Posted by
Vansword on Tuesday, November 03, 2009 11:17:19 AM
This blog will be a departure from my usual commentary/smart-mouthed observations. Something tragic happened a few days ago in the county in Georgia where I live. I know it has happened many times before in other places, but there was that element of it-might-have-been-me that always gets one to thinking about mortality and to waxing philosophical about the meaning of life and how best to live that life.
A Cessna six-seater took off from the local airport, Briscoe Field-about two miles from my house in suburban Atlanta. It was one of those medical aircraft that transports doctors and patients to wherever it is they need to go. This one was bound for Sparta, Tenn. Shortly after takeoff, the plane crashed into a home on a quiet street. The residents were inside. The husband escaped but his wife could not. She perished in the horrible fire that resulted. One minute you're upstairs working from home with your wife of many years in the downstairs den and the next, she's gone and you're left shocked and alone. Such is life, I suppose.
That horrible occurence has rarely left my mind for a second since last Friday. I think of other possibilities that might have happened. That pilot might have been heading south instead of north and crashed that Cessna into my neighborhood or even my house. I can't help but think about the family I would leave behind were I to go in such circumstances or, worse yet, to see my spouse leave this earth before me, which would be the greater blow. Some might say that such morose speculations are a waste of valuable time. They are right on some level; life goes on and all of that. Yet, given the nature of the events taking place in this country, with the future so uncertain as to the liberties we have always taken for granted, I fear for the ones I would leave behind if the worst occurred.
That is why it is of the utmost importance that every single one of us does everything conceivable to stop this progressive liberal machine that has seized too much power so quickly. Everyone must keep up the calls to their Congressmen, keep voicing their opinions on radio talk shows, attend tea parties and be vocal with your dissent, blog on about the issues you feel most passionate about, and, most important, keep the fires of freedom in your hearts, where they may never die, in spite of the reaches of tyranny that threaten to destroy our republic.
We are not promised tomorrow. Tragedies happen-like that of the couple in Lawrenceville, Ga. I only hope I live my life so that my children understand the freedom this country was based on. I hope I leave a legacy of fighting for that freedom at all costs that will continue in them and onward through future generations.
On a less serious note......my wonderful stepsister sent me this......a little light-hearted philosophy about life:
Cowboy's Guide To Life
by Bob Hardison
- Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.
- Life ain't about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.
- Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.
- Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
- Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
- Don't sell your mule to buy a plow.
- If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there with ya.
- Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you. You cannot unsay a cruel word.
- Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
- Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.
- Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
- The easiest way to eat crow is while it's still warm. The colder it gets, the harder it is to swaller.
- If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
- The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with looks at you in the mirror every mornin'.
- Don't worry about bitin' off more 'n you can chew; your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger'n you think.
- Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
- Remember: Don't squat with your spurs on.
- Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
- If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
- Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.
- The best sermons are lived, not preached.
- Keep skunks and politicians and lawyers at a distance.
- It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
- If it don't seem like it's worth the effort, it probably ain't.
- It's better to be a has-been than a never-was.
- Meanness don't jest happen overnight.
- When you wallow with pigs, expect to git dirty.