"I Don't Need No..."

Steenkin' New Year's Resolutions...

Happy New Year to all of you...

I can't believe that 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 is gone.

Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'...

Into the future...

What is it about the past that we each remember so?

Are the memories of good and wonderful things?

... or do we remain haunted by what went amiss?

... things that just didn't turn out the way we wanted?

Is there some form of 'Pre-destination' 

that we follow through Life???

Or, are our Lives and our ultimate ends/destinations 

more determined by Karma??

Are the events that we experience directly related

to how we have lived our lives and treated others?

Is there really a difference between the two?

I wonder why I selected 'Calvin and Hobbes'cartoons for a post that asks rather serious questions?

What makes a good cartoon be a 'good cartoon?'

I always have enjoyed the messages from comic strips like 'Calvin and Hobbes,' or 'The Far Side'...  Some of the creators of such strips have such a wonderful insight into the  psyches of our souls, it seems. They seem to capture those fleeting moments and thoughts that we have all experienced...

A counselor that I was seeing after the death of my Dad and during my divorce suggested that I hide a great deal of hurt and pain behind humor... I do suppose that there is a great deal of truth to such a statement.

I fear that my direction has been determined

by the method indicated in the cartoon above...

... that I have just let things happen and I've drifted along with the flow.

Like clouds in the sky...

Like a limb in the river...

Like a fart in a whirl wind...

In 2013, I would like to be more direct in what I desire for the rest of my Life.

I will be more pro-active.

I will take some of my own  advice that I talked about at commencement...

So...

What are your goals, desires, aims for

the upcoming

2013?

I love these guys...

Happy New Year!!!

~shoes~

It's finally a Merry Fuckin' Christmas here in ShoesVille...

It's amazing how way too many alcoholic 

beverages changes muddies one's perspective of things..

Things about why a particular daughter no longer works 

where she's told you she was working...

Things like why a son can't do what he's 

promised you he was going to do...

Three times...

... and the last time he just leaves home without

letting you know he was leaving...

It's amazing how alohol just dulls one's senses...

especially when one has way too many...

So... she shows up when I conduct a search

for margaritas... 

I guess her name is Margarita or something...

For the record, I've never seen her there...

Merry Fucking Holidays...

~shoes~

(it took me four times to type 'shoes')

"Just One More..."

That toy piano there at the end just gets me every time.

One Last Merry Christmas...

~shoes~

"Merry Christmas One More Time..."

We, Three Kings Of Orient Are...

I think my favorite Christmas Story is that of the Christmas Star and the Three Wise Men...  at least that's what we called them back then... today we know them as the Magi...

According to the Gospel of Matthew, The Three Wise Men found the Baby Jesus by following A Star...  whch later became known as the Star of Bethlehem...

History makes allowances for many names for the Magi, but Western Christianity recognizes them as being Balthazar, from Arabia, Melchior, from Persia, and Gaspar, from India.

Each of the Magi brought a gift for the Baby Jesus... Gold, frankincense, and myrrh...
Myrrh was the most ominous of the gifts... Myrrh was an embalming lotion and was symbolic of Death.

Luke 2:10-14

¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

By no stretch of the imagination do I profess to be a very religious person, but this Bible passage, for some reason, gives me great hope...

Merry Christmas to All...

And to All a Good Night!!!

~shoes~

"More Christmas...

Music...

This song by 'The Tractors' best captures my mood...

I love 'Silent Night' in the background vocals...

This is one of the John Denver songs to which I referred in the comments of my previous post...  I think the latent cowboy is coming out in me... I wonder how much a mountain in New Mexico and two mules would cost?

'Christmas For Cowboys'...

Augh... how is it that a stupid song can make my eyes water...

*sighs*

~shoes~

"Christmas 2012..."

Well, The Mayans were wrong...

Weren't They?

I can't believe that Christmas  is almost here again...

I'm not ready for it... I'm not in the mood for it...

I did put up my tree, but it's just not working this year.

I long for those Christmases Past'... I think I miss Mom and Dad more at this time of year than at any other time...


I always love hearing these Christmas songs... I know I've written about them in past Christmas blogs.  I love them both... not really Christmas standards by the measurement of how one would define 'standards'... but I love them... these are the two I most prefer to hear...

And what a great song this is... 

... and what about this one by Vince Vance and the Valiants??



I continue to search for the ornament similar to the one that was my favorite when I was a kid... Robelyn at  Red.Neck Chic    found this one her many journeys!  I do believe this is IT!!!

Thank you SO much, Robelyn!

It's insane, the amount of happiness this ornament has brought me!

I shall never forget the Christmases spent as a child with my parents... I shall never forget the Christmases spent with my children when they were small... 

Merry Christmas

From

The Mississippi Delta...

Happy Holidays...

~shoes~

"Fisting..."

HAR!!!!!

First I have the commencement address... 

and now...

It's strictly routine...

so the doctor says...

butt there is nothing routine about running 

a hose up one's back side...

My doctor looks NOTHING like her...

Dammit, Jim...

I'm sure this is some kind of

'cat scan'...

This tends to happen when

doctors check my ears...

Anyhoo...

By the time this thing posts...

I should be back home.

~shoes~

"Yesterday's Commencement..."

I woke up yesterday (Saturday, December 15th) at 3:30 AM.  I have been so stressed about having to deliver this talk to the graduating class.  I tried, tried, and tried to go back to sleep, but just couldn't...

I am far from being a perfectionist, but I do worry about not embarrassing myself... I know I can do it... I've seen myself do it.

Anyway... here is the text of what I presented...

Good morning...

Thank you...

It is a great honor to have received the S.E. Kossman Award.  In as much as it is suppose to reflect upon  the work and success of the recipient, I came to realize that it also means that some of my colleagues felt that I was worthy of receiving such an honor.

That, alone, is a very humbling.

When one is asked to give a commencement address, you come to realize that  no one really is there to hear you speak…  it’s just something that has to be endured until we get to why we really are here.  You all are lucky… today you get to hear two of them…

The most memorable commencement speeches, more often than not, are the ones that turn into train wrecks.

I struggled with this idea… What information could I have to share with you?  I fear that I don’t have any real advice for your future.

What I want to do is to approach my comments to you... based on what I would say today to RedShoes when he was graduating college for the first time quite a few years ago.

I remember sitting there... where you are today and thinking... 'man, it's scary looking out there!'

Economic Uncertainty / No Jobs / Political Chaos / War

I would tell myself that 39 years later, it's still scary out there...  and that the safety net of being in school is about to disappear...

          Economic Uncertainty / No Jobs / Political Chaos / War

I would say to myself…

"Believe in yourself..."  

“Be yourself…”

Always listen to and follow your heart... don't pay too much attention to the naysayers...  You can't live a positive Life with a negative mind...

Have confidence in yourself... trust yourself...  The person that will hold you back the most in Love and Life is going to be yourself... and the self-defeating voices that will come from within.

Two of the saddest words in Life are, "What if...???"

Caroline Myss wrote:  'Do you really want to look back on your life and see how wonderful it could have been had you not been afraid to live it."

Find something that defines who you are.  Maybe it will be a pair of Red Converse Tennis shoes…  They are fun, and after all, what kind of trouble can one get into wearing them?

I would say to myself…

"Don't be afraid to fail..."

“DO learn from your mistakes…”

Go all out... be willing to fail big-time and yet be graceful about it...  Every wise man started as such...

Life is 10% of what happens to you, and 90% of how you respond to those events.

Dad used to tell me that Life will come along and knock you down from time to time just to show you who is in charge, and then help you get up... and then knock you right back down just to make sure you got the message...  

It's how we respond to those events that will define who we are in Life.

I would say to myself…

"Be passionate about your career and you will never have to work a day in your Life."

It may take you a while to figure out what you want to do with your Life.  Be willing to go out and make a difference…

A limit on what you are WILLING to do, puts a limit on what you CAN do.  

I would say to myself…

"Things will get better... and things will get worse... and then they will get better again..."  Mom and Dad probably phrased it this way: “Life Isn’t Fair… Get used to it.”

There are many cyclical patterns in Life...  Embrace the good times... work through the bad times...  Don't be passive in either... especially in the bad times.  Remember those who help you in the bad times... those are your real friends.

When times get difficult, don't hide your head in the sand, but instead, get up and tackle the problems head on.  

Help someone when they need help... anonymously if possible, but do help them.

Embrace the philosophy of 'Paying It Forward.' These Acts Of Kindness make the world a better place...

Mark Twain quote: "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die, even the  undertaker will be sorry."

I would tell myself of something my Dad would someday say to me…

                                                                     

"Jimmy... I had no idea that 90 years could pass by so quickly..."  

To me, this meant that I needed to be aware that Time really is a scarce resource... that we each are allocated just so much of it.  I know for a fact that there are things that my Dad wanted to do that went unfulfilled.

Don't wrap yourself up 100 % in your work... take those trips... go to those wonderful places like Monument Valley... Spend quality time with those you love and who love you... Don't let work come between you and those people who are really important to you...

When those regrets eventually arise, normally later in Life, they will be about the trips not taken... the time not spent....

Life is a journey with problems to solve, lessons to learn, but most of all, experiences to enjoy.

I would like to close with these thoughts…

Life stops when you stop dreaming,

Hope ends when you stop believing,

Love ends when you stop caring,

Friendship ends when you stop sharing.

Good Luck to you

God Speed…

Merry Christmas!!

After commencement, when I was outside trying to  track down some of my graduated students, I was amazed at the number of graduates, as well as parents that  I did NOT know that approached me to thank me for my message.  It really did seem to be well received

I was fairly comfortable during the presentation of the talk, so I guess all of the preparation that I had put into the endeavor paid off...

If any of this talk looks familiar, go back and read some of the suggestions that YOU gave me HERE a few posts back when I was asking for help.  Thank you SO much for your assistance.

I attended a party for one of my graduating students last night... I was totally surprised to see that her family had hired one of my favorite bands, "Blue Mother Tupelo"...

They are SO good!!!!!

Too much to drink, and too much to eat later, I was home crashing from a long, productive day...

Thank YOU ALL so much for helping me!!

~shoes~

"It Sounds Like A Guy..."

Jerkin' Off....

So... I was talking to this young lady on the phone just a few moments ago about her activities of the day...

'I Touch Myself'

The Divinyls

... I had the phone up to my head... and my right hand was inside my shirt, and I was just kinda slapping my chest with my hand (substitute the sound of a helicopter here).

You don't have to listen to the entire length of this video in order to get my point...

Unless...

Her:  'What's that noise?'

Me: 'What noise?"

Her: 'That noise that I just heard...'

Me: 'Oh!  That noise that sounded like someone

was jerkin' off?'

Her:  *Sounds of Crickets chirping*

Me: 'Hello?'

Her:  'Oh....  Yes, it did...'

Me: 'How do you know what a man jerkin' off sounds like?'

Her:  *Sounds of Crickets chirping*

Me: 'Hello?'

Her: *nervous laughter*

The dumbass that created this poster

can't spell 'masturbation'...

I offered several possible answers for her to claim as for reasons she might know what a guy jerkin' his gherkin sounds like... but she just continued with that nervous laughter... and at some point, started she talking like Frank Pentangeli from'The Godfather II...

'Frank Pentangeli'

Supposedly, it's a rather natural function... yet... she had that nervous laugh...

As if she was hiding something...

Holy Cow... a hand condom for those who like to...

'Shake hands with shorty...'

'Do the Five-Knuckle Tango...'

'Burp the worm...'

'Fist your Mister...'

'Feel in your pocket for your

big hairy rocket...'

'One stick drum improvisation...'

(With all due apologies to Def Lepperd)

'Pound the flounder...'

Thank God there's a ton of masturbators out there...  Think of how many kittens and cats there would be if we didn't!!!

I'm still waiting for her to tell me how she knows...

HAR!!!!!!

Of course, I'm blaming this behavior on the 

speech I have to give Saturday...

Whatever...

~shoes~