I got to visit the CIA on family day one time. We were living in Washington DC while worked at FAA headquarters on a 1-year detail. One of my wife's family friends lived near where we lived and we got to go over and spend time with them.
She worked for the CIA and it was funny because every time we would ask her questions about her job she would gently bring up a different subject and we would move on. I caught on quickly but my wife took a few tries before she got the hint.
But she invited us to go with her on family day which was awesome. We got there and drove inside the gate which was imposing and intimidating just like in the movies. We parked and went up and went into the building. It was so awesome to see what had been shown in so many shows and be there in real life.
We actually got to go inside the gate, inside the building, and walk down the hallway with the signs sticking out from doors. I'm sure everything was declassified in there and it was no big deal. But it was still cool to see.
During this time we had little children and an infant with us. I carried a pouch, I wore a pouch, or fanny pack if you want to call it that. It had two bottle holders on either side of it. I kept water or some sort of drink in those bottle holders so that if I or the children got thirsty instead of having to listen to crying or whining or having to scramble to find something I'd have an instant thing for them to drink.
I also kept some snacks in there and other things that I wanted to have with me as we traveled about Washington DC and other places. While we were inside the building, or actually while we were headed inside the building, I unzipped my pouch to check for something for the kids. Or maybe I was getting a mint, I don't remember. But I realized that my 35 millimeter pocket camera was in there. I froze and I was kind of panicky because here I am inside the building at Langley with an unauthorized camera on family day.
I'm thinking as a federal government employee I'm about to get in lots of trouble. I showed it to our friend and told her yeah I didn't realize it was in there she said oh it's no big deal. Just don't say anything.
In my head I was thinking I'm about to get in so much trouble. But we went through security and nobody said a word about it. One of the results of me having my camera in there was I got to have my picture taken in front of a section of the Berlin Wall.
It was so amazing and to actually stand in front of a piece of history like that was awesome. Thank you. Sadly I can't find that picture. I know it was taken with my 35 millimeter camera that I carried around back then.
I know that I got it developed and I remember seeing the picture in my hands and our apartment. I think the picture got buried in the basement of our house when we moved back to Georgia. Over the years I'll take up the search again and again and see if I can find it.
As I go through all the pictures that we've taken over the years I smile and laugh and remember fondly the things that we were doing when the picture was taken. But I still haven't found that picture of me in front of a piece of the Berlin Wall.
Maybe one day I will find it.
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Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Saturday, June 6, 2026
Propane home heater ~
I went to an old lady's house with my wife this past winter. The lady is getting up in years and not moving around very much and her family and friends are concerned that she needs to be in a partial-care facility but doesn't have the money or inclination to move.
My wife had bought the lady a wall clock that displayed the date, day of the week, and time on it. She did this because the lady had said a couple of times that she didn't even know what day it was. My wife's hope is that the display of the day of the week will help keep the lady in touch a little better.
When we took the clock to the lady's house it was just getting dark on a cold winter day. The high temperature had been in the mid-40s and was forecast to be in the mid-20s that night. So the lady had her heaters going full blast in the living room. When we went in she was tucked under a pile of blankets in her reclining chair.
The heaters made the room hot! One heater was electric and kept cycling on and off while we were there. I guess it had a temperature sensor and was trying not to overheat the room.
The other heater was a home propane heater. It was short, about the height of a coffee table, and stood against the back wall of the living room. It was going full-blast with flames and blower and had no temperature control on it. It was very nice to warm my buns in front of but quickly made me start sweating so I had to move away from it. It was a small, crowded living room so I couldn't get very far away from the heater.
That propane heater reminded me of my grandparent's house in Florida. Their home heater was as tall as I was when I was 13 or so, about 5 feet tall. Grandpa had a big tank in the side yard of the house and had it filled once a winter. The tank was big enough to last all winter in Florida.
When it got cold in central Florida it felt really cold to everyone down there. So once Grandpa got that heater going in the kitchen he would leave it going all night and into the morning. He would close the kitchen doors that led to the living room and the hallway to the bedrooms to keep the heat in. That room would get hot! The few times my father took me over to their house on cold evenings we would have our heavy jackets on and quickly peel them off down to our t-shirts while sitting there. Dad would talk with Grandpa about things and Grandpa would comment on everything, talking about how the "system" worked against regular people.
I remember getting so hot in the heated kitchen that I would be falling asleep at the table. And then when we would leave we'd go outside and freeze even more because it had been so hot in the kitchen.
It was fun to be reminded of that when we took the clock to the old lady.
+++
#history
My wife had bought the lady a wall clock that displayed the date, day of the week, and time on it. She did this because the lady had said a couple of times that she didn't even know what day it was. My wife's hope is that the display of the day of the week will help keep the lady in touch a little better.
When we took the clock to the lady's house it was just getting dark on a cold winter day. The high temperature had been in the mid-40s and was forecast to be in the mid-20s that night. So the lady had her heaters going full blast in the living room. When we went in she was tucked under a pile of blankets in her reclining chair.
The heaters made the room hot! One heater was electric and kept cycling on and off while we were there. I guess it had a temperature sensor and was trying not to overheat the room.
The other heater was a home propane heater. It was short, about the height of a coffee table, and stood against the back wall of the living room. It was going full-blast with flames and blower and had no temperature control on it. It was very nice to warm my buns in front of but quickly made me start sweating so I had to move away from it. It was a small, crowded living room so I couldn't get very far away from the heater.
That propane heater reminded me of my grandparent's house in Florida. Their home heater was as tall as I was when I was 13 or so, about 5 feet tall. Grandpa had a big tank in the side yard of the house and had it filled once a winter. The tank was big enough to last all winter in Florida.
When it got cold in central Florida it felt really cold to everyone down there. So once Grandpa got that heater going in the kitchen he would leave it going all night and into the morning. He would close the kitchen doors that led to the living room and the hallway to the bedrooms to keep the heat in. That room would get hot! The few times my father took me over to their house on cold evenings we would have our heavy jackets on and quickly peel them off down to our t-shirts while sitting there. Dad would talk with Grandpa about things and Grandpa would comment on everything, talking about how the "system" worked against regular people.
I remember getting so hot in the heated kitchen that I would be falling asleep at the table. And then when we would leave we'd go outside and freeze even more because it had been so hot in the kitchen.
It was fun to be reminded of that when we took the clock to the old lady.
+++
#history
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
Hard to watch ~
It's tough watching some of the Hollywood elite get older. Some do just fine. They age gracefully and know who they are and what they are and what their age is and have put it out there for everybody.
But a lot of the women tend to fall into the Botox trap. They puff their lips and forehead and cheeks to the point that several of them have looked like caricatures of themselves or worse, caricatures of other people.
I think that's sad. I know that many people worship youth and wish that they could stay young forever and still look like they did in their first entertainment venues. I enjoy my age and I'm happy and proud to have made it to this level.
I'm 61 at the time of this posting. It's hard to see those women that looked so nice when they were younger and looked so scary as they get older.
+++
But a lot of the women tend to fall into the Botox trap. They puff their lips and forehead and cheeks to the point that several of them have looked like caricatures of themselves or worse, caricatures of other people.
I think that's sad. I know that many people worship youth and wish that they could stay young forever and still look like they did in their first entertainment venues. I enjoy my age and I'm happy and proud to have made it to this level.
I'm 61 at the time of this posting. It's hard to see those women that looked so nice when they were younger and looked so scary as they get older.
+++
Friday, May 29, 2026
Prayer and quoting scripture ~
So many people that pray out loud tend to quote scripture by chapter and verse and they try to say that this is God's promise and we need to remind him of his promise and he likes to hear his words quoted back to him.
But I know that when somebody comes to me and asks me to do something and they say, do you remember when you said you were going to do this? You said on this date, at this time, that you were going to do this and this and this. I tend not to like that.
Part of me would love to go to our pastor and say, yeah, on this date you said this and so I'm here to get this from you. And then see how he reacts and then tell him, that's what you do with God when you tell him, you said you were going to do this and now I want it.
My relationship with my God is different from that. He gives me good gifts. I try to appreciate them. And I try to share them. When I ask for things I don't tell him how he has to do it because he said this or that or the other. I ask him. I believe.
I hope you do, too.
+++
But I know that when somebody comes to me and asks me to do something and they say, do you remember when you said you were going to do this? You said on this date, at this time, that you were going to do this and this and this. I tend not to like that.
Part of me would love to go to our pastor and say, yeah, on this date you said this and so I'm here to get this from you. And then see how he reacts and then tell him, that's what you do with God when you tell him, you said you were going to do this and now I want it.
My relationship with my God is different from that. He gives me good gifts. I try to appreciate them. And I try to share them. When I ask for things I don't tell him how he has to do it because he said this or that or the other. I ask him. I believe.
I hope you do, too.
+++
Monday, May 25, 2026
Handwriting shortcuts ~
My handwriting was bad when I was in school. I wrote fast because I was a note-taker, wanting to capture everything I could in case it was on the test or I never heard it again. But when I looked back at my notes I had trouble deciphering what I had written.
In college I thought that my handwriting was so bad because I was rushing through writing words that repeated over and over. This is this way BECAUSE of that, this number is BETWEEN this and that, and other words.
I read about shorthand and after several attempts to learn it on my own gave up. I would look at it every few years, try a few strokes, then put it away again. The whole concept of writing phonetic symbols still boggles my mind! I probably will not be able to learn Arabic or any of the other phonetic written languages, we'll see.
Anyways, in an effort to speed up my handwriting I came up with some of my own abbriviations of words. I thought that if I could use these abbreviations it would give me more time and I could slow down and write more legibly.
Here are some of the abbreviations I came up with:
w/ = with
b/ = because
b// = between
backwards 3 with line above and below = and
square = a task or todo
I looked at and tried some of the official logic symbols like the three dot triangle that stand for "therefore" but never could stick with it. I even tried the delta triangle symbol to capture the change of things but it never looked right to me and made me think too much. I've tried arrows through a square to show a task was rescheduled; that one looks great in the articles I read but never worked for me.
After using a Handspring Visor/Palm Pilot device for a couple of years I even tried writing the digital "grafitti" alphabet it used on paper. Because I was drawing each character it slowed me down and was legible but just looked weird in the real world. But it was so fun I still use it when I want to bring attention to something!
The best thing I did to improve my handwriting was to switch to my left hand. Now I write almost all the time with my left hand and most of what I write is legible. The other best thing I did was to type things. And with our mobile devices that's been an easy transition. But it doesn't work the same was in my brain as handwriting does.
My abbreviations and shortcuts have helped a lot over the years. I sometimes use them when I type, but not a lot.
It's fun to try new things!
+++
In college I thought that my handwriting was so bad because I was rushing through writing words that repeated over and over. This is this way BECAUSE of that, this number is BETWEEN this and that, and other words.
I read about shorthand and after several attempts to learn it on my own gave up. I would look at it every few years, try a few strokes, then put it away again. The whole concept of writing phonetic symbols still boggles my mind! I probably will not be able to learn Arabic or any of the other phonetic written languages, we'll see.
Anyways, in an effort to speed up my handwriting I came up with some of my own abbriviations of words. I thought that if I could use these abbreviations it would give me more time and I could slow down and write more legibly.
Here are some of the abbreviations I came up with:
w/ = with
b/ = because
b// = between
backwards 3 with line above and below = and
square = a task or todo
I looked at and tried some of the official logic symbols like the three dot triangle that stand for "therefore" but never could stick with it. I even tried the delta triangle symbol to capture the change of things but it never looked right to me and made me think too much. I've tried arrows through a square to show a task was rescheduled; that one looks great in the articles I read but never worked for me.
After using a Handspring Visor/Palm Pilot device for a couple of years I even tried writing the digital "grafitti" alphabet it used on paper. Because I was drawing each character it slowed me down and was legible but just looked weird in the real world. But it was so fun I still use it when I want to bring attention to something!
The best thing I did to improve my handwriting was to switch to my left hand. Now I write almost all the time with my left hand and most of what I write is legible. The other best thing I did was to type things. And with our mobile devices that's been an easy transition. But it doesn't work the same was in my brain as handwriting does.
My abbreviations and shortcuts have helped a lot over the years. I sometimes use them when I type, but not a lot.
It's fun to try new things!
+++
Thursday, May 21, 2026
Not into Hollywood stuff ~
I'm not into learning about actors and actresses lives. The entertainment industry works so hard to add depth and interviews and all those things with actors and actresses. But I've been disappointed many times when I've learned things about people that I really didn't want to know and it really kind of turned me off of the shows that they were in when I learned it.
What am I talking about? Secret homosexuality, secret pedophilia, drugs, etc. One major one was when Michael Jackson, of all people, died from the sedative overdose that he had a doctor administer to him supposedly so that he could sleep.
It's just sad and wrong. On top of all the other things that came out about him, it was very disappointing.
People glorify sports stars while they're on the field or court, but then call them chumps when they're 10 years older and broke or worse so deep in debt because they were living large and spent everything that they had ever been given and more.
I guess it's like lottery winners. I've read stories about how people who win the lottery usually end up messed up and broke soon after.
But I don't really want to get into actors and actresses and their personal lives and all that stuff.
I've watched people like the guy that was in the Eagle Eye movie and the Transformers movie just go completely over the edge. Heath Ledger is another one. Best Joker representation in my opinion. Gone way too young to overindulgence.
I don't need to know that stuff because it makes me sad. It makes me not want to watch anything that they were in.
And the cheating! It boggles my mind that these guys that are married to the some of the most beautiful women in entertainment cheat on their woman or take advantage of the help like some do.
When I watch entertainment I just want to be entertained! I don't want to have to think about all that stuff.
I've had songs ruined when I've learned things about the artist, songs that I really liked, that had really good meaning until I learned what the artist meant by it. And then I'm out.
I'm careful what I let in and even then I'm concerned. I don't want to be steeped and stewed in so much drama that I begin to create drama like I see on the screen. I've see enough people fall for that.
+++
What am I talking about? Secret homosexuality, secret pedophilia, drugs, etc. One major one was when Michael Jackson, of all people, died from the sedative overdose that he had a doctor administer to him supposedly so that he could sleep.
It's just sad and wrong. On top of all the other things that came out about him, it was very disappointing.
People glorify sports stars while they're on the field or court, but then call them chumps when they're 10 years older and broke or worse so deep in debt because they were living large and spent everything that they had ever been given and more.
I guess it's like lottery winners. I've read stories about how people who win the lottery usually end up messed up and broke soon after.
But I don't really want to get into actors and actresses and their personal lives and all that stuff.
I've watched people like the guy that was in the Eagle Eye movie and the Transformers movie just go completely over the edge. Heath Ledger is another one. Best Joker representation in my opinion. Gone way too young to overindulgence.
I don't need to know that stuff because it makes me sad. It makes me not want to watch anything that they were in.
And the cheating! It boggles my mind that these guys that are married to the some of the most beautiful women in entertainment cheat on their woman or take advantage of the help like some do.
When I watch entertainment I just want to be entertained! I don't want to have to think about all that stuff.
I've had songs ruined when I've learned things about the artist, songs that I really liked, that had really good meaning until I learned what the artist meant by it. And then I'm out.
I'm careful what I let in and even then I'm concerned. I don't want to be steeped and stewed in so much drama that I begin to create drama like I see on the screen. I've see enough people fall for that.
+++
Sunday, May 17, 2026
Those people ~
One of the things I was told as I was raised, and even as an adult, was that "those people" have a different culture. Those people think differently. That's not what those people do. They do it differently.
I always found it fascinating because it was usually in reference to someone of another race. It's black people, oriental people, even Indian people. I tried not to teach that to our children, but they picked it up anyways.
I've been told that certain groups don't care how they look in a bathing suit or just in general. I've found that to be very untrue. What I've learned over the years is that people are just people. Yes, they have different attitudes shaped by who they were raised with and what environment they lived in, but all in all, people are people and they have different drivers and different decision-making processes, and yes, different cultures.
But I don't believe that it's racial. It seems racial because that's what we see with our eyes. But then we see a white guy dressing as a rap artist and trying to talk like he's from the Bronx in New York, when he's actually from southern Georgia.
It's a choice that he's making, and people that want to change their lives are choosing either to change or not to change based on difficulty and availability and all that. I just think it's sad that so many people buy into the separation of us as different cultures and races.
We're all just people, people trying to make it.
People loved by God.
+++
I always found it fascinating because it was usually in reference to someone of another race. It's black people, oriental people, even Indian people. I tried not to teach that to our children, but they picked it up anyways.
I've been told that certain groups don't care how they look in a bathing suit or just in general. I've found that to be very untrue. What I've learned over the years is that people are just people. Yes, they have different attitudes shaped by who they were raised with and what environment they lived in, but all in all, people are people and they have different drivers and different decision-making processes, and yes, different cultures.
But I don't believe that it's racial. It seems racial because that's what we see with our eyes. But then we see a white guy dressing as a rap artist and trying to talk like he's from the Bronx in New York, when he's actually from southern Georgia.
It's a choice that he's making, and people that want to change their lives are choosing either to change or not to change based on difficulty and availability and all that. I just think it's sad that so many people buy into the separation of us as different cultures and races.
We're all just people, people trying to make it.
People loved by God.
+++
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