There Is Soooo Much to Learn

I am too old to be concerned with how much there is to learn, but then I'm never going to be any younger.  I guess that means I have to learn all I can beginning here. 

I wish my grandchildren could see the opportunity they have to learn, see, experience, and participate in the adventure we call life.  There is literature to read and investigate.  Biology is exploding.  With DNA and microbiology, what are the limits we will find?
Physics and math are limitless.  And music--I've been reading about muscians who took their discipline beyond the borders of the Old Masters.  Art, too, is without limits, and drama. 

All of it swirls in a mass of energy that describes the human experience, and we are all connected by it.  It is so much fun to learn the things I never knew before.  And also great joy to write about it.  I guess this is not necessarily new to the people who read this blog, if there are people who read it, but it is all so novel to me, so new, so huge, and so tiny. 

I love the paradox of the vastness of space with galaxies and stars and black holes, and then the infinitesimal point on which a whole universe of atoms rests.  And God directs it all.  There is no end of mystery in Him--in His nature or His love--and he calls us, you and me to view and touch and rejoice in His creation.

Blogging is the Newest Way to Torture Yourself

I love to blog.  This is a wonderful way to express yourself and even have people read what you write.  Sometimes I even get comments--YEAH!  But I can't find anything to write about that I think anyone would want to read.

It shouldn't be just a random diary of my daily activities.  I don't do anything interesting enough to do that.  The King of the New York Hacks does.  Boy what a job.  Dangerous though--driving in New York Traffic is probably life threatening. 

Sometimes I have written articles about cows and going to shows and grooming calves for competition.  Does anybody really want to read that?  Probably not, but I enjoyed writing it.  I write a lot about genealogy and "visiting with dead relatives."  Does anybody care where their ancestors lived?  I do, but I'm old and dull.  I have even written about the prison system--fascinating subject--but most people want to pretend that it doesn't exist.  It does though, and we need to know what we are paying for with our taxes.

I guess there are a few of the topics I am familiar with.  In the next few days I'll try to write about some of them and the others I keep as my secret vice.  Does anyone have a request?

The Internet is Evolving

The internet is growing faster than I can keep up with it.  I keep finding new things to explore.  One of them is online writing.  I love to write and the different ways to write and learn and explore the world and events around me is becoming endless.  I have even earned a little money in this very interesting platform.

The site offers instruction on how to share this wonderful innovation.  All I have to do is post this link and invite you to write online too. Click here to sign on and learn about online writing.    http://factoidz.com/earn-revenue-now/7G12408    There are other sites too, but this one is the best one I have found.  You will have to write a lot of factual stuff.  If you have a degree or a lot of knowledge about some field of interest, consider yourself set.  There are a lot of things you learn as you go along.  There are lots of articles on the site that tell you how to maximize your potential.  Read some of them.  Learn about SEO.  Publisize.  Or just write about what you want to share.  But remember--it has to be factual.  No poetry or fiction.  There are sites that accept that too, but they pay less.  

There is some formula that determines how you get paid, and you may want to investigate that, but I didn't.  Maybe I'm vain or egocentric, but I just love to write.  I even do it here.  It really inflated my ego when they called me an expert in some subjects.  Boy what  high!  So far I haven't gotten paid much, so I'm not expecting to go on a cruise.  Mostly it is just what I said--an ego builder.  But man, it is fun! 

The World I Live in

I have a large map hanging on the wall of my office.  There are many countries defined on the map that I never heard of.  In the history books I love, there are many civilizations I never knew anything about.  Even in my own country there are cities and wonders I can't even imagine.

Fifty years ago seeing and learning about these places and events would have been difficult, but with a computer at my disposal, nothing is out of reach.  And yet here I sit and there they are and never the twain have met.  I could make some trial explorations into these places and find the mysteries they contain. 

OK between my Bible study which meets on Monday night with homework every day, and choir practice and work with the Church Youth group on Wednesday to write and assemble the Advent Devotionals, and going to Carol's once or twice a week to do whatever I can for her, and writing all I can about all I can, I will begin a systematic study of countries and cultures.  Oh, I forgot I have to save time to study Hebrew. 

It sounds like I'm not going to make it doesn't it?  The problem is that I am old and I need to get this started soon or I wan't get it finished before you know what.  Oh, yeah, I have some more genealogical work to do too.  Maybe I need to work faster or delay the you know what.

I'm Still Trying to Learn How to Blog

I read other people's blogs to learn--imitation, you know.  And they argue that we don't descend from monkeys.  Well, I don't consider myself a descendent of a monkey, but I do share characteristics--and imitation is one of them.

One of my favortie bloggers is King of the New York Hacks--he is great.  Today I read his blog about the memories and consequences of 9/11.  It is moving and memorable.  I get caught up in reading and forget to analyze and copy, but I'm still trying.  I guess I need to use pictures like he does.  I don't know that I have anything compelling to post like the collapse of the Towers, but it would make the page more interesting to look at.

Just for fun I'll try this one. 

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A Coyote watching, waiting, wary

Lesson Learned from Coyotes

By Gayle Haynes

I saw two coyotes in the pasture yesterday.

They saw me first and stopped

to watch with questioning, amber eyes,

Then turned and trotted silently away.

I regretted insufficient light.

It was early, the sun not risen.

Threadbare fields swallowed them up.

Their forms faded quickly from my sight.

I could not guess their destination

or follow to find their winter den.

They were a part of another world

beyond the scope of exploration.

Howling memories sneak through the fence

like coyotes, who lurk about the yard.

Their delicate presence recalls another world

beyond the scope of sense.

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I Think of You

Roses are red, violets are blue.
I hear those words and think of you.
I see your eyes creased with laughter.
Determined, you got what you were after.


Blinded, I loved you from the start,
And failed to see how far we were apart.
So many things we should have shared
Were lost, for we were wrongly paired.

I wrote poems that bored you so
You quoted the want ads so I would know.
I shared feelings and things that I thought,
But you rejected the sharing I sought.

We were, for each other, completely wrong,
But love soared above the old sweet song.
It would have been charming, more like the books
To have had the romance and tender looks.

But the love we've known was a stronger kind
That surmounted the differences of the mind.
We've traveled far and seen many a season
And this love of the soul defies all reason.

                                by Gayle Haynes

Fall in East Texas means fairs and art festivals

I am writing about the fairs and art festivals that are popping up all over the place.  They are all unique and none is better or worse, just different.  I usually don't spend much time at them because I always want to spend money and I can't afford that, but since I am writing about them, I thought I should try to go to some this year. 

What I really want to do is go to the towns where they will be held and see what things are like before the event and look at the local shops and offerings in the windows.  If the fair depends on visiting artists and craftsmen, then the town shops may not have a lot of merchandise, but if there are artisans in town then it may be better shopping when there isn't a crowd.

Of course, the big one is First Monday in Canton, but I'm not rich enough or energetic enough to go up there.  I ask somebody else about it.

The ones I'm going to write about will be the Chandler Pow Wow, the Arts Festival of Edom and the new fair in Ben Wheeler called Rebuilding a Community.  Look for my article on Associated Content by about Sunday.  Then go check out the fun and shopping in East Texas in September and October. 

I Am Becoming a Recluse

I really like being alone.  I almost used hermit, but that is to strong a word.  A hermit is a person who lives alone, maybe in a crumbling old house with their memories and tea cups.  I'm not that isolated.  I still go to church and visit some of my children.  I still go to the grocery store and pay bills.  But I am really not much into the social scene. 

Psychology says that the more contact with people you have the longer you will live.  I'm not sure I quite believe that, much less agree with it, but I find that much of the social pazazz is a bore.  I spent two hours one day with two very good friends whom I love, but the conversation and subjects were pointless and empty.  Better to spend the time alone in a more profitable way.

My vision is becoming so bad that reading is difficult, but a magnifying glass helps.  I can write in the word processor and magnify things to my own comfort.  Driving is becomming more of a challenge.  For these reasons I can stay home and enjoy the books, and the even world, on the computer.  Yes, I need to get new glasses, but I'm doubtful that my social engagement would improve if I could see better.

Seeing better probably wouldn't make me more socially acceptable.  I don't even have the social awareness to engage in conversation.  I don't care what Lindsey Lohan does, and I don't think I know who George Lopez is.  I do have an opionion about the president, but it is probably the wrong one.  Why would I expose myself to public scrutiny?

I have built a case to justify my current track, so if nobody gives me a better reason to change than I have already established, I can see myself moving farther along that road.  I guess "hermit" comes after "recluse."