Saturday, August 29, 2009

An occasional skunk must walk through!


I went out this morning to take an early morning breath of fresh river air and pee U. It seems Pepe le Pew must have made a pass. In everything wonderful an occasional skunk must walk through.


Would we really know how wonderful things are in life if we didn't have to some pain and misery to compare it to? Wonderful might get pretty mundane and we might take it for granted if we had it all the time. I even think that we often set ourselves up to experience challenges because we need to test ourselves.

I realized a long time ago that I wasn't real comfortable with being happy all the time. When life seemed to be going really great, I changed pathes. I don't think we can evolve to our fullest potential without experiencing some hard times and pain.

Where I work, at the jail, I see people everyday who must really need a lot of evolving. Some of those women and men seem like they could do well in the "free world" but after a short period on the streets, they are back. I ask them, why in the hell are you back? It's hot, the food stinks, the beds are hard. The most frequent answer is, "I don't know".
If you look very closely in this picture of a beautiful water hyacinth flower there is one of those lubber grasshoppers. They like to hang out near the river. They can devour all your favorite plants. Even in my paradise, there are pests to keep it from being too perfect.
I like to think of life as a kind of school. When it gets really hard I just think well I'm back in graduate school. Graduate school is an endurance test. You can get through it if you want to but you have to want to. It's a test, it's only a test.

86 comments:

Carol said...

Sorry about having no spaces between the last several paragraphs. I had them and even went in and put them back in several times but they just wouldn't stay. This program has a mind of it's own.

I didn't have a clue what I was going to write about this morning but when I went outside to ponder, Pepe gave me some inspiration. A little more synchronicity.

Carol said...

When I finished my post, I went back outside and it was "minty fresh" again as our C-Bob would say. If you are interested in the wisdom of our C-Bob, check out his blog listed on my favorite blogs or drop in to Trailmix, also listed on my favorite blogs. He is a very wise dude. Another teacher I'd say.

Carol said...

PS. Everyone on Trailmix is my teacher just like everyone else I meet in life is. Don't pass up any opportunity to learn. Lessons can come from the most unexpected places and from the most unexpected people.

Carol said...

Today the world says good bye to Senator Edward Kennedy. Would he have become the great advocate for the less fortunate if he hadn't had that horrible experience at Chappaquiddick? That was a pretty stinky skunk that walked through his life.

Anonymous said...

"Would we really know how wonderful things are in life if we didn't have to some pain and misery to compare it to?"

You can say that again Carol. Everythings relative.

Love that word: Synchronicity. How can one word mean so much. Bring on the 'choice givers'! (Hopefully, we'll be aware enough to recognize them).

Carol, I don't think those skunks smell bad, unless something annoys or scares them.

Anonymous said...

Jamie, It was nice to see that you stopped by Carols place yesterday!

Carol said...

Yes Chloe, I was pretty impressed that Jamie stopped by our place.

Carol said...

Sean Holton has been sharing some interesting ponders on his blog, Same Time Tomorrow. Nothing will get you pondering more intensely than realizing the reality of your mortality.

http://seanholton.wordpress.com/

Carol said...

Now off to do the reality of grocery shopping. Something I do like to do because I like to cook and I like to eat.

Anonymous said...

I've been reading and enjoying Sean's blog too, Carol. He always seemed like a very introspective person, even before this. I love the way he tells a story, like I love the way you can tell a story too.

Went to see Tarantino's movie 'Inglorious Basterds' yesterday. A very, very good movie. So different.

Well, I'm going to cook today too. Surprise, surprise.

Carol said...

Well, I'm back from the grocery store and I got song bird food, cat food, sugar for the hummers, and some ground chuck to make my Maggie food. I think I forgot to get anything for me to eat except, of course, chocolate. I never forget the chocolate.

Carol said...

What are you cooking today Chloe?

Carol said...

Speaking of Jamie, Chloe, I think of her as the blog queen, or maybe more like blogmama. And of course Craig is blogdaddy. They sometimes even fuss at us if we are baaaad.

Anonymous said...

Carol, As it turns out, I'm making the Goulash tomorrow. It's more of a German recipe, but a type of beef stew, except mostly meat and a a delicious flavored sauce served over noodles and potatoes. Its our favorite. And we like French bread with just about everything we eat.

I think it was you that said a while back that you could almost live on crusty bread and I agreed with you. I could. Maybe next week, I'll make your smothered roast. Not maybe, I will! Don't remove the recipe from the site yet. I didn't copy it.

Anonymous said...

Don't buy any watermelons. I got one today, and it was mushy in the center. I'm ready to give up on them. Week before last, they were great. This week, they've been bad. I guess they're out of season. Damn!

Fall is just around the corner. It felt much cooler outside this morning. Had that Fall is around the corner feel to it.

Anonymous said...

....Carol, I forgot. Yes, Jamie does do a good job of taking care of us over at TM. And she is an excellent writer. She has her own very nice blog site.

Carol said...

Afternoon Chloe. I don't think that mushy watermellon is because of the time but you just got a bad one. I have gotten them bad all throughout the season. August is usually the best season for them.

Carol said...

I do think we are going to have an early Fall and that's just fine with me. I've been waiting for the weather to get comfortable enough to spend some quality time outside.

Carol said...

I wonder if the melons get that way because they were left out in some hot truck for a while and got cooked.

Carol said...

Yes Jamie has a nice blog and she never misses a day. She's a little blogging beaver.

Carol said...

And love crusty bread. Could live on it.

Anonymous said...

By golly, I think you're right about the watermelons. Houston is horrible about that, leaving things in a hot truck or on a hot deck too long. The bananas have been miserable (except occasionally) this year. I also think they're semi-freezing some fruits that they should freeze, and they are ripening poorly. I've had my suspicions about the particularly bad crops of fruits this year. I blamed it on the economy, just like I blame everything on the bad economy.

I also buy frozen fruit (the stuff that's bagged and frozen), that's gotten thawed, then refrozen, so it's all stuck together. A very bad year for fruit in Houston: 2009.

Anonymous said...

they should freeze = they should not freeze.

I'm always changing the meaning

Carol said...

I know what you meant Chloe. I do that all the time also so I hope you can also read between the lines.

Carol said...

It may be better to get frozen fruit if you want vitamin C in it. That is, if they freeze it shortly after they pick it. Long shelf time usually kills all the vitamin C because that vitamin is very sensitive to heat and light.

When I have lots of satsumas on my bushes, I pick it and squeeze and freeze the juice right away. I hope that keeps more Vit C in it.

Other Vitamins are more stable.

Anonymous said...

I make (what I call) fruit shakes with frozen fruit, plus juices and protein. I drink a full blender full throughout the day, everyday. I've read the same thing about freezing fruits and vegetables as quickly as they do after picking. That there are pluses to freezing, as opposed to the handling and sometimes poor storage of fruits and vegetables, not to menton how long they sit there before they make it to us. Plus frozen fruit is never out of season, since they freeze it during prime season, and they appear to get the cream of the crop. Orange juice is another example of this. The oranges here have been terrible for about three years now (we get our good ones here in Texas from California), but that Simple Orange Juice is always perfect and has tons of pulp. Yum!

Got to finish my chores and get some things done. I'm 'always' behind. Always.

ps The older I get, the more opinions I have. Jeez.

solarcrete said...

You can say that again.

I'll syay.

cook, cook, have the meds ready, never mind, Carol, put a lot of fuel in you boat.! you might be needed........

solarcrete said...

try that one again....I'll syay= I'll say

Carol said...

Why do I need fuel in the boat Solar? You know something I don't?

solarcrete said...

Chlo,

Is going to cook......

Carol said...

She did say she used to but just got tired of it. Some people don't like to cook. I like to because I like good food and can't find anyone else who can do it better or as cheap.

Carol said...

Ivy hasn't been around but she was having computer problems.

Solar, Did you find the lubber grasshopper in the picture of the water hyacinth? You may have to click on it to enlarge the pic.

solarcrete said...

Carol,

I'm just teasing, her, looking for a little bit of a Saturday night boxing match, Im going to loose, and get thrown in the back of her pic-up again.....that stew does sound goo tho: ....wonder if she will put some leftovers for me in the back of the pick-up, for monday's lunch HA!

solarcrete said...

No but I will look now.

Anonymous said...

Oooh, The smart ass is back!
(rp)

Carol, He thinks we're going to need your nursing skills, because we're eating my cooking.

solarcrete said...

Lower right hand corner. It looks like it just might taste good in that stew of Chlo's haha

Anonymous said...

I'll just bring the leftovers (if there are any) over to the clubhouse. By then, the testers will have tried it, and you won't have to worry.

solarcrete said...

never mind that rp stuff. I learned my lesson. I am really enjoying reading your post's as of late.....nice long ones.

Anonymous said...

Nooo. Don't read them. Not unless you leave some long ones for me to read too.

solarcrete said...

Lately, when I come here, I'm in a good mood, and when Im over at Tm, im in a shity mood, I think that it is all of that talk of agreeing to look the other way when it comes to the mistakes made by the D's? no one is ever talking how to make the D's a better party, just how it is too hard to change........

Anonymous said...

Carol, You never said what you cooked today.
Your grocery list sounded like it was mostly for the critters.

Anonymous said...

Shitty is ok.

I agree, it can be hard to read.

Carol said...

The grasshopper's butt is sticking out of the leaf to the right of the flower.

Anonymous said...

Solar, Why don't you go over to TM, and say pretty much the same thing you just said here?

Carol and I can back you up. Everything except the first sentence could be said there. I'm sure there are others (besides me, and I do agree, Carol will have to give her opinion) that agree with you. And if they don't, so what.

Carol said...

I had some left over spicy chicken, baked potato and turnip greens. And I've done a lot of grazing all day.

Anonymous said...

I just enlarged it Carol... much easier to see. I don't know how you do it, I'm going to start carrying my camera around with me too.

solarcrete said...

They jump all over Champ, just cos he gave an opinion, one that I agreed with, and not just to back him up, and when Jack said, something like " I don't know who is more amusing the D's that go along with the Kennedy Myth, or the R's that hate the kennedy myth" He was spot on......

Anonymous said...

Grazing's my fave.

Anonymous said...

Yes Jack was right on. But did you tell him that? Champ can take it, at least he keeps saying what he beieves and doesn't back off. That's what's important. Fight for what you believe in Solar. That will encourage the rest of us to do the same.

solarcrete said...

Chlo,

I just left a stinger post a little while ago. Fact of the matter is that Im very disappointed in all of the talk that, all of sudden some are going along with the flow...they seem to be a little disappointed that Obama is not living up to their potential......just a cpl of weeks ago, it was quite different...I think that we need to vote for people based on performance not on promises....?? Oh Im proud of Tony, telling it like it is...he has been saying that he wants obama to live up to his promises...the others just told me after I said the same thing...that they all break promises....I know....but I don't like to be lied to, is all....

Anonymous said...

Solar, The thing about anger is that it gets worse if you don't let it out. I was soooo angry during the Primary, then I came to TM and fought it out for several months, and now I feel like I accomplished something, because I'm not all that angry any more.

It's the best thing about TM, you can say what you want, and you know someone is actually listening.

Carol said...

This health care thing seems almost too big to solve unless they go at it one step at a time. Can't overhaul something that complex all at once. At least I can't see how it can be done.

I would like to see a commission made up of working, experienced health care experts representing those who are involved, including consumers to come up with suggestions. Must include a good many nurses since nurses get to see all sides of the healthcare issues and they don't have as much to gain or lose with the changes. Then bring it to Congress and let the American people watch on CSPAN how those turkeys handle it.

Anonymous said...

It may be true that they all break their promises, but it's just an excuse when someone says it. Tell them that. I wish I'd been there. But I know you not done with it, and you need to finish. You need to fight it out, give your opinions, say what you want, for as long as it takes, until you feel better. It'll probably take months, a year, who knows, but don't give up. You'll be helping us all, if you say what you believe, and if they disagree, come right back and say more.

Carol said...

I'm afraid Obama was a dream, a good idea. He won the primary because he had many who just woke up from a dream out voting for him. After they did that, they went back to bed.

solarcrete said...

Carol,

I said that you should put on a few pounds...based on the orb pics...ps, If I was anywhere near you, I wouldn't mind grazing over your leftovers....

Chlo, I just might be a little tired of things right now...it will pass very fast. Im never in a bad mood for long...and not very often....

Anonymous said...

I think what you're feeling is 100% frustration. Well maybe more like 90%, leave room for disillusionment, disappointment, confusion, and all the other bad stuff we feel when things are going badly.

A little negativity can be a good thing, if it lets off steam.

Anonymous said...

These things don't pass, unless we do something about them, work through them, talk them out.

These feelings can be pushed to the background, but they don't just go away.

Anonymous said...

Carol, I think your weight is just right. To me, trim is the most healthy, attractive look there is.

Anonymous said...

Solar, Did you see what Sturge said the other night, regarding the chicken, egg, question.

He said the egg was first, because the dinosaur laid eggs.

Anonymous said...

Carol, I agree with you about Obama. That should be said at TM too. I said there a while back, that I don't think he had any plans, beyond 'Someday I will be President'.

Anonymous said...

OMG, I'm doing it again.
I can't stop talking. Somebody stop me, quick.

Anonymous said...

I'm going over to TM, so I can get in a bad mood. That ought to shut me up.

Carol said...

I'm not that thin anymore. I was going thru hell back then and my thyroid was in overdrive. Now I've got a good gut on me. Remember, they killed my thyroid.

solarcrete said...

Chlo,

Thats true, what Sturg said. The chicken and egg question is a goofy one imo. It is no longer valid.

I believe that Sturg was referring to the fact that birds evolved from dinos. so, the egg came first.....I would have a fun time arguing that one with Don !, I sometime went the opposite of the complete truth with him...cos he would get all hot about it...

Carol said...

This little known guy with the funny name didn't get to be president without having a powerful machine behind him. And the machine does have to be oiled.

Anonymous said...

.... I took it as a joke. I'm going over to read your post you wrote at TM.

Anonymous said...

For years in advance Carol

Carol said...

I still often ponder whether they are all on the game team but just wear different colors to fool us.

Carol said...

That was suppose to be...they are all on the same team..

solarcrete said...

Carol,

Stop pondering. That is the case. There is only one party. There is only one President....that BIG BIZ...

solarcrete said...

that= that's

Carol said...

That's why I hide out here without cable. I'm so much happier here. Dumb but happy. And that's why I prefer working in corrections. Not so much red tape and bullshit. I can do my job, do a good job, try to be cost effective, take the time to teach without someone standing over me saying faster, faster....

Carol said...

We need to find a way to stop letting big business buy our government. Is that possible?

Anonymous said...

Hey guys, things are cooking over on TM.

Carol said...

I see that.

Anonymous said...

... and, of course, it involves religion.

Carol said...

YOur favorite subject huh Chloe

Carol said...

Yep we can get in trouble with that discussion

Carol said...

never supposed to discuss religion or politics but politics is what TM is all about. I will try not to touch that subject of the police and the professor again though.

Anonymous said...

I broke my rule again Carol. You know that's not my favorite subject. It can only get me in trouble.

You know Carol, I went through all the different stages of learning about all things spiritual, different religions, metaphysical research, soul searching, well, I could go on and on. I didn't just arrive at what I believe one day out of no where. It was a long, lonnnnng, journey.

Anonymous said...

You shouldn't let them intimidate you Carol. On that particular incident though, it's probably better that we decided to move on. Something else will happen though, and you know we'll open our mouth, and trouble will start again. With me, it's always inevitable.

Anonymous said...

Nite.

Carol said...

NIte. got a good book?

solarcrete said...

86,85,84

Anonymous said...

Ha! I just said good night to you on TM!
83, 82, 81 snoooooze....
............

Always Carol.

solarcrete said...

sleep well Carol.