Category Archives: thoughts

by | September 8, 2013 · 12:00 am

We Pre-empt Your Normally Scheduled Article ( The Ugly, The Beautiful, & The Barrier) …


This week was going to be the last in my rigid airship series. However, last week while on my private Facebook page (I guess I should say personal as nothing on FB is private) a friend of mine sent a “personal” message asking why “so-and-so” was one of my friends. Though most of my facebook friends are veterans, writers, or people I went to school with, they are as different from one another as night and day. And I value each and everyone of them. I started to send my friend an answer, not my first on this subject. The answer became statement of my view on the world. I have decided to share it with you. As always, I do not discuss religion, politics, or money (my grandfather always said it was in poor taste to discuss these things in front of company), but I do mention my own personal beliefs towards the end. If you agree with me … fine, if you don’t … fine. Our friendship is not dependent on our personal beliefs of the after life. I accept you as you are and only ask that you accept me as I am. I hope you find something useful below, but if nothing else you will understand who I am a little better.

The Ugly, the Beautiful & the Barrier

There are really only three types of people in the world; you are the ugly, the beautiful or the barrier. The barrier stands between the ugly and the beautiful, protecting the beautiful from the ugly. The beautiful spread hope by showing others that hope, beauty, joy and love reside within us all and that no person is an exception. The ugly destroys hope, exalts surface beauty over inner beauty, suppresses joy and spreads hate not love.

There are sub-types of beauty and barrier too. They are easy to spot if you know what to look for. The first two believe that one day the ugly will be defeated and then all will be beauty. Then one day they realize that ugly will not be totally defeated and they become embittered and disillusioned. They decide that the ugly could be defeated if we just forced people to do what they should do.

The Embittered barrier turns on the beauty at first and then on the barrier that does not support change by coercion. The Embittered beauty turns on the barrier at first and then on the beauty that does not support change by coercion. Both stop blaming the ugly for all the ugliness in the world and instead blame the barrier and the beauty.

Another sub-type of barrier and beauty are those who realize that ugly has always existed and always will, but they are content to help just one person on this one day. Today they will help just one, and that will be enough for today. The war will never end, but today will be victory for one person. Today a person who is in despair, cold, hungry, or sick; someone who can longer see the light will once again feel hope within their breast, love will caress their soul, joy will light their path and once again they will see the beauty that surrounds us all. These two realize you cannot force an outcome. They realize that when you try to force people to do something, they will do the opposite. Can you force someone to be happy or to love you? Of course not, but the embittered and disillusioned will not be deterred.

There are no sub-types of ugly, but ugly is very good at getting the disillusioned and embittered among the beautiful and the barrier to do their work for them. The ugly takes great joy from this.

The second sub-type of the barrier willing sacrifices themselves in the path of the ugly to protect the beauty, both literally and figuratively. It is written, “No greater love has a man than he lay down his life for another.” This sacrifice is not without its price and leaves both seen and unseen scars on those of the barrier. The pain of these scars are with those of the barrier always and rob them of the beauty, joy and love they once had. But not the hope, their hope is that their sacrifice will protect the beauty from the ugly. They mourn the loss of those who sacrificed themselves before, and this is the most painful scar of all. These are the people I respect, these are people I honor, these are the people who are my heroes.

The second type of the beauty are often undervalued and underrated by the rest of us. People see the joy and love that burst forth from them, as if from a wellspring, and think “it is easy for them to be happy they know nothing of pain.” But, the beauty are the most scarred of us all. They remember the pain, but they do not carry it like an albatross around their necks. They change the things they can change and accept the things they cannot. Fortunately, for us they have the wisdom to know the difference. They have not forgotten the pain, but they do not dwell in a past that cannot be changed. They focus on today; this focus is what allows them to spread beauty to us all, if we will only let them. We have to let them, for they will not attempt to force beauty on us. The beautiful know that by attempting to force beauty on others they will only spread ugly. Often these are the people we see as the weakest and most naive among us, but they are the strongest and wisest among us. Of all the types and sub-types they are the most rare.

I was raised in the Southern Baptist church and taught on a regular basis, “money is the root of all evil.” Money is not the root of all evil. Let me say that again, “money is not the root of all evil.” The lust for power is the root of all evil. The ugly use money to increase their own power for their own gratification. But the ugly do not need money to exert power over others. Have you ever seen the face of a man, woman, or child who is under the power of the ugly? The ugly constantly berates them, “You are worthless, you are so lucky to have me because no one else would ever love you!” The ugly constantly berate them with this because it is the only way their victims will believe the lie. This lie is the tool the ugly wields over the victim, the tool that controls the victim and robs them of everything that is precious in life.  The victims fear the ugly. This fear is the goal of the ugly because it gives them their power over their victims. What the ugly do not know is that eventually fear exhausts the fearful to the point of apathy towards the tormentor.

Hate consumes all around it and eventually even consumes the hater as well. Love grows to encompass all with its light and joy, the more we embrace it the more light and joy grow and expand. The embittered and disillusioned barrier and beauty are not lost. They can return to where they once were. But, it has to be a decision each one makes on his or her own, this decision cannot be forced by others.

I do believe in a God. I do believe in life after death. I do not concern myself with the ugly, I leave those to God. I do believe the barrier and the beauty are doing the work God has set before them, they work on His account. I also believe:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons and daughters of God

Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

These are the gifts God has for the beauty and the barrier. They are His gifts to give; we cannot take these gifts or force them for ourselves or others.

Love will triumph over hate. Eventually, the war will end and ugly will lose. All of their power will not save them, they will lose and they do not even know it.

Each of us has our own belief system. A truth, if you will, that we have arrived at for ourselves. A truth that has been revealed to us by our experiences over the course of our lives. As our life continues we modify it, but it is our own truth. This is my truth. I do not know the journey you must travel, discard or accept (in whole or part) any part of this as it suites your needs, but this is my truth.

May you always know peace, joy and love.

P.S. Next week will be the last of my airship articles for the summer … I promise. Then the following week I’ll introduce you to a remarkable man, a man responsible for my view of history and the reason behind my style of historical research and writing.

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by | July 14, 2013 · 12:00 am

Let’s Cast-Off for the Great Pacific Ocean … Who’s With Me?


Portrait of Captain Cook

Portrait of Captain Cook (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I love the ocean. I like being on the beach, but for me being on the beach just does not quite get the job done … I have to be at sea. Walking on the beach almost gets it done. But it is still second best to having my feet firmly planted on a heaving deck with a salt spray in my face. Today I am going to share with you one of my maritime heroes. This man inspired me to go to sea; he was the last great nautical explorer. I admire men like John Paul Jones and Sir Francis Drake, both great tacticians who frequently started and won battles others would have avoided. These two men never thought about odds, and never withdrew from a fight.

Some people would think that Sir Francis Drake (a relative of mine) would be the one who inspired me to go to sea. As our family’s genealogist, I have found a few inspiring people in our family tree. But, each and every one of us create our own life story based on the decisions we make in life. Our relationship to the famous or infamous has no influence on our successes or failures. A relationship to someone of note does not make us any better or worse than anyone else. One last point I want to make in this distasteful paragraph is that each and every one of us have black-sheep and heroes in our family tree if we go back far enough. It does not change who we are. We decide who we are by the choices we make in life.

It was the life choices of James Cook that made him into one of England’s greatest mariners and explorers. Captain James Cook was born on 27 October 1728. This was a time when the circumstances of your birth determined how far in life you were allowed to go. This was an age when commanding officers of His Majesty’s Royal Naval ships were gentlemen, by class and birth if not always by manners. The second son of a common laborer, born far from the ocean, could be an able seaman, but never a ship’s captain. However, that is exactly what James Cook became.

Official portrait of Captain James Cook

Official portrait of Captain James Cook (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As a teenager, James Cook first went to sea in merchant ships. From the beginning, he vigorously dedicated himself to the study of mathematics, navigation, and astronomy. He slowly rose through the ranks, and was within a month of becoming a commander of his own merchant ship when the Seven Year War broke out with France. James Cook quickly left the merchant marine for the Royal Navy. He had to start over again from the bottom, but he believed he would have the opportunity for more rapid advancement in the Royal Navy during wartime.

Cook saw action and handled himself well, but there was nothing to make him standout against his fellow officers. It was during the siege of Quebec that James Cook surveyed and mapped the mouth of the St. Lawrence in 1758. General Wolfe used Cook’s maps for his famous surprise attack on the Plains of Abraham in 1759. His work during the siege of Quebec revealed Cook as a talented surveyor and cartographer.

After the siege of Quebec, Cook was sent to survey and map Newfoundland. Cook’s work in Newfoundland in the 1760’s was the first large scale, scientific hydrographic survey of Newfoundland’s coasts. His charts of Newfoundland’s coast were so accurate they were still being used 200 years later, well into the 20th century. Cook’s achievements as a surveyor and cartographer were duly noted by the Admiralty and the Royal Society.

In 1766, the Royal Society ordered Cook to the Pacific Ocean to observe and record Venus transiting across the sun. He left England on 26 August 1768 and rounded Cape Horn; arriving at Tahiti on 13 April 1769. It was in Tahiti that Cook made his Venus observations. After this was completed, Cook opened his sealed and secret orders from the Admiralty for the second part of this his first great voyage to the Pacific. Cook was to search for the fabled continent of Terra Australis.

Statue of Captain James Cook at Admiralty Arch...

Statue of Captain James Cook at Admiralty Arch, London (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cook left Tahiti and mapped the entire coastline of New Zealand. He also became the first European to discover the eastern coastline of Australia, and the first European to meet indigenous Australians, Aboriginals of the Gweagal tribe. Making landfall in Australia at Kurnell Peninsula, he named the area Stingray Bay, because of the numerous stingrays. After the many unique plant specimens discovered by his botanists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander he renamed Stingray Bay, Botany Bay.

Captain Cook returned to England by the Cape of Good Hope and the isle of St. Helena, arriving 12 July 1771. It would be five years before his second voyage to the Pacific. During this time, his journals were published, Cook became a hero in the scientific community. His charts of the east coast of Australia clearly showed Australia was a continent, but it was believed Terra Australis was further to the south.

It is impossible for me to do justice to Captain Cook’s voyages in the context of my blog. Any one of the accomplishments of this first voyage (that have unfortunately been left out due to time and space) is worthy of a book length treatment in its own. If you are interested in finding out more about Captain Cook and his voyages, I highly recommend downloading his journals from your favorite e-book store (they can be found as a free download on Amazon.com) or your local library.

Map showing the first voyage of Captain James ...

Map showing the first voyage of Captain James Cook. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In future articles on Captain Cook I will discuss his next two voyages to the Pacific, his exploration of the northwest coast of North America (the area that is today Washington State, Oregon, and the west coast of Canada), and his death. The death of Captain Cook and his relationship with the Hawaiian people has been somewhat misunderstood and misrepresented in our modern times; I hope to give you a greater insight to this incident so you may come to your own conclusions.

As always, take care of yourself,

Love those dear to you,

And have a good week.

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by | July 7, 2013 · 12:00 am

Our Voice


"Lev Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana", 19...

“Lev Tolstoy in Yasnaya Polyana”, 1908, the first color photo portrait in Russia Français : « Léon Tolstoï à Iasnaïa Poliana », 1908, le premier portrait photographique en couleur en Russie. Suomi: “Leo Tolstoi Jasnaja Poljanassa”, 1908. Ensimmäinen Venäjällä otettu värimuotokuva. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have been blessed in my life to have the opportunity to travel the world, and quite literally sail the seven seas. I seen so many interesting places, and met so many wonderful people. I have learned much in all my travels, and have cherished each experience, and each teacher. One of the things I have learned my travels; in the entire world, there is only one thing made by the hand of man that is truly infinite. My library. I purchased yet another new book this week.

I may have grown up poor in the Deep South, but I learned early on poverty would only hold me back if I allowed it too. As a small boy; I sailed on the whaler Pequod, raced dog sleds in Alaska, whitewashed a fence in Missouri, and captured Spanish treasures ships with Captain Edward Teach onboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge. Some of the places I read about as a boy, I visited as a man.

This week, while I should have been working on my article, I was enjoying the latest edition of my always-expanding library, Invented Voices by Donald Newlove. Invented Voices is a book of dialogue from some of the world’s greatest movies, plays, scripts, poems, and novels. While in my moment of solitude, I remembered what I liked about many of the scenes Mr. Newlove shared. It was the originality and honesty of those dialogues. Dialogues from artists, for these people are more than authors, of people like Ernest Hemingway, William Shakespeare, Herman Melville, Anne Tyler, Stephen Crane, Leo Tolstoy, and so many more. To be sure, the originality and honesty is that of the author’s. More important, the originality and honesty is that of the characters. In each of these works, we came to know people like Captain Ahab and Elizabeth Bennet, just as surely, as if we had been properly introduced to them.

I also remembered reading the intro to a book by an independent author, someone I had never heard of before. The first sentence stated that this book was written in the style of “Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, and James Patterson.” No, I did not download the book, even though it did have a catchy title. Although, I do have to admit, I almost downloaded the book just to see how you could combine these three styles.

In the classics (and soon to be classics), the character is as real, and as original as you or me. The author stepped back and allowed the character to speak their own words, in their own voice. If Hemingway had written in the style of Mark Twain the old man in The Old Man and the Sea, would have been contrived, forced, and false. The words and thoughts would not have been those of the old man, but of Ernest himself trying to be Mark Twain. The author is merely the soapbox the character stands upon to shout their words to the world. When I want to read Ernest Hemingway, I read Ernest Hemingway. When I want to read Stephen King, I read Stephen King. When I want to read Scott (http://wp.me/IYiO) or Sheri (http://wp.me/P2IjCG-2), I read Scott or Sheri.

Each person, throughout all time, has a voice that is unique and their own. It does not matter if that person is you, Tom Sawyer, or me. Each of us is at our best when we allow our true voice to come out. But, we cannot make others into our own image, they too have to speak out in their own voice. As authors, when we write “in the style of …,” we have reduced ourselves to a mere copy. We do the same when we act as we believe others would have us act; when we suppress our dreams, our desires, and our passions. We do the same to others when we try to influence them to “be what they should be.” Why would you read something written “in the style of Mark Twain” when you merely need to pick up Tom Sawyer? I won’t. The same is true of our lives, and the lives of others.

Succeed in life, be honest, be an original, be you!

Cover of "The Old Man and The Sea"

Cover of The Old Man and The Sea

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by | June 16, 2013 · 12:00 am

An Inspiration For All Of Us “Old Guys” On Father’s Day


picture of 1882 Rutgers College Football team

picture of 1882 Rutgers College Football team (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today we are going to talk about another Southerner. Like most of us, he started as just another kid in his local high school. But, Jerry worked hard 365 days of the year, he is an example of what all of us can become with hard work and perseverance. So, get a refill of your favorite Sunday morning beverage and let’s meet Jerry.

Jerry was born and raised in Mississippi. His dad was a brick mason and Jerry developed his fast hands working for his dad. According to a book, written about Jerry by Michael Silver, Jerry ran from his principal after being tracked down for skipping school. The principal gave Jerry the choice of joining the football team or being punished for skipping school. Jerry joined the football team.

Ten years after joining the 49ers football team, a new rookie asked Jerry if he could workout with him during the off season. Most football players at that time did not workout year round. Talking with a reporter later about the workout this young rookie said he literally could not keep up with the “old man.” That hard work made it possible for Jerry to spend twenty years doing something he loved in a sport where most people have to retire after five to ten years. Jerry went twelve years before his first major injury. That injury ended a streak of 189 consecutive starts for Jerry in the NFL. A streak that is longer than the careers of the majority of NFL veterans.

The new NFL logo went into use at the 2008 draft.

The new NFL logo went into use at the 2008 draft. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Everyone who plays college football was a high school star football player. Everyone who plays pro football, was a star in college football. Jerry is a star among stars. He always worked hard on the basics, had a strong work ethic, and was dedicated to his team and teammates.

Jerry Rice signing autographs in 2006.

Jerry Rice signing autographs in 2006. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If Jerry would have had a five year or ten year career, he would have been a great player. But because of all the hard work he did, work that few people witnessed, he became the number two all-time greatest player on a list of the 100 greatest NFL players by Sporting News, in 1999. In 2010, he was named as the NFL’s greatest all-time player. He has more records than any NFL receiver does. He missed only 10 regular season games in 20 years, 7 of those in 1997 with his fist major injury. The first year he was eligible Jerry Rice was elected to the football Hall of Fame.

NFL legend Jerry Rice at CTIA Wireless in Las ...

NFL legend Jerry Rice at CTIA Wireless in Las Vegas (cropped from the original photograph) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The state of Mississippi is often cited by the press for poverty and many other attributes that many states try to avoid, often being at the top of the bad lists and the bottom of the good lists. In life it does not matter where you start or what life gives you to work with. It matters what you do with it, and Jerry Rice became the greatest of the great, because of what he did with what he had. Because of the hard work Jerry put into his profession he kept himself healthy (avoiding more serious injuries), and became the very best in his profession. Jerry spent the last several years of his career going up against defensive backs young enough to be his sons, and he bested everyone of them. If Jerry Rice can start as a young kid from Mississippi skipping school, and become the greatest football player in history, what are you going to become the greatest at? Most people have advantages Jerry Rice did not have as a young kid. What’s holding you back?

No.

That is not a good excuse.

Hey, I love you like family, but if Jerry can do it you can too. So, let’s get started. The world is waiting for you. And when you make it you are not the only one who benefits. Your success will help millions of people, people you will probably never have a chance to meet. So go do it, they deserve the chance just as much as you and they are waiting on you.

Me? I am going fishing with my daughter at Slate Run Park, like I do every Father’s Day. As usual, my daughter has been asking me about our annual pilgrimage since Mother’s Day.

I hope YOU have a great Father’s Day!

P.S.

Sorry, I just could not leave for my fishin’ trip without saying one last thing. Jerry Rice and I are the same age, and boy did it feel great for this 44 year old man to watch that 44 year old man run circles around 22 and 24 year old pro athletes.

Thanks Jerry !

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by | June 2, 2013 · 12:00 am

Where Success With People Begins and Ends.


“Do Unto Others …”

By James R. Fisher, jr.

In my years as a corporate executive and then consultant, I’ve learned this: while technical systems change rapidly, the systems that govern our social behavior have evolved little in 2000 years. And we get we want out of life only by working with and through others.

To maintain that perspective in my life, I wrote down some rules that seem to flow from it. Here they are:

To have a friend, you must be a friend,

starting with yourself.

The greatest hunger a person has is to be needed.

Help create that feeling in others.

The greatest virtue is kindness.

You can’t love everyone, but you can be kind to everyone.

Don’t try to impress others.

Let them have the fun of impressing you.

Be enthusiastic.

Nothing of consequence was ever achieved

without enthusiasm.

Be positive.

Positive people attract others, while negative people repel.

You have greater impact on others

by the way you listen than by the way you talk.

Gossip cheapens the one who gossips

more than the one gossiped about.

Call a person by his or her name

and use it often in conversation.

Communicate cheerfulness.

Differences are bound to occur and can be resolved if

conflict is managed in a polite manner.

If you are given to making fun of someone,

be sure it is yourself.

Be genuinely interested in others.

Get them to talk about themselves.

A smile doesn’t cost anything and pays big dividends.

Not only does it make you feel good, but

it makes everyone else feel better too.

Be the first to say, “Hello! Good to see you.”

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

The golden rule is where it all begins and ends.

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