TRUTH AND REALITY

February 7, 2012

  Today I awoke at 5:30 am to the sweet sound of my wife's voice.  When Mickie (for those of you that don't know, Mickie is my wife) works the day shift, half past five is her normal time to rise and shine.  Since I have fallen ill, I usually don't even hear my wife go through her morning routine, but I do awake an hour or two later with the excited anticipation of what ever morning note I have next to the coffee pot.  Today was different, I had to get up.  Ok, I'll go ahead and say it, I'm not proud of it, and am still a bit embarrased by it, but I had to get up to take our only car so that I could go to our local food pantry.  I love the early mornings with my wife. The fact that the world has yet to rev up it's motor for the day, along with the serenity that the pre dawn hours bring seems to set the mood for nice, tranquil conversation.  I've always loved moments when the world seems to be at peace with itself, no matter what time that may be.
  I dropped my wife off at 6:45 am, wished her a great day, and now had to find something to do until about 8:30 am, which is when the line at the food pantry seems to start growing in numbers.  The pantry doesn't actually open until 9:30 am, but as I said, the line forms early.  I had enough change in my pocket for a cup of coffee, so armed with a morning paper, I went to Burger King to pass as much time as possible without being considered a loiterer.  I had done it, when I arrived at our local food pantry, the line was forming outside the building, it was 8:10 am.  The food pantry is very strict about adhering to the time in which they unlock their doors. They open their doors at 9:00 am, and the line for food starts at 9:30 am, like I had previously stated.  One does their absolute best to stay warm until the doors open, a very small price to pay for the gratuitous service that the pantry provides. 

  Yes, going  from making close to $100,000 per year between my wife and I, to having depend on a local food bank is a very big adjustment to make.  At first, I was humiliated  and embarrased, today I am humbled and grateful.  The people that I have met at our local food pantry often share the same story as we do.  Husband or wife falls ill, no health insurance, one salary does not cover all of the bills, some times have to do with out medications just to pay rent.  Every one has a different set of circumstances, I thought nothing like this could ever happen to my family, I was wrong.  The array of ethnicities at the food pantry leaves no one to spare.  When you look real close at some of the people, despair and worry grips their faces, trying to keep children calm, or from crying because they are hungry only adds to that crack in my heart as I feel it breaking for them.  It literally brings tears to my eye's and a complete feeling of hopelessness when I see some of these decent folk's having to ask for help.  I still don't understand how we can spend billions on rebuilding Iraq, and have a child in Menasha, Wisconsin with out enough food to eat.

  With a lot of time left in the day, I went and picked up my grandson Anthony, who eventually ended spending the night with us tonight.  When I pick him up, I always make sure I have an extra dollar or two in my pocket so that I can take him to St. Vincent de Paul's thrift store and look for a toy or two that costs next to nothing. One would think that I have spent a million dollars with the excitement that Anthony gets from a one dollar toy.  I love that little boy,  he fills our home with not only energy, but a positive energy that I always miss when he goes back home.

  Mickie landed herself a second job today, which doubles my feeling of guilt.  She tells me I would do the same if she were sick, and I know that I would, but that doesn't make it any better.  I wish I could lavish my wife with gifts galore, but I can't, but I want to.  I'll always want to.
  That brings me to this moment, writing to you fine folks.  I hope that I presented this is some what of an entertaining fashion, I will continue this on a daily basis, and I'll let every one know when I need a break.  I will tell you this every day---I really do appreciate you reading my blog.  Thank you.  Love.
 

CHANGE IS GOOD.

  Today is my birthday.  Fifty three years old.  Make's a man stop for just a second.  Family and friend's, time is valuable. Life, the years, they go so quickly, cherish them, enjoy them.  Your family, children and friends, they are all indeed, blessings.  Let me be one of the first to wish my cousin Rich, a Happy Birthday, his is tomorrow on the 7th, hopefully, that's when he's reading this.  I always thought growing up that it was the coolest thing for my first cousins birthday to be one day after mine, even though a few years separate us, we've always held on to that special birthday bond. 
  Look, I'm a realist. I know, that if I don't do something with this blog, and fast, it's going to end up in my family and friends "read no more" category.  I don't want that to happen.  I love writing and sharing, it has always been a passion of mine, and now that I have disabilities, the last thing I want to do is sit in a rocking chair waiting to die, I want to write.  My blog is my way of staying in touch with all of you.  It's next to impossible for me to come up with a new, fresh blog on a daily basis, today alone, I've spent several hours thinking, what can I blog about tonight?  Dead end, had a few lights go off, but nothing blog worthy.

  What I've decided to do, to bring my "Science of my Mind" blog back to life is to keep a very detailed diary of my day's event's and then present them to you, the reader, in a way that I hope and pray keeps you interested.  Please, hang in there with me.  I have a very unique source of contributors for my new concept.  You will meet them periodocally during the course of my blogging.

  There are times, when I'm suffering from a case of the poor me's, I stop for just a moment, I reflect, I get my head back on straight.  I don't care how bad I have it, there's a million people out there that have it a whole lot worse than I do.   One benefit I have that I hold sacred and very dear to my heart are my faith, my family and my friend's.  Without you this blog wouldn't be worth writing.  I've said before, and hopefully with my new format, I will not only be able to connect to those I hold dear, but relay to a new audience as well. 

    I hope every one has a productive day tomorrow, please, if you can find the time, I'd appreciate it if you would tune back in to my blog tomorrow afternoon or evening to see what's going on in the "Science of my Mind."  Until tomorrow.  Love.

I AM THEM!!!

  Happy Sunday everyone.  I appreciate those of you continuing to follow my blog, "Science of my Mind." What I hope to accomplish with my blog is to reach as many readers as possible basing my blogs strictly on the human experience.  We all have lessons that we've learned through out the course of our short years on earth that can passed down from generation to generation.  Whether or not the generation that proceeds us will take heed of our life experience, or toss it by the wayside is strictly of their own doing.  Now in my early fifties, I have realized that a great majority of the lifes lessons that my Mom and Dad tried to teach me in hopes of making me a responsible young man, well, those lessons have finally sunk in.  While a teen, I always thought that my parents had some underlying agenda of making my life as difficult and miserable as possible, never thinking for even one second that they were just doing their job as parent's, and readying me for life after home.  Yes, it took me until my early fifties to finally admit, my parents were right.

  The year is 2012, I now sit in the front seat of my car repeating the teachings and life lessons that my parents had handed down to me some forty years earlier.  The kind ears that were the recipient of what I thought of as sharing my wisdom was a nice young lady that would never hurt my feelings by saying what I now assume she was thinking, "Old man, shut-up."  I sounded like my parents. OMG!!!  I swore to my self all through out my teen years, that the one thing I would NEVER EVER do was to sound like my parents, but there I was, rattling off the "do this," don't do that," and I've been there and through that,"

  The point I'm trying to make is that even though the times are changing, the fact is that teenagers will, as through all of history, remain the smartest and wisest people on the planet. When you finally become parents, you will lose all of the wisdom and lessons that you learned through those wisdom building years as teens and become the people that you swore you never would.  I promise, it's going to happen.  I wish know that I would have taken most of my parents advice, I had no idea at the time that they were actually not trying to ruin my life beyond any type of repair, they actually had my best interest at heart.  "I don't know what's wrong with teens today," has been quoted for more years than we know, and I'm almost positive, for generations to come.  Until tomorrow.  Love

I'M GONNA GIVE IT A NIGHT OR TWO.

  Hi everyone.  I've decided to give my self a night or two, step back, and return either tomorrow or Sunday night with my blog.  Like I had mentioned last night, I often head into project's without the game plan that I need to be successful with the project. I want to approach my blog with more thought and balance.

  I appreciate all of you that have followed and liked my blog page.  I'm going to the library tomorrow, do a little more studying, check out like a hundred more books and return in a day or two.  I will see you on Facebook.  Have a great week-end family and friend's!!!  Love.

THE DONELSON GANG

  Hi again everyone, hope you all had a wonderful Thursday.  I've been bothered all day by the fact that I did not deliver my blog yesterday as well as I know it could have been presented.  I waited too long to sit down at the key board, didn't drown out all of the sound, and allowed my self to be distracted.  My word's were sincere and from the heart, I just wasn't 100% satisfied with the end result.  My goal is to have as many reader's as possible, and have everyone that read's my blog hit the LIKE button on my blog Facebook page, and for me to accomplish this goal, I need to have a good blog, or article, every time I share.  I entered blogging kind of like I do everything else, half prepared, which has always been a fault of mine.  As I work out the kink's, I wish to be blogging more than just once per day.  This is my goal, for me , and for you.

  I first met Ritchie Mungovan in the Fall of 1978.  I was eighteen , Ritchie sixteen.  We were a part of a group of young people that I respectfully refer to as the "Donelson Gang".  We would spend every chance we could at the lake or creek bank, not realizing then that we would be making memories that would last the remainder of our live's.  We were not bad kid's, not any of us, just the usual group of rebellious teen's that had to get out and test the the water by our own mean's.  Of course we had the usual party  and getting in to a little trouble here and there, it was the beginning of the new decade and the Age of Aquarius, what else was to be expected???  Thank you to the very kindred spirit's of two very dear ladies,, Mrs. Hill, and Mrs. Pendley, we, the Donelson gang, had pillow's to lay our head's on, and food to put in our bellie's. We as a gang, all started to go our different way's about late 1979 or so, but none of us have ever lost touch.  We all have a bond that is one of those where I may not hear from Dawn, Darlene, Robin, Cindy, Becky, Tim, Tim R. or Bryan in six month's, but if I called any one of them for a favor, I wouldn't have to ask twice.  I do hope that you all have those kind of relationship's in your life, I'm sure that most of you do.
  As we grew older and eventually started families of our own, Ritchie and I stayed in particuilarly close contact.  Just so happened that he had bought a house a few short miles's from where I lived.  For the better part of twenty year's, Rich and I remained the best of bud's, me becoming the God father to his twin boy's, Andrew and Allen.  In the late 90's, I had to call on my best friend in the world, Dawn in North Carolina, for help in regaining traction in my life.  To explain to you the kindness that my friend's have in their heart's, I had not even met Dawn's spouse at the time, Steve, but they welcomed me in to their home with open arm's. Ritchie and I stayed in contact, him in Tennessee, me in North Carolina.  Enduring friendship.  I moved back to Nashville in the winter of 2000.



     In the year 2000, I met my wife, we decided to make the trip north, due to custody issue's, to Wisconsin to be near our children.  Ritchie and I said our good bye's, promised to stay in touch, which we did until life again got in the way.  I looked him up on MySpace from time to time, but never posted. Eventually, we lost touch.
  Fast forward to 2008,  my Mother-in-Law, Linda, God Rest her Soul, fell very ill to cancer.  Knowing her Mom didn't have long, we moved back to Tennessee, so that we could help care for Linda, my super cool Mom-in-Law. ( God, I loved that lady, and I miss her so much.) About a month after settling back into the routine of the Tennessee heat and humidity, and of course, it's southern charm, I decided to look my old friend Ritchie up,, now mind you, it had been over eight year's since we had talked.  He teared up, I teared up, told him about my wife, told me he had seperated from his, but wanted me to meet his pretty, new girlfriend.  We we're meeting the next Saturday morning at 10am at his house.  I hadn't seen my friend that I grew up with in eight year's.
  The next morning, and thirty years later, I was giving this guy I loved a bear hug like a grizzly.  We introduced the ladies, they talked, Ritchie and I stepped outside, he showed me around, his new nice tool shed, his Harley, his outside hot tub, man it was great seeing him!!!  Other than the natural year's that life adds to our character, Ritchie Mungovan looked the same.  We gave our hug's, made plan's for my house the next weekend and said our good bye's.  It was 2pm, Saturday afternoon.
  That very night, my wife and I returned home, I was getting ready to go to bed, and my phone rang.  The ladie's voice on the other end timidly said, "Is this George, Ritchie's friend?"  I said "yes it is, who's this?"  She said "This is Ritchie's mother,  George, I don't know how to say this, but after you left Ritchie's house today he called me and he cried happy tears that you actually thought enough of him to come see him after all these year's.  George, Ritchie was riding his Harley today and got broad sided by a girl in a car and died instantly, his girlfriend is in Vanderbilt hospital."  My Ritchie, the Donelson's gang Ritchie.

  Folk's, to this day, and for the rest of my life, I will tear up when thinking about my old friend.  In the picture above with all of us in the back of the station wagon, Ritchie is the only guy standing with the navy blue shirt.     Luckily enough, that day I said now what I preach to all of my friend's, my last word's to him we're "Love Ya Rich".  Now you why my blog's end with the word they do.  Until tomorrow.  Love.











 

GUY'S ONLY!!!

  Happy Wednesday evening to all of my family and friend's.  It was a great day today, not only did my wife have the day off, but I seized the opportunity to see a long time friend of mine for the first time in several month's.  Jason, it's alway's good to see you.  I really do love you and Michael.
  I have been swishing this blog's subject matter around the old head for several day's now.  It was going to be my FIRST BLOG EVER, but I just couldn't put it all together like I needed it to be.  Some of you that read this blog are not going to need the explanation that I'm about to give, you knew me all so well during this brief, embarrasing period of my life.

  Even to re-live this short time in my life is sitting here making me cringe.  When I met my wife in the year 2000, we had both just come out of marriage's that did not end well.  Get past this next sentence or two, and this is when my blog to you guy's actually begin's.  When I met my wife, I was a total train wreck, insecure, I would have won the Oscar for "Most Jealous, Insecure mate in America" award for three or four year's running.  I was so close to having Mickie walk out of my life for ever, I had to change me, and change me fast.  Guy's here is where the blog begin's.

  This March 18th will have been twelve year's since the day I met my wife.  I can look at her to this day and see something, something that is more beautiful about her from the day before.  I never miss an opportunity to let Mickie know, to me, just how beautiful she is.  If it wasn't for Mickie, I would not be sitting here writing this.  Mickie must have sensed something in me to endure my few short year's of tirade's. The end result being that I know I'm a better husband to my wife because of her tolerance of my action's and my catching on that her tolerance wasn't going to last for ever.
  Gentlemen, life's experience has brought me to you on this fine evening, I would like to briefly share a couple of thing's that this old boy learned the really hard way.  All of us guy's have had our heart's broken at one point in our live's,  we all know that we don't want to experience that crap again. 

1.  Jealousy stop's now.  If your mate want's to do you wrong, they will find a way.  The key is having a relationship so they have no desire to be any one's arm's but your's.  Being jealous all the time will lead your wife in to the arm's of another a whole lot quicker than you may think.  I have a strong suspicion that your wife will love the non jealous you way better than the the other choice.
2.  DO NOT TAKE YOUR MATE FOR GRANTED!!!---I put those word's in cap's because taking a person, any person, not just your mate for granted is awful.  Just because you've been together for year's doesn't mean a lady no longer feel's the need to be treated like a lady.  Car door's, flower's, note's, be silly if you must, but never let your lady doubt for one minute that your as sincere now about you're love for her as the day you met her.

  Fella's it's not hard, I have learned that love is a never ending learning process, and I like it that way!!  I, for one can not stand to see my best friend's spirit hurt in any way.  Mickie, because of this blog's title, I know you'll read it.  I know I'm the luckiest man alive, I love, I cherish you and I know I'm a blessed man.  Until tomorrow.  Love.

WE DID IT!!!

  Hi everyone, another day winding down.  I hope this was a constructive Tuesday for all of you, I have always found that when I accomplish more than sitting my tail on the couch watching television all day, I not only feel better about myself, but I sleep much better.  That's just me though, I know different thing's work for different people.  We ALL need that one day now and then where we do absolutley nothing but the the three major function's, eat, go to the bathroom and sleep.  Here lately with me, I've had too many of those "do nothing" day's.  As I sit here typing away, I still haven't come up with the subject I want to touch on this evening, or the title to this post.  I've had several idea's rolling around my head through out the day, but none of them have been the "THAT"S IT" subject.  So, the thinking cap is going on and I'm just going to start typing, or as I like to call it, "heart to head to hand's to paper."  Be back in a few...

  This subject has been the originator of war's from the beginning of time, so I had some hesitancy as to whether or not to touch on it.  Many of you guessed that the subject might be religion or faith--!!!BUT WAIT!!!--, I'm not a preacher or a priest, I don't even go to church, unless I'm invited to a church wedding.  So why in the world would I want to touch on the one subject I don't know much about, and why would you want to read about it?  I will tell you right up front, you believe the way you want to believe, and I'll do the same.  I stopped believing in any one form of organized religion year's ago.  I had to find what type of spirituality worked for me, after year's of praying and searching, I finally did.  The Good Lord and I have a relationship that work's perfectly for me, for us.  I'm almost certain many of you may say the same thing, your relationship with our Good Lord work's perfectly for you.

  The one huge question I have heard through out the course of my entire life, is "If the Lord is so good, why does he let bad thing's happen to good people?  I've asked myself this question so many time's that I had to come up with a way to embrace the answer to fit within my own spirituality.  The subject matter of this blog is what I've determined to be the answer to this question, and keep's  my heart and my spirit at peace.  You may or may not agree, your free to post your response's or feeling's on the subject,  I honestly do respect your opinion's.

  To me, our Good Lord doesn't let bad thing's happen to good people.  We have done that to ourselve's.  I'm not a scholar, I'm not making up my rendition of what I percieve to be religous history, this is what I've learned to come to peace with, this is what work's for me.  Here goes,  back in the day, when ever that day may have been, our Dear Lord blessed every one with the gift of free will.  I can't see our Lord saying, "Go and make disease's that kill my children, go make the metal that makes the cars to drive fast to kill my children, make gun's, make drug's, , make missle's, make war's, make all of these thing's so that one day my children can say, "Why do you, our Lord, let bad thing's happen to good people?"  We, the human race , we're the one's letting bad thing's happen to good people.  We took that free will that our Good Lord gave us, and we've done what we've done.

  I know that a million question's could be raised from the one previous paragraph that I typed, like I said, this is what keep's my heart at peace during time's of loss and despair.  Thank you so my friend's for reading. It mean's the world to me.  Until tomorrow.  Love