Yet, Another Milestone Reached!

Yes, indeed! Today is another milestone for me. It is not only the first day of the rest of my life, but it’s also the first day of my 68^th year as a living, breathing, being, human on this planet. Or to put it another way, yesterday was my 67^th birthday.

I’m not big on holiday hoopla. For the most part, most U.S. holidays are, decidedly, commercially motivated events. While they may commemorate some person(s) or some event, that seems to have been lost. Other then the holidays that were created completely out of commercial motivation like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, virtually all holidays are, at least in the U.S., commercially motivated. There are, of course, some exceptions such as certain Jewish, Muslim and perhaps some other religious observances. But, take Christmas as an example. It is supposedly about commemorating the birth of Jesus, but historians and Biblical scholars have unanimously disagreed on an actual date for the birth of Jesus. There isn’t even a consensus on the actual year. One account suggests that the Christmas holiday is based on an annual Roman pagan tradition that the early Christian church adopted to bring the masses of pagans into the church fold. Another example that always gets to me is Columbus Day. Columbus didn’t even set foot on this continent, let alone discover “America.” So, why does he get a holiday? To SELL MORE STUFF!!!

Every Party Has A Pooper!

Okay, so I’m a party pooper. Actually, there are a lot of downers about being a very pragmatic thinker. I always used to call my former mother-in-law one of the “two percenters” because she just didn’t accept or understand why certain things were simply accepted by the masses. Hmm, maybe some of her rubbed off on me. Of course, referring back to the brief commentary about my “advancing” age by my retired Navy admiral friend, Roger Gilbertson, “with age comes wisdom,” perhaps, my pragmatism is becoming more pronounced as I gain whatever “wisdom” I may have accumulated to date.

Of course, the holidays that I just scorned also serve the purpose of nuclear families planning some kind of family activity. They also serve as a time to gather with the extended family and friends to enjoy a time of fellowship and camaraderie. These are certainly positive virtues and I’m sure, more then any other reason, it’s the primary reason I’ve gathered with friends and family on these occasions. But, while I’m at it, one of the great things about being a pragmatist is that we can create a holiday anytime we want for any reason that suits our desires at that moment. It can be a spontaneous thing or a traditional thing or a one time only thing. I’ve done all three. This also may be one of the reasons that many Europeans don’t talk about vacations; they talk about going on holiday. I like that.

Too many people, especially when the birthday count passes the half-century mark, begin denying their age. If you’re old enough to recall Jack Benny, the comedian, he was forever 39. My aforementioned former mother-in-law celebrated her “2^nd 40^th birthday” in 2006 and this year plans have been announced for a family reunion to celebrate her “2^nd 43^rd birthday.” That’s all cute, but the facts are the facts and the reality is that no one can stop the hands of time. We know this; we just really don’t want to accept it.

Thus, while getting older has some drawbacks, there is no way to stop the years from passing – well, except for one and that’s the one we all hope will be a long time in the future no matter how old we are. I simply embrace it. Each new-year that I reach is like another notch in my achievements in life. I look at it as a fighter pilot looks at the marks painted on his airplane indicating the number of confirmed “kills” he’s had in his career or the number of notches carved in the “playboy’s” bedpost indicating his sexual conquests. Personally, each of the years I’ve achieved indicates levels of experience and wisdom gained. These are far more important to me.

Ed’s Pronouncement About Birthdays

So, here comes one of my pragmatic pronouncements about birthdays. Each individual’s birthday should be a personal holiday. To me, it’s the most meaningful day in any person’s life since it is the date and time indicating when your personal journey and adventure called life began. Each year becomes a milestone that indicates advances, setbacks and other experiences. Of course, we can create artificial milestones like when we obtained our drivers license, graduated from high school and college, received promotions in our various careers and so on. But, we can’t create the annual markers of the day we were born. That is a function of time over which we have not control. That foundation date is carved in stone or at least recorded on an official piece of paper at the county courthouse. So, I accept each milestone as a badge of honor. I’m pleased to have begun my 68^th year. While not everything that’s happened during my prior 67 years has been positive or the way I had hoped it might have been, it’s still, uniquely, MY HISTORY and I am who I am because of that history. I’m pretty happy with who I am.

Another thing about the birthday as a personal holiday is that each individual can (and should) celebrate it any way and on any day he or she wishes. It’s YOUR personal holiday to do anything you choose. You can go horseback riding, bungee jump, skydive, climb a mountain, go fishing, scuba dive, drive a race car or just attend a race, go have a decadent dinner at some exclusive restaurant, read a book you’ve been meaning to get to, go shopping and buy a new outfit or car, etc. It’s your holiday there are no rules, guidelines or traditions since it’s, uniquely, yours. In my book, it’s the only real, true holiday each of us should make time to observe.

What Of The Future?

I’ve spent some time reflecting on my life and what it’s going to be like when I reach 80, 85 and maybe 90, if I’m fortunate enough to live that long. The average U.S. lifespan is currently about 75.5 years for men in the U.S., so if one is 10 to 15 years beyond that average we have to know that we are getting very close to the final destination. I wonder what goes through the minds of my friends who are in their 80’s or 90 or beyond as they get up each day. What will I be thinking each morning when (if) I reach those ages? For the most part, my friends have something to do each day. They have a reason to get up and stay active. That is one of several ways to extend life according to geriatric studies.

So, day 1 of year 68, here it is. What am I doing? I haven’t celebrated this milestone, yet. I haven’t decided on how I want to commemorate this year, but I will. I am reinventing myself. No, I’m not changing who I am. I like who I am and so do the people who are important to me (and anyone who doesn’t like me, it’s their problem, they are not important to me). I have accepted that the world has changed. In some cases, I’ve fallen behind a little. In some cases, I’m either not ready or I’m not willing to accept certain changes. I know that the world I spent the first few decades of my adult life is history and most of my professional career and my college/graduate school education are obsolete. It’s now part of my cumulative wisdom. The future for me is about finding ways to transfer this accumulated wisdom (and experience) into useful and productive ways to keep myself active and motivated by doing some good for those I care about, things I care about and the future of this world. I can truly say that I’m not the person I was. I’m a much better person. The prospects are exciting.

Celebrate your annual milestone and make it your personal holiday

Being Human

I was sitting here meditating over lots of things I need to get to on a too long “To Do” list and reflected back to my last post that I titled “Human Being.” If you read it, and I hope you did, I was musing on the idea that the meaning of life is simply about “being.” Sure, we can assign any other meanings we choose including religious or other spiritual beliefs, physical beliefs, purpose or mission oriented beliefs. But, in my simple, pragmatic way of thinking, having attached religious, spiritual and purpose/mission related meanings to my own life at various times over the years, I’ve come to embrace simplicity and to me that just means my life is about being – in the here and now. Perhaps, at my somewhat “advanced” age (at a time when 60 is considered the new 40 – it still makes me pretty young) I’ve reached a point where most or all of the past beliefs just aren’t holding any water for me now. As my friend, Rear Admiral Roger Gilbertson, USN (retired), a brilliant man and philosophic thinker, recently reminded me, “With age comes wisdom.” Could this actually be happening to me? Could I actually have acquired some wisdom over all these years?

Well, however you choose to believe is your absolute right. It’s not my purpose to make you believe and accept my views or opinions. If something I babble about here inspires you to search your own heart and mind for your own answers, that’s great. If you reach similar conclusions to mine, about any of the “great questions” of life, that’s wonderful. If you reach very different conclusions, that’s wonderful, too. The important thing is that you searched your heart and mind for your own answers. I still feel, no matter what any of us believe, each of us as a human being should ultimately accept that the being part of human being is about just that – B-E-I-N-G! All other beliefs are added to that basic belief.

Notice, however, that the title of this post is reversed from that last post. If a human being is about being, then are there certain qualities that are specific to being human? I maintain there is otherwise we’d be no different then an amoeba, a goldfish, a sparrow, a wolf, a lizard or any other animal, even an ant, for that matter. I don’t want to get into a discussion or debate on creationism, intelligent design and evolution in this blog. Once again, that goes to your own personal belief systems. I will simply state in my own belief system there are traits in the human species that are virtually identical to those traits found in each of the various groups of living things I just mentioned.

We hear the term “reptilian brain” used when referring to certain basic instinctual behaviors of humans. This reptilian complex is the earliest developed basic brain or basal ganglia. I don’t want to get too scientific about this, but basically, this is the part of the brain that controls four primary functions: self-preservation (fight or flight), hunger (which when allowed to function at it’s most basic level means we’ll do whatever we have to do to get food), sex (the need to procreate and perpetuate the species – and in its most savage and involuntary form includes rape) and sleep (the necessity to relax and let the body rest to regenerate). Breathing and other involuntary bodily functions are also part of this reptilian brain. The physician and neuroscientist, Paul MacLean, further says that this part of the brain complex is also responsible for aggression, dominance, territoriality and ritual displays.

Thinking about the idea that each human being has this most basic brain as the foundation of the very ability to exist should make it easier to comprehend many of our own actions and reactions in life. But, when you examine the meanings of the basic functions you can see why humans have spent most of their history involved in wars and other violent and primitive behavior. What are the typical reasons for most wars? Dominance, territoriality, rituals (like religious convictions), need to have and control resources like food and water and similar. And, of course, this is where we display aggression, sexual and other forms of violence and the determination of whether to fight or retreat for self-preservation. In other words, the same basic animal behaviors we see in all forms of lower animals.

The part of the brain that has evolved (I’m not using the word evolved to create controversy, it’s simply the easiest way for me to explain my thoughts) is what makes us human. The human brain has developed other lobes that give us the ability to create language and communicate, to reason and use logic, to think abstractly, to be perceptive and to plan. These functions are usually attached to the left and right brain hemispheres. This is where our humanness comes from. This is what separates us from the lower forms of life I listed earlier and control the basic functions I listed. So, as I see it, the meaning of life (for all forms of life) is to be or being in the moment and the unique qualities of the way our brains have developed makes us human, thus, human beings. I hope I’m not going in circles on you.

Now, here is how we relate this all to living free. All forms of life (and for practical reasons, I’m not going to include plant life in its many forms) are naturally born free. However, this humanness that human beings solely possess allows each individual and as part of groups of human beings to alter our behaviors, structure our lifestyles, create change in our social order and create structures and organizations to improve our species. This is only part of what our humanness allows us to do. However, we still possess all of the basic instinctual and functional characteristics of our reptilian brains. This becomes apparent in such things as the observations I made in the first two posts entitled The Apolitical Strategist, Part 1 and 2 where I spoke about lemming, gang, mob, herd and crowd mentality. We can add to that “pecking order” which can be observed in a hen house.

Being human means we have the brainpower to modify our behavior. We can choose to live in communal environments or in more solitary environments. We can be more or less assertive and aggressive. We can create laws and rules to maintain order in the communal environment and penalize those individuals who, for whatever reason, are not able to conform on a regular or occasional basis. Those individuals who are more adaptable to conforming will, for the most part, live harmoniously with friends, neighbors, family, co-workers and others in the social structure. They will “play well with others” and exhibit various forms of “team spirit.” For the most part, we will be conformists. That’s not to say that we each won’t display some degrees of individuality, but for the most part we will pretty much follow the pecking order and herding mentality, all pretty much as unconsciously as breathing in and breathing out.

This humanness also is responsible for our ability to be responsible for our own actions and be held accountable – again, keeping the more reptilian instinctual functions in check. It is why we can experience both giving and receiving various forms of love and affection from pair bonding with a mate to parental to familial, to close friendships, to team spirit and loyalty to a general concern for the welfare of all members of our species. It’s also what allows us to drop into negative patterns of human behavior such as various forms of substance abuse, abusive, violent, immoral, unethical and illegal behavior. It’s why; when we join a military organization voluntarily or involuntarily most men (and women) can be trained to dehumanize those humans we are either being aggressive towards or defending from their aggression. We change the identity of these other humans from humans to enemies. Our action now is to destroy the enemy, to take the lives of these other individuals that we are trained not to see their humanness, just as they don’t see ours.

There are, of course, various individuals within this broad range of human beings who do not necessarily conform to the standards, laws, rules, pecking order and herding behaviors of the societies as a whole. Some of these individuals may have unfortunately been born with some forms of genetic anomalies or chemical imbalances in their brains and, thus, may not be able to function and perform on the same level as the majority of the population. Some will perform well below the average, while others will excel and perform well above the average. In reality, I’m not sure if we can honestly define what average is regarding human behavior. I guess it is whatever the group we assign the responsibility of determining such things decides it is. We typically call them “the government.” In some societies the population has the ability to choose, at some level, who this government is. In other societies, there is no choice, the population simply most conform or suffer various consequences. And this introduces another facet of humanness, fear.

Much of our lives is controlled and consumed by various fears; we sometime assign the words “worry” and “anxiety” to these feelings. We fear not being able to take care of ourselves and/or our families. We fear our employers that we may lose our employment. We fear the various taxing authorities. We fear success. We fear failure. We fear rejection and loss of love. We fear sin and going to hell. Sometimes, for various reasons, we fear those we pay to protect us. We fear bullies. We fear creditors, mortgage companies, landlords and so on. Sometimes we allow fear to overcome us and we fear other people because of their race, ethnicity, gender, religion, ideology, etc. We fear terrorists even though the likelihood of ever being a victim of a terror attack is miniscule. We fear flying in airplanes, being attacked by a shark at the beach, drowning in a lake if the boat sinks or tips over. In essence, pretty much everyone lives with some kinds of fears, worries and anxieties. And, our humanness has allowed us to create artificial ways to deal with these fears, worries and anxieties, we call them alcohol and drugs, both controlled prescription drugs and illegal recreational drugs. We also self-medicate with gambling, overeating, shopping, sex, exercise and so on.

So, a major part of our humanness is fear, worry and anxiety. It is impossible to be free if you live in any form of fear. And, of course, if you have multiple forms of fear, it’s only worse, if there is anything worse then impossible. And, if you aren’t free due to fear, then other then a small snatch here and there, it’s impossible to enjoy real happiness, contentment, joy and peace of mind as your normal status. So, if the meaning of life is being and you live in fear, worry and anxiety most of the short time we will “be” in this life, then the big question is . . . is life really worth living? Thankfully, we are resilient beings, thanks to our humanness. We are also able, for the most part, to adapt to whatever situation we are in, happy, depressed, oppressed, sad – and mostly, even though we tend to simply accept our lot in life, whatever it may be, we still hold onto a flicker of light we call hope. If we didn’t we’d all be drinking Reverend Jim Jones’ “spiked” Kool Aid or stoned on drugs or drunk on booze or jumping off the George Washington and Golden Gate bridges.

There is, of course, another group of individuals who don’t have all the faculties of humanness that the majority of us typically exhibit. These are individuals born without the ability to deal in a civilized world. They have various forms of personality disorders, as we’ve learned to term them. We call them sociopaths, psychopaths, bipolar, pedophiles and other names. Many of these people don’t have a conscience. They don’t know when they are hurting someone else mentally, emotionally or physically nor do they care. They have no remorse for evil deeds they may have done, including taking someone else’s life, unintentionally or intentionally. These individuals, when they can be legally apprehended and processed through the justice system (which itself is flawed), populate the jails and those mental institutions that still exist. There they prey on one another, create their own society, pecking order, herds and gangs. It’s a world that most of us can’t comprehend nor do we want to.

And finally, there are those of us who are very normal, however, we tend to be non-conformists. We are not anti-social. We don’t do anything that negatively impacts any of the conforming society nor do we wantonly or knowingly infringe on anyone else’s rights or freedom. We simply choose to live free. We choose to live with the least number of laws, rules, covenants, restrictions, limitations, oppression, confinements and so on. We choose to live free of most fears, anxieties and worries. We choose to define what we do with our own lives and how we live and dress and what we eat and how we generate whatever form of income and how much we earn and what kind of shelter we dwell in and where that dwelling is. We choose to limit the amount of material possessions we have. We choose to move to another location at will. We choose to live a stationary and sedentary life or one that may be nomadic.

For us, freedom begets happiness and we’re willing to forego much of what the majority of the population accepts as “normal” to retain the freedom and happiness we cherish more then just about anything else. For us, our humanness may be displayed more overtly because we are free and we choose this freedom knowing that our days of being on this Earth are numbered and we want to get the most out of every single day we have. The way we each display our living free philosophies and lifestyles varies by as many of us as there are. While most have accepted the societal conditioning and have chosen to conform to the norms, standards, laws, rules and so on of what is considered to be a traditional, mainstream life, for whatever reason, we have chosen a different path and to march to the beat of our own drums.

Being human means being able to choose how we experience being on this planet from the time we are able to fly on our own and leave the nest until the day we stop breathing and cease being any longer. There is so much more to being human that I can’t go into in this post. There’s at least one book that could be written on the topic and maybe I’ll write such a book someday. But, those who live free and happy and without constant fear, worry and anxiety, in my humble opinion, will ultimately experience and display more of what being human is all about then those who conform to a much more confining and restrictive lifestyle. And, here’s the best part – anyone can start being more human and living free at any time during his or her life. Right now is as good a time as any. It’s simply a choice. EVERYTHING is a choice.

Photo of the Week #47 – Road Sign Near Quartzite, Arizona

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, as of 2008 the United States had 4,058,000 miles of roads of which 2,734,000 were paved and 1,324,000 were unpaved. In percentages that equals approximately 67.4% paved and 32.6% unpaved. Just for the sake of some trivia, the U.S. has 23.8% of all the roads in the world. The second ranking country is India with only 8.7% followed by China with 8.6%. If you add together all the roads in all the countries of Europe, it will approach the same percentage as the U.S.

As I’ve traveled the country I’ve had the opportunity to travel on everything from high-speed interstate highways, what are known as the “blue” highways, city, county, local and rural roads that ranged from very well paved to barely passable unpaved roads. Actually, some of the roads I’ve been on were barely passable even with an SUV in four wheel drive. While I was in Arizona I happened upon this road sign on the outskirts of Quartzite. I have to admit, being an Easterner, I haven’t seen any signs quite like this east of the Mississippi River. I took this sign under advisement and determined that it was not in the best interest of me or the car I was driving at the time to venture any further on this road.

Traveling the highways and byways of the U.S. is definitely an interesting, and, frequently, an exciting experience. I’ve certainly enjoyed seeing the other parts of the world I’ve been fortunate enough to visit, but there is just so much to see and experience in the U.S. and with more then 4,000,000 miles of roads, I’m sure I’ll never see it all.

Human Being

The Human Being aka Homo sapiens

A member of any of the races of Homo sapiens; person; man, woman, or child.

This is a dictionary definition of human being. We human beings are different then any other living, breathing organisms on this planet. As far as we know, we are the only human beings in the entire universe. There, of course, is ongoing speculation about whether there is or ever was any other living organisms in other places in the universe. And, that speculation goes even to the extent of whether there might be other intelligent forms of life. I use the word “intelligent” with some reservations.

So, let’s get the human part of the term out of the way right away. Here are four adjective descriptors of what it is to be human:

1. of, characterizing, or relating to man and mankind - human nature

2. consisting of people the human race - a human chain

3. having the attributes of man as opposed to animals, divine beings, or machines - human failings

4. a. kind or considerate b. natural

What I really want to explore is the being part of the term human being. What exactly does being mean? Again, looking at a dictionary definition being used as a noun is:

1: a: the quality or state of having existence b (1): something conceivable as existing (2): something that actually exists (3): the totality of existing things c: conscious existence: life

2: the qualities that constitute an existent thing: essence; especially: personality

3: a living thing; especially: person

And, as part of the intransitive verb “to be,” I particularly like:

To have an objective existence: have reality or actuality: live – I think, therefore I am.

To many, myself, included, there seems to be a lifelong quest to understand the meaning of life as a human being. There is nothing new here. Philosophers going back to ancient Greek, Jewish, Arabic, Asian and other cultures have pondered this question. There are many schools of thought and certainly, as far as I know, every religion has pronouncements on this quandary.

The Meaning of Life

So, here’s my take on all of this. Apparently, no one actually knows the meaning of life or why you and I exist as human beings?

Obviously, if you have a strong religious conviction, you believe you are here by Divine providence. Some doctrines suggest that there is a plan for our lives, predestination, if you will. Others believe more strongly in free will and that while the “hairs on our head are numbered,” we are given the unique ability to make our own way in this life, hoping upon hope that we’ll “get it right.”

Those who are not necessarily religious, but do feel a spiritual connection to all life and the universe feel more organically connected to the Earth, nature and other human and animal/plant spirits.

Then there are the pure atheists who simply deny the existence of any form of deity or superhuman intelligence or creator.

And, more or less, finally, we have the agnostics. There are varying degrees of agnosticism, however, the basic premise of the agnostic is that it is rationally unknowable if there is or is not a God. They are the “show me” folks who say I’ll believe it if I can see (prove) it.

Each of these groups goes through life, in one way or another, attempting to inform, educate, persuade and convince others to their philosophical way of thinking. Personally, I have absolutely no issue or problem with anyone believing however they want to believe as long as it works for him or her. I was brought up as a Christian in the Baptist denomination, more specifically, the American Baptist Convention, one of several defined groups of Baptists. At a later time in my life I belonged to a Southern Baptist Convention church. In my teen years I felt I had a calling to the Baptist ministry, and honestly, knowing myself better now, I probably would have been a really good preacher. But, how much of my “calling” was influenced by other young men in my church that I looked up to as an impressionable teenager, who had chosen to go into the ministry and by the Christian youth groups I belonged to and by my mother’s urgings, I don’t know. I can say that after my first year in a secular college and my introduction to the world of audio (and later video) recording, that “calling” diminished quite rapidly.

Perhaps it was because after being exposed to a much larger “world view” I realized that there was way more to life to explore. My father had been subtly guiding me towards an entrepreneurial life. He died at the beginning of my last semester of undergraduate school, so I’ll never know where I might have ended up with his continued guidance. Due to the circumstances in the family at that time, my family, for all practical purposes, disintegrated the day he died. So, a big, wide world, actually a pretty frightening world, I just didn’t realize it, lay before me. And so, like most of us, I blundered on thinking I knew what I was doing, where I was going and that I had control of my life and future. Oh, how ignorant and arrogant we are at that age.

Being

So, back to “being” because that’s what you and I have been doing since we were born, we just didn’t realize it. I don’t know where you are on the question of what the meaning of life is, but I attempted to remain true to my Baptist heritage . . . for a while. But, unfortunately for the Baptist and other religious denominations, I found that I was a pragmatist. As I grew through life, two marriages (one long and one VERY short) and a few more relationships, spawned a fantastic son, experienced business successes and failures, traveled a bit, experienced some periods of happiness and significant emotional pain, lived well, enjoyed nice homes in great surroundings, had lots of cars, clothes and other “stuff,” I felt my life changing. Without any reservations, I have to categorize myself as an agnostic. I often say that I’ve grown through being an American Baptist then a Southern Baptist and finally I’m an Agnostic Baptist. I also describe myself as being “spiritual, but not religious.” That simply means I feel connected to people and nature and, to a lesser degree, the unknowable nature of the universe by some unknowable network.

Many of us spend little or no time pondering the meaning of life. We are either too busy or we hand it off. On the busy side we are surviving or striving for whatever material gods we choose to serve. On the hand it off side, we choose to join some religious group, whether mainstream or counter-culture, let someone else do the thinking and pondering for us, preach the truth, the way and the light, which we accept at some comfort level and carry on with life. I make no judgments of either course. Some will become extreme and even radical in their beliefs and this can be in any religious conviction. Lots of people like to point fingers at each other and create conflict and they do it very well. Look at the history of wars in our world.

My personal thought on this is that, no matter what you believe, I believe religion, all religion, has been created by man – or human beings, if you will, to create a system of civil behavior and control over as many people as possible. It amazes me how many people live in the guilt of sin born of the “original sin” and how the various religions use this guilt to prosper. But, please remember, these are my views and are not to judge anyone individually. Everything in life is controlled by choices that each of us makes individually through our free will as human beings.

My Answer . . .

I’ve decided that the “being” part of being a human being is the essence of the meaning of life for me. Here it is, short and sweet – the meaning of life as defined by me for me:

Before I was born, I didn’t exist.

When I was born, I began being – i.e. I am.

After I die, I won’t exist anymore.

Accordingly, the only life I KNOW I have exists RIGHT NOW!

That’s it! It has nothing to do with if there is a God or not. It has nothing to do with if I follow the Laws of Abraham, the teachings of Jesus, the tenets of Mohammed, the meditations of Buddha or any other religious philosophy or doctrine. Before I existed I didn’t exist. Now, I exist. When I die I’ll cease to exist.

Do, I believe in eternal life? Yes! The human being as an organism is made of matter and energy and neither matter nor energy can be created or destroyed, only converted to another form. Therefore, the ashes to ashes and dust to dust take care of the matter and the energy will likely be converted over and over to various other forms as it was before I existed. As far as my spirit or soul? That is one of those unknowable things that as an agnostic thinker I can’t know about. I could accept a religious philosophy, if I chose to. I can choose to just say it ceases to exist when I die. Frankly, since there is no proof of an after life, I choose to believe that heaven is right here on Earth and there is no such thing as a fiery furnace of a hell other then to live in guilt.

So, life is all about BEING. Being in the here and now. Our past is history, it is over, done and can’t be changed. Our future is simply a promissory note or a dream. It may or may not ever happen past the next moment in time. No! I’m not fatalistic! I’m not living (or being) with the anticipation of impending doom. I simply believe that NOW is the time to BE! Now, I’m writing this post to the blog with the intention that it will be read by a few people who may be pondering the BIG question: “What is the meaning of MY life?” Mine, right now is to be in this moment and write this post and hope that it will help someone come up with an “aha” moment. Quite honestly, I don’t have a clue what the meaning of your life is beyond the simple act of “being.”  

A Milestone Marked – March 18, 2012

Today this blog has reached a milestone. At about 8:30 AM Eastern Time I checked the analytics on the blog and it indicated exactly 10,000 page views.

So, as far as lots of other blogs go this is a fairly small number, but everyone had to reach this number before they went on to the larger numbers they now can boast about. I’m pleasantly pleased because I started this blog in February 2008, just over four years ago. The gratification for me is that over 80% of the page views have been in the last few months with a constant increase each month. This is an indication of some real growth and I’m hoping that it’s also suggesting that I must be saying something of value from time to time to people reading the blog.

While Living Free . . . is my main blog, I have actually been blogging since February 2005. I’ve started several blogs since that time as I attempted to find my “voice.” Most of them don’t even have 100 page views. One does have over 1550 page views and I haven’t actively posted anything new to it in five years. I also have a new blog I’m just formulating as a spin off of Living Free . . . It only has a couple opening posts on it and I haven’t promoted it at all, yet there are over 50 views already.

Living Free . . . has also logged (as near as I’ve been able to track) viewers from over 40 countries. Of course, the main viewing audience is located in the U.S. That there are viewers on six of the seven continents is a pleasant surprise.

I hope that what is said when talking about making a million dollars is true of blog views as well. If the second million dollars is easier to earn then the first million, I hope the second 10,000 page views is easier to earn then the first 10,000.

Thank you for taking the time and interest to view and read my blog. I trust I’ve inspired you in some way and maybe even contributed an idea or two that have helped you move forward in your life and quest to Live Free.

Thanks for your support,

Ed Helvey

Photo of the Week #46 – Okay, So It’s Not A Bison

So, here I am, in the Badlands of South Dakota, alone, just my trusty camera and me, when all of a sudden I’m charged by this 1,500 pound Bison. Okay! So, I’m stretching the story just a little. Actually, I was driving along, minding my own business and there was this mountain goat grazing just off the road in Badlands National Park.

I know it’s not as exciting as being charged by a Bison, but . . . hey, it was real wildlife in the wild. This goat just stood there as I stopped the car and snapped its photo. It was basically like having the darn thing pose for me. It was in the late afternoon, so the sun wasn’t in the most advantageous position, but as far as I’m concerned it’s a good photo.

I’ve spoken with others who have had the opportunity to see a herd of bison grazing along with various other forms of wildlife indigenous to the Badlands region. Since South Dakota is my “official” state of residence, I’ll be heading back out that way and spend more time seeking out my “neighbors” and creating a “family album.”

Welcome to my world . . . Four Years Later!

I just realized that it was four years ago last month that I began this Living Free blog. Wow! Where does the time go? According to the blog posting count, I have posted 186 times and this post makes number 187. I have written enough words to fill at least four average size books by today’s standards. Obviously, a lot of what I’ve said is, at best, the musings of someone in search of something and probably to be categorized as not much more than drivel. But, I do hope some of what I have posted here has stirred something in those who have stopped and read it. My intent was not and still is not to change anyone (other then myself, of course) but possibly be an inspiration to anyone else seeking something and, perhaps, not sure how to go about it or is being held back by fear.

So, as I have done before, I’m revisiting this original post to consider the growth and changes I’ve experienced during the four years (actually, 49 months) since it first appeared. I’ve truncated most of the paragraphs from the original post. You can go back to the very first post Welcome To My World! to read the original post in context. My updates will be in italics.   

This blog is about exactly what the title states - “living and working free.” Now, to make sure this concept is perfectly clear, I DO NOT mean living FOR free nor working FOR free. I mean living and working freely under our own rules, terms and conditions for our lifestyles and workstyles. And, it is important to note that there are no rules, terms or conditions carved in stone that tell us how we should live or how we should work. The only rules are those that we each establish for ourselves in our own hearts and minds . . . unless we adopt the rules, conditions and terms that others may want to impose on us. Nothing new here except I shortened the name of the blog to “Living Free . . .” since I believe it encompasses both living and working free. I stand with this original premise and continue on this course.

My postings here are going to be based on MY feelings, opinions, concepts, wants and needs. What I say may or may not apply to you – or perhaps only parts of what I say may apply to you. So, do not, under any circumstances, consider anything I say here to be gospel. What I say only pertains to me and my life. The operative word in all of this is “FREE!” Again, I stand pretty much on these same premises. However, as I’ve looked over many of the posts during the four years, I notice where I’ve detoured onto some tangent that may have seemed off topic. Some of that is because I felt like I had to attempt to keep posting something and apparently didn’t feel I had much to say at the time. Also, some of the tangents were about things that, for whatever reason, were bothering me or impacting me at that time. No apologies for that. It will likely continue to occur as something a bit a field catches my attention, riles me or I just feel I need to explore. Bear with me if you can.

This is beginning as a blog. A podcast will follow very shortly. NO PODCASTS, yet! Remember, I’m a recording and broadcast industry veteran. I can’t even guess at how many programs, productions, etc. I’ve created of a very broad variety over my career. This should be easy-peasy for someone like me. Here’s the truth – and it’s hard for me to swallow – as much as I love recording and creating program content . . . I’m burned out. I’ve been gathering some recorded materials, but I just can’t muster the motivation to get off the starting block. Don’t take to mean it isn’t going to happen. On the contrary, it will happen and it will happen when I know it’s exploding inside me. What I’ve been learning and experiencing and the people I’ve been coming into contact with totally amaze me and it just keeps getting better. So, standby!

Money is not the only measure of success. You can't buy happiness with money, but it can make life more comfortable. Everyone needs some amount of money to sustain whatever lifestyle they choose for themselves. The real issue, too often, is that we don't determine what REALLY makes us happy and fulfilled. This remains a central theme of my current living free philosophy and I don’t see it changing.

So, we tend to center ourselves around the JOB and the largest amount of MONEY we can get and while we spend 30, 40, 50 years of our lives slaving at some job that, statistically, is unfulfilling to more then 70% of the workforce. Our most valuable – actually priceless – commodity is slipping by virtually unnoticed UNTIL – we reach or pass middle age and wonder where all the TIME of our lives went. It's actually obvious – it went to making money, too often trying to keep up with the Joneses or buying into the latest greatest trends, fads, gadgets, doodads, etc. One day, we will realize all of this  has just accumulated as so much “stuff” and we are now in the warehousing business. When I wrote this original post I was still living on the ranch with so much accumulated stuff that it made me feel like the walls were closing in on me. Neither the stuff nor going home brought me any joy. The house was simply a place of shelter. Since that time, if you’ve read along with the progress in this blog, that has all changed. November 1, 2008 was my emancipation day and I’ve not had a fixed residence (home) of my own since then. It is the most freeing thing I’ve ever done.

So, living and working free means determining in your own mind and heart what is REALLY IMPORTANT to you, creating a lifestyle that reflects what really fulfills you and sets you free to enjoy the TIME of your life. It means finding work that you find fulfilling and you can enjoy and even be passionate about. Sure, you may not earn a six figure income – or maybe not even a high five figure income, but how much was the second, minute, hour, day worth that just went by. Can you buy another second of time . . . or a minute, hour or day? Time is my most valuable – and priceless commodity. I am really no longer willing to sacrifice my priceless time to do anything that I don't want to do, don't like doing or just, in general, I find a waste of my time. This was my quest, my journey, my adventure when I set out on this course change. Has it been smooth sailing? Of course not! Nothing is ever exactly as you’d like it to be when you make a major change in your life – getting married, getting divorced, having kids, kids leaving the nest, changing jobs, losing jobs, changing career fields, retiring and all the many other changes we’ll experience. I continue on my quest along this pathway.

So, that's what this blog is all about. I'll expose you to ideas, concepts, opportunities, lifestyles, workstyles, people, places and so on. I very much invite your comments and if you have something you'd like me to post as part of this blog – submit it to me at ed@edhelvey.com  This is still accurate and, while I attempt to contain my rants, I do let off a little steam once in a while when something gets to me. I’d love to see more comments in the comment section of the blog and get your feelings and input, though. I often receive comments via emails directly to me and I very much appreciate them, but I believe other readers can and would benefit from your thoughts, too. I eliminated my “rules for commenting” because I found that they were not needed. Those who have commented have done so intelligently and kindly.

In closing this first, introductory post, I want to give credit to a book and its author as my inspiration for this blog. The book is Working Free: Practical Alternatives to the 9 to 5 Job by John Applegath. I have not had the opportunity to return to Durham to visit with John and friends again, but I fully intend to. John and I keep in touch from time to time and I continue to learn more about him. Unfortunately, John was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, to which he has attributed many of the challenges he’s had to deal with over the past several years. Regarding republishing John’s book, as these four years have gone by and I extricated myself from my book-publishing career, a career that I was never enamored of, I find myself less and less interested or inclined to publish anything for anyone in the future, except myself. Perhaps, some other publisher may take on the project. Perhaps, another author may collaborate with John to update and expand on the work that John did and that so encouraged and affirmed me in my own life. Only time will tell.

Another person you'll hear from and whose book also was an inspiration is Barbara Winter, whose book, Making a Living Without a Job: Winning Ways for Creating Work that You Love, is still in print, I believe. I did finally meet Barbara, but it was in Sedona in the spring of 2010 not in the summer of 2008 in Las Vegas. I found her to be a total delight. She is a vivacious, energetic, inspiring woman who lights up any room she enters. While I’ve been meandering down my own path, overcoming some of my own challenges and tripping over my own feet, I haven’t kept in close touch with Barbara. However, I fully intend to cross paths with her again and share ideas and experiences and I know I’ll gain more insight and inspiration from her when that happens.

I eliminated the entire last paragraph of the original post because it was just a lot of yada-yada.

Four years after beginning this blog I am a very different person. I was uptight, burned out, unmotivated and pretty much a waste of human protoplasm at that time. As you could tell from my early posting in 2008, I was really searching for something. I was not free. I was not happy. I had no real picture of a future for myself. It was hard to wake up and get out of bed every morning. Really, it was. I was one of those people that Thoreau wrote about when he said “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Something had to change and it had to change drastically and soon.

A lot HAS changed. I got rid of the mass of my “stuff” (which is documented elsewhere in this blog). I’m still working on the last 20% (procrastination still plays too big a role in my life). I eliminated the businesses – both recording and book publishing. The book publishing wasn’t that hard to let go of, but I’ve kept dragging my feet in letting go of recording, a real passion for me 

for nearly 50 years. I eliminated the house and land (ranch) that no longer served a real purpose for me and had become an albatross. I eliminated the vast majority of my overhead (80% overnight, as I like to say). I eliminated my debt. I’ve also retired from some groups and cut ties with people and organizations that created stress, frustration and other negativity. 

On the moving forward side of the ledger, I eliminated Winchester and the state of Virginia (after 26 years) as my place of residence. I established a new residence in Box Elder, South Dakota where I can be from, but not actually have to be at. I’ve made several significant road trips including a cross-country trip from the east coast to the west coast and back, for the first time in my life. I covered about 7,000 miles on that trip including many states I’ve never been to before and saw many things I’ve never seen before, except maybe from 35,000 feet in the sky. I spent a month living in Florida during the winter of 2011. I parted with my trusty, loved and reliable Cadillac Seville and replaced it with a

small, economical Ford Focus hatchback only to have a deer destroy it in the mountains of North Carolina. This resulted in my purchase of the van I’m converting into a motorized covered wagon. I downsized from my dream of a 40’, diesel-pusher motor home with about 300 sq feet of rolling living space to the 50 sq ft that the van allows me.

Additionally, I’ve met and made an incredible number of new friends, some in person and some to rendezvous with somewhere, someday. I’ve learned a fantastic amount of new things about people, places, things and life. I learned how easy it is to fall back into a new comfort zone by spending three of the last four years spending too much of my time in two locations – Winchester (still) and the northern Virginia area (Falls Church/Fairfax). Having great friends is a blessing. Unfortunately, their very much appreciated support actually ended up enabling me instead of empowering me. This was MY fault not theirs. I have to be very careful of that. I’ve also learned more about balance, taking life, small stuff (and it’s mostly all small stuff) and myself too seriously. And, I’ve learned how adaptable I am. I can find ways to make the best of just about any situation. I feel free. I am happy. But, best, and perhaps most, of all, I no longer identify my life with “The mass of men who live lives of quiet desperation.”

You’ll also notice that the appearance and features of the blog have continued to evolve. That’s as it should be. The blog grows and changes with me. There is a lot more to come in the future.

So, Welcome to MY World - four years later. It’s better then it’s ever been and continues getting better all the time. Thanks for traveling along on my journey. I hope I’ve been, in some small way, an inspiration for you on your journey. I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go and I hope you’ll continue along this exciting road with me. Who knows where I’ll be at the five-year mark or four years from now? And, I hope I have an opportunity to meet you in person along the way.    

Enthusiastically,

Ed Helvey

Down . . . But Not Out!

I have been down for a few days. It seems that some kind of nasty little bug invaded my system and temporarily kicked my immune system it the behind. Thankfully it was not a recurrence of the nearly microscopic deer tick that bit into my leg last spring and left me with a rather nasty case of Lyme Disease.

I believe this is just one of those little viral things that we refer to as the common “head cold.” It started off feeling like it might have just been some kind of sinus reaction, perhaps to some early pollen, although I have never had any allergies that I know of. But, I though that since the weather this year (the warmest year on record) has been so strange and there were trees and plants beginning to bloom in mid to late February in this little valley in West Virginia, I might just be reacting to it.

Well, it then moved to a cough that was not at all comfortable and then finally, over the weekend, it blossomed into a full on head cold. It caught me by surprise and actually drained me of most of my energy for a few days. But, I’m on the mend. I have regained some energy today; I don’t have to blow my nose as frequently as the past few days (every couple minutes). The sneezing has all but ended. The only thing of consequence that lingers is the cough and I fear that I’ll have to deal with that for some time, yet.

Fortunately, I didn’t have any fever symptoms and I didn’t suffer a sore throat. So, all and all, it’s running its course and leaving me relatively okay. This cold seemed to be a bit more severe then the average cold I get. I don’t know if there is some virulent strain this year. I’ve heard people say, “It’s going around.” But, then we tend to hear that a lot.

Nothing big, reporting that I had a cold, that is. I simply thought I’d mention it here because it’s another of those “life happens” events that we don’t count on and it can either slow us down or stop us in our tracks. This one slowed me down quite a bit. I had already fallen behind on a couple things I was working on and this definitely put me even a bit further behind. So, the next several days are going to be catch-up days.

So much to do, so little time to do it.

Too Many People!

How many people have you heard make the statement, “There are too many people in the world?” I seem to hear more people echoing that sentiment all the time. Now, here’s my take on it. THEY ARE RIGHT! 

Photo: "James Cridland" james.cridland.net/

Yes! I’m one of the people who believe that our world has too many people. No! I’m not just making some unfounded statement because I don’t like traffic and congested cities or any of the other off the cuff reasons. I make that statement on two levels. First, I am a pragmatic and reasonably logical person and I simply looked at some statistical facts and extrapolated that Mother Earth cannot sustain the continual growth of human population and the depletion of natural resources for very much longer. Second, I’ve read, studied and evaluated information from economists, environmentalists, scientists, anthropologists, futurists and others as well as international think tanks that are much smarter then I am in these matters.

To say that all of these sources agree on any specifics would be a gross misstatement. They certainly don’t all agree. But, what they do agree on is that at some time in the future ranging from within the next 40 years to the beginning of the 22^nd Century, humans will break the back of this world.

Let’s face reality. We in the western industrialized nations are over consumers of the Earth’s resources. To put it another way, we’re gluttons. One projection indicates that if China and India were to consume as many resources as the U.S. OR Japan currently use, by 2030 those two countries together would require the entire resources of a full planet Earth to meet their requirements. Whoa! What does that leave for the rest of the projected five billion of us on the planet to use?

It’s really not all that hard to put this together. Just a few years after the turn of the 19^th Century the Earth finally reached a population of one billion after 10,000 years.  Ten thousand years ago the population of the entire Earth was estimated at 1,000,000 people. Now, it took only 123 years to reach two billion, 32 years later there were three billion, 15 years after that there were four billion of us critters walking the face of this planet. Do you see a rapidly growing pattern here? Thirteen years later we reached five billion, add 12 more years and we’re at six billion and just 12 years after that in 2011 there were seven billion of us intelligent (???) bipeds of the human species on this planet consuming water, food, vast amounts of energy resources (especially of the fossil fuel variety), etc.

To put this into perspective for myself, it means that in just the last 53 years (79%) of my life the world population increased 135% or way more then doubled. Compared to the first 14 years (21%) when the world population only increased by about 20%, that number is astronomical. The population of the U.S. doubled from 150,000,000 in 1950 to 300,000,000 billion in 2010, a mere 60 years.  It’s no wonder that those of us born around the end of World War II and through the 1950’s are wondering why the world has changed so much.

So, what does this mean in a practical sense? Well, let’s look at only one absolute necessity for life (human or any other animal or plant) to exist – WATER. There is a new book titled The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water by Charles Fishman. 


In his book Fishman states that the Earth has exactly the same amount of water resources today as it did four billion years ago. Water can’t be created nor can it be destroyed, though it may change its form from time to time. In essence, we’re drinking the same water that dinosaurs drank millions of years ago.

But, here is what’s different and presents the challenge for today and the future. When the dinosaurs roamed the Earth there weren’t seven billion humans consuming water. And when I say consuming water I don’t mean just drinking it. Humans, as inventive as we are, use water for so many things that ancient life forms, prior to the human species, never used water for. Here are just a few:

Drinking water

Washing clothes

Cooling nuclear power reactors

Various metal processes

Fracking oil

Various manufacturing processes

Growing more food and other agricultural products then ever before

Watering golf courses

Water used in theme parks, water parks, resort hotels, all kinds of decorative fountains

Fighting forest and brush fires

Steam engines

Hot water heating and steam systems

And this is a very short list. Just think about drinking water. If every one of the seven billion humans on earth consumed ONLY one quart of water per day, that would be 1,750,000,000 gallons of water per day. But, when you count in Starbucks coffee, Coke, Bud Lite and all the other ways we consume water, I’m sure that number is considerably larger. On an annual basis we are looking at 638,750,000,000 gallons a year at the one quart per person rate and it is estimated that the average human needs two quarts per day making that 1.28 trillion gallons a year.

But, let’s wrap our heads around these numbers:

The average single-family home uses 80 gallons of water per person each day in the winter and 120 gallons in the summer. Showering, bathing and using the toilet account for about two-thirds of the average family's water usage.

Water used around the house for such things as drinking, cooking, bathing, toilet flushing, washing clothes and dishes, watering lawns and gardens, maintaining swimming pools, and washing cars accounts for only 1% of all the water used in the U.S. each year.

Eighty percent of the fresh water we use in the U.S. is for irrigating crops and generating thermoelectric-power.

It takes about 6 gallons of water to grow a single serving of lettuce. More than 2,600 gallons is required to produce a single serving of steak.

It takes almost 49 gallons of water to produce just one eight-ounce glass of milk. That includes water consumed by the cow and to grow the food she eats, plus water used to process the milk.

About 6,800 gallons of water is required to grow a day's food for a family of four.

The average American consumes 1,500 pounds of food each year; 1,000 gallons of water are required to grow and process each pound of that food—1.5 million gallons of water is invested in the food eaten by just one person! This 200,000-cubic-feet-plus of water-per-person would be enough to cover a football field four feet deep.

About 39,090 gallons of water is needed to make an automobile, tires included.

Okay, so you’re saying what in the world got me thinking about this? The Earth will not run out of enough water and all the other resources that we’re currently using before I die. True (I hope), but at the rate we’re consuming our planet’s resources, and that rate is accelerating, one day in the future the planet will not be able to sustain life as we know it today. Is a dead planet the legacy we want to bequeath to our successors?

But, here is the statement that really caught my mind as I was going through various reference materials on this subject; there will be “less personal freedom and more restrictive laws.” Indeed, the projected consequences of over populating the planet are many and most range from very to extremely negative and detrimental to human life, as we know it. While various scientific studies have indicated that the entire current population of seven billion could all be located within the borders of Texas, the fact is that the infrastructure and the resources to maintain 9, 10 or 11 billion people will absolutely require that the lifestyles of all humans will deteriorate significantly.

Most of this population boom is due to scientific and medical advances over the past century and a half. We’ve virtually doubled the longevity of most populations, thus, the natural attrition numbers have been modified significantly. Additionally, even though our reproduction rate has been declining, since there are more people living longer, we’re still adding more people every day.

I, as one person, surely don’t have the answers to this kind of problem. But, I think it’s a problem that all of us need to be aware of and consider how each individual can do something to ease the problem for the future. While we may not suffer the ultimate consequences, we’re already seeing the “less personal freedom and more restrictive laws” part of the equation. Living free is already getting pretty challenging. In the future, our future, it may become nearly impossible.

There are  “Too Many People!”

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Photo of the Week #45 – A Summer Evening Concert in Winchester

A summer evening, a group of bluegrass musicians, kids playing and dancing, parents and grandparents enjoying their delight, other folks, young and old gathering to share the experience. Street vendors and non-profit organizations selling refreshments. That’s the way it’s been for many years on Friday evenings during the summer in front of the old, historic courthouse in Winchester, Virginia.

The old downtown Main Street of Winchester (actually, it’s North Loudoun Street) is just a wonderful way to enjoy some great music, a pleasant outdoor experience and share with friend, neighbors and strangers all drawn together by music. The date on the front of the courthouse above the portico is 1840. In fact, many of the buildings around the courthouse and down the street are 200 years old and older. There is something very reassuring about being in a setting like this. I felt his same ambiance when I lived in Annapolis, Maryland and many of the buildings were 300 years old. There is a connection with history that makes it all very real.

“His Life Must Suck!”

The ‘he’ referred to as “His” in that statement is me. The author of that statement is my friend’s 89 year-old mother. My friend, Carolyn, is the person who has allowed me to hang out at her house while I’m tying up some loose ends and working on converting and building-in my still, as of this writing, unnamed Ford van. Her mother lives two houses away.

We three have dinner most nights of the week when Carolyn is not in Martinsburg, WV (usually for three to four days) caring for mentally maimed veterans (she’s a psychiatric nurse). Carolyn’s mother knows that I grew up in the New York City megalopolis in what is known as North Jersey. There is North Jersey and South Jersey and they are distinctly separate. The western part of South Jersey is part of the Philadelphia megalopolis. The eastern part of South Jersey includes most of the Jersey Shore including Atlantic City, Ocean City and Cape May. The formal name of the state, New Jersey, is primarily used on maps that show the entire state and by non-Jerseyites who aren’t in the know.

I make the point about Jersey because Carolyn’s mother views me more as a “Big City” guy, even though I’ve lived most of the past 38 years in rural and semi-rural locations (nearly twice as long as I lived in North Jersey growing up).

The little town of Keyser, WV is a small rural town located in the north central part of the state and is directly across the Potomac River from the narrow panhandle that makes up western Maryland. The nearest big city metro areas are about three hours away in several directions and include Washington, DC, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Keyser has a current population of approximately 5,300 and has been on the decline. That’s about 27% of the population of the city of Winchester, VA that I lived near for about 27 years.

Keyser has a bowling alley for entertainment. That is it. Years ago there were three movie theaters and a music hall, but those are all history. There is a small two-year college that has less then 1,400 students and a small, private hospital. Shopping is very limited but there is a 24 hour Walmart Supercenter, two other supermarkets, a small department store, about half dozen fast food and chain restaurants, about four or five places to buy gas, some small local restaurants and businesses, a Ford and a Chevy dealer and that’s about it.

The three major industries in the area include some coal mining (that at one time was a major employer), a paper mill that is currently in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and employs about 800 people (down from it’s better days when it employed about 2,400) and some agriculture.

Fifty years ago, Keyser was a happening place. It was where the folks from all the other small towns came to shop and party. Currently, it’s, unfortunately, a small town on the skids like so many other small towns across the U.S. If things continue in the current direction, I’d project in another 20 to 30 years, if that long, Keyser will be all but a ghost town and there are many of those throughout West Virginia.

So, it’s easy to see why Carolyn’s mother would think my life must suck being here in Keyser. I guess it would be a normal assumption and, probably, for most people with my background, educational level, years of business and travel experience, it would suck. But, that’s where my life differs from most people. I don’t have to be in Keyser, I choose to be here. I don’t own any property here. I’m not employed here (nor anywhere else). I don’t have family here. Basically, I’m not vested here in anyway. I’m here because my friend offered me a place to hang out to tie up those loose ends I mentioned and to work on my van. Other then that, I could still be in northern Virginia at my Air Force buddy’s house or in Winchester, VA or virtually anywhere I choose to be. That is a very hard concept for most people to grasp.

Of course, I help Carolyn out doing anything I can to assist her. I do little things for her mother and take her out to dinner when Carolyn is taking care of our veterans. And, Carolyn appreciates the company when she is here since she’s been divorced for some 20+ years herself and lived by herself since her son married and joined the Navy about 18 years ago. When Carolyn was plying her nursing profession at the Winchester (VA) Medical Center about 8 years ago, she stayed at my ranch and slept during the days (she always works night shifts). So, I basically helped her out back then. So, it’s always great when friends can help each other out from time to time.

So, does “his life suck?” On the contrary, my life is great. I am able to focus my attention on my writing and blogging (the blog is building a nice healthy worldwide readership). I have a place to comfortably work on the van conversion, something I couldn’t do in northern Virginia or in Winchester. I’m able to focus on completing my downsizing process and clearing out the storage unit I still have. I can do all this with low overhead, no mortgage or lease commitments, the ability to come and go as I please when I please and, best of all, virtually no stress. Now, I ask you, how can my life suck?

Oh yeah, and one more thing. I’ve found out just how adaptable I am. I’ve found that I have no problem adapting, adjusting and enjoying wherever I happen to be, especially when, for me, this is stress free living.

The Apolitical Strategist – Part 2

In the first part of this ongoing series I talked about “lemming mentality.” There are parallels to lemming mentality, too. A few of them, off the top of my head, are “herd mentality,” “gang mentality,” mob mentality” and “crowd mentality.” There are slight differences distinguishing one from the other. And, here is where I have to play my honesty card. I am guilty of participating in some of these. But, then again, I don’t think there is anyone who at one time or another hasn’t participated.

For example, in my case, one instance is when, as a veteran of our U.S. military, I stood in line with a huge crowd (crowd mentality) of other people, all veterans and spouses, to enjoy a free meal. The occasion was a Veterans Day recognition dinner offered by the Golden Corral restaurant chain. Each year all of their nearly 500 restaurants set aside an evening one or two days on either side of the official Veterans Day to honor our nation’s veterans and active military. They’ve been doing this for about ten years and to date have served nearly 3,000,000 free meals on that special evening. The restaurant is not open to the general public that evening. So, yes, I joined in the crowd. Now, I DO NOT enjoy crowds and I DO NOT like waiting in lines. But, for this event and to enjoy the camaraderie of my fellow service men dating back to WWII and extending to the current conflicts, I made an exception. This was a joyful celebration of those who proudly served their country and, for those who saw combat, survived to return home. Many of these men and women were disabled in some manner. Everyone had the proverbial “war stories” to share with anyone willing to listen. In this particular case, it was a peaceful, non-violent gathering of people sharing something in common. We knew we were linked, through the Golden Corral, with a couple hundred thousand others just like us that evening.

Here’s another very different example. I’ve been to New Orleans (not since Katrina) and down on Bourbon Street during the rousing celebration that is Mardi Gras season. And, yes, I heckled and taunted the women to flash their breasts for the cheesy beads that were their reward. This is probably better described as “mob mentality.” There is a happiness, a party like atmosphere. People are drinking and getting pretty loose. I would say that the men and women are largely acting totally out of character, I know I was, mainly because they were all part of this “mob.” Another factor is that most of these people were not local folks. They traveled to New Orleans specifically to party and be away from their more respectable lives. Most likely the actions of both the men and the women were some secret, inner desire of being free that they weren’t free express in their regular day-to-day lives at home. They may have been schoolteachers, college students, lawyers, doctors, engineers, and from any number of other respectable professions and occupations. But, during this one period in time, they could let their hair down, pull their shirts up and be wild, crazy and free – and no one should be hurt by it.

But, I will point out, again, I dislike crowds and mobs and I don’t like being part of a herd. A herd is somewhat similar to the lemming concept. You’ve probably seen a herd of milk cows following a lead cow tail to nose to the milk barn and back to the pasture. You’ll see a similar behavior with elephants. The herd mentality doesn’t lead to some mass suicide as the mythical lemming mentality might imply. The herd just blindly follows a leader to do whatever the leader is taking them to do. To some degree, we witnessed, so horribly, some of this kind of behavior during WWII in the holocaust and the forced marches in China and some of the Asian countries and islands of the South Pacific. These are some of the worst examples.

Finally, there is “gang mentality” when people will gather in various size groups and because they are members of the group, they’ll do all kinds of terrible things ranging from robbing, stealing, destroying property, looting, beating innocent people, murder and rape. They become nameless and faceless in the gang and lose any individual recognition of right and wrong. Those who participate in gang mentality range from the obvious, gangs of thugs involved in power struggles, illicit businesses of various kinds and turf wars to those who may be the average, mainstream citizen who gets caught up in the fever pitch of the moment. Again, this could be teenage gangs, organized groups like unions not only striking, but striking back at the business they are in dispute with and with employees who cross the picket lines, termed “scabs” and who are often co-workers, friends and even family members. These same kinds of gang events can break out at political protests as we have witnessed this past year in the Middle East and even with some of the Occupy protests in the U.S.

Another current example of this behavior is called a “flash mob” defined as a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, and then quickly disperse. In this case, the activity is usually benign and often very entertaining to the bystanders. A group of singers/dancers will “spontaneously” emerge in a crowded place out of seemingly nowhere and perform a choreographed dance number and often sing the lyrics of the song.

More violent versions or spin-offs are called “flash robs” and “wildings” which are defined as the activity by a gang of youths (teens) that communicate via social media then meeting and going on a protracted and violent rampage in a public place, robbing convenience stores, shoplifting at shopping malls and high end department stores, attacking or mugging people at random and taking their bikes, motor scooters, cell phones, cameras and money. Flash robs appear to be escalating and while the police have some success in apprehending some of the members of the groups, it’s extremely difficult because the group changes its members and size spontaneously.

So, why am I making a point of this? Because, this is all about values. I admitted my patriotic reason for participating in recognition of our nation’s active service members and veterans. I, also, admitted my playful indiscretion for my Mardi Gras participation. And, there is certainly nothing wrong with gathering to celebrate these two distinctly different events as long as other people’s rights aren’t infringed upon or their property isn’t damaged, destroyed or stolen or they are not subjected to personal injury or worse.

But, every facet of our society is being goaded, encouraged in some way to act as part of these various groupings: crowds, mobs, gangs and herds. I have no intention of offending anyone who reads my blog, but I suggest that you look at how people act a football, baseball, hockey, basketball, soccer and other sports events on Little League, high school, college and professional levels. Oh, and let’s definitely not forget some of my favorite sports – “professional wrestling” (I’m laughing out loud at that one), boxing and kick boxing. I’m not singling out anyone, but the players, the fans and often even the coaching staffs are involved in violent activities all in the name of athletics.

Observe how people react on Black Friday sales events where they are waiting in crowds, become herds and then mobs as the doors are opened for the sale to begin and people are crushed, some are even crushed to death. It’s even been reported that guns have been brought to the sales. Some people will give up their entire Thanksgiving Day holiday to camp outside the stores for one or more days before the sales begin so they can be first in line when the doors open, now as early as 10 PM on Thanksgiving evening. The amazing thing it that these people KNOW that they will actually not get the best prices until just before the Christmas holiday and even better prices the day after Christmas.

At a recent grand opening for a new Dollar Store in San Diego a man camped outside the store for several days to purchase one of nine small, flat screen TV’s that would sell for $27.00 because his kid NEEDED to have a new TV to play his Xbox games on. I’m sorry; no kid NEEDS their own new flat screen TV to play games on. This feeding frenzy and mob mentality is not only encouraged, but it's driven by retailer marketing efforts including shameless exploitation on TV, radio, cable, the Internet and print media.

There is so much more about this entire mentality thing that I could write a book and I’m sure there are several books on the topic already. But, here is what it all comes down to. As a people we all want to defend our personal independent thinking. We don’t want to admit that we all participate in the various forms of lemming, herd, crown, mob and gang mentality, yet . . . here it comes, WE ALL DO at some level. Unfortunately, when you see the kind of numbers and various degrees of mass hysteria that are part of all kinds of events and social interactions, it’s not difficult to see why we have the kind of political environment we have, rife with greed, corruption, power mongering, unethical, illegal and just overreaching behavior and actions at the most basic level of propriety.

Our political system operates on this same level with these same kinds of mentality in play all the time. It’s simple to see the various crowds, mobs and gangs that practice lemming and herd mentality. Here are some labels for the various factions: Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Statists, Socialists, Communists, Fascists, progressives, liberals, extreme left-wingers, conservatives, ultra conservatives, extreme right-wingers, the religious right, survivalists, Tea Party, Wall Street (put your own favorite word here) Occupiers, unions, big business, Chamber of Commerce, Gay Rights, civil rights, women’s movement, pro-life, pro-choice and the list could go on. Every one of these groups has an agenda and that agenda is to get you and me to be part of them. The power isn’t with the individual. The power is in the numbers. Just as when a “flash rob” group of 20 to 50 teenagers all converge on a convenience store or some other retail establishment, the store clerks and employees are paralyzed by the mass movement of the sheer numbers. They are powerless as individuals to have any control of the situation and fear for their own welfare. The only freedom of choice the aforementioned list of groups want you to have is to choose them and their agenda. These groups then negotiate among themselves to create even stronger forces. End of day, whoever can provide the most support for a candidate can win the ultimate prize. What is the prize? The group owns a seat in the government. The government then represents the special interests of the group or groups that supported them. So, it’s not necessarily the greatest good for the greatest number of people. It’s the greatest good for the people who support the agendas of the special interests.

So, how do we remedy this situation? Frankly, I don’t have a clue. This lemming, herd, crowd, mob, gang mentality education and conditioning definitely begin as soon as we start attending any school system and any religious organization. Sometimes it begins at home with our parents. The indoctrination is continuous and goes right into the adult’s work life, you know, be a “team player.” None of this is new. However, it continues to evolve, I again cite flash robs. When you choose not to conform, you become a “non-conformist.” Now, that’s not good. Non-conformists, by some quirk of fate, actually believe in thinking for themselves quite often. But, even in non-conformity there is still a degree of conforming. We call non-conformists by various labels, too. I suggest you consider hippies, beatniks, bohemians, mavericks, nomads, artists, musicians and anyone else who chooses a lifestyle that segregates itself from what is considered by the majority to be the mainstream. Certainly, choosing to live free is another form of non-conformity and thinking independently.

Our choices, in so many ways become more restricted as each year passes. The more laws that are on the books the less freedom the individual has. It is without question or doubt that there are so many laws (federal, state, county, city/town) on the books currently that there is no one who isn’t breaking at least multiple laws virtually all the time. I suggest that those of us who decide we want to live free spend the time to define what living free is individually for each of us. Then we must determine how we can tailor our lives with the least number of restrictions, limitations, rules, regulations, red tape, bureaucracy, etc. while still abiding as best we can with the existing laws of the land. Then make the choices and take the actions to enjoy as much freedom as you can within your chosen lifestyle.

Once again, we have an election year coming up in the U.S. Obviously, it’s not the best governing system, but it’s the best we have and, let’s face it, if there were a system somewhere in the world that is better, wouldn’t we all be emigrating to that country and wouldn’t those who are immigrating, legally or illegally, to this country prefer to go to that better place? Vote in the upcoming elections. But, do your best to vote your own conscience and not the collective conscience of the lemmings, herds, crowds, mobs and gangs. Remember, if you don’t vote, you don’t get the “bitching” rights that come along with voting. As I see it, based on the field of eligible candidates (are they really eligible) lining up for the 2012 general election, it looks like, for me, it’s another year of the “evil of two lessers.” Your thoughts?