Archive for December, 2008

End of Year

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

As we come to the end of the year, I find that there are things going on in this world, in this country and in this state that are perturbing to me.  I have delayed posting to this blog because I did not want to write negatively.

The first thing that I will address is the status of the world in general.  Yes, there are a lot of bad things going on.  Wars, pirates, country relationships, etc, but as I look out today, all I see is a positive world.  Maybe the recession was orchestrated by God to bring us closer together.  Since the news media focuses on the bad, the evil and their own one sided view of politics, it is time for us, as Americans, to be the world leaders to make good things happen.  It is not for the President or Congress, but each individual to spread positive reinforcement to the world.  We can do this through the internet, through our daily interactions with people, and through Prayer.

Our great nation elected a new President this year, needless to say, not all of us are happy with the choice.  However, since nothing can be done about this selection, we must accept it and make the best of it.  We have a Democrat controlled Congress, this is also not a good thing.  But with the recession, there will be many decisions made that are good and a lot that are not so good.  There will be a huge drift toward Socialism that must be resisted.  As a youth in the 40’s and 50’s, America was free and easy.  We were recovering from both WWII and Korea.  Small businesses and large were working on free enterprise.  There was no welfare, no unemployment benefits, no health benefits and taxes were lower.  If you wanted something, you worked for it.  If you saw a doctor, you paid for it.  If you had a small business, you could make a living.  People went to Church, no one protested about a cross or against 105 causes that didn’t even exist at that time.  The point I am trying to make is that for America to succeed we must make free enterprise a goal, we must make freedom of religion a goal, and freedom of speech a goal.  Every day citizens, such as you and I, have the responsibility to pursue these goals in our own small way.  When a few start, many will follow.  Let it be us, the right, be that start, not those who oppose these goals.

Lastly, New Mexico has been used as a stepping stone to personal goals by our elected leaders.  It is time for us to start anew.  It is time to elect politicians who are not really a politician, but a honest, hard working individual who is looking to serve the people of this state, not to develop a career based on greed.  There is an area from Santa Fe to Las Cruces where most of the voting public live.  But the impact on the rural areas of the state is felt much greater by the actions of who are elected, than is felt by that great majority.  I look forward to honest change in our state, not rhetoric on change.

So as we go into this coming year, let us Pray, let us be positive in action and word, let us have a solution, not a problem, and last but not least, let us have faith and courage to stand up for what is right.  Let us live by the Cowboy code, truth, honesty, honor and a hand shake that expresses character.

Time Flies

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

Here it has been almost a month since I updated this blog, probably not too important since only a few people I know read it anyway.  But needless to say, to have a successful blog, it needs to be updated a little more frequently.

The holidays start way too early, and go on way too long.  It seems that the Thanksgiving activities all start mid November and just blend into Christmas and New Year.  To be active in a community, requires involvement and commitment.  We started out in mid November with shopping for things for the Annual Thanksgiving Dinner that the Church does for the community.  Then there is the planning to go to Mom’s for Thanksgiving, arranging to meet son and his family and then the actual doing of all this activity.

While in a town that has shopping on Thanksgiving weekend, we have to try to do some of the Christmas shopping (black Friday) and spend time visiting with family.  Although we had a great time, I always appreciate coming home to a little peace and quite.  With a few days rest, we are off to do shopping for Christmas parties, more Christmas shopping and contacting everyone we will see at Christmas.  Since my Mother lives 350 miles east, and my wife’s family is 300 miles west of us, this means that we spend one holiday with my family, and one with hers.  As I get older, a dread visiting either one.  Seems the pace is just a little too fast for this old man.  But, we enjoy seeing the grand kids, and tolerate the children.

Well, this is kind of scattered, and I probably should appreciate the many blessings God has bestowed on me, my wife and our family.  We will all celebrate Christmas for what it really is, a joyful celebration of the Birth of Christ our Lord.  It is the expections of Man around all the other activities that makes Thanksgiving and Christmas a real drag.

So really, when you feel stressed, stop, say a little prayer and remember that Christ can give us peace as we trudge through the Holiday Season.