Random Musings About Life

CHAPTER 1 – IT’S VACATION – IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE A TIME TO RELAX!   Traveling by RV is wonderful. You have your own bed, a place to cook, and a space to relax. However, it involves more work than most people realize. In a hotel, you pack clothes and toiletries, and the room is cleaned by staff. You eat at restaurants and return home with dirty laundry and a suitcase to unpack. With an RV, you handle all these tasks yourself, plus meal planning and preparation. Our travel/RV only has a microwave, so we often precook meals before leaving on our trip, freeze them, and heat them up later. The trip to Missouri/Arkansas was no exception.  The beds in our travel/RV are small, so we sleep in two of them. Upon return, we wash the sheets and bedding for both beds, along with the towels and other linens, rugs and clothing. The travel/RV is emptied of clothes, medicines, electronics, and other items that need to go back into our full-time homes. Once emptied, the travel/RV is cleaned, rest...

I was never very athletic; but I am definitely an outdoors girl.  I love being in nature.  It speaks to my soul in a way that is difficult to explain.  I have always had a restless spirit and an innate need to travel and explore outdoor places.  They call it Wanderlust and it started for me as a child.  Tonawanda Creek, Clarence NY We moved a lot – but no matter where I lived, (even in the city), I always found an area of vacant land that I would visit frequently.  I felt happiest in those places.  They were calm and quiet, unlike the chaos that frequently invaded my home.  Perhaps it being my escape is what has made it such a deep-seated part of who I am today. I love finding alpine meadows like I did in Glacier National Park in Montana, so high up in the mountains that they were infrequently visited by humans. Glacier National Park, Montana Seeing the dessert bloom with wildflowers – not just in pictures ...

  Once upon a time, I wore my open-mindedness like a comfortable cloak—a badge of honor that allowed me to embrace diversity, live and let live, and dismiss the “stuffy” conservatism of the right. Politics? Nah, not my cup of tea. Voting? Seemed futile; after all, both sides were equally flawed, right? And then, like a plot twist in a gripping novel, Barack Obama stepped onto the stage in 2008. The nation held its breath as history unfolded—a black President! Surely, this shattered any lingering illusions about racial barriers. Minorities would now find their opportunities, right? I watched Obama’s inauguration—the only one I’ve ever witnessed. But as his presidency unfolded, my rose-colored glasses cracked. Arrogance seeped through, and the fact that he was biracial seemed conveniently ignored. The unity he promised? It fractured. The country felt more divided than ever. In 2012, I cast my first-ever vote—against Obama. Yet, he secured a second term. My disillusionment deepe...

I have commented before on the disservice I believe society does to women - in particular. (It does a different disservice to men in my opinion, which is not the subject of this post). I’m talking about beauty standards. Little girls tend to hear compliments like, “oh isn’t she pretty rather than isn’t she clever”. Our society places a high priority on youth and beauty especially for women - and though I too appreciate beauty (and some days I long for youth), I still believe too much pressure is placed upon women – who then try to hold themselves to a beauty standard they can never attain – and in some cases, it negatively affects their self-worth. We hear of boys in school rating girls on whether they make the ‘hot or not list’. We see stars ‘splashed across our TV or computer screens or in magazines or up on billboards or on buses or – etc. (albeit this is after they’ve probably spent a TON on professionals to do their hair and make-up). I have also seen on various social media s...

  I'm not certain I completely agree with that. I know people who are atheist, agnostic, Jewish and so forth that have terrific morals. My point being, I don't think the 'fall' hinges so much on God - as it does on a falling away from morals and values - that many people attribute to God. Respect for elders, respect for authority, knowing right from wrong and doing the right thing not because someone is looking but because it is the right thing. I don't see these things as having God in one's heart, I see them as being a decent human being. On the remainder, I agree. Discipline has gone out the window. One can no longer spank a child. Not at home and not in the schools. (There is an enormous difference between spanking and beating a child. As a youngster, I was on the receiving end of spankings, and I had respect for my parents. I didn't turn out 'violent'. I know that I am NOT the only one in this category). Now the call is to 'question authorit...

R egardless of where you stand on 'gun rights', (and to be clear, I own a few) any time there is a senseless shooting it seems reasonable to ask, how can we prevent this happening again - (and again and again)? But I'm confused. Don't we pay taxes that are supposed to support our school systems? So here are my questions. I know that schools are frequently saying that they don't have enough money for supplies, books, whatever. How is it that we can send so much money overseas or be concerned about illegal immigrant children, but not FIRST take care of the needs of our own american citizen children? Why don't we have the same sort of security at schools that we do at other 'Government' buildings? Why can't we simply lock the doors? Now wait, I know fire - but what I mean is - why can't we lock the doors so they cannot be opened from the outside - but will open from the inside? Arrival time of students would need to be during a 'window'...

Pig Pen Norman's Front Porch Area I currently reside on my parent’s property.  They have spots for 3 RVs.  When Dad was setting things up was right at the time I came off the road.  So rather than buy a 3 rd RV for ‘my’ spot, I moved my RV here rather than to an RV Park.  Pay them rent or pay a park rent.  NO brainer. So – my RV is in the middle.   I live about 20 foot or so from each trailer on either side of me.   One of their tenants is just simply a passive-aggressive, inconsiderate-slob.   Why do I say this?   Well, he has a work van and leaves the doors open to run an extension cord inside I assume to charge some tools.   The problem is, he is such a pig that his literal garbage falls out on the ground and he doesn’t pick it up.   Eventually some of that garbage blows onto my spot and I end up picking it up. He also has a habit of playing his music rather loud.   Now if it was some Classic Rock, 70s era, Motown or Co...