Some Things Never Grow Old

Whether she's offering a prostate massage or just flipping me off, an old lady giving me the finger will always elicit a chuckle. I can attest to this because, one, you never see an old lady flipping someone off and, two, my proctologist had an East German nurse, with a heavy accent, who took way too much pleasure in my discomfort, no matter the procedure. She reminded me of a cross between Cloris Leachman, as Frau Blücher of "Young Frankenstein" fame, and the Marquis de Sade. You really had to love her or, perhaps, she only hoped.  For some, it might evidence why the doctor remained my proctologist until he retired, several years later.

Some things just never grow old, especially things which make us laugh.  How many commercials on television do we laugh at and never remember what they're advertising?  I can watch humorous videos of cats and dogs on my computer for hours, finally turning them off when my cheeks hurt from laughing.  Videos of animals and children, for the most part, but any funny video of people doing stupid stuff, without injury, will put me on the floor.  Why?  Because I've been there, done that, or soon will.  

Even some stupid stuff with injury will put me on the floor.  Like teenagers who jump their skateboards onto a handrail and end up with the rail up between their legs when they fall off, rolling on the ground, holding their throbbing package while trying not to throw up from the pain, yeah, dumbasses make me laugh a lot, especially when they try to do it again, and fail again.  We all should learn to laugh at acts of repetitious stupidity.  We'll all applaud when the skateboarders finally do the trick without injury, but also aren't surprised when we find out they're sterile.

I think we have to laugh at this stuff because there, but for the grace of God and some good sense, goes us.  We have to laugh because the alternative is, usually, too painful.  We laugh at others with full knowledge that we may have to laugh at ourselves, down the road, when we repeat the anecdotal event.  We aren't laughing at the victim, we're laughing with them.  If you can't laugh at yourself, you have no right laughing at someone else, and if you can't see the humor others see in what you've done, perhaps you need to get a life or, at the very least, stop doing stupid stuff.  

Just saying. 

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.

Just Some Thoughts

Sally Kellerman,  as Major Margaret "Hotlips" O'Houlihan

Hotlips O'Houlihan: [to Father Mulcahy, referring to Hawkeye] I wonder how a degenerated person like that could have reached a position of responsibility in the Army Medical Corps!

Father Mulcahy: [looks up from his Bible] He was drafted.

-- M.A.S.H. (1970)

1970. I was a junior in high school. Hormones were playing songs, but I didn't have much rhythm, not back then. I wasn't serious about much of anything. My grade-point average was barely able to drag me into the "C" range, so I was more concerned about what number my local draft board was going to "gift" me with when I turned 18 than I was about more than some one-night tryst. My draft number, so far, had been in the area above 300 and, if this luck continued, there was no way I was being called up for military service. Don't get me wrong, I was brought up to be a patriotic American, but I really didn't want to be part of the statistical fodder littering some irrelevant battlefield across the "pond" in Vietnam. 

The movie "M*A*S*H*" hit the big screen in 1970. I immediately fell in lust with Major Margaret "Hotlips" O'Houlihan. What red-blooded American man didn't?  She wasn't Barbi Benton but, for a realist, she seemed more like a woman who might live next door.  Accessible. 

The draft lottery gifted me the number "9" for my 18th birthday. Oh, joy. My junior-college grades were evidencing some interest in psychology and pushing me into the "B+" level, but good sense told me not to rely on a college deferment from the draft, even though Stanford was looking mighty sweet.  After no thought whatsoever, I made plans to join the Air Force.

America ended the draft a couple of weeks after I joined. I was pissed, but I wasn't sure why.  It had been my decision to join.  Woulda, coulda, shoulda; I dug my heels in and never looked back.  The "Cold War" beckoned.  Besides, I was soon to learn that it is what it is until it isn't, and then it is... again. 

As I approached my 20-year mark in the military, I couldn't help nut reflect back upon Kellerman's character of "Hotlips" and her statement about Captain "Hawkeye" Pierce, the Chief Surgeon of the 4077 M*A*S*H* unit: "I wonder how a degenerated person like that could have reached a position of responsibility in the Army Medical Corps!" I had to ask, of myself, how a degenerated person like me ever rose to a position of responsibility in Air Force Intelligence.  The Air Forde didn't seem to mind.  They kept me three years longer, just to prove it. 

I was never one to take life too seriously. After all, the girls in the Intelligence Division didn't go out of their way to dress up a Barbie doll in a black dominatrix outfit, replete with boots, whip, and such, as a retirement gift for just any Master Sergeant. I'd like to think my people appreciated me and my work philosophy of "work hard, party hard, and take care of your people." We weren't as loose as the folks on M*A*S*H*, but I made sure we all had as much fun as possible while we enjoyed being one of the very best at what we did.  The downside of all this?  My military career helped to destroy my marriage.  There was a life lesson here, as well:  Don't pay more attention to work than to your family.  Certainly, don't have more fun at work, and don't have a job you can't share with them due to high-level security issues, either. 

I found life after military service about five years before my divorce. Yes, I hadn't learned the lesson yet.  I put myself full-bore into that job, as well. Hard to teach an old dog new tricks.  Twenty years later, I filed for Social Security and retired for good.  I forgave her trespasses by accepting the apology I never got, and then I learned to forgive myself for being so selfish and ever expecting one.  We were both at fault, and I bore the lion's share of the blame.  I also learned that I'm not the marrying kind. 

So, where am I now?  Still not married, but I am in a longterm relationship that works.  Still retired, but keeping busy ministering folks through my blog and volunteering as a chaplain at the local medical center, a chaplaincy which I've cut back on after my father's passing.  I dabble in woodwork and constantly consider picking up brush and canvas again or going fishing.  I think about that Barbie doll, occasionally, and wonder how I let twenty-five years blow passed me like I was standing still.  Life seems to move faster the older you get, but, like time, that acceleration is just imagined.

Technology has allowed me to rediscover my cherished past.  I found a "joy" I thought I had lost, and many other old friends as well.  Technology allows me to keep close those few people I hold dear to my heart and those I have held dear in lives past.  And, there lies the final lesson: Time.

Where am I?  I am now.  I exist.  Is anything else really more important than the fact that we exist, now?  Perhaps the realization that we always will, and always have.  Time, being a human construct, gives structure to this reality, but it really doesn't seem to have any purpose other than to stress people out.  Life is, whether we recognize time or not.  I live life for each moment, as much as I can, and try not to plan the next moment any more than necessary to please government requirements or those around me.  When I consider the concept of time, I smile at my knowledge that the "next great adventure" is only a moment away.

I will enter the next reality knowing that I bring this life with me, as I have before, and will do so again, and again.  Those we love, we love, now and in the next moment.  On the infinite canvas of reality, there are many lessons to be learned.  One lesson is that love is.  Love might change, but love always is.  Some folks foolishly think there is a magic switch to turn love off.  The anger and frustration one might feel is not a switch, it is a change.  If you don't feel the change, then it wasn't really a loving relationship.  It was probably just using someone to satisfy some urge and, no, that is not okay, not right.  It is always better to be with the one you love or, at the very least, truly love the one you're with; an homage to Stephen Stills.

I can only define life in one way:  It is what it is until it isn't, and then it is what it is... again.  Life, any life, is constructed of the choices we make at any moment.  The consequences of those choices define the next moment.  These moments, if we string them together, define our concept of time.  We know our past.  We live in the now.  We try, sometimes too desperately, to predict our future.  The only "time" that is written exists behind us.  The only "future" exists as a concept in our minds to be written once, and if, it occurs.  The only constant concept is change, and we all tend to change our minds constantly.   

Revel in that which has gone before so can you learn the lessons of mistakes and successes.  Make good choices now so the consequences of the next moment, the future, might be brighter.  There are no guarantees in reality except the change which happens now.  All we can really do is be the impetus for that change.

I stand at the cusp of infinity, where everything is not.  I stand at the edge of the void and fearlessly stare down into it, prepared to step off.  The void stares back, and I smile with the knowledge that I am prepared for nothing.  It is what it is until it isn't, and then, voila!  It is...

...and I am.

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.

Happiness, the Past, and Anxiety - Part 2

"The past is yesterday, so pay no more attention to it than a memory and a lesson. Pay attention to now, for this moment is how we will live the next."

As a prelude to reading this offering, I invite you to read "Part 1" at this link:  "Happiness, the Past, and Anxiety.

The impetus for "Part 1" was the deluge of requests for my opinion, or answers, to questions put to me from many of the Quora members.  The opening paragraph for "Part 1" stated, "I've been answering a lot of questions addressed to me from an online site called "Quora."  Questions from Quora members can be addressed to the general public or to an individual who has answered like questions before.  Those addressed toward me are usually concerned with happiness, the past, or anxiety."

I probably answered 75 questions, or so, over several weeks, before the League of the Perpetually Offended (Quora) dropped the hammer on me.  At first, their complaint was simply that I didn't reference my "stock answer," concerning happiness, to the originator.  Well, I explained I didn't reference myself because I considered it obvious, by the lack of a reference, that I was the originator.  So, I began prefacing my "stock answer" by stating it was my stock answer to the question being asked.  A week later their complaint was something more ambiguous and, even though they didn't explain what it was, they stated that whatever it was violated some rule.  This is when I discovered there were so many rules you'd wonder why anyone would bother taking time to post an answer, and rules clarity seems to escape the whole process.  Unsubscribing from this site was even a confusing task.

Socialists are pretty transparent by the fact that they flaunt rules they don't elaborate on so they can force out those who don't meet their hidden requirements, their agenda.  Again, clarity seems to escape them.  Fine.  My happiness is not based on the past and has no room for any anxiety they may think they may be causing me or, more importantly, their own members who seek answers.  And right there is the point I always try to make, so I'll repeat my "stock" answer for those who didn't bother to read "Part 1" prior to reading this:

There is no miracle for happiness, as happiness is a miracle. We are born innocent and have happiness within us. The world, society, and culture, can either support our happiness or try to take it from us. You can’t find elsewhere what you already have inside. Get rid of all the drama in life, stop listening to those who would hold you back, especially family, friends, and government. Discover inside of you that happiness which you have had all the time, since birth.

Whether rich or poor, happiness is a frame of mind and a choice each of us must make for our life. It is the choice to exercise our freedom of thought, freedom no one may take from us, our freedom of choice to pursue personal happiness that others think they can take away from us and put in the hands of the government. I think the poor have a unique view of happiness that may not include riches. I think the rich have a responsibility to assist others in their own pursuit of happiness. This doesn’t mean the rich must turn over their wealth to those who haven’t earned it, but I think there is a moral responsibility for those who have “made it” to assist others to become more than they are through mentoring and other non-monetary support, like education and housing projects.

No matter what financial or societal status, life is full of challenges and lessons. We should wake up every morning and thank God for the gift of another glorious day in paradise and another chance to excel in our life. We need to learn to be happy in failure, as understanding and embracing our failure is the best way we can learn to move forward in this life and the next.

But, perhaps it’s better to ignore outside stimuli and for everyone to just make a selfless personal choice to be happy always!

Socialist philosopher, Karl Marx, once wrote "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people... The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo."  That referenced "vale of tears" is searching for truth and, as hard as they might try, socialism cannot hold back the truth from the people, from their freedom of thought.  The real test is being strong enough to defend your freedom of thought and not let anyone take it from you.  Don't let them prevent you from searching out truth and happiness.  It would seem by their actions, as much as Quora would like answers to its member's concerns, they are less concerned about their member's happiness than they are about the members marching in lockstep with some "hidden" thought process.

Now, they might say some of my answers offered no real direction.  I would point to question which were so vague as to rate a simple "yes" or "no" without an explanation they didn't ask for.  For instance, asking if I "woke up happy today" would rate a "yes" from me.  They didn't ask me "why" I woke up happy, so I felt no obligation to offer it. 

The members of Quora obviously liked my opinions and answers, as the number of requests thrown my way seemed to multiply exponentially as did the number of "upvotes" given to my answers.  Like the current congressional impeachment inquiry, but truth and evidence really have no bearing on the League.  The mere fact that members liked my responses seems to have been enough for those policing the site to be offended by my style and judge me unacceptable.  As for me, I really don't care about those policing Quora as much as I care about those souls looking for some answers to life which I, in all humility, tried to offer in my own inimitable way.  My information is out there if the members care to look me up.  Again, I can't say more than to quote myself:

"But, perhaps it’s better to ignore outside stimuli and for everyone to just make a selfless personal choice to be happy always!"

There it is.

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.

Happiness, the Past, and Anxiety

"The past is yesterday, so pay no more attention to it than a memory and a lesson. Pay attention to now, for this moment is how we will live the next."

I've been answering a lot of questions addressed to me from an online site called "Quora."  Questions from folks can be addressed to the general public or to an individual who has answered like questions, before.  Those addressed toward me are usually concerned with happiness, the past, or anxiety.

The past is yesterday, so pay no more attention to it than a memory and a lesson. Pay attention to now, for this moment is how we will live the next. Be happy always!  I keep saying this and wondering if anyone hears, or cares.  The following is a synopsis of what I have come to answer almost every time a question arises concerning happiness, the past, or anxiety:

There is no miracle for happiness, as happiness is a miracle. We are born innocent and have happiness within us. The world, society, and culture, can either support our happiness or try to take it from us. You can’t find elsewhere what you already have inside. Get rid of all the drama in life, stop listening to those who would hold you back, especially family, friends, and government. Discover inside of you that happiness which you have had all the time, since birth.

Whether rich or poor, happiness is a frame of mind and a choice each of us must make for our life. It is the choice to exercise our freedom of thought, freedom no one may take from us, our freedom of choice to pursue personal happiness that others think they can take away from us and put in the hands of the government. I think the poor have a unique view of happiness that may not include riches. I think the rich have a responsibility to assist others in their own pursuit of happiness. This doesn’t mean the rich must turn over their wealth to those who haven’t earned it, but I think there is a moral responsibility for those who have “made it” to assist others to become more than they are through mentoring and other non-monetary support, like education and housing projects.

No matter what financial or societal status, life is full of challenges and lessons. We should wake up every morning and thank God for the gift of another glorious day in paradise and another chance to excel in our life. We need to learn to be happy in failure, as understanding and embracing our failure is the best way we can learn to move forward in this life and the next.

But, perhaps it’s better to ignore outside stimuli and for everyone to just make a selfless personal choice to be happy always!

I became tired of writing this out, so now I cut and paste from a cheat sheet and adjust my answer accordingly.  It is saving me much time and, yet, I still wonder if anyone pays attention, I mean really pays attention, to the answer.  If I am to rate my answer by the number of "Upvotes" I get, I'd have to humbly assume the majority are gleaning some benefit.  That, and the number of requests for my answer to their questions is growing.

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.