Month: August 2017

Life Is What You Make It! Be Happy

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Equine Activities

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life.  Be happy now.  Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future.  Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it is at your work or with your family.  Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.” – Earl Nightingale

Henry David Thoreau told us in Walden, “Our life is frittered away by detail.  Simplify, simplify, simplify!  I say let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumbnail.”

Now what an idea.  It seems we want our children to participate in every sport there is.  I think it is kind of sad that these young people do not really get a chance to really enjoy life going on around them.  They don’t have the time to watch a simple sunset or sunrise. Do they ever get the chance to participate in a family meal?

Then there are those who become workaholics and get so wrapped up in their work that they really never learn how fun life can be.  They miss out on so much in their family life and all because “they want their children to have it better than they did.”  Really?  Then start eating together and discussing each other’s day, start taking vacations in the great outdoors.  Hug your children and tell them you love them.  Most importantly teach them to love themselves and have confidence in themselves.

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Photography

“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” – Jim Rohn

So many people look at happiness is a thing of the future, after Johnny graduates, when I get the time, when I get some bills paid off, etc..  Ok, when you get up in the morning, if happiness doesn’t exist in your life then I want you to look in the mirror and say, ” Today is going to be filled with happiness and the only way that can change is I HAVE to let someone change it.”  There are so many things you can fill your life with to nurture the happiness in your life.  I have posted some of those things under my pics.

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Kayaking


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Fishing


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Cooking

These are a few examples of what I do.  Believe in yourself and assign yourself a dream. A dream that will fill your heart, soul and spirit with pure joy.  Live for that happiness now and not for 20 years in the future.  You are your own boss and you are in charge of your happiness.  Surround yourself with people who are genuinely happy and will lift you up and not pull you down.  For those of you that suffer from no happiness in your life don’t give up. Find it. Nurture it. Discover the healing power of happiness. 

Thanks for reading my blog.  It means a lot.  To those of you who take the time to make comments, thank you so much for taking the time to do so.  Spread the love!

 

A Changing Society

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“Society never advances.  It recedes as fast on one side as it gains on the other.  Its progress is only apparent, like the workers of a tread-mill.  It undergoes continual changes; it is barbarous, it is civilized, it is christianized, it is rich. it is scientific; but this in not amelioration.   For everything that is given, something is taken.   Society acquires new arts and loses new instincts.”  Self Reliance  Essays and Poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I first read this I thought what do you mean society never advances?  Has Mr. Emerson lost his mind?  I spent the next couple of weeks hashing his writing over and over in my mind.  Then just like the cartoon, a light bulb went off over my head.  I have to agree with Mr. Emerson that “Society never advances”.  Oh my gosh I could hear all the eye rolls out there.  You think I have lost it now.

Let’s think about it.  We have had several technological advances over the years however, has our society advanced?  Our clothes, hair styles, automobiles, etc. have changed, but has society advanced?  I think not.  I know we could argue that point all day.  I could agree that in some areas it has advanced but it has digressed in a lot of areas too.  In today’s society it seems that human life was valued more 100 years ago than it is today.  Children were certainly better behaved then and knew respect.  Jobs were certainly harder and a handshake was better than a contract today.  Life was harder but at the same time it was simpler.

Christianity was even different.  Today a lot of religious faiths are more liberal than they were 100 years ago.  Religion wasn’t a big business then either.  My great grandfather was a minister and he had to have a job to support his family which was pretty much the norm then.  The Bible didn’t change, society did.  Society was open to a new set of beliefs and new interpretations of the Word of God.   Incomes became larger so they were able to give more money to the churches.  In essence the Word of God was interpreted differently to meet new life style changes that were happening in a changing society. Now please don’t get a bur under your saddle, I am not arguing religion and I am not saying that 100 years ago they were right and today they are wrong.  I am not taking sides.  The point of this blog is to bring awareness to Mr. Emerson’s works hoping that someone might pick up one of his books and read it.  If I offended anyone I apologize.

There have been many protests and riots throughout the years and it amazes me how society has changed so much in its view of such events.

On May 4, 1970 unarmed college students Kent State University were protesting the Vietnam War when 29 Ohio National Guardsmen fired 67 rounds at the protesters.  Four students were killed and nine wounded.  In the days that followed 4 million students, universities, high schools and colleges, went on strike in protest of the shootings.

On August 10, 2014, the day after Michael Brown was shot by a white police officer, riots and protests started and lasted for two weeks and two days.  The Missouri National Guard was called in but stationed some distance from the riots and were not used to stop the looting and destruction.  Eric Holder even got the DOJ involved and they confirmed that Officer Wilson shot Brown in self defense.  Then in June of 2017 Michael Brown’s family was awarded $1.5 million in a wrongful death law suit.

I could go on and on but I think these are examples of a society that are constantly changing.  It is also happening in the field of education, music, medicine, etc..  I want to thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  I hope you enjoyed reading and if you haven’t read Emerson yet, I hope you now have the desire to pick up one of his books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teach Our Children Well

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“Do all the good you can and create a life that feels good on the inside, not one that just looks good on the outside.  It is the inner beauty which matters most.” – Dr Anil Kumar Sinha

We live in a society that places a lot of emphasis on beauty.  We become so mesmerized by the beauty on the outside that we fail to see all the ugliness on the inside.  Then when that ugliness rears its ugly head we just can’t seem to believe it.  We have all heard the stories of the beautiful movie star that was nothing but a witch hidden within a beautiful shell.  They did nothing but make the people around them miserable.  I think those people are so wrapped up in making the outside, “perfect beauty” that they forget to nurture the spirit within thus depriving themselves of being someone truly beautiful.  Now add to this the stress to keep the outside beautiful that manifests itself into anger, depression, anxiety and so on, to the point that now we have a real “Beauty (outer) and the Beast (inner)”.

“Some of us teach ourselves and our children to love the superficial outer; our looks, hair, skin, clothes rather than the greater beauty that resides within whereas it is that inner beauty that really defines you and who you truly are.” – Rassool Jibraeel Snyman

It is time that we throw away the so called “norm” and start teaching our children that true beauty starts within.   They need to be taught that beauty starts with a beautiful mind, beautiful heart and a beautiful soul and spirit.  We need to emphasize that beauty is created by who they are.  Teach them that true beauty comes from looking for the good in others, by being kind and respectful, by helping others, by not spreading negativity, by loving and treating everyone the same and most of all by loving themselves.

I remember watching one of those children beauty pageants one night and I was totally appalled by the disrespect that was shown by the children.  They had not been taught that true beauty lies within themselves.  It was quite sad actually.

Personally I think children of today are going to be facing some very rough times if we as the teachers don’t change some things.   They need to be taught love and respect.  They need to be taught how to survive, grow their own food.  Hate and racism needs to be removed from their vocabulary.  Most of all we need to be setting a better example and we need to start yesterday.  I apologize for getting off subject somewhat but what I see happening today makes my heart ache for the children of today.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  It is deeply appreciated.  I hope you enjoyed it and walked away with something from it.  We don’t live in a perfect world so maybe we need to try to remedy that by teaching our children well.

 

 

 

Leave Negativity Behind

/ doubledacres / Leave a comment

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When you look at this picture do you see a storm approaching and run to batten down the hatches or do you drink in all the colors and become mesmerized by the beauty?

“I realized that if my thoughts immediately affect my body, I should be careful about what I think.  Now if I get angry, I ask myself why I feel that way.  If I can find the source of my anger, I can turn that negative energy into something positive.” – Yoko Ono

I know I have written about negativity before in my blogs however, I don’t think enough has been said about it and the affects it has on peoples’ lives.  I see it enslaving so many people in these trying times.  It becomes their “master” and drags down their self-esteem and emotionally drains them and leaves them no hope of a life filled with joy.  Depression runs rampant in their life and once it takes control the downward spiral begins.

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Thunderhead or dragon head?

 

“Haters never win.  I just think that’s true about life, because negative energy always costs in the end.” – Tom Hiddlestone

I am a very negative person, how do I change?   First off I am no doctor, counselor or therapist.  I am just a “been there done that” kind of guy.  My first suggestion would be to sit down and  look at all the peeps you hang with.  Positive or Negative?   Don’t surround yourself with negative people.  Keep a journal of your day to day activities and thoughts.  At the end of the week, sit down and calculate how much negativity is in your journal.  Don’t dwell on the negative things n your life, past and future.

“People tend to dwell more on negative things than on good things.  So the mind then becomes obsessed with negative things, with judgments, guilt and anxiety \produced by thoughts about the future and so on” – Eckhart Tolle

Now I know there are those of you sitting there thinking,  “I know someone like this. What can I do to help?”  Every time they do something good, praise them.  Help them to regain their self-esteem.  Give them respect, love and something to bring them out of their depression.  Be their sounding board.  Be patient and don’t push them.

Remember folks that YOU decide what kind of day you are going to have.  Nobody is going to PP on your parade unless you let them.  You are going to have some tough times and decisions.  Once you get negativity under control and replace it with positive energy you will see a big difference in your life.

Thanks for reading my blog.  I hope you enjoyed.

Mother Nature

/ doubledacres / 2 Comments

 

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“Nature will bear the closest inspection.  She invites us to lay our eye level +with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.”  Henry David Thoreau

nature – a creative and controlling force in the universe (Merriam-Webster)

Nature can be beautiful and peaceful, then without warning she can create a mile wide path of destruction in a few minutes and take lives along with it.  After the storm clears Mother Nature can leave one speechless with her painting skills by painting a beautiful rainbow in the sky.

She gave the spider the ability to build a web of precision and beauty, then it is used to trap an unsuspecting victim, at which time the spider scampers from its hiding place to kill its prey.  She painted insects colors that would blend in with its surroundings and male birds bright colors while she painted the females colors that would make it hard for enemies to see them.

Mother Nature use to keep things balanced in her world then along came man who thinks he is smarter than her.  He creates pesticides, herbicides, genetically modified seeds and levees along the rivers.  Then there is pollution and littering created by man. Roadsides are rife with litter and I don’t know how many sandbars i clean up along the river.  Man is one of Mother Nature’s biggest enemies.

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“Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.”  Henry David Thoreau

Every time my eyes feast upon the sight of fall foliage I think how lucky I am to be able to enjoy the works of rt created by Mother Nature.  I often wonder how long before litter dots the area that I am standing in.   We have all ready made a large area of the Gulf of Mexico uninhabitable for sea life.  When will the folks responsible for the litter and pollution start appreciating Mother Nature?  Are we going to ever learn how important she is to our own existence?

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I want to thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  I ask all of you to slow down and really observe what Mother Nature has given us.   Think before you throw that litter out of the window.  Learn to respect her and appreciate her and help her keep nature balanced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let Us Not Bury the Past

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In Memory of

Thomas Robert Burnette

January 31, 1915 – November 14, 1992

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“Mining is a dangerous profession.  There’s no way to make a mine completely safe: These are the words owners have always used to excuse needless deaths and the words miners use to prepare for them.” – Tawni O’Dell

Mr Burnette was a resident of Flat River, MO and he worked in the lead mines.  He worked at the St. Joe Lead Number 9 mine in  Farmington, MO and at the Pea Ridge Mine. He dug ore for nearly 30 years.  When he worked in the mines they didn’t do blood tests to check for lead poisoning.   During his time in the mines he cut a finger off and got caught between two ore cars and suffered a broken hip that had to be pinned.  After he healed up, back in the mines he went and worked there until he suffered a heart attack and was forced to retire at the age of fifty-eight.  His daughter remembered seeing his checks and said he cleared fifty dollars a week.  He was married and reared five children.  He is just one of many who worked in the mines and his family is just one of many that have all the memories of their families working in the mines.

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The Old Lead Belt is located deep within the eastern Ozarks of Missouri.  The Southeast Missouri lead district is a major part of the lead belt and has been a major player in Missouri’s economic and social fabric for more than 280 years.  In early 1700 a European by the name of Pierre Charles LeSeur led the first mineralogical expedition into the Mississippi Valley.  Missouri’s ore deposits have made it the nation’s major source of ore for over 90 years.  The abundant ore deposits brought thousands of workers to Missouri, where over the years they created 1,000 miles of abandoned multilevel mine tunnels,  300 miles of underground mainline railroad tracks and a legacy of 108 years of mining operations in the area.

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Drum roll……………., I am stepping onto my soap box.  Here is my beef.  In 1923 St. Joe Lead CO. purchased the Federal Mill No. 3 lead-concentrating complex.  They all ready owned nearly 950 acres in Bonne Terre that was bought in 1864.  In late 1975 they donated the Federal mine mill complex and its adjoining lands to Missouri for the purpose of creating a state park.  The Missouri Department of Natural Resources took possession of the 8,244 acre tract in 1976 and named it St. Joe Park and in 1980 the 25 acre mine mill was designated as Missouri Mines State Historic Site.

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I just visited the site along with Mr Burnette’s daughter and step son.  I am appalled by the way the state is letting the old mill fall into ruination.  I know money is tight but they could do more.  This site holds a lot of memories for the miner families in Bonne Terre, Desloge, Park Hills and the surrounding areas.  People died in these mines. Why let it die off?  This could be an amazing tourist attraction for these towns.  This site has so many possibilities.  There is so much history here.  PLEASE don’t let it fall down and disappear into the past.

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The 16,00 square-foot mine-mill powerhouse is being developed into a large museum providing information and the history of the mining business in Missouri with displays and old mining machinery and a huge collection of minerals.  It is a start but the site has the potential for so much more.

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In 1981 Doug and Cathy Georgens bought the rights to the Bonne Terre Mine and invested their money in the mine and have built it into a diving mecca.  They have daily tours also.  I have took the tour myself and it is fascinating.  The state of Missouri could save the history of mines in St. Joe and should do just that.  I urge them to set up a fund that people can give to the mine exclusively.  I also urge them to start funding the mine and start rehabbing the buildings.  Please for the sake of those that worked in and died in the mines save the mine.

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In closing I ask for anyone’s help in saving this mine.  Please write your representatives and if you haven’t, take the tour.  Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.  Help save the history of Missouri’s mines.

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Do You Know Your Neighbor?

/ doubledacres / Leave a comment

“I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor.  Do you know your next door neighbor?” – Mother Teresa

I grew up in the 1960s during the  Vietnam War, the British invasion of the Beatles, the assassination of John F Kennedy and when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr made his “I Have A Dream” speech, as well as his assassination.  I also saw man walk on the moon.

It was also the time when young people began to revolt against conservative norms of the time and removed themselves from mainstream liberalism.  A new “counterculture” was born.  The participants in this new movement were known as “hippies”.

“To love our neighbor as ourselves is such a truth for regulating human society, that by that alone one might determine all the cases in social morality.” – John Locke

How many of you remember the “Hippie”?  Rejected established institutions, criticized the values of the middle class,  the Vietnam War and nuclear weapons were a huge “no no”, championed sexual liberation, were often vegetarians, and promoted the use of psychedelic drugs.  Peace, love and drugs.

There was a lot of love to go around in this group.  Often times living in  communes.  ridiculed and despised by most of America.  Peace!  Love!  I think for the most part people were afraid of them because they didn’t understand them.  This is purely my opinion and I have no facts to back it up.  One thing for sure is that today’s society could use some of the love they were trying to spread around.

Love thy neighbor!  How can you love your neighbor if you don’t know them?  Why don’t we know our neighbors?   Are we too busy?  We don’t care?  Trust issues?  I remember when everyone in the neighborhood knew each other and when someone was in need the others were there.  Neighbors cared about each other and were like one big family.  I can’t remember where it all changed.  Maybe it changed so slowly I just missed it but how I wish those days would return.   Neighbors looked out for each other and their property.

I hope one day America can return to those days.  It is still alive and enjoyed by much of rural America.  Hopefully some day it will catch on in urban America and take root in the cities.  Personally I think society could benefit from everyone loving their neighbor like they love themselves.

Thanks for reading.  I hope you enjoyed it and if you did then please hit the like button.  Love thy neighbor, be kind to one another and spread the love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is it that we are afraid of them because we don’t understand them