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Today I have been given the opportunity to hang around the house and lazily…
Do Nothing!
My wife Robin has left for the day to go shopping.
Leaving me Home Alone so that I may enjoy a well deserved Day Off.
As Robin was leaving she honored me by not giving me a…
Honey-To-Do-List.
Saying that I’ve been “Working hard lately and I deserved a Day Off”.
No List from her and I can do…
Whatever I want.
I Love that woman.
Robin informed me that she would be gone for quite a while and that I was to…
“Enjoy my Day Off”.
Asking me to…
her that I would as she was leaving.
It’s was a tough decision for me to make.
There were many things which I had to take into consideration.
But after some deliberation, including a suggestion that Robin made about her having to “Twist my arm”.
I gave in.
I promised her that I would…
Enjoy My Day Off!
As I watch my wife drive away I am inspired to write a Poem.
Not really write a Poem…
That would mean I would be…
Doing Something.
My mission today is to…
Do Nothing.
So I will only mentally create my verse.
This way there will be no evidence of my…
Doing Something.
There will be no trail of words that can be traced back to such a violation of the…
Do Nothing By-Laws.
I will title my Poem…
A short Poem by:
Chip Ragsdale
It’s off to the stores for Robin.
And onto the couch for me.
She to do the shopping.
Me to be lazy.
She’s prepared to do battle.
With her list a mile long.
I’ve prepared the couch.
For me to be laying on.
She heads out the door.
Saying her list is all she needs.
Then to my delight.
My wife turns and says to me.
“Take the day off Hun.”
“You have my permission.”
“To Do Nothing all day.”
“If that’s your decision.”
“But before I leave.”
“You must Promise me this.”
“To enjoy your Day Off.”
“Now come here you big lug and give me a kiss.”
“I Promise I will dear.”
“Your wish is my command.”
“Now YOU get over here.”
“Collect that kiss from your Man.”
I Promised her I would.
I could give her no other reply.
For there are two things.
That I learned early in my Life.
Always put down the toilet seat.
Especially at night.
And never argue or disagree.
For your Wife is ALWAYS right.
I watch as Robin’s car disappears into the distance…there she goes.
“Good-Bye my Love, we shall meet again.”
“Your departure brings me such sorrow.”
Okay…She’s gone.
It’s off to the couch for me.
I’m ready to start this day!
Quickly I settle in by assuming a comfortable position.
Giving myself a full body stretch.
Then a quick yawn.
I’m ready to go!
The first order of business is to check my Schedule.
Let’s see…if I remember correctly the plan for today is to:
DO NOTHING ALL DAY!
Let me reconfirm that…
Yes that’s right, it says:
“Do Nothing and Have A Good Time Doing It.”
That’s what it says.
And that is just what I’m going to do.
That’s the Plan…
And I’m sticking with it!
I have been Dreaming about an Opportunity like this to come along for a while now.
To be able to relax and Do Nothing.
Doing Nothing while I’m relaxing.
Not relaxing…but Doing Nothing.
Relaxing would mean that I was Doing Something.
The Schedule says to “Do Nothing”.
And I’m a firm believer in following Schedules and Plans.
I am ready now to start my Day of Doing Nothing.
I am definitely going to Have a Good Day Today…
I just know it.
And besides, my schedule says that I am…
So it must be true.
To be able to relax and Do Nothing all day…it’s a Dream come true.
After all these years one of my Dreams is coming true.
How about that?
A DREAM COMING TRUE!
WAIT A MINUTE!
Am I Dreaming?
Is this just a Dream?
Oh please don’t let me be Dreaming.
I don’t want to wake up and find out this is only a Dream.
To wake up and find out that I’m only Sleeping and Dreaming about having this Day Off.
Could there be a worst situation?
That would mean:
I am NOT really having this Day Off.
I am only Dreaming that this is my Day Off.
That Robin hasn’t gone shopping.
That Robin DOES have a Honey-to-do-list for me.
That means my Day Off for Doing Nothing will now be turned from…
NOTHING
…TO…
SOMETHING!
My “Promised Day Off” will only be an illusion…
Only a Dream.
This can’t Be.
It’s not possible.
Tell me this isn’t true.
Please tell me this isn’t so.
Why is this happening to me?
Oh the Humanity.
Wait a minute.
Why am I thinking that I’m Sleeping and Dreaming and not Awake and Doing Nothing?
How do I know if I’m Sleeping and Dreaming or if I’m Awake and Doing Nothing?
How do we truly know for sure which State we are in at any given moment?
How many times have we said and heard others say…
“I didn’t know if I was Dreaming or not…it seemed so Real.”
If I am Sleeping and Dreaming, then in Reality even though I give the physical appearance of Doing Nothing.
In Reality my Mental State would be Doing Something…it would be Dreaming.
So I would be Sleeping which would be Doing Something…
Right?
And I’d be Dreaming.
That’s Doing Something too…
Right?
Sleeping?
Dreaming.?
In Reality I would be Sleeping giving the Illusion that I am Doing Nothing.
But I would be Doing Something…I’d be Dreaming about being Awake and Doing Nothing.
Am I Awake Doing Nothing or am I Asleep Dreaming of Doing Nothing?
Which is really happening?
In Reality I will have achieved the physical appearance only of Doing Nothing…but not the Mental State.
In Sleep I will have achieved the Mental aspects of Doing Nothing…but not the Physical appearance.
You gotta have both attributes functioning on the same wave length, at the same time to achieve success.
Existing in Reality Doing Nothing or Sleeping and Dreaming about Doing Nothing.
Both attempting to Do Nothing at the same time.
Is that even
Would that even count as Doing Nothing?
Who really knows?
If I’m Dreaming in my Sleep about Doing Nothing.
Am I Doing Nothing in my Real Life at the same Time as well?
As I’m Sleeping and Dreaming about Doing Nothing I’m really Doing Something…right?.
I’m Sleeping and I’m Dreaming…so I couldn’t be Doing Nothing in my Sleep.
Because I am Doing Something…I’m Sleeping and Dreaming about Doing Nothing.
So that makes Something.
Is that right?
And if I’m Sleeping and Dreaming while in Reality, am I not Doing Nothing in Reality?
Boy, I hope I’m not Dreaming.
I’d be Sleeping and Dreaming about Doing Nothing.
I don’t want to miss out on this, my Day Off of Doing Nothing by only Sleeping and Dreaming.
I don’t want to miss out on actually Doing Nothing while I was awake…the real Doing Nothing.
I certainly wouldn’t want that to happen.
That would defeat the whole purpose of my Day Off To Do Nothing.
I want to enjoy my Doing Nothing, not Sleeping and Dreaming.
…was presented to ME.
It was not offered to my Sleep or to my Dreams.
It’s Opportunity knocking at my door and I don’t want to miss it.
If I am Dreaming than I have to Stop it right now.
I must stop this Doing Something and return to Doing Nothing.
I have to Wake Up.
Doing Nothing is my Scheduled Plan for the day.
So if I am Dreaming at this moment.
If I am only Sleeping and Dreaming about Doing Nothing…
Then this has got to stop!
“OPEN UP YOUR EYES!”
“ALL THE WAY!”
Am I awake now?
If I was Dreaming…have I stopped?
Is this Reality?
Only in the Real World do I have control over my decision making.
When I’m Dreaming that Ole’ Pesky Subconscious takes over and jumps into the Drivers Seat.
Taking control of the whole show.
Subconscious guy answers to no one!
Not even to me.
Is my Consciousness or is my Subconscious in charge now?
Am I deciding what my Actions are now or is Subconscious Guy Running the Show?
Right now at this moment…
Who Is In Charge?
Is any body there?
There is No response from anywhere.
I seem to be the one in control.
Subconscious is no where to be seen.
One more quick check.
Okay…there’s no one here but me.
So Yes it’s Official.
I wasn’t Dreaming after all.
I’m in Control.
I’m in the Drivers Seat.
My hands are on the Steering Wheel.
And I’m heading down this Road they call “Nothing”.
I’ve got a full tank of Nothing and I’m headed Nowhere doing Nothing for the whole ride.
I’M AWAKE.
No dreaming here.
I’m making the Decisions now.
And I’m Deciding to get back to the last task I was attempting to perform.
Doing Nothing!
That’s what I’m going to do.
A slight adjustment of the couch cushions.
A little fluff here and there.
Ah yes…that’s it.
There’s that feeling.
That feeling of…
Doing Nothing!
I can just lay here and Do Nothing all day long if I like.
Yes sir…I can just lay here as long as I like.
Doing Nothing.
Doing Nothing but Doing Nothing.
Yup, Doing Nothing.
That’s what I’m Doing.
Yes I’ Doing Nothing.
This is going to be a great day.
A great day to Do Nothing.
And that’s what I’m Doing.
I’m Doing Nothing.
I’m Doing Nothing while I Do Nothing.
…just Doing Nothing.
Doing Nothing…
Three minutes pass.
Three very long minutes pass as I lay here on the couch.
First counting how many items in the room begin with the letter ‘W’.
…so far.
Next on the agenda…watching the ceiling fan spinning.
Trying to follow only one blade with my eyes as it turns.
Whoa…that’s makes you feel dizzy.
Hey…there’s another item that begins with the letter ‘W’
That now makes…
What to do next?
Now I’m watching that Squiggly piece of lint that floats around inside your eye lids.
You know that thing you see floating around when you close your eyes.
It’s quite interesting to watch if you haven’t watched it before.
Whatever he is…he sure is an active little critter.
Roaming around all over my eyeball.
I can play with him by rolling my eyes around while they are closed.
There he goes spinning in circles now.
It’s funny that I can only see one of him.
I have two eyes.
Why aren’t there two of him?
He seems to be right in the center of my Vision.
Both my eyes seemed to be focused on him.
Is this my Minds Eye?
Oh my goodness my Minds Eye is a squiggly piece of lint.
Oops…
There he goes.
Gone into the depths of my eyeball again.
Until the next time my Friend…until the next time.
That was fun.
By the way the seven things I found that began with the letter ‘W’.
1 – Walls
2- Window
3- Window Sill
4- Waste Basket
5- Wicker Box
6- Wires
– And Number 7 –
7- Websters Dictionary
A new feeling is coming over me now.
This feeling is followed by some accompanying thoughts.
“Okay, this Doing Nothing is starting to Bore me.”
“You know…maybe I should probably Do Something today.”
“Just for a while to work off a little of this energy I seem to have built up all of a sudden.”
“It sure would be a shame to waste the whole day by Doing Nothing.”
These thoughts were followed by another accompanying thought just as quick…maybe even quicker.
“But I’ve been given the day off to do what ever I want.”
“And I want to Do Nothing.”
“But I want to Do Something at the same time.”
That got me to thinking again about my previous question considering Doing Nothing as Doing Something.
“Can I consider that when I’m Doing Nothing I am actually Doing Something?”
“My Doing Nothing is Doing Something?”
Hmm?
“What does one have to do to be truly Doing Nothing?”
“Does it happen by it’s self?”
“Does it come easy?”
FIRST:
It’s a Mental Thing.
To be Doing Nothing you actually have to be Doing Something:
You have to be Doing Nothing.
It takes a mental action from your brain to be Doing Something that results in your Doing Nothing.
You have to mentally perceive that you are Doing Nothing to give the impression of Doing Nothing.
You have to be thinking of Doing Nothing.
You must Become One with the Doing.
You must Join your Doing with the Nothing.
You must Become the…
Doing Nothing!
Let’s examine this a little further.
It takes a mental action for the process of Doing Nothing to start.
Mentally you have to be aware that you are Doing Nothing.
You have to deliberate with yourself over the merits of your decision.
What are the Pros and the Cons of your Doing Nothing?
THE PROS
Is there anything I…
NEED
…to do?
Is there anything I…
HAVE
…to do?
Is there anything I…
WANT
…to do?
Has my wife given me a list of things I…
BETTER
…do?
THE CONS
I don’t…
WANT
…to be doing anything right now.
I don’t…
FEEL
…like doing anything right now.
I don’t…
NEED
…to be doing anything right now.
I don’t…
HAVE
…to be doing anything right now.
Let me check myself out here and see if I’m following all of the rules correctly.
I’m on the couch thinking about Doing Nothing.
Got that covered.
First part done.
Okay…what’s next?
SECOND:
I must give the appearance of Doing Nothing.
I must assume a certain posture that describes that I am Doing Nothing without speaking a word.
Showing physically that I am actually Doing Nothing.
It will take a visual for me to achieve the full effects of Doing Nothing.
First I must mentally achieve the state of Doing Nothing.
I must personally believe that I am Doing Nothing.
If I don’t believe that I am Doing Nothing myself…than no one else will either.
I won’t fool anyone.
Second I must alter my physical shape to get the look of Doing Nothing.
If I’ve reached both Mental and Physical states just right…I’ll receive the Ultimate Responses from others.
“I see your Doing Nothing…”
“Again.”
“You plan on making a career out of doing that?”
Both attributes must function at the same time.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Let’s see were I’m at with all of this now.
FIRST
I’m laying on a couch thinking about Doing Nothing…
Got that covered.
SECOND
I am now laying on the couch totally giving the appearance of Doing Nothing…
Also covered.
I’m Doing Nothing and Doing it quite well.
Both objectives achieved.
I’m pretty good at this Doing Nothing thing!
It seems that I have arrived my friend…
I’ve arrived!
My Doing Nothing Mission runs into it’s first roadblock.
“Maybe I should do a few things around the Old Homestead?”
“WHAT?”
“What did I just say?”
“How about we say..
OR NOT!
…do a few things around the Old Homestead!”
“What was I thinking?”
That’s the thing about Doing Nothing.
You can think about Doing Something and then just as fast decide “Na…I don’t want to do that.”
And just like that your right back to Doing Nothing.
What a wonderful concept.
Doing Nothing.
Back to Doing Nothing.
That’s what I’m Doing.
Oh yeah, this is great.
Okay…
That’s enough of that!
I have a little extra time on my hands today.
This will make my Doing Nothing Day last even longer.
Can’t wait to start using some of this…
Extra Time
I plan on doing some real ‘Hard Core Doing Nothing’ during that time.
How hard can it be for me to waste that Time doing nothing?
It should be easy.
No sweat.
No problem.
Just start wasting that extra time.
Yup…
This is High Class Doing Nothing.
Top drawer stuff.
Have I started wasting that extra time yet?
Or am I still wasting my regular time?
I never realized how complicated it is to start doing nothing.
This extra time is more than I need.
Wait a second!
“More Time than I need”
That’s quite a thought.
I’d like to put that “More Time than I need” into some sort of Time Capsule and label it…
“To Be Used When Needed.”
Then when I had one of those days when there…
“Just isn’t enough Time to do what I’m trying to do.”
I’d open up that Time Capsule and grab all the Time I needed.
Like when I’m out with the wife and we’re having a great evening with friends.
That would be nice to add some Time onto that.
How about adding some more Time when we’re at the beach.
Maybe on a morning I don’t want to get out of bed.
I’d add two hours onto that Time if I could.
Or when I’m running late.
That would be nice to be on Time for a change.
Or staying at that party for just a little bit longer would be great also.
And of course…
When performing the Art of making Love.
Who wouldn’t want to add a little more Time onto that?
I’d spread that Time around to all my other ‘short comings’ with Time also.
To all the missed moments that I’ve ever had due to running out of Time.
When “All I needed was a little more Time” would have made a difference.
Those missed moments of Time could have changed my life or even the World.
I wish I could hold onto the lost Time I’ve wasted throughout my Life.
To keep that Time Capsule close at my side to be used as needed.
I know I can’t do that and I know that wishes don’t really come true.
But I still wish I could anyway.
It didn’t take me long to compile that short-list of things I wish I had more Time for.
I would have made the list a lot longer.
I would have really.
Unfortunately at that moment I was pretty busy doing…
Does our ‘Wasted Time’ pass us by the same way as…
“There just isn’t enough Time in a day to do all that we want?”
As we waste Time do the hours, the minutes, the seconds that pass us by know that they are being wasted?
Do they pass by us with a look of astonishment at our ignorance of them?
If not…
They should.
We watch them.
We watch as they move forward into infinity.
We watch knowing they will never be here for us again.
We watch knowing our moment to join them is gone.
We watch knowing they will never return or be replaced.
And what is our response to that knowledge?
We ignore our own understanding of Time.
We know we are wasting Time.
We know that Time is short.
We know that Time has a limit for each of us.
And yet we act as though an endless flow of moments are available to us for ever.
We’ve actually convinced ourselves that Time is irrelevant.
It just happens.
It always was…
And always will be!
We con ourselves into this zombie like state of mentality so that we can make it through each day that we live.
We’ve hypnotized ourselves into ignoring the realities of Time.
This allows us to exist each day without going crazy knowing that Time Moves On…and we don’t.
Knowing that our Time does END yet Time goes on for Infinity bringing us unconsciously with it.
Never being a part of it anymore.
Knowing that our short, brief conscious moments with Time will end and our participation will no longer be required.
That knowledge is too painful a reality for us Humans to bare so we block it out.
We block it out so deeply that we’ve convinced ourselves that there’s “Plenty of Time left”.
By doing so we allow ourselves to WASTE Time freely without thought or guilt.
This all becomes a painful reality as we feel the hurt when a Loved Ones Passes from us.
We cry and proclaim that we would give anything just to spend…
“One more minute with them.”
“Just a few seconds more.”
“That’s all we ask.”
But we can’t.
We could have when they were here but hey…
“There’s plenty of Time.”
“I’ll call them later.”
“I’ll see them tonight…tomorrow at work…at school…when they get home.”
No you won’t.
You won’t because they might be gone…
FOREVER!
There isn’t “Plenty of Time”.
There isn’t a “Call them later”.
And there definitely won’t be a “When they get home”.
If they are gone!
Even having this knowledge of such a devastating event of our reality we still…
Waste Our Time!
We still go through our days wasting our precious Time thinking more is to come.
There isn’t.
When ours is done…
So are we!
I was just thinking…again.
Does our ‘Wasted Time’ travel at the same speed as ‘Not Enough Time’ and as ‘Normal Time’?
We watch the clock as the seconds pass…one at a time.
Not only do we watch the seconds passing by, we also watch the moments that make up that second.
The time it takes for a second to reach that next second.
The second it’s self.
The time within the second.
Will Man ever unravel the mysteries of Time.
Will he even know that he did when he does?
The couch now is becoming a source of slight irritation to me.
Starting to feel like I’m laying on a couch of cactus.
I can’t get comfortable
I know it’s not the couch…
It’s me!
I’m getting that anxious feeling
That feeling of anxiousness that can drive you crazy.
There’s no way around it.
Endless leg stretching and twisting and shaking.
One of my legs wants to hang out over one of the arms of the couch.
Who am I deny.
Okay that feels good.
Now the other leg is demanding equal time turning it’s attention to the floor.
Let’s see what I got here now.
I’m laying down on a couch.
One leg is raised up and is laying on one of the arms of the couch.
The other placed on the floor.
And let us not forget the arms.
Very important.
One arm is laying over my chest as the other one is stretched out over the edge of the couch.
I seem to have achieved the Ultimate Position of…
Doing Nothing!
Not only that…I am totally thinking of Nothing.
I can’t believe it.
I am Doing Nothing.
I am actually Doing Nothing!
And of course I have no witness to my achievement.
Not a soul in sight.
How come no one is ever around when we achieve a…
MOMENT
…that only happens once in a lifetime?
Something you know will never happen again…never.
And there is never a witness around to verify the event.
At least I Know I achieved the perfect state of ‘Doing Nothing’ once in my life.
Oh well.
Back to assuming the ‘Position’.
Okay…that’s it for the couch for right now.
Gotta get up and move around.
I find myself pacing around the room now.
Walking aimlessly in a circle.
Walking through my own universe of thought at the same time.
Trying to decide what I can do.
So what can I do?
What?
Maybe if I sit at the computer I might get some inspiration and write something profound.
But what?
What can I write about that would be something of interest to others…including myself.
What to write?
A half hour goes by and still no inspiration.
I did remember where I had put some photos I had been looking for.
Some photos of my 1929 Model ‘A’ Ford.
Ah…she was a beauty.
Alas I’ve sold her and she now belongs to another.
Parting was such sweet sorrow that day.
But…finding those pictures was a surprise.
That was an exciting moment.
But only a moment.
And I have plenty of moments left today.
Now back to figuring out what I can write and post about.
I‘m looking at an old pencil that I keep around to remind me of the ‘old ways’ of writing.
Actually I keep it around as my ‘Backup System’ just in case our electrical grid goes down.
One never knows…right?
So here I sit in front of a computer looking at a pencil and not a thought in my head.
I could write about the Political issues our country is facing.
Nah…too Political.
I could write about my new life of Retirement?
How the days of working for ‘The Man’ are over for me and I can wake up any time I desire.
And yet every day I get up before six in the morning.
What’s that all about?
Scratch that idea.
How about my Sci-Fi story?
Maybe I could continue working on the story ‘CHIPLAND’ that I’m writing.
My story of Mankind’s battle with Immorality within himself and within the computer.
Immorality and his band of Imposers are waiting within the computer world.
They have been waiting in the world of 1’s and 0’s…
Patiently waiting!
Waiting for man to finally reach his desire of 3D-Realism and Virtual Reality.
Waiting so they can use that technology to transform themselves into…
Human Beings!
They are waiting for their chance to take out mankind and conqueror his world.
I have finished writing thirty four pages so far.
My characters are developing rather well and the story is flowing the way I like.
But…I’m just not in the mood right now.
Thinking seems to be too much work at the moment.
Maybe I should do some rehearsing on the ole’ guitar and get the vocal chords all warmed up.
Okay…that lasted eight minutes.
You really have to be in the right mood to play music…
I wasn’t.
NEXT.
How about a little TV?
No…I’ll pass
Nothing on anyway.
This is frustrating!
I’m trapped within this Question of “What to do?”
How do I get out of here?
I’ve got to start Doing Something.
But what to do?
What?
One would think that Doing Something would be an ‘Easy Thing To Do’.
You just start Doing Something!
That’s the rub though, you have to have Something that you Want To Do.
Try finding that when your Bored.
Everything you come up with seems to be more Boring than the thing you came up with before.
Boring – Boring
And More Boring!
A lot of Time is passing as I search for Something to do as I’m Doing Nothing.
So fast it passes.
With all of our knowledge and all of our strength we are unable to Stop Time.
We are unable to hold it in place, unable to control it.
To hold it in place at our will.
Time the complete Master of the Universe.
How I wish that it were possible.
Once again I know that Wishes really don’t come true.
I also know that many people believe that they do.
Thanks Goodness they Can’t.
Just think of some of the things you’ve heard people Wish for.
How about some of the things you’ve wished for…that’s what I’m talking about.
You know what I mean?
Mankind would only Wish themselves out of their own existence anyway.
But…I sure do Wish I could hold onto Time.
Oh look,a shooting star let’s…
I Wish I may
I wish I might
Have this wish
I wish tonight.
I wish that…
Now don’t you tell.
Your wish won’t come true if you do.
This “Doing Nothing” is hard work.
Apparently it takes Time to Do Nothing.
You can’t have one without the other.
Now I’m not only Doing Nothing…
I’m also Wasting Time.
It seems I’ve hit the trifecta of Doing Nothing.
1: I am Mentally Doing Nothing.
2: I am Physically Doing Nothing.
3: I’m Wasting My Time while I Do Nothing.
I just remembered something!
A To-Do list.
I made a list of things to do a few days ago.
If I can remember where I put that list maybe I’ll have ‘Something To Do’.
Now where did I put it?
Did I leave it on my desk in the my office?
No, not there.
Didn’t I see it on the music stand in my music room the other day?
No not there either.
But hey, there’s that guitar pick that went flying in the air while I was rehearsing the other day.
How did it get way over here?
I know I had made a list of things to do…it has to be somewhere?
Okay…this is crazy.
That list has to be somewhere.
“I REMEMBER!”
It’s in the garage on the work bench.
There it is…Yeah!
Buried under a pile of screws that I was going through.
And that cup of coffee I was drinking at the time.
Boy…that’s been there for a few days.
I do believe something is living in there and is setting up housing.
Yup! It’s alive.
Better dump that down the toilet.
Okay back to the list.
Just move all those screws now.
There’s ‘Nothing’ on the list.
NOTHING!
Yup!
Already doing that.
Well that was for nothing.
While I’m here maybe I should pickup the garage a bit.
Na…looks pretty good.
If it ain’t broke…
Don’t try to fix it
That’s what I always say.
And I’m saying it again right now.
Wait a sec.
There’s that box of old musical equipment stuff I don’t use any more.
I’ll have to check that out.
A mixing board, several foot pedals, cables, extra parts from some of my old guitars, my old drum machine.
Boy…what a waste of money.
All out dated.
They have become remnants of the past.
I went to several music shops trying to trade some of the equipment to get some money off on newer stuff.
Nope…they weren’t having any part of it.
“Nobody uses that stuff any more.” I was told.
I went to a school trying to donate all of it, plus 2 older electric guitars.
They would not even take it.
“Too old.”
Was what I was told.
I could not even give it away.
Boy…the memories this stuff brings back.
Where I was at different times using it.
The people I’ve met and shared this equipment with.
Some truly great guitarist have played their music through this old collection of metal, plastic and wires.
So…
Back into the box with all of ya!
I can’t sell ya.
I can’t give ya away.
And it will be “A sad day in Mudsville” before I even think about throwing away all those memories.
Yes, it’s back into the box and back into the corner with ya’s until the next time my friends…
Until the next time.
So let me see, where was I?
That’s right I was looking for my list of things to do.
And I found it.
The list was nothing and that was already achieved.
So now what?
What can I do now?
I remember that I do have several projects that need to be done.
Major ones though.
Well not that major but I should have started them much earlier.
A room that needs painting…I could have started that.
But due to the amount of time required and the requirement of daylight…a little too late to start now.
Ya, I should have started earlier, but I didn’t
Besides it’s getting too cloudy out now and I’d be painting without full sun.
That’s one of the wonderful things about Doing Nothing.
You have plenty of time to come up with excuses for Not Doing Something.
I could go out and check the Mailbox to see if any new ‘Bills’ came in.
That would be something for me to do.
Yes, I think I’ll do that.
I need some fresh air anyway.
Maybe I’ll come up with Something To Do during my little adventure out into the Real World.
What a beautiful day it is.
A little cloudy but like that old saying goes here in Florida:
“If you don’t like the weather…wait a minute, it will change.”
You can’t beat living in Florida…
NO YOU CAN’T.
I can see that I’m gonna have to cut the grass soon but not today…no, not today.
Yes I got mail.
Several interesting shaped envelopes.
Good ole’ Snail Mail.
It’s nice opening up the Mailbox and seeing that there is mail inside.
Communications from Reality.
You never know what an envelope will contain.
For example…
This sucks…
I forgot about that Bill!
That’s okay.
Bring on the Bills and your Advertisements because…
And I’ve got all day to Read your Advertisements and ignore your Bills…
Until it’s time to pay them of course.
That’s about all that Snail Mail delivers to you these days anyway…
Bills and Advertisements.
I have heard rumors that the Post Office is looking into a ‘Newer’ version of it’s Snail Mail system.
Looks pretty good to me…very interesting.
That reminds me of something similar from the Past.
I can remember one time a Big Environmental Project of the Elites was…
“Let’s make the world a paperless society!”
“Let’s save all the Trees.”
That didn’t work out too good in my opinion.
We may have saved a few trees…or did we?
It seems to me that we’re wasting more paper today than we ever have before.
Between the Paper Products we use and the Printed Communications and Advertising we receive.
To this day I can not believe how much paper products I throw away on a daily bases.
Just what I throw away from Junk Mail amazes me.
There wasn’t even this much paper wasted when people use to Write Letters to each other.
Ah letters.
I remember them well.
The many memories they bring back to me.
I miss them.
To get a letter in the mail from someone was a wonderful experience.
To hold a piece of paper in your hands that a friend or loved one held in theirs.
And to read the words that a friend or loved one wrote you expressing their inner thoughts.
Unlike our Emailing System that we use today.
A system where we are notified Electronically when we have a communication from another entity.
Then using a piece of plastic, metal and electronic circuitry that is encased inside a ‘Mouse’.
We use one of our hands to guide this Mouse around and point at an arrow on an Electronic Screen.
We then direct the arrow to check our ‘Text Messages’ and ‘Emails’ in our ‘Inboxes’.
Then we click on a desired Email we wish to read.
Now several Security Checks are performed.
We must verify that we know who and where said Email has originated from.
We don’t want Spam, Malware, Viruses or Ransomware to effect our System.
So after our Security Check and Anti-Virus Protection checks are performed our Email is revealed.
Next we’re given the pleasure of trying to deceiver the message that we have just opened up.
We sift through the single digit letters used to describe a word or group of words…even a whole concept.
If your not up to date on the Coding it can take a while to decipher some of it.
BFF is it:
Best Friends Forever?
…OR…
Best F_ _ _ing Friends?
Which one is it really?
So after Decoding the Email you then click on the REPLY button…only if you want to.
We’ll assume that you do.
Click on the REPLY button.
Type in some quick text.
Nothing too personal, just some letters from the alphabet you enter with your thumbs.
Then move the arrow to the SEND button.
Click on the SEND button.
Your done.
Two minutes tops…that’s it.
You’ve just written a letter to your BFF
You have corresponded with another entity.
Let’s us recap.
THE MODERN WAY
Check your Email INBOX and READ any new Emails.
Decide if you want to REPLY to a received Email.
SEND your Response…if any.
Pretty Quick and Efficient.
THE OLD WAY
Walk to your Mailbox, say Hi to your Neighbor, wave at a friend driving by.
Open your Mailbox, reach in and pull out any New Mail.
Sift through the stack of envelopes.
Put the letter you’ve been waiting for on top of the pile to read first.
Return to your house, say “Bye” to your neighbor and make a note…
Friday Night invited over the neighbors for Dinner.
Put Mail on kitchen table, fix a cup of coffee.
Sit at kitchen table, have your cup of coffee and read the letter you’ve been waiting for.
You laugh, you cry as you read your letter.
You get pen and paper out and write a responding letter to your dear friend thanking them for their letter.
Walk to your Mailbox.
Place the letter in the Mailbox.
Raise the Red Flag on the Mailbox to let the Mailman know he has a pickup.
Return to your house, say “Hi” to your other Neighbors son walking their dog.
Go back to your cup of coffee and re-read your friends touching letter.
Well, I see the Old Way takes quite a bit more time than the New Way.
Longer yes but at what cost compared to today’s Quick and Easy 3 Step process of Mail Correspondence.
The fact that you can do your E-mailing in under two minutes compared to possibly half an hour to an hour?
Faster yes…but you were responding to your ‘BFF’.
Aren’t ‘BFF’s’ important anymore?
Or do you have many ‘BFF’s’ and it doesn’t matter because you don’t know half of them anyway.
And besides the ‘BFF’ your corresponding with is probably sitting right next to you.
You just haven’t looked up from your Smart Phone in the past twenty minutes to notice.
Your probably sitting besides each other not aware that you’re Texting each other.
I wonder how many other people are doing this type of thing at the same time?
Sorry I asked.
Today’s…
‘YOU’VE GOT MAIL’
…just isn’t the same as it was back in the…
‘GOOD OLD DAYS’
If I had to choose which I preferred.
Even though it takes more Time and Effort on the part of the Human.
And that it’s definitely more work than just moving a Mouse around and clicking.
I would have to say that the Winner, hands down:
“THE OLD WAY!”
That’s my opinion!
I have several letters that I’ve received years ago.
When I received them the anticipation of what was written on the pages inside the sealed envelope was exciting.
Was it Good news?
Or was it to be Bad news?
As I opened them and began to read them.
I was able to feel the paper.
I could smell the aromas that surrounded the author at the time of the letters creation.
The fragrance of the person themselves was embedded into every page of the letter also.
It could take several minutes or up to several hours to read just one letter.
Sometimes putting it down afraid to read what the next paragraph would say.
This is not an Engineering conglomeration of Electronic Bits of 1’s and 0’s turning On and Off.
1’s and 0’s translated into any language that you have set in your Preference Page.
This is a real communication from a real person.
It’s hard to hold and smell an Email of electronic 1’s and 0’s turning on and off.
But this…
This is right here in your hands waiting for you to open it and become part of the adventure.
Yes every now and then I pull one of them out and read it.
It can bring tears to my eyes.
It can break my heart.
I can be touched from the smell of the paper and warmed from the fragrance of the person who wrote it.
I can actually visualize the person so clearly.
I remember one time after reading a letter I had received about the passing of someone close to me.
I sat for the longest time holding that letter and thinking of that person.
It broke my heart so deeply that a visual of that person appeared in the room standing in front of me.
Not that they were really there.
But in some form of a self imposed Hypnotic State.
That person appeared as sort of a Hologram before me.
I know it sounds crazy.
I wasn’t trying to see the person or had some ceremony to bring back the dead.
It wasn’t a Ghost.
It was a Vision.
A Memory.
I felt that loss so deeply that instead of seeing them in my mind I saw them in front of me.
Reading that letter touched me so much that my memories of the person produced an outward visual for me.
I will always remember that experience I had that day for the rest of my life.
To be able to spend one last moment with them.
Yes “You Got Mail” just isn’t the same for me as it was in ‘Days Gone By’.
And speaking of those ‘Days Gone By’.
So much of my Time on this planet has already ‘Gone By’.
It has passed by so quickly.
It’s hard for me at times to believe that I’ve already gone through most of the learning years of my life.
My whole life so far can be written in one very short sentence.
Using Nine words to describe the years of my existence.
Hopefully there will be a few more words added on before it’s over.
Childhood, School, Dating, Work, Love, Marriage, Children, Divorce, Retirement…
I’m not ready for the period to be placed at the end of my…
Life’s Sentence yet!
Our awakening moments pass by so fast.
They can be added up in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months years.
But…
Only a little past a Century.
Just a tiny, tiny bit passed a Century.
And that’s it.
“That’s all folks!”
A little over a Century is all we are given.
That’s only if we are lucky enough my friends.
Only if we’re lucky enough.
No one has made it any further, say up to…150.
YET!
And it all goes by so quick.
Don’t Blink.
At least not too often…you’ll never know what you’ve missed.
To be honest with you I’m truly happy to be retired.
Not that you inquired…just thought I’d remind myself of that fact.
First off I can’t believe that I have made it this far.
To actually have reached Retirement.
To have lived through all that Life has thrown at me.
To look into the mirror that has told me my story throughout my Life.
To be able to look into that mirror and see the reflection of myself as the older me…Retired.
My mirror has shown me my visual changes throughout my entire Life.
Every line, every wrinkle…my story is all there.
The stories our mirrors tell us.
They never lie.
They will always tell us the truth about ourselves every time.
Right now my mirror is telling me “You are one lucky guy.”
YOU MADE IT!
You’ve crossed the Finish Line.
You have just won the race against Time.
YOU MADE IT TO RETIREMENT
There are so many of my friends who haven’t made it.
So many that It makes me pause for a moment as I realize who has passed.
Many a better person than I could ever be.
Yet they are gone…
And here I am.
This crazy thing called Life.
Will we ever figure it out?
Right now I just except the fact that things…
‘Are what they are’.
And…
‘What they are’
…for me right now is…
“I’m Retired!”
“I MADE IT.”
The American Dream Is Still Alive And Doing Well.
It’s TRUE.
What else is True?
It don’t come easy.
You have to Earn it.
You have to work hard for it.
You have to Believe in Yourself and Your Country.
You have to be willing to contribute your Time.
You must commit your very being to it’s outcome.
If you don’t apply these attributes to your Quest of the American Dream.
You will never feel it’s Glory.
There are a lot of people out there that don’t believe The American Dream is obtainable anymore.
Claiming that the ‘Dream’ never existed at all.
A lie they say!
It’s just a myth.
It’s only…A Dream.
Mom, Apple Pie, Baseball, Hard Work, Clean Living…having a Moral Compass?
These are Parts of the American Dream.
They aren’t objects you hold in your hands.
You hold them in your heart and within your soul.
If you listen to the News on TV these days…it’s insane.
At times I truly can’t believe what I am hearing or seeing.
It doesn’t matter what the Political views are in this Country
It’s the lack of not having a Moral Compass.
ON ALL SIDES.
And the TV loves it.
Ratings through the roof.
And the Internet.
What can I say.
It’s all about how many “HITS” you get Baby!
Do yourself a favor.
Don’t put too much value in the comments made by people out there on the Air-Ways and the Internet.
It’s all about the Ratings and the Hits for them…that’s it.
You know what’s happening right in front of you.
You’ve got eyes…you can see what’s going on around you.
You know what your situation is with you family, your friends, school, work.
You know what you need to do to advance your life to the state you desire.
You know what it requires of you to get there.
If that’s what you want to do…you just got to do it.
No matter what it takes…because that’s what it takes.
How’s your life now?
You have to look at your situation and decide if you need to make a few changes in your life.
Happy with the way everything is going?
If you’re not happy with the way things are going at the moment…
Your love life down the toilet?
It’s up to you to change anything in your life that you’re not happy with.
Only you have the power to WILLINGLY change anything in your life.
Anytime…anywhere…to what ever you desire.
You may get arrested or some woman may slap you if you decide to do certain things.
But I’m not talking about doing those type of things.
What I mean is…
You can quit that job you hate.
You can move someplace else.
And you can find a new boy/girl friend who will break your heart just like the one you’d be leaving.
You could do all three in one swoop.
Get a new job…move to a new city…fall in love all over again.
It takes you to decide that.
Only you can make that decision.
Others can advice…only you decide.
Do IT.
MAKE THE CHANGE.
DON’T do anything…
I’ll buy you a drink the next time I see you in that Bar.
You know that Bar you still hang out at every night.
The one you’ve been going to since you were old enough to be there.
It’s up to you!
You to decide your Endings.
I never thought I was going to make it.
Didn’t think this old bag of bones had it in him.
I couldn’t wait to Retire just so I could get to work on what I really wanted to do.
Play Music.
And here I am now a ‘Professional Musician’.
That means: Somebody is actually willing to ‘Pay’ me money to play Music for them.
Can you believe that?
It’s crazy I tell ya!
I’m glad that it’s not the end of my desire to achieve things in life though.
To still be a part of the Living.
It’s true.
I WORK as an Entertainer, I Sing and PLAY Music.
Wait a minute…
I WORK and I PLAY music.
So I Work and yet I Play while I Work…Hmmm!
I Work and I Play.
I Work.
I Play.
Play.
Work.
I am doing two opposite things at the same time.
I’m working and I’m Playing at the same time.
I’m Awake Doing Something while trying to do Nothing as I’m Working and Playing.
All at the same time!
What is this madness?
I’m glad that I’ve been able to turn something I love into a Part-Time job.
Not only is it good to be doing something to stay active…
I can use that extra Money.
The extra cash allows Robin and I to do a few ‘Extra’ things that we wouldn’t be able to do without it.
We’re able to enjoy an evening out every now and then.
Or a weekend get away.
And it doesn’t put a strain on our current finances.
Like the old saying says:
You gotta…
It’s so true.
You want to do something that involves another persons services or assistance…
“You gotta pay Brother!”
You need the Money, the Green Backs, the Dough, the Benjamin’s, the Cash, the Big Bucks…
The Almighty Dollar!
Ah yes…The Almighty Dollar!
The things that can be achieved through it’s use.
The Happiness that you can buy with it.
Yes I’ve said it.
“You Can Buy Happiness”
Think about what you could do if you had the money.
Think about it.
That’s right.
Think a little more.
That’s enough.
I’m sure you came up with several items that money can buy that would make you very happy.
Either way Money is what we are legally obligated too use in exchange for ours and others services and products.
There’s a saying out there that claims…
“Money Is The Root Of All Evil.”
‘Money Is The Root Of All Evil?’
Says who?
People who don’t have any of it that’s who.
Money is the perfect solution for handling matters concerning Bartering.
Man was genius to come up with it’s concept.
It has stood the test of Time.
It’s shape, size, color and value have changed over the Centuries but it’s purpose certainly hasn’t.
The physical value exchanged for a persons services…a system of fair exchange.
“I have something you want…you give me something in exchange for it.”
“I can do something you can’t, but you want me to do that for you…so you give me something for doing it.”
After a trade was made many a time one of the parties would realize later on that they got “Screwed”.
What they got in exchange for their valuable item, was junk.
Lesser quality and not nearly worth as much as was told.
Refunds and Exchanges hadn’t be created yet.
The dispute usually was settled by the party who was ripped-off beating to death the accused thief with a club.
Man could not go on like this
How to solve this dilemma?
Not everyone had talents that another would trade their talents for.
What could be used to satisfy all peoples for trading products and services?
How about something called “Mo”.
No that doesn’t sound right.
How about “Mon?”
Na…still doesn’t quite describe what we need to call this “Thing” we will use as our system of fair trade.
Well then how about…
It rolls off the tongue with ease.
Not only does it sound good…
There’s this silent ‘Y’ at the end of the word.
This will make it ‘Mysterious’.
Everyone will want to know what the hidden meaning of this silent letter is.
This will of course insure it’s place in History as one of Mankind’s Greatest Achievements.
Each person who posses this ‘Money’ will feel that they understand the silent ‘Y’s’ meaning.
And the more of this ‘Money’ that they have would show that they ‘Know’ and ‘Have’ more than you.
…OR…
Man formed the word from the language being used at the time.
It’s interpretation was received by the world as a sensible approach to a complicated problem.
Hence…the word “Money” was created.
People started to use it as a fair exchange for services and products.
Symbols were also assigned to make understanding the value of what you had Universal.
– AND –
The Printing Presses and Coin Foundries started production.
Capitalism started it’s engines.
Commerce had now come to mankind.
We’ve seen several experiments with Money over the years.
The Universal Euro they wanted to change the Money system to.
And what is it now…Bitcoin.
Anyway…it is always about the Money.
Doesn’t matter what shape or form it’s in.
Or what the actual material it is made of.
We still will call it “Money”.
Give me a break.
What do you think would happen if you ever tried to tell the Grocer that “Money is Evil”.
“I really like the Food you have here…I want some of it.”
“I’d pay you for it but we both know that Money is”…
“The Root of all Evil.”
“And I’m sure that we both would agree that”…
“Evil is no good.”
“So I’ll just be taking this and be on my way knowing that our Souls are Free of That Evil Money thing.”
“Thank you.”
And then you just walk away.
Or tell that to a Jeweler.
“Oh I love these, they are so shinny I want them.”
As you choose one of his Rings or Necklaces and just walk away.
“Thank you!”
Do you think they would expect you to give them ‘evil money’ in exchange for the items you are taking?
I’m sure they would have a different opinion on what the…
“Root of all evil is”
…at that moment if you said…
“NO”
I think they would be assuming that you were Robbing them.
Especially if you just walked away and took the items ‘Freely’.
But that’s what one does these days when they don’t have that ‘Evil Money’ to pay for the things they want.
That’s what they do when they don’t want to work hard for the Money to get the things they want.
That’s what they do when they just want what you have.
They put a gun in your face and take what they want?
It takes Money my friends to do anything in life.
This is true for the entire world.
No matter where you go…it takes Money to survive.
For anyone to miss understand that bit of information is in for a rough ride throughout their life.
Take the Homeless people out there for example.
You would think that living life Free without having any of the Money that’s the “root of all evil” would be awesome.
You have no Money so everything must be Free right?
NO!
Snap out of it!
If living without Money ‘sets you free’ and it is ‘awesome’.
Then please…Somebody explain why?
Why on every corner I drive by there’s a homeless person begging for Money.
Not putting them down or anything like that.
The way I see it is…
At least they showed up to work someplace.
They are there actually working for your Money.
No ones sitting at home waiting for Unemployment, Welfare, Food Stamps.
They show up and get to work.
So my point is…If people shouldn’t desire ‘The evil dollar’, ‘the root of all evil’.
Then why are people begging for it and always have their hand out for it?
We’re always chasing it.
The Churches all pass their basket for it.
Governments Tax you for it.
Everyone wants it from you.
Why?
Because they need it.
We all need it.
There’s almost nothing you can do without it.
Nothing in Life is Free.
And if something is ‘Free’…that just gets you to put your foot in their door, wet your whistle, Hook your butt.
Then it’s…”That will be $19.99.”
You all know exactly what I mean I’m sure.
It’s the old “Try It For Free” routine.
Ask any Cigarette smoker or Heroin addict where that’s gotten them.
The first one is always Free.
The next one will cost you something…guaranteed!
I think we should forget that old saying and start living by a new one that seems a little more realistic.
Without Money…
“People become the Root of all Evil.”
We will beg, steal and even kill to get our hands on it.
Society has placed this undeserved stigma onto Money.
When in reality it’s the people that pull the trigger…
Not the gun!
Money is really a great and wonderful tool.
The premise is that if you…
…you will then be compensated with Legal Tender.
Try to exist without it.
You’ll find out pretty quick that you don’t get to far.
Try Dying without it.
That’s right.
You can’t even Die without Money being involved.
See if your Death ends the need for Money.
It doesn’t.
Have you ever heard of the ‘Death Tax’ or the ‘Inheritance Tax’.
How about those unpaid ‘Bills’ and ‘Credit Cards’?
Do you think that everybody just says…
“Oh so”…
“We’ll just forget about that.”
Yeah right.
This is what is more likely to happen.
“We’re sorry for your loss”…
“But there’s this little matter of a $1,000,000,000.00 bill your husband forgot to pay before he died.”
…OR…
“We’re sorry for your loss…”
“But there’s these additional taxes your late husband owes us now due to his death.”
“You can just make that check out to…”
Yes my friends Money is a necessity, it’s not evil.
People that Worship Money and the Greedy…they are “The Root Of All Evil”.
How could something so evil allow me to…
Take the wife out to a movie.
Have a few drinks afterwards.
Then Have a lovely dinner.
Compliments of Money.
Money can give my wife and I an evening out together.
We don’t hurt anyone and we don’t bother anyone.
Plus…I get to be a Man and take my Woman out on the town and show her off.
“We don’t talk like that anymore these days”
“Those type of comments are very Demeaning to a Woman.”
Oh…I’m sorry!
Is that a violation of the PC world we live in today?
Too bad!
I’m a Man.
She’s a Woman.
What’s the matter with people these days?
Now people aren’t sure what they are anymore.
“I don’t know if I’m a Girl or a Boy…what am I?”
“I don’t know if I’m suppose to sit or stand when I go Pee…what do I do?”
I have a suggestion for you.
Look between your legs.
If Nothing’s hanging there…you are a Girl.
If Something is hanging there…you are a Boy.
Pretty Simple!
Your ‘Feelings’ about the situation are immaterial.
Just yesterday the wife and I were watching the TV, on a TV of all things.
During several shows that we were watching the following comments were made.
“Is that a boy or a girl I’m looking at?”
“Tell me…What is that?”
“Is that a boy or is that a girl?”
“Look at this, another one.”
“What is that…is that a boy?”
“Tell me is that a boy?”
“Give me a break.”
“What the heck am I looking at?”
“What is that?”
“Is that a girl?”
We were having a hard time telling if we were looking at boys or girls in certain scenes.
The way they made themselves look and the way they acted was very eerie.
They showed no hint of their Gender.
Masked from our sight.
You could not tell what they were.
It was an invasion of the…
GENDER-LESS.
Coming to a City near you.
And real soon too!
I’m serious though, we never saw anything quite like it.
Oh boy…I’m starting to sound like all our Parents Generation.
We grow older and become the adults it seems.
Nothing ever really changes how generations of people act from each other.
The only differences are: Peoples Names and the Date.
Criticizing the future Generation about every single thing they do.
It’s been done.
We’re doing it right now.
And it will be done again.
So, now boys are trying to look like girls and girls are making themselves look like boys.
And somehow they met in the middle and here we are!
I wish ya ‘Good Luck’ in the future with that.
Anyway in our world, or at least the one Robin and I live in:
You are either a Boy or a Girl.
Get over yourselves.
Buck up and be what you are.
A Man and a Woman are Life.
They create Life.
Watch Nature and learn.
I’m sure you understand the process of how you became a Human Being on the planet.
Oh wait a minute…
Maybe you don’t.
That knowledge might be a little too sensitive for you to have to know.
It may cause you to have some mental discomfort.
Requiring the need for you to seek a ‘Safe Space’ for you to feel protected and shielded from the horrors of Reality.
“I’m melting, I’m melting…Oh what a cruel World.”
Oh yea, that was a witch in an old movie that said that…
Not a Snowflake!
I’m sorry about that.
I apologize to all you witches out there for my mistake.
I’m not trying to make fun of anybody
Heck I drove everyone crazy during my youth.
Just as everyone else has done before me.
That’s just the nature of things.
Which brings me back to this boy and girl thing.
The Male and Female roles of Existence are pretty evident.
That’s just the nature of things.
And fortunate for us that it is.
The end result:
We create Life.
Life chooses what we are.
What you ‘Think’ you are means absolutely nothing.
If your a Boy…
You have a Boys body.
If you’re a Girl…
You have a Girls body.
What ‘You’ want to be.
What ‘You’ choose to be.
At least what my generations was taught was:
A Fireman, A Nurse, A Doctor, A Teacher.
I don’t recall being a Boy or a Girl as one of the choices we were offered.
I must have missed that day that we were taught that.
Now-a-days our children are being taught…
“This thing about being a Boy or Girl…”
“Forget About It.”
“You don’t feel like being a Boy or a Girl, even though that is what your physical being is in REALITY.”
“You just go ahead feel the way you want too.”
“You can see me after class and I will set you up with Altering Hormone Drugs to help with your transition.”
“That will help when the sex change operation is performed.”
“And we don’t even have to tell those old pesky Parents of yours about any of this.”
Like I said “I think I missed the day they had that class”.
I can’t believe I have to have these thoughts in my mind.
That this is where we have come today.
All I can say is I’m glad to see that, like in every generation, this only is reflected by a few.
A small minority of fellow humans that we will except as they must learn to except all others also.
Every Man should experience the power of being a Man providing for his Woman and his Family.
To be given Love and Respect from your Woman because you are her Man.
Then to return all that was given to you…
To Her.
You make her feel she is a Woman and the feelings will be returned to you ten-fold.
Yes I guess it’s Sexist for me to think that a Man provides in one way and a Woman in a different way.
This is the way I was taught as child growing up.
But these days that’s all changed I know.
These days both Man and Woman have to work.
Both have to provide financially and both have to share the burdens of their lives together.
But let me tell you as a Man speaking now.
There is No Greater, let me repeat, there is No Greater Feeling a Man can receive from a Woman.
Her Respect and her Desire to be a Woman for you.
My wife does things for me that to this day I am truly grateful for and stunned that she does them willingly.
She fixes meals for me effortlessly.
She keeps the cleanest Home…you literally can eat off these floors.
She does the Laundry, the Shopping, the Cleaning.
Not only does she do ALL that…and so much more…she cleans Homes and Condos on the side.
And she’s Retired also.
Hold on a second before you crucify me…I do my share.
I do all the Manly stuff and also, I’m a Performing musician who gets paid.
I also do the House and Condo cleanings with her.
She started the business and I work for her.
And let me tell you something…she is a worker
And there’s never any complaining from her.
Complaints…What’s that?
We perform our daily task as what we are, Man and Women.
We do our Manly and Womanly parts without any thought or protest.
No Bra Burning on the wife’s part and I Take The Trash Out.
We except this as our natural behavior…our Lot in Life.
We both do our parts willingly and gladly.
We do it for each other.
And what’s given to each other for this in return?
Everything.
She’s my Woman
…and…
I’m her Man.
She acts like one…and she lets me known when I’m not acting like the Man she met years ago.
I’m one lucky guy I’m telling ya!
So Money allows me to do a few things extra with and for the Wife.
Like going out for Dinner, Drinks and a Movie.
Buy some flowers for no reason at all…just because she deserves them.
It’s nice to be working to be able to get that little extra money to afford those little things in Life!
After all…I have to keep up with this “LAVISH LIFESTYLE” I’m NOT living.
At least today my Doing Nothing hasn’t cost me a penny…actually it cost me NOTHING.
Paying Nothing for Doing Nothing.
I like that.
Boy…this walk to the mail box has certainly re-opened some closed doors in the old Memory Department.
It has to be this wonderful fresh Ocean air we have here in Florida.
Haven’t had those type of thoughts in some time now.
Does a body good every now and then to reflect on things once in a while.
So…only one Bill in the Snail Mail today.
That’s better than two I guess?
As I start to walk back to my house I have to stop.
I’m standing here in the driveway of my Home.
I’m standing here looking at my House, my Yard, my Sidewalk and my Road that passes in front of my House.
How amazing Life is.
As I look around I am humbled at where I am at this current stage of my life.
Yes it’s true that this isn’t the house where I live and maybe my House doesn’t quite look like the above one.
More like this one…
But that’s quite alright with me.
My wife and I are happy.
It’s all ours!
We’ve lived hard and worked hard for all that we have.
And we truly appreciate all that we have.
We’ve been fortunate enough to have instincts within ourselves that have helped us survive this Project we call Life.
We got to grow up in a world that had no Computers, no Internet, Twitter, Instagram, Smart phones.
Times were tough for us back in the day!
During my beginning years of childhood…I didn’t even have TV to watch.
We went over a neighbors house to watch The Ed Sullivan show on Sunday evenings.
Other than that there was always a Radio on in the house all the time.
That was the form of current communication back then for the people.
That’s how we got our News and our Entertainment.
Yes there was Newspapers and Magazines…
Radio was different.
It was as if someone was in your home letting you know what had happened in the world that day.
And of course a form of entertainment.
My brother and I had many a laugh and scare listening to the old Radio shows.
That’s the way it was for most families back then during my early years as a child.
We didn’t have Color TV in our house until I was nine.
I remember the advertising campaigns that went on when Color TV first came out.
Even the Hotel/Motel industry jumped on the Band Wagon.
That was one of the ‘Big Extras’ they offered for your business.
It was really a ‘Big Deal’ back in the day
It was quite the thing to see color on the TV screen.
Heck…we were all trying to get use to the concept of TV it’s self in just Black and White.
To be honest with you most of the people in the world were still amazed at the Radio.
That something could travel through the air into your home and make a controlled sound.
You could turn a knob on this box, adjust a dial and music would come out.
And now in such a short period of time there was this new thing called ‘Television’.
Then ‘Color Television’ seemed to come out over night.
After that point everything seemed to happen faster and faster.
People wanted results faster all of a sudden.
Next thing I knew we were on the Moon.
The Beatles broke out in America.
The Beatles Broke Up.
President John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy and John Lennon were assassinated.
Computers.
Cloning.
Stem Cell Research.
3-D
Virtual Reality.
Mission to Mars.
Whoa…Slow down Chipperman.
You’re going to give yourself a heart attack.
The Past has accumulated fast.
Makes you wonder what the people in the future will think of when they look back on their Past Lives.
What will they be amazed at?
How will they be able to Survive using that ‘Old Technology’ from back in their youth.
“Gee, remember when People use to actually have Bodies.?”
“How gross!”
“What a waste that was.”
Yes one can only imagine what the future holds.
I sure do hope that they master the Passing of Time.
Not Time it’s self…
Their own Time.
We all need to slow down a bit.
And not to just…
“Smell the Roses.”
How about just remembering that we are alive and our time here is very short.
Spend a little more Time with each other.
Appreciate and enjoy the wonderful beauty of existence.
Like I was saying we had it tough back in my day also.
TV was a great invention.
The tough part for us concerning the TV was…
We had to walk five miles in the snow just to change the TV’s channel.
Really…we had to actually get up, walk across the room to change the channel or turn the volume up or down.
Can you even imagine living like that?
“Thank you” whom ever you were for inventing the ‘Remote’.
Life was hard ‘Back In The Day’ when I was a child.
It was tough I tell ya.
Yeah right!
We had it so hard.
We had to do tings like…
Play with the other children in our neighborhoods.
We were made to play outside.
At the school yard or a baseball field.
Even in the woods.
And of all things we had to…
Play with our friends.
Many a Cowboy and Indian battle took place in those woods.
And the Army battles…epic my friend, epic.
Didn’t have to come home until dusk either.
People trusted each other.
Hanging out with friends, joking around and growing up.
I and all the other kiddies in my HOOD were left with our imaginations to get us through the day.
How did we ever survive such cruelty, such humiliation, such child abuse?
Oh, I remember…because we enjoyed ourselves, we wanted to do those things.
They meant something.
I still remember the first ‘Love Note’ I Got in school from a girl that I liked.
The note was passed to me by fellow class mates.
After reading the note I was able to look up and see the ‘Real’ person who sent it to me.
I’ll remember that all my Life.
My first Email.
I don’t.
I don’t remember who I sent it to or even if it was answered.
I’m not even sure if it was who I thought it was that I was corresponding with.
It could have been a Girl or a Boy…I don’t really know.
It could have been a Girl or a Boy who didn’t know if they were a Girl or a Boy?
But that was then…
And this is now!
I do feel sorry for the young people of today.
I feel sorry for everyone today.
Life seemed to be so much simpler in days past.
The electronic age was suppose to make our lives much easier.
They were to work hand and hand with humans.
Helping us perform mundane tasks that would result in adding more time onto our human experience.
Giving us more Time to relax.
To have more Time to spend with our friends and families.
To have Time to paint that painting or write that Novel.
To spend Time enjoying our hobbies.
Sports, Walking, Taking a nap.
“How’s that working out for everybody?”
I feel blessed to have been born during this particular point in the History of Mankind.
Wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Yes…it’s been that kind of a day so far.
Kicking back and laying down on the couch maybe the only way I’m going to achieve my goal of Doing Nothing.
What a day!
Nothing Done…Nothing Accomplished…Nothing Started or Finished.
Yes it’s been that kinda day…A really great one!
I have no complaints so far.
The day has gone as planned.
And as far as I can tell…I’m still Doing Nothing.
Can’t complain about that.
No…can’t complain about that.
It’s been quite the “Day Off” so far.
All this activity and yet I have achieved Nothing.
I have somehow spent hours today trying to Do Something.
At one point I was trying to avoid Doing Nothing by Doing Something
Only to end up Doing Nothing anyway.
I am worn out from all that trying to Do Something.
Doing Something while trying to Do Nothing all day.
It has gotten me right back where I started.
I know that this is true because I’m standing in front of the very couch where my day began.
My old friend.
You look so comfortable and welcoming to me right now.
Have you missed me?
I was a fool to have left you.
I know that we have had our moments between each other.
There were times I’ve taken advantage of you.
Laying my dirty shoes or sweaty body onto your soft clean cotton fabric.
I know that I have abused you at times as well.
I have spilled food and beverage onto you.
I have made Love to another on you.
I am so ashamed of myself.
But my worst offense to you was to abandon you this morning.
You were trying to comfort me in my moment of need as I began my quest of ‘Doing Nothing’.
You took me on.
You put yourself out there for me and I left you.
I left you to find New Horizons, New Adventures a New Start, to find the illusive…SOMETHING.
I thought that by finding a Fresher Start, a Newer Beginning, Finding Something To Do.
I thought these things would make me ‘Happy’.
They haven’t my love.
The quest has left me a worn and broken man.
I abandoned you for another.
I am sorry.
Can you ever forgive me?
What’s that?
What’s that your saying?
You want me to Come back?
All is forgiven?
You want me to come back…and to lay with you.
I love you!
My old sweetheart has forgiven me for abandoning her this morning.
And it’s right back to where it all started.
Back to the only thing that can truly bring me happiness.
The place where Doing Nothing originally began.
The couch.
Yes it is the symbol of not only a comfortable place to sit upon and enjoy each others company.
It is a Universal Symbol of Man’s Ultimate Achievement.
– DOING NOTHING –
Think about the image of someone laying on a couch…Doing Nothing…Right?
Once again I find the sweet spot on the couch and settle in and stretch out.
I can now recap what has occurred over the past few hours.
First off…
I’m worn out from all this searching for Something To Do.
It was quite the adventure I found myself taking this morning.
Amazing how Something has turned out to be Nothing in the end.
Now to reconstruct the previous events and formulate my opinion of how my…
Day Off went.
Did I Do Nothing?
I will now develop my Summary of the previous events.
Did I achieve my original goal?
Was Nothing achieved?
Let me see…
First I did that thingy there.
And then I remember there was that thing-a-ma-jig.
A few other things I recall…and of course there was the really, really big thing that happened.
And a couple of the do-wha-diddy’s that happened.
Yup…that about does it.
The verdict is in:
NOTHING.
I have done absolutely “Nothing” for hours but look for things for me to do.
That can’t be?
Let me analyze this again.
Hmmmmmmmmm.
What was that question I was asking myself that started this whole thing?
Oh yeah…“Can I consider Doing Nothing as Something I am Doing?”
This was the last thought that Chip had as he started to drift off to sleep.
Unfortunate for Chip at that same moment his wife had just returned home from her shopping.
Tooting her cars horn to give Chip the usual heads-up.
This was to let Chip know his assistance will be required with helping unload the car.
Slowly Chip gets off the couch and heads to the garage door to assist his loving wife.
Before opening the garage door Chip turns around and looks at the couch where he was just laying.
Walking thought he door Chip says to his ole’ buddy the couch:
“Got Something to do right now my old friend.”
And then he smiles and thinks to himself.
“I’ll be back though.”
“I’ll be back the next time”…
“I GOT NOTHING TO DO.”
Will Chip ever solve the questions that he is now haunted by?
Will he ever finish writing his story Chipland?
Will he ever find something to add onto his ‘To Do List’?
Will Chip ever play music again?
Will the daylight ever return so Chip can paint that room?
Will the Power Grid ever go down forcing Chip to use his Backup System: The Pencil?
These are questions that will have to be answered at a later date for Chip did finally find something to do.
Helping his wife unload her car.
So what’s the point of this Post.
This Post reflects on Nothing.
It offers Nothing.
It has Nothing to do with Nothing.
Yet, not only did I write an entire Post about doing nothing…
YOU READ IT!
Of course I’m assuming that somebody is out there reading this Post.
What was learned?
What can one take away for this Post?
What will be remembered about this Post?
What was it’s Purpose?
What will be changed in this world because of this Post’s creation?
What?
Yes…What?
Probably Nothing!
But I will give an analysis of what I have written anyway:
Avoid doing Nothing!
It takes a lot of work to do it.
It’s much easier to do…
Something
…than it is to do…
Nothing!
Even in writing this Post about Nothing I was Doing Something…right?
Nothing was the point from the beginning of this Post as the title suggested:
“NOTHING TO DO ABOUT NOTHING”
I believe I’ve made my point.
For visiting my Blog.
Please…
…my Website.
My Blog (where you are now) is where I share with you the stories of my ‘Personal Life’ and my experiences as a ‘Musician’.
My Website is where you will find the ‘Business’ aspects of my ‘Music Career’.
Questions concerning Pricing, Booking, What style music I play, Where I am currently performing can all be answered there.
Click on the link below…
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Always remember.
No matter where you go…
There you are.
