Is there anything good going on in the world, because I need to hear about it. Predictions of $100 a barrell oil (which means $8 a gallon for us?), people nervous about Iran, our leaders have zero percent approval and all of the candidates for the next big race stink. California almost burned to the ground, people get ruder every day, you can’t smoke in your car and several cities apparently, we’re all going to be paying for universal healthcare, Al Gore is a hero, Bin Laden is just misunderstood, taxes will go up, Hillary will win by default, stop signs mean nothing and McDonald’s is considered a restaurant?
I know I could stick my head in the sand and think of only puppy dogs and butterflies. Not read the news or listen to the radio and forget about politics. I could get my hands on some feel good meds and look at the nice sunset. I could write stories where life is fair and everybody lives happily ever after…But…
I’m too scared to look away. Too scared to pretend this too shall pass. Too scared that not enough of us are paying attention. Too scared that the chicken littles are winning the game and we won’t know it until we’re just part of the Matrix.
Things are just looking too much like a bad sci-fi movie to me, with all of us as the unwitting bit players, saying our lines, while thinking about what we’ll have for lunch.
Zelda would say, ‘hey it’s just something to do. It’ll change, it always does.” But does it? Will it? Does the bad never end?
WC
Anita Rodgers Mystery Writer 
i think things have always been this way, except that now, we have bigger weapons, less compassion and a total lack of passion.
i am sorry. i don’t even know what to say, Chica. Personally, i’m looking forward to heaven.
Hey Christine,
Heaven sounds like a good thing to look forward to. I’m with you.
Chica
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Sorry, but if i could add that maybe i was wrong in my reply above. And i don’t want to feed your feelings of despair, but i also don’t want to diminish them. But i may be wrong saying that things have always been this bad. i mean, wickedness and screwy-ness have been around forever it seems but there was a time when such suck was frowned upon. Now, things that were once good have been twisted so that the original goodness can scarcely be traced.
i was wrong in saying there is no passion because there’s plenty of passion for the stupidest most meaningless, temporal things ever.
i don’t say bury your head in the sand or pretend everything’s okay, but there are some truly righteous and good things in the world. i try to focus on those things. And it’s hard. i’m just getting out of my i-hate-you-everybody slump. Just barely. i mean, there’s still some anger but i have to make a conscious effort to understand, to find the goodness in life. i look at my girls or listen to geese in the morning…
i hope that you can find some goodness.
More good points. You know the thing that I find most disheartening is that stupid and mean seems to win out so often now. Maybe I’m editing the past in my own mind, but it seems to me that it didn’t used to be that way. Men aren’t men anymore, they’re metro, journalists are now vacuous, smiling teleprompter readers, entertainers are politicians and politicians are entertainers, God is obscene and unlawful, while anarchy is blessed. It’s all screwed up and people don’t seem to care.
Chica
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I know. Getting involved is something we can do though – doing good.
Here ya go:
Peace all.
~ RS ~
Thanks Roobs,
I’ve bookmarked the site – at least I have somewhere to go now, right. 😉
WC
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Hi WC,
Good news? Yes!
The temperature here is finally down below 60, which will make the huge pot of chili simmering on my stove will be most welcome tonight, and may even allow us to make use of the fireplace.
The dog I rescued this summer has survived her heart worm treatment and is recovering nicely. Her name is Lilly, by the way, from the Dylan song.
My truck, although treated harshly by the engine fire, can be repaired for an amount of money that we can afford.
The economy is still running strong.
Al Qaeda is losing in Iraq.
It looks like Hillary is going to take the Democrat primary, which will almost certainly mean a Republican will win the general election.
We’ve almost made it safely through hurricane season.
With a little luck, I may have enough fire wood already cut to get us through the winter.
Even though your local fires did a lot of damage, there was little loss of life, and the Feds are going to bail out those who didn’t have insurance.
It’s almost Thanksgiving, which means that Christmas is right around the corner!
the Grit
Hey Grit,
You make me laugh. Thanks. I could use some of that chili and a ride in your noisy truck – probably clean my head or my sinuses. 😉
WC
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I don’t know about good news but there certainly is a lot of odd news. And odd news can bring a smile if it’s odd enough.
LOL Fuzzy – and nobody knows odd news like you do. 😉
WC
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Lot’s of “good” news in the world. But as the old saying goes “Ya just gotta take the good with the bad”.
To wit I used to reply:
Too bad the bad can’t be like the good”.
Hmmm then I really got to thinking (Damn long nights alone listening to the sounds of 18 wheels will do that to ya) what the heck am I focusing on? The good or the bad? I can’t change all the bad. I’m just an old busted up trucker. But I can strengthen the good that is around me and change the bad that is under my control. Dang if over time another old saying came true:
“The good out weighs the bad”.
It’s all what your focused on darlin’. I am aware of the things that are going on in this world. I’d be a fool if I ignored it, but I have been given a choice as to what is going to rule my life. Sometimes the battles get real ugly but in the end the good stuff always wills out.
Sorry I have been away, but I ain’t gonna lie to ya, I’ve been away. You know us old farts, we always show up when you least expect it.
BSue says howdy too.
Squawk
Hey Squawky!
I know you’re right – need to focus on the good and I’m trying. Maybe I should start driving an 18 wheeler, it might give me a better perspective. 😉
WC
PS: Hi back to BSue. 🙂
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If gas is $3 when oil is $90 – and it is – why on earth would it be $8 when oil is $100?
Turn off those drooling idiots on the small screen and have a McRib. You’ll feel better.
Okay, skip the McRib.
Jeez Louise, CG I have no idea. When it was around $70 it went up to $3.50 in these parts then it started sliding down, now it’s at I don’t know what and it’s climbing back up. The irony of course is that the price is being driven artificially not by the oil companies but by the traders. Every time someone farts in the Middle East it goes crazy – never mind the fact that we get a mere 13% of our oil from there – most of the oil we get is from Canada and Mexico. Despite the fact that people think we went to war for oil – we never needed to in the first place.
WC
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It does seem to be somewhere always. I hate feeling powerless. I should try to cheer you up but I can’t. LOL I just think, Damn, great post!
Hey CB,
Good post? Just me ranting in writing. I think I was listening to too much talk radio that day. 😉
WC
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Hiya, Annie Girl.
Wow. I’m totally hearing you. It doesn’t take a rocketscientist to see that so much “Dark” or “Dark” masquerading as “Light” is wandering the Streets of Mother Earth. I’ve come to respect science fiction writers in a whole new way – many times, they are the prophets and foretellers of future doom.
Speaking of the Future, you ever hear of a…I think its a syndrome….called “Future Shock”?
I am trying my best to keep one eye and ear buried deep in the unseen (not necessarily sand), and one eye and ear firmly engaged on What’s Happening. I always have to choose what I’m going to focus on…what I’m going to contribute to…what I’m going to holler about. (Almost wrote a scathing rant on the Bushwackers a couple of days ago…settled for just posting some financial statistics with a small “Fuck You” sign off.
Sending you hugs – and here’s some good news:
If you’re reading this, there’s always hope.
xoxox
Hey Gracie,
Yeah, you do have to choose what to contribute to, focus on and holler about. Sometimes though you just have to scream. I suppose the fires and all that tension did a number on my head. I know there are good things in the world, I think I just get so tired of being bombarded with all the bad news all the time. It’s not even news usually – usually it’s just some tv producers version of what will enflame people. Cripes. Love ya.
Annie
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I agree with Grit above. If Hillary gets the nomination we are assured a true American (Republican) in the White House. Islamo Fascism cannot beat us. Iran will destroy itself, and if it came down to it, America can take care of herself. As Hank Jr. sang, “A Country Boy Can Survive”
Hey TRM,
Much as I might like to believe that, I’m not sure that’s true. I think that all the candidates on both sides are such yawners that if something (dark horse out of nowhere, third party candidate who is brillaint????) exciting doesn’t happen most people will stay home. Frankly, I can’t envision any of them in the Oval Office, though a couple of them give me nightmares. If Hillary could be voted in as senator of New York, not once but twice then I think anything is possible. The woman wasn’t by any stretch of the imagination a New Yorker yet there she is. Greed, ambition and unbridled determination has gotten many people pretty far. The only hope is if the public is tired of the Bush-Clinton-Bush cycle.
WC
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To me, the west has reached a turning point but doesn’t know where to go. Ideology is said to be dead, so politicians become managers and the electorate apathetic.
Communications have become global, the media intrusive, but we don’t know what to do with it – so the main media is filled with trivia, which enforces our apathy.
Super-capitalism has replaced a sensible capitalist system, and got so big it controls governments through the economy – and feeds us a continual consumer world of trivia – which makes our apathy seem worthwhile.
Where what we should always be doing is being curious. It was curiosity that made us what we are as a species, but we think there’s nothing left to be curious about. Everything has been discovered, explored, and we’ve got the t-shirt – until we look up at the stars. That’s the next stage of the human joy ride. We’ve got the tech, we’ve got the ideas, but we’re just a little bit apathetic. It’s too big.
The madness you speak about will stop when we realise we can go – and the human race has a purpose once more.
Hey Tony,
Interesting perspective. Although I think I’d have to disagree that everything has been discovered, explored and so on. We haven’t discovered how to dissipate our hatred and fear, how to love our fellows unconditionally, how to ease suffering without using force. There are many things left to discover and they’ve nothing to do with science or technology. Honestly, in the greater scheme of things how important is it that we have faster cars or smaller sound systems, bigger tvs, gps and so on? I think what we’re missing is a greater humanity. That is the discovery that the world needs and I don’t think we’ll find it on other planets, although that is a possibility.
WC
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I’ve always said that if we were going to go to war for oil, we should go to Venezuela; it’s a lot closer, and the food’s better.
Or Mexico, cuz again…the food is better. 😉
WC
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Hi WC,
The chili came out better than usual, mostly because I managed to keep it from boiling after adding all the spices. It’s a bit low on heat, but that’s what the bottle of hot sauce is for. I’d be most happy to share if you lived closer.
As to the lack of mufflers on my truck, it’s really not my fault that the rough terrain I am forced to drive over has a tendency to ripe the exhaust muffler, and its performance reducing pollution controls, off. Besides, without the back pressure on the exhaust system, I easily get three or four extra miles to the gallon of fuel, so, in a way, I’m helping to save the planet from Evil Global Warming. Pardon me while I print that for use if I’m ever hauled into court over this matter.
the Grit
Wow Grit,
I never thought of that. Now how do you rip that thingie off and get more miles for the gallon? I could use any help I can get. And yes, it is definitely contributing to saving the planet. 😆
WC
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15 years ago I shot my TV, because I couldn’t take the war in…Iraq??I Went outside and screamed at the top of my lungs..” IS ANYONE LISTENING IS ANYONE F***KING PAYING ATTENTION? THIS SUCKS!!!” my neighbor open up his window and shouted” WILL YOU PLEASE GO GET LAID?!!”
I still don’t have a TV, but when ever it all gets to much I go out and scream, sometimes the responses really help.
I presume you don’t mean literally? LOL – good story. I don’t watch much tv to be honest and I never watch the news, I get it from sources which I feel I can trust, not the pretty faces on the tube.
WC
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I don’t know about any good news 😦 in the world. I didn’t even know you were having fires. OMG! Shit man!!! where have I been.
Do you need me to come and rescue you, bring you back home with me. 🙂 I was giving myself a hard time the other day for what I write about and I decided it better I write about ‘world issues’ Then I put a stupid comment (Yawn,yawn,boaring,boaring). I’m taking that stupid comment right back, right now.. I feel awful saying that .
Annie please don’t burn.
Love & Light
Di 🙂
Hey Di,
The fires for the most part are under control – although San Diego is still have a lot of problems. We need prayers and good wishes. We are used to the fires they come every year, though this year was particularly brutal. But we’ll make it through as we always do. Just hope we don’t get torrential rains this winter because that will equal mud slides, which ain’t pretty neither. LOL – god, I love California.
WC
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I suppose we all could stick our heads in the sand and dream of fairy tales, but what kind of a world would it be then?
Sorry, not much time for anything more thought out than that. 😉
Keep your chin (and head) up,
Jennifer
Hey Jennifer,
Yes, what kind of world would it be? I wonder…maybe if we all did it, it would be cool. But of course we wouldn’t all do it, so it’s a moot point. 🙂
WC
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I just gotta pick on one small point here.. but I love it when Americans (sorry to bunch everyone up) talk about gas prices.
Europeans pay 200%-250% more for gasoline at the pump than what Americans and Russians do but the quality if life is on the same par.
Maybe the gravy train is just coming to an end..
Food for thought. Ok sorry, I will get off my soap box now.
😉
Hey Paul,
True enough, however, Europe has a much better public transportation system and is essentially the size of a couple of our states altogether isn’t it? I live in California – there is no way I could manage without a car, my now 40 minute commute to work would take 1.5 on a bus, if I was lucky + a 15 minute walk to and from the bus stop.
I don’t really think of it as a gravy train at all – for me it is a necessity. I don’t drive a lot – I prefer to walk whenever possible and I don’t really care for driving in the first place. But between gas prices and housing prices out here, it’s tight.
WC
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Hi WC,
Paul’s comment, your reply, and the Brit’s idea that he would fly into New York, rent a car, and drive down to Memphis that day for a visit, all combine to make me think that some posts on the size of our country might be informative to our non-US readers. Also, even I, who strives to stay as informed as possible, would love to hear your insider explanation as to how your State has the forth largest economy in the world since, just from news articles, I find it difficult to grasp.
the Grit
Hey Grit,
I think that Paul actually is an American citizen but has lived abroad for a while.
In terms of the enormity of the state of California and it’s economy –
by Census 2006 estimates our population is 36,457,549 – which equals roughly 13% of the U.S. population
California is 155,959.34 square miles in size, which is about 217 people per square mile
We are the leading agricultural producer in the United States
Estimates from 2004 put our state gdp at a trillion bucks
We are also multi-industried in this state, from entertainment, hospitality, education, manufacturing, import/export, retail, agricultural and construction (to name a few)
If you would like to learn more amazing facts about California this link should give you plenty of info and many nifty charts
they say this:
# The state’s economy is highly diversified, with workers and businesses in virtually every industry sector.
# In 2002, the U.S. government adopted an updated system of classifying economic activities (called the North America Industry Classification System, or NAICS), to better reflect today’s economy.
# Under NAICS, the state’s largest sector is trade, transportation, and utilities, which encompasses everything from major retail outlets, to import-export businesses, to transportation and warehousing.
# Other major nongovernmental industries include professional and business services, educational and health services, and manufacturing. A new industry classification is information, which includes motion picture production, broadcasting, and Internet businesses.
and much more.
Hope that gives you some more info with which to think about our economy.
WC
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i don’t bury my head but sometimes i weep and sometimes i get angry but mostly i just try and find my good in the corner i live and do the best i can, you know …
we pay way more for gas than you and we need it to stay warm in the freezing tundra of winter and its causing all sorts of affordable housing issues in this province as the oil companies boom and people flock to our boom city … ugh.
but i had a lovely garden and though we buried a brother last week, we are all mostly healthy and i get to hug my husband on a regular basis …
hugs honey xox
Hey D!
I hear you. I really do. We have heating issues too in this country and I hear that it ain’t pretty neither.
So sorry to hear about your brother dear, (((((hugs))))) and prayers to you.
And I too, have a lovely garden and some people to hug, so I guess it ain’t all bad, yes?
xo
Annie
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Which reminds me…whatever became of the mystery melon? I looked for an update a while back but it fell off my radar….hmmmm???
Oh, you missed the update? It turned out to be cantaloupe. And they grew and looked and smelled like the real deal but they just didn’t taste great. Apparently there is more to growing melons than water and sunshine. 😯
WC
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You have summed it up accurately – sad to say. Actually, my solution is just what you’ve described: My wife and I will retire in 4 years to our beachfront home in Lian, Batangas, Philippines, where we will not read the news, think about politics, have a glass of something cold, and watch the sunset for the next 40 or 50 years. And if I’m REALLY lucky, we will get to go sailing!
Hey Todd,
Hope you got lucky and went sailing – that sounds good.
WC
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