September 30, 2009

September 29, 2009

September 28, 2009

September 25, 2009

Susan Atkins

May 7, 1948 - September 24, 2009




She had a few smiles, made her peace with God, and went quietly... Damn shame all the people she killed didn't have that chance... Rumor has it, Charlie isn't too far behind...
As you said to Sharon Tate when she was pleading for the life of her unborn child ...

"Woman, I have no mercy for you"

Somehow I hope that Sharon Tate gets a few words with her before Susan walks through the gates of hell.


*** an addition...

I received an email about this post informing me that I should rethink my position on Ms. Atkins as she did these things under the influence and at an early age, since, "We all have sins we must pay for"....

The sins that I committed at that age were done by me, recognized and acknowledged by me, and paid for in full by me...

Yet I would tend to think that the payment for a few hundred stab wounds, sex with your two month old son, sex with dogs, writing on walls & doors in someones blood that you've drawn while murdering them, lying to officials both in & out of court, robbery, aggravated assault, etc etc.. would require a bit more payment than a fine or two & a few hours in jail...

Yes she was shown the ropes & taught, cajoled, twisted, taken advantage of, raped, drugged, abused, etc etc by this guy:



But she still did the things she was imprisoned for:


Personal responsibility, that's the key. When you ruin someones life with words or a knife... YOU did it. Whether you lie about someone, sell them down the river or murder them... You will pay. Everyone knows & one day you will too, you will witness the fall of your life and the dwindling of your soul into the nothingness that comprises you.

September 23, 2009

Flood


It has rained for about a month here. There hasn't been rain every day, but for the most part it has been overcast and rainy most of the time. The other day saw some places around here getting fifteen to nineteen inches of rain.

There has been massive flooding around this area.

I have two ways of crossing the Chattahoochee river to get to work. One of those bridges is currently washed out, the other is in danger of washing out as the river is expected to crest at it on Friday afternoon. This week at work has seen runs on area grocery stores that are still open, for bottled water since the water hasn't been working. Traffic has been a nightmare as parts of interstate twenty west of Atlanta are still closed, flooded out. Portions of the perimeter, I-285, around the city were closed, where the river had risen to flow over it. Yesterday a guy was on his way here from downtown to drop off a trailer and it took him almost three hours to make the thirty minute drive. People coming to Atlanta from Alabama are being told to get off the interstate and head toward Newnan, where I live, and then back north to the city, to avoid the flooded areas. The bridge they are using is just about the only way left at this point to cross the Chattahoochee that isn't currently closed. Everywhere I go I find the same thing, people huddled around not knowing how to get home. Businesses are closed, schools are closed, stores are out of stock on many things.. it is a mess. Even the UPS driver couldn't make it for his daily pick up yesterday.

On the way home yesterday I was turned around due to closed roads and sat in lots of traffic... When I finally reached the river crossing I was faced with eight mile back ups of people from all over the area trying to find a way to get across the river. There were cars from all over. I saw tags from every county in the metro area in line awaiting a clear way home.

Even Six Flags is under water...

When I crossed over a smaller river on the way home, there were people running all over the bridge, emergency vehicles parked on both sides, people hanging off the side... I thought, "Great.. they're shutting this down too..." When I got closer, I heard the woman in front of me ask one of the people on the bridge what was happening and she yelled, "There's some one in the river!".... My blood ran cold and I drove on....

That was the harshest thing I've experienced in a while. I watched the local news when I got home and saw the parents of a two year old weeping as they spoke of their son being washed from his fathers hands as the flood raged around them. These people lost their lives in the past couple of days here:

Preston Slade Crawford, 2, of Carrollton, drowned after being swept from his father’s arms when a surging creek ripped apart the family’s mobile home early Monday.

Nicholas Osley, 14, of Chattooga, drowned while swimming in the rain-swollen Chattooga River.

Donald Warlow, 50, drowned after car swept off roadway.

Kevin Hodges, 29, drowned after car swept off roadway.

Kelley Smith, 29, drowned after car swept off roadway.

Delina Weathers, 26, drowned after car swept off roadway.

Emeteria Howe, age unknown, drowned after car swept off roadway.

Richard Butler, age unknown, drowned after car swept off
roadway.

It has been a hard few days to witness, and I have seen and heard things that have disturbed me. The only thing I have lost during all of this has been a couple of trees across my driveway and time in traffic. We lost some equipment we had stored in an airplane hangar, three printing presses and a paper cutter, the owner of the hangar lost a couple of planes and a car... Yet the waters around here are starting to recede, the roads are opening and life goes on..

September 17, 2009

Growing old, growing tired, or growing up?

There is a common thread running through most conversations I'm involved in lately.

"I'm tired"

Now there are lots of different ways to be tired, the most common being the "beat down by life" feeling. The discussions that I find myself in seem to run the full spectrum of self pity. We have all used the litany of reasons for exhaustion... Friends and acquaintances, along with myself, are getting older. This would be the easy answer, the one that's quite literally staring us in the face.

I have always been an observer, hovering on the sidelines watching as life takes place around me. A condition I have, whether right or wrong, placed at the feet of acute shyness. So I decided to play to this strength, or weakness, and watch for a while. What I have seen is a group of people who are trying desperately to hold on to youth by acting the way they did twenty years ago.

In the past couple of years I have dealt with some harsh realities of life and have permanently taken a few lessons that came with them into my psyche, for better or worse. I have spent years abusing myself with overindulgence on all levels, it was easier when I was younger, but these days it seems to be rather boring. Many years ago I made a rule that I was done babysitting drunk people. If I went out with anyone who wound up ridiculously intoxicated, I would simply leave them to their own devices. I reached the end of the "pick me up and make sure I get home" mindset, a rule I have faithfully adhered to for more than twenty years. Besides, you can clean vomit out of your car only so many times before it gets really old. I thought about this rule and how it has affected my life thus far. The key to it was just to simply do it and let people have their opinions, not concerning myself in the least with their thoughts.

A wise old woman once said to me, "We make things more complicated than they really are." This seems to be the case with most people. I didn't think about her words at the time, but they have returned to haunt me. I realized that the things that have gone correctly and worked for me were done this way, simply. I made a decision and went with it. This simplicity seems to be the key to getting by with clear vision.

Life has phases as we all know. The problem seems to be what to take with you from phase to phase and what to leave behind. At times it feels as if we have no choice in this, but as with all things... we do. Everyone is a work in progress and will continue to be until we lay down and stop breathing. I have thought of all the advice I have gotten down through the years from people I consider to be genuinely wise, and it seems that they were all pretty much right in what they were saying.

The more we attempt to make our lives dramatic and busy, the more we seek the way things used to be. To be at home with family, in quiet solitude... Pursuing the things that bring peace and joy. Being a homebody makes this fairly easy for me. For each person these things are different. For me it's my wife and sons that I can look to as I create. My father told me once that children are truly the only way to stay young, and I believe that. There isn't anything we can do to alter the passage of time, yet we can reconnect with past joys by seeing the look in our childrens eyes as they experience life.

The problems arise when we let the outside world interfere with this sphere of existence. This is something that we struggle with on a daily basis, and at times its almost impossible to do. We seek guidance from many places... religion, friends, books, etc. When, in fact it is all rather simple. Examine what is there and remove what is wrong, and do it quickly because we aren't here very long and the time we have should be spent living in happiness surrounded by love. We have no need to spend our time wrapped in dramatic episodes fending off weasels.... Dammit life is for living.. and living is best done with love and peace in our hearts and smiles on our faces. Knowledge and wisdom taught to us, yet not applied, is completely useless... so learn.

September 15, 2009

Take my advice...

I have, as of late, been bombarded with requests from people seeking advice on a myriad of topics. Therefore as a public service of sorts I have decided to post a few truths of life. Ordinarily I don’t mind telling people what I think about a given situation, but there are just so many I thought it might be easier like this. Some of these are mine, some I have picked up along they way..

Don’t lie, there just isn’t anything to be gained by it.

If you broke it, fix the damn thing.

Cars are born of Satan, expect them to fall apart when you need them most.

Everything that you have done to hurt someone else so that your tracks can be covered is already known, face it.

When you are married or in a committed relationship, DO NOT have sex with someone other than your significant other. This now includes sexting, talking dirty on social networking sites, or emailing pictures of your body parts to uninterested people. Also, do not tweet “SCORE” every time you have sex…

Speaking of tweeting… People do not care where you are eating dinner.

You can get anything on earth clean with hot, soapy water and a s.o.s. pad.

Spend as much time with your children as you can.

The older you get, the faster time goes.

If you love God, that is a wondrous and blessed thing, just don’t tell everyone about it continually. Some people already love God, some love a different God, and some don’t believe in any God.

Do not call the police if someone steals your drug stash.

Children will scream and wail and gnash their teeth, get used to it, at least they are breathing.

When dealing with a government employee, say nothing but “biscuit” over and over until you get to someone who can actually get something done.

Never vote yes on anything that is going to take more money from you, force the government to exist on a budget like real people have to.

Larry King is a vampire.

Karma is real.

Television is the 2nd most evil thing man ever conceived, falling right after money and just before alcohol.

Magic exists, just talk to a child.

Relax, we are only here for a little while so try to enjoy something.

The lord of the rings is the best thing ever written.

Vegetarians always have gas.

Homosexuality is not a choice, please tell me when you made the decision to be attracted to only members of the opposite sex.

Men are easy, just give us a sandwich every day and get naked once in a while.

The first rule of all lists of rules is that there are exceptions to each and every rule.

Global warming is not caused by humans.

Owning a gun, learning how to use it and knowing where it is at all times is a good thing.

There are more rednecks north of the mason dixon line than south of it.

When someone tries to take something from you using force, kill them.. Then they will never attempt it again.

Birds make the best pets.

Staying married is a hard job, but its worth it.

Knocking back a few drinks in a bar is ok, if you have a tendency to wake up naked in strange places the next day, just stay out of bars altogether.

Everyone is going to die, yet that knowledge does absolutely nothing to assuage the pain of loss.

If you simply go ahead and accept these things as true, and take them to heart, most of the bad things in life will leave you alone. There is no cure all for pure bullshit, it always finds you, but you must consider the point that we create a great deal of the mess we are forced to handle each day.

September 11, 2009