Why? My cart had a squeaky wheel.

Ok, I was foolish going to Walmart today, the Saturday following Christmas.  I grabbed a cart and started off.  Milk, we needed milk.  I progressed a ways and then I heard a single, fairly audible squeak. A bit later, I heard a couple of squeaks and I looked suspiciously as a fellow cart rolled by.
A little bit later, squeak, squeak, squeak on and on. It was my cart.  Ah!!!!  I can't say how many carts I have started out with and quickly rejected because of a wobbly, noisy wheel.  But in this case I was committed.  I was to far away.  I toughened my thinking. I would push it out.  The cart, now in full squeak mode became the temporary home of a few purchases and I was off to the car. Squeak, Squeak, Squeak.
Why?  I remember reading the stunning affect that Walmart(or any large store) had on first time foreign visitors, particularly visitors from poor countries.  What we take for granted, the mass of goods offered to us by Capitalism can be overwhelming to those who have lived an underwhelmed life.  So do you know now why the queak?  That store was full today, full of people and full of goods. Carts, carts everywhere.  They all will squeak at some point. Evidence that we are fortunate enough to live in a land of plenty.

Why? the discord of terrorism

Our bodies seem to understand music. Music is universal and in some ways explains the order found in the universe. Music has pulse, rhythm and power in our lives. Music is feeling and sensing the universe. In music we recognize, we know when a cord is a discord, when the rhythm is wrong and the power is wrong. But, there is also discord in the universe. Discords dot the universe. The worst of these discords are the terrorism of nature and humans. Tsunamis, tornadoes, earthquakes, Isis, Taliban, Al-Qaeda The terrorism of nature and humans, can we control either one? Is the answer terror shelters with walls of a few feet or thousands of miles?

why? stroke

My grandmother suffered a stroke in her 60's(don't know her exact age).  I was 14 years old. She was paralyzed on her right side, able to shuffle with a walker and could not speak understandable words. She lived with us for several years. I remember her writing illegibly on envelopes and trying to mail them with no letter inside.  All this was very sad and telling. Her stroke had destroyed many parts of her brain but there were still areas that had some function.  Six years later she died having never recovered any function.
My mother had a massive stroke at age 78. She died a day later and I remember being grateful that she had not had too suffer as my grandmother had suffered.
I guess this is all pretty grim stuff, but now we come to me. I hope to never have a stroke, but it is possible. I have taken  my medications faithfully, exercised daily and eaten in a somewhat healthy fashion.  If it comes,  I hope it is massive or mild enough for some recovery.  If worst comes to worst, I ask for no extraordinary measures and hope that what remains in me are snippets of good memories for I have many.

Why? the killing of innocent civilians

Israel has invaded Gaza and has fired upon Hamas rocket positions. The news each night shows  the agony of the people of Gaza. The innocents are many and many of these innocents are dead or wounded. This agony is both physical and mental. This news, these scenes are exactly what Hamas wants.  They intentionally place their rockets among civilians. In schools, hospitals, apartment buildings they fire rockets against Israel.
The Hamas "charter states 'our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious' and calls for the eventual creation of an Islamic state in Palestine, in place of Israel and the Palestinian Territories,^[47] and the obliteration or dissolution of Israel"(Wikipedia).
Hamas wants innocents killed, maimed,crying, wailing on each news cycle. Israel is ensnared.  Hamas seeks to damn Israel in the eyes of the world.  Is it working?

Why? Immigration

A nation of immigrants, The United States of America, admired and sought by the less fortunate is at a cross roads concerning its roots and heritage.  In the beginnings, a land bridge from Asia, Columbus, Jamestown, seeking religious freedom, the Revolutionary War, slavery, the Irish Potato famine, on and on, a surge of people seeking to become a part of the history of the Land of Promise.
This historical migration has now become-illegal and undocumented.
For centuries, no rules and then came Ellis Island, a funnel close to the Statue of Liberty, a control point. Then came Visas, Green Cards and a porous border.
I remember reading years ago that a worker in Mexico could earn $4.50 a day, but come to America and earn $4.50 an hour. So what would you do, if placed in that situation?
The count seems to be 11 million illegals in America today and the latest surge from Central America is unaccompanied children. There would seem to be a least three basic reasons for this current problem.  1. Human smugglers are cashing in on the promise of America.  2. The countries of Central America are failing their people.  3. The borders of America are porous.
What is the solution? A Great Wall of America? Use force to make Central America a safe place?  Spend billions on the economies of Central America to make have the same economic promise of America? all are expensive, all are possible but are any really doable?

Why? A Reflection of the Ultimate Freedom

Fate. I have been reflecting on fate, my own fate in particular. Thinking how different my life would be if some incident, some accident, some life changing moment had not occurred.  Life would have been and be totally different in scope and character.
In truth the whims of fate reflect countless possibilities in our lives. Have we no control?  Of course we make life choices inside the universe of fate.  Those choices determine the direction of our fate and to direct our fate is the ultimate freedom, the freedom of choice.

Why? the race against time

1980-Thirty four years ago I began my race against time.  I had turned 40. I got a medical checkup. The result was high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and overweight. I also smoked(less than a pack a day). So my reality was my time on this earth was being shortened by my genetics and my life style.
I stopped smoking cold turkey. I began jogging. Jog a telephone pole, walk a telephone pole. Jog 2-3 poles and walk 1.  Over the next 10 years I averaged jogging over 20 miles per week, lost 40 pounds and racing well against time.
Fast forward to 2014. For multiple reasons I had stopped jogging. Primarily it was the death of a fellow jogger. He just collapsed while jogging from a heart attack. Second was a knee problem.  So my race against time was greatly affected.  I gained 40 pounds
For the past 6 months I have averaged over 20 miles per week walking and have lost 21 pounds. The super cold has forced me in to the local mall. I walk in the hour or two before the stores open and my race against time is shared young and old, but mostly old. As I watch a young, mobile " the View" group bursting by me, chattering as they race against time, I'm thinking "no one can win the race against time". As I watch an old fellow, limping around the mall, someone that I roar by, I'm thinking "no one can win the race against time". So why the racing?  It is the will to live, to feel younger, with better health and more energy. Is is a race that no one can win, but worth the running. So walk or run and get in the race. It is not a race you can win, but get in none the less.  COME ON IN.