her faith and her amazing spirit saw her through those times.
So I write this today because it is her birthday. Birthdays tend to remind us how blessed we are in this life. As long as this lady is by my side my life will be not only happy but complete. We don’t know the will of the almighty but I do know that the blessings we are handed need to be treated with respect and honor. So on this day I wanted to do this in a most public way for my bride.
I love you Linda….and every day I am able to draw breath with you by my side is a gift I will never take for granted.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
My Thoughts on Casey Anthony.....
The recent events in the court room cause me to ponder our justice system. It is still the best system in the world……I think.
Anyone who has had any experience in our justice machine is pretty much aware that where the courtroom begins, common sense ends. This Casey Anthony case is yet another in a long string of very high profile cases that proves that assertion. Let’s look at this a moment…..no DNA, no determinant cause of death, no murder weapon and no apparent witnesses. Those are the facts. If you looked at those facts only as apparently the jury did then she is not guilty. Now the common sense facts that can also not be disputed…she waited 30 days to report the little girl missing….during those 30 days she had relations with 6 different men, went out on the town frequently and never seemed to have a care in the world. Once the story broke and the authorities were brought in she continually lied and misled them about the entire course of events. Even now after the verdict I see little concern on the mother’s part or any of that dysfunctional family to find out what really happened to that little girl.
Almost everyone I hear on the talking head shows believes this woman was complicit but many can only look at this case through the very narrow prism of what they claim are the rules of law.
Now all of you intellectual types that purport reasonable doubt as being the standard for determining guilt win yet again. How about unreasonable doubt? How about lawyers turning what common sense logic should be into reasonable doubt? Perhaps the real problem is the majority of people sitting on a jury aren’t intelligent enough to get out of jury duty. I hope that’s not the real problem here because jury duty really is a civic duty. It is just troubling that people being people can’t look at a case entirely and not just intellectually in an almost machine-like process devoid of any emotion or common sense.
So that’s my rail on our justice system. In my heart of hearts I think we have a good system and we are still a people that must live under a rule of law. Just keep in mind that we are people…not robots and as such we should be able to examine all circumstances behind a death to determine through reasoned logic what we think really happened. When we loose that, we loose our humanity.
Anyone who has had any experience in our justice machine is pretty much aware that where the courtroom begins, common sense ends. This Casey Anthony case is yet another in a long string of very high profile cases that proves that assertion. Let’s look at this a moment…..no DNA, no determinant cause of death, no murder weapon and no apparent witnesses. Those are the facts. If you looked at those facts only as apparently the jury did then she is not guilty. Now the common sense facts that can also not be disputed…she waited 30 days to report the little girl missing….during those 30 days she had relations with 6 different men, went out on the town frequently and never seemed to have a care in the world. Once the story broke and the authorities were brought in she continually lied and misled them about the entire course of events. Even now after the verdict I see little concern on the mother’s part or any of that dysfunctional family to find out what really happened to that little girl.
Almost everyone I hear on the talking head shows believes this woman was complicit but many can only look at this case through the very narrow prism of what they claim are the rules of law.
Now all of you intellectual types that purport reasonable doubt as being the standard for determining guilt win yet again. How about unreasonable doubt? How about lawyers turning what common sense logic should be into reasonable doubt? Perhaps the real problem is the majority of people sitting on a jury aren’t intelligent enough to get out of jury duty. I hope that’s not the real problem here because jury duty really is a civic duty. It is just troubling that people being people can’t look at a case entirely and not just intellectually in an almost machine-like process devoid of any emotion or common sense.
So that’s my rail on our justice system. In my heart of hearts I think we have a good system and we are still a people that must live under a rule of law. Just keep in mind that we are people…not robots and as such we should be able to examine all circumstances behind a death to determine through reasoned logic what we think really happened. When we loose that, we loose our humanity.
Friday, July 1, 2011
My Pride And Joy
There is simply no more intense gift than the gift of seeing your offspring succeed. You spend many sometimes difficult years trying to impart your wisdom of experience and yet seeing when they finally “get it”……it’s one of those moments in time when pride can overcome you. This happened to me recently. It is a moment that only a parent can fully appreciate. It’s even more intense because when they do finally understand the things you’ve tried to teach then you suddenly understand your own parent’s previous heartaches as well as proud moments. It is almost a double moment of self revelation.
I am blessed. Those words can’t be overused in my opinion. It’s one thing to grow up and try to do things right for yourself and try to succeed for yourself but it is quite another to have a son or daughter display signs of success and winning in life. My daughter recently wrote a blog addressing some of life’s lessons that she has come to understand and not through always the easiest of paths. I think some of her revelations are lessons I am still learning. That is awe inspiring to me.
So a lesson for me is how someone you try to guide through life…thinking you may have the answers….ends up teaching you something special. How good is that? So I suppose we did something right. Am I proud? You bet I am. Am I bragging? Right on count two as well.
Basically it is quite easy to look around and find all of the negatives in this life. I choose to, at least for this moment, to enjoy the recent successes of my little girl. Life is hard enough to not ignore the victories. So way to go Ms. Bourey……my favorite teacher of all time!
I am blessed. Those words can’t be overused in my opinion. It’s one thing to grow up and try to do things right for yourself and try to succeed for yourself but it is quite another to have a son or daughter display signs of success and winning in life. My daughter recently wrote a blog addressing some of life’s lessons that she has come to understand and not through always the easiest of paths. I think some of her revelations are lessons I am still learning. That is awe inspiring to me.
So a lesson for me is how someone you try to guide through life…thinking you may have the answers….ends up teaching you something special. How good is that? So I suppose we did something right. Am I proud? You bet I am. Am I bragging? Right on count two as well.
Basically it is quite easy to look around and find all of the negatives in this life. I choose to, at least for this moment, to enjoy the recent successes of my little girl. Life is hard enough to not ignore the victories. So way to go Ms. Bourey……my favorite teacher of all time!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
A Rant Among Many
So banter and tirades are not always easy to literate and yet I will continue to try. The thoughts seem to sometimes bubble up and just as earthquakes relieve pressures in the tectonic plates so must I write this to relieve my own personal subterranean pressure.
I write about this often and get little feedback which tends to make me think many of my reader (no typo there) are guilty of this as well. Sometimes while I ride our many highways I am amazed about how fast everyone has to get somewhere these days. It seems there is little, if no, regard for other homosapiens on the roads. (or on the side of the roads) I am not a saint but I do try to have some sort of formula that keeps me within sensible parameters of the suggested speeds. I say suggested because that must be how most people these days view those signs. Speeders run across all demographics. They can be white, black, Indian, Hispanic, Oriental (ok the oriental speeder is rare but they are out there), male. female and even those in-between. They can be young, boomers and the most disturbing of all speeders OLD. While it is more prevalent as you get closer to the larger cities it is everywhere these days. Now speeding as bad as it is on its own is not all…..there are the woman applying make-up as they speed. There are the knee drivers, eating, smoking, drinking, talking on the phone, texting, reading e-mail, reading the paper, all the while wearing headphones so the sounds of shrieking bystanders or sirens don’t disturb their drive. Let’s throw in GPS’s as well as DVD players. It is getting more insane all the time. I am particularly incensed when one of those minivans comes flying by with all the little crumb crunchers in various states. There can be no larger offense than putting your children in harms way. We don’t need terrorists in this country…..we are doing fine attacking our own all by ourselves!
OK, that felt good. With all the demands put on our time, many self-imposed by the way, people of this generation have to become better time managers of sorts. Prioritizing our needs as well as wants becomes more of a challenge with each passing year. We have so much technology at our hands now that many are on a sort of technology overload. Where once people actually appreciated or at least noticed the outdoors it is quickly becoming just a way from getting from one computer to a cell phone to another computer. I am guilty myself as my wife would quickly point out. Some of what I do is through demands of employment but some (Angry Birds) is most definitely not. A side not, Angry Birds is an evil game. Let’s take a walk. Leave the cell phone at home. Separate technology from yourselves for a few hours. You might figure out you are missing life’s simplest yet most rewarding pleasures. It occurs to me I am writing this on a computer….oh well I am going to try and do this as well.
I could get into politics but that is such a train wreck right now I would not know where to begin. This country is running on borrowed money and continues to write more checks. I only wish I could live the same way.
So to summarize this rant, SLOW DOWN, SMELL THE ROSES, and LOSE THE TECHNOLOGY FOR A FEW HOURS and see if you smile just a little more and enjoy life just a little more.
I write about this often and get little feedback which tends to make me think many of my reader (no typo there) are guilty of this as well. Sometimes while I ride our many highways I am amazed about how fast everyone has to get somewhere these days. It seems there is little, if no, regard for other homosapiens on the roads. (or on the side of the roads) I am not a saint but I do try to have some sort of formula that keeps me within sensible parameters of the suggested speeds. I say suggested because that must be how most people these days view those signs. Speeders run across all demographics. They can be white, black, Indian, Hispanic, Oriental (ok the oriental speeder is rare but they are out there), male. female and even those in-between. They can be young, boomers and the most disturbing of all speeders OLD. While it is more prevalent as you get closer to the larger cities it is everywhere these days. Now speeding as bad as it is on its own is not all…..there are the woman applying make-up as they speed. There are the knee drivers, eating, smoking, drinking, talking on the phone, texting, reading e-mail, reading the paper, all the while wearing headphones so the sounds of shrieking bystanders or sirens don’t disturb their drive. Let’s throw in GPS’s as well as DVD players. It is getting more insane all the time. I am particularly incensed when one of those minivans comes flying by with all the little crumb crunchers in various states. There can be no larger offense than putting your children in harms way. We don’t need terrorists in this country…..we are doing fine attacking our own all by ourselves!
OK, that felt good. With all the demands put on our time, many self-imposed by the way, people of this generation have to become better time managers of sorts. Prioritizing our needs as well as wants becomes more of a challenge with each passing year. We have so much technology at our hands now that many are on a sort of technology overload. Where once people actually appreciated or at least noticed the outdoors it is quickly becoming just a way from getting from one computer to a cell phone to another computer. I am guilty myself as my wife would quickly point out. Some of what I do is through demands of employment but some (Angry Birds) is most definitely not. A side not, Angry Birds is an evil game. Let’s take a walk. Leave the cell phone at home. Separate technology from yourselves for a few hours. You might figure out you are missing life’s simplest yet most rewarding pleasures. It occurs to me I am writing this on a computer….oh well I am going to try and do this as well.
I could get into politics but that is such a train wreck right now I would not know where to begin. This country is running on borrowed money and continues to write more checks. I only wish I could live the same way.
So to summarize this rant, SLOW DOWN, SMELL THE ROSES, and LOSE THE TECHNOLOGY FOR A FEW HOURS and see if you smile just a little more and enjoy life just a little more.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
My Dad....a letter
Perhaps a year or two before my Dad passed I left him a letter (secretly) before I left from one of my visits. As I re-read this letter it seems a fitting tribute to the man as Father's Day approaches to post this. This letter is how I felt when I wrote it ans still to this day feel...and will carry with me forever.
Dear Dad,
I need to write this letter if for no other reason to let you know I love you. There are, however other reasons I wanted to state.
We, as a family, have kind of been atrophied when it comes to matters of the heart. It’s always been that way and it is what it is. I have become much better at expressing those things, at least in writing, Perhaps I have a ways to go in speaking those matters. I know you love me and you know I love you and that should be good enough right? Well what I’ve learned is quite to the contrary.
We’ve been through a lot over these years. I wasn’t always the model kid. I did a few good things here and there but I know I probably never attained my potential in music. You and Daisy did the best you could but my head was not on entirely straight at Potsdam; Water under the bridge now. I couldn’t be happier with my lovely wife and my wonderful daughter. They have meant so much to me and each other that I can’t begin to put it all in words. I think between Karen and Linda and myself, we did a pretty good job with Marlee and I’m proud of that.
There is another deeper reason Marlee did so well. Simply stated it was how her Dad was raised. I have to tell you all the while as I was growing up making you proud of me was my biggest goal. I played the trumpet not because it fell in my lap but because my Dad was a wonderfully gifted trumpeter who I so wanted to emulate. The older you got and the older I got the more I wanted to be like you and that goes on still today. I could not have achieved all I have without your guidance, love, support and a couple times financial help. I look around and see a term loosely used too often but in this case you are quite honestly my true hero.
So as I write this we still don’t know God’s plan for us. We don’t know his plan for you anymore than for me. Not that many years ago I started putting more emphasis on my religion so as to hope to understand at least what his plan may be. I am in steadfast hope of living the right way, the Christian way and ultimately to all have a big Bourey reunion in heaven.
So if you haven’t completely lost your mind after all of this the message is simple Dad. It is thank you. Thank you for all the lessons taught (and some even learned). Thank you for staying by my side through thick and thin. For being there when I needed you even though you were pulled many different ways when you were raising all of us.
I have many great memories involving you Dad. I hope to create a few more while I’m visiting this time. The one thing I will never need to create. The one thing that is as steadfast a truth as there is now or ever was: I love you. You are my only Dad and my one and only hero.
Love, Pete
Dear Dad,
I need to write this letter if for no other reason to let you know I love you. There are, however other reasons I wanted to state.
We, as a family, have kind of been atrophied when it comes to matters of the heart. It’s always been that way and it is what it is. I have become much better at expressing those things, at least in writing, Perhaps I have a ways to go in speaking those matters. I know you love me and you know I love you and that should be good enough right? Well what I’ve learned is quite to the contrary.
We’ve been through a lot over these years. I wasn’t always the model kid. I did a few good things here and there but I know I probably never attained my potential in music. You and Daisy did the best you could but my head was not on entirely straight at Potsdam; Water under the bridge now. I couldn’t be happier with my lovely wife and my wonderful daughter. They have meant so much to me and each other that I can’t begin to put it all in words. I think between Karen and Linda and myself, we did a pretty good job with Marlee and I’m proud of that.
There is another deeper reason Marlee did so well. Simply stated it was how her Dad was raised. I have to tell you all the while as I was growing up making you proud of me was my biggest goal. I played the trumpet not because it fell in my lap but because my Dad was a wonderfully gifted trumpeter who I so wanted to emulate. The older you got and the older I got the more I wanted to be like you and that goes on still today. I could not have achieved all I have without your guidance, love, support and a couple times financial help. I look around and see a term loosely used too often but in this case you are quite honestly my true hero.
So as I write this we still don’t know God’s plan for us. We don’t know his plan for you anymore than for me. Not that many years ago I started putting more emphasis on my religion so as to hope to understand at least what his plan may be. I am in steadfast hope of living the right way, the Christian way and ultimately to all have a big Bourey reunion in heaven.
So if you haven’t completely lost your mind after all of this the message is simple Dad. It is thank you. Thank you for all the lessons taught (and some even learned). Thank you for staying by my side through thick and thin. For being there when I needed you even though you were pulled many different ways when you were raising all of us.
I have many great memories involving you Dad. I hope to create a few more while I’m visiting this time. The one thing I will never need to create. The one thing that is as steadfast a truth as there is now or ever was: I love you. You are my only Dad and my one and only hero.
Love, Pete
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
One of Life's Lessons.....
I am reminded lately how unfair life can be. I’m not speaking so much as to the enormous tragedies such as tornadoes or earthquakes but more on the simpler human level. Someone I’m very close to is faced with the realities of how friendships can evolve and sometimes fade. Any of us more aged citizens have come to understand this over time however for some it is a new and raw experience. I can remember coming to this realization and it is not an easy reality to deal with at times.
There is and can be some good that comes of this though. One of the lessons I’ve learned over time is that not all friendships that seemingly end are necessarily over. They may return in a different form at some point in our lives. The thing is when we are young and formulating our life plan we think our friends will be with us the entire way. It simply isn’t true but we hang on to it anyway. These days the world is such a much smaller place and lives don’t just change within our own communities but more often we move to different areas, states and even for some countries. That disconnect is difficult especially if they are long enduring friendships.
I don’t offer a solution here because there is none. It is no different that telling someone how to raise a child or how to have a happy marriage….we each must find our own way. The thing I can offer (the only thing really) is for you youngsters out there to lean on some of us older self proclaimed wiser persons to help you through that adjustment.
The thing to always keep in mind is that the old adage that when one door closes another one opens. It is perhaps most relevant right now to this special person that made me think of this. Where perhaps one opportunity has faded there are new and exciting opportunities that await. With that said you must seek them out. They don’t always present themselves. The one thing I know deep in my heart is this person has only scratched the surface of what happiness is ahead.
There is and can be some good that comes of this though. One of the lessons I’ve learned over time is that not all friendships that seemingly end are necessarily over. They may return in a different form at some point in our lives. The thing is when we are young and formulating our life plan we think our friends will be with us the entire way. It simply isn’t true but we hang on to it anyway. These days the world is such a much smaller place and lives don’t just change within our own communities but more often we move to different areas, states and even for some countries. That disconnect is difficult especially if they are long enduring friendships.
I don’t offer a solution here because there is none. It is no different that telling someone how to raise a child or how to have a happy marriage….we each must find our own way. The thing I can offer (the only thing really) is for you youngsters out there to lean on some of us older self proclaimed wiser persons to help you through that adjustment.
The thing to always keep in mind is that the old adage that when one door closes another one opens. It is perhaps most relevant right now to this special person that made me think of this. Where perhaps one opportunity has faded there are new and exciting opportunities that await. With that said you must seek them out. They don’t always present themselves. The one thing I know deep in my heart is this person has only scratched the surface of what happiness is ahead.
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