brknbnes

Carlin Tribute; RIP

brknbnes — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:56:00 GMT

Subject: New Rules
wonderful Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...
Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

"Seek not to change the world, but choose to change your mind about the world.
What you see reflects your thinking. And your thinking but reflects your choice of what you want to see."

GEORGE CARLIN'S NEW RULES FOR 2007:

*New Rule* : No more gift registries. You know, it used to be just for
weddings. Now it's for babies and new homes and graduations from rehab.
Picking out the stuff you want and having other people buy it for you isn't
gift giving, it's the white people version of looting.

*New Rule* : Stop giving me that pop-up ad for classmates.com
There's a reason you don't talk to people for 25
years... Because you don't particularly like them! Besides, I already know
what the captain of the football team is doing these days -- mowing my lawn.

*New Rule* : Don't eat anything that's served to you out a window unless
you're a seagull. People are acting all shocked that a human finger was
found in a bowl of Wendy's chili. Hey, it cost less than a dollar. What did
you expect it to contain? Lobster?

*New Rule* : Stop saying that teenage boys who have sex with their hot,
blonde teachers are permanently damaged . I have a better description for
these kids: 'Lucky bastards.'

*New Rule* : If you need to shave and you still collect baseball cards,
you're a dope. If you're a kid, the cards are keepsakes of your idols. If
you're a grown man, they're pictures of men.

*New Rule* : Ladies, leave your eyebrows alone. Here's how much men care
about your eyebrows: Do you have two of them? Okay, we're done.

*New Rule* : There's no such thing as flavored water. There's a whole aisle
of this crap at the supermarket, water, but, without that watery taste.
Sorry, but flavored water is called a soft drink. You want flavored water?
Pour some scotch over ice and let it melt. That's your flavored water.

*New Rule* : Stop screwing with old people. Target is introducing a
redesigned pill bottle that's square, with a bigger label. And the top is
now the bottom. And by the time grandpa Figures out how to open it, his ass
will be in the morgue. Congratulations, Target, you just solved the Social
Security crisis.

*New Rule* : The more complicated the Starbucks order, the bigger the
asshole. If you walk into a Starbucks and order a 'decaf grandee, half-soy,
half-low fat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry,
light ice, with one Sweet-n'-Low, and One NutraSweet,' ooh, you're a huge
asshole.

*New Rule* : I'm not the cashier! By the time I look up from sliding my
card, entering My PIN number, pressing 'Enter,' verifying the amount,
deciding, no, I don't want Cash back, and pressing 'Enter' again, the kid
who is supposed to be ringing me up Is standing there eating my Almond Joy.

*New Rule* : Just because your tattoo has Chinese characters in it doesn't
make you Spiritual. It's right above the crack of your ass. And it
translates to 'beef with broccoli.' The last time you did anything
spiritual, you were praying to God you weren't pregnant. You're not
spiritual. You're just high.

*New Rule* : Competitive eating isn't a sport. It's one of the seven deadly
sins. ESPN Recently televised the U.S. Open of Competitive Eating, because
watching those athletes at the poker table was just too damned exciting.
What's next, competitive farting? Oh wait, they're already doing that. It's
called 'The Howard Stern Show.'

*New Rule* : I don't need a bigger mega M&Ms. If I'm extra hungry for M&Ms,
I'll go nuts and eat two.

*New Rule* : If you're going to insist on making movies based on crappy old
television shows, then you have to give everyone in the Cineplex a remote so
we can see what's playing on the other screens. Let's remember the reason
something was a television show in the first place is that the idea wasn't
good enough to be a movie.

*New Rule : And this one is long overdue: No more bathroom attendants. After
I zip up, some guy is offering me a towel and a mint like I just had sex
with George Michael. I can't even tell If he's supposed to be there, or just
some freak with a fetish. I don't want to be on your webcam, Dude. I just
want to wash my hands

*New Rule : When I ask how old your toddler is, I don't need to hear '27
months.' 'He's two' will do just fine. He's not a cheese. And I didn't
really care in the first place.

*New Rule : If you ever hope to be a credible adult and want a job that pays
better than Minimum wage, then for God's sake don't pierce or tattoo every
available piece of flesh. If so, then plan your future around saying, 'Do
you want fries with that?'

Marriage; Before and After---6 affairs

brknbnes — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 21:30:00 GMT

Before marriage.....

He: Yes. At last. It was so hard to wait.
She: Do you want me to leave?
He: No! Don't even think about it.
She: Do you love me?
He: Of course! Over and over!
She: Have you ever cheated on me?
He: No! Why are you even asking?
She: Will you kiss me?
He: Every chance I get.
She: Will you hit me?
He: Are you crazy! I'm not that kind of person!
She: Can I trust you?
He: Yes.
She: Darling!

After marriage....
Simply read from bottom to top.

6 Affairs...............

The 1st Affair

A married man was having an affair with his secretary. One day they went to her place and made love all afternoon. Exhausted, they fell asleep and woke up at 8 PM. The man hurriedly dressed and told his lover to take his shoes outside and rub them in the grass and dirt. He put on his shoes and drove home. 'Where have you been?' his wife demanded. 'I can't lie to you,' he replied, 'I'm having an affair with my secretary. We had sex all afternoon. She looked down at his shoes and said: 'You lying bastard! You've been playing golf!'

The 2nd Affair

A middle-aged couple had two beautiful daughters but always talked about having a son. They decided to try one last time for the son they always wanted. The wife got pregnant and delivered a healthy baby boy. The joyful father rushed to the nursery to see his new son. He was horrified at the ugliest child he had ever seen. He told his wife: 'There's no way I can be the father of this baby. Look at the two beautiful daughters I fathered! Have you been fooling around behind my back?' The wife smiled sweetly and replied: 'Not this time!'

The 3rd Affair

A mortician was working late one night. He examined the body of Mr. Schwartz, about to be cremated, and made a startling discovery. Schwartz had the largest private part he had ever seen. 'I'm sorry Mr. Schwartz,' the mortician commented, 'I can't allow you to be cremated with such an impressive private part. It must be saved for posterity.' So, he removed it, stuffed it into his briefcase, and took it home. 'I have something to show you won't believe,' he said to his wife, opening his briefcase. 'My God!' the wife exclaimed, 'Schwartz is dead!'

The 4th Affair

A woman was in bed with her lover when she heard her husband opening the front door. "Hurry she said, stand in the corner. She rubbed baby oil all over him, then dusted him with talcum powder. 'Don't move until I tell you,' she said, 'pretend you're a statue.' 'What's this?' the husband inquired as he entered the room. 'Oh it's a statue,' she replied, 'the Smiths bought one and I liked it so I got one for us, too.' No more was said, not even when they went to bed. Around 2 AM the husband got up, went to the kitchen and returned with a sandwich and a beer. 'Here,' he said to the statue, have this. I stood like that for two days at the Smiths and nobody offered me a damned thing.'

The 5th Affair

A man walked into a cafe, went to the bar and ordered a beer. 'Certainly, Sir, that'll be one cent.' 'One Cent?' the man exclaimed. He glanced at the menu and asked: 'How much for a nice juicy steak and a bottle of wine?' 'A nickel,' the barman replied. 'A nickel?' exclaimed the man. 'Where's the guy who owns this place?' The bartender replied: 'Upstairs, with my wife.' The man asked: 'What's he doing upstairs with your wife?' The bartender replied: 'The same thing I'm doing to his business down here.'

The 6th Affair

Ted was dying. His wife sat at the bedside. He looked up and said weakly: 'I have something I must confess.' 'There's no need to, 'his wife replied. 'No,' he insisted, 'I want to die in peace. I slept with your sister, your best friend, her best friend, and your mother!' 'I know,' she replied, 'now just rest and let the poison work.'

And that is THE END

I Entered Another World

brknbnes — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:13:00 GMT

Circadian rhythms are regular changes in mental and physical characteristics that occur in the course of a day (circadian is Latin for "around a day").

I went on a jaunt a week and half ago and my circadian rhythm has been all messed up.

Circadian rhythms can be affected to some degree by almost any kind of external time cue, such as the beeping of your alarm clock, the clatter of a garbage truck, or the timing of your meals. Scientists call external time cues zeitgebers (German for "time givers").

I fell asleep yesterday evening and didn't wake until after dark thirty or thereabouts. I felt re-stored with energy, cooked and ate breakfast and felt an impulse to go out into the night. It seemed to be calling me somehow, like a magnet attracted to steel.
I let my eyes adjust to the darkness for a few minutes before taking small steps into the night. I live in the woods, so to speak, and it's also very quiet so any sounds are magnified. I kept hearing a catfight (breeding) in the background, a coyote howling up on the mountain, and saw about a 100 lightening bugs blinking. The were so bright in the darkness and seemed to be communicating to each other with their flashing. Sometimes there would be a line of them flying and flashing in unison about 10 times. I eased my way amongst the heaviest concentration of them and all of a sudden I was surrounded by green flashing lights, some with sudden bursts and others lit for what it seemed like a second, as the flew past my head but not once bumping into me.
They seemed to be curious about my presence in their space, (or irritated), and came in droves. Soon it seemed like a thousand bright green flashing lights buzzing around me, I love the solitude and awareness of natural occurance in nature, even the tiniest insect. And now that moment is burned into the hard drive of my mind, forever.

Most circadian rhythms are controlled by the body’s biological "clock." This clock, called the suprachiasmatic nucleus or SCN, is actually a pair of pinhead-sized brain structures that together contain about 20,000 neurons. The SCN rests in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, just above the point where the optic nerves cross. Light that reaches photoreceptors in the retina (a tissue at the back of the eye) creates signals that travel along the optic nerve to the SCN.

And I think they re-set my clock. I fell asleep soon after and slept for another 6 hours and feel great.

$200 Whopper!!!

brknbnes — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:12:00 GMT

LONDON — It's known as the home of 'The Whopper' and Burger King is hoping its latest product really lives up to its reputation. The fast-food giant launched a $200 burger Wednesday — all in the name of charity.

Setting a new record, the world's most expensive burger is available at just one restaurant in West London, England, once a week — but it will eventually be available to order via a hotline.

The fine ingredients of what is called simply 'The Burger' include Wagyu beef, white truffles, Pata Negra ham slices, Cristal onion straws, Modena balsamic vinegar, lambs lettuce, pink Himalayan rock salt, organic white wine and shallot infused mayonnaise in an Iranian saffron and white truffle dusted bun.

Celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson told Sky News Online: "It sounds delicious. The ingredients are very good and high powered, but why are Burger King doing it?"

All the proceeds from The Burger sales will go to the Help A London Child charity, which assists young people experiencing abuse, homelessness, disability, poverty and illness.

David Kisilevsky, at Burger King, said: "The Burger reflects our ongoing commitment to producing for a range of different pockets."

I couldn't get the pic to load on here but posted it on my site if you would like to see it.

sorry?

Cell Phones and YOUR Brain

brknbnes — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:59:00 GMT

Last week, three prominent neurosurgeons told CNN interviewer Larry King that they did not hold cell phones next to their ears. Dr. Keith Black, Dr. Vini Khurana, and CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta all maintained that the practice could be unsafe.

Along with Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s recent diagnosis of a glioma, a type of tumor that critics have long associated with cell phone use, the doctors’ remarks have helped reignite the debate about cell phones and cancer.

Maybe we should think about that.

HOW TO SAVE THE AIRLINES

brknbnes — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:53:00 GMT

Dump the male flight attendants. No one wanted them in the first place.

Replace all the female flight attendants with good-looking strippers! What the hell -- They don't even serve food anymore, so what's the loss?

The strippers would at least triple the alcohol sales and get a 'party' atmosphere' going in the cabin. And, of course, every businessman in this country would start flying again, hoping to see naked women.

Because of the tips, female flight attendants wouldn't need a salary, thus saving even more money. I suspect tips would be so good that we could charge the women for working the plane and have them kick back 20% of the tips, including lap dances and 'special services.'

Muslims would be afraid to get on the planes for fear of seeing naked women. Hijackings would come to a screeching halt, and the airline industry would see record revenues.

This is definitely a win-win situation if we handle it right -- a golden opportunity to turn a liability into an asset.

Why didn't Bush think of this? Why do I still have to do everything myself?

Sincerely,

Bill Clinton

INSTALLING A HUSBAND

brknbnes — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:04:00 GMT

Dear Tech Support,
Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and
noticed a distinct slow dow n in overall system performance, particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0. In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5 and then installed undesirable programs such as NBA 5.0, NFL 3.0 and Golf Clubs 4.1. Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I've tried running
Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail.
What can I do?
Signed,
Desperate.

DEAR DESPERATE,
First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.
Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.html and
try to download Tears 6.2 and don't f orget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5. But remember, overuse of the above application can cause husband 1.0 to de fault to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta.
Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.) Also do not attempt to reinstall Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0.
In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it
does have limited memory and cannot learn new
applications quickly. You might consider buying
additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend Cooking 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7.
Good Luck,
Tech Support

I Been Trippin'

brknbnes — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:39:00 GMT

Whew, glad to be back. I been trying to plan a trip to visit my mom on her birthday, Monday June 9, and Friday I got a call from my bff who was packed and ready to go. I threw my stuff in the little Cavalier and took off to Alabama to pick up my friend Julie, arriving just before dark and off we went down I-20 to Hotlanta then south on I-75. We were trippin'! I finally had to get some gas before we hit the state line, it was nice and cool out so we didn't have to run the air conditioner at all. The weather forecast was for hot, dry weather both up my way and in Florida so there was no chance of rain. We cruised all night and ended up in St. Augustine beach just before sunrise, and we stopped for about an hour or so, walked the beach and waited on the sun to appear out of the Atlantic. It was a beautiful thing. I felt like I was trippin' again.

After that we eased on down A1A south towards Daytona enjoying the morning peace and the ocean waves soothing our souls. Up ahead I could see the condos getting closer and closer then we spied a little motel/inn right on the ocean. I made a u-turn and asked the owner about renting a room now, it was about 9 by now, and we hadn't slept all night. He agreed and we got the place for another night after seeing it. $62 and right on the ocean with a kitchenette, fridge, microwave, new mattresses, and our own private front yard. Right on the ocean!! Yea, we went to sleep, we woke about 1pm and then had the whole day ahead of us. And it was a perfect day. We went to a place I know of, next to the Daytona Beach Lighthouse at the inlet, called Down The Hatch, it's a local seafood place with fresh fish, right on the water. There must have been a fishing tournament there were so many boats coming and going plus we were right on the Intercoastal Waterway so all the big yatchs were going by. We both had the Yellowfin Tuna and something else, we were still kinda not with it anyway.

We drove around some and on the way back I got on the beach and drove for about ten miles back to Daytona Beach before getting back on the asphalt. That is always so cool to do. I wish I had had more time to rent a bicycle to ride on the beach, I really like that. I drove Julie around some, stopped at a couple of shops to get a few things, went back to our room and chilled out the rest of the evening. Julie went for a walk on the beach and I went to the grocery store for some munchies/breakfast stuff. That was kind of bad waiting in line, I always seem to pick the slowest ones anymore? After dark the wind picked up and was blowing about 25mph from off the ocean. It was exhilarating. I found it hard to go inside, I almost got my sleeping bag and slept on the beach, but the tide was too high. We slept good that night, it felt like it was our second night, but it was still day one! I think my circadian rhythm was messed up some, but I am on a trip

I woke soon after sunrise the next morning, Sunday now, and it was another great morning. The wind had subsided, it was relatively cool and I'm recharged now. We ate breakfast at a little diner in Daytona Beach then headed up to see my mom afterwards arriving about 11 or so. It's always good to see her but she is having some troubles at home with her husband's 50 something year old child not being able to support himself so it seems he has moved in with them, and is living off them. I'm not ok with the situation and made it known right away, causing a little tension in the air, so we didn't stay long but did set up a birthday dinner for her at 5:30 at one of her favorite places. So we took off and went to Playalinda beach beside Kennedy Space Center, then to Haulover canal to get a local rock from the area for Julie. I found her a big chunk of Coquina rock, about 30 lbs, and then it was off to dinner with my mom.

We had a nice dinner while looking at the Space Center across the Indian River Lagoon on a perect day. She said she had a Dr's appointment Monday morning, so I decided to leave from our place on the water in the morning, and we said goodbye after taking a few pics. We eased our way back up to our place arriving after dark as the waves lapped the shoreline and the crescent moon glowing in the west.

The next morning Julie went for her morning walk as I checked the car and cleaned it up some for our return trip. I had picked up some Staghorn Ferns from my mom's place and had scattered them around our front yard to find some shade for them before we took off. Julie came back and we ate some cherry pastries and then there was a knock on the door. It was the owner. He was kicking us out. He said check out was 10! I said well what time is it? 10:30. Oh.. So as I threw the stuff in the car Julie took another shower and we hit the road for our return trip. Very nice day for driving, no traffic stoppage during our whole trip and uneventful until we were about 2 miles from Julie's place. A little car had been following me for a while down a 2 lane road and when we got on a 4 lane he made sure he passed me. I try to stay on cruise control and not speed. He got ahead of me and when we cleared a little rise on the road there was a cop. He turned his light on as we saw him and he made a u-turn. Julie was freaking out! What do I do with this stuff? How fast were you going? I started to pull over and he went right on by and stopped the car that had passed me. Whew! I dropped her off about dark and headed on my way back to Chattanooga area, arriving by midnight and I remember thinking, I been trippin', as I dozed off in slumber...........

At The Feet Of The Divine

brknbnes — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:16:00 GMT

I read this and thought it worth sharing

Laying Our Burdens Down

We all know the feeling of walking through life as if we are carrying the huge burden of our worries and stresses on our backs and shoulders, struggling to keep moving forward. There is no real way to move freely and fluidly in such a situation, and we are all longing to lay our burdens down. Just imagining that it would be possible to do such a thing can be enough to elicit a sigh of relief and a feeling of lightness.

The human imagination is a powerful tool, and we can use it to take journeys to faraway places without ever leaving our home. Because of this, we too can lay our burdens down at the feet of a divine being such as your God, the great Mother, Buddha, a tree or a mountain. Releasing ourselves from that which we can’t handle on our own. No matter how smart we are, how capable we are, or how hard we work, no one can single-handedly cope with all the worries that we tend to take on in the course of our lives. And, we aren't designed to do so. Our wellbeing depends upon our ability to hand over that which we can no longer carry by ourselves.

Visualizing yourself carrying your burdens to the feet of someone or something much bigger than you can be a powerful daily practice. To begin, sit with your eyes closed and envision an all powerful, supremely comforting being in what ever form that takes for you, standing at the end of a road. See yourself carrying a large sack, box, or other container, imagining that all your worries are inside it. Watch as you make your way to the being of your choice, and lay your baggage down at their feet. Allow yourself to feel the lightness and relief of this action, express your gratitude, and surrender. You will be amazed by how this simple meditation can liberate you from a burden you were never meant to carry.

(Mostly from the daily OM)

Keepin' it real

brknbnes — Sun, 18 May 2008 03:26:00 GMT

I don't know if you ever saw this video but it is great.

What a hoot.

http://www.runawaybox.com/video.php?vid=396

Tricking the Mind; Phantom Pain/Paralysis

brknbnes — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:53:00 GMT

In this fascinating video, Vilayanur Ramachandran, the director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego, and an adjunct professor at the Salk Institute, describes how brain damage can reveal the strong connection between your mind and your body.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/12/25/simple-3-idea-eliminates-intense-pain-and-paralysis.aspx

Science on the Cutting Edge

brknbnes — Wed, 14 May 2008 03:44:00 GMT

A team of researchers from the University of Calgary and the Tokyo Institute of Technology proudly announced in February that they had successfully stored "nothing" inside a puff of gas and then had managed to retrieve that same "nothing.

" That "nothing" is called a "squeezed vacuum," and the physicists tell us that a light wave can be manipulated so that its phases are of uncertain amplitude, then the light itself removed so that only the "uncertainty" property of the wave remains. [ScienceNOW Daily News, 2-29-08]

Now that'll make you wonder. hmmmm

Another cool video on epigenetics by Bruce Lipton is awesome too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iCcnDuY6-4

Valuable Information The Message of Pain

brknbnes — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:13:00 GMT

When we feel pain, our first impulse is often to eradicate it with medication. This is an understandable response, but sometimes in our hurry to get rid of pain, we forget that it is the body's way of letting us know that it needs our attention. A headache can inform us that we're hungry or stressed just as a sore throat might be telling us that we need to rest our voice. If we override these messages instead of respond to them, we risk worsening our condition. In addition, we create a feeling of disconnectedness between our minds and our bodies.

Physical pain is not the only kind of pain that lets us know our attention is needed. Emotional pain provides us with valuable information about the state of our psyche, letting us know that we have been affected by something and that we would do well to focus our awareness inward. Just as we tend to a cut on our arm by cleaning and bandaging it, we treat a broken heart by surrounding ourselves with love and support. In both cases, if we listen to our pain we will know what to do to heal ourselves. It's natural to want to resist pain, but once we understand that it is here to give us valuable information, we can relax a bit more, and take a moment to listen before we reach for medication. Sometimes this is enough to noticeably reduce the pain, because its message has been heard. Perhaps we seek to medicate pain because we fear that if we don't, it will never go away. It can be empowering to realize that, at least some of the time, it is just a matter of listening and responding.

The next time you feel pain, either physical or emotional, you might want to try listening to your own intuition about how to relieve your pain. Maybe taking a few deep breaths will put an end to that headache. Perhaps writing in your journal about hurt feelings will ease your heart.

Ultimately, the message of pain is all about healing.

A Stitch in Time

brknbnes — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:04:00 GMT

I've been driving since I was about 14 years old, I learned to drive on the beach in our skeeter. That's what it was called anyway. It was an old car with the roof, doors and trunk cut off, and a raised plywood bed after the front seat. It had big wide soft ballon tires all the way around and it still had the windshield, hood and front fenders. We would go run the beaches on the weekend, once in a while we would stop and drag the beach with our long seine, that was neatly stacked on a plywood board, to catch some fish when we saw some activity in the surf. We would stop the skeeter, jump out dragging the net and run into the surf pulling as fast as we could and go until we were neck high. Then start walking parallel to the beach for as long as we could. There was a 6 foot pole at each end of the net to pull with and keep from drowning out there. When we got tired we would sweep the net in and see what we had. Our favorite fish was pompano, but we caught everything including crabs, jellyfish, catfish, and some big sea bass feeding in the surf. I look back and wonder why we never caught a shark. That area is notorious for shark bites now, just south of New Smyrna on the east cost of Florida.

That part of Florida coast is closed at night now, called Canaveral National Seashore, a part of Merrit Island Wildlife Sanctuary. You can go out in the daytime if you pay them money, there are no stores, no houses, and no driving on the beach. I've been back to surf fish, at the end of the pavement is now known as the nude beach area and the whole place is closed during a countdown or they put a shuttle on the pad, or whenever they want.

In the 1960's we actually lived out there on the Refuge as it was called back then, in a government rental house beside Haulover Canal. The canal connected Mosquito Lagoon with the Indian River Lagoon, built by the Corps of Engineers in the earlier years. It is also part of the Intercoastal Waterway along the east coast of the US from Maine to Miami. So lots of yatchs and sailboats came by everyday. I remember waving at all the boats and the long bus ride to middle school along with the isolation. We rigged the lawn mower with a kerosene drip into the muffler to fog for mosquitos and had to wear long sleeve shirts most of the time. I don't remember having air conditioning either because we had to spray the screens with repellent because the sand gnats were small enough to come through the screen at night. Needless to say we only stayed about a year before my mom almost snapped and we all moved into town, Titusville. All 7 of us survived and were left with our own set of memories. I remember we made crab traps and started running a few strings, getting up to about 200 traps catching a few barrels of blue crabs a day. We kept the boat docked up nearby leaving early in the morning and returning before noon with the days catch. I was operating a boat way before I learned to drive and knew the waterways as good as anyone. I knew all the sloughs and sand bars and even one place to cross right over to the beach with a 50 yard walk. I remember camping there one time with my dad and 3 brothers. It was a very desolate area being 20 miles from civilization and a big storm was moving in. We had our tent set up but no food so we split up and I decided to take the shotgun and they all went to the beach fishing. The storm was moving in fast when I shot a rabbit and then found a gopher tortoise and returned to the tent to find they had caught nothing. so we built a fire as dad prepared the meat for cooking, in the rain. I remember it had a lot of sand in it but we were real hungry. Oh, the good times we remember.

Them Changes They Just Keep Coming

brknbnes — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:35:00 GMT

Just when you think you got it all figured out along comes a few circumstances that will test even the strongest of wills. I've always been a self sufficient kind of person since a young age, more by circumstances than choice, and have only asked for help from my parents one time in my mid-twenties, and was denied. So I picked myself up, dusted myself off, opened the book of life to a new chapter and turned the page. I've been in rough situations most all my life and have always survived, it's like someone was watching over me for sure.
My life could have been so different, in so many ways, so many times, it's hard to recall them all anymore, but here are a few.

I have no memory of my childhood, except what I have talked with other people about and every once in a while something will flash, like some smell or sight causes some recall of an event. I remember falling and breaking my arm up by my shoulder when I was around 6,7, or 8. I broke my neck in a shallow water diving accident at 15, and then I was accident free for 25 years.
I wrecked on a street motorcycle 1 week after my 40th birthday and got broken up pretty good. Left tib/fib and femor with compound fractures, pelvis in 4 places, 8 ribs, collapsed lung, right heel, along with a few contusions and a splashed muscle. I had always heard life begins at 40, and here I was trying to save mine now. I was in rehab for about 9-10 months and made it back to work 1 day from a year to kept my job. But I guess I didn't learn a lot or wasn't paying attention to details because that spring I decided to get back on my Dragbike I entered a race at Orlando Speedworld, a motorcycle only race sponsored by a local biker group from Cocoa, and I had won it before, twice. On my first test run I did what I call a shakedown pass, just to make sure everything is working like it supposed to. It ran good, about 10 seconds in the 1/4 mile at about 130 mph. On my second pass I decided run it out, and get a good time in order to get ready for the race later that day, and I also had thoughts of selling it. It was flawless through all 5 gears and when I let off the gas after the 14 mile, it just kept going! I started to pump the front brake as I bumped the throttle a few more times trying to clear it up. Nothing! And I was still gaining speed. And I was on them front brakes when I saw the guardrails disappear, I looked up and the end of the track was coming up. FAST! It was then I decided to kill the motor with my deadman switch, with my left hand off the bars, I hit the switch. Everything went very quiet, and time seemed to slow down.I pushed the handlebar with my right arm as I slid forward in my seat. And when I snatched the bars back straight, I locked the front wheel up and fell over on my left side. (because I was still on that front brake) I remember all of the accident, the sliding after I pushed that bike off of me, and the flight to Orlando Regional. I woke up a few days later to another whole world. I had broken a few more bones, and was stable they said. Broke that left femor again and bent that rod, this time my right tib/fib with a large gaping wound that the doctors couldn't cover. After 6 weeks and 2 failed attempts, I told them to just take that thing off and let me go home. Oh, them changes. So I was in rebab for another 10 months, learned to walk again, and made it back to work 1 day from a year. I still had my job, even though I felt like I was being carried by other employees. After a while a new company bid on the contract our company had, and won. So after 17 years, (with 2 being out,) I left the company and set out on new adventures, with one leg. And them changes they must be my friend, they just won't leave me alone.