Tag Archives: ramblings

General Posts

Thursday Morning Ramblings

3 Comments

Three and a half years ago, I was a broken man.  The turmoils of the economy spiraling out of control had sapped me as I worked two full-time jobs just to tread water.  The unrealistic expectations of Tusculum College working me like a dog and treating me like a second-class citizen had exhausted my body.  The struggles to launch my writing career had dampened my spirit.  And the neediness of a lazy, selfish, lying, cheating wife had crushed my soul as I felt used and discarded like a bag of garbage.  Three and a half years ago, I had nothing left to fight with.

For two and a half years, I languished in hell, missing my children, feeling like a failure, believing myself at fault for everything, but still, I struggled to get to my feet.  Many nights, I cried myself to sleep.  Many mornings, I forced myself out of bed and put one foot in front of the other.  I wrote on book three, traveled to conventions, started this blog, taught my classes at Walters State and slowly, ever so slowly, lifted myself from the depths.

Today, I am not broken.  Today, my will has been reforged in the fires of hell and is stronger than ever before.  Today, my body is hale and virile.  My spirit is refreshed.  My soul is renewed.  Today, I am decent man, working as an instructor of English, writing my fourth book, and building an organic farm.  If you knew me three and a half years ago and believe I am weak and shattered, you will be surprised, for while I admit that back then all my fight was gone, today, I’m a new man.  Today, I’ve got the green light; I’ve got a little fight.  I’m gonna turn this thing around.  Can you read my mind?

General Posts

Wednesday Morning Ramblings

Leave a comment

I had a great time with my sons.  We had so much fun and got to have a wonderful time for the Fourth.  There were plenty of funny little moments that I would like to share, but I’m a little pressed for time, so I’ll have to write those another day.  They are growing up so fast.  My oldest wanted to stay longer, but we couldn’t work it out this trip.  I am going to make every effort to get them again at the end of the month for one more week.

I gave Collin an old cell phone so we can talk more often.  He figured out on his own how to text using the T9 predictive system, which just amazes me.  He can read and write pretty well for a seven year old, and he also can take pictures and send them.  He’s so happy with the phone, carrying it around like his most prized possession.  It’s a Casio Boulder, too, so he can be as hard on it as he likes and not destroy it.

Yesterday, I went to the farm and worked some more on the building.  I’ll go back today after lunch.  There’s a lot to do and very little time to get it done, so I’m going to have to kick it into overdrive for the next few weeks.  I may not get to write too many blogs for the rest of the summer, but I’ll try to provide a few updates to how things are going with the farm.  That’s all for now.

General Posts

Thursday Morning Ramblings

1 Comment

The NFL lockout is a pretty good metaphor for where we are as a nation.  While billionaires and millionaires squabble over how to divvy up a $9-10 billion pie, the majority of us are struggling to keep gas in our cars.  It’s shameful to think that we are so far out of balance and so disconnected as a society that we’ve ended up in this situation.  Without us to buy their product, their revenue will dry up, but instead of looking at the bigger picture, both sides are focused on protecting their short-term interests without seeing the long-term ramifications.

To take it a step further, however, the owners seem to have disdain for the players.  In this case, the players are the labor, and currently, Corporate America views labor as a nuisance and an expense, rather than a valuable asset.  Without the players, the owners have nothing to sell, but instead of protecting their product and ensuring quality, ownership seeks to cut benefits, weaken the union, and maximize their profits.  To me, that’s backwards thinking.  The owners should recognize the value these workers add to their companies and maximize profits through the product they sell.  Labor is not disposable, and customers are not guaranteed.

To a degree, I can understand the players’ position.  They put their bodies on the line every day in practice and every game.  They are the ones who fill the seats and generate the revenue, so they want fair compensation for the profits they generate.  However, the fans are the ones buying the tickets, purchasing the merchandise, and watching the games on TV.  Most of us earn a fraction of their salaries despite working jobs that are much more important to the nation as a whole.  While we make hard choices about healthcare and retirement and food, they live lives of luxury and excess.  It’s hard to sympathize with their desire for more when at the end of the month I’m rolling change for lunch money.

This us vs. them mentality between management and labor is truly at the heart of all of our problems as a country.  The divisiveness of this issue permeates every aspect of our society.  Until we heal this rift, our problems will continue to grow.  Until both sides learn that they are really on the same side and are dependent on each other for sustenance, nothing will improve.  Without labor generating their profits, billionaires can’t exist.  Without management making wise, long-term decisions, labor has nothing to do.  And without customers who have both the desire for and the ability to purchase their products, neither side has anything.