My Life as a Song!

Music has defined my life. Hence the name “Carol.” As a child my basic tenets of life were defined with the words of a little children's song: “I am a Child of God, and He has sent me here. Has given me and earthly home with parents kind and dear. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me help me find the way. Teach me all that I must do, to live with him some day.” These are very simple words but with a supernal view of life and a true path to follow. The best thing my parents did for me was provide a little,” “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” “London Bridge is Falling Down,” and “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Timeless classics.

Later in my life John Denver became my hero with songs like “Take Me Home Country Roads” and “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.” When I started seeing my husband (although he didn’t realize he was going to be my husband) I used to sing Foreigner’s: “I’ve Been Waiting for a [boy] girl like you,” on my way to his house. At our reception our friends sang to us Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross' version of “Endless Love” and The Carpenter’s song, “We’ve Only Just Begun.”

I surround myself with music. Sometimes when I’m asked a question, I answer with lyrics from a song. I was a whiz at the popular game show, “Name That Tune." My husband’s favorite exasperated statement aimed at me is, “Oh, Carol.” So I naturally start singing Neil Sedaka’s “Oh, Carol,” in response and it lightens the mood. So when I was asked to choose one song that defines who I am or one song that means something special to me, there is no way for me to choose just one.

Religious songs define me spiritually and there are too many to pick just one. Classical and choral songs I’ve enjoyed through all my years in school and college choirs still float around in my head. Classic rock n roll songs delight me and make me happy. I even enjoy some of the newer groups. Bon Jovi, Cold Play, Linkin Park, Nickleback, (I can see you rolling your eyes), and Paramore. Eclectic, right? I’m positively head over heals in love with Michael Buble’ and his song “Home” is my ring tone. So choosing one song has not been easy.However, last year when I decided to change my life, my married life took on a whole new thrill. Suddenly it was like we were newlyweds again and that spark that kindled between us nearly twenty seven years ago was lit anew. Then the words of Bon Jovi’s song, "Thank You For Loving Me" hit me with full force. I find myself singing it to my husband practically every day. See if the words don’t touch you as well.



"It's hard for me to say the things I want to say sometimes.
There's no one here but you and me,
and that broken old street light.
Lock the doors we'll leave the world outside.
All I've got to give to you,
are these five words tonight.

[Chorus:] Thank you for loving me.
For being my eyes when I couldn't see.
For parting my lips when I couldn't breathe.
Thank you for loving me. Thank you for loving me.

I never knew I had a dream until that dream was you.
When I look into your eyes the sky's a different blue.
Cross my heart I wear no disguise.
If I tried, you'd make believe, that you believed my lies.

You pick me up when I fall down. You ring the bell before they count me out.
If I was drowning you would part the sea and risk your own life to rescue me."


For me, the family is the basic unit of society and thrives when built upon the principles of shared experiences, shared loyalty and shared love and affection. These principles and elements should be revived from time to time to keep a marriage strong and vital. The last year of my life has brought me several new passions: a passion for a healthy life, a passion for writing and a passion for my husband. I hope everyone finds their own passion and keep the fire burning.

Ninner, ninner, ninner. I got mine!

I just wanted to rub it in. I got my Twilight DVD today at 4 p.m. I beat the midnight rush. So ha, ha ha! I guess you know what I'll be doing tomorrow.

Falling off the wagon!

I haven't written in my blog for a very long time. There are many reasons. I'm enrolled in a college English course and the writing is tough and demanding of my precious time. I've become involved with another company and I'm helping them with their books and the training of their new bookkeeper. (Heaven help them!) I'm still working for the two other business I go to at least four times and week and now I've taken on the books of my boss's son. I have about a years worth of bookkeeping to catch up on. Yikes! And of course, I'm busily working on book number five, then throw in my birthday and Tim's and a quick weekend trip to Southern Utah to visit my dad and his wife, Edna plus Tim's father passed away and we spent a lot of Saturday's visiting him in the hospital--and you've got life at it's finest.

However, those are not the only reasons--which are very good reasons--for not writing in my blog, but the simplest reason and the straight forward one is that I've fallen off the wagon.

We've all seen people who've tried to improve their lives through weight loss, quitting smoking and drinking, stopping drug abuse and so on. And then they've seen them slip off their tenuous program and indulge in he behavior that got them in trouble in the first place. Somewhere in the back of my evil twin sister's mind, we look at them and say, "I knew they couldn't stick with it. They're so weak!" Come on, I know you've all heard that nasty little voice in the back of your head say something vicious like that. Or maybe not. Maybe it's just me. It's not that we like to see people fail at something, it's just that we don't want them to best us.

Well...I now know what it's like to slide off the wagon and back into patterns of behavior that are familiar yet destructive. Before Christmas I finally reached the middle pinnacle of my weight loss journey. 104 pounds. Although far from my goal, that seemed like a great milestone. But that's where it ended.

I know first hand what it feels like when a recovering alcoholic hears the call of the bottle which reaches out, enticing them back with the alluring feel of the liquid gold sliding down a parched throat. I know what a heroin addict must feel when they walk the streets and a dealer shoves bag of the white siren's powder under their nose. I know what seduction there is in having another smoker in the same room with you when you're craving a draw on that tobacco stick. I know because I'm also an addict.

I thought I'd concurred my addition, my obsession, my passion for FOOD! But after only eight months of strict obedience, I had not learned the basic lessons of control. I also realize that with an addiction to food, you can't completely shove it out of your life. It's around you everywhere. Your life is constantly bombarded with reasons to eat: Christmas, New Year's, birthdays, anniversaries, travel, funerals--grief. And if you haven't learned what it means to control the situation, then you'll slip off the wagon just as surely as a heroin addict or a recovering alcoholic. There really is no difference.

I then heard the other little voice in my head, the one that tells you that you really can't do it. You have no business trying to quit something or restructuring your life. You're just no good at it. We all have that voice as well. I listened when it told me "just one won't hurt." So I believed and fell. Just one box of Sees, just one pound of fantasy fudge, just one pound of honey baked ham and one pound of scalloped potatoes and one pound of pumpkin pie. Just one drink or two of egg nog and vanilla ice cream, just one more, and one more and...You get the picture.

Then there's another little voice (I'm full of them) that tells you "well now you've fallen off and lost your momentum and slipped up a few pounds, so what?" That's the voice I really hate. Because that's the voice I believe the most. "Yeah, you're right. I've really messed up. I knew I couldn't lose weight all along. You told me I couldn't do it and now you're proven me right." Boy! I hate it when I agree with myself. I sound like I'm slipping into existentialism. You know what that is, right? According to Wikipedia, "a philosophy that begins with a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world. Or in other words--nonsense!

I believed the nonsense that only my mind can produce. I believed a lie.

I believed the lie my existential mind (disoriented, confused, absurd) mind was telling me. So here I am. No longer at 104 pounds down. I won't bore you with the details of exactly how many pounds I added back on my bones, but enough to have me believing the lie--you've failed, you can't go on--you're a loser. (Well technically that would be NON-LOSER!)

What's great about Weight Watchers, (and this isn't a shameless plug) it that they help you see around the lies you tell yourself and help you through the barriers that keep you from taking the first step toward jumping back on the wagon. I'm still racing behind the wagon hoping it will slow down and let me catch up. No more excuses, no more rationalizations, it's my choice whether I eat low calorie filling foods or consume everything that's not nailed down. I'm still getting my feet under me. Still trying to push out the third voice and still trying. Period.

Thank goodness I didn't stop going to the gym. That's the only thing that's saved my bacon (no pork-fat jokes, please). I still go every morning, punish myself for an hour so that I don't climb into a ditch after falling off the wagon. So for the present, I'm still running behind the wagon, praying for the strength to fight another day. That's all we can ask out of life. And oh, one more thing--I need to forgive the little voices in my head and forgive myself for tripping. After all, that's all we want from life is a little forgiveness when we stumble and a hand up. That's what Weight Watchers does for me. They offer a hand and it's my choice to clasp it or not.Anywhoo, I still can see some improvement even though I'm running fast to catch up with myself. (Is that an existential statement?)

My first college essay-A treat for you!

The following is my first attempt at a Classification Essay for my college class at Moorpark college. I thought I'd run it by my friends to see what you think. So here goes.

Carol Malone
Professor Randy Gifford
English M01
7 February 2009

California People

In 1857 in his maiden speech before the United States Senate, California Senator David C. Broderick stated, "There is no state [speaking of California] in the Union, no place on earth, where labor is so honored and so well rewarded; no time and no place since the Almighty doomed the sons of Adam to toil, where the curse, if it be a curse, rests so lightly as now on the people of California." (1 Lynch, p. 175). In 2009, people still flock to California in search of “The Dream” of making it big. Generally speaking, wages are still higher here than in other state. Opportunities for employment are more plentiful and there are a greater variety of jobs here than any other place in the nation. In spite of recent economic downturns, Californians on the whole, are still better off than most major populous cities in the rest of the world. And though the state’s economy has fluctuated from the sixth largest in the world to the current standing of tenth, people still find labor to be rewarding and lucrative. Many businesses and industries thrive in California. From mom and pop shops to import/export magnets to Fortune 500 companies—all employ vast armies of people. The following three industries consistently hail among the top ten producers of California goods and services: the farmers who toil and sweat to cultivate and grow crops in the fertile fields and valleys of this rich land, the technological geniuses that have sparked the computer information revolution, and the brilliantly talented and creative moguls of the film industry.

The leading economic industry of California has always been farming and agriculture. What is the driving force behind the California farmer who grows food for a nation as well as the entire world? Who are these people? "The farmer has to be an optimist or he wouldn't still be a farmer." (2 Rogers).These people—these optimistic farmers have to ask themselves—why do I farm and where? There are many reasons. Some people farm on something called a “stewardship” farm because they are the type of people who want to “help conserve and care for the land and other natural resources of the farm”. (3 Ikerd ). And others grow food solely for commercial gain. Still other people farm because they were raised on a farm. It’s in their blood. The live for the feel of the soil, the passion to watch things grow and to enjoy the gamble. They place their bets against the uncontrollable elements, water and irrigation problems, market prices, transportation issues, property taxes, higher production costs and governmental interference. These hardy people farm because it is a family tradition and a heritage from generations past. One such family grower in the local area of Ventura County is Underwood farms in Moorpark, California. Sara Jane and Craig Underwood are the current owners of the farm and oversee the day to day operations as well as the overall care for the soil, the manipulation of crops and care for vital pollinating insects. The farm has been in Craig’s family since 1867. They are especially known for their innovation in baby and specialty vegetables. People can go to their farm and hand pick right from the fields or orchards. They have their own roadside markets that serve the community and participate in thirteen different Farmer’s Markets that bring the fresh product directly into the community and into the hands of the end consumers. Pride in accomplishment, gratitude for the cooperation of Mother Nature and a loyalty to family heritage is what drives the Underwoods and other farmers to maintain excellence in farming.

Another factor in driving the economy of California is the computer information technology industry. The majority, but not all individuals that engineer, build and compute their way into the information industry have keen minds and highly developed intellects. Stanford University is a leading factor in the development and facilitation of information technology and culminating in many opportunities for enterprising young people. One such industry leader is Larry Page who became the innovator and co-creator of the Internet’s most popular search engine—Google. Shakespeare said: "Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em". (4 Shakespeare). Larry was a product of all three of those descriptions. Can the home environment and the way one is raised be the catalyst behind the career path a child chooses? Definitely. Larry was raised by a father who was a professor of computer science and a mother who taught computer programming. Engineering and computer magazines littered their home—literally. Larry said he always knew he wanted to invent things even as a young boy. Then at the age of twelve, he decided he would start his own company someday. When he went to Stanford for the PhD program, his research turned into something called a “search engine,” then other people thrust him into the limelight.“We didn't start out to do a search engine at all. In late 1995, I started collecting the links on the Web, because my advisor and I decided that would be a good thing to do. We didn't know exactly what I was going to do with it, but it seemed like no one was really looking at the links on the Web -- which pages link to which pages. In computer science, there's a lot of big graphs. Right now, (the Web) has like five billion edges and two billion nodes. So it is a huge graph. I figured I could get a dissertation and do something fun and perhaps practical at the same time, which is really what motivates me.” (5 Interview: Larry Page). Millions of people have been affected by the efforts, drive and genius of Larry Page. The word “Google” is actually considered a verb now. Who hasn’t “Googled” for a web site, map, directions, on-line images and a view of the earth from a satellite? From home nurturing to desire and drive to creative innovation, Larry Page has put his personal stamp on the economy of California and on the world.

Other major contributors to the economy of California are the people who drive the film industry. These talented and creative people use their genius to entertain and enliven. Who are these people and what are they like? Are they formally educated, have they had years of training in the industry or just have a stupendous amount of luck? For some movie moguls it is a combination of all three factors. One such mogul who has flooded the world with a treasure trove of entertainment, is the talented and creative director and producer, Steven Spielberg. Millions of people have spent billions of dollars to be entertained, scared stiff or to lose themselves in a world of fantasy and adventure all due to the unparalleled contributions of Steven Spielberg. He once reported that film making was in his blood. He made little films of blowing up Lionel trains as a young child, filming them then charging his friends to watch them. He had his little sister selling popcorn. Thus began his journey into film production.Steven made his own inroads into the business. After being denied entrance into prestigious film schools, he attended the University of Long Beach and studied English. On a ride around Universal Studios, he hopped off the tram, found a small janitorial closet and set up business. The studio people just got used to having him around so he stayed. Each step in Steven’s career led him upward. He made his first amateur film; an eight minute Western called The Last Gun, which eventually led him down the path to the ultimate dream fulfillment. From his first full length picture, he has also brought us alien fantasies such as E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial, action horror films such as Jaws, and adventurous romps such as the Raiders of the Lost Ark series. Then he has caused us to think with movies like The Color Purple and Schindler's List. He has captivated the kids with cartoons such as "Tiny Toon Adventures", and "Pinky and the Brain". California and the rest of the world will not soon forget the impact Steven Spielberg has had on the film industry. The State's economy had benefited immensely from the $4,613,000,000.00 his films have grossed. Roger Ebert (Sun-Times film critic) has stated, “If Spielberg never directed another film, his place in movie history would be secure. No other director has been more successful at the box office and few have placed more titles on various lists of great films. No director or producer has ever put together a more popular body of work. That’s why the movies we’re seeing are made in his image.” (6 Wills).

When the rest of the nation and the world—for that matter—look for a model of financial prowess, economic success and people who are willing to lay it all on the line for the industries they represent,California leads the way. From the humble people who bring crops from the ground sometimes with nothing more than their bare hands to the heads of major film studios, people of many unusual backgrounds and upbringing and differing fields of expertise can change the face of business and the economy. These three types of Californians, the farmers like the Underwoods, the technologically gifted entrepreneurs like Larry Page and men with vision and creativity like Steven Spielberg have changed forever the face of California industry and economics. They have influenced all of California—if not the rest of the world—with their hard work and devotion to a dream. Their labors have been richly rewarded and the world honors them.

1 Lynch, Jeremiah, 1849-1917, The Life of David C. Broderick, A Senator of the Fifties,1911); San Francisco, A.M. Robertson publisher, p. 175

2 Rogers, Will, http://www.willrogerstoday.com/will_rogers_quotes/quotes.cfm?qID=5

3 Ikerd, John, Why Do Small Farmers Farm? Published in Small Farm Today Magazine,September-October, 2003

4 Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night (Act II, v, 156-159)

5 Interview: Larry Page, Founding CEO, Google Inc. October 28, 2000; London, England; Academy of Achievement at www.achievement.org. This page last revised on Mar 1, 2007 13:44 PS

6 Wills, Dominic;http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/steven_spielberg_biog/8

Chapter from my book #5

I finished roughing my fourth book on the 29th of December and immediately plunged into book number five. It's another love story, (what else), taking place in my home town of Camarillo with a young man who's been married, divorced and has custody of his two children. He meets a young woman that he doesn't want to love and then the fun begins. So here is Chapter Two of my fifth book:

He hadn’t intended to stare, but when a man’s been without a woman in his life for as long as he had, well, it was a welcome sight. Marc, or Marcellus Hamlet Swane, as his fanciful flighty mother had named him, was just retrieving the boxes containing the wood laminate for his son Adam’s free-wheeling bedroom. Marc opted for man-made products for the rambunctious and boisterous young five year old boy who moved through a home more like a charging rhino than a normal human being. Durable, sensible and practically indestructible, that’s what the label on the box read and Marc was all for it.

Before grabbing the final box and hefting it into the house, he’d couldn’t help but hear the 306 horses roaring down the block and squealing to a brisk stop in the driveway of the James’s old house across the street. Silvery steel gray, he smiled. His favorite color. The guy had taste. Then the car open and long silky legs slid out half hidden under a butterscotch colored skirt followed up by a jacket in the same color with a blouse the color of melting butter. Some guy was all Marc could manage. That’s when he dropped the last box, leaned back against the tailgate of the truck and crossed his arms and legs to enjoy the view.

The woman stopped for the longest time and just looked at the house then turned to look down the street as if looking for someone. Her lips moved but at this distance, he couldn’t hear what she said. Talking to her self, he mused, wasn’t a very good sign of a stable mind. Anybody that looked like that, drove a hot car like that and lived all alone in a huge English Tudor had to be just a little bit off. But that isn’t why he kept watching.

The Hoffman’s dog was running around in circles in the yard next door, but the women in butterscotch didn’t seem to notice. Loud rap music wafted from Ricky Hernandez’s car as he started it up to go to work at In-N-Out. Then the yard crew down the block at the Rameriz’s place began the loud work of grooming the yard, but she continued to stare off into the west as if saying good bye. And he kept watching her—wondering.

Why hadn’t he noticed her before? Surely he would have noticed a woman who looked like she just stepped from the pages of Glamour before now. Maybe he should have been paying attention to his Aunt and Uncle’s home a long time ago instead of staying away from it like a wounded puppy. But their passing and the subsequent legal battle for their estate had left everyone in the Brightstone/Swane family on edge and bitter. He was no exception.

He glanced again at the blond with the great legs and the great car and wondered if she’d finally come to the conclusion of her daydream. He figured a woman like that was totally self-absorbed just as Lilly had been and accustomed to having the finer things in life.

Caution brother, he warned himself. They’re okay to look at, maybe pine for, but hands off! Let some other sucker grind his teeth on that one.
Just then the woman reached up and pulled something out of her hair releasing almost three feet of the silkiest wheat colored hair he’d ever seen, then shook it out. Then she bent over to pick up the newspaper and his mouth went bone dry. Fighting unchaste thoughts he looked down at his dirty, calloused hands and fidgeted. It wasn’t right for him to be staring at a woman like he’d been doing. He should get back to work. There was so much to do before move-in day. He didn’t have the luxury to stand and watch a beautiful woman that had an invisible sign on her attractive back that read “hands off buster”. And even though he hadn’t been what you would call really active in church of late, he knew it was wrong to crave something akin to the woman who’d broken his heart. Stupid, he chided himself. Absolutely stupid. Get back to work.

Before he could move, the leggy, blond fished something out of her trunk and moved inside the house without a backwards glance in his direction.

After she was safely inside, another car screamed down the street and bumped violently into the drive way next to the Z. He prayed the little Mazda Miata wouldn’t come in contact with the Z. It would devastate him. Another tall leggy brunette half slid, half pulled her yard long legs out of the squatty car and skipped up the sidewalk after the blond. Just before she ducked into the house, she shot him a cool look over Oakley sunglasses and pursed her lips.

What a show! Two gorgeous women for a price of one.

He’d just about decided to turn around and lift the box from the truck bed when another car chugged down the street. A little red Fiat about thirty years old clamored to a stop in front of the same house. Marc watched out of pure curiosity. The door had to be forced open and complained loudly with a metal grind. A woman of medium height with short spiky black hair tumbled out of the car almost meeting up with the ground. Her lips moved in a silent derision, but she dusted off her black slacks and straightened her silky black blouse and shot him what looked like a disgusted look, but he couldn’t tell for sure because as she also wore black sunglasses that kept her eyes hidden from him. He imagined black as well.

She gripped a very large purse, the contents almost spilling to the ground, slammed the complaining door and sauntered—hips swinging to the door and disappeared after giving him a thorough look. Black cat crossed his mind. She resembled a black slinky cat. He imagined she just might purr.

He turned back to the truck bed and picked up the last box of flooring. As he slammed the tailgate, two more cars raced down the street. He laid odds which house they’d stop at. Man, he was glad he hadn’t bet against himself—he’d have lost.

This time a long legged red head and a diminutive blond bounded out of an old Chevy and a Toyota Prius. Gas hog and environmentalist, he smiled and leaned back to enjoy the rest of the show.

The red head looked like an Irish dream dressing to her strengths in emerald green and gold. The little blond wore a simple pair of dark pink slacks and a pink blouse. Some sort of uniform.They met and hugged in the middle of the street. Marc envied their easy camaraderie. Then the red head tilted her sunglasses down a long perfect nose and studied him. Her ruby red lips curled up at the corners and she muttered something to the little blond that had her spinning around to stare in his direction.

Red waved a hand and his went up automatically in response, frustrating the life out of him. Stay cool, brother, he warned himself. No need getting involved with a hen house full of dishing women. Before the blond could reciprocate the wave, he strode off to the house and slammed the door. Women!

I'm back in school again!

After a year, I started taking another college course at Moorpark Community College. Since I want to write, I thought it might be a good idea to learn the basics. This time around I signed up for an on-line course. I love it. But man, I've never done so much work. I'm on the computer every night so far and have just been in class since last Monday, January 12th. I did some work over the weekend before hand. I just wanted to share one of my first assignments. It is a journal entry in which we were asked to interview a family members about the upcoming change in the presidency. So I chose Tim, my husband. (Now don't get too riled up!)I choose to interview not a blood relative, but my husband about the upcoming change in the presidency. My husband has very strong moral, ethical and political beliefs as do I, but is not one to speak out. To begin with, I asked him how he felt about the upcoming change. He said that a lot of people are happy. (He was trying to be evasive.) After five minutes of trying to get him to spell out how he felt about the change, he told me this, "I believe that Mr. Obama and Hillary will be the force behind a new world order. They will establish a more solid base of socialism than in the days of F.D.R." I concurred on that point. What Franklin Delano Roosevelt did in his term of office was to create the "New Deal" or in my words, "A Raw Deal", as social security was never meant to be more than a temporary fix. But a lass another socialist president made sure that the "have's" would fund the "have not's" ad infinitum with "The Great Society". Tim concurred.

I asked him if he thought Obama could change the country. Tim said, "I'm not sure that any president, even Mr. Obama, can do what needs to be done to overcome the years and years of bad financial mismanagement by the government." He went on to say, "sometimes presidents are just dangling puppets for the actual law makers in the House and Senate, policy wonks with boat loads of money and those unseen power brokers in smoke filled back rooms."When asked if Bush acted like a puppet. Tim said that "sometimes Bush was a naive puppet by listening and kowtowing to the opposition in many decisions that have affected the country badly. For instance, in 2001, he told congress to watch out for Freddie Mac and Fannie May stating that allowing excessive loans to people who wouldn't normally qualify for them would spell disaster for the mortgage industry. He wanted congress to put tighter restrictions and governmental controls on their loaning practices." Well that didn't happen. And why you might ask? Because Bush went along with the congressman who swore before a session of congress, that every working person in America should own a home. Tim said "that man was Congressman Barney Frankwho said in effect that everybody was entitled to own a home. Now it didn't matter that those same home buyers couldn't pay for those houses after getting a 100% loan, but that's just another in-your-face affirmation that congress cannot be trusted to do what's in the best interest of the country."

Tim had strong sentiments about government spending that will increase under Obama’s promised fixes. He said, "I'm also concerned by Obama's promises to increase the huge amount of governmental bailouts by at least triple. Who is going to be accountable, who's keep track and who's going to enforce the payback and when, or is it a gift from you and me? No doubt the tax payer, or the ‘have's’, will be responsible for bailing out the car companies, the mortgage companies and anybody else with a legitimate complaint about their business going south. Even Larry Flint asked for money to supplement the failing porn industry.” As if?

Another thing that frightens Tim is Obama's promise to close Guantamo the day after he comes into power.“What in the world will he do with those terrorists? Or in his mind are they really terrorists or just misunderstood religious reformers with viable complaints about the American devils who just acted out irrationally and just need to sit down and talk.”

Yes, in the upcoming change of at the top level of our government, Mr. Obama has promised change and Tim fears change. But my friends, as Tim states, "he didn't promise a good change. Is then change for change's sake really a good change? Or is it a lot of political drool." Tim went on to paraphrase Mr. Obama himself when he told the media the other day that he must put aside his campaign promises because the current situation calls for desperate measures. Isn't that convenient? He intimated that we're all going to have to experience a lot of pain before the crisis is over. Where's my Tylenol?

I'm just glad I wasn't asked how I felt about the upcoming presidential shift in power.

Happy New Year???

I gotta tell you when I woke up on New Year's morning I was not a happy camper. Everything hurt! My back hurt, my feet (which hurt all the time now), hurt. My legs and knees ached and I had a pain in my shoulder from sleeping on it badly and an old volleyball injury and my head throbbed like it had been used for batting practice.

My first thought was how eating a pound of decadent fudge and deliciously crunchy Rice Krispie candy can actually make you gain five pounds--very unfair. So I grieved for being off track in my weight loss expedition. Then that made me feel sorry for myself. I remembered that my neighbors were outside at midnight banging pots and pans, shouting at the top of their lungs, shooting off fireworks and celebrating while I'm trying to fall asleep. And I'm thinking--what's the big deal? It's just another year of bad economic times with trouble ahead, dad-to-day drudgery and monotonous work, bills, debts, aches and pains, possible surgery for my excess tummy and arm baggage and possibly my knees. Worries over kids and parents, and general malaise to come. Happy New Year!

(I have to confess, that by noon New Year's day, I felt a whole lot better because I started a new book and flew through the first three chapters. Then USC beat the crap out of Penn State in the Rose Bowl game all making the world shift right back on it's axis again.)

Then I did some pondering. As I think back over my very long life to date, I recall thinking in my childhood, that the year 2000 seemed as far away as as abstract as outer space. Yet from where we are today--the year 2000 was nine years ago!!

Weren't we supposed to be living at the far reaches of space in manned space stations talking to computers that were smarter than we are and held our lives in the palm of their non-existent hands like 2001: A Space Odyssey?

Weren't we supposed to be having mind controlling "Big Brother" watching us all the time, "feel-a-vision" movie theaters and have the citizenry populated only through the use of test tubes like in Orwell's 1984? How about daddy being thrown out of bed and onto a conveyor belt that moves him through a computerized shower, shaver and dresser, then having daddy leave for work in his flying car? Then mommy cleans up the house with an in-home robot who cooks, cleans and watches our kids for us while our children play with robot puppies and spinning weightless floating tops. Where are those ingenious houses that are solely computer driven and communicate and function by themselves? Or mind-computer connections like in the Matrix?

Do we have people living on the moon is domed weightless communities or people at the bottom of the sea living in sealed glass cities? Where are all the jet propelled cars, alternative fuels, a world without money, or strife and conflict?

I read somewhere some really funny jokes about the future as seen through the eyes of people living in the 50's. You can find these on Aaron's jokes. Enjoy and remember.

"I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, its' going to be impossible to buy a weeks groceries for $20."

"Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long when $5000 will only buy a used one."

"Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?"

"If they raise the minimum wage to $1, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store."

"When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 50 cents a gallon. Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage."

"Also, their music drives me wild. This 'Rock Around The Clock' thing is nothing but racket."

"I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas."

"Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the president."

"Do you suppose television will ever reach our part of the country?""I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now."

"It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work."

"I'm just afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business."

"Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress."

"Anymore no one can afford to be sick, $35 a day in the hospital is too rich for my blood."

"If a few idiots want to risk their necks flying across the country that's fine, but nothing will ever replace trains.""Cars which dim their lights by sensors, automatic transmissions, and who knows what else? Pretty soon they will drive themselves."

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that the first, the beginning of the new year causes some of us to remember and speculate about the future and ponder where we are and what we want to accomplish. I hope I'm not being too braggadocios to say I've come a long way baby and hope to continue that journey. I kick myself sometimes for waiting until my life is almost at an end, but better late than never.

Life really is a beautiful thing. The sun still comes up in the morning. Rain waters the earth and new life springs up. At the end of the day, sometimes the sun gives a spectacular showing of its grandeur. Heaven is still waiting to receive us if we're prepared. The possibilities for personal, spiritual and technological growth are still before us. So the future that Mr. Disney saw in his Carousel of Progress and the house of the future just might come to pass and soon.