Give Me, Or Maybe Not
I woke up this morning about 5:30 am. But decided that I would just lie in bed for an hour or two. Finally at 6:15 am I rolled out and got the coffee going.
A while later, after breakfast, I turned on the tv and began watching the History Channel presentation of 'Revolution." I watched it off an on all day.
Made myself a cup and went outside to sit with my wife and just enjoy the mid-morning. Birds singing, flowers dancing in the breeze. Butterflies flitting here and there. Hummingbirds feeding.
Got my new string trimmer out and finished off the areas I had missed yesterday. Then mowed the yard around the house.
Came inside to cool off, drink some orange juice, and eat lunch. Watched more of the "Revolution" program.
Back outside to sit in the swing for a half-hour or so. Beginning to look more like rain.
Took mower outside gate and mowed out to the hard road and back, then beside the fence and across the road.
Back inside to cool off and drink a diet soda. Changed clothes and watched a little more of the program.
Napped a little--well, maybe a lot, but what the heck, it is Saturday after all. And I have no place to go.
Looked a lot like rain when I woke up, kept hoping it would hold off until tonight, but it did not. Kids at the soccer tournament going to get wet.
Ate supper. Hot dogs. Was going to grill chicken but never got back to store to get the chicken. Didn't think about it until this morning that we didn't have any hot dog chili either. Then discovered we had no chili beans. But we did have the dogs. But upon checking we had no onions either. But good luck--we had some chopped onions that we have had in the refrigerator since the last time we had hot dogs, and they were still good.
Went online and checked Michelle's blog. I'm going to have to sit down and write some comments for her, she has a bunch of stuff that just begs to have comments and I have been remiss in not doing so. Maybe within a few days.
Read the HD forums. Not much there. People still cannot write properly, grammar is terrible, spelling worse, logic generally missing.
And then I sat down here to write about the Fourth of July holiday. Independence Day. And this entire post is just that, a tribute to Independence Day.
You see, I am able to sit down and write whatever I wish with no fear of reprisals, no fear of being put in the lockup because of what I write or the opinions I express.
When I woke up this morning, I was thinking of what liberty means to me. All day long I have had that same thought running through my mind. And I am reminded of the words of a song from back in the 1960's, the protest years--"I had a little book was given to me, and every page spelled liberty, All my trials now, soon be over. Too late, my brother, too late--but, never mind, all my trials Lord, soon be over."
Liberty is not to be free of trials, but liberty is the freedom to do something about them--or not. That is the essence of liberty. The freedom to act, or not to act. We all seem to want to get hung up on the freedom to act and forget that there is an obverse to that.
And I never realized myself, until I retired a few years ago, that that obverse was much more important than the first part of the definition. All my life was dedicated to doing something, to protecting the rights that I had to DO something. But I now realize that in a lot of cases, most to my way of thinking, the only proper action is to do nothing.
You know, back when I was a businessman, I knew that all along, and practiced it religiously, but didn't realize that I knew it and was doing it. I just thought that I was ignoring a situation because it would usually go away or resolve itself if I took no action. And it usually did.
In the hustle and bustle of living life, we sometimes need to step aside for a moment and watch life go by. Watch the processes and the actions of others. View with a critical eye what others are doing and what they are not doing.
And that is what I do a lot of--not doing. And it makes me so very happy to be free to do so--or not.
A while later, after breakfast, I turned on the tv and began watching the History Channel presentation of 'Revolution." I watched it off an on all day.
Made myself a cup and went outside to sit with my wife and just enjoy the mid-morning. Birds singing, flowers dancing in the breeze. Butterflies flitting here and there. Hummingbirds feeding.
Got my new string trimmer out and finished off the areas I had missed yesterday. Then mowed the yard around the house.
Came inside to cool off, drink some orange juice, and eat lunch. Watched more of the "Revolution" program.
Back outside to sit in the swing for a half-hour or so. Beginning to look more like rain.
Took mower outside gate and mowed out to the hard road and back, then beside the fence and across the road.
Back inside to cool off and drink a diet soda. Changed clothes and watched a little more of the program.
Napped a little--well, maybe a lot, but what the heck, it is Saturday after all. And I have no place to go.
Looked a lot like rain when I woke up, kept hoping it would hold off until tonight, but it did not. Kids at the soccer tournament going to get wet.
Ate supper. Hot dogs. Was going to grill chicken but never got back to store to get the chicken. Didn't think about it until this morning that we didn't have any hot dog chili either. Then discovered we had no chili beans. But we did have the dogs. But upon checking we had no onions either. But good luck--we had some chopped onions that we have had in the refrigerator since the last time we had hot dogs, and they were still good.
Went online and checked Michelle's blog. I'm going to have to sit down and write some comments for her, she has a bunch of stuff that just begs to have comments and I have been remiss in not doing so. Maybe within a few days.
Read the HD forums. Not much there. People still cannot write properly, grammar is terrible, spelling worse, logic generally missing.
And then I sat down here to write about the Fourth of July holiday. Independence Day. And this entire post is just that, a tribute to Independence Day.
You see, I am able to sit down and write whatever I wish with no fear of reprisals, no fear of being put in the lockup because of what I write or the opinions I express.
When I woke up this morning, I was thinking of what liberty means to me. All day long I have had that same thought running through my mind. And I am reminded of the words of a song from back in the 1960's, the protest years--"I had a little book was given to me, and every page spelled liberty, All my trials now, soon be over. Too late, my brother, too late--but, never mind, all my trials Lord, soon be over."
Liberty is not to be free of trials, but liberty is the freedom to do something about them--or not. That is the essence of liberty. The freedom to act, or not to act. We all seem to want to get hung up on the freedom to act and forget that there is an obverse to that.
And I never realized myself, until I retired a few years ago, that that obverse was much more important than the first part of the definition. All my life was dedicated to doing something, to protecting the rights that I had to DO something. But I now realize that in a lot of cases, most to my way of thinking, the only proper action is to do nothing.
You know, back when I was a businessman, I knew that all along, and practiced it religiously, but didn't realize that I knew it and was doing it. I just thought that I was ignoring a situation because it would usually go away or resolve itself if I took no action. And it usually did.
In the hustle and bustle of living life, we sometimes need to step aside for a moment and watch life go by. Watch the processes and the actions of others. View with a critical eye what others are doing and what they are not doing.
And that is what I do a lot of--not doing. And it makes me so very happy to be free to do so--or not.
posted by tanstaafl | 8:10 PM
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