18.06.08
There’s something un-natural. . .
This guy got my attention. Not just his charming accent, but the problem he describes seems to be a global issue.
18.06.07
To a friend with the Visitors Bureau:
The very first article (attached) is on a community that catered to bi-cyclists. . .
I do realize where we live.
It’s NOT a resort community. But –
So many seem to want it to be.
It’s what I call a hardware store town
A working town, and
our people reflect that sentiment.
That’s why our pre-robotic kids say,
there’s nothing I do here.
Their parents, the adults around them,
are used to work, work, work.
I asked a fellow last week,
you’re working all this overtime. . .
to make payments?
He thought for a minute.
I knocked a pause in him.
He looked me in the eye and said, yes.
It’s our MENTALITY.
The scenario:
we buy a truck we can’t afford,
but need
to pull a boat or RV we can’t afford,
and have to pay to store it,
while living in a house we can’t afford.
We don’t have time to use our toys,
because we really couldn’t afford to buy them,
so we work all the time.
Someone told me about their son,
and how he made all this money welding “last year.”
I looked at them and said,
I can’t even tell you how much
I made last year.
I CAN tell you
what I paid in taxes-
way too much-
but I have no idea what my income was.
In our minds, we need to make more
to qualify for more and the
cycle continues to deepen.
That’s why bicycles are so wonderful.
-Betcha didn’t see that coming.
It’s about living a better life, daily.
It’s about embracing today,
not some day or
when the jobs over.
It’s about having fun going
to the store or a restaurant, and
relishing every aspect-
not just the volume of food.
The “nothing” is very real.
Every time I ride,
there’s that one car,
that one person,
who makes me feel unsafe.
That person lives here,
Is working to make payments,
lives a miserable life, and
wants to share his misery with me.
We could address those issues, or
continue to live like “our parents did”.
I want to leave this place better than I
found it, in some small way. Don’t you?
Did I teach my kids these things?
Some of them.
Did I know better?
Yes.
Mental illness & endless doctor visits
were my home, truck, boat & lake house.
My son got the worst of it,
something “broke” and
my daughter got the best.
It’s our collective mindset.
It’s our mindset.
It’s how we think that’s broken.
Moonlight Madness helps. . .
Oktoberfest helps. . .
Calder 5k helps. . .
Painting those boxes helps. . .
The marathon (I want to run a marathon next to a giant refinery) helps. . .
Movies in the Jefferson helps. . .
Movies in the Park helps. . .
Free stuff By the Lake helps. . .
The movie review thing helps. . .
(lots of out of town folks there)
It takes a collective effort. . .
Getting people out of their cars. . .
Believe it or not. . .
Believe me! Will help. . .
It will take time & lots of effort
to get these things done,
including a change of mindset
when it comes to maintaining roads.
That’s what I’m all about.
The change I want to see
is in the minds of our public works people.
They have the power and position to
change how a road is striped when it’s resurfaced.
Stripes, initially, will bring about the proof
we need, and should want, before
we even think about
anything more extravagant.
Tie that together with some signs,
bike racks on busses, inexpensive education,
and we’ve got the beginnings
of a transformation.
The rest takes time & effort from
the people in the community
to continue the fun activities.
It takes nice public places, parks, etc too.
That’s one reason why I attend city council.
They’ve made decisions about parks
that l like to affirm.
They are talking about Tyrrell Park now.
I’m afraid I’ve been a pest about that, but
have you been out of your care, there recently?
Did you see my dream / Hallucination?
God spoke to me (lol).
Why can’t we have something nice here?
Because of one serpent?
For shame.
Chop the head off the snake, and
move on.
Beaumont needs these things
for the mindset to change.
I’m harping on Tyrrell Park,
but it was the first park I noticed
after moving here.
It’s my go to park when
out of towners visit.
It’s where I send people to ride.
Have you been there at 6:30 pm lately?
Cardio like crazy!
People from all around the area
that I recognize from Facebook-
heck it’s like an interactive Facebook post
you can walk into and
see people really living life.
Tyrrell Park is a very real thing to do in SeTx
I digress. . .
Someone from Orange, Tx, they have plans. . . that may be honed after they learn. . . but they need funding.
Port Arthur is a wreck. If a town needs help. . .
The need is great!
There are inexpensive answers for those who care to learn.
Frustrated
Determined
Optimistic
e
18.06.04
What were your first thoughts this morning?
In December 2016 a virus with high fever and uncontrollable rigors (shaking) ravaged my body.
A local “neighbor”hood clinic– ridiculed me for seeking medical attention, told me I didn’t have the flu, sent me home, and sent an $11,500 bill.
Two days later a local protestant hospital emergency room– an apathetic triage nurse makes us wait six hours, before Melinda discovers we are in line for Sniffles & Sneezes and demands service, now!
They gave me a delightful shot of morphine, which calmed my rigors,
told me I didn’t have the flu, but started me on treatment for the flu,
which caused the virus to morph, apparently lost my blood work (causing a cascade of expensive consequences including being isolated by Houston Infectious Disease for three days), making an accurate diagnosis impossible, discharged me— to die— and sent an $11,500 bill.
Within 24 hours, my organs begin to fail. First, my kidneys. . .
At a hospital in the Woodlands while I was being triaged my heart
went into a-fib. I would spend the next 7 days with Melinda at my side,
in acute care.
When I emerged from a procedure to correct my heartbeat, and I saw Melinda, I am ashamed to admit this, my first words, my first thought was, “I’m ready for more city Council meetings.”
What’s wrong with me?
Why do I think this way?
The answer might be found in a movie that stirred my soul starring Peter O’Toole: Man of LaMancha.
I wept when Don Quixote sang: The Impossible Dream
People thought he was crazy for believing in the goodness in others.
They ridiculed and scorned him for it. He persisted, and in the end,
made huge differences in a few peoples lives.
What is your impossible dream?
What compelled you to read this?
To dream The Impossible Dream. . .
What is my Impossible Dream?
Ultimately, harmony and functionality in our community?
Ultimately, isn’t it simply: A better community, A better Beaumont, Tx.
To fight the unbeatable foe. . .
What, or who is the unbeatable foe ?
Selfishness, Greed, Laziness, Inconsideration, Division, Revenge
It’s all Selfishness.
I choose to believe, each one of us can make a difference if we try. . . put personal differences aside, & ultimately work toward a better community, a better SeTx.
What’s your Impossible Dream?
What stirs your soul?
e