I was a teenage liar,

  Back in the days when I was a liar, I was one of the best. To be a great liar, you must remember the chronology of each thread you spun in your web of lies. As time goes by and the circumstances change after the initial lie was told, it requires that you lie all the more to keep the first one covered. Like a spider, the liar must spin more and more lies, creating layer upon layer the longer the truth is to remain hidden. 

  But the truth will always out at some point, and when liars are exposed, their reactions are predictable and almost always the same. Usually, the first reaction is to blame someone else, it is never the liar's fault. Rather than finally come clean and admit their guilt, the next step is the excuses which are many. But when all else fails, and the excuses don't change things in their favor, the liar will look to the last resort, I call it the "poor me" syndrome, where the liar now caught and exposed will look for sympathy. The honor that truth brings is foreign to their DNA. 

  Liars are by nature egotistical and self centered, selfish in a word. I know, because when I was a liar, I was a great liar, my ego convincing me that I was smarter than everyone else. The plain truth about lying is that with all the scheming and speech filtration necessary to be good at it, it is exhausting and a drain on your brain, sapping you of most of your mental power. 

  Now that I am a truth teller, I can tell you from personal experience, that it is hard to be a good liar but easy to tell the truth. No scheming and planning is necessary, you just say what's on your mind. It isn't as difficult as you might think once you get the hang of it. Afterall, it is natural to lie, as like a child's first reaction when asked, Who broke the lamp? But believe me, just by being able to speak the truth openly is freeing. It brings peace where lying brings stress. Try the truth, I promise you it will set you free! 

The Bubble People?

  We'll start at the end, as I wasn't sure if this would be the story I'd tell. But as it turns out, as I was thinking of finally writing something and it, this might as well be this one. So, the Bubble People will do. You see, I have been putting off writing lately for reasons I don't understand. Also I have my easel set up with the last painting I was working on, but I haven't touched that either? Why is the reason for the question mark. 

  Apparently I'm in a state of flux of some sort, not knowing whether to go this way or that, having no point of focus, with no real clear direction. Thats the way its been lately, just taking it as it comes, one day at a time. Just ramblingI guess? I keep waiting for something to happen, though I have no idea what, or even if whatever it is, whether it will happen at all. I keep moving forward though, one day at a time, and in some cases, one moment at a time. Accordingly, with no point of focus and no clear objective I move not in a straight line, but meander from one side of the road to the other, just taking it as it comes. Toil and trouble with more questions than answers, trapped as it were, by the limits of my own understanding. Also, there is this gnawing feeling that there is something I'm supposed to do, but who knows, perhaps this is all there is to be, and maybe I'm already doing it? So for now, and at this point in time, this is what is going on in my bubble. How are you this day, and whats going on in your bubble? Beyond your family and friends, when you come right down to it, each of us each of us is alone, each within our own bubble, alone.   

Happy Easter

  So finely a moment of peace. Sometimes life can be one interruption after another, and lately, I've been up to my ears in interruptions, some good, and some bad. Anyway, now that I have a moment to myself, let me wish you all a belated Happy Easter. As we sometimes say to each other on Easter morn, He has risen, and respond, he has risen indeed! 

  So now I'm wondering as to what method I should use for the message, and more importantly, what should the message be about? Something current I should think, how about drugs? Let me start off by telling you something that most of you will dismiss out of hand. That being, that Heroin is the best this world has to offer. Each of us desires the same thing deep within. For what each of us is so  looking for, is peace. Peace, outer peace and inner peace, total peace, and opioids according to the dose, can provide that peace if only for a moment. But my God, the cost for that brief feeling comes at a staggering cost, and for many, their lives. 

  The alternative for this false peace of course is what God offers. Peace, eternal peace, peace forever, peace from what was, peace from what is, and peace for what is to come. Peace. Eternal peace. Peace forever and a day. Happy Easter! 

Max

  So me and Max, that is to say Max and I, went for our morning walk. Max? Oh, he's my dog. We have an on again off again relationship, and this morning, we were trying to beat the rain. Well I was, but as for Max, he was in a mischievous mood, and was in no particular hurry. Being a twice a day pooper and the fact that he hadn't pooped last night added to the urgency. 

Poor Max, I've had dogs all my life, but never one as aggravating as him. He's one of those designer dogs, when they mate one breed to another. A Puggle by name, a mix between a beagle and a pug. Take a dog obsessed with food, and one who likes to smell everything, and that sums it up. As for him, the struggle will continue for a while, as I know it isn't his fault. All of my prior dogs were Americans, that is to say they were mutts. A melting pot of a dog. Incredibly faithful, and looking only to please. Not that Max doesn't try in his way, he does, but his ways are so limited. Again in Max's defense, he is the first dog I had to walk. The others had yards and other freedoms. So anyway, here I am tethered to this dog in the rain, just wanting him to poop so we can get home before the skies opened up. We made it! Halleuia, and good times for me and Max and me.  

The First Step

  The biggest threat to our nation and to all of the free people of the world, is socialism and all it's forms. In short, socialism means central control. On the surface it seems attractive as it promises equality for all. What it proposes is that is that all of our needs would be provided by the government. In America this central government would be located in Washington DC,  in the case of the new world order of globalism, the location of the government could be anywhere. In a way, whether you believe in Heaven or think of it only as a mythical place, heaven could be used as a way to understand why socialism looks so promising as a form of government. In heaven, all but God are truly equal, with socialism, all but the elitists ruling class are equal. Both promise to supply all of our needs, and in heaven's case, an eternity of total peace and happiness. Of course in Heaven, God would be the ruler and the provider, where as with socialism it would be people who would lead and have complete control. Therein lies the danger. Virtually all the tyrants and brutal regimes throughout history could never have existed if not allowed by the people to be ruled. Here in the United States of America, our form of government is called a Democratic Republic, and what it provides is that no one person or source of power can rule, as, We the People rule ourselves rule ourselves. Capitalism is wrongly conflated with the government, but it is only the economic engine that powers our Republic. Capitalism in and of itself is in large part why this still young nation has become so powerful so fast, is that capitalism that stirs the drive toward entrepreneurship and invention. As much as you hear the left whine about the abuses of capitalism, they have a good understanding of it as most of the wealthiest among us our liberals politically. One of the biggest problems with socialism and it's big brother communism, is that there is no incentive to create and work hard to achieve your dreams. With those types of government, the more you make the more they take as a way to pay for what the government supplies. The only truly wealthy people with those forms of government are the ruling class and those who are already wealthy. This new global initiative, this drive towards a one world government will be in the form of socialism. In fact, socialism and globalism are synonymous and are one in the same. No matter what side of the political fence you are on, one thing we all agree on is that this country is far too powerful to be taken over militarily by anyone. If we are to fall, we will fall from within. Just like ancient Rome, the first step is to lose our morality as a people, and most already know that we have become morally bankrupt. Common sense is non existent it would seem, and we have replaced commonly held morals with political correctness. For me, the biggest story nationally was the rise of an openly admitted socialist. If the fix hadn't have been in place for Hillary's anointing, one cannot help but wonder how close Bernie would have come to being the Democratic nominee? Lately we hear a lot about Russia's attempt at destabilizing our political system, and the very fact that we are accusing each other is more than the old USSR could ever have hoped for. Spreading doubt is their business. Hitler, and a new word, Hitlerism is now also become part of our national conversation. People call each other facists while few understand what it is. Facism is the means used to keep people in line in a lockstep mentality, it is not a form of government, but a means of enforcing that government. Hitler didn't start as a Nazi, but as the head of the German Socialist worker's party, and as for Russia, they were and will be again if Vladmir Putin has his way, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. This socialist/globalist utopia so wanted by the left must be rejected in all of it's forms. The question yet to be answered is whether the party of JFK and the old line Democratic party will become that party again, or are they to become a new party called, the Democratic Socialist party. Certainly the party I knew and supported has made a hard left turn, but if they are to survive, they must cast off the politics of division and meet the rest of us in the middle of the road.  

Encounter

  Immediately I was engulfed by the spinning lights of many colors that swirled at the edge of the craft. Within the circle of spinning lights was a warm bright light. The light came from the craft directly over my head, bright but not unpleasant. When I looked up to see more detail of the ship itself, I could see nothing but the light. The madness of the periphery of spinning lights and their low level hum ended at the edges, and the warming peaceful light shined quietly everywhere else. The inner light was quiet, and this helped put me at ease. So at ease, that I never once gave thought to the worry about the craft landing on me and squashing me like a bug. Somehow I knew that the craft was content for now to just hover. 

As the enormity of what was happening started to be accepted,  my head became filled with questions, but I decided to keep still and just enjoy the peace that the light made me feel. Also, for what reason I can not tell you, but I was convinced that this was all there was to be, no visitor would appear from an unseen door, and this too helped to put me at my ease. I had no idea where I was or how much time had passed, but all I can tell you is that I have never encountered such total peace. 

I remember feeling grateful and thinking to myself, Wherever I am, I could stay here forever. Total peace and contentment, sure, why not? I raised up my arms outstretched to the light, and from somewhere the most fragrant and beautiful breeze I have ever known, blew across my body. And with this breeze, beautiful music of a type I had never heard sounded all along the lighted area. But now finally my mind caught up, and curiosity got the better of me, and my mind became flooded with questions. But as this rush of questions mounted in my mind, I could began to sense that the  feeling of complete peace began to fade. The music stopped abruptly,  and the warming light began to darken, I thought in the noise of the now spinning colors that I heard a voice say, "I have answered all of your questions, even those that you have not yet thought to ask". With that the craft whirred in bright colors to life, and was gone!  

Just Rambling

     When I was a little kid back in the fifties, occasionally we would go down to Florida to visit my grandmother, my father's mother. Back then there wasn't the modern interstate I 95. The driving route then was route 301. 301 was more a series of county roads linked at the state lines. The mid point tourist stop was called, South of the Border. I believe that the location was near or at the line between North and South Carolina, but don't quote me on that. But we had already passed that point and were in Georgia. There were only two lanes, one heading South and the Other North. Along the way, were shacks like the ones you would see in the movies. Tumble down shacks with tin roofs and front porches whose roofs looked like they would fall at any time. The black faces of the people who sat on those porches had the look of despair, even the kids seemed down trodden as they watched us pass by. And yet there was something else in those faces, and that was, the spirit to make the best of it. Down and out, but not beaten. The scene I describe, was during the time when many Southern states had installed a law known as  Jim Crowe law, and for those of you too young to know what that was, the premise of this law was, Separate but equal. Separate being the key word, legal segregation. My brother and I sat in the back, our faces pressed up against the windows. My dad drove on quietly looking at the scene on either side, but mostly intent on the road ahead. My mom dabbed at her eyes which she blamed on the moss that was everywhere hanging off the trees. I can't speak for Alan, but as for me, I thought she was crying. We stopped for gas at a small gas station with our Jersey plates, and it seemed like we had the plague or something. My brother and I stretched our legs while my mom made a bee line for the ladies room. One for white people and one for black, even the water fountains were separate, White only signs were common. I had better get this part in and not forget it, because no matter how I tried to concentrate on the story, I keep thinking to myself, Don't forget Ludiwicki. Not sure of the spelling of the town, but it was definitely in Georgia. After we were on our way again, we were pulled over by a fat cop chomping on a cigar., just like you'd picture him. The speed trap was set up where fatso in his patrol car hid behind a billboard located just after a curve and on the line of the town. The speed limit in the town was 25 miles per hour, and because you were traveling at highway speeds of fifty to sixty MPH, as soon as you passed the sign you were speeding. The choice given my dad was to pay the fine in cash, or wait for the county judge who would be there on Wednesday. My dad was not the wimpy type, and all I remember is my mom saying was, Andy, Andy, calm down, don't kill him! The old man must have figured that discretion in this case was better than valor. He paid the fine and we left. The town had a moment of fame as I believe that 60 Minutes did a piece on speed traps narrated by Mike Wallace, and Ludiwicki was one of the worst. 

When you think back on such times, it is amazing how much the country has changed. Yes, there was a time when this country was openly racist, but we have evolved, and that type of thinking died years ago. The sad part is, even after a black president was elected, and the top law enforcement official in the land was also a man of color, there are still those who label people as racist? We hear about how it was the black vote or the Hispanic vote that made all this progress possible, but without a lot of white voters, it would not have happened. America is not a racist country, and for those who still claim that we are, know this to be true, but they claim it only to divide, they do it for political gain.  We, each of us, need to look at what we've gained and look forward to the future. If we are going to survive as a nation, we must shun those who would divide us, and look only to unite. We have met racism head on and defeated it. Insist on remembering who we were serves no one. Be proud that even though it took too long and that many wrongs had been committed back then, that those times are gone forever. Congratulations America! Now is the time to move on forward together. United we stand, divided we fall, its that simple.