I find that great moments of enlightenment often come in the times we least expect them. Then in a moment of Zen brilliance things are made so clear. This is one of those times. The United States news organizations in my opinion are all about fear and ratings of the same. If you subscribe to their theory Susan Smith could be your neighbor. We spend litteraly billions on defence to allieviate our fears over the present state of terrorism. Yet more are killed by our own guns in our own country every year than have been killed all together through our history from terror. Here's an idea quit giving money to the rest of the world. Bring home most troops. Spend those billions finding a way to keep us from accidently killing ourselves! If the rest of the world wants to **** themselves, let them! The tribes of Afganistan have been killing each other for at least 1500 years. We cannot change the way they think or act anymore than we change another in a relationship. I see this all the time people thinking they can change their partners through their influence. It never works it never will, anymore than abstinance has been able to stop pregnancy over the centuries. Meanwhile we go into recessions that effect the entire world. Think of what a great life it would be if we could fund humanitarian aid to our own country, our own retirees. There are as many baby boomers ready to retire soon as all those who are already retired. We need to let the immigrants back in. We need them to support these new retirees. The Government has swelled to twice the size it was in 2001. These people don't pay Social Security taxes. They are payed by us and they invest in a different way for retirement. If this keeps up the only good retirement will be a government job spying on your neighbors.

The stories that come from long ago have a kernel of truth to them. That is why they have survived

For Tatertot
How often we look back on the road that wound through our lives? Only to find it would have been much better if we had taken the easy way. But perhaps some of us are destined to blaze trails yet unknown. It was so with me. And yet I can't but think how much I wish something different for my own son. None of us wish our children to hurt others .Nor do we want to see them in pain.

For she who crossed roads with me then diverged in the woods.

How can any of us say we are not afraid to die?
To see another waste away is such a painful thing.Yet we still see them as we wish to remember them

This I wrote to my daughter on her last night as a child.The night before she left for college

Sometimes the thoughts of the mind take me back to times that seem like yesterday. However the day has set on those times and the new day risen on better ones.