Death of the Middle Class!

In recent news, there are economic indicators the middle class is disappearing. These indicators are showing a rise in luxury purchases and a rise in bargain purchases.

The luxury purchases are being made at high end stores for the rich and famous. The bargain purchases at discount stores are being made by the poor and the "used to be" middle class.

Middle class America used to be the driving force in retail sales, purchase of homes and vehicles. This has come to an end. Homes have been lost. Vehicles have been repossessed.

The economy is bleak. The middle class has shrunk enormously and the poor class has increased dramatically. What is a country to do?

It is time the government helps the struggling lower classes and stop catering to the rich. I don't begrudge anyone having success; however, we need the upper class to help the rest of the country to rebound. This is my opinion.

Change

It amazes me how many people are afraid of change. People my age (50) have seen many changes in our lifetime.

Records --->CD's

TV Consoles --->Flat Screen TV's

Pong --->Wii

Typewriters --->Computers

Adding Machines --->Calculators

3 TV Channels --->100's of Channels

Rotary Dial Phones --->Cell Phones

Books --->Kindle

Change has been apart of the humane race from the beginning! Now, Facebook has changed and everyone is in a panic! Really!

There are so many positives to change! Why are we so afraid of it. I think change scares us because it takes us out of our norm. However, if no changes are made to keep us at our "norm", many conveniences we have come to appreciate would not exist. So, before criticizing change, try it you may like it!

'night, Mother

I have read the play and have seen the movie a few times. Every time I watch this movie, it touches my heart. This movie looks at the emotional and the stressful results of an impending suicide. There are many facets to this story. You listen to the reasoning Sissy Spacek gives for ending her life. You listen and watch Anne Bancroft's response to this revelation. It is a heart wrenching movie to watch. I recommend this movie. I would give it 5 stars!

This movie shows how suicide devastates the people who love you. Watch this movie and let me know your thoughts.

Missing You!

When you don't have the chance to say goodbye to a loved one that has passed, it leaves a void in your heart.

I was adopted when I was about a year old. I met my biological mother when I was 15 years old. I started a relationship with her over the years. I truly loved her and needed her. She was the only person on earth that understood me. I am thankful for this. We did not stay in touch for about a decade. I reminded her of a bad time in her life when she lost me. She had trouble dealing with those emotions.

My biological mother passed away a couple of years ago. I didn't know she was sick and was in a nursing home. If I would have known, I would have made contact with her! Diabetes was the culprit taking her life. I also have diabetes and I have many of the symptoms she had in her later years. I wish I could have spoken with her during her last days. I would have told her I missed her and loved her. I feel guilty for not staying in touch. It was just so hard to call and hear her tone of voice. It made me feel unwanted! I know she loved me and missed me; however, she could not handle the past. I feel cheated not being able to say, "goodbye and I Miss You"!

The End!

Everyone is obsessing about the end of the world in 2012. I find it distressing thousands believe the Mayan calendar is predicting the end! As a Christian, I believe only God knows the exact time Jesus will return. 1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. No matter what prophets predict, the end times will play out as said in the Bible. This is my belief and comfort.

It has been 2 years since my last blog. I have had many thoughts since then! I just became lazy about sharing them. I plan on using this blog to express my thoughts and feelings about issues I am concerned about.

Keeping in touch with people these days has become easier and less personal with the use of electronics. I miss human contact. I am usually at home all day everyday. My disability is making it harder to go out on my own. I plan on making myself get out of this apartment at least once a week by myself. I rely on my partner to take me to stores and anywhere else I need to go. He really has been my rock! I would be in worse circumstances if it wasn't for David's help. I want to say "thank you" to David with today's blog.

50th

I just want to thank Amy for making her dad's 50th birthday special. Amy's efforts were from the heart. First she gave David the book, "Stuart Little" this was the book David used to read to Amy when she was very young. Amy also made a video using family photos and music. This was a tender moment for the David and his children.

Jeremy sent David the movie, "Memento" Jeremy's favorite film. This was another gift from the heart. Amy also gathered the children together for a birthday meal. She makes the best homemade pancakes!

In closing, thank you for a heartfelt 50th birthday celebration for your father.

AIDS!

As of today, 25 million people have died of AIDS. Worldwide, 15 million children have been orphaned by AIDS and 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. Nearly 7,000 individuals become newly infected each day. These numbers are truly staggering. These statistics are from "The Foundation for AIDS Research."

The above statistics are know cases. There are many cases of AIDS that are not reported or known. Since the entertainment industry is not backing the AIDS effort like it did 10 years ago, the public is returning to dangerous sex practices. There are more and more people practicing unsafe sex. Teenagers are becoming one of the larger groups getting HIV/AIDS in the metropolitan areas. Condoms are not handed out for free as much as they were 10 years ago. Literature is not as available as it was 10 years ago. You don't see commercials encouraging safe sex and the use of condoms like we did 10 years ago. Why?

The entertainment industry seems to pick a cause and go full force with it. In the 80's they battled world hunger. Concerts and videos were dedicated to the effort. In the 90's AIDS awareness was the big cause. Celebrities made commercials explaining abstinence was the best way to prevent getting sexually transmitted diseases. Movies were made concerning AIDS victims. This century, breast cancer and supporting our troops seem to be the big causes. Sure there are some famous individuals still supporting the AIDS effort; however, parents need to talk with their children about safe sex. Friends need to encourage each other to keep themselves protected against sexually transmitted diseases.

In closing, when the entertainment industry moves to a new cause, we need to keep the less advertised causes alive and strong!

Easy Non-Dairy Chocolate Cake!

David celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday. I was really upset I couldn't get out to get him a cake. At this time, I cannot drive due to the medicines I am on. David's children decided to take him to the Twin's game last night. So I decided I would take the pick-up and run to the store. Unfortunately, my son parked to close to the garage for me to get out. I ran to the computer and looked for a homemade cake recipe. Then I realized I had no milk. While surfing the web, I found a non-dairy recipe. I happened to have all the ingredients needed to make the cake. It isn't that bad. Below is the recipe I found.

3 c. flour
2 tsp. vinegar
2 c. sugar
2/3 c. salad oil
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. cocoa
2 c. cold water
2 tsp. baking soda

In large bowl, mix by hand flour, sugar, salt, cocoa and baking soda. Add vinegar, salad oil, vanilla and water. Mix by hand. Bake at 350 degrees in 9x13 inch pan; test at 30-35 minutes. Toothpick should come out clean.

Oh, didn't have anything to make frosting. All David got was a plain chocolate cake! Went to store today and made peanut butter frosting for the cake. Ugh! Such drama I cause myself!

Greeting Cards!

Recently David received a birthday card that had an obituary in it. The obituary was about a former classmate from high school. When I received my birthday card back in February, I had the immense pleasure of reading my card and opening the gift that was sent with it. My gift was the last volume of the Harry Potter series. Tucked in the first page of the book was my mother's obituary. She passed away a couple weeks before my birthday. I find it interesting that we both got cards celebrating our birth with the obituaries in them.

So my morbid thinking kicked in! What if this was a new trend? Multiple themes in one greeting card. This would save money! You would get a birthday and sympathy card all in one. You could get a Christmas and sympathy card in one. How exciting this would be! What would really make it even more special would be to make them the singing cards. Below I came up with two of these wonderful cards.

Birthday - Sympathy Card
Tune is "Happy Birthday to You"

Happy birthday to you!
Your mother turned blue!
Happy birthday dear Bill!
She is buried on the hill!

Christmas - Sympathy Card
Tune is "We Wish You A Merry Christmas"

We wish you a merry Christmas.
Your Aunt is no longer with us.
We wish you a merry Christmas.
We buried her this past year.

Please forgive my morbid cards. I just find it strange that someone would put a death notice in a birthday card!

Blogging!

I have not blogged in a couple days. This would mean I have not been blogging. I have asked myself the past two days, to blog or not to blog? I obviously decided not to blog. There is no good excuse for the decision not to blog. Blogging has been a great way for me to express my thoughts. I have enjoyed the blog topics I have chosen so far. I hope anyone who follows my blog has found some of them interesting. Thank you for reading my blog.

Forgive this blog. The day got away from me before I remembered to blog.

Homesick!

Today I was sitting outside thinking about the house and neighborhood where I spent most of my youth. I have been thinking about my past for a few weeks now. I believe this is due to my upcoming 30th high school reunion. I have recently reestablished contact with old classmates and some old friends from my childhood neighborhood.

I started feeling homesick today. All this nostalgia has made me realize how I miss home. Home being the house I grew up in. I also realized there is no way to go back and visit. My childhood home and neighborhood have been gone for 33 years. They demolished the area for low income housing. The only remaining item is a tree that used to be outside our kitchen window. There is nothing else on the spot where my home was standing. It is just grass and the tree. All around that spot are townhouses for low income families. It was as if in an instant my childhood memories evaporated when they destroyed the area between 14th and 15th street.

However, I realize home is in my heart. No one can take away the memories I have stored there. The only way those memories will totally be lost is when my heart stops beating. I also feel sorry for today's youth. Many families move many times during their children's youth. We were fortunate to live in the same house until my mid-teens. Our home had history. My parents lived in that house for 30 years. Since leaving home, I have lived in numerous houses and apartments. My children did not grow up in the same house. They were lucky to live in the same town during their youth. So, I do get homesick at times. I know I will never be able to go back to see my childhood haunts.

Home is where the heart is!

A Night Out!

David and I decided to go out to a club last night. We have not been to this club for months. We thought it would be nice to get out of the house and mingle with others. I forgot one of the reasons we stopped going out to the club. There is so much superficiality it's hard to tell who is being sincere and who is just being polite.

We walked into the club and noticed some familiar faces of the staff where not there. There were new faces on the staff. Immediately the club was not as familiar as it used to be. When we went to this club on a more frequent basis, it was like walking into Cheers. Staff members remember our names and some even remembered what we drank. I am not sure if that was a good thing or we just went out too much and drank too much then. With the new staff it seemed like we were in a completely different place. I missed the familiar feeling I used to get walking in to the building.

There were also many new faces among the patrons. There were some faces we recognized and some club friends. These are people we only see while at the club. We got the familiar hellos from them. Some even chatted with us for a few minutes. Since we have not been there in awhile was the reason for the hellos. It became hard to look them in the eye and believe they truly where glad to see us. We would hear, "I have to pee but will be back." They never did come back. I guess the pee didn't go well.

In closing, drinking buddies are what they are. They are really not your good friends. You get the polite hello and small talk and off they go. It is fun to watch the individuals on the make. They cruise an area of the bar and give that ever so knowing smile and nod their head. Then they proceed to follow the person through the bar. I am thankful I have a life partner and I never have to worry about being so lonely I need to go on the make. I was there at one time in my life and I do not miss it. It is a desperate cry for some kind of physical contact. It is a dangerous game to play. It can really destroy your self confidence when you are rejected.

Was a night out worth it? I am not sure it was.

When It's Time To Let Go.

When is the time to say enough is enough? Many of us hold on to relationships or friendships longer than we should. We keep trying to fix what is wrong or wait hoping things will just get better. We go out of our way to try and heal wounds that the other person may have caused. We find excuses to keep giving them chance after chance.

On the other hand, we may be the one inflicting the wounds causing pain. We may be the ones that play games with people's emotions. We test the other person's intentions. We put them in situations that test their loyalty to us.

In my opinion, there are relationships that need to end for the well being of both parties involved. There is a time to say enough is enough! Why hold each other back from growing? Why inflict pain? There is a time to walk away and there is a time to be walked away from.

Book vs Movie!

My son recently saw the newest Harry Potter movie. He was disappointed the movie was not totally following the book. I find very few movies ever totally follow a book. There may be budget reason or possibly the length the movie would have to be. I think it would be hard to make a movie that lives up to a book.

A book relies on your imagination to bring the story to life. Your imagination is what decides what the characters look like, what the scenery looks like and so on. It would be very difficult for any movie to live up to your imagination. Another reason a movie doesn't live up to a book, the movie never completely shows every little nuance a book describes. Movies sometime take a different approach to an event than the way it was written in the book.

A good example of a movie not living up to the book would be The Shining by Steven King. The movie changed or left out events in the book. If you never read the book and saw the movie, the movie was very good. For those people who did read the book and then saw the movie, it was a disappointment. Steven King did not like the movie version so he produced a mini-series that would totally go by the book. The mini-series was a success for the readers of the book.

During the 70's and most of the 80's, mini-series were common on television. These were movies stretched out over a few nights of viewing. This gave Steven King the opportunity to tell The Shining as written in his book. I miss the mini-series. This was a way to bring books to life without losing the integrity of the book. Many mini-series were very close to the books.

In closing, I would rather read a book before seeing the movie. This allows my imagination to soar.

Shadows

They lurk in the darkest corners.
They are always near you.


You catch a glimpse of them as they move just out of your sight.
You know they are there just out of your reach.


They move sometimes as quiet as a cloud floating in the sky.
They will cause the slightest noise to ensure you know they exist.


You think you see movement from the corner of you eye.
You hear the quietest whisper of a voice.


They can send chills through your soul.
They will exhale just ever so softly.


You realize you are never alone.
You are living with the shadows morning, noon and night.


William J. Snyder
July 14, 2009

A Day to Give Thanks!

Instead of writing a blog expressing my opinion today, I just want to thank God for giving David and me a very needed gift. An unexpected surprise happened today that will make our lives a little easier.

Praise God from who all blessings flow.

Parents' Love!

As a child, I was taught to respect my elders. I never yelled or used obscenities when speaking with my parents. I never would have ever considered "telling my parents off." There are two reasons for this. One, I have too much respect and love for them to even think of being disrespectful. Second, if I would have been disrespectful, I would have been punished.

As a parent, I am thankful to have two sons that I am proud of. My sons have never yelled at me or used bad language towards me. Both my boys have turned out to be wonderful young men. Sure they have problems they deal with; however, they don't blame others for their problems.

I have witnessed children treating their parents badly to the point of harassment. I have heard the foulest language used against parents. What I don't understand are the parents that just take it in stride. How can they let their children speak to them in such an ugly manner? Has our generation totally lost all morals to the point of our children being abusive to their parents?

My question is at what point does a parent stop loving a child? Or should I ask, at what point do you stop liking your child? I believe parents can love their children and not like them. Sure some will say you love your child but just don't like what they are doing. I think some parents do get to the point of not liking their child. When a child turns into an adult that you would never associate with, do you distance yourself? We need to get back to teaching our children respect.

Any thoughts on this?
Happy parenting!

Survey!

I decided to just see who is reading my blog. If you are following my blog, please leave a comment. Thanks

Nursing Home.

I used to work in a nursing home in the mid 90's. I started out as a cook and then became a CNA. During my time there, I witnessed the activities the residents participated in. There would be quilting bees, crocheting, knitting and sing-a-longs to the "oldies but goodies." There was calming music playing in the hallways. Some people would call the music "elevator music."

Heading into my 50's, I wonder what a nursing home will be like when I get to my retirement age. Instead of coffee served at a quilting bee, will they serve lattes or capuchinos while we watch old MTV videos? In the hallways will you hear songs by Journey, The Eagles, SuperTramp and 80's tunes? When we have sing-a-longs, will we be singing tunes by Abba, Heart, Michael Jackson and other forgotten groups from our youth?

Will we gather around the Christmas tree and listen to Britney Spears Christmas CD? Will we be sitting in front of a big screen television playing Mario's latest adventure? Will we be having Sushi, Meat Lovers Pizza, Subs or any other food that our generation feasts on for dinner?

In conclusion, hopefully the nursing homes will adjust to the generation that is heading its way.
Just something to think about.