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A Journal to impart knowledge and facts |
July 22, 2015 I'm going to start today to record on a daily basis whatever happens to strike my fancy. So, it is a very cool breezy day. I just posted 5 short book reviews to The Monthly Reading Challenge. I'm suppose to put away some winter wood today from the woodpile outside but I'm playing hookey from work to write so starting this blog will get done. I'm having a daily fight with a flock of English Sparrows that are trying to take over my barn. They are making a terrible mess so they have to go. I have destroyed several nests so far they don't leave but they get out of the barn when I am around. I'm just starting the fight so I guess I don't know how far I have to go to discourage them. I'm trying not to spread myself to thin on WDC because I find so many things that are interesting here and I am trying to work on a new story. I really enjoy sitting at my desk with a cup of tea and reading blogs on WDC. |
What would you have to start doing now so that in 10 years you feel like you just had the best decade of your life?![]() ![]() “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” — Albert Camus. I've had some very good decades. Never a dull moment, unless I don't voice opinions in a public way. It would be nice to have an honest talk face to face with my two oldest sons. If I have to start a new chapter of life it would mean something if I could be helpful in some way to younger generations. This is an interesting prompt that actually will make me think awhile. I'm here. The rest of the world is out there. That isn't likely to change. Keep On, Keepin On |
We've all heard of people who mysteriously 'go missing'. Tonight, write about a person who 'goes missing'. Someone that you read about in the newspaper or online, but nobody seems to know them, or remember them.![]() ![]() Deannie King; a reporter for Channel 8 news, Tampa, Florida, wrote an article for the news, which was published September 30, 2021. The differences between one missing persons case and another are brought into the publics eye. https://www.wfla.com/news/for-the-culture/missing-white-woman-syndrome-highlight... Veronica Reyes-Diaz,24, a mother of three and a daughter was reported missing in January 2020. After 2 days of investigation the story and investigation were dropped. King's story highlights a second woman who disappeared in September 2021. The FBI were called in. News media around the country published stories. An all out push by investigators and news media was held across the media for 3 weeks or more. Actual progress was reported in this case. The article by King highlights the differences in the way investigators and news media handle the disappearance of white women and people of color. Over the years, other articles, that pertain to children of color, who disappear, and how they are subject to the same color syndrome have been published. Another article highlighting the color syndrome, was written by Shobini Iyer, Opinion Editor, October 4, 2021. The article was published in The Spartan Shield. https://spartanshield.org/29737/opinion/two-sides-to-every-story-the-missing-peo... Studies from the University of Wyoming and The National Crime Information Center are cited in the article from the Spartans shield. These two articles cite instances when Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous missing persons cases are not treated with equal fervor across the USA. This is reporting about reporting but, nevertheless it highlights reasons for growing unrest within the country, by citizens. ![]() |
5. Sitting at the bar you have a lively conversation with Andre. But it seems as though everyone else is ignoring you. As you glass at the mirror, you realize that you have no reflection. Dear Margaret: As Halloween is closing to an end I find that it had been enlightening. I've learned a lot about monkeys, which I did not know. Recently, at the Halloween party that took place at Andre The Blog Monkey Banana Bar Andre, Erthala, and I were engaged in conversation as people do at parties. Andre told us about the Shaolin monks, monkey moves They are truly interesting. A higher learning by Warrior Monks. They studied the physical way a monkey moves as it flies through the canopy. Then, used the information to make their monks more athletic. I also learned how many varieties of new world monkeys there really are and some of the reasons some of them are endangered. Andre and I were engaged in a conversation about how different fruit drinks combined with tea or alcohol can have different affects on the body. Andre is quite knowledgeable about the outcomes of fruit and alcohol. My knowledge leans toward combining fruit with tea and the outcomes thereof. There is a long mirror behind the bar. Suddenly, Erthala exclaimed and pointed at the mirror. "Look, Apondia, your reflection is not in the mirror. " I looked up and in truth I could see Erthala, and Andre but, not myself reflected. Unfortunately I moved into one of my long winded explanations: That is because while I'm in the bar an attempt is always being made to make me conform to the way others believe or think. In truth, Erthala this happens in a lot of places in my life. A reflection of me would mean acceptance. I often have to explain to other people, that I cannot react like they do to a given situation, because I am living in my body not theirs. I believe in the individuality of each person. Never-the- less a song we use to sing in chorus tells this story, "No Man is an Island, No man stands alone." Take blogging with the Thirty Day Blogging Challenge. There are a lot of people that write about similar experiences. They all live in different countries or states, have different lifestyles, and different habits. People often have similar thoughts even though they live in different countries. If I told any of these people they had to take up residence in a home just like mine. Keep my daily schedule, like only what I like, never move or think unless they were on my schedule and my life line. They would revolt. Individuality is impossible to erase. DNA has more to do with this than we ever pay any attention too. When you get into a situation like the Blogging with the Banana Bar, people expect me to respond exactly as they think I should. When I do respond I keep my individuality. There is a way of using your mind to cause a reaction in an animal and sometimes in people. A way to control energy waves and make animals or people do what you want. Good psychology makes this wrong. You are cutting across free will. The only time it would be honest would be when fighting evil that cannot be controlled by personal physical intervention. Police help us there. I have a hard time believing in mirrors without reflections. A mirror reacts to it's reality. So, if there is a problem with a reflection it is probable that the mirror itself has left the realm of reality or the person who is standing in front of the mirror has insisted in remaining in some way, within a stable reality. Or, you are in the realm of fantasy or fiction where anything can happen. If you read or write fiction you are writing about things you think may happen or things that are happening or things that have happened, in some other realm or time. It is still out about whether fiction writers are influencing history, creating history, looking into another realm with their minds, or thinking in a prophetic way. There is a general belief because of some bible scriptures that you should never use your imagination. First the reason it is in the bible is because people have been making up imaginary stories since they became able to think. I ask you. How have those imaginary stories influenced people. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is imaginary about an imaginary world. Yet from beginning to the end the series is a compact allegory about real beliefs of people on the earth. Erthala says, don't forget Harry Potter. Harry Potter makes witches fall into categories: Good and bad witches. But, are good witches really witches? or spiritual people fighting evil who are branded as witches? Parts of the Harry Potterseries may be from another English authors writings. Groosham Grange by Anthony Horowitz which deals with witches. And, at least one of the spells Harry is famous for is Biblical. I replied, If you believe in God one of the first things you learn is Genesis 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. We also learn that he rested after creation. And, he set up a 7th day of the week so we could rest. God speaks to and through individuals. He puts wisdom in us so we can fight the evil we think and do. It does not say he quit creating only that he rested from it. As a spirit, God created people and look at what we can do, should do, and should not do. Erthala spoke up, "aren't we diving into philosophy and spirituality? If you are a writer that is what you are creating. You are creating entertainment and knowledge for your readers. " I replied. "Drinking alcohol or writing something down that is in your mind. It can be bad or good. It's use is up to the person using it. So Erthala. if you cannot see my reflection in your mirror perhaps we are grounded to reality in a different way. Or the mirror needs to be cleaned." Erthala laughed, Andre chattered grabbed a cloth and started cleaning the mirror. Just so you know Margaret. I'm not very superstitious about mirrors or vampires. The currant Vampire rage like all subjects has flowed across countries through written stories before and it will fade after while, when a new subject becomes popular. Or when a new generation of writers takes hold. Halloween is interesting to me it's a different kind of holiday. This year I'm having a good time creating stories with others. Perhaps I will have something to say about Thanksgiving when it comes up. See you in WDC. Bye for now Margaret. Sincerely, Apondia word count by the Journal 7 = 953 |
4. You order Andre's 'Drink of the Day'. As you are drinking it, you feel it slowly transform you into something/someone else. Dear Margaret: It seems the worst is yet to come regarding Halloween celebrations. When Erthala and I were at the Halloween party there was a lot of dancing and other entertainment going on. Erthala and I were just enjoying the antics of monkeys in the ceiling vines and costumed persons dancing to the vibrant monkey music going on. Then Andre came tottering over with the drink of the day in hand. It was in a pretty, frosted wine glass on a stem. It was, believe it or not some mix of Banana wine. It was a yellow color and very cold. He presented it to me. So, I said, "Why not?" I heard Erthala mutter, "I bet I could tell you why not?" I just smiled. After a couple sips I started singing another Monkey song I know. "Three Little Monkeys, swinging in a tree, teasing Mr. Crocodile, you can't catch me." I vaguely remember Erthala say, "Oh, Oh!" Did I really transform? I remember fur on my long arms. It's more like a dream then real transformation. I experienced exaltation, as I leaped into the air and went swinging across the room on the exceptional green vines. Other monkeys screeched, pointed, and then followed me as I traversed the room swinging from vine to vine. Eating a couple of the flowers, hanging upside down starring at Erthala below me, while she shouted come back down now before you fall Apondia, was quite exelerating. As a child I had a trapeze in our hay barn with heavy mounds of loose hay to break my fall. Flying across the room with the other monkeys. Playing follow the leader was more fun than the trapeze. I was not as graceful because I lacked a prehensile tail. I did not have the length of arm of a monkey, besides not having, a finger type use of the end of a prehensile tale. Still, it was a lot of fun. Toward the end, I used the coat rack pole like a Shaolin Master and made the "Monkey moves on a tree" required to win your Buddhist mastership. I'm sure a real Shaolin Master has better form. Years of practice in form and knowledge are required to acquire the grace monks, who know these moves, are capable of doing. YouTube has examples of these Shaolin Master moves. This transformation only lasted at the most thirty minutes. Then, the energy the drink produced in my system began to fail. Erthala was following me around the room and persuaded me to stop on top of the bar. Then with a huff and a puff I sat down and returned to my normal thought waves. Erthala with her quick thinking managed to film some of my antics on her iPhone. She has promised to send the filming to my computer. That means I can send you a copy some day. It is quite a sight to see. I tried to find out exactly what was in the wine Andre gave me. As usual Andre isn't communicating about the recipe. When I went to the bar, Andre pointed at me and then pantomimed swinging on the vines above his head he monkey laughed. I drew a picture of Andre standing under a coconut tree getting bonked on the head with a coconut so he quit laughing. Oh well, green tea and mashed bananas is really the best speed for me. If you ever want an interesting experience Margaret come visit me. We will spend some time blogging at Andre The Blog Monkey Banana Bar. Always an unusually worthwhile time. Sincerely, Apondia ![]() Word count by the Journal7 = 604 |