November 01, 2016

 

The clouds hovered in thick fashion over a forest of leafless trees on an unseasonably warm Halloween yesterday.  I walked among the many broken trees littering the ground.  These dead sticks blocked many paths after the summer blow-down.  There were ghosts hiding everywhere.

 

Woodpeckers had decimated stumps and left holes in trees.  Just looking up, I found the thick trunks to have no tops.  Clearly the squirrels were having a field day.  No longer forced to jump, they freely ran along the now horizontal logs that crisscrossed the landscape.

 

In the boonies there are no trick-or-treaters.  No kids running from house to house down the street, screaming their lungs out as they captured new prizes to bring home to their waiting taste buds.  No parents shuffling the little ones from one walkway to another as they stand in small groups urging them to go up to the door and ask.

 

The darker moods take over.  The worries of those who try and hide from the world with damage on their minds.  Only yesterday, a man shoots and kills a Sheriff’s deputy, fleeing the ensuing chase team “to the woods”.  This is not the time to hear a knock on the door.  The heart races when the noise of a truck going by seems to slow down.

 

An eerie silences takes over as the darkness falls.  The rain sprinkles enough moisture in the warm air to coat the ground and muffle further sounds of life.  It must be death in the night that has come to overtake the bright life of the summertime. 

 

Awakened in the night from a late-night tv binge, I look out the window.  Stepping out on to the wet porch I strain for any sound that will match the awful nightmares.  So glad to see the bright blue skies with a touch of chill this morning. 

 

November 02, 2016

 

The moods of the trees were unaffected by the big win near Lake Erie yesterday.  Stark and leafless, the bare trunks and branches stand stiffly next to the still green-laden pines.  Splashes of color abound in the late Fall.  Greens, reds, and yellows adorn the revealed plant life dotting the forest.

 

Plants react quickly to the world around them.  Bending to get light, stretching to get water, and shooting for the sky, trees and bushes seem to be in a kind of harmony while dealing with the struggle for life.  Look at the sky from their point of view and it makes sense.  The ground is only a starting point.

 

Pathways through the tangles webs of branches and fallen trees provide more insight into the animals making their way on daily feeding and travel routes.  Look down for the tracks and the branches continue to catch the hat and coat.  Then there is the thicker branch that wacks the head when you turn to look to the side.

 

Feedback.  Instant and important.  When you step on a branch it cracks with a loud report.  You can see the squirrel run away and the bobbing white tail of the rabbit hops away.  The boot waits to step again to avoid scaring up anything else.

 

Feedback.  Valuable lessons learned.  When you step in a wet spot, you sink and pull that foot back.  Hoping to get your boot back, you step carefully closer to a fallen tree for balance.  Sometimes, it is that dance to stay on one foot and keep the sock dry that gives you a sense of accomplishment.

 

Feedback.  Why did the deer path veer to the right or left?  Was it random and when were they here?  Remember for the next time because avoiding that broken leg can keep you sharp.  Take a moment and check out the Nature around you.

 

November 03, 2016

 

The Fleeting Moments pass by with a blink of an eye.  Emotionally pumped up times give the highs only a high-flying eagle enjoys.  See the clouds all around you backed by the blue skies of happiness.  Yes, the Cubs won.

 

Over the crowds of humanity, see the heights that we can all reach together.  The petty arguments and desires that divide us generate fearsome hurt.  Stealing the things that make our world enjoyable, building the hate that divides us, firing the bullets that kills us, the bad side of humanity builds only when we let it.

 

See a neighbor wearing the smile of achievement, instead of screaming a derogatory epitaph.  Wave at a passerby when they drive by, instead of ducking the bullets flying out of the back seat.  Share the laughter of victory, instead of wallowing in the derisive commentary of the “anti-”.

 

Memories of the mistakes, errors and “might have beens”, fade away with success.  Building for the future is something we can all do together.  The importance of a sporting event lies in the unifying spirit.  Certainly the actual game is no more than a contest between people we have never met from far-flung places on the map.  Yet we cheer their achievement, treating it as our own win.

 

As fans, we can do it together.  There is no pressure to work, just admire and support.  The lessons are in place.  The chance to treat each other better makes us all better.  It’s not just love for your fellow human beings, it’s a chance to grow as a society.

 

One Fleeting Moment when we see the results of what happens together creates a place we all want to be TOGETHER.  Nobody wants to keep the hate alive.  The culminating reaction to years of hurt make us react in a bad way.  Here’s your chance to enjoy that One Fleeting Moment.  Go Cubs Go.

 

November 04, 2016

 

The excitement of the crowd is intoxicating.  I have been on the stage speaking to the crowd.  Amazing what the reaction of the people watching you speak can do to you.  When you say something, hear your words bounce off of the buildings, and then try to say something else, the feeling is truly something to behold.

 

From the point of view of the crowd, joining together with hundreds, thousands or even millions, can be electric.  Just the at the point when you think there is no way you can deal with all of these people, they surprise you and join together in a magic amalgam of humanity.  The positive energy of the group brings new meaning to group-think.

 

Getting there is the start.  The decision to go, preparation of what to wear or what to bring along.  Cancel your appointments.  Change your plans for that day, and even the next one. 

 

The mood builds as you get closer to the event.  The chat among the travelers centers on speculation on the rules.  Even with the smart phones, everyone still wonders what will happen when they get to the checkpoint.  Over the years, these rules have evolved.  No drinks, No metal, No food, No backpacks, and on and on.  Veterans of the crowds seem to be everywhere.  Newbies abound too.  

 

Arrival at the venue is the first hint that you might have made either a big mistake or an historic decision.  Can you see?  Can you get closer?  Where are the player’s busses? Make the decision to take only a few pictures and enjoy the event.  So quickly it is over and you join the crowd desperately trying to disperse.

 

Enjoy the day.  The event that you can say “you were there” is over before you know it.  The next event may never happen.

 

November 06, 2016

 

The Main Stream Media.  They try and portray themselves as “objective”.  However, remember the consolidation of the media?  All of those major communication company buy-outs?  Rupert Murdoch and other media moguls have purchased-- yes purchased-- the media outlets that started as newspapers, radio stations and television stations.

 

Setting the editorial policy by choosing which stories runs is their daily business.  A story doesn’t run if it is not approved by the boss.  The content is determined by the popularity of the issue.  Certainly there is integrity.  Actual journalists exist.  The slant comes from pleasing the people who pay for the advertising. 

 

Enter the modern concept of “branding”.  The story gets written and then broadcast based upon the popularity of the image, logo, topic, etc… When you get to the story, it has been put through the filter of the editorial board meeting.  They put the “issues of day” to a vote around the table.  Of course that vote is heavily influenced by the concept of “keeping your job”.

 

Take this to the next level in the modern setting of Social Media and you see what is really going on.  The messages that billions of dollars create are bounced back through Tweets and Facebook posts.  What used to be conversations around the dinner table and the water cooler, have now become a constant flow of commentary and shared posts from the individual desperate to have their comments heard on the Social Media landscape.

 

The issues in the current campaign is a result of seeing how this “bounce back” shows the success of the message put out by the media moguls.  Each of the issues is actually vetted by how convincing the argument has become.  When you see a close division on the issues it generates more attention.  More money gets put into that issue, spent on staff, posters, ads, and all of the expenses that follow.  You have Main Stream Media using actual Tweets and FB posts. 

 

The exchange of Hate and Derogative comments is EXACTLY what the people want to see.  The release of energy from these exchanges is what people want.  So the next time you hear somebody say “this is an awful campaign”, remember that this is WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT, you can tell from what everyone says because they have paid for the message.